That was 3 days into a week long holiday. After some time at the doctor’s and a couple of x-rays they managed to struggle through a couple more days but then came home early. My holiday at home was curtailed and my exclusive access to the playstation was at an end but it was good to see the little chap home safe and nearly well.

After a visit to our GP this morning, then a specialist and a few more x-rays the latest prognosis is that he has two breaks, one above and one below the elbow. He has a new cast and will be keeping it on for the next four weeks. I’ll post another photo when it comes off.

I will let you into a little secret about this year’s photo. I had it all planned – and in advance, which is a first for me. We were going to go to the beach and get a shot of 2 Aussie boys on their boogie boards enjoying the surf, sun and sand that epitomises living in Sydney. With Father Christmas hats on. It was already the perfect Australian Christmas photo, in my head. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas. It has been cold, grey and raining for the last few weeks and on the day I had allotted for the Christmas photo it wasn’t any better.

So I had to improvise with an indoor shot. Considering the circumstances I don’t think that I did too badly.

Which 80′s pop stars are coming with my Kia Sportage?

This holiday business is hard work, but enjoyable. I’ve got a couple of vignettes for you from this trip.

Firstly, my lovely wife had obviously forgotten how fickle the English weather is as she only packed shorts and t-shirts in her suitcase for this trip. Her mother had convinced her that the UK was in the midst of the warmest, driest summer since records began. Sadly when we arrived it was cold, grey and raining. You can imagine the whinging that provoked.

The other vignette was this afternoon on the beach at West Wittering, the only beach I know that is run by it’s own company. Two small boys had enjoyed their afternoon crabbing with the Mahoneys and assorted cousins and were desperate for a quick paddle in the sea. I told them that I didn’t have any towels or changes of clothes but that they could go in as long as they only went ankle deep. You can guess what happened next. A very soggy MIGO spent the entire trip back to Bracknell complaining about his wet bum.

And so I found myself on a Sunday afternoon in November perched on a platform 6 metres above Sydney harbour wearing a completely black outfit, fake moustache and full wig headbanging to ‘Ace of Spades’ and then – oh just watch the video …

Extra points if you can figure out which one was me. As you’ve probably guessed I didn’t have to do much other than turn up and push Mr Reeve into the harbour. But it was a complete hoot and, as usual, the Reeve (and Apps) clans had done a bang up job preparing for a great event. I raise a glass to Ben and his crazy ideas and I hope you will too.

I must say that they got away with quite a haul. It’s probably a good thing that I took them both to the dentist for a check up last week. If I took them next week there would be much pursing of lips and shaking of heads by the dental professionals due to the amount of sugar that is going to be consumed in the next few days.

But do you remember the rules? Because I certainly don’t. For an afternoon, or more usually a damp British summer, I would have been able to quote you chapter and verse on the game we were playing. Thirty years later and my memory gets a little hazy. Don’t fear though gentle reader because this is the internet and everything is here.

Behold the rules of every card game you have ever played. Don’t thank me, thank a gentlemen called John McLeod who has put this collection together and posted it on the web for us to view. Thank you sir, you are a gentleman and a scholar and damp family holidays can fly by once more.

Something similar has happened in our house. One of the junior members of the team (no names, no pack drill) has made a habit recently of climbing into our bed in the middle of the night. The occasional cuddle is OK but this had been happening every night for a number of weeks. I’d tried rational discussion, encouragement and even a little bribery but it still was carrying on. As a last resort I reached for the metaphorical stick. I said to the cuddler that every time he got into our bed I would charge him a dollar. He even paid up for the first two nights.

But then he got wise to this and, rather than stopping waking his Mum up as hoped, went for what I can only call the cunning angle. He has, on several nights this week, snuck into our room; tapped his Mum on the arm and whispered – “Can you come and cuddle me in my bed, if I get in with you Dad will want me to pay him money and my piggy bank is nearly empty.”

You have to admire the ingenuity of the little fellow. Now I’ll just have to resort to a sound thrashing each night before bed.

For more information on this kind of behaviour check out this article.

• Outbursts – the last track on Outbursts by Turin Brakes
• Glad and Sorry – track 3 on CD2 of There’s a Whole New World Out There by the ever marvellous Francis Dunnery
• The fine work of Graeme Swann on Twitter
• Halting State by Charlie Stross
• OK Go – This Too Shall Pass, hat tip Neil Gaiman

Which is not to say that these are the only things in my life that are good, hello SWMBO, JFGP and MIGO.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present this week’s winner, spotted on an internal email at work – “Irish Fearsâ€?.