Grand Prix News - Driver Sacked!

Breaking news from the living room....Doctor X has been sacked!

A spokesman for Team Snot, X's former team, said "He was absolutely rubbish. Even James May drives faster than Doctor X! We're now looking for a new driver, if you're interested please get in touch before the weekend, when we'll be taking part in the Malaysian Grand Prix. In Malaysia."

Doctor X would only say "I'm gonna kill that duck! And them frogs! I'm gonna kill EVERYONE!"

27 March 2010 - Australian Grand Prix

We’ve had a great idea for a new game. We’re running the Grand Prix world championship!
　
Using one of Dad’s old board games - Formula One - we’re going to hold a three lap race every time that there’s a real Grand Prix taking place. There are six cars in the game, and the “drivers” will be Sam himself plus five of his favourite toys, namely Brian the Duck, Rudolph the Musical Reindeer, Postman Pat, Buzz Lightyear, and token baddie, Doctor X.

　
We missed last week’s real season opener, so this week was our own first race, the Australian Grand Prix. We’re using a retro points system rather than the fancy-shmancy new style, and it’s all going to be most excellent.

　
As well as great fun I’m planning to educate Sam without him realising it, which is of course the best way to do it. Around each of our races I’m going to be introducing some elements of the country that it’s taking place in, maybe drawing their flag, finding it on maps, reading some of its history, and anything else you might like to suggest.

　
So, race one was the Australian Grand Prix, summed up here with words by me and photos mainly by Sam himself:

After two laps we made a pitstop, for scrambled egg on toast, with a rasher of bacon snipped on top. It's the ideal brekkie for the middle of a high octane motor racing spectacle.

Here we see Rudolph (black) holding off a challenge by Brian the Duck (yellow):

Sam (red) leads Doctor X (green), Postman Pat (blue) and Buzz Lightyear (orange) into Lodge Corner:

In the background of this picture you can see the rival drivers. Left to right, Buzz Lightyear, Postman Pat (lying down), Doctor X, Rudolph, Brian (wearing helmet of course):

The result was as follows:

1st - Brian the Duck
2nd - Rudolph the Musical Reindeer
3rd - Sam
4th - Postman Pat
5th - Buzz Lightyear
6th - Doctor X

The cars are shown here in the pits, in the order of finishing:

And so the standings are:

10 points - Brian the Duck

6 - Rudolph the Musical Reindeer

4 - Sam

3 - Postman Pat

2 - Buzz Lightyear

1 - Doctor X

There's not long to wait for round two, as we're off to Malaysia next weekend! Tally ho....

4 April - Malaysia

18 April - China

9 May - Spain

16 May - Monaco

30 May - Turkey

13 June - Canada

27 June - Europe

11 July - Britain

25 July - Germany

1 August - Hungary

29 August - Belgium

12 September - Italy

26 September - Singapore

10 October - Japan

24 October - Korea

7 November - Brazil

14 November - United Arab Emirates

Sport Relief @ Norwich

Last weekend was Sport Relief weekend, if you hadn't noticed. Sam and me did our bit and headed off to Norwich to run our mile.


The weather this year was super, blue sky, warm breeze, lovely. Two years ago was so different, when it was torrential rain in the teeth of a gale. Sam was excited and hoping to beat his previous time of 12 minutes 45 seconds....whether he did or not he had £55 sponsor money resting on his shoulders.

We set off on the stroke of half past ten, and Sam zoomed off immediately. He had wanted to line up in the front row, and I couldn't see a problem with that. After a quarter of a mile the course turned a right angle around a park, and we waved cheerily at each other across the grass, before Sam got his head down and powered off again. I was expecting to find him bent over, hands on knees, a-puffing and a-blowing, around the next corner, but the next corner came and went, and the next, and the next, with no sign of him apart from the occasional flash of red in the distance.

Eventually I turned into the home straight and there he was, waiting for me at the finish line (see above). As you can see from the clock, I finished in 9 minutes 5 seconds. Sam made it in 8:15, which I think is pretty impressive for a six-year-old. Well done son!

Sam finished 13th from our wave of starters, but was beaten by the Blues Brothers. Dad finished much further back, and was overtaken by a giant banana.

Sam was delighted with his run, delighted with his medal, and happy to have raised money for a good cause. Later, at a family christening, Auntie Lou and Cas boosted his total to an impressive £70, great work young man!

If you sponsored Sam, thanks very much, if you didn't, there's still time:

http://www.mysportrelief.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=67985

Can't wait for the 2012 event!

Willows In The Walks

We all love springtime, and since I've lived in King's Lynn there's been one enormous hint that spring is a-coming.


The weeping willows in The Walks really cheer me up when the first shades of super-pale green appear, and today was the day. I photographed it, as below, and have added my previous photos and the dates they were taken. Lovely.

22 March 2010

25 March 2009

30 March 2008

30 March 2006


No idea what happened in 2007, sorry.

Half Term Holiday Sorted!

Well that's half-term sorted!


Not the next half term. The first one in the next school year, in October. We do like a bit of forward planning.


We saved up tokens from the paper again, and we're now booked into a caravan at Heacham for half the holiday. That's great as those dates were our first choices.


This coming summer I think Sam and me will be out and about under canvas again. Cheap, cheerful, and a lot of fun. We certainly can't afford anything more.


But for now, we have a holiday, booked and paid for (£9.50 each).

Guess Who Chopped Their Thumb Off....

Not the whole thing of course! Just a little bit.


It happened on Monday while I was chopping our veg for the week. The knife went a bit off line, I felt a sharp pain, and blood squirted out of the thumb onto the floor. All very dramatic.


Refusing to panic, I looked at the knife. There was a contact-lens shaped piece of thumb stuck to one side of it. I nearly threw up on the spot.

Of course, it's basically just a cut, so it was washed, dressed, elevated, but kept bleeding. I made a promise to myself that if the blood didn't stop within 90 minutes I'd deliver myself to A&E, but the flow stemmed itself with twenty minutes of my time limit to go.

I think I lost a decent amount of blood. I've also found that life with only one thumb is more awkward than I'd imagine. Tieing shoe laces is particularly difficult, and delivering the papers this morning is going to be unpleasant.

My advice is - don't chop the very end of your thumb off.

Skate Park

On Saturday we returned to The Shed skatepark at Lynnsport, for the first time this year.

Sam spent over an hour regaining his balance and scooting around the place, and I think he looks more composed and sure of himself than he did before.

Daddy, My Wobbly Tooth Fell Out

Sam's had a wobbly tooth for a while....

On Saturday morning he appeared in Dad's bed nearly in tears, holding the tooth in the palm of his hand. Losing it hadn't hurt, but I think the taste and sight of a little bit of blood freaked him out.

I was quite excited for him, but also a little sad for myself....my little boy's baby teeth are starting to depart. He's growing up.

Home-Made Pizza

Friday night's tea was another Sam & Dad experimental job. We indulged ourselves in buying all the doings to make pizzas - ready-made bases and pizza sauce though. Sam loved spreading the sauce out and chopping the ingredients, but most of all loved scoffing the finished article.


Sam's pizza included ham, pineapple, and chocolate buttons:



Dad's pizza was ham, peperoni, mushroom, jalapenos, and anchovies: