A Christmas letter

 Dear all,

It has been a while since we the Laws of Casa de Norman have been organised enough to send out Christmas cards to all of our friends and family. It feels like a decade at least since our last Christmas letter. Every year though I read through the letters that we receive and I marvel at the incredible year each and every letter has captured. Equally I look back fondly on the copies of our own past letter that we have kept and regret that so much has happened to us without capture.

So 2020 seems like a year we all won't forget in a hurry. So much chaos and sadness for many. So little joy to record. Somewhere in amongst the tears and worries though there are the hidden gems. For us here are a few...

The Laws saw in 2020 with our usual backyard bash, completely oblivious to what lay ahead. Our spirits were high as we had just around the corner our first ever cruise (shared with family Crook) and for me and the kids our first time stepping foot on Tassie soil. Late February and early March saw us enjoy our time on the ocean and our visit to Port Arthur and Hobart followed by time spent traversing Victoria. We returned to home soil in time for a joint birthday celebration for Tills and Boo when the Scooby Doo bouncing castle moved in to our backyard. Heavenly Hotdogs catered (delicious) and everyone enjoyed a beautiful day.

Soon after our amazing holiday was ended with an incredible birthday bash I returned to work and life in SA continued as normal. We had all heard by now of this dreaded illness that had spread across the world and finally come to Australia but for the moment it seemed we in SA were a-OK...

Fast forward to the end of the month and suddenly our whole world was turned as upside down as everywhere else. Everywhere but those places deemed essential were to shut down! Libraries were to stay open until our State Premier clarified we too were to close our doors. Amazing and confusing to us my wife Heidi was still able to work at our local Big W and we were slightly confused about whether the kids could or couldn't go to school.

Home schooling began (fun) along with my attempts to work from home (more fun). The silver lining was our opportunity to venture into the brave new world of online events. Tim the Wizard and his storytelling sessions discovered new fans at home, interstate and oveseas. It has been so exciting to start exploring the idea of online events firstly with my daughters and then with the Library Team. We also discovered COVID Safe ways to continue to supply a borrowing service (call and collect and email and collect) as well as an increase in our home delivery services that started up only a few years before. With staff only allowed onsite the library undertook a long overdue (pun intended) review of our collection with a challenge set for us to massively reduce out average item age. Couple this with a few pilot programs that I put our hand up for, some library committees I was asked to be on, a couple of digital surveys we asked our community to take part in and it has been an extremely hectic and very interesting working year. One positive that came from state boarders and international boarders closing has been the abundance of South Australian writer and illustrator talent available for events at local libraries. We were lucky enough to host the amazing Monica McInerney for almost 60 community members. It was a real thrill to meet with such a wonderful person as well as such a talented writer.

Speaking of writers I have been seeing some success with my short stories. Since publishing my novel The Eleventh Tome in 2018 I have discovered the art of shorter prose (anything from 100 word drabbles to 5,000 word short stories and everything in between). I have had great encouragement from friends and family and have been accepted numerously by The World of Myth Magazine, Spillwords and Black Hare Press to name a few.

Heidi has been amazing throughout this crazy year. She has picked up extra work with a friend's amazing business (Heavenly Hotdogs), continues to deal with all the wonderful customers at Big W all the while being her amazing, selfless self (mother, wife and friend of the year). Nobody visits Casa de Law on Norman without a full tummy and so much laughter.

Our eldest has had a much better year in high school this year, helped by having an extended holiday at the start of the year and a period of school closure early on. He too has picked up some shifts at Heavenly Hotdogs and we are so proud of his efforts.

Miss 13 has helped out with Heavenly Hotdogs too with a summer job on the river bank. Great feedback from owners Sunnie and Troy means we are hoping next year she will be able to join the team and make it a real family affair. As mentioned we have two teenagers in the house now with a special Christmas in July celebration. Lots of fun for friends and family alike. Such a fun filled and festive celebration. At the end of the year we had a graduation from Primary into High School which COVID made difficult. Regardless of the virus there was still a chance for a jump into the river.

