NO. 31 MR SNAKE

Well, its been over a year since I wrote my first newsletter. In Volume IV I mentioned it was Claire's 11th birthday and said how she didn't hear from her father. Last week it was her 12th birthday and nothing has changed, she didn't hear from him this year either.

I said to her send him a text message and ask where your present is. She said "No mum, thats mean". Mean! Mean! What kind of daughter have I raised. I am a failure!

On Friday I have to take her to Williamstown Hospital to get her plaster off. Six weeks ago she was rollerblading around Cherry Lake in Altona with Sylvie and Jane and fell and broke her wrist. Of course there is a big story to go with it.

While she was skating happily, at the back of the lake, Mr Snake decided to sunbake right across the path. Claire panicked and jumped into the long grass so she wouldn't run him over, but then thought that it might have been a snake mafia set up and that the rest of Mr Snakes buddies were waiting in the long grass to ambush her. She jumped back onto the path, but by this time had got the wobbles and fell and broke her arm.

Sylvie rang me on the mobile (see, that is why children should be allowed to have mobile phones), all I could hear was screaming and the word snake. In my panic to get to them, I ran out of the house with no shoes and after driving to the lake, had to walk 1.5 kms in to find them. We made a sling out of Sylvies pink tie dyed T shirt and then walked the 1.5 kms back out together. I ended up with glass in my foot and lots of blisters, but it can't all be about Claire.

Claire was not wearing her wrist guards, apparently she offered them to her friends to wear. Anyway, we will get a lot of parental nagging mileage out of that.

Cherry Lake is a lovely spot but very isolated if you need to get to it in an emergency. They are going to stick to the Esplanade at Altona Beach now instead.