So, the year is starting to settle down to routine again. There was a bit of upheaval at Jack’s school initially because they get more enrollments then they’d planned on (a rare occurrence by all accounts) and so had to create an extra class. Pretty much all of the school’s classes are combined, so you get year 1/year 2 classes, year 3/4 clases and year 5/6 classes. Only this year, because they had so many new kids, they could afford to bring on another teacher and thus create a new year 2/3 class.

Anyway – we had a letter home saying that there’d be some upheaval and that there was a possibility that your child would be moving class. They finalised those moves at the start of the week and as far as Jack was concerned (but not us), it was all bad news. Firstly, they moved his main out-of-hours playmate from his class. Secondly they moved his main in-hours playmate from his class. Thirdly, he wasn’t moved into the year 2/3 class.

To be honest we were quite relieved by the fact that his two best mates were moved because Jack, while being a fairly bright kid, is prone to doing other stuff instead of the task he’s been set. He’ll give his classmates helpful tips and suggestions on their work, he’ll obsess about one tiny aspect of the task, he’ll rearrange his pencilbox – but quite often he completely forgets to do the actual job he’s been set. And it’s for that reason he wasn’t moved into the 2/3 class – in there they want kids that can ‘work independently’. Jack’s a lovely well-meaning young chap, but he requires more prompts than a short-sighted newsreader. God only knows he takes after me in that regard.

It’s the time of year when the new sign-ups for soccer, AFL, rugby league etc happen too. Jack asked to do soccer this year, but we have a hard enough time getting up for the school day, so the prospect of driving to windswept soccer pitches around South Coast NSW on what is (nominally) our day off – doesn’t appeal much. At least with the nippers you knew you only had to go to the local beach.

Fires …
So yes, there’s been some catastrophic fires down in Victoria as you’ve no doubt seen on the news. Many of the people who died had lived through bush fires before, but this one was a whole new thing. So tinder dry were the forests and woods in the national parks that the fire moved at an unbelievable pace. One small-holder down there said the fire took less than two minutes to travel over two kilometres to his house – in previous years it had taken a whole day.

People are advised to choose early to either stay and fight the fire at their property or to get out. It’s easy to say you’d get in your car and leave early, but when it’s your house – everything you’ve ever worked for – it’s something quite different. There have been some horror stories and some near-miracles in the fires. One poor sod jumped in his rainwater tank and was boiled alive. Another lady hid under floorboards in her house and was only discovered (safe and well) after her kids hiked five km to her place and were kicking through the ash.

Hard to believe someone would set those fire deliberately, but a couple of the biggest ones were. And indeed it’s on-going – one of the arsonists actually went out and set a fire while they were running an all-night disaster appeal on one of the main TV channels. What’s going through his head? I haven’t killed enough poor innocent bastards yet so I’m going to try and get me some more? Just beggars belief to be honest.

Living where we do, we’re in danger of bush fires too. Indeed the national park, not 300 metres from our house, went up in smoke only six years ago. Whilst the park has regenerated as it has evolved to do, the trunks of the trees are still black from fire damage. In fact, looking out of my window, all I can see is trees really. Sobering thought.

Extremes…
I was struck by the extreme differences in weather between Australia and UK. Friends and colleagues from the area we used to live in have sent us photos of the snow and it looks like something else. We have some colleagues who live up near Slad and had three to four feet drifts on their small-holding. And to our former neibs in Nailsworth, some thoughts: 1) What happened to those three little girls we used to live next door to?!?! 2) What’s happened to the rabbit? and 3) You could probably go into the calendar business and make a killing!

So while they UK’s had sub-zero temperature and snow blizzards, here the temperature got up well over 40c and then stayed there. Personally it doesn’t bother me – doesn’t affect my sleeping at all. However the missus suffered a bit and has enjoyed the recent arrival of winter-like temperatures in the 20s.

Till next time … later ‘taters …