Getting ready for the Murray Bridge Christmas Pageant

We are getting ready to attend the wonderful Murray Bridge Christmas Pageant. Once again we have one of the kids on a float and friends and family on other floats. I'll be walking beside my daughter on the Girl Guide float, my waving and smiling muscles are already warmed up!!

I love the Murray Bridge Pageant, the way that the community gets involved, the chalk pictures on the Main Street that last for weeks and weeks after, the Power FM (local radio station) car with a trailer at the back shaped like a boom box, Olaf the snowman, Unity College with its two trucks with the bands blasting out Christmas Carols, the cute floats of kindy kids and schools and other businesses and of course the big man himself in the sleigh pulled by an old tractor...

Once more I am sure my son will be set up, poised ready to gather together a hoard worth of lollies and other candies enough to last him til the next Christmas Pageant. Of course he will whinge when we, his parents tell him he needs to share with his sisters...

The heat is already making us titchy, I can see the mad dash for the door and all the stresses involved with finding a carpark close enough that we don't need to walk far. It will all be worth it though when the first float slowly meanders past the stoplights and heads down our Main Street, the first person waves and smiles and yells out that they know you (and could they have some lollies, please?)
So bring on the frolicking, festivities and fantasticness of fun… Let the pageant begin!!!

Heading back to the 80s with Axel Foley

One of the TV stations is replaying the Beverly Hills Cop films. A couple of nights ago was the first one and tonight is the sequel. I fondly remember watching these films as a young kid, but do not recall there being so much swearing...

Eddie Murphy is really cool as the laid back Foley and I just love that soundtrack. The theme song, Axel F is award winning and just so catchy. And that laugh...

Cheers to you Eddie Murphy! We need a rebirth of your Axel Foley role...

Trick or Treat... Don't Smell my Feet!!

I love the way that our local community has embraced Halloween. Firstly our friends took costuming to a whole new level. A great party to lead up to a fun filled Monday. Even before this in the foyer at work we had a cool looking frightful display. Today though as the sun sets out came the ghosts, ghouls and other little freaky creature. My fav would have to be the little Christmas Elf with a Skeletor face... Such a horrid sight but underneath a cheeky charming smile...

I know there are people out there who dismiss this night as too American, for us and many others like us though it is just another excuse to have a bit of fun and enjoy life. So everybody please have a fantastic phantasmic night tonight!

HHHHOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 100th to a great man

As this crazy wind whirls around us and my eFacebook page has pictures of my brothers, cousins and aunties and uncles sharing a drink I type this post one handed with a half glass of port in my left. Tonight we celebrate John Boog, a man who would have turned 100 years, a man I am proud to say was my Opa.

We loved heading to Goolwa every Easter, Christmas and any other time. It meant a crazy catch up with cousins, a couple of days with the calm, gorgeous, family friendly Goolwa Beach only a five minute stroll through the dunes, but it also meant time spent with our Opa and Oma.

My favourite Opa memory is a super fast go cart coloured red and blue that my brother and I created with mum and Opa. We got some old pram wheels, some bits of wood that were lying around in the shed and with a bit of spray paint and some Opa know how a go cart appeared in an afternoon. My brother and I pushed each other in that thing for hours. Best toy ever and we all made it together.

If you knew Opa you would be smiling now. An amazing man would have been 100 today. No war, relocation of family or any other troubles seemed to get him down. He was a mechanic, confidant, card shark, children's entertainer, but a plumber by trade.

Tonight we raise a glass in your honour. Opa, happy 100th! Long may you live in glory!

Putting my hat back into the ring

I have found it! My best chance yet to see my novel The Eleventh Tome in print, hopefully coming to libraries and bookshelves around the world soon... Well perhaps that last statrement is a bit premature...

A month or so ago I stumbled across a publishing company based in Sydney named Pantera Publishing (Google search for unsolicited manuscripts). I love how this compnay has the same name as a hardcore metal band which had me headbanging in my younger years to some tribal drumbeats and thrashed out guitar riffs. I love even more though that this company exists to give new authors with new ideas a fair go.

If you have been sitting on a polished gem of a novel that all your friends tell you is amazing but you cannot seem to get it beyond the 'slush pile' of the well known publishers definitely check out Pantera
and see how you go.

Wish me luck!!

October: The month that just seems to fly past us...

What a month October has already proven to be. Spring still cannot seem to decide if it wants to be winter or summer, mostly though it seems to just want to be wet.

