This will hurt me...

Caption contest! [Keep it clean fellas...]

QUICKLY ! Get that pot of gold boys… Geilston Bay, January 2011. Rainbows: optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere; or something infinitely more sinister? In Greek mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger (Iris) between Earth and Heaven. In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by goddess Nüwa using stones of five different colours. In the Epic of Gilgamesh: the rainbow is the "jewelled necklace of the Great Mother Ishtar" that she lifts into the sky as a promise that she "will never forget these days of the great flood" that destroyed her children. In Norse Mythology, a rainbow called the Bifröst Bridge connects the realms of Ásgard and Midgard, the homes of the gods and humans. In Hindu mythology, the rainbow is called Indradhanush, meaning "the bow of Indra, the god of lightning, t...

Ezra, wait your turn! Honestly, it’s like walking around with the Beatles, screaming girls squealing, screaming and throwing themselves at Henry and Ezra left, right and centre…

Learning to surf. Clifton Beach, December 2010. We’ve had a bit of a slow reading period over Christmas and the New Year (if you don’t count kids’ books). Actually, I enjoyed the kids’ books somewhat more than one of the novels I just finished. For the record, the new Charlie and Lola book Henry and Ezra got for Christmas – Slightly Invisible – is a tour de force . It is an absolutely new and completely original book from the mind of Lauren Child. Without wanting to give too much away, Charlie and his gravelly-voiced East Ender chum Marv are in search of strange and tricky creatures. Of course, they would prefer to do this without little sister Lola bothering and interrupting. Luckily, Lola knows exactly how to catch strange and tricky creatures and enlists a little bit of help from her (slightly) invisible friend, Soren Lorensen, and the pulsating narrative goes from here…. Equal parts Dostoyevsky and Evelyn Waugh, the forever delightful Charlie and Lola explore the blurred bounda...

First rule of the beach on windy days: when heading upwind, keep one’s mouth closed .

More bloody boats. Racing off Tranmere, as seen from Sandy Bay. December 2010. Every summer in Hobart means boats, more boats, and MORE bloody boats. Honestly, we have boats coming out of our ears. There are too many boats and not enough sharks. I have long been an advocate of a Bill of Rights for Great White Sharks, including enshrining the right of one (1) boat – plus crew – per shark, per month. This way, we could keep a check on this rapidly growing boat population, and improve the quality of life of our besieged Great White communities. Honestly, the way that people carry on when one has a simple nibble out of a surfboard, you can imagine what would happen if one did the full Quint to one of these airy fairy, lardy dardy, goody goody, namby pamby, hoity toity, wishy washy, not in my backyard, chardonnay-sipping, doing nothin' do gooders. They would be calling the WAAAAAAH-mbulence quick smart and we would then have a violent and conceited revenge fantasy on our hands. It is ...

We’ve been planning our trip to Mars for quite some time now, but have found getting time in the simulators quite difficult. Thus, we’ve had to make do with playground equipment until I get this centrifugal whizzy whirl – it’s technical name – built.