Finding Gold

April is a golden time of year here in Japan. Spring arrives proper; the flowers come out (most noticeably the cherry blossoms), long underwear can be shed, t-shirts and shorts are no longer out of the realm of possibility, even sunscreen may be required. Another reason i regard April as golden is the holidays – the first week is the second half of spring break (the school year beginning in April here) and the last week being a succession of public holidays known as Golden Week.


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For Golden Week i’d initially planned to travel with Jodi to Kyoto to spend some time with Reni & Syd. That plan was foiled however when i suddenly broke my toe while sparring at karate training. Unless i drove my car to Kyoto it would not be possible to get around. With parking hard to find and traffic often congested, that option did not appeal. Instead i arranged for the boys to come and stay here in Tokushima for a few days.


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We arranged to go camping with my American friend, Fred and his family. The boys had previously met Fred and his three lovely children, Cordy, Everett and Ian during the spring break. This time Fred’s wife, Hadley, was also able to come along.


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After rendezvousing at a highway stop we headed south in tandem. Our original intention had been to go a park to play but we were unable to find one. Eventually we arrived at the picturesque Ozuna Beach, where we decided to stop to play and have lunch.


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The weather was fabulous though not hot enough to venture into the water, which is still quite chilly. The kids had fun building sandcastles before lunch then exploring the rockpools at the end of the beach after.


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From Ozuna we headed further south stopping at the mouth of the Kaifu River to watch some surfing action while we enjoyed an afternoon tea of some pastries from the nearby bakery. Unfortunately Syd took a tumble on the concrete here, scraping his knees. Nurse Jodi came to the rescue though, cleaning up his wounds and applying a couple of band-aids.


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After watching the surfing action for a while we headed inland following the Kaifu River to locate a campsite my friend, Aaron had told me about. After some initial confusion we managed to find the spot and set up camp.


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As dusk approached we lit a campfire and began preparing dinner while the kids explored the surrounds and played on the swings hanging from the two trees that marked the site. Everett, the elder boy, had Syd in fits of laughter as he performed a magic show for him. Syd’s unrestrained laughter was contagious; giving everyone the giggles.


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The following day after a very peaceful night’s sleep we headed further upriver to the Todoroki Falls, one of the most famous waterfalls in Tokushima. Once again the weather was superb. There was so much water at the waterfall that it was impossible to get near enough to view it without getting drenched from the mist in the air. After exploring the nearby shrines we returned to the shop by the parking area to enjoy an ice-cream.


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From the falls we headed back to the coast. Fred and his family had never ventured this far south before and were keen to explore. The boys and i had been down here a few weeks before and Syd was keen to see his friend,Kai back in Tokushima city. We decided to head south until we found a suitable place for lunch then go our separate ways. After a tasty lunch overlooking crystal clear turquoise water we said goodbye to each other, grateful for a wonderful time spent together.


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Spring cheer

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Though it’s still a bit nippy, spring is most definitely here. Spring holiday has already been and gone, in fact. It just flew by; a sure sign of a good time.

For the first week of the break the boys came and stayed with me. We had a busy week, out and about every day experiencing events, enjoying nature and time with friends. Here’s a rundown of what we got up to:

The boys arrived on a Sunday. That day we went to the park by the airport, Tsukimi-ga-oka. We’d arranged to meet Chris and Kai there. They arrived a little late but we were not lacking for company as Mitch was there with Marissa and Aisha and also David was there with his family. Though it was nice to be outdoors the wind was a little too brisk to be out for long.


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On Monday we went to see a circus. My friends, Naga and Maki had kindly given us free tickets. When we arrived all seats had already been taken but they were allowing people to sit on the stairs. Although we had to pay 500 yen each to enter, (apparently there was a quota on the number of people that could enter for free), and sit on the steps, we were still able to enjoy the show. There were no animals performing, only humans. Some of the acrobatic feats were quite amazing and breathtaking. In the evening the boys and Jodi accompanied me to soccer. i took much pleasure in hearing them having fun playing with a ball in the practice area while i was playing.

