Events from yesterday

I was not very well yesterday, perhaps not enough sleep and a little run down and Stu is not well so I think he may have shared some germs with me!! So we both had the day off, he needed to get my plumbing stuff for the hotel so I went with him and just before we left he got a text from Andy to say Linda had passed away. He was so upset as Linda has been a big part of his life growing up and was like a second mother to him. She was also one of the few people in the beginning who accepted me as part of Stuarts life so I too am very sad at her passing.

A few hours later Stu received a telephone call from SA to tell him Callum and some friends had been held at gunpoint and robbed of their bicycles, phones, wallets and clothes. As you can imagine he was devastated and had to pull over to compose himself, I am so glad I was with him as I would have hated for him to deal with that on his own. He had a very quick talk with Callum just to make sure he was okay and then had to hang up with the promise of a call later in the afternoon.

Last night when Stu called he heard the whole story and I thank God Callum is such a level headed and sensible child. Apparently after he realised that they were about to be robbed, he emptied his pockets and hid his valuables in the grass, he also kept his head down when they pulled the guns out and remained calm. He had on an old t-shirt and pair of shorts which I guess was good attire for building a BMX track, and the robbers didn't want either. All the bicycles tyres were slashed and as the thieves (perhaps uneducated) had to now carry the bikes away they had no hands for his. So while most of the kids were left with nothing but their boxers and socks, Callum had everything!

And of course he still had his phone so he could call the police.

I just can't believe 12 year olds had to go through something like this and the more I hear of friends wanting to go back so they can give their children a good quality of life the more I want to slap them! There is no more good quality of life, the country has changed and it is not the same as when we were kids. Deal with it and move on.....