The 20-degree rule

Thank God it’s the time of the year to invoke the 20-degree rule.
As soon as the temperature hits the magical 20, out come the blue singlets. I’ve gotta, mind, get the body into some sort of better shape. I’ve managed to rip off about eight or so kilos during my traditional “put on the pounds” winter, which was no mean feat.
It helps to eat well and certainly by cutting out the beer (OK, I have an occasional one or two) it gets easier. But it’s time to start throwing around a few weights and put a bit of shape to whatever is left clinging to my bones. It should be easy, given that I have a home gym and a few free weights. It’s just a matter of finding the motivation, a not-easy task because I’ve been doing (and will continue to) some paid work at nights.
Being a sizeable citizen, however, means bugger all when it comes to things mechanical (OK, it’s not really mechanics) when it comes to putting together a barbecue.
Sounds easy enough, but sweet mother of Jesus, it’s not for me.
I went to Bunnings yesterday to buy a smallish barbie (I have a small courtyard already crowded with pots of this and that) so size matters.
I spent an hour and a half getting it to a stage where it was time to spit the dummy. I packed all the bits (and when I say all, I mean shitloads) into the box and went and sulked with a later on bourbon (OK, two).
I rang Bunnings this morning (God bless ‘em) and the ever-helpful girl told me to bring it back (with the receipt) and someone from the leisure centre would assemble it for me.

WELCOME BACK CHISEL

How good is it to see Cold Chisel back on the road.
I found out yesterday afternoon (post-barbecue) over a beer at Lina’s wine bar that there were still tickets available. Gotta get me one.
The Northern Territory News last week had a yarn the summed up Chisel’s appeal.
The band is playing a Darwin gig for the first time since God’s dog was a pup and to celebrate, a Darwin FM radio station is going to play Chisel 24/7 for the 10 days leading up to the concert.
Have a look at the yarn at http://yfrog.com/z/nvjjilj ... There are a couple of links to tune in.

GOOD WEE

Speaking of Chisel, I was talking to a mate from the Age two Fridays ago and he told me to buy it the next day because there was a Cold Chisel yarn in Good Weekend.
Now I haven’t bought The Age for about six months (I’ve got with the program and I read it daily online) so I surprised my newsagent with a purchase.
I grabbed a coffee and headed home for a read.
What the hell has happened to Good Weekend? It was a paper-thin 32 pages with I think 14 full-page ads and a front cover. That’s 17 pages of reading. Seventeen! There’s more reading in my local suburban giveaway. Perhaps it’s time to rename it Good Wee.

AH, SHUCKS

I’ve gotten back into the habit of having half a dozen freshly shucked oysters every time I head to the South Melbourne Market. How good are they? At a buck each, they’re sensational value. Just a squeeze of lemon juice and lunch doesn’t get any better.