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L-R: Jamie, Chase and other climbers on the top of
the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 14 December 2009
Jamie's friend, Chase, had been given a double bridge climb ticket and was going to go with his older brother but the older brother was fiddling about getting back to Chase so he offered the ticket to Jamie.
The boys took the train down to town and their climb started at 12:30 but not before they were all breathylised.
Now he sits during the news, where the newsreaders on most channels sit in front of a pic of the bridge, saying, "I've climbed that bridge," "See that bridge? I climbed that," and "Did you know the bridge is made of only straight bits of metal?"
I responded to an incident call on Friday afternoon. It was just about 1pm when the pager went off saying there had been a smoke sighting and could crews gather awaiting further instructions. I'd meant to put my PPE in the back of the car that morning but had forgotten so I had to drive all the way home (and wouldn't the roads be just CLOGGED with slow drivers???), get my kit then drive back in to Springwood and to our shed. Luckily the others waited for me.
We then headed back out here to the Winmalee shed (I could have met the others there) and sat there until after 6 when we were tasked to go and relieve Karen's brigade who were watching the fire from Faulconbridge Point. And there we sat, taking regular weather readings until after midnight when we were relieved by a Valley Heights crew. We'd whiled the time away by having dinner - those tightwads at Winmalee didn't think to feed us - we got the generator started and made ourselves toasted sandwiches and cuppas.
Pete L, Tracey and I got ourselves comfy on the rocks and played I Spy (two goes each and we were out of ideas) and The Prime Ministers Cat.
Pete McD. had been banging on about setting up his hammock all afternoon. I thought he was joking until I saw this : I'd put my name down for the 6am crew on Saturday so was up and out again before 5:45 having got home after 1:30am. Again we were tasked to sit watching from Faulconbridge Point and taking weather readings every hour. I was armed with a book this time which I got a little bit read of and Holly played Uno with Craig. We were relieved some time after midday by Karen's lot again and headed home.
Shortly after we were back on the bitumen again and just outside Robbie's school we came across a car accident. A young girl had gone head first into a power pole and there was a live wire on the ground. No one was hurt luckily. We put witches hats on the road to keep people away from the power line and did traffic duty while waiting for the NSW Fire Brigade and the Police to come.
It was a hot, exhausting day and although we had a street party on and I was supposed to be going out with the school Mums, I just went to bed and tried to sleep.
The boys went with Jamie's friend Scott to their first concert last night - Lamb of God at Luna Park. They had a great time they said. They went down on the train but Ian went down in the car to bring them back, I didn't think it would be wise for them to be travelling home by themselves late at night.
Ishbel was supposed to be going to Carols by Candlelight with her friend Zanny but they had a bit of a falling out and she ended up coming home. She and I watched an episode of The Goodies before we both went to bed.
Jamie came home with his school photos this week. They came in a lovely presetation booklet that included this page which gave me a giggle.
The quote reads: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" and it appears from this page that the quote comes from both Nelson Mandela AND our Jamie.
I don't remember Jamie telling me about meeting this great man but then he never tells me anything about what happens at school.
Jamie and I have our names down for our brigade's HR tomorrow morning. Hoping the weather holds out for us - getting conditions right can be very tricky - it can't be too wet or too windy or too dry or too hot.
Should have posted this earlier in the week but it's been frantic . . .
Jamie passed his driving test on Tuesday and is now on his P plates - red ones for 2 years (speed limited to 90Km/h) and then green Ps for 1 year (speed limited to 100Km/h)
We were supposed to be going to Killarney Heights today to meet up with Genevieve, Jenny and Sue that I used to work with in the Dept. Medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital but Ishbel has succumbed to the lergy now. I was thinking I'd go anyway but Ishbel didn't want me to go. Robbie wasn't very happy - he told Ishbel to 'man up'.
She was spiking a temperature last night. I can never get her to take medicine; she must deep down somewhere remember that she spent her first 12 months on daily antibiotics which we used to have to force down her throat with the aid of a syringe. Such a contrast from the boys who would take anything and if one of them had medicine the other had to have a spoonful of yoghurt so he wouldn't feel left out.
