Category Archives: Family

Signed GPJ

November 28, 2014 By in Family, Nostalgia 17 Comments

GPJ

My Grandpa died almost twenty years ago. I remember the date because it was the day after my 12th birthday. Most of my primary school classmates were away on a residential trip, but I’d chosen not to go (an introvert even then) and so there were just a few of us left.

Later that week the headteacher – the perfectly named Mrs Spankie – came into the classroom, placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and told me I’d won a national competition for my project on Robert Burns.

I have never liked Robert Burns. Continue reading →

A Day at MONA

October 13, 2014 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

View from MONA ROMA Hobart Tasmania

Friday was the last day of DorkySon’s school holidays, and as he has been asking me for ages if we can visit The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) again I thought we’d better take advantage of a sunny day and go for it.

By happy coincidence, I’d received an email earlier in the week asking if I wanted to take part in a project organised by the International Currency Exchange, in which bloggers around the world would be sent £100 GBP and challenged to make the most of that money for a day out in their country. £100 GBP is equivalent to around $180 AUD, which would allow us to have a hugely indulgent MONA experience – how could I say no?!

We decided that rather than drive up the Brooker Highway to the Museum, we would instead get a taxi into the centre of Hobart and then take the MONA ROMA boat from the harbour so we could enjoy the thirty-minute ride up the river. Even before we’d set sail, DorkySon was thrilled because he nabbed a window seat on the boat and sat watching the workmen who are currently building the new Brooke Street Pier. As we set off, we got a great view of the Astrolabe and Mount Wellington, and then as we got a little further out we sailed right past the Aurora Australis and the new CSIRO research vessel RV Investigator.  He loved the graffit-style art on the walls, the sheep seats on the outdoor deck, and the resident (live) parrot. He also spotted some tasty looking biscuits for sale from the onboard bar, and persuaded me that he should have one as a second breakfast… Continue reading →

Bath Time

September 16, 2014 By in Family 17 Comments

We are coming to the end of an era.

For as long as there has been DorkySon, there has been family bath time. It is the most set-in-stone part of our routine.

Regardless of what has happened during the day, we always take a bath before bed. No matter what country we’re in, whose house we’re staying at or how long a flight we’ve just stepped off; it is the family ritual that grounds us. Whatever time zone our brains believe themselves to be in, the sound of a bath filling up means that bedtime is not far away.

DorkyDad does most of the baths with DorkySon. By ‘most’ I mean all. And by ‘does’ I mean he’s right in there, in the water. For a few weeks, we tried to do baby baths the traditional way. We held our wailing newborn boy in a wee plastic tub, three inches of tepid water in the bottom. We sponged and we soaped, we sang soothing lullabies, but DorkySon was having none of it. He knew he was missing out on something better.

Continue reading →

One Year On

September 1, 2014 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , , , , 13 Comments

Hobart Tasmania

This time a year ago exactly, we were spending our last full day in Harpenden.

DorkySon had toddled off to his wonderful nursery for the last time, and he would come home a few hours later laden down with gifts and cards and photos of himself hugging the staff. I went for one last trawl of the local charity shops to see if I could find any bits and pieces for the flight – I got lucky, and picked up a collection of Shirley Hughes stories and a huge bag of toy cars for a couple of quid.

Our flat was a mess. The removal men had arrived that morning, and it was hard to move for all the sheets of packing paper, cardboard boxes, and enormous rolls of bubble wrap. That night, cupboards bare and crockery packed, we went for dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Somewhere between the tagliatelle and the tiramisu, immigration officers raided the place and started interrogating the kitchen staff. We headed home for an early night.

Continue reading →