Sad news to start, let’s get this out of the way, and then I can have a good weep and get back to the usual bollocks.

One day when we were out walking the dogs, we looked behind us to call the old blind mutt on, and both realised, that, well, it was time to say goodbye to him. His health has been declining for some time now, and with the hot weather coming on, it just wasn’t fair on him. His heart had been working overtime just to keep him moving in the cold weather, in the hot weather he’d just suffer. We decided that on my next day off, we’d get the deed done. This gave us time to let Bethy know and to prepare herself. She was down at the coast with her college chums at the time. (More on this later.)

So, and by sheer coincidence, on 10/12/12 exactly ten years to the day that we picked him up from the pound, we drove him to our vets. It was good that the three of us were there to hold him as he passed on. We had him cremated, and we're going to bury his ashes and plant a tree on them, on his favourite walk at the local nature reserve.

This is how we want to remember him.

It was quite shocking to see this and to remember the active and excited dog he once was, compared to how he’d been for the past couple of years, it sure put things in perspective.

So, what else has been happening?

Well for some reason this months gallery is full of bugs and butterflies, I didn't set myself a theme, but that's the way it turned out.. One photo has been published online, and if you google search "Canberra Dragonflies" and hit "images" it's now the first hit!

Mary got back from China ok, but for the first week was jetlagged off her tits. Of course being Mary she couldn’t accept she was jetlagged and went around informing everyone that she was sure she had Alzheimer’s coming on.

The best stunt she pulled was when she accused Lee-Anne of losing her car keys as; “I’ve only got the remote opening switch left here, not the key.” Lee-Anne, puzzled, obviously tried to reassure her and offered to look for it when she got back from work. This wasn’t good enough, so Mary called out the NMRA (AA or RAC for Brits, fuck knows what the American service would be.) The guy duly arrived, and Mary showed him her “remote opening switch,” and wailed and moaned that she needed her car and couldn’t start it without the key. To be fair to the guy, he didn’t laugh, well not in her face obviously, he just pressed the button on her key fob, and the key sprung out. The dozy old bat had forgotten that she had a “flick-knife” style car key! She did have the decency to be very embarrassed.

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She did bring me back a t-shirt with Chairman Mao on it. I requested this as some of the American people who use our forum think me a commie (though anyone to the left of Genghis Khan is thought a commie by them,) so I enjoy living up to that. It’s gone down as well as my Lenin t-shirt did.

She also brought back a DVD of her boat journey up the Yangtze, of course, on her player it; “Doesn't work, as it’s in the wrong format for Australia. So can you rip it and re-burn it for me?” So I left it in my car for a week, and then took it back to her, and played it on her DVD player for her. It worked perfectly of course, as there was  sod all wrong with it.

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God, I never knew what fear was!! I thought I did. I’ve parachuted, bungeed, solo rock climbed, paraglided etc etc, so I thought I had a handle on fear. But nothing prepares you for the fear of watching your 17 year old daughter driving off on a 3 hour drive to the coast, with a car full of her mates, when she has only held a driving license for a month. But, obviously it all went swimmingly. They stayed for four nights at apartments here, and didn’t get slung out.

Again, I never fail to be amazed how different Bethy and her friends are from me and Lee-Anne and our friends when we were at that age. She'd been at the coast, unaccompanied by any adults with 20 plus male and female friends. When she got back, I asked her what they'd done while down there. If it had been a 17 year old me that had been asked that question, the reply would have been; "Shovelled enough booze and drugs to kill a water buffalo down my neck, then tried to screw anything  with a pulse which didn't resist too much."

Bethy's reply? "We went swimming during the day, and played board games in the evening. We did a bit of shopping and sightseeing, and all went out for a nice meal one night." Fuck me pink?!?! Respect goes to Reece, Bethy's ex, who upheld the honour of Canberra men, by starting drinking at 10.00 am one day, and continuing through the day into evening, when he then promptly passed out and puked up. This allowed the Christians to practice being nice to him. Oh yes, there were Christians, Bethy shared a room with three of them.

While they were down the bay, this happened! (Though they didn't see it, unfortunately.)

Bloody hell fire! The new mower lasted all of one cut, before the wheels came off, (as last time, quite literary!) Is it the Aussie grass or weeds or something? Are they bionic, should I get Kryptonite?