And of course our youngest continues to keep us entertained. I continue to suggest to Boo that once she reaches High School she MUST do drama. She is now double digits and tries everyday to keep up with her sister. Boo is blossoming at school and has such a wonderful friendship group there. This next year will be our last at our favourite little school as 2022 is Year 7 High School for the whole of the state.

With all that in mind we now say farewell to 2020 with mixed feelings. I fear 2021 will start with similar uncertainty (thanks again COVID) with hopes of a little normalcy as the year ahead progresses.

Sending love and well wishes to all of our family and friends.

May your Christmas be merry and your New Year a safe and much happier one

Kind regards,

The Laws

Celebrating an end and a new beginning

 Miss 13 has done us proud. This last month has been all about her last moments of Primary. Next year we will have two at High School with one to go. 2020 has proven to be sadly a year of missed opportunities and canceled events but the lessons of resilience can only make us stronger.

Farewell JPS and hello MBHS. My fingers are crossed that 2021 will prove to be a much better year.

Is there a word for being excited and nervous in equal measure?

The Laws go to War

 South Australian school holidays have kicked in and local cinemas are open again (no thanks to COVID) so what better way could there be than to spend an hour or two at the movies. The latest holiday film was an interesting one, The War With Grandpa which all but Master 14 were interested to see. An afternoon in Mount Barker also meant a stop over at Kmart too and no trip to the cinema is complete without popcorn.

Well the movie was pretty good (3 and a half stars out of 5) with lots of laughs and some big name actors having a lot of fun. This is one I would happily recommend for any age (probably 8 to 108 would love it). I'm thinking it is one we need to get for the library where I work so we can show it for one of our family movie sessions.

Kmart was surprisingly empty with not much to interest us... All in all a breezy family afternoon.

Trying something new while in lockdown

 Well it has happened...

Yesterday our Premier announced a six day hard lockdown across South Australia. Thinking of silver linings I have almost a week to spend quality time with my family ❤️ and I also have a chance to play around with some other ideas for online activities we can offer to our local viewers and those beyond the Murraylands. One idea was adult story time 👍 Some Libraries are successful offering this already with brilliant storytellers reading chapters from their favourite novels

I am going to share some of my Reedsy stories instead

I’ll post here and on my Facebook page when the first two stories are up

Cheers to my mate Troyzo for the idea!

Hope you all enjoy...

The Crook and Law six kid weekend extravaganza

 The Crook and Law six kid weekend extravaganza has given us a real run for our money but my amazing wife and I managed to survive. From Friday night to Sunday afternoon Casa de Law was home to six kids ranging from toddler to teens (and every age in between). It has been cat chasing, book reading, and fun-filled, crazy kind of weekend. A payback, together time, new experiences and old favourites kind of weekend. Thanks to our dear friends Ben and Maria June was our chance (my wife and I) to escape the responsibilities of parenthood and for two days live again kid free. The catch of course, come September we return the favour.

 

This was our first two night effort with Big Red (Miss Two) and we were unsure how it would go. Good news, it went great!! Better news, every year all six kids get older and I'm pretty sure things will get easier and easier. We love those little Crook munchkins and we have all loved our magic weekend.

 

Spending time yesterday at an amazing new local playground made me think of a poem I wrote a few years ago (published on the Parenting  Express website) called Taking flight with daddy. So here is the sequel, ...

 

SEVEN AT THE PLAYGROUND

 

Captain Tilly launched her ship

All on a cool Spring day

Upon the radar there appeared a blip

Tilly announced "I am on my way!"

 

Maddy and Boo walked a balancing beam

Each one careful not to fall

So much fun they could not help but scream

Feeling twelve foot tall

 

Nenna and Liv span around and around

For the youngest it was nice and slow

Captain Tilly would search until they were found

"More power Uncle Tim! Go! Go! Go!"

 

 When Boo discovered the wizzy

She could not contain her glee

Above all else she loved getting dizzy

Daddy's big boots kicked off, Boo yelled "Yipee!!"

