Last Thursday (23rd) was Anne's birthday so I took her to the New Sing Sing for Peking duck. Peking duck is both an elaborate and expensive meal so goes well as a birthday offering. We have eaten often at the New Sing Sing and the food has always been good. And so it was on Thursday. The proprietor himself expertly carved our duck and we got very attentive service throughout the meal.
Anne had a glass of wine with it and I had a stubby of Fourex Gold. As it was a hot day, I really enjoyed that beer. The Chinese are big beer drinkers so beer and Chinese food partner well.
And it was a big duck. We did not quite get through it all.
I also gave Anne a present -- a tin of sweets such as I mentioned in my previous post about caketins. So I am hoping for a fruitcake to find its way into that tin in due course.
Then yesterday (25th) was the anniversary of the birth of a wonderful poet. I invited Paul and Susan over to share some haggis but I did not attempt to do all the Burns night customs. I did not even get into Highland dress. I did however read part of the Ode to a Haggis before I carved it and we sang Auld Lang Syne at the end. Anne as usual did a great job cooking the haggis, neeps and tatties.
One thing we did was try to remember the time when I first met Paul -- when he was 7. He is now 37 so I have known him for 30 years. It was shortly after Jenny and I had begun seeing one-another. Jenny said that I had better meet her kids and I agreed. So we drove to Camlet St and I waited in the Gemini while she went in to collect them. Shortly, she came out with 3 little kids bobbing along behind her. They piled into the back seat and were totally silent for the drive to my place. It was the first and last time that they have ever been silent.
I don't really remember what we did at my place but I would have played with the kids -- as I regularly did subsequently. Anyway the kids were favourably impressed and told Ken and Maureen so that evening when they were back at home. Paul remembers all 3 of them waxing enthusiastic about me -- with Ken and Maureen greeting that enthusiasm with some caution. I guess stepfathers are not supposed to be popular!
And today was Australia day so my rellies on my mother's side got together at my brother's place for our usual BBQ. We talked a bit about Aborigines as Kym is in the Aboriginal industry. I talked a bit to my nephew James to see how he is going. He didn't do very well at High School but has a great interest in philosophy. Anne did not come along as she was doing a short bushwalk as part of her rehab after her recent knee surgery.
It was the first time I had seen sister-in-law Kym in a dress. It was a mainly red dress and she looked very good in it. She has kept a remarkably good figure for a 50-year-old lady.
My brother is in the motorbike trade so the question about how he is affected by Queensland's anti-bikie laws arose early on. He replied that he had little contact with bikie clubs these days so was minimally affected. I put it to him that the laws were really aimed at the Lebanese Muslim clubs and he confirmed that the problem clubs were Middle-Eastern. The clubs comprised of older Ockers gave nobody any problems.
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