After our amazing few weeks in September creating super special family memories it was back down to earth again with a crash for me. Tuesday the 4^th found me back at work, a bit of a surreal experience as my wife and the kids were still enjoying holidays. I got my best pirate voice ready for the holiday activity I was running with a colleague and made an appearance. After a normal weekend there is always a general library tidy before we open (great team bonding exercise where everyone pitches in). After a holiday on the Monday there were even more returns to deal with on top of the usual tidy. Add to this an absence of two fulltime staff and a meeting booked for the space where we were planning to run the buccaneer fun and suddenly a normal morning became battle stations… All hands on deck.

These past two weeks have been like the spring weather, crazy chaos at work and holiday slowdown at home. Full credit to the amazing girls I work with who have all pitched in where and when needed and also put up with a jumpy, panicked, wild-eyed Team Leader without too much complaint. Full credit also to my amazing family who have kept me grounded, life goes on whether daddy is at work or not.

I’m happy to say that our school holiday program at work had a few youngsters entertained. I’d like to put on more of a show in January however and try to get our numbers back up again, some of the kids booked in unfortunately never showed (probably due to the weather washing them away). We have been contacted by a local gardening club that the library has worked with in the past a couple of times with great success on every occasion. I’d also like to look at another session of Australian animals visiting the library and to connect with our multicultural community it would be great to look at a Chinese puppet show too. So many great options, I cannot wait…

Last Friday night we were finally able to run our after-hours wine and cheese night with famous radio announcer John Ovenden. John organized for us a stellar cast to perform two of his short plays, Fame and Fortune. It was great to see between 50 and 60 people attend, enjoying both performances and also local Willow Point wines and South Australian cheeses during the intermission. Full credit to the Friends of the Murray Bridge Library without whose support this event would never have occurred and also much thanks is owed by me to the amazing library team that I work with. You girls are a great bunch to work with and offer me so much support. Also to my amazing wife Heidi, thank you also for giving me the freedom to try new ideas and thank you for taking on so much at home, you are and always will be my angel.

Finally this weekend has found us a family of seven as my two nieces have come to stay. Ben and Maria, happy belated wedding anniversary. So glad we could finally pay you back. I have a feeling the smallest one will never let me change a nappy again…

Well I guess it is now off to help another of our tiny friends to celebrate a birthday. I am so happy that a local business for kids has been given a second chance. With some luck hopefully the community of Murray Bridge with support Scallywags and its new managers. During the week there were kids everywhere down by the river for a family fun day run by our local AC Care (an amazing day with something for everyone) so there are definitely young families around in large enough numbers to make a business like Scallywags a success. I just wish they would all come down and visit us (at the library! Not at home!!!)

Bring on the adventures of the next two weeks, back to school, whole school camp and preparing at work for a visit from the amazing and wonderful rural romance wonder Rachael Treasure.

Bring it on!!!

My final post for September... Home again safe and sound

Home at last, our final day of our epic family adventure. Naracoorte gave us power last night (major improvement on when we first arrived) so we watched The Angry Birds movie with the kids (better than I expected, kinda funny actually) and then TRIED to watch X-Men Armageddon (just Heidi and I) after we sent the kids to bed. Yummy steak for tea BBQ style and two movies was a great way to spend the evening together as a family.

Next morning more rain... Packing the car was interesting fun but we were on the road by 9:30 with the Naracoorte Big 4 cabin cleaning crew hovering at our doorstep. Early lunch at Keith was nice but it was a disappointment for the kids with it being too wet for the roller coaster (next time kids...)

I have never ever felt so happy to see Cosi' Rhino at Tailem Bend or the roadworks along Morris Road (just around the corner from our place). Thanks to Jess for looking after our two fury kids and thanks to Lynda for a house that looked and smelled as fresh as daisies as we walked through the front door. A final thanks to my darling princess Miss Heidi who planned this amazing holiday and drove so many kilometres to get us to where we needed to go. A gallant effort M'lady, you are amazing my love.

Now comes the hangover from the time away as living out of suitcases, so much time on the road and seeing sooooooooooooo many amazing things catches up with us. I already feel Sumonday (when Sunday stops feeling like Sunday and you start dreading Monday back to work) creeping into my thoughts... Craft with kids with a pirate spin, a wine and cheese night and then two well known authors all coming up over the next few weeks. There is definitely no dull moments ahead of me.

This finally completes a month of posts, one a day. I cannot believe I did it. Don't expect more than four of five posts next month. Signing off home safe and sound, Trippin Timmy.