And Oliver says the cat loves him. There must have been trend for kids to wear glasses at the time. They didn't need them and consequently don't wear them. I explain this in the story below.
He's still passionate. It's football now. Passionate is wrong, he's totally obsessed.
Just before he went to big school, it was January 2018. We went to visit friends and James wore his school golf shirt. He was so proud. What a kid.
November 23, 2017
"I can't have this because it's sugarish." Is not a statement, it's a question. Strangely, such questions tend to be only asked when it comes to sugar. Never does he ask such a question when it comes to vegetables, mince, breakfast or beer. And yet he defies the odds of such a sugar addiction with a body that is devoid of any fat. I think he's uncomfortably skinny.
This is our little boy who is coming to the end of his nursery school career. And what a career it's been. We decided to keep James at the nursery school for another year because he was thriving there. He's one of the big boys in the school, next year he has to start from scratch at big school.
What about this year then. There've been a number of significant events in his life. His mouth is almost devoid of teeth (something that made him very cool amongst his peers at school), he can ride a bicycle confidently. One specific bike incident leaps to the fore. The two of us were riding around the Zoo Lake, with James weaving between trees. Unfortunately he hit my back tyre and earned himself a fairly decent roastie. It was the end of the earth. The only solution was bandages and plasters. He still had to ride back to the car - but it was a very tearful event. He has got back on his bike and we've been on a ride or two on the spruit as a family. He does not fully understand cycling protocol, like you don't stop suddenly on a single path with a number of irate cyclists behind you, he is however swiftly reminded by the myriad people behind him.
Like his older brother, James is a very enthusiastic little boy. Once he gets his mind set on something, there's no way out. And there's also no way he's going to allow you to not share in his knowledge. Questions like "Dad, who is your favourite Lego Ninjago character?" are common. For those in the know, and James is very much IN THE KNOW, there are multiple answers that you are expected to know and much disdain is poured upon you if you don't answer correctly. My standard response is "Master Wu". This response has now brought in a new level of interrogation and knowledge sharing. As it turns out, Master Wu appears in a number of Lego Ninjago sets and we are subject to grilling on these sets. It's amazing how children learn at such an early age how to sell things. Rule 4 of crass sales is get your prospect to agree with you. James doesn't give in until you agree with him. Fortunately the "Master Wu" response encompasses all questions that might be asked.
So large is Lego in his life that when his mother went on a business trip to the States the only question he was able to ask her when she spoke to him was about the Lego she was going to bring him back (oh yes, let's not forget the guitar I got - I think this brings the tally up to about 32). He was unrelenting. "Can you show me the Lego, Mom.", "How many pieces has it got, Mom". A few suggestions were made by me to inquire as to how his mother's trip was going, but he was unable to exercise restraint for very long. He did however have to wait a few months to get the rattle copter, which should have been opened by the time you read this post.
James is an independent kid, a little shy, but he gets stuck in with life and his friends. He adores his friends. We all went to his new school induction day and the headmaster called for all the new kids to go to the classrooms, we weren't sure that he'd do it. But he did and with no prompting or prodding. Then it was a thing to extract him from the school. I think he's ready for next year. I think he's a very liked kid and he'll revel in the challenge of big school. He's surprised us with his interest in cricket - and he's not a bad batsman for someone who has just picked it up and his bowling arm is not too bad either.
Here we are JimJam (as all his school mates and teachers address him), or JambleFlop or JimmieJam or any address that comes to mind at the moment. You're over half way in your first decade and you have been an absolute joy. It's hard having a much older brother because you get dragged around to watch his cultural and sporting activities but your time will come and your parents will be there cheering you on the side of the field or stage. You are perfect younger son, a wonderful younger brother and companion to your older brother and growing up at a rate that your clothes and shoes aren't able to match. You are a passionate child, a trait that will stand you in good stead in the next chapter of your life. I love you JimJam and wait impatiently for you to start your new life at big school.
If you look at the picture you'll see Thuli, NemoShacko and James doing homework. James is wearing glasses (Spiderman glasses I stress) because he went to visuable therapy and they have taught him to wear glasses. It's a stunning pic of a stunning child and the people who have been absolutely critical in his upbringing (and NemoShacko).
I would hate to forget some of the words he uses. He still meeds to do things. He was explaining to me why petrol has such a name, it’s the petch that makes the wheels roll. He also spends a lot of his allotted screen time on NewTube - watching Lego Ninjago clips.
And there's always music. James Phillips is James’ dedicated musician. If you haven’t seen the Radio Rats documentary “Jiving and Dying” then you are absolutely missing out. I seem to be alone in my passion for them here at home, although my kids know “ZX Dan” very well. Phillips covered “Welcome to my car” on his Bernoldus Niemand album. The Rats’ version is somewhat bluesy, Phillips turned it into a lounge song. He jazzed it up and made it a lot more sordid, the bawdiness that Jonathan Handley and Dave Davies evoked is not present in James’ version. I prefer this version to the Rats original.
02 - Bernoldus Niemand - Welcome To My Car
I have, until recently, been a bassist in the Badly Packed Parachute. My good friend Jeff has decided to lend his more considerable bass talents to this band and I am now an understudy guitarist. We were playing a band song called Johnny Cool (named after a James Phillips song) and Jeff started playing a Paul McCartney-approved bass line, the song went into another dimension. This is one of my favourite (James Paul I stress) McCartney basslines. You’d better download it quickly before it gets pulled.
Happy birthday my brilliant JimJam. Next year is going to be fantastic and we can’t wait to see you excel.
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