The Waiter

Tonight I made a discovery! A waiter can make or break a meal! Seriously its true… think about it. Tonight I had the pleasure of helping Brad celebrate his birthday by having dinner in the city. The meal was great, the company was great and the waiter was great. In fact the waiter was so good I think he made my night! But before I go much further, I think we need to go back to the basics…

There are 3 types of waiters/waitresses in the world:
1. Bad ones
2. Good ones and
3. Great ones

That’s it, there aren’t any in between ones or ones that fit into any other category, its just these 3. Everyone knows what a bad waiter is… they are the ones that forget what you order and don’t seem to care. The don’t go out of their way to assist, they leave you unattended at all the wrong times and they are just bad. Sometimes they are nice, sometimes they are not…but regardless, they are bad!

The good ones are generally the ones that go unnoticed. They are not fantastic, but they are not bad, they get the job done and at the end of the night you leave with out giving them too much more thought.

And then there is the great ones, the ones that are super helpful, without being in your face, they say all the right things, don’t forget anything and at the end of the night you want to leave them a tip. Sometimes its helps if they have a cool accent or are particularly good looking, but I think that one of the best things about the great ones is they take in the ‘vibe’ of the dinner and behave accordingly.

Tonight we had a great waiter! It did help that he was French and had a very sweet story about moving here to be with his girl friend, but even without that stuff, he was happy to have a laugh with us, to have a good time, but still do what he needed to do. I don’t really know how to describe it…he had a go at kitty for taking to long, which was very funny and super accurate, he made us sing happy birthday and found a biscuit he could put a candle in because we weren’t having dessert, he cracked some jokes, made us all smile and he even took a photo of out table all together!  He was just great and at the end of the night, all of us wanted to show him how much we appreciated him and his service. Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say kudos to that guy…thanks for making it a fun evening…

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Explaining Yesterday

You may have noticed that yesterday’s blog had no words… except for my little tagline that is, and I am thinking that I probably owe you a little explanation, because it is kind of rude to just do something like that without warning.

So here it is: yesterday was Wordless Wednesday, something new that I am trying. Its not something I have come up with, in fact its an idea that I stole from a other peoples blogs, but I don’t think they will mind, and I think that its kind of cool. In fact my cousin Bec, does something similar too, except she uses some words and calls it Snapshot Sunday, but basically the idea is that the blog on Wordless Wednesday tells you a story about my day or just something random without using words, after all, the do say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So take yesterday for example, my pictures are of Kat’s 24th Birthday Dinner where Miriam was missing in action for a significant proportion. There is her empty chair, everyone looking sad, (except Ben, and I am not sure why) and then everyone happy when we easily replaced her with a picture drawn on the Abercrombie bag.

So there you go… Wordless Wednesday... Oh and today is Kitty's actual birthday...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAT!  Hope you have had a ripper day. 

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Wordless Wednesday

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Australia Day - # 41

Just like my last blog, today’s is filled with a number of super Australian things I have done today, which I guess is appropriate given that it is in fact Australia Day. So Happy Australia Day to you all!

Here is my super Australian Australia Day…

10:30am – woke up in Inverloch after a beautiful sleep in to find a fantastic summer day!

11:00am – 1:00pm – Dave, Kat and I were joined by Brad and Mim and together we watched some tennis and cricket on the telly

1:00pm – Had a sausage sizzle for lunch

2:30-5:00pm Soaked up the sun and surf at the beach

8:00-9:30pm Enjoyed a Australia Day spectacular at the Blackburn Sound Shell, were I caught up with Mum, dad and Jake and then completed my day quite nicely with fireworks, allowing me to cross #41 – see some fireworks, off the list.

So there you go, what better way is there to spend Australia day than with friends, family, sausages, beach, Australian tunes and fireworks…it just doesn’t get better than that.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Classic Disney

This morning I gave 3D a second chance, this time I allowed it to mess with a classic, giving it an all or nothing ultimatium...and this time the 3D movies proved themselves as worthy in my books.  This morning, Kitty, Ben and I went and saw 2 Disney classics in 3D - Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2, and they were fantastic.  

This time I wore my regular glasses and to my surprise they fit under the 3D glasses with no dramas at all.  However 3Ds haven't been given the all clear just yet, because there were a number of 'variables' that had changed.  For example:

1. The movie was at 9:50am, not 9:40pm, so I was much more awake

2. I had swaped my contacts for my glasses and....

3. Lets face it, Toy Story isn't really fast pace and there are not really any full on action scenes so its hard to compare the movies. 

All I know is it was very enjoyable this time, and perhaps I was quick to ride off 3D...perhaps it needs some more, as Dave would say, independent research. 

