Combination Style!

So I've been really slack recently and haven't been putting anything up. It's not for any real reason, I've just been slack. I could blame a few different things. Not being at home as much. My brother David playing WoW constantly. Not eating properly. Not having enough time. Not having anything of any real interest to put up. But that's just not true. And when have I ever had something of real interest to put up anyway?

So the fete was a smashing good time. To the hater out there who suggested that rain might wash out the festivities, you were wrong! It did rain, but it wasn't a big deal. Everything still went ahead as planned, so that was good. The only hiccup was with the placement of the barbecue. I suggested that underneath the awning wouldn't be the best place, but it was kept there. To start off with. Soon smoke was billowing down the hallways of the childcare centre. The damage had been done. The smoke was there to stay. It hung in a cloud just below the ceiling for a while. It eventually dissipated after the barbecue was moved out into the open air.

The mothers and grandmothers of the centre had been busy for a week by the look of the baked goods stall. There was literally hundreds of items. Biscuits, cakes, slices, brownies, macaroons, coconut ice. It was awesome. I stocked up on several items at the start of the day. What's the point in having a fete if you can't have your pick at the produce first? So that was terrific.

The trash and treasure stall was also well stocked. We had many different items. Toys, clothes, accessories. Most of it was for the under fives, and that was okay. At the end of the day almost everything in this stall was gone as well. The last of it we will donate to one of the charities. Lifeline? The Salvos?

So there was a few stalls. A lucky dip. Face painting. A few short performances from the rooms. Activities for the parents and their kids. A sausage sizzle (it was actually a sausage sissle because whoever was doing the sign stuffed it up).

One of the highlights was Johnny the Jester. He was a magician kind of guy. He had a dove. And a rabbit. Stu the Rabbit. Apparently he also had a snake, but I didn't get to see it. Leonie was lucky enough to see his snake. She said that I could have seen it if I wanted to. All I had to do was ask to see his snake, and he would have taken me into the office and shown me. Maybe I'll get lucky next time. It was a great show though, and I'd recommend him, even without his snake.

Eventually the good time of the mini fete had to come to an end though. When it did I was extremely proud of the work that Louise and the mothers of the parent's committee had put in. The day was an enormous success and it couldn't and wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for them. Even the cleaning up went smoothly. So now we know that it is possible, and we can do it again, and improve upon it. Did I mention that we had well over a hundred people come on down? And that we raised over $1200? Next year I think we'll have to get the South East Advertiser onto it. Ha!

So that was Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon was spent in bed as after all the excitement of the morning, I needed a bit of a lie down. There was still some excitement to be had that day though.

Sunday night was spent at Ribets with the Martells. It was good. I ate a lot of ribs. Not so much pizza. I was disappointed to see that the crazy lady who used to work there is no longer there. She was a very harried person. Or at least she looked it. You never know do you?

The other disappointing thing about Ribets was the discovery that Boggo Road jail is no longer there. I still remember when I was a boy and the inmates broke out of their cells but not out of the jail. What they did was climb up onto the roof. They spent a few days up there. So I don't think that the prison is still there.

Back to work on Monday. Everyone was still excited about the mini fete. The kids. The parents. The staff. It was nice.

I can't really recall too much else about that day.

Actually, the whole week is kind of hazy. I saw Kenny one night. Then my brother got punched up. We had a staff meeting. I hung out with Ria. I found out that swimming squad is no longer being conducted at the Coorparoo pool which really bummed me out. I'll have to find something else to do. Or somewhere else to go.

Friday night I tried to watch the movie The Grudge. I'd forgotten how much I dislike scary movies. At least the first time through. When I know what bad stuff is going to happen, I think that I become more okay with it. Only just though. So I actually missed quite a lot of the movie. I had my fingers in my ears and my eyes closed. I am a big wussy. I don't care. Did you know that a wussy is a mixture of a wimp and a pussy? You didn't? Well now you do. And you know I am one.

Saturday was a big day. I had sardines with tomato sauce on toast for breakfast with Ria. It was new and good. I took Ria to work then went home. At home I did some washing and then played around for a while. Killing some time. Then the rain started pouring. I was supposed to be meeting up at the Ship Inn for Nick and Stumpy's farewell. When I saw the rain coming down it disheartened me. I was really looking forward to drinking beers in the daytime with the sun and the world passing us by. It wasn't to be. After some complications with regard to the venue we ended up at the Pineapple. Once we were there we didn't leave for quite some time. We started off with a steak to give ourselves a chance for the coming onslaught. I survived the night. Others didn't. In fact, there were some early casualties. The toilets weren't the same after Nick had a shot. Someone else worked the urinal over. It was all class. I ran into an old face later in the night. David Sneddon. I spoke to him about something for quite a while. It was good.

Later on in the night I was talking more crazy bullshit with other people. I don't exactly recall what to who, but I know that at the death of the night I wasn't making sense. In true Nick style there was an altercation as he was leaving the hotel. Something about old men and walking frames. I'm going to miss the drama that Nick brings to life. His story has more twists than your better soap operas. He's an incredible guy to have around.

Sunday was a day of rest. I didn't feel so hot in the morning. I didn't feel so hot in the afternoon. I did start to feel better later in the evening. I had half a chicken from Nandos. That's about it.

Today has been a good day. I had an egg on toast for breakfast. Some coffee. Then I went to work. Work was fun. Some days everything just seems easy. Everyone seems friendly. Today was one of those days. It was great. The girl at the bakery had her birthday on the weekend. It went through til 8 in the morning. At 10:30 she had to go to her son's soccer break up.

Tonight we had a family meeting and it's interesting to see how they're working out now. There are still the same problems that have always been there. There are still the egos. There are still the hopeless pitched battles that descend into no result. Good times. People still pretending not to listen. No-one being willing to look at one another, half the time because they know that if they do they will break out into hysterics.

I'm excited that Oz is back on tonight. There's an Indian festival I'm pretty keen to go to on the weekend.