Cracking weekend, cracked head and cracking scar to follow

This weekend started in dramatic fashion.

Around 4:30pm on Friday Emma got a call to say that James had fallen over in a nearby park. She could hear him screaming on the phone so jumped in the car and headed to see what was wrong - half expecting to find a minor scratch/bump and nothing more.

Well she arrived at North Harbour Reserve to see a pool of blood, lots of worried mums trying to stem the bleeding from James head and an ambulance arriving. Poor James - had been swinging from some bars in the playground and missed his last "grab" - landing head first onto the ground.

A long trip to Mona Vale Hospital, 4 hours in the ward and 4 stitches later he was asking for a Double Quarter Pounder from McDonalds. So other than a cracking scar - he seems to be fine.

It was a great wound - Olivia watched as the Doctor stitched him up, saying helpful things like "Is that his brain I can see?".....it was in fact his skull - that is how deep and wide the damage was.

After that fun start, Saturday had a lot to live up to.

I am glad to say there were no injuries at either Netball (Olivia - big loss) or Soccer (Me - lost 1-4).

Olivia only has one game left in this netball season....she missed most of the season when we were travelling but still she seems to have enjoyed it. She even came out with me in the afternoon for some extra practise.

Today was a the 50th Annual NSW Junior Band Festival. We set of to the University of New South Wales at 7:45am to watch James perform in his first major concert. While we were overseas his band had won a competition, so expectations were high this morning.

The Band played really well - the piece you can hear on this link to YouTube is Beethoven's 9th......James is sitting on the left, at the back. Out of 15 bands, there were 3 gold medals awarded - one of which was for James and his Balgowlah Heights Junior Band - so everyone was happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOTRmMuW6FA


It was a great day today - blue sky, 20 degrees, no wind. A cracking Winters day. We headed to Centennial Park after the Band Festival and enjoyed a relaxing picnic in the park. Jack had fun.

Jack is loving his fruit at the moment. Today he got through 2 pears and a mandarin. I hate to think what his nappy will be like in the morning. He is getting more and more animated these days. He loves clapping and waving and will grab & throw anything he gets his hands on. Crawling cannot be far off.....so we need to start making our living room a little safer for him.


So a cracking weekend. James is fine but will have a good scar to show for his Friday afternoon play in the park.

Ken

It's hard to explain just how much it has rained in Sydney this week....

So far in July we have had 281mm of rain. That may not seem like a lot, but a few facts may help to put 281mm into perspective:

- Average Annual Rainfall: Sydney 1,217mm; Edinburgh 668mm and Plymouth 1,003mm

- Normal wettest month: Sydney June 130mm; Edinburgh Nov 65mm; Plymouth Dec 125mm

So in Sydney over the last three weeks we have had 23% of our average annual rainfall. We have had 432% more than the average wettest month in Edinburgh and 42% of Plymouth's average annual rainfall.

And the month is not yet over.......if you are sitting in the Northern Hemisphere you can stop complaining about how much it rains where you live....it's nothing compared to Sydney.


So with all this rain, all sports cancelled and a jet-lagged family it's been a quiet weekend.

We all enjoyed breakfast with the Hoffman's on Saturday morning - including Jack who had his first Babycino..

Saturday dinner was at the Underhills and other than a few too many whiskies it was a great night!

Sunday was another relaxed day - the kids enjoyed seeing Harry Potter 7.2 (Olivia almost walked out as she was a bit scared)- even Jack sat through the movie with no obvious ill effects.

A quick stop into the McPherson's for Sunday afternoon tea and cake and the weekend was almost done.

The weekend ended with Emma & Kids having an early jet-lag induced night. I headed off to a charity launch (the 11Eleven Project) and a night of mingling with trendy media types.

It's great to get back to 'normal' and catch up with friends.


Ken

Still getting used to being home....

While Emma, James, Olivia and Jack continue their holiday in Devon I have had the tough task of adjusting to being back at work....which after two months off is not easy!

I got home on Friday (it is now Thursday)....my main aim for tonight is to actually unpack my bags so that I don't see a whole week go by with my luggage still lying beside the front door.

I could blame jet-lag....but I know I am just lazy.

Anyway, I thought I should share a 'cut down' version of the photos of our trip. In total we took about 3,000 snaps....the attached link takes you to a gallery of about 350 of them. There are a few more to be added from Emma's camera in the coming days. If you watch them as a slide show it takes about 15 minutes....sorry!

http://gallery.me.com/ejreid/100008



Enjoy

Ken

Day 55 - Londons building site

London ia as busy as ever but also seems to be going through a building phase. Every where I go there are roadworks, diversions and new buildings going up. I am guessing it is in advance of the 2012 London Olympics - which may well be our next time in London.

It's been back to work this week for me - spending time at KPMG in Canary Wharf and catching up with former colleagues. I have also had the pleasure of being back on the tube....not something I miss.

Meanwhile Emma is in Devon. The kids have been crabbing several times already and James was last seen heading to his "friend" who lives in the village. Emma will probably not see him for days now.

It's an important day today - 15 years ago today Emma and I were married. It was a wonderful day that still seems like yesterday. Happy Anniversary darling.....one year we'll actually spend it together.

Ken

Day - 50'something. Proper Summer in Newcastle

Yesterday we went to the beach! In Newcastle!!!! it was warm (would not go as far as hot)!!!! People were swimming in the North Sea.....we dipped our toes....which have almost recovered now.

A glorious British Summer day. 23 degrees and sunny. Walk in the park, ice-creams for kids, trip to the beach and a BBQ dinner. What a great end to our time with Amanda, Paul, Chloe and Mia.

So today Emma will board a train for Devon and I will head to London and then home on Thursday.

Ken

Day 4? - losing track now but we are in Newcastle

We left Sydney on May 13. It's now July - and we are starting to miss home (Sydney).

We escaped the Midge hordes by heading South to Newcastle and cold, grey conditions. Amanda and Paul swear it's summer and it's warm....but we are not convinced.

A pleasant day on Friday at a Country Park and visiting a modern art museum (which We thought was rubbish) and today we spent a great day at Alnwick Castle & Gardens - the Duke of Northumberland's home for the past 700 years. These castles (which are in perfect condition) remind us of the history that the UK has - and the USA and Australia just do not have. Today we looked at documents and read stories about events that took place hundreds of years before Europeans even thought of going to the New World.

The sun shone a bit as well.

Another day in Newcastle then the Reids split - London and home for me, Devon for Emma and the kids.

Ken