Well it has been a while and while we are gearing up for our BIG TRIPPY thing things have been going on. Not a lot it has to be said mostly couch sport and dog shaving but that’s a more active participation sport.
The big question of the moment is how do we survive the Antarctic vortex. For a week now the weather forecasters have been studying the seaweed and saying that there is a blast of cold air coming up from the Antarctic and will cover the rat in metres of snow so I am being prepared. I watched the film The Day after Tomorrow eight times to prepare myself for the event but it was of limited use because I didn’t think the ice sheets will get to Ballarat this week. So I turned to Ice Age 1, 2 and 3 again it was of limited use as I fell asleep and I couldn’t be bothered to watch talking furry cartoon mammals struggle against all odds. So I fell back on my tried and trusted Boys Own How to Survive the Vortex booklet issue 5 volume 6 printed in 1960 and to be opened only on account of an emergency, such as Russiun invasion of Aylesbury, alien invasion or big hangover in winter, dusted off my Swiss Army all singing all dancing penknife, especially the bottle opener do hickey and settled in for the onslaught. So what did the Boys Own recommend well;
Chapter 1 Shelter
Well the house seems to cover that
Chapter 2;
Warmth, I have the doona, dogs and the central heating is cranked up.
Chapter3;
Food and liquid; there is as you can see plenty of beer, wine and I will nip out and stock up with luxury sprits like ouzo and limoncello, also whiskey if it gets really cold.
Chapter 4;
Entertainment, well the test match is on telly along with various other sunny clime sports. If the worse come to the worse there are various other things to do.
So we are all geared up for the next ice age and what happened the sun shone and there was a definite chill in the air so I will have to put all the survival plans in cold storage for the next false alarm.
I watched most of the Womens' World Cup and thought that in the long run England were in some ways very unfortunate to lose to Japan but then again they were lucky in that they didn’t get to the final and get hammered by the Yanks. Which is what happened to the ladies from the chrysanthemum land. Mind you there were some cracking goals in the final. Compare that with the Copa Sud America which was so cynical and there were dives that Tom Daley would have been happy with, still the right team won. I don’t think I have seen a worse penalty shoot out since the last one that England took part in. Then there was the Test Match which I saw most of, admittedly I was pretty wrecked and on the fourth day I thought that Mitchell Johnson was going to hold out so I went to bed leaving Hol in charge of the match and damn it England rolled them. Ahhh well the second test starts tonight more sleepless nights.
In preparation for the holiday we are prepping the Charley meister by shaving off his dreadlocks. He was beginning to take on the appearance of a canine Rastafarian, he hates brushing and as for buzz cutting well he becomes mildly hysterical. That is until we discovered a few helpful things, mainly don’t buy a cheap buzz cutter they over heat quickly and the buzz but don’t cut and perhaps more importantly feed one end while you are shaving the other. He does look a bit moth eaten at the mo but at least he is derastafarianised to a large extent.
The birding front is very quiet. I’ve been to the lake a few times but it has been amazingly quiet even most of the ibis have disappeared somewhere. The rosellas have been attacking the seeds on the feral ash tree out the front but nothing spectacular to report I’m afraid. On the wishful list front I have ordered the field guide to Sri Lanka well you can wish. It’s getting to the time when the excitement of holiday preparation is beginning to take hold. I’m looking forward to catching up with friends in Ipswich, birding in France and WARM WEATHER. Bugger the vortex.