As foreshadowed in my previous post, the grandchildren were coming. They stayed with us last week-end. The weather promised was sunny and warm. It was going to be a good week-end. The eldest had broken his iPhone but the other one had just been granted a $30.- month pre-paid on his, compliments of grand-parents. The excuse was that it would allow him to be able to contact his parents. Always a blatant lie. According to a quick inspection to my access of the Wi-Fi download data on my own account, gigabits of games is what he really uses his iPhone for. He cunningly uses our Wi-Fi to connect his iPhone to.
A lot of successful week-ends depend on getting them away from the gadgets. Parents and grandparents are tested to the limits of their endurance faced with this modern phenomenon. Surely, it has to be possible to invent an electronic devise that would allow parents/ grandparents to stop and zap iPhones into the silent mode with the screen just showing rain pelting down gutters or perhaps long advertisements on the benefits of eating ‘easy oats.’
We try and lure them into bookshops. They can buy any book they like. Of course, the lure has to be sweetened with an afternoon movie. However, no books were chosen this time, but they still managed to see the movie. I forgot the name but is was a movie about a young person aspiring to greatness in sport and included Hugh Jackman. It might have been skiing. I will look it up and just put this one for a moment in ‘save draft’. Please, bear with me!
It was called ‘Eddie The Eagle.’ The boys thought it better than expected. At least no Bat Man or Shrek re-runs anymore. We do our best to try and instil a distaste for mashed potato Hollywood movies. After the danger of iPhones overload, the next problem to deal with is their enormous appetites. Despite movie watching and a general tendency to fiddle with devices ( when we are not nearby) it does not seem to lesson their need for food intake. However, both parents and us have been fortunate to have steered them into reasonable dietary habits.
Especially pleasing is that none seem to be particularly oriented towards sweets or sugar loads. They do drink those fruit sugar-loaded juices, but as for lollies, chocolate bars or sparkling soft drinks, they are not all that keen anymore. It might also be a result of the rather alarming media reports about sugar and salt and fat diets. Especially the eldest who seems to live of fruit and vegetables. However, they do make up for quantities. I know the score. Pancakes are now made to a height of about ten centimetres and are wobbling on the plate while I am cooking, threatening to collapse onto the kitchen floor. A compromise to some jam or golden syrup is made if they also allow a generous squeezing of lemon juice. Milo is looking upwards and in hope. He too knows the score.
The rack of lamb with totalling about 5 each (cutlets) and as for garlic prawns; half a kilo and that is just for garlic. I don’t know what the other cinema goers felt or smelt about that little delight? But, as always; all good things come to an end. Sunday afternoon was the time to drive them to the railway station where they would catch the train back to Sydney. After parking our car we took them to the ticket locket which was closed. You don’t get to buy train tickets anymore. That too has been gadgetized. You now swipe something in front of a pole and is called ‘Opal.’
The train station staff were everywhere but not selling tickets. I stood my ground and the locket was opened. There was a kind of nervousness about. A tingling expectation or a bomb alert. Terrorism crossed my mind. Was the dreaded Mars Bar man lurking somewhere? No, the Prime Minister is on his way, someone said. Oh, the horror. Out of nowhere, a couple of tall blue suited men rushed by talking into their sleeves. Indeed followed by our new Prime minister, Mr Turnbull looking all suave and powdered. I flashed my own iPhone and managed to get a picture while he was posing with rail staff, arms around each other. He is the second from the left.
We went down some stairs where the train to Sydney was waiting. The PM followed us and jumped in the train sitting almost opposite our grandsons. Something they will remember forever. I do hope he will lose the election on the second of July. He is cutting education, health funding and is just another Abbott. Just because he catches a train with our grandsons hasn’t made him a forward and progressive man to lead a country.
Tags: Bat Man, Eddie the Eagle, Garlic prawns, Iphone, Malcolm Turnbull, WI FI
May 16, 2016 at 11:45 pm |
Sounds like another successful weekend with the kids! What more could you ask?
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May 17, 2016 at 4:50 am |
Yes, they are great and we love it when they come over. They have a lot of wisdom and we can learn from them a lot.
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May 17, 2016 at 12:40 am |
Michel “Eddie” Edwards, oh my Gosh do I remember him, even I was cheering for him.
I am glad you guys had a great weekend. Now I want Garlic prawns dangit.
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May 17, 2016 at 4:52 am |
Yes, we gave the garlic prawns away for a long time but since a few months ago, we renewed our vows to the prawns and have been tucking into them. A pinch of chilli with garlic did it, I think.
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May 17, 2016 at 3:01 am |
If you can believe it, there are summer camps here in Texas for both boys and girls which require the campers to leave all electronic gadgets — phones, radios, music players, games, and such — at home for the duration. There’s no email, no texting. Instead, the campers amuse themselves with rowing, horseback riding, swimming, drama, music-with-instruments, and so on.
Not only that, there are rules in the dining halls. No elbows on tables. Converse with your table mates. Say please and thank you.
Amazing.
Still, your grandsons sound rather like fine young men, and I know it must be a pleasure to have them around. Garlic prawns don’t sound too bad, either. I may have to indulge one of these days, as its the season, and fresh can be had for a fair price.
