(this happened on)  Wednesday 20th May 2009

The Gap Year Gang Hit The Dirt Tracks

Stunningly Beautiful

Well I got out of bed at around 9;30am, showered and dressed.

I went up to the kitchen and as I could not get on the Internet (whoops it would appear that we as a family have used up all of the Royall Family allowance) I just  spent a few happy hours playing with my music, it’s a never ending and ongoing  project. I am super anal and don’t like having songs not properly named, plus for some weird reason Ttunes seems to have lost touch with where 50% of the tracks are residing so I have to re-create the links, which I do one track at a time.

Sofia was having a hard time getting the children up and out, by the time I had got them altogether Glenn had popped out. Once everybody else was up about and  Glenn had returned, he told us he wanted to take us out for a drive up the local off road tracks. So we jumped in  the cars, us in our shiny new hire car and the Royalls in their second car.  Sasha stayed behind to do her art work, she wanted to do a picture of Charlotte.

We went down dirt tracks through the logging area full of trees, The tracks on the whole were very good considering they are mud roads, I think some of them were better than our roads in Devon, we then came to Brooman which was an abandoned mining village, all the houses slowly falling to bits on top of a hill far from anywhere but rather picturesque. We followed the track on for miles and then came to Shallow Crossing where there is a roadway through the wide river just under the water. A truly lovely spot great trees flanking mirror smooth dark waters. Everyone had to go get there feet wet. Jack was in up to his thighs by the time we were ready to go.

We then drove back up the track to a friend of Glenn and Nicky for tea. Keith and his son ‘little’ Glen.  They live in a fantastic spot full of wildlife and flowers, the boys climbed into a tree house and we saw the ‘bush’ wood furniture he was making from a nice piece of Red Gum tree.

He also had a tree dahlia full of pink blossoms and about 15ft tall. Also banana and passion fruit vine was growing everywhere.

Keith is a real man of the bush, living in a beautiful wooden house on a stunning piece of land, the birds all around the property make a non stop variety of sounds, totally cool. Keith regaled us with stories of Pythons living in the roof and  showed us his massive collection of fishing rods and equipment and also showed us some of his wonderful wooden furniture that he makes.

We then returned back to town and Stefan, Sofia, Nicky and I firstly picked Charlotte up from work and then went shopping, Stefan and I on alcohol purchasing duties and the girls getting the ingredients for tonights dinner.

Back at the house we could all access the internet as Glenn had put some more money in the meter (so to speak).

When we returned to the house Glenn had to go and collect Lockie while the ladies started to prepare dinner.

Spag bol and salad, half way through cooking a friend of the Royalls, ‘Mick’ turned up, Glenn had forgotten he was coming and Nicky rushed around and borrowed a mattress from next door and made up Jacks bed for Mick. We set 11 places for food and all sat down to a tasty spag bol and lots of chat.

Mick is a sales rep for a building products company and is a big friendly fellow, who it turns out Sofia and I had probably met some twenty years earlier at Nicky and Glenns wedding, this was not just a surprise to him but also to Glenn and I as we could not remember at first that I had been at the wedding, eventually Sofia found a picture of me at the reception to prove my attendance.

We all enjoyed a huge bowl of spaghetti bolognese, Sasha had put together a pavlova and profiteroles as well, yummy.

We boys settled in to drink beer, the kids skidaddled  and Nicky and Sofia had Baileys in thier coffee, we were all soon almost falling asleep at the table.

The art work Sasha did of Charlotte was very good, it captured Charlottes sweetness and yet was bold, Charlottes friend now wants a picture as well.