There’s always a few jokes around the bar in our small local pub, The Condingup Tavern that Murphy was a farmer. If anything can go wrong, it will!

Take going away on holidays. Mr Farmer is about to take three whole days at the beach with Mrs Farmer and tin lids. Just three days only. The car is packed, the kids are in their cars seats and… Mr Farmer finds sheep on the road, a water leak, a mob of sheep with Barbers Poll, or maybe something as dramatic as the Telstra tower is down and he can’t access his weather/rainfall app.

Trust me, no farmer is going to leave their farm like that. Thanks Murphy from Murphy’s Law. And this or something like it only happens every bloody time someone decides to go away!

My mum used to joke that the day the extended family is due to turn up at the farm for Christmas, the sheep will bash down the gate and get into the carefully manicured gardens, the toilet will block up and overflow or the air conditioner/water pump/fridge/stove will blowup or overflow.

Thanks again, Mr Murphy. Also, only every Christmas.

I seem to find that when I’m on a tight deadline, everything goes wrong. My computer refuses to save or give me back saved documents, one of the kids hurts themselves or gets sick, requiring every waking moment of my time, or even a pet decides to die. I mean seriously! Anything that isn’t writing pops its ugly head up to take away any time I should have in front of the keyboard.

This deadline we’ve had a little fun with fires. On Friday night at about 1:30am we were issued an evacuation notice because some little shits, who should have been at home where their parents knew where were they were, played with matches and started a fire that was only about 800m away from our house. Hayden and I live in around some scrubby area so we’re more than aware of our bushfire plan (both of us have been involved with fire brigades over time) so all of that is okay. What makes my blood boil is that it was deliberately lit. (Thanks to the sharp eyed, late night living person who called it in, you probably saved the whole area.) So we had a sleepless night waiting and watching to see if we were needed or if we needed to leave.

Then there was another blaze today. Heading straight for the airstrip that I train at, and where Hayden and many other aviation enthusiasts hanger their aircrafts. Again there’s a heap of bush to the south of where the fire started but small farmlets (which means houses and stock) to the north, plus it’s very, very dry. With a good sea breeze behind it, those flames got a very quick wriggle on.

Anyhow, another few hours away from the computer, while I helped where I could.

Thank goodness for all our volunteer fire fighters, and the paid ones. The police who man the closed roads and anyone who helps out. Still a way to go with this one, but I’m back at my desk now, crossing fingers that the guys n girls who are manning this tonight have sweet conditions.