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...

So proud today

So proud to be a part of the Law/Gallasch family, proud to be a husband and dad and extremely proud to be a Murray Bridgian. Today was a day off for our family, no work, no school. Instead of lazing away this Sunday keeping cool my amazing wife used her magical FaceBook powers to gather together much needed townships affected by the recent South Australian bushfires. Finally I am proud of my father in law and mother in law who will be dropping off the remaining goods so they can go to those families doing it toughest.

I am super proud of my amazing wife, her efforts enabled us to take a full people mover to where it was needed most. Our first stop saw soft drinks, water and cordial passed on to families doing it tough and to the volunteers who are trying their hardest to help. I am super proud of my two daughters, Miss 12 and Miss 9 who stared out the window as we passed by black paddocks and houses that had collapsed due to the chaotic horrors of fire only days before. I am extremely proud of the people of the town I live in and the close by towns who have raided their pantry or transferred money so we could do a quick shop today for all of those necessities you don't know you need until fire steals them from you.

I didn't fight the fires. I didn't rally together the efforts. I was able to drive that overloaded KIA to where it was needed and help load and unload all those donated items. I tell you what, the drive home was far lighter and easier than the one this morning.

Thank you Law/Gallasch team! Thank you Country Fire Service and Metropolitan Fire Service firefighters and staff! Thank you to all those amazing people who have donated to help. A specially thank you to my beautiful and amazing wife and daughters for keeping my faith in humanity strong. You have huge hearts and I love you so much.

The Laws go to the movies - Does Jumanji take it to the next level and how adorable is Abominable

Today was super hot in South Australia so where better to take the family but the local cinema. Our local, the Cameo was showing Jumanji The Next Level, sequel to Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle. So in what is supposedly Jack Black's final fling on the big screen did Jumanji take it beyond level one..?

Honestly I found the film to be really good. It was entertaining throughout with only a few words that caused Miss 9 to question their appropriateness. The characters were similar from the first (Welcome to the Jungle) but with enough of a change to continue the entertainment. If you liked the original remake then you'll enjoy this one as well. Are these films better than the original Jumanji..? Perhaps not better in my opinion but different enough that I have not spent the whole time focusing on what was done better in the original and where the remakes shone out. All I can say is watch all three and enjoy all three for the fun films they are.

While the day went on and only seemed to get hotter my brilliant Queen Miss H came up with the wondrous idea of pizza and a DVD in air conditioned comfort. Mummy of the year last holidays took the girls to the big screen to see Abominable, a Dreamworks animation about the yeti. Master 13 and I missed out, but at the time I was not too worried. Upon hearing all the fun and adventure in the movie from our girls I was suddenly keen to watch and disappointed I'd missed out. Thankfully the whole family was happy to see what Abominable had in store for us and I was glad to see it had heart, laughs and loads of family focused fun.

Jumanji The Next Level - Four irreparable consoles out of a possible five

Abominable - Four and a half dandelions out of five

Memories of Mum

Christmas Day is always one of mixed emotions for me. With three kids growing up so quickly we are hanging on to the magic of the silly season. The innocence of kids and their pure and creative imagination in my opinion generates the magic of Christmas. It helps that we have younger nieces and a very young nephew to make sure that the magic stays alive for many years to come. Sadly my family lost some one special on Christmas day ten years ago which of course has made it difficult to completely.

The day after Christmas I headed to the local cemetery today with my daughter by my side. It blows my mind to think my daughter was born three months after mum passed away. I loved this afternoon chatting with Boo about all the wonderful memories I have of my mum... Keeping the magic and the memory alive...

A challenging time as fires burn

Australia is under attack and it is Mother Nature who is on the front line offensive... The fires in New South Wales have been in our thoughts and prayers but it was the scrub blaze that has sprung up in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia that has affected many loved ones. Family have needed to evacuate as things have gotten very much too close for comfort. Even now the fires in that area just won't go out, erratic winds are causing havoc and it is an utter nightmare for the brave souls that are there fighting.

My fingers, toes and everything else are very firmly crossed that things will settle down and that everyone can have a safe Christmas and New Year but there are already many who are mourning the loss of family, a business gone, not having a home or worried sick not knowing... The not knowing is the worst torture...

Sadly there is little to no cool and calm weather in sight. As we all prepare for the chaos of the silly season let us all spare a thought for those suffering while the fires still burn.