Charlottesville - amazing

Smiling - loved these two pics from Jordan (and especially the email they came with)

A working Saturday - the view from the couch

Stingrays win D2 U13 league with demolition of HK Football Club

Your life, this life, our lives - the beauty of Africa and of people

I was smiling today as I headed off to another soccer match, in this weird concrete city, with its weird concrete city people - I suppose I've become one - entombed in concrete as a metaphor.  I so loved your photos from Zambia - infinite thanks - I realized that I've never seen inside a power-station, just had no idea what it might look like - which is a massive ignorance considering how utterly reliant we all are on their output.  And then there was Africa itself - these two made me feel so intensely how special it is, and think about how impossible it is to see that, without seeing the alternatives.  I just love the thought of you and your mate going for a run, and these kids pouring out of the village to run alongside you, it's so celebratory of life, and fabulously African - where behaviour can be grim - but people really do matter, and are BIG, and laugh and shout and suck in the air of life.  And of course the Baobab - broke my heart - so utterly and only African - a tree of holidays and delight.

So it seems so strange to be doing what we're doing, by comparison - wonderful - but really very very vanilla.  Had a house full of boys today - which was lovely - and their lovely little characters; the quirky details...

Ev

Max

Charlie - with the astounding eyes

On the way out - munching brownies, the parking lot creeping towards completion

And on the way back - euphoric moods - they went two down, came back to two all, weathered a storm at the end - felt better than a victory - they were all flying.

Ev ready for Sunday combat

New lime-flavoured gum-guard.  Who would have thought?  Really should be yellow green.  He tried a smile, but they are not really smiley things.  So you got the flanker's stare.
Hope your move plans are going well and you are feeling excited about it. :-)

The joys of getting dug - dig Kowloon

Saturday morning was a beaut. Crystal clear day.  The guy with the digger working for the contractor working for the district council dug up a number of things along with the parking lot (which is being redone), on Friday.  Firstly the water, then the electricity and finally our fibre-optic cable - which is the unhappy looking white conduit and little black snake you can see.  Though the wooden bridge is nice.  Anyway - it was a big day; Ev was chosen as keeper, playing for one of the Kowloon schools teams, playing against the Island schools, for the ESF 50th anniversary celebrations. Kowloon won the football - but lost the netball.  So it goes.

From left, Ev's mates and Kowloon team mates, Orell, Max and Julian - with their medals.