In the end last night, worried her temp. was a bit high, I got 5mls down her by mixing it into a tub of yoghurt. Even then she carried on like a two bob watch. Only the threat of having to go to hospital and have a drip put in got her to co-operate, tearfully.
Anyway, she's feeling better today, still hacking with the cough but not febrile. We all stayed in bed until after 10 this morning - in our bed - me, Ian, Ishbel, Bella and Josie (who snores by the way!) Robbie got up and dressed, all set for our day out, but then went back to bed in disgust.
Jamie is out at Graeme and Kim's at the moment at their re-enactment group. He's pleased the day trip is off or he would have had to miss it.
The winter school holidays have started so the kids are off for the next two weeks. Luckily Ian is still off post op - he has a follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Thursday - and I will take the second week off so no need for Ishbel to go to Tanderra this holidays.
Have spent the past two days going down to the city as Ian was booked in for his operation yesterday.
Ishbel, Ian and I left the house just around nine yesterday morning. We arrived quite early for the operation as we'd not been sure how long it would take us to get to the hospital, St.Lukes, in the eastern suburbs (Pott's Point). We had a fair bit of hanging about but everyone was very pleasant. Dr Hargraves came out between operations to say hello and for a little chat - told us how the fires in Victoria were affecting his grapes - all that smoke gets into the fruit and you can't make wine from them - apparently!
Eventually Ian went off to theatre about 2:30pm and Ishbel and I wandered off to find a late lunch. We took a while to find somewhere and we did that only after we'd walked around for a while and then we found what she was looking for (chips) near to where we started! We did, however, also find the British Lolly Shop and shared an Irn Bru and McCowans Highland Toffee bar for dessert!! Finding a nice spot to eat our lunch wasn't easy either. As we walked past the entrance to a church, Ishbel noticed the front porch and steps of the church were chocabloc with people lying on mattresses - "who are those people?" - her first experience of homelessness. Not an easy one to explain.
We sat in the car for a while listening to a talking book then went back to the hospital. We could see Ian through the Recovery Room window. We were able to go up to his room to wait for him coming back up which he did about 1/2 an hour or so later. He had a block on his arm so he was in no pain at all but had a PCA (Patient Controlled Analgesia) machine so that he could dose himself if and when he did get sore.
It was when Ishbel and I headed home that the fun began. There are a lot of one way roads around that part of the city so getting home was not straight-forward. We ended up at one point with a choice of taking the bridge over to the northern suburbs and north coast, or the tunnel!! Neither thanks. Went through the city somewhere and ended up going the other way, headed for Bondi. Very wrong! Finally found a space I could stop and look at the map which was difficult because of the glare off the shiny paper. I'd nearly asked Catherine if I could borrow her Tom Tom - wishing dearly by now that I had. FINALLY got to Cleveland Street and on a route I recognised. Yay. It was just around 9pm when we got in at home.
And then we had to turn around and do it all again this morning! At least we didn't come home via Bondi because Ian was able to navigate. We did, though, only get to the hospital in one run because Ishbel had been paying attention yesterday and remembered which way to turn. Good girl.
Ian is back home with a big bandage round his wrist. He has to keep it on until about the 16th when he goes back to see Dr Hargraves and then he will probably get a plaster cast put on.
We'd left Robbie at home ill the past two days. This morning he fainted getting out of the shower. He managed to crawl back to bed and didn't tell me until about 1/2 an hour later. I couldn't make him a GP appointment - they are all booked out so I will have to ring at 8am tomorrow to see if we can get a cancellation. He seems a bit better this evening and is up watching TV just now.
Jamie came home from school this afternoon and went straight to bed, not feeling well.
And Ishbel has been complaining of a sore throat for the past couple of days.
I'm fine! Just might not be at work again tomorrow unless this lot get well.
Got our computer back on Thursday. They still hadn't looked at it (a week later) when Ian called after work. As he told them, they'd had it longer than we had at that stage. They said they'd get on to it and rang back later to say it was good to go. Seems ok so far but we'll see . . . any more trouble and I'll insist on my money back.