The following day we went to Shinrin Koen, a sprawling park in the mountains of Kamiyama. A friend of mine who also plays soccer, Fred, and his 3 kids, Ian, Everett and Cordy came with us. After what seemed like an eternity to get there we eventually arrived in time for lunch. After enjoying a picnic lunch we played on the various playground swings and slides with the kids. We also tackled the park’s challenging obstacle course located in forest adjoining the park. Fred’s adventurous kids managed to complete the whole course but Reni and Syd and i decided to call it quits about halfway; many of the obstacles being beyond Syd’s ability and quite demanding for Reni (not to mention myself!)

On Wednesday Jodi had to return to work so the boys and i went camping without her. We drove south as far as my favourite surfing destination, the small town of Yuki, where we stopped for lunch. Syd was extremely keen to play on the beach so i put our other plans on hold and Reni and i helped him build a sandcastle. One of a group of temple pilgrims that passed by remarked what a wonderful sandcasle we had built. I was particularly impressed myself not only by the castle itself but by the fact that Syd helped to create rather than destroy it. He’s certainly making much progress these days!


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Following our fun on the beach we cotinued south across the border into Kochi to the small town of None (no-nay). We found a nice camping spot by a rivermouth and set up the tent. As it became dark we lit a campfire then had dinner. After eating we played with sparklers (in the process accidentally lighting a small grassfire – oops!) and toasted marshmallows (though Syd preferred his uncooked).

The next day after we’d packed up camp and had breakfast we went to a nearby sightseeing spot, Takegashima. We arrived just in time to board the glass-bottom sightseeing boat. There was only one other group on board so we got plenty of attention from the guide, learning about the various marine life.

From Takegashima we headed back towards Tokushima. At Hiwasa we found a very quiet little rocky cove to have a picnic lunch. After eating we went to the nearby turtle museum, Hiwasa being famous as a location for loggerhead turtle nesting. Once we’d had our fill of turtles we headed to a hotel nearby to bathe in its hot spring baths. From the outdoor bath we could enjoy a fabulous panoramic view over the bay while soaking up the warm direct sunlight.


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On Friday we went to Tokushima’s children’s science and theme park, Asutamu Land. i decided to have a break from photography this day so i didn’t take my camera. Once again we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the glorious spring weather before entering the park. The main reason for visiting Asutama Land was to see the temporary Doraemon science exhibition. (Perhaps you know Doraemon, the little blue robotic cat-like animation character? (http://doraemon.mangawiki.org/doraemon/ ) The exhibition wasn’t quite what i’d expected, not being particularly interactive, but the boys seemed reasonably satisfied. They were also quite content to watch an episode of Doraemon on the TV in the foyer, probably just as much for the fact that i do not possess a TV as that they like Doraemon.

On the boys last day in Tokushima we went out west to visit their best friend here, Kai, and my best mate, Chris. The boys had fun together playing indoors with Kai’s toys and outside kicking around a ball and playing with Chris and myself while Jodi and Chris’ wife, Sally kept an eye on the newly born daughter, Minami.

After a wonderful week of fun and games with the boys we returned to Kyoto by bus on Sunday morning. In the evening we went out with Yoko and her parents to celebrate Syd’s birthday. After returning home we gave Syd all his presents. He was certainly very pleased with them though it did create some confusion on Tuesday when Syd’s actual birthday fell and he didn’t receive any presents.


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words of winter

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The sun is shining, flowers are beginning to blossom and military, oops i mean graduation ceremony drill, is in full swing. Spring is almost here.

Since it’s been so long since i posted to the blog i thought i’d add a few pictures taken over the winter.

J-Foto.com Blog Photo BlogThese first couple are from Reni’s birthday, taken at home in Kyoto. For his 8th birthday i gave Reni a camera. He has grown quite fond of it, it seems. On Friday when i last saw him he played a slideshow for me. There were so many photos of him and his friends. i must try to upload some of them for you when he next comes to Tokushima.

The next photo was also taken in Kyoto on my birthday. Despite my having to leave early to attend a meditation course, Reni very kindly got up early and cooked scrambled eggs for me. What a wonderful way to start the day!


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The final set of photos were taken in mid-February when the boys last visited. It was incredibly cold that weekend. On the Sunday morning we woke to the sight of snow outside – a rare occurrence here in the ‘burbs’ of Tokushima.

