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!

It's been a rough week...

For the past fortnight I have been scratching my head for something to write about, sort of a writer's block.

Little did I know what was around the corner after last weekend.

After a very relaxing weekend (well, every weekend is fairly relaxing as I still can't do much with my crook shoulder) I was super organised for school and had lots of planned meetings with parents scheduled to get through.

I was in my first one of these when I could feel the gentle vibrating of my phone ringing in my pocket. Thankfully it was on silent, so I ignored it. But the phone was not going to give up and it rang persistently, and I continued to ignore it.
Next minute our school secretary pops her head in to the meeting to tell me that I need to answer my phone urgently.

The next few minutes were a blur, as I took a call from my wife who sadly had to tell me that one of my brothers had died, being found dead in his home in another state of Australia.

So many things were rushing through my head, and thankfully our secretary sensed what was going on and very calmly was able to calm me down so that I could think more clearly so that I would be able to drive home safely.

I was home 20 minutes later, and after ringing the police was able to get the full news about what had happened to our eldest brother, who is known by everyone as 'Moose'.
Then it was the worst 20 minutes of my life as I rang my six other siblings to break the news to them.
Absolutely the six hardest phone calls I have ever had to make in my life.
The short sense of relief after finishing each call was replaced by the dread of the next one to make.

After hearing the grief coming down the line during each call, I was wondering if I would be able to get through them all, thankfully I did. Then it was time to ring close friends in the Colbinabbin community where we all grew up, as well as close friends and relatives.

In a matter of hours there were various siblings at our house sharing their grief and supporting each other, which really helped.

The next day was in to the funeral director's to get it all organised, and the care and concern from Mark at Mulqueen's could not be surpassed.

As Moose lived and worked in Broken Hill as a quarry manager, we needed to travel up there to collect his things and begin to sort out his affairs.
This isn't just a quick trip in a car, it is about a 9 hour drive, so last Weds myself and four siblings jumped in my car and off we went.
It's just as well that we all get on, because 16 hours in a car over two days means that if someone grates on the others, it can be a very long trip.
So how did we entertain ourselves? Put 5 teachers in a car and there is instantly loads of stories about kids, teachers, programs, professional development and whatever else that involves teaching.
Sounds nerdy, but it passed the time.
And as for some of the games we played...lots of arguments (friendly of course!) debates and challenges. For example, one of my sisters really challenged me when I said that Congupna ( a town in Victoria) starts with a 'C', while she insisted it started with a 'K'.
Thank you Google for helping me on that one!!
And two sisters went to town on each other with the spelling of Enniskillen, where one insisted that it started with an 'I' while the other was sure it started with an 'E'.
Google to the rescue again.

The rest of the trip up and back had more games such as "List 3 things you will see in the next three hours" (they were not allowed to be blatantly obvious). My brother suggested ' goat up a tree', because he actually saw that on the trip up. As for the trip back...zilch. One of my suggestions was 'a car crash', which they all thought odd. I eventually confessed that I overheard on the radio in the police station that there had been a crash on the highway just before we left Broken Hill.

When we all felt like crap after having to deal with the loss of Moose, it was great to be able to have this enforced time together to be able to talk about so many things, and to be able to help each other to deal with it in their own way.

So the next few days will involve being back at school for a few days before the funeral, then I'm heading back to Broken Hill again to do the final sorting of Moose's things. Luckily I'll have one of my sons with me, so even that time together will be special.

Not a great thing to write about tonight, but it has been therapeutic for me.

RIP Moose.

Until my next post...

Cheers

A Pleasant Sunday Morning...

Well,

After the shenanigans last night watching the Tigers get over the line after the siren by the barest of margins, the author is a lot more settled and calmer this morning!!

In a game that I never thought for a moment we would win earlier in the week, or even just before the first bounce, it was clear early on that the boys had come to play.
I was even prepared to accept a narrow loss as a moral win, as it would have meant that they were actually having a red hot dip, something that has been missing in recent weeks.

