Song & Dance

Whilst I don't want to make a song and dance about it, this week the blog reached 10 000 views (and yes, that does exclude me). I'm not entirely sure who looks at it; these days there seems to be as many in Australia as there are in the UK, plus friends from Ireland to Vietnam (including someone, I've no idea who, in the USA).

Over the past six months I have begun to wonder whether I should carry on blogging - I expect the blog has become less interesting over time, especially as, I guess, one of the original reasons people might have been attracted to reading it was a ghoulish interest akin to watching a car crash in slow motion; to see if my 'gamble' of moving here was going to end in humiliation, despair and an abject return to Blighty, tail between my legs. I suppose it's become apparent that, against the odds, it hasn't (or hasn't yet anyway), and therefore the blog may've lost some of its appeal; not to mention that it's all a little more domestic these days.

As it is not Facebook, there's no function on the blog for people to comment on individual photos, to 'like' this, that or the other, which is a shame; so I don't know whether anyone actually reads any of this. But if you do and you can be bothered, please leave a message from time to time as I don't get out much and, well, I'd appreciate it.

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Dance

So last weekend we had planned to drive up to Lake Cathie in northern NSW, where Sarah's family have a holiday home; however, the wet weather meant that none of us really wanted to drive for 5 hours on a Friday night. So the change of plan involved going out to the mountains on Saturday, where Sarah and Michael live, for dinner. We went to Apple Bar in Bilpin, one of the main apple growing areas of the state and where Tycho's family have an orchard.

After dinner, we went back to Michael and Sarah's place to play a dance game on the X-Box 360, which finally came to a sweaty end at 2:30am.

.... and here is a selection of the photos...

Sarah and Tycho

Things start heating up

nobody could ever accuse me of not taking the competitive element of this seriously enough

Tycho won round one, but I came back hard in rounds two and three

Song

On Sunday, Gill and I joined 'the fam' for lunch and then went to see the world-famous (or, at least, famous in a certain part of Kings Langley), Luke O'Shea, at The Royal Oak in Parramatta. Even the twins loved it.

Bryce: "Who is this joker?"

"What do you reckon Ethan? I reckon I could take him"

"Sure [hic]. After another cider"

Trying very, very hard not to do the pointy thing

"I feel a little hungover. Don't drop the baby. Don't drop the baby...."

Pete was oblivious that Bryce's real father came to the show too

"If x=2(3y+x), and y=5, what is x?"

And the winner of the massive head competition is....

"Oh look, there's another one, and he's quite cute!"

"Errr..... Don't we have another one?"

Meg ditches the milk bottles for cider bottles

Gill's cousin Anna joined us in the pub

"If you take another bloody photo of me, I'm gonna take that camera and...."

"Leave my feet alone and pass me my bloody beer"

Meanwhile Luke's number one fan looks on, in awe and barely concealed excitement (and totally oblivious to the talking babies)

Luke O'Shea is actually a Religious Education teacher by day, who spreads a similar message to the pub going patrons in his spare time. But if you are in any doubt about his talent, then check out these two songs - Ragged Bloody Heroes (about the ANZACS); and (the slightly cheesy) How Well Have You Loved?