It's Holiday Time...

Well,

The past three or so weeks have been a massive blur.
Sadly, we lost one of our brothers unexpectedly and as well as getting his funeral organised, there have been a few trips to the place where he lived and worked to pack up his belongings.
It is more than 8 hours each way, so it is a trip that cannot be taken lightly.
There still may need to be a trip or two to finalise his affairs up there, we'll just have to wait and see.
The next few months will be spent tidying up his finances and selling his properties, something that I have been given the task to do, but one which makes me feel like a vulture in a way as it feels like I am invading so much of his privacy.

Just leaving Broken Hill as the sun comes up. Only eight and a half hours until we get home. The next three hours in particular can be a little tense at times due to the large number of goats that roam around here, as well as emus. Then there is the constant hassle of kangaroos, especially at this time of day.

Will and Nev after two days of solid cleaning and ready to hit the road for home.

The shed is just about done, perhaps a trip at a later date to collect the boat.

Our son overseas...

For nearly two years, one of our boys, Sam, has been living in London. He is currently working there as an accountant, but is also getting away as much as he can to see the rest of Europe. It was a highlight of my trip over there a few months ago to spend time with him in London.

Over the past week or so he has told us that he is having a bit of a sporting focus, going to the races at Royal Ascot ( he did see the Queen), heading over to France for Euro 2016, and next week heading o Wimbledon.

The races and soccer don't really interest me, but as for Wimbledon...Jealous!!!

These few shots at the races clearly show that it started off as a very respectable day, but the last shot shows that a good time was obviously had!!!

 

The start of the day and it is looking good.

Arms in the air and around each other as the day progresses...

Peace, Love and Happiness all in the one shot!

And this must be after a successful day at Royal Ascot. I can't imagine that the Queen looked the same at the end of the day!

Apparently a few days ago the boys were camping in France after watching a game at Euro 2016. Sam woke up in the middle of the night to see a face right over him. It turns out it was someone reaching in the window trying to steal stuff while they were sleeping.

Sam said he just started yelling at the intruder and waking everyone else up, and got in about 5 punches to his head before he pulled himself back out the window.

It turns out that they had noticed this bloke skulking around their van earlier, needless to say they will be even more vigilant now.

The last I heard they were in Amsterdam watching some more games.

 Some shots taken at school on Friday when I was working in a class of Grade 4's.
They have a pup that spends time in the classroom, and she is great at helping the kids to relax.
She just roams between the two rooms and the kids are totally fine with it as they don't get distracted by her.

To finish the school term off on Friday, we had a netball match between the Grade 6 children and the staff. The whole school gathered in 'The Shed' to watch and it was a huge success, not just for the spectacle, but also in the way that it really strengthened the staff/children relationships (which are already incredibly strong I must say!)

And finally, yesterday we cranked up a firebox that was made for our brother who passed away recently.
This was meant to be a surprise birthday present for Moose from his workmates at Broken Hill, something which he would have loved.

As there are only three brothers who follow Richmond, my siblings decided that I was to have it, as one couldn't take it back to Brisbane on the plane, and the other one felt that he didn't really follow them as madly as I do.
Needless to say, as the flames took hold last night I definitely charged a glass or two in memory of Moose.

We are now on holidays for the next two weeks, so hopefully I'll be able to get back into my blogging.

This week is a few days of stuffing around the house before heading to Melbourne for a few days as I have to get my shoulder looked at again as it is just not getting better despite recent surgery.

My wife has been away for a few days visiting her parents, so the firebox will be torched again later today as will the spit roast. A few relaxing drinks together tonight around the fire is something I'm really looking forward to.

Until my next post....

Cheers!