Oh and on a completely different note, I was very fascinated by the fact that in the cinema there were more young adults of similar age to myself, than kids...including a group of boys...who did not on first impression appear to be Toy Story kind of guys...I guess from this I can take two things 1. Kids these days don't appreciate classic Disney and 2. Everyone loves Disney...even if they don't look like they will.   

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Dance like Dave's not watching

Confidence is not something that I have a lot of.  You may be a little surprised by this, but it is true,  I find it really difficult to really be myself, I am always worrying about what people with think or say and while I have become more confident in who I am over the last couple of years, it is something that I still need to work on.

One thing I really love to do though is dance. I am not a very good dancer and this is mostly due to a 'co-ordination deficiency' which is a very seriously genetic disorder, that unfortunately has been passed down the Lewis family line, so as you can imagine, I don't do it very often, but when I do...oh when I do... I really let my hair down, so to speak.  I really like that quote that says 'Dance like no one is watching' however I think that in my case it's more like 'Dance like Dave's not watching' because even though we have been going out for so long, I don't like to make a fool of myself in front of him...at least not with my dancing anyway, not because he will love me less, but because I think that I could possibly be a little embarrassing, I know he will say he doesn't care and he just wanted me to be me...but I know its true deep down inside.

Anyway, tonight I attended Stobie's farewell shin dig and once the crowd had died down and I was there with a few close buddies of mine I decided that it was time for them to see me dancing...not just a little bit of dancing, but 'dancing like Dave's not watching' dancing.  They hadn't seen my full on dancing before because I normally leave that to parties where everyone else is drunk so that they won't remember the quality of my dancing (ironic, given my last blog), but I was feeling particularly comfortable, so I decided that tonight was the night (it probably helped that Dave wasn't there either).  Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say that I love it.  It really is very freeing and thankfully it all went down ok, no one thought I was super weird or anything...not even when I pulled out my favourite, and original, interpretive dance move...plastic bag in the wind.  

Perhaps I will need to start finding more situations to get my dance on, and to dance like Dave's not watching...even if he is...who knows, maybe one day he will even dance with me.  That would be nice (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

Oh and that's a picture of me getting my groove on...while singing...pretty...I know. 

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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The Princess and the Frog - # 80

Well, One day in and I can already knock something on off the list!  Today Disney's Princess and the Frog was released at cinemas, and being the Disney fan I am I was there straight away and I dragged Davo and Kitty with me!

I have been waiting for this movie to be released for a long time, so I am glad that its finally here.  The thing is this Disney film is no ordinary Disney film, in fact it is very special, why? I hear you ask, well let me tell you...

There are two things that make this Disney movie different, the first is this is the first Disney movie to have a black American as the princess, sure they have had white girls, an American Indian even an Asian, but until now, no black Americans, so it was just nice to see.  The second thing that makes this movie a little different is the fact that it goes back to the old style of Disney, just like the days Aladdin and the Little Mermaid.  Its not digital, or by Pixar, but traditionally animated...and its good.  Oh and it has a great sound track just like it should too!

So there you go number 80 is crossed off the list.

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Goodbye 2009

Here we are at the last day of 2009.  What a year it has been, who would have thought that this year would have seen me not only get my first full time job, but also move out of home, get a dog and learn to be independent?  Certainly not me!  I can't believe how much I have grown this year, its been pretty massive really, and even as I sit here and write this I am still a little overwhelmed about everything that has happened in 2009.  But instead of doing a recap of the year, I am just going to tell you about my new years...because tonight I have reached a whole new level of cool, oh and the fact that you already have most of my year documented on this blog. 

The day started out very nicely with breakfast in Inverloch with Dad, Dave and Jake and then a morning swim at the beach, which was more like an ice bath that was super refreshing in the heat of the sun!  After that we packed up our stuff and headed back to Melbourne.  Tonight we (Dave and I) have been having a bbq pool party, well actually it was really just a pool party for me because I didn't swim as there was lightening and you aren't supposed to swim in a storm, but anyway, we saw the new year come in, no thanks to the tv count down, which seemed to have very little idea when 2010 was actually coming, and then once everyone left...well that' when the party started.  Once Kitty and I had the house, well the living room to ourselves, we played mario on the wii and boy did we go hard...we played mario until 5:30am because that's what all the cool kids do!  The only downside to this is really the fact that if I wanted to de-nerdify a little in 2010, this probably wasn't the best start, but it was fun so what can you do. 

