Friday, April 16, 2010

The Prolonged Harlo Invasion.....

hey everyone

well, just what is it with the people of Iceland? i mean, what do they have against the rest of the world, exactly? not content with unleashing rubbish singers on the world who get away with apparently being "cute"(yes, Bjork, you) and seizing financial assets from other countries in a way that not even Nazi Germany would have done, they have now willfully allowed a massive volcano to bring the airline industry to a halt.

whereas this latest incident of the Icelanders clearly have no care for the many thousands they have left stranded at airports, a somewhat unusual happy bonus is that it seems today will not be the last day of the Harlo holiday here after all. it's highly unlikely that their flight will take off as expected over the weekend.

these, then, should have been amongst the last of the pics from their holiday, but as things turn out, there could be yet more from this weekend, and possibly early next week!


first off and here are Christopher, Colin and Andrew in a picture i like to call "the picture of Christopher, Colin and Andrew". i couldn't decide between calling it "the three wise men"" or "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil", so i think my happy compromise will do!





i believe the above picture may very well revolve around a horse which did not win a race, and indeed speculation on how it might have been that they rather nearly did back the champion.

whereas my Dad feels that the ideal holiday for anyone is constant and selfless investment in to the retirement fund of a turf accountant, i am delighted to report that the holidaying Harlos were able to sneak away from such a noble thing every now and then, or at least have been able to thus far. they did, for instance, manage to make it out to the tropical world of Middelburg, where they could see Erika, Lyla and, if they really insisted on it, Richard.

Richard, however, is spending his time at the moment almost exclusively in conversations around Newcastle, in conjunction with the phrase "going up". this being the case, Uncle Colin decided (perhaps wisely) to spend most of his time talking to an absolutely enormous teddy bear instead.





this was something which clearly impressed Grandma and Lyla, at least!





they have also found the time to take in the sights of the stadiums where a certain event will be held this year. as those hosting that event cannot work out how to sell tickets for you to go to it i am reluctant to give them much publicity here, but that doesn't stop the fact that the stadiums for the event look magnificent.





and here's where the final of it will be - let's just hope that the Harlo's are not the only English visitors to it!





there is a school of thought, of course, that says if you can't go an see the new edition of this event due to the organizers' inability to even get half a pint in a brewery, then why not go for lunch with one of the few men who have been there, done that, won it?





as for other other things that the Harlos saw, well, one of them should not have been my Dad doing his trick, as it were, where he attracts sailors. Johannesburg isn't known for its coast, and thus we are for the most part bereft of docks and canals where my Dad could meet them. thankfully.

whereas we may lack traditional sailors, how fortunate for the visiting Harlos (and indeed my Dad) that we should have some "sailors of the skies" here. here's my Dad apparently bonding with some sort of hot air balloon operator....





ha! ground that, Iceland!

now then, since the subject of my Dad has turned up here, that picture of him cooking (yes, that picture) in less clothes than usual appears to have had a profound effect on him. my Dad is determined to get a pic of absolutely everyone cooking in such clothes (or lack thereof); showing a level of determination since Darth Vader's ruthless pursuit of Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. Unlike Lord Vader my Dad hasn't embraced carbon freezing technology into this yet, but winter is on the way.

anyway, here's Uncle Colin indulging the whims of my Dad's photographic requests, and doing it with some passion too, might i say.





whereas i wouldn't want to grumble, in retrospect if Uncle Colin had dressed like this, or like this without the apron, it's entirely possible that 40% of Frankie Goes To Hollywood would have invited us backstage when he took me to see them. just a thought.....

right then, there may very well be a few more pics of the Harlo Holiday Invasion to come, depending on what Iceland decides to do with all their volcanic dust. in the mean time, it's been lovely to have them all here, and it seems that they've well and truly had a fantastic time!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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