Friday night we went up to Jamie's school to see the musical. Jamie is working as stage crew. The musical they are doing is "Into the Woods" (Wikipedia entry) and it's a 'fractured fairytale'. It involves the Baker and his Wife who, in order to have a baby, need to go into the woods and collect one red cape (from Little Red Riding Hood), one snow white cow (Jack of the Beanstalk's best friend), some hair yellow as corn (from Rapunzel) and a golden slipper (Cinderella's). All the fairytale folk are in it; the Big Bad Wolf and Grandma, Prince Charming and his brother, the Wicked Stepmother and Stepsisters, the Giant.
A friend's son is playing one of the princes ("I'm charming, not sincere"). He's a tall, handsome boy with curly hair and dark eyebrows which he put to good use, hamming it up with the audience. Adam planted his feet on that stage and owned it; he was very funny. He and the other prince, a friend of Jamie's, sang a duet that quite stole the show (unhappily, Jamie said last night Adam was off-key for that song which brought Matt undone too and it was not good). The cow was also hilarious.
At the end of the show everyone went home happy. The Baker and his Wife had collected everything and were to have their baby and the Princes had found their Princesses, Jack had been reunited with Snowy White the Cow.
Only it wasn't the end of the story. Just the intermission. After the break, the Princes were not so enamoured of their Princesses (Rapunzel was constantly in tears), the other Prince had a crush on the sleeping Snow White only couldn't get near her because of the dwarf guarding her, Charming fancied the Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood's Granny had gone missing (again) and the wife of the giant that Jack had slayed was on the rampage looking for Jack.
It was all good fun and Ishbel has a crush on Adam now I think although her highlight was seeing Jamie each time he rushed across the stage, moving props.
Saturday had Ian and Jamie up at the crack of nothing to be across town for his AFL game. Jamie apparently played well and got a Coach's award : "James Coquhoun played his best game of the season and is this week's deserved recipient of the prestigious "Green Car" award". You can read the full Under 18s match report here. (No idea what the Green Car thing is . . .)
Rob went off up to Katoomba yesterday afternoon to the annual Winter Magic Festival with some friends. He stayed overnight at Leigh's house, Ian and Jamie are just away to fetch him home just now.
They are also taking home Ishbel's friend, Britney, who stayed the night. Only lots of threats (from both sets of parents) got them asleep before 10pm. Ishbel has had a lot of sleepovers, either here or at her various friends' houses lately, I think we may have to have a break for a week or so; she's just not getting enough sleep.
This afternoon I am off up to Katoomba for my book group meeting. We are having a fundraiser quiz for the MS Society in addition to our usual book chat. The fundraiser is called Throw the Book @ MS and all we had to do was register with them and they sent out all the questions. We held the quiz night with my Springwood book group at the beginning of the month and raised over $150. Unfortunately, we had to pay back Catherine $77 of that for wine prizes that she'd bought so next year we'll either not borrow, or make donations of prizes.
That book group we opened up to friends and family. We charged a $5 entry fee then I managed to squeeze extra money from people by charging 50c each time they called out an answer (they had to ping and then wait for me to invite them to answer), charging 50c each time they got a wrong answer and by charging $1 if they wanted to buy an answer or point - they were collecting sweeties - each correct answer, or $1 fee earned a sweetie with the team with the most sweeties being declared the winners. The Katoomba group weren't wanting to open up the meeting but we decided on a $10 entry fee and when I told them how I'd squeezed the extra out of the others they agreed to the extra squeeze so hopefully we'll raise a fair bit more for MS.
I started reading one of those Cyprus books of Shirley's this morning. I hadn't got around to it before because of the reading I need to do for two book groups. I've only read a few chapters but I must say I'm enjoying them. I'm looking forward to getting on to Google Earth this evening and having a look at the villages she talks about. I suspect things are not quite so quiet as 1984 when they first moved back. Harry's pictures are great, but I would have loved some photos of the house they built and some of the village characters. I'll email Shirley later on and tell her I've started reading.
Jamie and I successfully completed our VF (Village Firefighter) assessment on Sunday morning.
We were taken up to St Thomas' school and there had to do two scenarios, an (MVA) motor vehicle accident and a structural fire. We also had to demonstrate how to work with ladders, hauling tools up to the roof of a building (well in this case it was on top of the Big Red Truck). We also had to answer a whole lot of questions to demonstrate underpinning knowledge - a bit disconcerting because the questions asked were from the 1999 course, not from the 2005 workbook I was working from - even Ian knew the answers from drilling me! Got through them OK though.