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May 17, 2016 at 5:01 am |
Our grandsons are a delight to have around. The gadgets are now so much around it seems that for the oldies such as me, to criticise, I might well be classed in the same category as those normal adults that were most afraid and abhorred the rise of the ball-point back in the late forties or early fifties.
They were forbidden when I went to school. Of course, neat long- hand-writing has long gone since. Remember those lovely long m’s and beautiful crafted w’s?
Garlic prawns are best done on a charcoal driven Webber. A great American institute. We had ours now for decades and still the enamelled lid is perfect. A nice crispy white goes well with that dish as well, Linda. Cheers!
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May 17, 2016 at 11:47 pm
I remember the ink-pots and how I often ended up with ink-spots all over the place. An improvement was when we were allowed to use “Füllfederhalter” (fountain pens).
Ball-points (Biros) would be confiscated. We did not dare to use them!
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May 18, 2016 at 12:11 am
Those old desks with in-built inkwells are now worth a fortune. Retired people use them to put their cyclamens on or to feature photos of when they were young skiing somewhere in the Austrian dolomites or sipping coffee on Capri.
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May 17, 2016 at 3:52 am |
You say: “Parents and grandparents are tested to the limits of their endurance faced with this modern phenomenon.”
I couldn’t agree more, I mean, Gerard, this is my impression too.
Still, you do what you can and enjoy the grandchildren whenever there is a chance to have them around. And I am sure they love to spend time with you and Helvi.
Thanks for telling us about your weekend.
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May 17, 2016 at 5:04 am |
Thank Uta. Say hello to Peter and wish him a lovely birthday. The days of your big European trip and Berlin reunion must now be ticking away so quickly.
The kids are always nice to have around. But, as my mother used to say. “It is nice to see them, but it is also nice when they go back!”
A double joy, really.
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May 17, 2016 at 6:54 am |
Seeing the wolf in sheep skin should have put the terror into your grandsons forever. The Liberals cutting the funding to the arts and foreign aid as well. Now they want to cut the penalty rates too – after the election as if this would make any difference. They probably will claim to have a mandate. And Shorten is mealy mouth about it.
Did you watch Q and A last night? Kate Tempest, like a tempest, got stuck into the capitalist as the original sinner.
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May 17, 2016 at 8:16 am |
Q and A was supreme, Peter. Kate Tempest was amazing. They talked a lot about freedom of speech being sacrosanct. I was chomping at the bit about also asking about having the freedom to vote or not to vote.
Australia together with some other very dubious countries, still has compulsory voting by punishment.
Can you believe this?
You are right about Shorten being too soft.
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May 17, 2016 at 7:06 am |
It’s good they like to spend time with the grandparents, and I reckon they’re storing memories for the future.
I have to smile because of course I’m reading your book on an electronic device. Forgive me, please, and send garlic prawns.
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May 17, 2016 at 8:22 am |
Yes, I am a bit hypocritical when over the last few weeks I have been tortured to no end trying to upload my book on all sorts of internet corridors. Helvi is making excuses with my absence in the here and now, with; ‘he is working on his book.’
‘He is getting better now,’ or, ‘he is not so cranky today.’
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May 17, 2016 at 8:32 am |
You don’t get cranky, do you!?
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May 17, 2016 at 9:36 am |
Impossibly so, Yvonne!
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May 17, 2016 at 11:57 am |
Our grandkids have the same fascination with electronics, Gerard. I think it is universal. Both sets of their parents place strict limits on use, however. And, I am happy to report, the kids are still young enough to forego their video games for a water fight with Grandpa. 🙂 –Curt
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May 18, 2016 at 12:07 am |
Yes, our daughter does try and limit their use of electronics but they get good at cheating. I woke up one morning happy to see one of the grandkids iPhone was on the charger downstairs. On closer inspection it turned out to be plugged into the cover of the phone. He had smuggled the iPhone upstairs to their room.
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May 18, 2016 at 12:14 am
The little buggers can be clever! Laughing. –Curt
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May 18, 2016 at 8:18 pm |
An eventful weekend for you all and how great to grab a gadget and catch this shot!
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May 18, 2016 at 10:22 pm |
Yes, I took the photo within seconds of the new PM rushing past. Thank you Patti.
Here is the book.http://www.amazon.com/Almost-There-Fragments-Restless-Life/dp/0994581033/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463608997&sr=1-4&keywords=Almost+There
I don’t enjoy asking for this, Patti, but if you can find the time to write a review, it would make for a happy man. One can base it on the prologue and few initial chapters that are there to read.
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May 18, 2016 at 11:51 pm |
Controlling the electronic devices for a weekend is one thing but the daily battle to do so is exhausting. I keep hoping the Doctor will arrive in his Blue Box and whisk us all away to the 1960s where I wouldn’t have these problems. But then I’d have to give up the blogging, I guess.
At least, with the change in leadership, they were seated near Turnbull. If it had still been Abbott, I would have been afraid for them.
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May 19, 2016 at 12:18 am |
Yes, the boys were very surprised. I bet they were texting their friends, before the PM even had sat down.
To be seated near Abbott would have probably been a disaster and might well have seen passengers fleeing to another carriage.
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May 19, 2016 at 12:00 pm |
Did Mr Turnbull,have his golden shit shovel?
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May 19, 2016 at 10:56 pm |
Yes, he did. It was a fold-up one so no one would notice.!
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