My poor wife had to put up with my moans, groans, screams, fist pumping and swearing as the Tigers at first got in the lead, gave it up, got it back and then gave it up again.

With less than a minute to go we were 5 points down and the Swans had possession in their forward line. A series of courageous marks and spoils, followed by a very fortunate right angle bounce of the ball that enabled Jack Riewoldt to get it out to Ben Griffiths who then passed accurately to Sam Lloyd 50 metres out with 20 seconds left on the clock.

Could this be happening? Could we actually snag a win?
The siren blows and Lloyd is ready to shoot. A goal is the only thing we need, and consider that he missed a sitter earlier on.

He kicks, and the kick could not have been better and we win by a point after the siren. The fact that it was against one of the top teams made it only sweeter!!
This is the stuff that boyhood dreams are made of, kicking the winner after the siren!!

And didn't the texts and online comments flow thick and fast for the next hour!
I freely admit that I didn't tip the Tigers in my tipping contest, and I doubt many would done so anyway. It is a contest to see who you think will win, not who you would like to win.
Of course, I'd like the Tigers to win every week, but do I think they will? Of course not, but I'm more than happy to get it wrong this week!!
We may still be way down low on the ladder, but it won't stop me from loving my Tigers!!

The only negative out of it is that I think I buggered my recently operated on shoulder a little bit when Lloydy kicked the winning goal as I pumped the air in excitement, boy am I sore this morning!!!

  

And no song is better than this one!!!

I have just been out to my school to collect some work I need, and was greeted by this. Someone has decided to add to the decor of my desk, no complaints from me!!

And just before the game last night we were treated to a visit from a large flock of galahs that just love to dig up the onion grass that sprouts in our yard so quickly after the recent rain.

The galahs do chop the yard up a bit, but we don't mind at all as we are so lucky to get so much bird life in our yard.

And off they go!

It's another glorious day here so I'm off outside to enjoy the rest of the day. (and to bask in the the success of that amazing win last night!!)

Until my next post...

Cheers!

Go Tigers!!

Hi Readers,

Short and sweet, but after watching a stirring come from behind win with a goal after the siren, you can bet there will be another post in the morning, with a distinctive Richmond flavour!!

So much heartbreak this season so far, and then they play like that tonight!

A huge understatement when I say it is a very happy house in Ascot tonight!!

Go Tigers!!!!!!!!

Until my next post,

Cheers!!!

I've been missing for a while!!...

Well readers,

I seem to be hot and cold with my posts of late.
I might bang a few on over a few days, then go missing for a few days, or in this case, weeks.
Sorry to those who actually read it!!!!

To start off with, a big hello this morning to Kimberly, as it was a comment you made to my wife that has prompted me to make sure I added to the blog this morning. Have a great weekend Kimberly, I hope your footy team goes well this weekend!!! ( And thanks for getting me back on my blog horse!)

So many things have been going on over the past few weeks, so in no particular order I'll try and be interesting.

My last post was at the end of the last holidays, about 5 weeks ago.
As I was away overseas for a large part of first term, this term was the one where I was able to really knuckle down and get stuck into my various roles at the school I work at.
The Principal of my school was taking the first three weeks off with some well deserved Long Service Leave and headed off to New Zealand. My Co-Deputy Principal also finished up at the end of first term as she is having a baby, so I was flying solo for the start of the term.

Boy, do things come across one's desk thick and fast as well as the usual tasks associated with one's role. I very quickly discovered that although I might have had the best laid plans to do certain things in a day, but unplanned and unforeseen things just kept piling up.
I  recognised the need to prioritise, but also to make sure that whoever I was dealing with was kept in the loop about the progress of whatever it was that concerned them.
I have been most fortunate over the past few years to have been involved in various coaching and leadership courses and study that really prepared me for what has been happening this year.