Our plan for the day was to visit a ski field in the mountains of Tokushima. The previous day we’d bought boots, hats, gloves and sleds for the boys. Just getting to my friend Chris’ house to pick up him and his family to go together to the snow proved to be nerveracking; along the way we passed two accidents on the icy roads. As we were slowly passing the second accident our car even went into a slight slide – right towards the ambulance on the scene!


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The highway to the ski field was closed so we decided to find an area of snow for the kids to play off the local road to Mt Tsurugi, Tokushima’s highest peak. As we ascended the mountain it became clear that we would have to attach snowchains to the tires. Unfortunately my preparation was sadly lacking here, though after much time and effort we thought we’d finally attached the chains. As it turned out, they were not on properly; one of them came undone a short way upslope. As time was running out we decided to go no further. Fortunately there was a small clearing nearby where Reni and Syd and Chris’ son Kai could enjoy some sled fun.


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Park Life

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While we were in Perth we also visited Caversham Wildlife Park. It’s located within Whiteman Park in the Swan Valley. It’s a great place for a ‘hands on’ experience with Australian wildlife.


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As you can see from the abundance of photos i took, it’s also a great place to photograph animals; far better than a zoo as you can get much nearer the animals.


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On the day we visited the park the weather was rather hot. Reni in particular did not approve of the heat. Despite his discomfort, he eventually settled down and enjoyed the park. Interacting with animals has a soothing effect on us humans, i believe.


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i highly recommend a visit to Caversham Park for anyone visiting Perth.

For information see here:

http://www.whitemanpark.com.au/

http://www.cavershamwildlife.com.au/index.html


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More shark sightings

Towards the end of our stay in Perth we went to AQWA, the Aquarium of Western Australia at Hilarys Boat Harbour. When we arrived it was really crowded; just getting a parking spot was a mission.


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The aquarium is very impressive; it has an extensive collection and numerous interactive displays. The highlight for Reni and Syd (and most people i would imagine) was the enormous main tank which houses sharks, turtles, stingrays and a variety of large fish. It’s really cool to view the creatures side-on or overhead from the conveyor belt that circles the tank.


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Beached

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Soon after arriving in Perth we went to the beach with Bec and Elliott to meet Bec’s friend, Bec Ryan and her partner, Matt and their little girl, whose name escapes me at the moment, sorry. (Remembering Bec and Matt is a no-brainer ;-) )

When we got to the beach there were lifeguards everywhere and nobody was in the water. A 4-metre shark had been sighted, a lifeguard told me.

It didn’t bother us that we couldn’t swim. It wasn’t such a hot day and the water was quite cold. We contented ourselves building sandcastles and digging pools on the shore.

Eventually people were allowed back into the water. After three shark attack fatalities within months on the Western Australian coast, the fear is certainly palpable. i didn’t go in the water that day but i did bodysurf at City Beach on a couple of ocassions.


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Perth and its people

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Wearing 4 layers on my top half, two on my lower and looking out the window onto snow on the mountains, Australia seems a world away now. It’s barely been two weeks since coming back to Japan but it feels like an eternity. The time just flew by while we were there though; a sure sign of a good time. Reni and Syd say that they miss Perth already!

There were a number of highlights of our trip, but for me the best was seeing the boys vast improvement in their English ability in the short time we were there. Although he’s pretty quiet, Reni’s grasp of English has been solid for some time. Syd on the other hand barely spoke English before we left Japan. During the time we were in Perth Syd progressed from speaking single words to constructing short sentences. His progress was amazing. Reni also improved greatly, though not as obviously. His ability to watch the Harry Potter movies in English really impressed me. I’m sure his vocabulary will surprise me in the days to come.


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Another great highlight of our visit was seeing Bec again and meeting her partner, Vinnie and their delightful son, Elliott. In the time i got to know the soft-spoken Vinnie he came across as a cool, calm guy with a wonderful sense of humour. Young, boisterous Elliott was a total delight with a great zest for life already.


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Besides seeing Bec, Vinnie and Elliott it was also very interesting to catch up with my cousins. Peta and her husband, Scott were as bright and cheerful as ever. After 10 long years i finally got to catch up with David again. It was nice to at last meet his lovely wife, Kate, their new-born, (my namesake), Matthew, and their enchanting daughter, Emma. And of course it was wonderful to see Ross and Denise, who are always so warm and kind to me.