 

The Lava Monster stomped and roared

The Lava Monster danced and sang

There were none who could ever be bored

As the Lava Monster chased the gang

 

 Swings flew higher and higher as kids explored

So much to do and so much to see that was new

Kid's minds opened and parent's minds floored

Captain Tilly re-entered her spaceship and again off she flew

 

 Boo got caught in the spider's web, bravely she clambered down

Nenna when shooting toward the stars and moon

Liv and Maddy had swing caused smiles, no chance to frown

But, sadly it would all be over too soon

 

Around and around the palyground the monster chased 

 All his running was all in vain

Aunty Heidi said it was time to go

It had suddenly started to rain

Such a fun weekend, thanks Ben and Maria!

Discovering the joy (and deliciousness) of The Mac Stack

What a weekend! When a great mate invites you down to Sunnyside to sample the next amazing idea she has for the brilliant Heavenly Hotdogs The Diner you of course say a resounding YES!!!

We've been there from the start, the initial idea which led to the dream that inevitably morphed into the local business Heavenly Hotdogs. Murray Bridge as a community has really got behind this local business and why wouldn't we? Great food, great family atmosphere and all at an unbelievable price. Naturally the idea has gone from takeaway van to full scale diner. It is amazing to see how much effort this wife and husband team are investing into creating something special as the site on Adelaide Road is slowly but surely becoming the perfect hangout.

I just love the vision of that beautiful dreamer Sunshine from Sunnyside, her love of all things eighties and a solid memory of the best hotdogs that have ever existed. Now this dreamer has imagined a tower of deliciousness that starts with the comfort legend macaroni and cheese and then adds succulent beef, bacon, homemade onion rings, all things absolutely delectable. I could not help but clean my plate and I look forward to the chance to order this mountain of deliciousness off the menu. If you need a meal that is sure to satisfy I can guarantee if you order The Mac Stack is sure to satisfy, 100%!!!

ALIA article – How have you grown professionally during the pandemic?

Good afternoon all... 

I have discovered recently an opportunity to write an article for Incite magazine which is the Australian Libraries and Information Association (of Australia) magazines for Librarians and Information professionals

Although my article will not be included in next month's publication I did enjoy writing about my current experiences in Libraryland

I have included my article piece below:

 

ALIA article – How have you grown professionally during the pandemic?

 

My name is Tim Law, Library Team Leader at the Murray Bridge Library in South Australia. During this current pandemic I have found the opportunity to be far more bravely creative. With permission and encouragement from our Incident Response Team and my Manager I and my team have delved into the realm of online activities and I think we like it.

Closing the library on the evening of March 25 we were completely inexperienced with running events and activities online and totally unprepared, not knowing where to begin. Without a way to supply our normal array of activities for families as well as author visits and workshops we began to examine how other libraries were supplying these types of events.

While at home for a week following the library closure I also began posting LIVE storytelling, craft and simple science sessions from home, involving my two daughters who loved playing up to the camera. Feedback from friends and family enabled me to alter where I filmed, how long and whether I pre-recorded or filmed LIVE. Soon after returning to the library the team and I used what we have already learned to create fun sessions for our local families to enjoy.

We now plan to continue to explore the digital and see how it can run side by side with our previous program. This pandemic has taught me bravery, stretched my creativity and given me and my team an exciting license to try.

Law Family Adventure - Old memories and new

The dreaded COVID still remains with no obvious ending in sight. Like many we worry for friends interstate and overseas and hope that all stay safe and healthy. Finding ourselves in the July holiday break with no way of traversing across to Victoria my darling angel has thought why not explore our own state. South Australia has a multitude of amazing corners to explore. Last weekend was a delightful escape to the Barossa Valley (my favourite wine country) celebrating 17 years of wedded bliss and my 41 years young. Precious together time we look forward to every single year (and somehow manage to get thanks to a very special couple (we owe you BIG time Ben and Maria))!! This weekend we are on a different adventure. Me and my girls have spread our wings and climbed aboard our KIA to rediscover the Riverland...

