Happy Birthday to the Animator

To celebrate there will be lunch - somewhere in the vicinity of water and no doubt involving massive amounts of the freshest seafood - as well as shopping and bubbles and more of this glorious sunshine.

Yesterday there was a barbie at my brother Garth's house in Brisbane. And the pleasure of meeting his delightful canine Keisha. And more sunshine.

Am currently trying to figure out the logistics of bringing some home in a bottle.

My first British barbie

Choose the metaphor that best suits you. Life is:

A) a random series of events over which you have little control
B) way too hard
C) a beautiful thing.

I'll admit that my choices usually oscillate wildly between all three options. Lately, however, they've been spending far too much time paddling around in the A) and B) end of the spectrum.

Today, though, was definitely a C) day.

I spent it lying in the sun in Bristol's glorious Downs, eating my bodyweight in veggie sausages, Spanish olives and onion bread, and downing an entire bottle of Australian merlot. A couple of Husband's colleagues had dragged a gas barbie halfway across town and, in yet another example of the kindness of strangers, they opened their tight circle to allow me in to eat, drink and play frisbee.

It sounds as cheesy as a ripe Gourda, but today life truly is beautiful...