First five impressions of the World Cup ...

1.Early mornings and late nights.

My plan of watching every minute of the World Cup just like in those student days when getting up in the morning wasn't an issue, or the cup was in Europe has failed miserably after only five days. While most UK blog readers can enjoy afternoon and evening games I'm having to contend with 9:30pm 12:00am and 4:30am games. My birthday present of a coffee machine has been getting a work out! The sofa has a me shaped imprint on it and I have crashed and burned a couple of times. Managed to get out and down to the social club with some friends on Monday morning at 4:30am ... more on that later!

2. Robert Green.

You've got to feel sorry for the guy. Goal keeper makes one mistake ... even a howler of one! ... and gets hammered, striker misses clear opportunities ... yes you Heskey ... and nothing much is said. Probably not a bad result .. you would think that England should win the next two (should!) but the quality of the performance is more of a concern. Lets just hope Capello has the boys starting slowly and ready for the long haul. England never seem to do anything easy!

Here's the Lego version of Robert Green in action...



3. The Vuvuzela!!!!

I watched a warm up game between Denmark and Australia before the world cup started and stated that the horn thing would be the sound of this World Cup, and it pretty much has been constant throughout the first five days! Personally I'd prefer to some chanting but when in JoBurg do as the South Africans do. My fear is that they might creep back into the English game via suitcases or Sainsbury's who were selling one every two seconds at the weekend! ... Don't get me started on the oversized glasses and the miners hats!

4. A lesson in German

As I said I went out at 4:00am to watch the Socceroos take on Germany on Monday. Football or Soccer (winces!) as they call it here is about the third or fourth most popular sport here after Rugby League, Australian Rules and Rugby Union. After astrong showing last time in Germany the country was hoping for a repeat performance. However the wheels came off in the first game against Germany losing 4-0 and having their best player red carded (I've some experience of knowing how this feels!) Despite all the England Australia rivalry and banter I take no satisfaction out of seeing them struggle ... its so important that they do well for the future of the game here. I'll continue wearing my Socceroos shirt (... a present honestly!) for at least another two games anyway!

5. Three Lions... 

When this song was first released it was thirty years of hurt ... now its forty four and counting! Here's this years effort ...



Everyone seems to know the score
They've seen it all before
They just know
They're so sure

That England's gonna
Throw it away
Gonna blow it away
But I know they can play

.. still dreaming in 2010! ;0)

Growing up so fast ...

Charlie is four months now and starting to reach those milestones, sometimes they are easy to miss. But there are some tell tell signs...

... some of the clothes you wear are just that little bit more snug!

... you start stitting up and taking notice of things! A room with a view?

... you can touch all four sides of your craddle at once. Time for the upgrade!

Off to school ...

After the long weekend celebrating the Queens Birthday its back into routine for a couple of weeks before the school holidays start. Here's a picture of Alfie on the way to Pre School with his "Big Boy Bag" so that three year old melt downs can be avoided when he can't get his bag out of the previous one!

Building progress ...

With the painting finished and the carpet down it was time to pack up the bedroom and move to the new one! With some helping hands from Ross, Mitchel and Alfie we managed to get everything dismantled and reassembled.

Its great having the new room complete with somewhere to put our clothes... or should that read put all my clothes. Beth had claimed much of the space in the old room, you need to when you own about thirty pairs of flip flops (AUS = thongs!) Most of my clothes ended up in Alfie's wardrobe which made getting the school shirts a slow and silent high risk job!

I put up all the shelves in the new walk in and with some culling of non essential and "not worn since we've been here" items everything now fits. Getting dressed in the morning is now a much smoother process as you can find everything and even put on a light!!!

The old bedroom is now being converted into the bar lounge where the hope is you can enjoy a cold beer and walk around barefooted without risk of tripping over toys!

Next job includes getting the plumber back to fix the leaking toilet cistern and the painting of Alfie's room. When complete its a new floor before another weekend is spent moving furniture. This will then free up his old room to be used as an office which will allow us then to reclaim the room formaly known as the Dining Room!

Building progress ...

Building progress has been slow since the builders moved out and the painter ... moi! ... moved in. Working getting anything done around a working week, Saturday football coaching, being husband and father of two has been hard! Still there has been some progress due in part to some sustained effort, a supporting role by Beth and contributions from friends ... even if their only motivation was getting me a leave pass so that I could go to the pub! Even Alfie has mucked in with his own paint roller and wood filler...

Hopefully my next blog post should be a picture of a completed room finished off with paint, carpet and furniture. Its been a long time coming...

Month by Month ...

A lot to say ...

... for a little fella!

Hand Eye Coordination ...

Charlie is on a fairly steep learning curve as most four month olds are. A couple of weeks ago he discovered his own arm...

... kept him entertained for hours! ;0)

Hard life aint it ...

Charlie continues to do well, although his sleeping habit (... or lack of sleeping habit!) causes some fustration and sleepless nights. He takes in everything of the world around him, particularly if big brother is involved! He had some jabs today marking the end of four fantastic months.

He's a great baby and Alfie is the perfect big brother. Think we might be done there though ... as they say two is company three is out of the question! ;0)

Big Boys School ... well nearly!

With Alfie due to start with me at school in January its time to get him used to a little more structure in his day. Family day care has been great for him but the groups are small and I think he has a fairly free reign! So its off to big boys pre school school one day a week for a bit of routine and school preparation.



He seemed to enjoy the day although he was soon in trouble after breaking the ranks of the line to collect his snack!! He has been repeating the mantra "No running inside ... run outside!' ever since. He also tested the patience by having the cheek to remove a block from the "block corner." When he was told off he put his hands over his ears ..... !!! I'm sure he'll settle down as the weeks go past ... and cause daddy a little less embarassment when he really does make it to big boys school in January.