So many years ago both Miss H and I fondly remember eating more oranges than ever before and almost dying on the Monash death trap (or should that be playground)... The Big Orange was a memorable experience and of course there was oodles of fun to be found on the wonderful Murray River. Years later sadly the Big Orange is closed (somebody please bring this South Aussie icon back to its previous glory), Monash Playground is no longer a training ground for life and there seems to be a lot less citrus around but I must say this area of our own backyard still has enough for us to think another visit is in order and something we need to schedule sooner not later (like in another ten or twenty years lol). A huge tick from Miss 12 and 11/12 and Miss 10 and a 1/4 makes me even more eager to come back later in the year when the weather is warmer.and we can have even more fun.

Girls and I are also S uper excited to feed the possums at Renmark tonight... Might bring back a playmate for Thumpy, Freddy, Ginger, Max and Patches... I’m sure the kids would love that... Pretty sure Council would love that too.

Celebrate Squidgy Day

Happy Celebrate Squidgy Day everyone! I cannot believe my little niece has turned two. Today was our chance to celebrate with the little cutie. As always it has been a brilliant day at Casa de Crook. My most favourite moment from today was giving the little birthday girl a push on the swing. Her rendition of the birthday song was perfect, topped off with resounding shouts of "Hooray!!!" from both of us.

Such a perfect Saturday; fine food, finer company and everything was focused on little Liv... Man did she know it.

I hope everyone else has had just as perfect a day. I cannot wait to see what Sunday has in store…

Dora's triumphant return

After waiting for Dora and the Lost City of Gold to become available at our local library the Laws bit the bullet and hired it on Big Pond Movies. Was it worth the six or seven dollars? You bet it was!!

I remember the cartoon Dora the Explorer and the spin off about Dora's cousin Diego from when the kids were younger. I learnt many a Spanish phrase watching this show and discovered exactly what it is that mouse named Speedy is actually saying.

What I loved about this movie was the homage to the old TV show and the tongue in cheek way that the cast pulled it off. Some of the scenes are predictable but all of the film is fun.

Something for all ages with this one.

The One that Missed the Boat

I have discovered the Reedsy prompts that I am sent each week do not limit an author to only one submission. Gleefully I banged out two stories this week that I thought were really good (check out my story for both... I hope you enjoy them!) and was going for a third. The prompt "Two people who thought they were the last people left on Earth end up meeting by chance" spurred me on to create a story I titled "Alone".
I knew I had nineteen hours to finish it so thought last night I'd sleep on how I wanted to end it.

I awoke early this morning and logged on to Reedsy to see how long I had and discovered to my dismay the submission window was closed and I had missed the boat. Two submissions is better than none at all but I was hoping to have that third entry in.

Never mind, my wife reminds me regularly that if it were between the quick and the dead I'd rarely be the quick. So since I cannot post to Reedsy I think I'll post it here...

Please enjoy, Alone...

Jason winced as the image on the screen blurred and shimmered. The muscle man paused, his blond head inches from the leading lady but unable to reach. Easing his way out from the makeshift lounge of old cushions, blankets and broken pallet slats Jason waddled over to the television and gave the video player a thump with his fist. The picture leapt back into life and the movie continued. A much younger Jason finally kissed his new wife and the tapping on the champagne flutes ceased as their family and friends erupted with hoots and laughter. This was normal for Jason; this was what normal had looked like the past five years.

Jason had woken up on the morning of April 1^st in the year two thousand to find his wife’s favorite record playing the opening track, scrambled eggs half cooked on the stove. To Jason’s surprise his wife was absent, seemingly disappeared. Ringing around Jason found he could get none of his family or friends. In fact only pre-recorded TV seemed to be showing. There was no radio, only static. Jason ventured out in his navy blue dressing gown and slippers and found the paper was there but no one else was about. It was the usual news, the daily quiz and the sport section was what interested Jason the most. He took the rest of the paper upstairs and left it on the bed as he waited for his wife to return. The record played all the way through and then again as Jason finished cooking his wife her eggs. When they grew cold he reheated them in the microwave and ate them himself.

