December 22. Day 357. And they all came tumbling down

I'm not looking forward to tomorrow.
Theatre boy's production wraps up tonight and if history is anything to go by tomorrow he will not be a happy chappy.
Performing gives him a natural high but what goes up must come down.
After weeks of intensive rehearsals you'd think that there would be an element of relief at having nothing to do but it never works that way.
Distraction, diversion, sunshine and exercise are the best tactics.
So it may well be that we head back to South Bank tomorrow.
Charles and I spent a rare date day enjoying a leisurely lunch and walk through the markets today.
The pre Christmas activities are in full swing and one of my favourites was the giant games.
Jenga has always been popular in our house but playing with giant blocks in public adds a whole new dimension.
We watched as this family built up the tower to more than 30 levels before Mum Jenny finally had the dubious honour of being the one to bring the lot tumbling down.
What a laugh.
Hopefully we will manage the same tomorrow.

November 3. Day 308. Running rings around the others

 

You know what? No-one will force you to watch street theatre.

No-one will tie you down and make you watch a man dressed either as Freddie Mercury or Prince performing with hoops or on a unicycle.

But it's a kinda magic if you do. 

Mario Queen of the Circus  would go down as one of the more bizarre acts I've seen at South Bank. Not often to you see a male wearing a modified mankini twirling nipple tassels. It sounds tacky but it wasn't. Still if it's not your cup of tea, walk away. Like I said, you don't have to stay.

But if you hang around, if you laugh and cheer, if you clap and take photographs it is really poor form to slink away when the performance is done without putting your hand in your pocket and at least a few coins in his hat.

If we want a thriving street culture (and I for one do) you have to be prepared to support the street artists.

You don't work for nothing. Why should they. Just be thankful you don't have to wear nipple tassels to work. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

October 24. Day 298. Not waving drowning

South Bank, Brisbane 6am. All the other sea gulls were placidly floating on the pools or gently preening themselves.
All but one.
Remember those drinking birds, those instatible little birdie ornaments that used to bob in and out of a glass in a seemingly perpetual motion desperately trying to quench an insatiable thirst?
This bloke was like that. He was creating quite a few ripples on the otherwise smooth surface of the pool. It was like he was trying to draw attention to himself. Not waving, drowning.
And universally the other birds were totally ignoring his antics.
That's the problem isn't it? You are never really sure when someone is desperately splashing about whether they are really floundering or whether this is just attention seeking behaviour designed to do nothing more than create a few waves.
I find parenting a teenager to be much like that. There's a lot of frantic splashing going on and it's hard to know when to stay calm and just try to float it out and when you need to throw the buoyancy ring.
I keep trying to remind myself that the other birds may look calm but there's bound to be plenty of desperate paddling going on beneath the surface.
And it you can't make a few waves when you're a teenager ....

October 23. Day 297. TB or not TB

I'm a competitive soul so I took a sort of perverse pleasure when the General Practitioner last week told me my cough was the worst she'd heard all week. A job worth doing is worth doing well, right?

A week and a box and a half of antibiotics later and the joy of being really good at something is getting very old. "TB or not TB? That is consumption," as they say in the classics.

Okay, I exaggerate but this acute bronchitis is beyond annoying. My lungs feel like this spider's web I saw at South Bank this morning. The air is getting through but it's all bound up and restricted with annoying bits caught where they shouldn't rightly be. Attractive huh?

I think it looks a lot prettier with the reflective light than what I imagine the inside of my chest cavity is like right now.

But new drugs today I shall be escaping this tangled web which is just as well as. When it comes to webs, I much prefer the one you can surf, thank-you very much. Cough, cough.

October 4. Day 278. The Karate Kids

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Why?

Probably the most frequent question posed by children to their parents.

When we were well into our teenage years my father would, in the style of a politician, always answer that question with a question of his own.

"Why does a dog lick its balls?"

We knew the answer. "Because it can." Discussion over.

I thought of that this morning when at Reverend Green at South Bank.

There I found Sensei Will McLay (on the right) of Happy Dragon Martial Arts and his student Don practising their karate.

I asked Will why he had chosen that spot to go through his paces.

"Because I can," he replied.

Actually, the answer should have been self evident. Would you look at that backdrop? On a fresh Spring morning it would be hard to imagine a better place in the city for morning meditation and exercise.

Sensei Will, Don and sometimes one or two others meet for an hour five mornings a week at this spot for a workout to start the day.

Because they can. 

And why not, I say.

August 22. Day 235. Having a real spray

Kids today have opportunities we could never have dreamed of.
Their worlds have few barriers. They travel more, the see more, they are exposed to so many new, exciting and wonderful things.
And of course as digital natives, the things they can know and experience in Virtual sense at the click of a mouse are also quite extraordinary.
But when we look at what they have gained, occasionally it is worthwhile considering what has been lost.
Simple things. Things like running under a sprinkler.
Remember those summer days before every second person had a pool in the back yard where we would run under the hose or the sprinkler? Remember how much fun that was?
They were serious sprinklers too, not like these water efficient ones doing the business at South Bank this morning. You would get a serious soaking not a gentle spray like these ones deliver.
Until they develop a laptop that can deliver you a real spray, happily there are still things the real world does far better than Virtual Reality.
Spray over.

August 13. Day 226. Putting your feet up

When I grow up I want to be a lady of leisure.
I used to think that I really need to work to be fulfilled and stimulated but now I reckon I could do quite nicely putting my feet up for a bit.
In all honesty I've been wrestling with the question of what I might do when I grow quite a bit lately (generally when bogged down with a large pile of forms or other administrivia). It's enough to drive you crazy.
Today I was finding inspiration particularly hard to come by so I went out for a walk - and just kept walking.
Something over two hours later I ended up at South Bank where I saw these two young men wrestling in the pool. They were creating quite a splash and their joy was obvious.
With a head clearer from fresh air and sunshine, I'd come up with a few truths.
a) A job where you can go for a long walk in the middle of the day is not all bad, even if you have to work late into the night to make up the time
b) Splashing out to have fun with family and friends is a good investment
c) You may have to grow old but you don't have to grow up. It's a good thing to embrace your inner kid and indulge in a bit of child's play
It would also appear there is more than one way to put your feet up. This looks as good a way as any.