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It was also really interesting to meet Brett and Lynne again and see how their boys, Kyle and Blake have grown so well. Blake struck me as a very kind, considerate boy and Kyle a polite and thoughtful young man (with amazing climbing ability). Bev was as cheerful as ever and Dennis his usual chilled self.


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It was great to catch up with my mates and their offspring too and see how those kids i’d met previously have grown. On New Year’s Day when we had a barbecue in the backyard every child there was a boy (9 in total i think). It was fascinating to see the interaction between the boys and note the similarities in sibling relationships.


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Speaking of relationships, another major highlight of the trip was watching Reni and Syd’s relationship with their grandparents develop. As their confidence in English developed, the boys grew closer to Mum and Dad. After such a long absence from Australia, i felt a lot of satisfaction of seeing grandsons and grandparents love for each other flourish.

Thank you everybody in Perth who helped to make our visit such a wonderful experience.


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p.s. Apologies for the lack of photos. The camera tends to distract me from interacting with people.


Catching the colours

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It’s cooled down considerably in the last few weeks, so much so in fact that i’ve had to pull out the longjohns! Despite the onset of winter, the autumn leaves are at their most brilliant about now here in Shikoku and in Kyoto too.

Last Wednesday was Labour Day holiday here in Japan. Jodi and i joined a bus tour for foreign and local residents to the Miyoshi area, out in the mountains west of Tokushima.

The first stop on our tour was the Yoshino River at Oboke. The weather was ominous when we arrived, the light rain falling almost sleet. We boarded a long thin motorboat and took a ride downriver to enjoy the colour contrasts of the yellow, orange and red autumn foliage with the slate grey rocks and the turquoise water. Following the boatride we went down the road to the ‘Yokai House’, an interesting museum housing a collection of goblin and ghoul sculptures taken from local folklore, then enjoyed lunch overlooking the river.


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In the afternoon we entered into the steep, remote Iya Valley. Our first stop in the valley was an old, traditional house converted into a museum. The collection related to the Heike clan (also known as the Taira clan) who escaped here to avoid the rival Minamoto clan in the 12th century. From the museum we went to the main attraction in the valley, the vine bridge, Kazura-bashi. Rather than crossing the bridge with the hordes of tourists, Jodi and i opted to stroll to the nearby waterfall, Biwa-no-taki and view the bridge from downriver.

From Iya Valley we returned to the city of Miyoshi, formerly known as Ikeda. Here we visited a small sake brewery, thanks to one of our guides, whose relatives own the brewery. After being shown through the brewery we were invited inside the adjoining charming, old house, a former samurai residence, to taste the sake and/or drink green tea.


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It was an interesting and fun day out. There were many different people on the tour, young and old, from many different countries. Fortunately the weather held out enough for us to enjoy the day without too much inconvenience either.

This weekend just gone i was also fortunate enough to enjoy the revered autumn foliage of Kyoto with Reni and Syd. On Saturday afternoon we got to sample the colours of the foliage in the mountains of the north-east of Kyoto, thanks to my kind friend, Eric.

On Sunday i took Reni and Syd out to an old summer stomping ground of mine, Hozukyo, a scenic valley to the west of Kyoto. Back in the day us ‘gaijin’ foreigners and our partners and friends used to go swimming out here. It is forbidden to do so now however following a number of tragic drownings.


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Once we’d exited Hozukyo station we followed the road downstream until we came to a pedestrian bridge spanning the river to the ‘Romantic Train’ railway line, a scenic trainride running along the Hozu River. While we waited for a train to arrive we watched the long, thin sightseeing boats shooting the rapids below us. Eventually a train arrived to take us back to Arashiyama from where we caught a connecting train back to Kyoto.

It was a good day out with the boys. They seemed to enjoy riding the trains and also the space and views of Hozukyo too. I’m grateful and glad that they also appreciate nature.


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Fun times with the boys

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It’s been a while since i posted. i guess the main reason for the silence is that aking photos of the boys is not always possible, either because they are unwilling to be photographed or because i’d rather be in the moment with them. (Besides, silence isn’t always such a bad thing.)

Invariably when Reni & Syd come to Tokushima we arrange to meet my good mate Chris and his livewire son, Kai, who is the same age as Syd. Having spent considerable time in Australia, Kai is fluent in both Japanese and English so he is a great playmate for the boys.


