Funny if you're from Lahndan

Tunnel Vision
The pedestrian subway systems under Marble Arch, the north side of Blackfriars Bridge and the southern end of Tottenham Court road were designed and built by the Ministry of Works in the Spring of 1940. Their intention was to confuse and demoralise as much of an invading enemy army as they could - it was estimated that as many as five Wehrmacht divisions could be tied down and destroyed by attrition in each system by a force as small as eight Evening Standard vendors.

From the very marvellous This Isn't London. Cheers, David.

Birthday Boy

It was my birthday on Sunday - yay! - so we did a barbie ate Karen and Steve's with various Players, then headed down to the lovely Botanical Gardens for a picnic with mates by the harbour. This is when living in Oz really comes into its own - sunshine, wine and a wonderful conviviality.

The hardcore then headed to Woolloomooloo (no, really) for further refreshment followed by, if memory serves, an extensive bout of talking piffle. Classic.

Anyway, thanks to all who marked the occasion with cards and/or gifts, and I apologise yet again for my own laxness in this regard. I wish I were a better man, I suppose it must be my parents' fault.

Also went and caught Closer and The Aviator at the movies, which respectively fell short of and exceeded my expectations. Now to work through my mountainous backlog of DVD acquisitions.

Love youse! xx

Death by unicorn

I was a bit grouchy yesterday, so here are a few reasons to be cheerful.

• Football good again: official!
• Eating passion fruit straight off the vine in our garden
• iTrip - not illegal in Godzone
• Alasdair Gray - allowing me to enjoy reading again during a break in Clarissa
• Shameless finally reaches Australia - marvellous stuff
• The Abominable Dr. Phibes - "A brass unicorn has been catapulted across a London street and impaled an eminent surgeon. Words fail me, gentlemen." And watch out for Vincent Price and a wheelbarrow full of brussell sprouts.

Don't worry, I'll be my grumpy self again soon. Bah humbug.

Summerteeth

Oh what a joy it is to be alive in a sweltering Sydney summer, commuting to a dull job and enduring some serious toothache.

Objectively, I guess, things are going well. M and the lump are all on schedule, and she's still not suffering any serious symptoms, if that's the right word, from the pregnancy. Hopefully that won't lead to a karmic backlash during third trimester or labour. I had a cool moment at the weekend too when I felt my first kick. M figured out that if she lies down without a pillow the lump gets upset and has a whack at her, so we tried it out and the wee knee straightened out just as predicted. M got the pillow back straight away, you understand.

That was up at Avoca, where we spent the weekend with the Players. Canasta and children dominated things, but I managed a very brief and begrudging trip to the beach (all that sand), and The Motorcycle Diaries was a hit at the cinema. I also started practicing with the new video camera - hopefully we can bung a video up here soon.

(Once we get home internet back, that is. BigPond are proving to be a nightmare even to disconnect from, which needs to happen before we reconnect with a decent provider).

Sunday night was Rufus Wainwright and family, which was a glitchy but cool gig. The guy's a star. Monday night a family friend called Damo (he's Aussie, you know) stayed overwhich was good.

Throughout all this the toothache was getting steadily worse, and I was fortunate to get a cancellation at the dentists. I haven't been to the dentist for roughly 15 years, since leaving my mum's protective nest, so it was no surprise that my teeth are buggered, or one tooth at least. Unfortunately, the buggeration is of a serious degree so I ave 2 appointments in March for the dreaded root canal. Aaargh! Still, in a few months me and M can have arguments about whether it's more painful than labour. I'm sure my wimpishness will trump her feminine stoicism every time.