What a relief to pass, I'd been almost sick with nerves when we gathered at Winmalee RFS in the morning.
Rob didn't do the assessment. With work commitments he'd not been able to attend post course training sessions and didn't feel ready. He also has mid-yearly exams this week.
Ian - still waiting for a date for surgery. It might be 3rd June . . . or it might not.
Heidi - in bed with 'flu until Thursday when she put in a guest appearance at work before having an RDO (rostered day off) on Friday. Wish the weather was nicer; it's chucking down just now. Having to go out Friday night for extra VF training because our assessment (if we are ready) is next weekend.
Jamie - also not well during the week - came home early from AFL training on Tuesday but perked up again by the morning. School exam results back. Says he's done well in most subjects but Maths posing problems. Looking for a tutor. Also coming to VF training.
Rob - at work Friday so will miss extra VF training. Has decided to defer assessment.
Ishbel - commenced flute lessons on Monday. We've had a loan of a flute since January but a breakdown in communication with school meant we didn't sort out the lessons until just now. She's delighted with herself.
We got the flooring in the kitchen/family room finished last weekend and are quite pleased with it - have a look in the Flickr kitchen renovation pics at the very bottom of the blog. Ishbel loves that it is very slidy!
While we were doing the floor, one of our couches had to go outside so we had room to move. The dogs enjoyed having it outside to lie on. Then they started eating the cushions and we had to put them in the garage. Then they started on the couch . . . (the wet stripe isn't dog, it's the rain).
We have three very tired firefighters in our house tonight. James, Robert and I did the second weekend of our Village Firefighter course. Friday night 7:30 to 10:30/11pm, Saturday 8:30am-5pm and today 7am-5:30pm or so.
Today we went down to a council depot at a place called Kemp's Creek where we did the 'hot fire' day. Instead of just pretending to fight fires, the RFS can use containers and an old car and have really fires to put out. It's exhausting work as we do the drills 2-3 times each, in and out the truck laying hoses, putting out fires and then packing it all up again. We need a lot of practice before we will be ready for assessment at the end of May.
It is a filthy environment at Kemp's Creek. I'm planning to wash our gear at least twice and then run the washing machine empty a couple of times before doing any other washing. There was oil and grease and kerosene and drip torch fuel and gravel and tar and, and, and . . .
Meanwhile Ishbel and Ian have had a quiet weekend just the two of them. Under Ian's guidance Ishbel has made the boys a chocolate cake for their birthday. We have to have it tonight because someone or two is out EVERY night next week until next Sunday!
Jamie, Robbie and I are at Village Firefighter training all weekend (7:30-11:30pm tonight and 8:30am-5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Will try and Skpe you over the weekend.
Hope you are enjoying your holiday and have a lovely day on Sunday.
BUT I am not happy to find they were up, out and on the beach by 6:30 one morning - all the media reports about the shark attacks have emphasised that dawn and dusk are NOT good times to be in the water!
Sorry we didn't get around to Skyping you over the weekend, Fiona, as usual we were running about at breakneck speed all weekend. Will see what we can do this weekend. Did you have a nice birthday anyway?
Ishbel had arranged for her friend, Ellen, to stay over on Friday night. Ellen is one of my favourite little girls, she's incorrigibly happy, always smiling, but a bit hyper and questions, questions, questions. However, our patience was rewarded and Ishbel disappeared with Ellen to spend Saturday night at her house.
Friday night I left Ian to it with the girls and headed out to book group at Cathy's. We usually meet on the first Friday of the month but Cathy was working that night so we'd changed the day for her. We'd read (some of us anyway - Trish has the distinction of having attended nearly every meeting but never having read ANY of the books - she's doing a PhD and doesn't have time for reading) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Cathy always goes all out to create atmosphere when we meet at her house. She was dressed in lacy blouse and lacy, tiered skirt (the book is set in Spain) and had a 'Cemetary of Lost Books' on her sideboard.
