In Caroles words.....

Carole's emailed me a few pictures of her recent trip to the beach with Luca. Beneath each is her own description of events. So can today's post be classified as Caroles? As Kenny Dalglish would say - "Mebbe's aye, mebbe's naw"



"We had a brisk walk on the beach"



"Mini motor bikes at Codona's"





"Ham sandwich followed by choc ice cream at pier bistro - Saturday 22nd Jan after Megamind and a walk on the beach"




"Very surprising but difficult to capture but he sat beautifully on this shot but it reared quite far up up high in the sky!!"

As ever, he's had a good number of trips lately. This past weekend he accompanied me to the office while Carole recovered from tonsillitis (almost clear now thankfully) on Saturday, as well as his football training on Sunday morning.

His progression at training has been substantial, even in the short 3 week period he has so far attended. Most impressively this week he was regularly performing a "drag-back", where he rolls the ball backwards with the sole of his foot before turning and running with it. I was most impressed.

Luca was less so. After training had finished, while I helped change him back into his trousers from his shorts, I asked him if he'd had fun. He dipped his gaze and slowly shook his head. "Why not?" I enquired. He sighed. "I'm not very good at this" he said quietly

Yes, my heart almost broke for him

"But you were really good today" I insisted. "I really wasn't" he muttered back. "You were", I countered. "Remember how many goals you scored? And you were really good at dribbling. I was very impressed". He looked up at this point and a little smile crept upon his face.

We went to the cinema afterwards as a reward for his efforts. "Marmaduke" was the movie of the morning, a live action (as opposed to the more common cartoon films we attend) film about a Great Dane dog who can talk. It was better than it sounds, although the doggy dancing bit at the end caused me to voluntarily bang my head off every solid surface within the vicinity

As so often, Luca has the appearance of someone who's been in a fight. This time it's been caused by an infection which has affected the bottom of his nose and upper lip. He's been prescribed an antibiotic cream by the doctors however which has already cleared much of it - I'm certain by the next time I take his picture there'll be no trace

And finally, Carole and I (and shaggy of course) visited "Strathburn School" this morning in preparation for August, when he'll begin Primary One. It's a frightening testament to how quickly time passes, albeit he will still be one of the youngest children at the school. Indeed, he'll still only be 4 when it begins. The tour was of interest, and the changes in schools child development is startlingly apparent from our generation. However, some things never change, and my nostrils caught the putrid smell of School Dinners being prepared as we passed the canteen. Overcooked custard, yum yum

I should, however, make mention of the fact that we are to visit the school again in May for one of their recent innovations. Luca, Carole and I will "enjoy" a school dinner together in order to assist in his school familiarisation. How does one prepare their stomach for such a harrowing event?

**Useless fact of the day - School dinners, on average, contain less than half the salt and sugar of a packed lunch**

The word "plethora" was created for this very purpose

Seven photo's. Ten video's. And a cricked neck for me as I sit uncomfortably awaiting their upload. I'm afraid the timeline of each of these images/video's is so skewed as to make an episode of "Lost" appear logical and well planned out, but onward nonetheless:-



I'm considering charging "Homebase" for the above as a publicity shot. Luca and I were searching for a bathroom suite, and came across the above much to Luca's obvious approval. Did we buy it? No, but we have chosen an alternative, with further details on a later blog, once work begins.






The man in red again, this time proudly showing off his big cockerel. A gratefully received present from Auntie Jane et al, and a "fnar fnar" opportunity for me.






Luca at Pittodrie, home of Aberdeen Football Club. This was his second ever senior game and a successful one to boot. A crushing 6-0 victory for Aberdeen brought plenty of opportunity for the boy to shout and sing.






Here's the build up to the third goal of the game. Luca enjoyed himself, albeit half-time providing him with his greatest thrill - the appearance of Angus the Bull, Aberdeen's mascot. "What's that? That's a funny cow!!!"





Occasionally his focus on the game was lost. "Can I have another bag of crisps Dad?" came a common request, as he kept a careful eye on my bag of "Walkers"




I can't remember when I took this. I do know it's outside Waterstone bookstore. It's not an interesting picture however, I'm sorry. I can't even think of a pithy comment to accompany it.

And here's David Beckham (Mark 2). Taken after Luca's first football training session, his sweaty and shaggy mop somehow even more unkempt than usual.

Onto the videos now, and as promised previously Luca shyly describes his first kiss......



And finally, in a video I'm certain will bring me chastisement, comes Luca's "toilet games". Peculiarly, he enjoys it when I tell him not to use the toilet. Why? I don't know, why is the moon made of cheese?

**Useless fact of the day - The moon isn't made of cheese**

Football crazy....