Oh and Kitty made another one of her amazing cakes...this time appropriately new years themed.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Christmas Run Down - No.5

Well we made it to the final Christmas run down, so without further ado:

On the Eleventh day of Christmas something I did do:

Carols by candlelight

A true Australian Christmas tradition, Christmas wouldn't be the same without it.  Sure sometimes its corny, but its just such a nice thing to do on Christmas eve, sitting around with your mates and watching the carols.  I was a little disappointed that this years carols didn't feature Dennis Walter singing the Holy City...it just doesn't quite feel like Christmas without it, but I guess I will just have to get over it, because it didn't happen.  What did redeem the carols in a big way though was Silvie Paladino singing Your Grace Still Amazes Me... incredible.  So while I just watched it from the comfort of Kitty's lounge, I did get to go to the rehearsal the night before...which was super fun... and also with kitty, oh and Annie too.  

On the Twelfth day of Christmas something I did do:

Celebrate Jesus' Birthday

Well i guess this is the whole point of Christmas, celebrating Jesus' birth, the celebrations started at 8am when Jake and I went to see what Santa brought and then we headed off to church were I meet Buzz Lightyear...its true.  After church we headed out to do the family thing, Lunch at Gran and Pa's and then Dinner with Meg and Wayne.  I really love Christmas Day, when else do you get to just spend the day hanging out with your family and eat?  Anyway, I am off to enjoy the rest of my night...

Merry Christmas everyone...I will leave you with the song...from the top.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas something I did do:

Celebrate Jesus' Birthday

Carols by Candlelight

Almost missed my solo
Nativity the Musical
Shopping Centre Carols
Eat lots of Food
Conversation Cards
More Christmas Lights
Come Celebrate
Sing with my Pa
Bendigo's Christmas Lights
and A Pageant with the Kids from Kids Church

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Rawards

One of the other good things about December, other than summer and Christmas is Rawards.  What is Rawards you might ask?  Well its an interesting, when you look at it at the most basic level it is the Box Hill Salvos Youth Break-up Party, but it is so much more than that!  Its a dance party, its a great feed, its a chance for you to win something, its a fun time to hang out with your mates and most of all its a great chance to dress up. 

Now my friends and I pride ourselves on our Raward costumes and seeing as though it appears I have deprived you of these for my entire blogging history, here is a recap of the costumes thus far....

2005 - TV Logies - Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this one on my computer, but I can tell you it was good.  The team went as the cast of Chris lily's 'We can be Heroes'.  It was our first united front complete with:

Kat as Pat 'I am going to roll around Australia' Mullens
Brad as Phil 'I saved those kids from the jumping castle' Olivetti

Miriam as Ricky 'Supernerd and musical extraordinaire' Wong

Myself as Ja'mie 'I've got hundreds of sponsor kids' King

and Dave, who gets a special mention as he spent the night as both Daniel 'I donated my ear' and Nathan 'I'm a bit deaf' Sims.

2006 - TV Show theme - hence the 5 of us came as Grey's Anatomy, special mention goes out to Brad who was painted black to be just like Burke. (I feel in light of recent events I must also mention that this was not done with any racial intentions...we just needed a burke to go with our more natural Christina)

2007 - Disney - Is there a better Disney team than the Increadibles? Complete with Mr Incredible himself.  This time there is a dishonorable mention to Brad who was conveniently overseas for Rawards this year.  

2008 - Op Shop Formal - and while it was not a team effort there were some very special outfits.

and finally 2009 - Heroes and Villians themed - and I think one of our best efforts yet - the Ninja Turtles.  Complete with green and weapons. Oh and another dishonorable mention to Brad who once again managed to be overseas for Rawards...perhaps he is avoid us and our awesome costumes.

who knows what we will be in 2010!

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Beach Cricket

This weekend I have been lucky enough to have another fabulous weekend away, this time I have been down at Inverloch, and yes I went with the same crew, and yes there was another AMAZING cake(thanks Kitty), and yes, once again we participated in a great Australian pastime, however unlike the watching the Grand, this particular pastime, was for me a first time.

Today I played my first game of Beach Cricket and it was much better than I thought it would be. I made lots of runs, I caught someone out and I even bowled someone out. Now some of you may be reading this thinking that’s great em, everyone can do that its just beach cricket…but it is so much more than that! This is someone who: 1. Hates cricket… 2. Has poor hand eye co-ordination…. and 3. Doesn’t normally do things she won’t be good at. So for me, this was an incredible and super impressive day!

Anyway, here are some photos from the rest of the weekend.

Oh and just for the record I think I will try beach cricket again!

