Long to reign over us (*sigh*)

Sweet baby cheeses, Australia is lovin' that the Queen is down under. I have always been a bit 'meh' about the royals* but we do get a public holiday for the Queen's birthday, which is...noice.
This year (in W.A.) the public hol got moved back a bit to coincide with CHOGM. I'm glad Julia got to meet Her Maj, I dig that girl-power but I think Julia's days are numbered...
It seems Liz has received a right royal send-off in Perth, 'fess-up you Perth-ites, who went along to wave??!!
Anyhoo, what are LAFE doing with our long weekend? Well, we went to the pool today and we'll go again tomorrow. We are keen TP pool supporters for a few reasons:
i) It's blinkin' hot up here.
ii) There's no pool in our backyard.
iii) We are a long way from the sea.
iv) Ade is vice-president of the swimming club**.
This weekend also saw Picnic Day 2011; an afternoon/evening of activities, entertainment, food and movies brought to Tom Price by Rio Tinto. 
I gather that the purpose of Picnic Day is to remind residents that they should have no other mining company before Rio Tinto. Word on the street is that this year's Picnic Day was craphouse compared to previous years. The girls enjoyed it...

circus skills

decorating cupcakes

Tug o'war

Captain Quirk's juggling show

Brought to you by our sponsors...

* Confession: in 1996 (or thereabouts) I did see the Queen. She was in a car being driven into the Epsom Downs racecourse on Derby day. Despite my being a bit 'meh' about the royals I got stupidly excited when I saw her and jumped up and down and squealed.
I was appalled at myself.
In my defense I squealed far, far louder when Dame Judi Dench drove past me on a country lane near Redhill a couple of years after my brush with QEII. J'adore Dame Judi.

** The only man on the committee, he thinks it gives him extra rumpy-pumpy value....like I'll sing "Happy Birthday Mr (vice) President" or something. Dream on Ade.

TP Book Club

It's been a while between good books. I bought the latest Michael Connolly paperback in Coles but (while I luff Mr Connolly) this is snack-food literature and I was still hungry.

There's a good little library in Tom Price but my relationship with libraries is much like the one I have with Blockbusters and VideoEzy: they lend me things, I forget to return them promptly and then I have to pay more in late fees than it would have cost me to purchase my entertainment in the first place. 

And so I dropped in on my pals at Book Depository. I bought several books that Jen had recommended, she's usually spot on but I couldn't get overexcited about The Book Thief (so shoot me). This pile also includes a lend from Helen, another Coles top 10-er, A Perth purchase and a book my mum sent me which I have since discovered is a Christmas present for Freya!

While I get stuck in to this lot I will have to find time to re-read 'Red Dog', it's a shortie so a spare morning should do it, and think about some discussion points. This is in preparation for my first Book Club meeting. Below is the email I sent to other interested readers:

Hello,

Thank you so much for your interest in a Book Club. I thought I'd better get this show on the road or it'll be 2012 and still no BC!.

So here's what I was thinking:

• The first rule of book club is that you do not talk about book club. Kidding, of course! BC may grow, It would be great if it did. We may be the (hard)core but please invite other interested readers to join us.
• The second rule is "anything goes" (in a literary sense!). The books we choose can be fact, fiction or anything in between and of any genre. I'm looking forward to reading other people's picks but if, for some reason, you don't want to read the chosen book, don't. Feel free to skip the meeting.
• BC to meet every 5-6 weeks. I figure this is enough time to source and read the chosen book. The date and book for the next meeting will need to be decided at the preceding meeting (make sense?!).
• Each meeting will have a 'host' who will chose the book and lead the discussion. We will take it in turns to host, I'll go first! The meeting can be at the host's house or, if that is not convenient, at a venue of your choice (pub, park, someone else's pad...).
• BYO booze and some nibbles to share, host to provide softies. In case this wasn't clear, I think BC should be a happy, sociable event with as much emphasis on the 'club' as the 'book'. Wine is good, coffee and chocolate are also good.
• At the end of each meeting the next host will let members know their book choice. That way we can immediately set about sourcing/reading the book. Any volunteers for host no.2? You'll need to have decided on your book in time for our first meeting.

So can the majority make the inaugural TPBC meeting at my place (3 Ingerup Pl) on Thursday 3rd November from 7pm?

RSVP before the date :)

My first pick for first book is....

Red Dog by Louis De Bernieres. It's a quick, easy, geographically relevant read that is (I believe) available from the tourist information place. I also have a copy that I am happy to lend.

Any of you book-clubbers? I'm happy to receive your hints and tips :)

Sorted...

...kinda. The photos are upright but it took a fair bit of fiddling. Maybe I'll read the instructions on my new camera now :)

At home with Silke!

I love this photo, gorgeous baby E!

Esther makes another best friend!

RT and L xx

Me, Ains and any day now!

We did a few drive-bys of the old place in order to admire the garden, it was glorious...apart from the weeds which the agent assures us will be dealt with.

Busy time in Perth but it was great to see y'all. Much love (in no particular order) to: Tylers; Karl & Chris; Ti & Jay; Adam & Janine; Helen & John; LIL Ludgerus; the Ferndale mums crew and BCPS kids; Homelink posse; Early Shirley; Anita & offspring; Ains; Rooneys; Lizzie; Gem, Simon and E; Baxters; RT, JS and L; Uncle Trav. To those we didn't manage to catch up with...TP is an awesome spot for a holiday!

To Perth and back

The lovely fortnight we spent in Perth has been marred by my inability to properly upload some of the photos I took on my new (and currently maligned) Nikon. My technological ineptitude and unsuccessful troubleshooting have delayed my bedtime; I am entirely crankipants.
Ade (who is usually so useful at times like this) suggested I read the manual... Well that's just crazy talk.
So, dear friends and family, I would warmly welcome advice regarding rotating and saving pics (although any patronising or rude comments will be met with a Paddington Bear stare).
Here are some "landscape" shots to keep you going while I try and work out how not to give LunaRover readers a crick in their neck.

 

 

Tragedy

It's been a while since I've had fingers to keyboard at LunaRover. No excuses...
The girls and I are in Perth at the moment but our thoughts are with friends and colleagues in Tom Price, who this week have had to deal with the terrible consequences of a tragic accident which occurred in Karijini National Park.
This afternoon I start a Remote Emergency Care course to learn and refresh essential skills that in the light of this week's tragedy are all the more pertinent.