When the 1^st became the 2^nd and then the 3^rd Jason tried to call the emergency services. His worry tripled when there was no reply, nobody on the other end of the line.

“Hello! Hello!! My wife is missing!” Jason yelled down the empty line.

Desperate he left the house and knocked on neighbors’ doors. No answer. A search for a human, animal, anything else alive drove him to the next town and then the next until finally he found he was wandering lost on an empty beach.

That was two years ago, two long and lonely years. Jason found he was alone; recordings of music, movies, documentaries and cartoons were his only source of company. Jason played his all-time favorite DVDs over and over until the player died. Then he dug out the video recorder and began to repeat anything he had on VHS. The one video he watched the most surprised Jason. It was his wedding day cassette, a memory he previously only suffered through each year on the date that special day. Now he tried to watch it every night, it made him feel for the briefest that life was back to normal. Jason had seen the video that often now the tape was stretching.

From home Jason packed what few things he could fit in his car and then car hopped across the country. North to South it took Jason three months to drive from New York to the Panama and then on to San Antonio in Chile. There he acquired a boat. With nothing to lose Jason sailed across to New Zealand and wept on the Kiwi shores while there as he had no person to tell. It was touch and go as he slowly made his way across to Australia, a journey he’d never attempted before and seemingly never to be tried again. Jason fulfilled a young boyhood dream as he settled in Sydney and wondered what the rest of his strange life had in store. As the world collapsed around him Jason discovered new skills, how to harness solar power, how to repair a gas stove, how to extend the life of packaged goods like meat and bread, how to light and sustain a cooking fire. Life stretched out, long and lonesome.

*

Amelia Johnstone was tinkering in her garage on the evening of April 2^nd in the year two thousand. She was a student at the Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia. She was also highly annoyed at the noisiness of her neighbor.

Smoke on the Water thumped through her home for the third time that night and the thirtieth time that week. Her spanner swiftly secured the final screw on her device. Compact, box-like with a number of wires connecting direct to a naked motherboard the device now only awaited that Amelia flick the on switch.

“This will teach you to tell me to shove it, mate,” Amelia seethed.

The laptop motherboard flared into life and the twin fans began to whir, cooling the chip that controlled the device. It began to shimmer and then vibrate and finally it exploded. Where Smoke on the Water had cracked her garage window, Amelia’s device managed to smash it completely.

Deep Purple’s throbbing track continued to rattle the garage walls as Amelia quickly powered down the motherboard and released a homemade carbon dioxide extinguisher on the burning box. Releasing a scream at her obvious failure Amelia kicked her creation, six months of revenge driven focus. It slid off the counter and broke open across the concrete. Amelia left the mess to clean up later and stormed next door.

Bang, bang, bang! Amelia thundered on the neighbor’s door. The song finally drew to a joyous end. Amelia gave the door another few knocks before she held her breath and wait for the opening bars to painfully begin all over again. Instead there was silence, empty and utterly blissful silence. Curious, Amelia peered through the front room window. The television was still playing and there was a half-eaten supreme pizza. Amelia’s mind pondered how it was the jerk could watch Seinfeld reruns while heavy metal music pounded from his stereo.

“Hey jerk-off! Is anybody home?!” Amelia yelled.

For just over an hour she waited, nothing from the neighbor. Seinfeld became Fraser. Unsure Amelia turned away looking up and down here normally busy street. Brad, the cute guy two doors down was normally bringing in his bin then. Doris who loved her garden wasn’t watering out the front of her house and yet the hose was running freely, half on the driveway and half on the roses. Something was definitely off. A check on these neighbors too proved the street lacked people.

A twelve month search followed where Amelia widened her search parameters in her quest to discover where all the people had gone and to quash her guilty conscience which regularly hinted that the lack of people very much may have related to her black box experiment. Once she had accepted somehow she had wiped out humanity Amelia began searching for a way to reverse her error. There were memorable moments, like the time she turned her hair white and the time she managed to change genders, but none of her experiments managed to reverse the damage done. Giving in, the Tech began to use her true skills to try and reach beyond Melbourne to find out if she truly was alone.