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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YP Sunday

There is something really special about Anniversary weekend and after the fantastic night last night today really topped it off. There is nothing better than watching kids get involved in worship, not because they are being forced to, but because they want to. The whole day today has been just amazing, in fact its was so incredible that there is just too much to say in one blog, so I thought instead I would just give a highlight from each of the services:

9:30 How often do you get to eat ice cream in church? Never right? Wrong…you get ice cream when Son is on the kids story…Who knew that Neapolitan ice cream actually shows you that God wants us to have all the good bits in our lives not just one good bit?



11:00 Primary kids are awesome, they are so small but so talented and so easily distracted! I seriously love that they are so unpredictable and that despite their courageous leader (Kat you seriously did a ripper job), they still manage to do what ever they feel like if given an inch!

6:00 I think that they highlight of the 6 was just getting to hang out with my kids church kids, I really love them stacks and they are such a blessing, I was so super proud of them and they did such an amazing job all weekend. I think that just they fact that I get to be a part of their lives is a highlight enough.

So there you go…if you missed it, well you really did miss out, so do yourself a favour and get there next year, you won’t regret it.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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1 more sleep

Well its almost here, there is just one more sleep to anniversary (just quickly for those of you that don’t know…the anniversary is a children’s celebrations weekend at church) and I am pretty much pooing my pants.

I am not sure what worries me the most… the fact that I might not get everything done, or that something will fall through, or that no one will come, or even that everyone will come and it will just be bad, I really don’t know. The weird thing is though, even though I am anxious about it all, I am also feeling quite at peace, I kind of feel that at this point in time, (given that its 3am and Kat and I have just finished making two thirds of Ben's question cards for tonight) that whatever happens will happen and there is not much I can actually do now anyway.

I must admit thought I am also a little excited, the anniversary this year has been a lot of work and soon it will be over and we will see if it is all worth it. Anniversary has been quite different for me this year, in years gone by I have just been required to attend and watch or be on the stage with the kids but not really coordinate anything, but this year Dave, Jude and I have been doing most of the coordinating which means being the perfectionist I am I kind feel that how it turns out is a reflection on me and what I can do, even if its completely untrue. I have kinda felt like this is my baby and I am really hoping that it will be just as good as it is when I picture it in my head.

Oh well I guess we will find out soon enough…

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Photos

For those of you that know me well…well if fact for those of you that have ever been to my house, or my old room in Melbourne, or to any event I have also attended, or even spent sometime looking around on my facebook or my blog, you would know that I love photos… I have photos everywhere and while most of them are self taken and consist of a whole lot of my face and someone else’s face and not much else, I still love them all the same. I think what I like about photos is that they are normally of something fun, happy and/or exciting, so when I look back on them it reminds me of those times and the fun things that I have done. They help me to focus on what’s important and to remind me that my life is filled with people who love and car for me.

So when Ben and Kitty came to visit me for lunch and afternoon tea today I was so excited when they asked me what they should do for the afternoon while I had to work…The took photos of them in Castlemaine for me, because I really don’t have all that many photos of my life up here...because as the photos from my trip to china in 2007 will show you a lot of photos of just yourself are no where near as good as the ones that are filled with the people you spent time with.

So here are a few of my favourite photos from Ben and Kitty’s adventures today…

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Daylesford

So, as I said yesterday, this weekend I am in Daylesford with Brad, Kat, Mim and Dave…and today we after a massive cooked breaky, we celebrated Grand final day in true Australian Style… With a cake decorated to look like a footy (amazing work kitty), an open fire and a lunch fit for kings…sausage rolls, party pies, and chicken nuggets. I really like grand final day, it just makes me feel very patriotic, and the fact that Farnsey and Barnsey we both in the pre-game entertainment was even better.

I think that I have mentioned this a couple times before, but I really love just hanging out with my buddies…it’s just really nice, especially when you are away from all of life’s other distractions. It was so nice just to spend time together, not to go out and do special things but just spend time together, we played a few board games, shared some great food and watched some telly and it was just really nice. I am really beginning to think that I need to start doing things like this more often…

Oh and here are some pictures from out weekend…check out Kitty’s cake…amazing.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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It's still relative

I know it was just yesterday that I said that distance was relative in the country...tonight I am heading to Daylesford for a weekend away with Dave, Kitty, Mim and Brad and I am loving the fact that its only half an hour away for me and the rest of them have to travel the full 2hrs... Even though I don't mind the travel anymore, its still nice when you don't have to do it. Especially when it means you can just relax and enjoy your night and then head out.


I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Yesterday, for those of you that didn’t know (which I didn’t so don’t feel bad) was International Talk Like a Pirate Day…true. And I while I missed it (the photo is from another pirate dress up), I really wish I hadn't.

