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GRAMPA’S GUIDE 1

GRAMPA’S GUIDE

“You know knitting isn’t just for old nana’s. Knitting is a forgotten art! Let me tell you about my love of knitting at age 75.”

Knitting tips

When you knit socks – make sure you knit two.
Don’t let people call you a Knit Wit
Always be kind to sheep and goats.
Needles are your friends – don’t ever yell at them when you get it wrong or drop a stitch.
Follow the pattern or you might end up a with a three armed pair of pants.
Spin your own wool – but make sure it’s off the sheep before you start.

BOOTIES AND BONNETS

You know there’s more to knitting than booties and bonnets for grandchildren. I bet all of you picture knitting as an old woman sitting in her rocking chair on the porch knitting a pair of pink booties. Well I’m sorry to burst your little woollen bubble, but that’s just not the case.

Knitting is on the rise again! And more and more people are taking it up!

I’ve been knitting for near on 40 years. I started out knitting socks and scarves and slowly progressed to sweaters, cakes and toys.

I’ve come to master knitting like it’s been in my family for generations.

Dennis just has no idea about knitting. I once caught Dennis trying to thread the knitting needles! I tried to explain that knitting needles didn’t have an eye and she just looked at me all googly like I was talking rubbish. So I left her to it.

Relaxibility

A lot of people take up knitting because it’s just so relaxing. Once you get into the groove of it your hands do all the work and you can almost forget you’re doing it. I once completely forgot I was knitting – I went down to the store to buy some eggs, I walked along the beach, I visited a close friend and by the time I got back I’d knitted a vest. It’s some of the best work I’ve done – a bright red vest – warms you in winter!

There’s all sorts of wool you can use too – double knit, triple knit, four ply and of course mohair. I once knitted Giles a mohawk out of mohair. He was only five and he looked like the coolest little punk at school. I was going to knit him a motorcyle helmet to wear when I took him for rides on my bike but he’s a bit claustrophobic and the wool over his face gave him a rash.

DOROTHY’S GUIDE TO SURFING Page 2

DOROTHY’S GUIDE TO SURFING

TAKING LESSONS CONT…

Firstly you’ll just learn to paddle on your board – it’s not too hard and it’s the start of getting your balance correctly on the board. Then you’ll start to paddle with an incoming wave and you’ll feel such a rush that you’ll just want to stand up straight away – but I don’t advise it – I broke my nose on my board a few times before I got the hang of it.

When you’ve finally mastered the beginnings you’ll take your first stand on a small wave. You’ll think you’re the king of the world! Then you’ll promptly fall off and swim your way out again.

SUNSET COVE SURFERS

Surfers strolling down the streets in Sunset Cove are not necessarily surfers. Surfing is just the coolest thing in town so even if you just own a board and walk with it down the street occasionally then you’re part of the “it” crowd.

Then there’s the people who you might think are the posers but are in fact accomplished surfers. Commander Vermont is one of the best surfers in Sunset Cove! Would you believe!?

Josh is a fantastic surfer too and I’ve tried to convince Giles to take some lessons from him. Giles isn’t interested in surfing. He thinks he’s not tanned enough or something – but I think it might clear up his zits if he ever gave it a chance.

Five ways to look cool while you’re surfing

Place your sunglasses on your head – not on your face
Make sure you overdo your fake tan – it will keep you more protected from the sun and you’ll look like you’ve spent hours out in the sun on your board.
Practice the “stance” – one arm in front of you and one arm behind you.
If you’ve got it flaunt it if you haven’t cover it – bikini’s versus wetsuits.
If there’s a cute guy or girl surfer near by, fall off your board and feign injury – they’ll come to your rescue if you’re lucky

SURFING MYTHS

Surfing will not put hairs on your chest – and if it does then I suggest you wax it off pronto!

Surfing will not always win you the girl/boy – but it sure can help!

Surfing in a wave pool is not cooler than surfing in the sea. Don’t listen to anyone that tells you otherwise.

Alien’s don’t surf – no matter how much they want to borrow your board – don’t let them!

DOROTHY’S GUIDE TO SURFING Page 1

DOROTHY’S GUIDE TO SURFING

“Dorothy here, I’ve only been surfing since I moved to Sunset Cove but I think I’ve found my calling. There is something so invigorating and exciting about it and of course you’re always searching for that perfect wave…

THE EARLY BEGINNINGS

Firstly you have to at least go down to the beach and watch other people surfing. If this doesn’t put you into a dream-like state and have you dancing along the beach wanting to dive on in and steal someone’s board then perhaps you’re not really destined to be a surfer.

Next you hook up with some spunkster of a surfer and tell him how much you just want to ride a wave. If you’re lucky he’ll take you under his wing and give you a few tips.

Then it’s time to get your first lot of gear. Go to your local surf shop and find a board and there’s heaps of different shapes and sizes. I got a fish shaped board in black – pretty rare but the guy behind the counter was sure this was the board for me. But that was my first board – I’m onto my sixth now.