Many years ago (well, 4) a boy was born to an overjoyed couple. Said boy grew at an exponential rate, showing great aptitude that, by the year 2026, had resulted in him being considered the greatest footballer that had ever lived

Or not. Luca had his first official football training today, at Culter Sports Centre. It's being run by an organisation called "FootStars", and covers all age ranges from 3 upwards. We've signed him up for an entire block, with each class commencing at 9am on Sunday mornings.

Yes, no more Sunday lie-ins for me, or Luca for that matter. Still, he appeared fully awake as we arrived at the sports centre, and enjoyed every minute. The session was held in the main hall, and was high tempo, for both parents and children. Indeed, I regretted my decision to wear jeans.

Luca's general co-ordination isn't bad, and he can kick the ball quite accurately over distance. However, he appears to have inherited his fathers touch, and attempts to teach him to dribble the ball around cones was comical to say the least.

However, part of this is down to a lack of patience as well as technical aptitude. He understood the exercise, but simply preferred to blast the ball into the net from distance rather than dance around the cones first. "I don't need to do this Daddy" he commented upon noticing my head in my hands, "I can do a goal from a long way away!"

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of video's this week. My home PC has died temporarily, so I'm typing this from the office. However, I'll update with the plethora of pictures and video's as soon as it's repaired. Of particular interest will be the video discussion with Luca, where he tells me the details of his first kiss......

**Useless fact of the day:- Website "Ehow" describes coaching young children to play football is "like watching a moving stampede"**

Phone bill schmone bill (03/01/11)

Has everyone voted for Carole yet? If not, please do so in order to ensure I'm able to return home from work to smiles and tasty dinners rather than scowls and leftovers over the coming month.

Speaking of work, despite the UK officially remaining on holiday until Wednesday 5th, much of my afternoon has been spent in front of the PC logged onto my work account, following innumerable requirements by foreign based customers and agents. As previously commented, I love my job sometimes.

Actually, I do normally like it. Is that weird? Are you supposed to enjoy rather than endure work? I feel a new poll topic coming on......

Today hasn't been an entire waste however. Earlier I took Luca out for a short sojourn, partly to purchase some necessities, but also to give his Mum some peace to clean and cook lunch for her friends (Gail) imminent visit. Luca, as is his wont, alternated wildly between huge displays of enthusiasm followed by sudden drops of energy. He's still a little unwell, albeit showing a little improvement.

I am wondering if it's a bug that affects his brain however. Curiously, over the last few weeks, he has begun to mistakenly call me "Mum" on occasion. What does this mean? Answers on a postcard please.

I'm purposely ignoring the obvious explanation, that he shares a similar mental capacity to his Granny Jo, who is notorious for getting names wrong. If there is a God, I may start praying - surely we can't be condemned with two of the same ilk?

I'm only joshing Mother

Our short forgetful boy enjoyed a long day yesterday, as Carole and I drove him to Aberdeen to enjoy/endure the New Year sales. While there, Carole took him to see "Animals Utd" at the cinema while I browsed the shops. Why didn't I go in with them? Firstly, because following a Christmas/New Year break primarily spent sitting down and eating, I was glad of the chance of a wander for a couple of hours.

And secondly because I'd seen the reviews to said movie........

We all met up again afterwards (just in time, as I'd found a bar in their absence and my first and only alcoholic beverage had give me a taste for it) and diversified the rest of the day between responsible shopping (purchasing storage containers and crockery) and ensuring Luca didn't break/steal too many items that would be noticed. Still, the main point of the day was met - little scruffy head was utterly exhausted by his efforts and ambled to bed early, allowing his Mum and I a little more free time than we're commonly used to.

We spent the remaining proportion of the evening watching "The Godfather Part 2" on TV, which followed our viewing of the original instalment the previous night (I think Part 3 is on tonight too). Unbelievably, for a movie buff such as myself, I've never seen this trilogy of movies, which have long been regarded as the greatest in cinema history.

And my reaction to the classic trilogy thus far? Is it heresay to suggest they're overly long and even perhaps even a little boring too?

At least Hogmanay wasn't as dull (I feel the God of moviedome will strike me down any second now). Although we neither went out, nor had people round this year, we at least had a little fun with it with an alcohol based pamper evening. I cooked (and we lived to tell the tale), and followed it up with copious supplies of Jack Daniels and Mojito's, all interspersed with relaxing baths and massages utilising some of the items I'd bought for Caroles Christmas - an electric massager (which looked like a futuristic shower head) and manual foot massager (which resembled an orange dog stool). All very amusing, and unbelievably the following day brought about a surprising lack of hangovers.

There is much else to tell but in the interim - Happy New Year

**Useless fact of the day - Massage is the oldest form of medical care. Egyptian temples show people being massaged**