We steeled ourselves all weekend, did our best to relax and distract, pampered ourselves with plumes of frigid air conditioning and plates of delicious comfort foods, and generally did everything we could to counteract the coming onslaught of filth and privation at the Longmen Camping Ground for the annual Grade 8 Camp.

This of course was last weekend, and I didn't complete a blog entry last Monday as we were well into the greasy depths of yet another chapter of this most unfortunate week of the year. We were thrust right into the zone from minute one at school on Monday as the kids twittered and bothered, lined up with overblown cases and pillows, then marched as one to the phalanx of buses that would transport them northward into the blistering heat for the next five days.

Cass hates this week with a rare passion: in fact I can't think what riles her to the same extent, except maybe various fools that we have to contend with from time to time. Her mood visibly droops as camp time approaches, although she does a remarkable job in hiding this sombre feeling from all and sundry at school. I am less successful in masking my true feelings: it seems quite a ridiculous exercise to punish the kids so tortuously through the day just in the hope that "at least they'll sleep well tonight". What?! I'm not sure of the learning goals here but surely it has to be more than that. The real killer is that the faculty are expected to not only accompany the kids on all their adventures, but also to monitor/coach/supervise/model for them as well: in my mind, the oldies need a little more care...we're four times their age!!

Anyway, suffice to say, the experience was as horrendous as usual. The food was sub-standard and served up from a secretive kitchen by grubby attendants, the activities were arduous and of questionable merit and the sun roasted and singed throughout the five days with no relief. At least there were some small mercies: Cass and I had an air-conditioned cabin for the 6-7 hours we were allocated for sleeping, and I only had to brave the tents for the last night. The clear skies meant no extra discomfort due to rain, and the kids were generally, and remarkably, well behaved....no doubt utterly exhausted as we were!

It's a 1980s model summer camp that works for the sporty and energetic kids, but not for a lot of others. Its model has been supplanted by more inclusive (not pure PE activities) camps with a far greater emphasis on safety and negating risk factors. It just hasn't moved with the times at all. I've got a sneaking suspicion that our gleaming new Tech Cube, due to be  open in January, will be hosting various week-long projects in September next year. Wishful thinking? Watch this space.

Suffice to say we weren't at all impressed! We did our best to wash the stink of camp off over the weekend, both physically, with suitcases full of dirty laundry needing to be loaded, washed and dried as well as metaphorically where we ate tasty food and reveled in the comforts of home with our two lonely furbabies!

Photos: Wol and I needed to watch a prelim final of AFL on his phone as the internet was out at the Green Bar. Photos from camp. Someone need a beer on our shopping trip on Saturday!

Final's fever flashed furiously over the weekend, beginning on Thursday night, concentrating on Friday and rounding out on Sunday as the exhausted viewers finally drew breath and contemplated on results and upcoming fixtures. My adopted AFL team, the Richmond Tigers, dealt Hawthorn a lethal blow on Thursday night, meaning they now luxuriate in a week off to lick their wounds, and are just one more win away from a grand final berth.

Wol's boys were both recovering from an illness so I went round to his place to watch the big Geelong game on Friday night. I got more than I bargained for when I realized he had the game on delay and the two boys were still up and racing around. I played with their robots, read them books and even got a kiss goodnight for my troubles: too bad it didn't stick as they were both skittering around escaping their room for some time after that! Eventually we got some clean air to watch the game and although it was pretty entertaining, Wol's team, Geelong, lost to a rampaging opposition.

Cass went up to "Lady", the seamstress to get some more of her old clothes adjusted and re-modeled on Saturday afternoon. She wasn't sure whether to go ahead or not, but she has some top quality gear made from the finest materials. This coupled with lady's cheap prices and skillful sewing made her decision for her. After our usual shopping rounds and weekly stock-ups, we ordered some delicious Oggi Pizza for the late afternoon on Saturday, then scooterd home before some prodigious thunderstorms flooded the suburb making a cozy hideaway of our apartment. The rain continued to bother and sheet at various intervals through Sunday, and the temperature dropped a few degrees making it almost bearable for a stint after a long brutal summer that has witnessed almost unrelenting enervating heat and humidity.

We took advantage of the inclement weather to binge watch some quality TV, this time in the shape of "Cardinal", a Canadian crime thriller. We managed to watch all six episodes over the weekend as it was heroin addictive and gasp-inducing thrilling. It was one of those shows that you want to eke out over a period, but just couldn't stop watching!

Our great friends, Shaun and Katie, are leaving mid-year in December and returning to Australia and their new home and jobs in Hobart. One of our other colleagues is organizing a farewell PowerPoint for them and I made our slide the other day. The photo above is the collage I put together: the most notable thing is the preponderance of alcohol, friends and fun times... we'll really miss them.

Photos: a park we walk through to and from school, Virgy's head, Wol's new upstairs studio at his apartment, Cass getting some fittings at Lady's, Peri Peri at Carrefour (hooray!), the changing face of the suburb, and Shaun and Katie's collage.

A green, corrugated iron fence masks building sites all over Taiwan. It's no coincidence all the fences are green: there is some building code that requires this. There has been a green fence erected in our most proximate section of Chung Shan North Road for well over two years but narry a sign of building or even preparatory works until this last weekend when one old shop was stripped of cladding to reveal its cold cement skeleton (see first photo).

Cassy's cobbler and an enterprising fresh fish restaurateur have resisted the green fence in this large , derelict block, but all the other businesses succumbed long ago. Cassy's "lady", the seamstress, has moved to the other side of the suburb and my scooter man was also displaced along with a tiny antique shop. Most disappointing though, considering the subsequent lack of progress on building the next great glass and steel residential tower, is the demise of three great little bars here! The Bund 18 was slick and new and had a bright atmosphere, the Woo Soo Bar was dark and alley-like with a grungy appeal and the heavy liquor local bar, Bottom's Up, was for hard core Gaoliang drinkers only! I don't resist progress but a green fence for over two years......come on!

Cass had a delightful time with her good friend, Kristin on Friday. They went to the very slick cafe section of the signature restaurant Il Mercato to have an early dinner and a few wines and a good, long catch-up. Kristin had plenty of wonder to relate from nearly two months in Europe over the summer holidays and they wined and dined in spectacular style and quality. The mirror image of this was no doubt Wol and me scoffing German sausages at Uli's over a few sweet as honey Northern Taiwan lagers, talking about upcoming footy finals and his sick kiddies..... We still had a rip-roaring time, though!

We scootered down to various shopping outlets for the groceries before settling in at Eat Burger for an early dinner on Saturday. It was as fresh and delicious as usual, especially as we lashed out and got various sets which included drinks, appetizers and salads to accompany the main course of burgers.

I managed to watch a few NRL final round matches and Cass even joined in on a couple, as the games were quite fascinating and high stakes as points for and against changed throughout the matches, affecting where teams would finish and ultimately, who they would end up playing in the first week of the finals. It was a real roller-coaster of excitement, disappointment and acceptance.....I don't know how the players coped with it all!

I always forget to take a photo of my classes, so today I actually wrote it on the board as part of my schedule: if I forget, they're sure to remind me! Other photos are of a skeletal building in the green zone, Carrefour shopping help, Cass getting the bread and an interesting set of alley front doors opposite Eat Burger.