Our Boat

We drove to Canowindra today to pick up our gorgeous new boat.  We feel like we got a good deal, the boat is old but aluminium boats live forever, the trailer is only two years old and the motor is fairly new too.  We also got lifejackets and fish nets and it has a little lamp on it for night fishing.  Phill is so happy and it's nice to see him get something he has wanted for so long, he does work hard.

The man who sold it to us was a really nice fellow and honest, Phill reckons he could have got quite a bit more for the boat than what he asked.  We didn't even think of haggling just paid the asked price.  It's beautiful out there, I could easily live at Cowra or Canowindra.  It wasn't cold enough (although it felt bloody cold) for it to be snowing anywhere nearby.  We went looked at the Cowra POW camp that held Japanese, Italian, Chinese and Korean prisoners of war during WWII.  There was a famous breakout in 1944, a mini series was made about it.  We've been there before years ago, and today it was as eerie as it was on that visit.  The above photo was taken by the watchtower that was rebuilt exactly like the original for it's 60th anniversary in 2004.  There are concrete slabs still left, and the remains of toilets and showers.

Bit icky but you wonder about all the POWs who used this loo.

Phill said this was the urinal.  He'd know.

Looking back up to where the Vickers machine guns were positioned that tragically shot so many POWs on the night of the breakout.  The Japanese actively ran towards the guns, as was their culture, it was a deep dishonour to be captured during wartime.

Cowra has built beautiful Japanese gardens as a tribute, we didn't go there this time but did last time.  There is also a lovely memorial to those prisoners who died. 

I love Cowra, I want to go back there and explore more, it's only about 120km from here and they have great shops, a big proper Target store (not crappy Country Target like we have here) and a big Bunnings where I got a spiffy pink stepladder.

So we brought our boat home and talked of our plans.  We think we will go down to Albury on the weekend to the Hume Weir and rent a cabin and bring Emily to stay with us.  A good neutral place to test the waters (both literally and figuratively) and we can talk about new rules and spend some time as a familly again.  And go out on the boat, cold though it will be.

When we got home the kids' half yearly reports were in the mail.  Emily did appallingly as expected but we were really pleased with Josh's results, hugely improved from his yearly report last year.  He is doing really well at school, and the teachers like him and say he is polite and well behaved.  We made a fuss of him and I told him he could choose a game online and I will buy it for him as a reward.  He has been so overlooked with all the problems with Emily and I want him to know how much we appreciate him and are proud of him and how hard he tries under often difficult circumstances.