*

Jason pressed pause on the video he had been watching. It was Bill and Ted on some sort of nonsense adventure, the image of the two characters were frozen midway through a game of charades amongst the clouds of heaven. He could have sworn he had just heard his phone ring. Checking the screen he discovered one missed call from an unknown number.

Excited Jason dialed the number.

Amelia picked up immediately.

“Hello?” asked Jason.

“I’m so sorry,” Amelia replied. “This is all my fault.”

A time to remember and give thanks

In Australia and New Zealand today is the day that we take a moment to pause and to thank our armed forces for their sacrifice so that we can live the kind of life we have. 105 years ago the first ANZAC soldiers (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) landed on the shores of Turkey during World War 1. It was not a pretty campaign but it brought two countries very firmly together in mateship and it showed the world the toughness of these foreign fighters as well as their ability to make the best of a bad situation.

Each and every year both countries stop to remember Anzac Day and all the other war and peace efforts of our armed forces. We give thanks, think of those who have been brave enough to put their hand up and say they'll put their life on the line in the name of country.

This year thanks to that dreaded disease there are no gathered crowds, no marches of past and present soldiers but we have instead attended this service in our own way by lighting a candle at the end of our driveways and watching the sun rise as we remeber and give thanks.

In my mind was my Grandfather, John, whom I never had the privilage of meeting. My dad has told a few stories though of how this famer from Tepko (a little community just outside of Murray Bridge) raised his hand when the call came out during World War Two. Grandpa was part of the Royal Australian Air Force. I have seen a photograph of the German submarine he and the crew he belonged to forced to surrender. My Great Aunt as well was a nurse during this same war. I wonder what they saw while so far from home and what stories they could have told, today especially.

There are many soldiers I know serving now, young people around my own age who have shown that same bravery. So to those who have put up there hand yesteryear, now and into the future I just wanted to say thanks.

We shall always remember, we shall always be grateful.

Lest we forget.

2020 proving to be a year of chaos

What a year 2020 has turned out to be for all of us. As fire and flood were prominent in the media we in Australia held our breath and hoped for the best. The Laws and Crooks spent the end of February and early March on our first ever cruise (6 days around Tasmania) and then traveling across Victoria and South Australia revisiting some of our favourite spots. Our timing could not have been better...

Two weeks after our return to normal lives COVID 19 turned the world on its ear. It has been something that started so far away (from Australia) but came upon us so unexpectedly. Now so many have no job and those that do have a job are doing their best to redesign it on the fly so we can still offer the services our communities need when and where they need it (of course all the while keeping that magical 1.5 meters apart).

With hope we watch and wait for when this massive change to the entire world will begin to calm. There is no change in sight yet, it may be a month, it may be longer. My fingers are crossed that normal returns to us all soon. What ever the new normal will be... Too much has been lost already.

A moment of normality in a tide of chaos

It has been so long between posts and for that I am sorry. We have been away traveling farther around the great isle of Australia. I can finally announce I have set foot upon all states and territories of the land down under. Tasmania was my final frontier and thanks to an amazing cruise I was able to finally say I have visited Port Arthur and the Tassie's capital Hobart, it has only taken my 40 or so years. We were incredibly lucky that our cruise and interstate holiday that followed has all occurred before the recent craziness that has overtaken the entire world. We are safe, healthy and very lucky to have seen what we have seen and created so many new family memories. Thank you to my amazing angel Miss H, my trio of wonderful munchkins and the delightful Crooks who have all helped to make that two week holiday so relaxing and just so much fun.

Since then we have had the Toilet Paper Crisis of March 2020 which then somehow morphed into crazy chaos for first China, then Italy and then the rest of the world. The unknown regarding events at work (our local library) followed by news of cancelations has been disappointing (for me as much as for our local community and everyone involved in workshops, events, activities and programs). Libraries do so much now and it is only when you need to stop and then turn around and cancel EVERYTHING that you truly discover how important such a community space actually is. We wait now for further information regarding the nastiness known as COVID-19 with me and many others believing it will get much worse before it starts getting better. A sign of these times is the number of libraries that are closing their doors and refining their services. How can we still meeting the community's needs when we cannot let them in? For now my local library is still open along with other local government services. For now we are offering a little piece of normality.

