Game on

I’ve just sorted out the Jaeckels’ departure in light of the information I found out about the Port of Hamburg. A section of my notebook is now marked with *, **, *** and a ∆. I only hope when I go back to type it up that I can work out the multiple directions the text is heading. It is as convoluted as the currents of the Elbe River swirling into seawater at the ocean mouth. Okay, okay, it’s early in the morning and metaphors can be a little strained at this time. I haven’t even finished my first cup of coffee. I sometimes wonder if what I am writing on the novel even makes sense or if when I come back to it in the clear light of day, it will be pages of gibberish.

I have been remiss in keeping people up to date. Blithe Girl had a wonderful birthday. The Iraqi government and FIFA cooperated, the game was on, and Harry Kewell scored the winning goal (and only goal of the match) for Australia at the end at which they were sitting. Though exhausted on her actual birthday, I think she glowed all day.

A letter to this week’s Gatton Star recommends parking at Riverview train station as the hidden secret of successfully travelling to Brisbane. The only downside to the birthday excursion to Lang Park was that Mr and Blithe Girl did just that and returned to find that someone had tried (unsuccessfully) to break into the car. So dear readers, please ignore said advice even if it was in the newspaper and everyone knows that what’s in the paper must be true.

The game is on for us in a different way and one that will lead to less blogging over the next few weeks. The council has told us that if we don’t meet the June 15 deadline for “practical completion” of the extension, we will have to go through the whole approval process again and get a new development approval. It took two months, a lot of trouble and significant expense to get the last one. Mr Blithe is taking next week off work, my mother is coming up from Sydney to look after Blithe Boy and we are going to do our best to meet the deadline. A few things depend on other people, but we will get done what we can. It will be interesting and I suspect painful, but we are determined to finish this project. I’ll write what and when I can, but I can’t promise anything. I have to wrap up the website project on which I’ve been working for the Residents’ Association in the next 48 hours and then the game is on.