The X Factor: Noooooo!

It has been a tumultuous weekend here. Normally, we watch the Australian X Factor on a Thursday (with the results on Friday). Then, on Sunday night we watch the UK version on You Tube, with the results to follow on Monday. That's 4 evenings out of 7 taken care of.

Friday was the last Aussie show of the year, with the winner being the quite outstanding Altiyan Childs. So no more X Factor there.

Then, this morning we found out that the UK X factor exits were truly shocking. Gone is Wagner, half pantomime-comedy act, half creepy uncle. Gone also is paper-thin voiced cardboard cut-out villain of the show, Katie, who we love to hate along with the rest of the country. We're not sure why she is so unpopular because we do not have access to the News of the World.

That really is the two last reasons to watch the show gone. Cher is very talented, but we are a bit old to care. Same for One Direction. Rebecca is super-boring, I don't even bother watching Matt, Mary is sometimes quite good and I can't even remember who the other one is.

So with no UK X Factor worth watching and no Aussie X Factor at all I don't know how we are going to fill our evenings any more.

Boo The X Factor! Boo!

I can't believe that Aiden is out of the X Factor and that Katie has survived. I can't believe it. Jo and I have just finished reading about it on the Guardian liveblog and we are both reeling. So much so that we almost can't be bothered to read the new I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here liveblog.

Why watch TV when you can just read about it from someone who is watching it and summarising it on a minute by minute basis?

Tales of the Slightly Unexpected

We have been away for the weekend, camping in the Balmoral Forest, a pine plantation north of Chrictchurch. It is beside the shallow and fast flowing Hurunui river.

The campsite is free and a real Kiwi experience. Lots of people were camping there, most of them in huge tent and gazebo complexes and with masses of equipment, like motorbikes or complete kitchens. Other people were in converted buses complete with solar panels, satellite dishes and wind turbines.

In some ways it was a bit like Asia, with lots of interesting things going on that you wouldn't normally see. Here's what was happening:

• A man was riding around on his bike with his daughter sitting on his shoulders.
• In the river a man was surfing, standing upright and hanging onto a rope attached to a car whilst the water rushed past underneath him.
• A quad bike went past with 6 people hanging off the corners.

It's not a different world. My equalibrium wasn't shifted sideways by what went on. But it was all slightly different.

Making Pancakes

Last week I wanted to make pancakes but I couldn't remember how. So I looked for a recipe in the Edmonds Cookbook, a book written in 1955 by the Edmonds flour company to tell you how to cook all the basics. Every kiwi household has one. Over the years it has sold 1 million copies which is a lot in a country with only 4 million people.

So I was quite surprised to see what the current recipe for pancakes is. The ingredients needed were 1 packet of Edmonds pancake mix. The instructions were: "make pancake mix according to packet directions".

It's nothing short of a scandal!

Pictures from Pranburi

Here are some pictures from our trip to Thailand on the way home from England.

Toby and myself in the hotel pool. Toby wasn't a big fan of swimming but he was quite keen on standing in the shallow water at the top of the stairs and holding onto the rails.

On the boat on the way to monkeys island, so called because it is an island infested with monkeys.
Riding elephants at Hua Hin.

Lily and myself took a motorbike up and down the seafront. The Thais can fit a family of 4 onto a scooter like this one.

3 on a Bike

We bought another bike helmet yesterday so I can now get both children on my bike. They are pretty heavy between the two of them but I enjoy cycling round the town with my more exotic than average transport. Children point and say "wow". I feel like the bees knees.

Fireworks

Yesterday was the Rolleston Firework Party. It was unexpectedly amazing! There were thousands of people there. There was a bouncy castle in the shape of the titanic sinking into the sea, merry go rounds and an amazing thing where people got into inflatable spheres and tried to walk on water like a hamster in a ball. The army band from up the road played as well. It was good and the park was packed. It was a bit too crowded for my liking actually. I am not used to go to things and there being other people around. It was quite claustrophobic. I felt a bit panicky. Lily loved the fireworks.

The X Factor

One of the things we most liked about going back to England was, as you would expect, watching the X Factor. There is nothing quite like it here. The over the top performances. The way the whole country talks about it incessantly. Cheryl Cole and her precarious mental state. Simon Cowell. Wagner.

They do have the X Factor Australia. Its a lower key version of the UK one with Natelie Imbruglia instead of Danii Minogue. Not quite the same though.

So we have spent this evening catchig up with the last two weeks performances via You Tube. It's a new dimension in home entertainment!

Kiwi AA

I had a puncture at the weekend so I called the AA. I couldn't get the nuts undone.

They didn't have a van. A man turned up in a pick up truck. Very quickly (within 10 minutes). But he didn't exactly fix it for me.

"I'll just crack the nuts for you" he said. "I've got my tea on. You look like you could finish it off."

And two minutes later he was gone, leaving me to fit the wheel. Which I did.