So after such a horrific week of uncertainty followed quickly by a bombardment of information and a scramble to package the facts for community it was nice to have a day off and a moment to breath. So where do you go to capture a moment of normality. Miss H and I took a trip out to the local primary school and spent the day making fresh lunches for almost the whole student body (100+ kids) and many of the teachers too. Such a great day and so many positive comments. It was great to escape to such a beautiful community and such a caring school.

So if you feel the current chaos is just getting a bit much I thoroughly recommend stepping away for a moment, taking a deep breath and banging out 21 healthy pizzas. It has worked wonders for me...

Feeling fab thanks to the fury of furious fiction

I just found out I made the long list of authors for Australian Writers' Center Furious Fiction competition for January this year (https://www.writerscentre.com.au/furious-fiction/). Where I can share my Reedsy stories easily unfortunately no so with the monthly comp. So for all your enjoyments please find below my long listed effort...

The Devil’s Dress was Emerald Green

Robert Stevens met the girl 10 days after he’d lost his job. He had been an accountant for well over a decade at the firm and it had come as a shock when they said that they had to let him go. Thus it had seemed like serendipity at first, Irish luck or a wish come true when she entered the bar he had gone to with the purpose of drowning his sorrows. She wore his favourite colour and her flaming red hair had instantly caught his attention. She sat down next to him even though there had been many tables vacant at that time of the day.

“Are you Robert Stevens?” she had asked him, her voice sweet, friendly.

He was 9 beers down already by then so he didn’t trust his voice not to slur. He had nodded instead in reply to her question. He had 8 bucks left in his pocket and nothing in the bank so he was eager as could be to hear her offer. There were 7 pages to the contract she placed before him then and the further down the pages he went the finer the print seemed to get. Regardless it only took him 6 seconds to say yes. 5 droplets of his blood were smeared at the bottom of the final page. He had thought to himself when the door closes you just have to open a window.

“Feels like I’m signing my life away,” he laughed as his finger traced his signature from the crimson drops.

“You’re doing more than that,” she replied with a gorgeous smile.

It took him 4 attempts gather up enough courage to enter the bank she had specified when she had promised him riches beyond his wildest dreams. When he stepped back out on the street again his arms were full of cash, a smoking gun was in his hand and there were 3 bodies left in his wake. The first had been an off duty cop, then a mother of three and finally a beloved local school teacher.

Only 2 of the major news channels covered the story as the manhunt for him began. For only a few days he was on the run. By the end he had spent at least half the dough sneaking across the country. They found him holed up somewhere near the border to Mexico. He was there waiting with his girl at his side. The last thing he heard before the bullets began to fly was her 1 little secret. She was the Devil and his heart and soul both belonged to her.

Fun with Will and Tom... Another Law family movie day at our local cinema

The Laws caught the shorts to a new family film while we were at our local the Cameo Cinema to watch Jumanji. The animated spy film staring the voices of Fresh Prince Will Smith and Spider Man himself (at least until the next reboot) Tom Holland had encapsulated all of our interest. Therefore it was only natural that the Laws returned to the movies to see Spies in Disguise.

Firstly I can say that thankfully the shorts for this movie we had seen did not even cover the number of scenes that caught my interest or caused me and others to laugh out loud. It follows the spy movie formula and has the regular cast of characters you expect to see covered but it has Will Smith hamming up his cool factor and it has Tom Holland super geek going all out to keep on par with the Fresh Prince and in my opinion nailing it.

A great family film and one that all five of us thoroughly enjoyed and all for our own reasons. Yes, it is safe to say this film has something for everyone. Be you 5 or 55 or even 105 I am sure you will find reason to laugh, to gasp and to make the cutesy awwwwwww face. Watch Spies in Disguise because it is almost two hours of just plain fun.

Spies in Disguise - 4 super spies out of 5...