Whether I have been successful in this is for others to decide, but in my mind I feel that I have managed to cope due to the support that I have from a close group of colleagues who work incredibly well together.

So what things happen that one doesn't plan for?

• Why do kids insist on throwing blobs of wet toilet paper to the ceiling of the toilets??? It's not much fun trying to clean them off, even with a bung shoulder from recent surgery!!
• Wasps. We don't see them for days, or at most just a few, then suddenly our school becomes 'Wasp Central'. 
• A hand dryer in a toilet catches on fire, filling the corridors with smoke. Fire brigade rock up, sirens and lights going, creating much excitement for the kids (and teachers!) at school. Thankfully it all ended up well.

• A kid smashes an elbow, resulting in an ambulance being called. We are now wondering which emergency service will be called next!!
• After months of extremely dry conditions, as soon as we organise a whole school Walkathon Fund Raiser,  it rains and we have to postpone.
• A tree comes down over a fence, and cows have to be chased into a neighbouring paddock before they escape.

 k

• Blocked toilets. Enough said!!!!
• Teachers calling in sick (which is expected), but not getting a record 14 knockbacks from relief teachers who are unable to come in as they are already booked or unavailable.
• The internet going on the frizz without warning - and don't teachers cope well with this!!!!!

Anyway, this is not a gripe about these things happening, it's just to show how we need to be prepared to expect the unexpected and go with the flow.

My little mantra that I follow and often share with others, '"We don't have problems, just solutions" always gets me through, in most cases!

I was lucky recently to be asked to work with a group of Graduate teachers who had gathered together for a day in Echuca. A teacher from one school worked with them for a few hours on Literacy, while my gig was to do a few hours on Numeracy.
They were just brilliant to work with, and we had a lot of fun together.
More importantly, the potential and talent in the room was massive. The kids who have these teachers are extremely lucky to be mentored by people who are so dedicated and motivated, and their schools are lucky to have them.

                      Working with the Grad teachers in Echuca last week.

As I mentioned earlier, it has been dry here for a very long time.

Check out the difference that a day of rain makes in just a few days.

This photo was taken just a few weeks ago.

This was taken this week, three days after a night of rain.

The grass (weeds) are really taking off after we had another dose of welcome rain this week. While it's good to see some green again, I can already see that the mower will need to come out in the next week or so, and that takes quite a few hours to do, which I don't mind as it's just another form of exercise.

Another thing that I I have come to really enjoy is the tv series "Game of Thrones"

As most would know, the latest series started a few weeks ago, and as we have the luxury of pay tv at our digs, our son Will had some mates come around to make sure they got to see the first episode before any spoiler alerts surfaced on social media.

I think it wasn't just the boys who were keen to see the first episode, as I was fairly keen too!!

Not only have we had branches down at school, there have also been a few coming down at our home this week after some extremely windy nights. Luckily, they all fell away from the house and cars and I managed to drag them out of the way. This in itself was a struggle as I needed to do it one handed as I am still having a lot of trouble with the shoulder I had operated on recently.

I started physio work on it this week and was hoping that it could be the start of getting some more freedom.

Alas, my movement is still extremely limited for the next few months, which means there is very little I can do around the yard at home in regards to cleaning up, chopping wood, mowing etc.

I reckon by the time I get the okay to do some manual work the place will be looking like a post apocalyptic wasteland!!!

Finally for this post, some of the things we are doing at school with the kids are so exciting, it is just great to see the kids being so interested in their learning.

I have a group of Grade 2 children who have started a maths project starting with the simplest of tasks... "What does a tape measure do?"

For two weeks these kids have been doing all sorts of discovery with a tape measure and coming up with loads of wonderings that they are investigating.

If you can focus on the cm on the bottom half of this measure, you will see that the 5mm mark is slightly bigger than the rest.

One girl explained this in words that were just magic... "The tape measure has cm's on it and these are marked with numbers. In between the cm's are the mm's, and they have little marks. The biggest little mark is the halfway mark"

Don't you just love the language that she has used!!