We always have a lot of fun and Friday night was no exception. Apart from hearing how Heather had turned the tables on an obscene phone caller, Sharon told us she had an annoying song in her head. The cure for that is to sing Jesus Loves Me - it puts the annoying song out of your head but doesn't stay itself. How does that go? asked someone. So I started to sing it and the others joined in. Sudden silence from Cathy's boys in the next room! We really lost it when Cathy reached in behind the Cemetary of Lost Books and pulled out a picture of Mary and Jesus (or Mary and Joseph) which, at the flick of a switch, had flashing lights going! Cathy's mum had got it from the local convent when it closed down and thought Cathy would like it!
I was up and out early with Jamie on Saturday morning. Jamie was doing a two day Senior First Aid Course up at Firecom in Katoomba. Luckily our friend, Marie, and her son, Rob's mate Leigh, were also doing the course so we were able to arrange for Jamie to go up with them. Rob and I did the same course about this time last year.
During Saturday afternoon (Valentine's Day) I rang Sharon and Janet and Steven to see if they wanted to come round for tea. It's been raining and cold for AGES now and I thought we could do cold weather comfort food like thick soup and steamed pudding. Nobody was free, which was a bit of a fizzer but not long after that I took a call from Cathy Humphries. Cathy (separated, single woman now) offered for the children to come to her for the evening, letting us do something for Valentines. I looked up the showing times for the Ricky Gervais film, Ghost Town, and tried to book us into my favourite restaurant in Katoomba but it was fully booked and I thought it would be a similar story all over so thought we'd just take pot luck after the movie. I didn;t give Robbie any choice, just told him we'd be dropping him off to spend the evening with Cameron and Brendan and Jamie would be able to walk over there from Marie's place when they got back from Katoomba.
The film was great fun. If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend it. I laughed out loud all the way through and there's a shock at the end where I shouted out loud too. After the movie we crawled through the main street in Katoomba looking for a not overcrowded restaurant or cafe. But it was chucking it down and there was no parking so we then trawled the Mall in Leura. Again no parking. We thought we'd have to just wait until we were back in Faulconbridge or Springwood. We tried Wentworth Falls on our way past. There just happened to be a parking space outside the Chinese restaurant so we thought we'd give it a go - and had one of the nicest Chinese meals I've ever had. And it was a very reasonable price.
Meanwhile the boys had been playing board games with Cameron and Brendan and had also had a good night. We had a cuppa and a serving of sticky date pudding (my favourite) with Cathy before taking them home.
And up early on Sunday again to take Jamie to Marie's. Not me this time - Ian. I stayed in bed trying to finish the book for my other book group. I didn't finish the book but that wasn't too much of a problem, I'd read it a couple of years ago and I got pretty close anyway.
I went to see Xavier. He was awake and playing happily on the floor plaything. When he started to grizzle I picked him up for a play, tired him out and made him grizzle so he was sent to bed. By then it was time to head up through driving rain to Katoomba for book group and back again through cats and dogs stuff afterwards.
‘The book can produce an addiction as fierce as heroin or nicotine, forcing us to spend much of our lives, like junkies, in book shops and libraries, those literary counterparts to the opium den’ - Phillip Adams.
Starting a novel is like opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing - Iris Murdoch, Under the Net 1954
What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it - JD Salinger
I have sometimes dreamt that when the Day of Judgement dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards – their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble – the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming with our books under our arms, “Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them. They have loved reading.” – Virginia Woolf from The Common Reader
A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life - Norman Cousins – US editor (1915-1990)
Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it – PJ O’Rourke
With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one - nut no one at all - can tell you what to read and when and how. - Doris Lessing, author.
Imagine that no-one had encouraged you to understand those funny little squiggles on the page called words that can make you gasp or can make you cry. You'd be a smaller person living in a smaller world - Home Page of the Reading Agency
I don't believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, and that's been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals as librarians. - Graham Chapman from Episode 10 of Monty Python's Flying Circus, 1970
Th' first thing to have in a libry is a shelf. Fr'm time to time this can be decorated with lithrachure. But th's shelf is th' main thing. - Finley Peter Dunne, "Books" Mr Dooley SaysYou see
There are two types of books in libraries: Catherine Cooksons and non-Catherine Cooksons. The non-Catherine Cooksons are big books on Britain's Railways from the Air for men to browse through while their wives choose a Cookson. - Guy Browning, The Guardian, 2003
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. — Groucho MARX
L-R: Jamie, Chase and other climbers on the top of
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