Pot that chicken

Have you ever stood behind someone on a video game or a side show and been quietly thinking you need to do this or that etc, etc. Well most of us can relate to this and most likely most of us would be somewhat discreet about our unsolicited advice but apparently not for my sister Trish. We have just been to Brisbane to catch up with her and Bruce and son Terry and his wife Amy. Anyway, we had a lovely few days and a few laughs as the saying “pot that Chicken” was bandied about. As the story goes (my accuracy may be a little off). At Dreamworld Trish found a woman playing in a sideshow type game and stopped to have a look. There was a rotating platform with pots or buckets on it and you had to throw a rubber chicken into the container to get a prize. Trish apparently thought she wasn’t doing so well and was giving advice (but not as quietly as she thought it seems) anyway Trish suggested the woman did it a little harder the next time, still a miss so then the advice was just a bit gentler, which was followed and a bulls eyes was achieved at which time Trish let out a “yahoo, pot that chicken” and a “you beauty” (or something similar). This allowed for some frequent piss taking by Terry and Bruce during our visit. Funnily enough Trish also took a liking to the saying made infamous by the Crocodile Hunter “CRIKEY” and when she wasn’t saying “pot that chicken” she was spouting that. Although she also picked up another euphemism which she absolutely loved (not), which was the word “darl”(darling), I think by the time she went home she was ready to slug the next unsuspecting shop assistant who addressed her as “darl”. We had lots of fun in Brisbane and it was lovely to catch up. However it was nice to return to the farm and away from the hustle and bustle of the city.


Country life is very relaxed, yet tiring at the same time. We have been very busy with school groups. Kids are a drain, although Johnathan has enjoyed doing activities with them, of which Cassandra has joined in a few. Wendy and I are the mainstay for the early breakfast routines.
Staff have been a bit touchy and there is some conflict which can be very tiring. Management made us try a team building exercise the other day and I (Wendy) climbed a tower which was extremely hard work and I surprised myself and achieved the rock climb which would be about 15 metres. Pretty scary stuff, Cassandra has also done it on another occasion. I was not brave enough to abseil back down though.

Life although peaceful and calm is sometimes a little scary, we hit a kangaroo one day and were very lucky because it hit the front fender but didn’t leave a mark, but out hearts aged about 6 hours in that 2 minutes as they were pumping very hard. We have seen all sorts of animals on the roads here, echidna’s, snakes, roo’s etc. One day Cassandra and I saw a big python crossing the road and when I stopped and called out the window at him to get off the road he turned around and lunged and hissed at me. Another 6 hours of my hearts life. Actually there are days my heart ages more that it should. The weather has been really hot here and the snakes have come out of hibernation and started to feed. We saw a 1 and ½ metre red belly black snake (they are poisonous) fighting with a bird and then 3 hours later we heard this weird squeaking noise and when Cassandra and I went to explore we found another snake with its jaws spread around a frog and the squeaks were his death call. The snake refused to leave and had to be removed. But the bastard came back the next day. PS. I forgot to tell you this was right outside the kitchen, and when he returned I jokingly told the boss “I quit”. My stress levels and vigilance has just gone up now snake season has started. Bloody slimy bastards appear to be quite common here.

Yay, it is Cassadra’s 14th birthday and we have come to town so she can go to a movie
“Hairspray”, she thoroughly enjoyed it. I went as well because it was 9pm at night and didn’t want her sitting on her own. Oh, the things we do as parents, it was a rather torturous experience although John Travolta did look very authentic in his wobbly fat suit. She is growing up really fast and seems to be doing well. She gets on really well with staff as they are only a few years older than her.

A few weeks back Cassandra and Johnathan went to a local rodeo in a town called Moura, (pronounced Mara, that Australians for you). A couple of staff were competing so most of the other staff & guests were travelling out to watch and support them. Wendy was not going so Johnathan took a car full of staff and headed out early. Good thing he headed out early, as he went the wrong way and ended up travelling for 5 hours to get to a destination 50 minutes away. Get this we got there 30 minutes before the first event so all we missed were all the stalls and sideshow attractions, bloody lucky.

We are still doing the odd excursion and recently visited Rockhampton, We loved the place a nice mix of history and quaintness. Rockhampton is touted as the beef capital of Queensland because it produces most of the beef in the state. It should be the fiberglass cow capital as we have never seen so many bull statues around, every other building had a bloody cow on the roof looking down and the main centerpiece coming into town was a giant bull.

Snakes and bovines aside we are all still doing well and enjoying our relaxed lifestyle. Keep in touch.

Will add photos later as this current connection will not allow.