Goodbye 2002

Happy New Year!
We brought the new year in at Small and Kent’s place, playing a large and entertaining game of poker over bowls of cashews and slabs of pizza. I played dismally (yet cheerfully) but fortunately after a slow start Big-P’s luck changed and we came home up 60 cents. Obviously we are in for a good year! As our nominated clock ticked down to midnight we stood in the backyard and toasted each other with glasses of champagne, looked up at the stars and listened to other distant parties over back fences counting down to 12 shortly before or shortly after us. All around us the streets and parks of Brunswick and Coburg were filled with folks setting off an incredible array of illegal and massively noisy fireworks. From our back yard view we would catch a glimpse of an occasional splash of colour but it was nice enough just standing there and enjoying the cold after days of heat, and appreciating the fact that the babies were still sleeping through all the noisy festivities.

After Special-K cleaned up the table with a night long string of good luck we hit the road for the long trip back to the ‘burbs. Driving through Fitzroy was a little like playing a crazed game of Frogger as cars meandered dangerously across lanes and pedestrians staggered out of various drinking holes ready to launch themselves into the road in front of us. Back out here in our dark and sleeping burgh all was quiet – not a party in sight. We got to bed at 3am and Amelia J woke at 6.30… naps all round today I think.

Here’s to a wonderful and peaceful 2003.

Mr Howard’s holiday: “Mr Howard will attend the Sydney Test, relax with family and read books including Bob Woodward’s Bush at War and Rudy Giuliani’s Leadership.”