The thing about International Talk Like a Pirate Day is though its not for anything in particular… its just a great idea. It’s not raising money or awareness for anything, its just an excuse to talk like a pirate for the day that was invented by some guys in the states…and apparently it happens every year on September the 19th.

This did get me thinking though, if these two random guys in the states could come up with something as cool as that…surely I could too…but as of yet, I have no ideas…so I am putting it out to you…

If you could have an annual day, just to do something random…what would you do? Perhaps this could be were the next random ‘international day’ starts…the possibilities really are endless…

Oh and if you want to read the full background of International Talk Like a Pirate Day check out their website… http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Sleep Overs

Sometimes I feel like because I am technically an adult now I am not supposed to do a lot of fun stuff anymore. For example, people look at me funny when I colour-in during long flights, or when I choose to watch a Disney movie over anything else. But last night I discovered that I had almost let something else just slip away without so much as a thought…Sleepovers. Seriously, once you learn to drive sometimes I think that sleepovers just because get lost because you can just drive home and hang out again tomorrow anyway. But last night I had a sleepover with Kitty and it was so much fun, movies, games, chatting, just like old times (although unlike my childhood sleepovers, we didn’t discuss top 5 boys, and who we were going to kiss by the time we were in year nine…which just for the record were very poor predictions on my behalf…although not so much on Kirsten’s…wink wink).

Anyway, I think the reason why I almost let sleepovers is simply a matter of laziness, I couldn’t be bothered to get organized and get stuff together and it seemed like a lot of effort when you were just going to sleep. But I was very very very wrong. Sleepovers are great and definitely worth the effort and I think I will need to make the effort more often.

It does make me wonder what else I may have let slip though…


I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Surprises

Yesterday I had visitors again…and these ones even stayed the night. Yesterday Kitty and Annie came to visit and spoil me with an amazing diner and desert and a few rounds of sing star. But the best bit was the surprises they left behind. When I got home from work today there was a pasta bake in the fridge and note explaining they just thought they would make on incase I couldn’t be bothered cooking…and as if that wasn’t already the best surprise there was also a packet of glow in the dark stars for me to put on my roof, because I had been telling Kat how much I wanted them. Seriously Annie and Kat…you guys are the best! Thanks so much!

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Mr G

Today I made a fool of myself…which is not surprising, except for the fact that this time I brought down a 6year old kid with me.

Today was the Salvos Divisional Kids Big Day Out, so as Kids Church Coordinator I went along with the kids from Box Hill and everyone had a great time. Being a divisional event there were kids there from a number of different salvo corps, so naturally we had to where name tags, which the kids made themselves using a texta and a sticker…clever I know. Anyway, a few of the kids that came with Box Hill had brought friends along and trying to be a good leader I made it my business to introduce myself to each of them. This was working quite well until I came to a little girl whose name tag appeared to say ‘Mr G’. I took a moment to have a think about why the tag would say ‘Mr G’ and remembered that the adult she had come with (one of the kids Church parents) was named ‘Graham’, so I put what I thought was two and two together and figured that perhaps he was known as ‘Mr G’ and she was wearing his name tag. So in my wisdom I went up to her and introduced myself and asked if she was having fun, and then proceed to say… ‘I haven’t met you before, my name is Emma, what’s yours’ hoping to get some clarification on the ‘Mr G’ situation. However, it turned out she was a little shy, so she just looked at me and pointed at her name tag. So trying to be cool, and welcoming, I responded ‘Mr G, that says Mr G, that’s not your name is it?’ a little dumbfounded the little girl just looked at me and then at her name tag and pointed again. Very confused by this stage I repeated (just in case she hadn’t heard the first time) ‘Mr G? really?’ and still dumbfounded she looked at me and walked off. Feeling even more confused and a bit defeated I turned around only to find Dustin and Jess in fits of laughter…Jess then explained to me that the tag didn’t say ‘Mr G’ at all, it actually said ‘Meg’ and she had written it herself but she was only 6 and couldn’t write very well.

So feeling very embarrassed I went and found Meg to apologise, I explained that I couldn’t read very well and that I was sorry, but also suggested that perhaps well just called her ‘Mr G’ anyway, coz I was a pretty cool nickname. But she graciously declined. So the poor girl will probably never want to come back to Kids Church again, now that I have humiliated her, I didn’t mean it…and you think perhaps Dusty and Jess could have said something earlier…but never mind…in my heart she will always be Mr G.

Oh and just for the record…Kat came later on in the day and also thought the tag said Mr G…In fact you can make up your own mind...I have drawn a little picture of what the name tag looked like...tell me that doesn't say 'Mr G'...
I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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