shawThings.net : a collection of shaw things ...

I arrived to drop off L at pre-school this morning at a reasonably busy time and there were three other cars there. And they were all being driven by the Dads. And no-one was rushing through the morning drop-off routine. Good to see.

Our oven door has had a long standing problem, it doesn't shut properly. This means extra noise in the kitchen when the oven is on and heat leaking out. So I finally got around to trying to fix it. And rather remarkably, after lots of jiggling, disassembly and reassembly I fixed it. The door now shuts properly, if a little stiffly. The reduced noise is very noticeable. And all I needed was a screw-driver. Over 40? Pah!

Someone asked me at work today if I was over 40. Harsh. Very harsh. I'm barely eligible for Over 35's football (sniff).

Let's look back at the eighteenth World Cup, held in Germany in 2006 and won by Italy - their fourth win. Once again (see 1982) a Serie A match-fixing scandal at home unified the Italian team and delivered victory.

I'm not happy about having to wait until July to see the Christmas special, but it was worth the wait, just. David Tennant looks promising and we see the continuing mix of action and its impact, eg. The Doctor is wondering what sort of man he is, while Rose is freaked out about the whole regeneration thing.

Let's look back at the seventeenth World Cup, held in Japan and South Korea in 2002 and won by Brazil - their fifth win. This is the only time the Finals have been jointly hosted.

Our greatest ever result, but the nature of the game and the refereeing meant it was almost impossible to enjoy.

Let's look back at the sixteenth World Cup, held in France in 1998 and won by France - their first win. France remain the latest country to win it for the first time.

L has been learning some new social skills at pre-school. These centre around threatening to no longer be someone's friend if they don't do what L wants. This has been extended at home to threatening J that she will no longer be his sister.

A few days later it finally happened. Despite over three years of faithful service, hundreds of stories before bedtime, etc. etc. I am disowned. For requiring L to eat her vegetables, she has relinquished me. "I'm not your daughter any more." The unkindest cut of all.

BTW, I'm sure this is a girl thing. J never did this.

After spending a few unexpected days on top of our group table, anything seems possible. I elect to drive into our club pub to watch this match against one of the tournament favourites (although not in my view). Driving in, the news comes through that Croatia and Japan have played a 0-0 draw. This is awesome as a draw with Brazil would mean Croatia would have to beat us by a couple of goals to stop us progressing to the round of 16.