It's My Birthday, Hurrah! I'll be working all day obviously, so I had a monarch style official birthday on Saturday. First I took niece Ellie to watch her brother Joseph being a rabbit on a float in the Yeadon Carnival, Jo and Ellie's dad Kevin was also on the float, dressed as an executioner/death, he claims he was a woodcutter, but I know what a six foot bloke in a dark smock wielding an axe represents. Then we saw Burley 2nds playing at Hall Park, Horsforth, and played with the children on the skate park, they don't skate themselves being in the 1-4 age group, but had much fun being thrown down the biggest skate ramp into the waiting hands of mums and aunties (Dads and Uncles were sat at the top of the ramp in lordly splendour). This was followed by some football, Joshua interpreted the rules of football as grab hold of the ball and sit on it, then shout "Mine, mine, mine" when Uncle YS appeared to drag it away from him. Further free form interpretation of the rules came from Stephen who began a series of lunging rugby style tackles, this is fine when a skinny three year old tackles me, but rather ended the game when he flattened his little sister for the second time. We retired home for dinner, mixed barbeque of horse, donkey and alsation (we think) from my new butcher (see under Knackers Yards & Roadkill in the Yellow Pages), and a very decent selection of big, big reds......... Tim Adams Clare Valley Shiraz 2002, an inky dark beast of wine, still very direct, powerful and reeking of wet leather. Don Maximiano Founders Reserve 1997, another big beast, but has tempered some of it's strength, masses of superbly balanced flavour. Wynn's Coonawarra Estate CSM 1998, plummy and hints of spice, and guaranteed to have YS sleeping within five minutes of the film I wanted to watch starting (it was the exercise I tell you!)