Don’t forget your wax, your wetsuit, your fake tan, your hairstyle, your surfy clothes and then of course you need a cool wagon to put all your gear in – unless you live in Sunset Cove and then it’s cooler if you walk down the street with it. Hey, if you’re a real surfy then you will probably spend every last penny you have on looking the part.

TAKING LESSONS

Certainly don’t expect to be a surfing legend within a week. I mean just getting your wetsuit on can be a mission in itself. Never try to put it on wet or you’ll end up stuck in the thing in a weird position and will have to embarrass yourself by asking someone to help you.

Once you’ve squeezed into that you might want to take it for a test run. Take a flying leap into the sea and hope that it helps keep you afloat, keeps you warm and the brighter it is, the better – gotta watch those sharks.

Some people choose to swim in their jeans which is pretty risky and Grampa once knitted me a wetsuit and I was unbelievably lucky to survive! The wool got sopping wet and dragged me under and the next thing I knew Silver Lining was giving me mouth to mouth on the beach. I tried it again the next week but he evaded my calls for help.

ANTONY’S GUIDE TO BREAKING UP 2

ANTONY’S GUIDE TO BREAKING UP

You can tell sombody’s NOT happily in love when they are:

Having dates. Lots of them (I mean the fruit called dates. Too many will give you indigestion!).
Walking round town chatting up everyone they see.
Being irritable all the time. If someone’s mega grouchy then this may be because they are very angry at something – when someone’s happily in love, they are normally happy.
Avoiding movies, books or anything to do with the subject of love. This is trying to escape from the whole love thing and shows they want none of it!
Buying loads and loads of boxes of tissues. This is to wipe away the tears of unhappiness. Or then again, maybe the person has a bad cold and needs to wipe their nose?

So how do you break it off???

You know you don’t want to be with them so what’s the next step?

There are many ways to break up with someone and none of them are nice – because it’s never a nice thing to do. But here are some of the ways I’ve heard of.

1. Use your cellphone and instant message them. Not the most personal way to break it off – but quick and easy especially if you change your number afterwards so they can’t get hold of you.

2. Pretend you have amnesia and wake up one morning pretending you never knew them and have no recollection of the last six months. This could be hard but it’s been done before!

3. Get a friend to do it for you. Preferably someone like Jet who is happy to do it and will have no hard feelings afterwards.

4. Tell them directly – but be careful of the backlash you receive.

5. Move cities. You don’t even have to make contact with them. Just move, then move on.

6. An even nastier way is to find another boyfriend/girlfriend and wait until you get caught. Yikes!

Really there is no easy way to do it. Breaking up is hard to do and someone nearly always ends up gettng hurt. Try and do it as nicely as possible because, who knows, one day you might be on the receiving end!

The Love Conspiracy

Jet says love is a conspiracy by toaster manufacturers. You fall in love, get married and buy a toaster in your new house then divorce – and have to buy another toaster.

It’s true I guess that things can pop up unexpectedly when you’re in love (and toaster’s pop up) so there may be a connection after all…

Sadly, Antonia and I have broken up – for good! So as much as we might be sad for a while. We can always look forward to our next love…

ANTONY’S GUIDE TO BREAKING UP Page 1

ANTONY’S GUIDE TO BREAKING UP

“Hi, I’m Antony. Recently I broke up with Antonia so I’m pretty clued up on the subject of “Breaking Up”. This is my guide to breaking it off”

LOVE

FALLING OUT OF LOVE

5 famous broken up couples:

Tom and Nicole
Antony and Antonia
Romeo and Juliet
Brad and Jennifer
Sonny and Cher

I remember when Antonia and I first fell in love. I fell over her books at school and everyone laughed – but Antonia didn’t. She picked me up and dusted me off. And that’s how our love started.

We’d been dating for around six months when it all started turning bad. She liked my haircut so much she wanted to copy it, she liked my habit of chewing my lip and even liked wearing my shoes. She loved everything about me so much that sometimes I thought she wanted to BE me! It was starting to freak me out.

And then I cooled it down and we hardly saw each other for the next few weeks. Ok, so I was avoiding her, but I was sick of hitting my head against a brick wall. We were in each other’s pockets all the time.

In the end I had to leave town. You know, when you just can’t handle another minute of it?

So I jumped on my bike and said goodbye to everyone and never turned back… well, maybe just once.

Why do you fall out of love?

There can be lots of reasons why a relationship doesn’t work. Everyone has different personalities and we’re attracted to a certain personality – but then there can be personality clashes. Like when Violet wears pink and red. That’s a big personality clash.

Sometimes the person you’re with just drives you absolutely up the wall. Everything they say or do makes you mad. You stay in the relationship hoping things will get better but instead you get all messed up inside and start feeling as bitter as a lemon.

Then there are people that get in the way of your relationship. It might be a friend that doesn’t want you to be together or it might be in-laws that do everything in their power to cause trouble. It could even be a poltergeist that starts messing with your feelings. Sophie really liked me and I knew she was getting madder and madder at Antonia. She just couldn’t keep her poltergeist under control.

But whatever it is – you just know in your heart that it’s not right. So then you have to do something about it.