It has been amazing to see how much learning and discovery they have done just from being given the freedom to discover with the tape measure, rather than being told what to do.

Based on their discussions and questions, we have worked together (the kids and I) to develop the future plans and directions of the project we are working on.

I'm also working with groups of kids from Gr 4 and Grade 5 and have created online classrooms using the program Edmodo.

They are so excited at using this platform and the spinoffs are already surfacing. One of the goals, apart from the learning, is to develop these kids as independent learners, and for them to be able to see that the use of the technology is only part of the learning, rather than the focus.

Just to see the way that they are collaborating together and developing skills in communicating with their teachers has been an early highlight. The maths project that they are currently working on can be very challenging, but in providing support and encouragement I have every bit of confidence in their success.

As the day outside is just glorious, I have to get off this and go outside and enjoy it.

So, it's exercise gear, headphones and radio on and off to listen to the footy, my Saturday habit.

No matter what game it is, I just love listening to it. (But I'm not sure how well the patience will be watching my team, Richmond, tonight!!!)

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

Want to be included in a post?

Guaranteed.

If any of my readers want to reveal who they are, or where they are from, I'll weave your identity or  the place where you live into a post in a most imaginative way.

Even if I have no idea who you are ( eg my American, German and French readers just for starters) I am sure that I will be able to make you feel included just through my travels near, or through those parts of the world!

We all know about the '6 Degrees of Separation', so, combined with my imagination I am sure I will make you feel even more a part of this blog.

There was a huge spike in my American readers for a few days last week, so if any of you could leave me with a clue why this occurred I'd love to know.

Send an email to bkerrins63@gmail.com if you want total anonymity. Trust assured!

Above all, don't stop reading my blog!

Until my next post...

Cheers!

Some Life Changing Travel Moments...

Over the past few years I have been extremely lucky to have travelled quite a bit with work, and for leisure.

Some of this has involved travelling overseas, much of it interstate, and the majority of it fairly close to home.

Wherever I go I love to take photos because these consolidate the memories of those places and are also taken at places where something great happens, or where I have discovered something in particular. Sometimes it is just who I am with, or what I am doing.

Just a snapshot os some of the places where photos have been taken.

For some reason it says that I have been to Japan, and I haven't, although I did teach Japanese for 3 years. Does that qualify me?

A closer view of where in Europe I have been.

Canada in 2011 was brilliant.

I have done pretty much all of Australia, but have never been to Western Australia.

This doesn't show the numerous trips through Central Australia.

So how do I combine this interest into my blog? Share some of them of course!!

Also, I know this blog gets read by many people who are still yet to leave a comment (which of course I'd love from time to time, as that could create further discussion topics), and from many places around the world.

So what could be better than doing something that my readers could also do!

By posting some photos of moments in my life, hopefully that might encourage others to add a few of their own?

Who knows, we may end up posting photos from the same places, but our experiences will no doubt be entirely different.

So, in no particular chronological order, or order of importance, here goes...

The last photo of our family, minus our mum who died ten years earlier. Dad passed away soon after this was taken.

Growing up in a large family was an experience for sure. So many ups and downs at different stages of my life, but I wouldn't swap it for anything. We continue to share so many things together and have all played big roles in each other's lives, and continue to do so.

The five boys together on a very rare occasion.









No matter where we go, or where we live, we always know where home really is.

My last game of football, and we won the flag. Sam was brought to me in the rooms before the game wearing this jumper, all without me knowing. It was great to be able to have this shot taken playing the last match of a game that I loved so much.

Each year in Ballarat there was a 16.5 km running race for the annual Begonia Festival. I liked to take the boys for runs in this pram long before they became so fashionable. In this photo I am getting ready to run with Sam.

A few years later, same race and I get snapped with Will.

And a few more years later, the pram is still going and it's now Lachie's turn.

