Tissue Duty

Monday is the big day for all the new kindergarten kids - Their first day of school.

.

This can be a very traumatic time for children and I have been given tissue duty for when the parents go home and leave their babies behind. This is a pretty serious task because first impressions are important. A bad first day at school can taint their schooling experience for a long, long time.

.
Most of the kids will probably be fine but I’m sure there will be some tears. I thought the best thing I could do was enlist the help of one of my friends, Fergus. He has a wonderful way with children and best of all, he works cheep.

.
In my former life as a specialist police youth officer, Fergus used to help me out when I was visiting infants and pre-school kids. He was good at breaking the ice and made the scary uniform a bit less daunting. I’m sure the kids feeling upset, will be just a little bit better after meeting him.
.

.

Australia Day

Last year, 2009 - I spent a relatively un-Australian Day of celebration. Just like the adverts, I spent the day on the lounge, but we were watching a Project Runway marathon. No barbeque, no flag waving and nothing really patriotic. This probably had a lot to do with my state of mind at that time. It wasn’t a particularly good time of my life.

.
This year however, I was determined to be a little more productive.

.
2010 Australia Day for me.

.

.
First thing this morning, I took a trip to the local hardware store and bought a trailer load of concrete, brackets and bolts then spent most of the day in the sweltering heat mixing concrete with a shovel and pouring piers for a deck. Not the most patriotic thing either, - (that part came later in the evening) - but next year we will have somewhere to hold a decent barbecue.
.

It has become a Bathurst tradition for families to gather in Peace Park, on the lush green bank of the Macquarie River, to celebrate Australia Day. This was our first time and it turned out to be great evening. Awards were presented to deserving individuals; for sporting, charitable and environmental achievements. There were fire jugglers, young musical talent, fireworks followed by the outdoor screening of a family movie (Night at the Museum 2) on a huge inflatable movie screen.

.
All in all it was a productive and very enjoyable day. Flags were waved and I’m proud to be Australian!

A Place Of My Own

.
For the last few years, my own little place in the house has been the back corner of our sun-room. It is four metres long but less than two metres wide, separated from the rest of the room by a couple of bookcases. My “office” is actually a step up from what I used to have so I can’t really complain.
.
Sometimes it is hard to concentrate on my writing because the other three quarters of the room is taken up with my wife’s sewing table and the kid’s electronic corner. This techno-marvel contains the stereo, the latest in games machines including Rock Band for the Play Station - complete with guitars and drums and the kid’ computer. It is a rare occasion when I am in the room by myself. I’ve also come to the conclusion that there isn’t a single activity my boys enjoy that does not involve lots of noise.
.
The other problem with my current work space is that there is not enough room to set up my painting equipment and leave it out until the project is completed. Packing every thing up at the end of a session is a pain in the creative process.
.
Now for the good news. The council have approved the development application for my new studio. We ordered it today and it should be ready in four to five weeks. I can hide up the back yard in my studio to write in peace and set up my paints with a table to cut matt-boards and for my light-box. I’ll even have enough room to run some small art workshops and to set up an evening writer’s group.
.
Life is good. A place of my own!
.
.

Generosity

It amazes me sometimes how generous people can be. I was searching Youtube the other night and stumbled across an amazing band from Orangeburg South Carolina in the US, called I Nine. I listened to a few of their songs on Youtube.

.
The band has a delightful acoustic sound. The lead singer Carmen Keigans, looks and sounds a little like Jewel with a hint of Avril Lavigne every now and then but her sound is haunting and unique.

.
The following day, I went to my local music store and was disappointed that they were unable to locate the bands album to order in for me. I started a search on the web for somewhere to buy the album and found Carmen’s web site.

.

.
Not only does Carmen have a beautiful voice, she is a wonderfully generous person as well. When she found out I couldn’t get the album here in Australia, she e-mailed all the songs and a couple of bonus tracks to me.

.
I was blown away by Carmen’s generosity.

.
If you haven’t heard I Nine perform check out this link to the Youtube video of their song ‘Change Nothing’

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZhT89-5ilY

.

Another of their songs you should look out for is ‘Seven Days of Lonely’

.

.
Thank you Carmen, you are brilliant.