Up at 6am. Rang Mirinda at 7:30 and talked for an hour. She was going to go home to the cottage tonight (her tonight) and would have got home at midnight to a cold and lonely house – not even any puppies. I managed to talk her into staying at the flat and going home early Friday.
We had a 30 second rain shower but then the blue skies returned. The weather really has been “beautiful one day, perfect the next” this trip. Ok, it’s been hot but not unbearably so.
Mum and I went shopping to get Tracey’s welcome parcel of groceries for her new flat as well as a trawl along Bullcock Street. Dad stayed at the house to chat with his virtual friends. We went mad and spent $1,000,000 for Trace! Actually I went mad, buying all the best stuff but the Rolls Royce was mum’s idea. I bought Nicole and Stevie some tacky souvenirs, as well as Tim Tams and Twisties for me and my matey.
Back at the house I set up the video in mum and dad’s bedroom and dad’s Sega game console in the little room. At present they are without a lounge as it is completely covered with Tracey’s stuff, so I sit on the floor. Ahhh, poor Gary…
Went for a long walk along the beach to Pelican Waters. So nice in the breeze. Wish I had someone else’s feet, though, as mine are not at all happy. Blisters and burns. Sounds like a law firm that specialises in compo cases. There is an inordinate number of poodles in Golden Beach. Trouble is I just want to go and pick them up and cuddle them. Don’t think the owners (who are walking them) would really understand.
The five of us are going out to 1 Bullcock for dad’s birthday. Denise turned up at 6-ish and we went for Trace at 7. The waitresses at 1 Bullcock are very nice and made dinner that little bit nicer with their charm. Always with a smile and seemingly pleased to serve us. Similar to the staff at The Yew Tree. A rarity these days.
I had perch in macadamia crumbs and a lemon butter sauce over salad which was seriously delicious. I’ve drunk a lot of gassy beer since arriving so tonight I decided to switch to bourbon for the night. Pity spirits are so expensive in the UK as it would be nice to switch at home too. Anyway, mum, Denise and Tracey had lasagne and dad had an amazing t-bone steak and normal chips. I say amazing because I’m just not used to seeing half a cow on a dinner plate. For dessert I had shortbread topped with macadamias swamped in white chocolate mousse which went beyond the description. Unfortunately the profiteroles had lost their custard somewhere between the kitchen and the table so the others were not so lucky. Dad was defeated by half his apple crumble – fortunately it was the second half.
After dinner we went into my first (and pray it’s the last) dose of karaoke. Apart from my wonderful sister singing Blue Bayou, making my eyes misty, it was pretty dire. Particularly this guy called Steve who dad reckons has been singing for yonks. If practice makes perfect he’s got about 4,000 years left to go. Mind you they all seemed to enjoy themselves, which is the point after all. The guy running the machines said “karaoke is for you“. I can say (and can’t stress enough) that it definitely is NOT for me.
We left about 10 and Trace got a bit teary as I won’t see her again before I leave. She went back to the bar while Denise drove us back to Coronation Ave. We then waited up for her to call, watching My Hero. It was the final episode where George wipes his own memory and has to save the earth from an asteroid. Very funny. Denise rang and we crashed at about 11:30.