I was so glad to be able to get snapped with all three of them.

A couple of years ago..

And 2016

Only now do I really appreciate the times that the five of us are together. With one in London, one in Melbourne, and the other busy with work, Uni and socialising, it is now just Jen and I most nights.

The boys are incredibly close, something which we are just so proud of.

I came across this on the footpath when out for a run in Vancouver.

It just sums up everything about life that resonates with me, rarely a day goes by where I don't think about it.

I was out for a run early one morning in Canmore, Canada. Every now and then when running I'd get a feeling of "It never gets better than this", when the body feels great, the mind is right and the run just couldn't be any better. This was one of those moments, and I always take a photo when I can when I have one of these moments.

Mum and Dad.

No words needed.

Lake Louise in Canada. This is the most beautiful place I have seen in the world. The experience there helped as well, as while I was walking along the edge it started to snow, and the colour of the water changed dramatically. The sheer peacefulness of the snow falling in such a majestic setting is something that I will never forget. The photo doesn't show well enough how beautiful this place is, probably because of my fat head blocking the view!!

One of my favourite shots. We had just met up with our son, Sam in London for dinner, and I managed to get this one as we were leaving the venue. A mum and her son in deep conversation.

In Berlin. The Wall may be down now, but the legacy continues. This brick line traces the path that the Wall took through Berlin, a permanent reminder to their past. One only has to see the difference that is still visible between buildings on each side of this to understand the contrast between the lives of those on each side of the Wall during this time.

This was taken in Dubai as I was looking for my connecting flight to London. It really struck me at this moment how much of the world is still out there to see. I was just dreaming about visiting so many of these places, and realising at this time that I was just one plane flight away from each of them was such a thrill.

And just behind me was another board with just as much information.

I love being in airports and looking at these boards just to see the possibilities available.

This was taken in Lincoln, in the north of England. It may look rather plain, but I'll remember this moment forever as I was in a new city in a country that I had not explored. I had a few minutes to kill before visiting a school, and just stood on a bridge over a canal and saw this group of swans paddling up the canal so casually. It doesn't show how cold it was at the time, and this added to the moment even more. While not being a tourist attraction, it really summed up 'the vibe' of this city at the time.

This is why I love travel. Rather than the grand tourist spots which I have seen and loved, it is the small streets in cities that really tell you about that place. I just soak up the atmosphere and history of these places. This city (Plymouth) just had so many streets like this, I could have taken a million photos!

And sometimes it is not wanting to see things, but to do things. I have always wanted to eat good old 'Fish and Chips' in a seaside English town, and this I did in Plymouth. They tasted so good, mainly because I was savouring the moment more than the product. The experience was as good as I could have hoped for.

And one of my favourite places in London!

I actually went and saw Mamma Mia twice while I was over there, I just love it so much. I also went and saw 'The Book of Mormon' with my son, as well as 'The Lion King'. Last year with my wife we went and saw 'Les Miserables'. None of these can compete in my eyes with Mamma Mia, I could go there day after day!

This photo sums up a lot of my recent trip to Finland. Snow everywhere, which is odd for someone coming from Australia. This was the road I walked along to get to one school in particular, the cold was numbing, but the experience was so memorable.

A random snap taken in the West End of London while I was waiting to meet my son. This part of London is so alive 24/7. Just walking around and watching what is happening around me was one of the things I loved to do most. This was taken just after dark, and it was still the same 5 hours later.

In doing this post, I have come to realise just how big it could become, so where do I stop?

Every photo is taken for a reason, meaning every photo is important.

I could go on and on posting photo after photo, so where do I stop?

Now is a good time because I am getting so nostalgic. If anything, by doing this I have realised just how lucky I am to be with the people in these photos and to have had the experiences with them.

Whether they have been taken in my own backyard or at the foot of a world known tourist attraction is irrelevant, they are just the shots that have meant so much to me at the time.

Until my next post...

Cheers!