I took it back to Bunnings, and the geezer there said that, as its on warranty I could get it fixed free. By sending it back to the makers. Seeing as it was only a small wire clip which holds the wheels on which had broke, I balked at that. “We don’t keep parts here, but if you take it to “Canberra mowers” they’ll fix it for you”, said the Bunning’s repair man. I’ve had dealings with Canberra Mowers before, they’re shite. But needs must when the devil mows, so off I went. At the mower place I tell the girl on the front desk the story about Bunnings, she goes out the back, gets a repair guy to come out. He spends two minutes fitting a new clip, and four hours moaning about how Bunnings have no right to send me there, how he’s not going to be able to reclaim the cost of the part, and how it’s all coming out of his pocket. I do a reasonable impression of someone who gives a fuck, then leave. Honestly, if he hadn’t have moaned at me for so long I’d have given him the $10 it cost to cover the price of the bloody thing.

My ticket buying rampage continues!

Event: Public Image Ltd

Now a few years back on deck from a 17-year hibernation, post-punk dons Public Image Ltd have announced their first run of Aussie tour dates in 20 years, hitting the East Coast in support of their world-wide album tour.It’s been actions all stations since the group reformed back in 2009. With their leader John Lydon (who you might remember/know as the Sex Pistols gnarly frontman) at the helm, the band kicked things off with a world tour (minus Australia) before putting their attention to their first album in almost two decades.This Is PiL, released in 2012 is testament to just how legit these dudes are, demonstrating the same fury and energy as its older siblings First Issue (1978) and That What Is Not (1992).The album scored the band a spot in Mojo Magazine’s Top 50 Albums of the Year roundup, as well as other numbers accolades, proving just how much the world needs PiL.

 

 

 

 

Fri 19 Apr 2013 7:45pm

Canberra Stadium
Category: Gold
Section: BAY29
Row: GGSeat/s: 25-24
ezyTicket 2 x Adult
$160.00

I went to see Ian Rankin, lovely chap, great raconteur, he spoke on his writing for an hour, then took audience questions, and was very witty. He declined my offer of going for a pint after the gig though, as he was already booked by some dignitaries.

Though he did sign my copy;

"To Taff

Sláinte!

Ian Rankin."

Bethy came back from a "fun day end of college wrap up day" the other day with a certificate. She was very pleased, as was her boyfriend. She'd won this certificate, voted on by her peers, for "Miss Lovely Eyes." Of course, the first question that popped out of my head, totally unbidden, was; "Who got the certificate for Miss Lovely Tits"? Her beau found this rather amusing, she didn't.

Apparently, in the spirit of these; "non-discriminatory, everyone is equal, don't notice that the genders are different shapes, PC, days", the eyes are the only bits worthy of note. So there's "Ms Lovely Eyes" and "Mr Lovely Eyes". Being known as "Mr Lovely Eyes" in my school days would have earned you a right frigging beating, lads today were competing for it!

Still she has lovely eyes, and she won, so there!

She's gave the closing speech on behalf of her course group at the final assembly for the college one morning. Lee-Anne  and I've read it, it was very good.

Bethy had her end of college "formal" (Ball) and her  gradation the other day. Her dress for the formal, well it gave me two heart attacks. The first was the price on the fucking thing, (don't ask, just don't ask.) The second was how stunning she looked in it.

She also bought a pair of stilts, or as she called them, sparkly stiletto heels,  to wear with it. She went with her ex-boyfriend, Reece to the ball, as she had promised to do this. She drove. Yep, she drove. Stone cold sober on her ball night. I despair at times, where have I gone wrong as a role model?

Bethy also had her graduation ceremony. She got an overall 82.7% for her year 12 score, but we're waiting with bated breath for her International Baccalaureate score. She was also given an award for "Outstanding Contribution to College life".

Well I went to see the solicitor and barrister, and to be fair they did me proud. Well they did me proud after keeping me waiting until 4.10 pm for a 3.00 pm meeting. It was fun hearing all the wrangles, and the to-ing and fro-ing of the debate, though at one point I did feel like a prime bull who was being auctioned for slaughter. The outcome? Well it would be gauche of me to give a figure. Suffice to say my crash will pay for our next trip to the UK, pay off our credit cards, put a few bob in the bank for Bethy’s Uni days, and take a chunk out of the mortgage in the UK. So the pain and suffering paid off. I may even get a new bike.

Oh, we've had a Christmas visitor…

Our lovely Bogan neighbours have put their lights up.

We've had some decent storms of late, and hope to get some more.

Xmas weather here?

Sunday 23 December

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