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On Saturday the boys and i met Chris and Kai at the big Uchi-no-Umi Park in Naruto. The boys mucked around on the skateboards for a while before hitting the playground. After climbing around and riding down the slides we went for a kick of the soccer ball on the expansive grassed area. (Grass is somewhat of a luxury for parks here i might add. Most are not user-friendly being hard, compacted sand surfaced.)

We didn’t have a lot of play time so we arranged to meet again the next day at Chris and Kai’s home. Chris and Kai recently moved from the city to Awa, about 40 minutes drive west of Tokushima. They live with Chris’ wife, Sally’s father. They live in a big, spacious house and they save money. Talk about a good deal!


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It was nice to see Sally’s dad, Roy, again after about a 3-year hiatus. He’s a very friendly, jovial guy. A good person to be around. And of course it was good to see Sally too as she is such a kind person and naturally has a maternal instinct. (She’s about 7-months pregnant now actually!)

The boys were quite excited to be able to play together with Kai’s toys in the house. In their efforts to impersonate their superhero heroes, Kai and Syd got a little carried away. Poor Reni was on the receiving end of their over-exuberance and did not appreciate it. While he had no qualms about retaliating to Syd, he was not so sure about Kai. After i told him that he could retaliate as long as he wasn’t too rough, he sorted out Kai too, sending him to the floor with an impressive back-kick.


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To get the boys to calm down and put an end to the tears we sat down to lunch, an array of dishes we picked up at the local supermarket. After our meal we set off on a drive to a nearby (kind of) tourist attraction, the Dochu Sand Pillars.

The last time we’d ventured to the pillars was when Mum and Dad visited the winter before last. On that occasion it was New Year’s Day and the traffic was so bad it took forever to get there. This time i thought it would be just a short drive but my bearings were a little off and it ended up taking longer than anticipated. Even when we arrived near the pillars the way was not so clear. After winding and weaving our way up the mountain we arrived at a good vantage point for viewing the pillars from above.

Since there was no guard rail or barrier to ease our concerns for the boys safety, we didn’t stay long at the top. Once we’d made our way back down the mountain (through some incredibly sharp hairpin bends) we found a cool playground for the boys to enjoy. As you can see, they particularly liked the flying-fox basket that they rode in together.


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Champs.

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Last weekend i went to Kyoto to attend Reni’s school sports day. To get there in time i had to get up at the crack of dawn (around 5) and take the first bus to Osaka. From there i had to jump on a train to Kyoto. Then from Kyoto station it was about a 20-minute walk to the school.

Upon entering the school grounds i almost immediately bumped into another gaijin foreigner, who also happened to be from Australia. She introduced herself to me as Jenny. i soon discovered that she was the mother of Harvey Mitchell, a new boy in Reni’s grade who he’d recently befriended. (Apparently he told Harvey that his name is Lindsay, Reni – the first time i have ever heard Reni refer to himself by my surname!) After a brief chat with Jenny i moved on to find Yoko.


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Fortunately i arrived in time to see Reni’s first event, a dance. i gather Reni was regarded by his teacher, Ms Kubomoto, as one of the better dancers in the class as he was positioned near the front of one of the lines. Initially it was quite difficult to see Reni and his classmates as our view was obstructed by the junior high school students who had just finished their events. Thankfully they sat down eventually so that the performance could be viewed.


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While Reni danced to a couple of songs i tried without much luck to zoom in and take some still-shots while Yoko videoed the performance. Back at the Kohara home during the lunchbreak we were disappointed to discover that Yoko had mistakenly turned the video camera off during the dances. Shock!


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We had to hurry and scoff down our lunch as Reni’s running race was very soon after the resumption. When we returned to the ground we noticed that the grade 1 and grade 2 races were to be held simultaneously. The problem with that was we didn’t know which grade was which! This time our luck was for the better. Yoko filmed all of the grade 2 races, thereby managing to catch Reni’s victory. Well done Reni, our champion!


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i should add before finishing that Syd was quite an achiever too. He and i went to the nearby playground which has a jungle-gym. Syd managed to climb to the very top of the climbing frame by himself. Being ever the adventurous one, he even stood near the top, no hands!


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