Boys Own Fun

Yesterday afternoon was almost perfect. After Austin’s sleep we hopped into the car with Bruce Springsteen and drove to Bunnings.

It was Austin’s first time and, as all Bunnings customers do, we had a very important purchase to make.

This was a pair of Cyclone heavy duty loppers with bypass cutting action and non-stick SK5 blades. These are essential for chopping up the palm fronds which regularly – and spectacularly – fall onto our garden.

They come with a 10 year warranty, but I’d like to think they’re made to last; something Austin will grow up seeing in the shed, coming to use in his chores and eventually inheriting along with my extensive collection of English football scarves and Dad’s Army DVDS.

Come to think of it, there’s really no reason to bequeath him anything else.

But that’s a long way off, touch wood, so back to Bunnings and our boys own adventure.

One of the fundamental Bunnings rules is that, regardless of time constraints or what you actually came for, you can’t leave the store without browsing every aisle. And, with the lad strapped to my chest in the Baby Bjorn, that’s exactly what we did.

He was enjoying it immensely, I was getting ‘good on you son’ looks from middle aged men and, then, jack pot. We wander into the tool section and find precisely what I also needed: a pair of Stanley 150mm diagonal cut pliers. These are very important things and, though I’m not sure when I’ll next be called upon to cut some electrical wire, it's satisfying to know I’ll be ready for the task.

That, by the way, is not an open invitation.