Nick Davis should be stuffed and mounted! This average, dare I say daggy, young man single handedly pulled the Sydney Swans from the jaws of defeat and what a sweet victory it was.

I had spent three and a half quarters of Friday night's crucial game against Geelong cursing the Swans, the SCG, the Geelong fans and myself (for thinking that following a football team was an enjoyable hobby). The Swans were down and out the entire game, there was little hope but this game was proof that one should never give up hope and young Nick certainly didn't!

The majority of the game varied from boring to painful and shades of inbetween. I admit, I was the epitome of a bad fan. I whined, I whinged, I said bad things about all the players, the coach and anyone and everyone associated with AFL and the Sydney Swans. It was not pretty and in hindsight I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. But that was then and this is now. "Now" being the pride I feel as I bask in the warmth of being a supporter of the winning team. I want to enjoy this feeling for I don't know how long it may last. Dare I hope that the Swans beat St Kilda on Friday night and thus caterpault themselves into the Grand Final? Oh, I can only dream. And then.... wonder of wonders... should I even allow myself to dream the impossible dream... to be victorious over the seemingly unstoppable Adelaide or be second time lucky over the powerful West Coast Eagles on last Sunday in September?

While it was certainly an exciting start to my weekend there was more fun to come. On Saturday afternoon we took Will to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I have only dim recollections of the original with Gene Wilder so I didn't have alot of concrete expections this time around. Well, Johnny Depp is a genuis! Who could have known all those years ago that the skinny upstart on 21 Jump Street was going to grow up and be someone special! I have enjoyed his work for many years - from "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" to "Ed Wood" to "Chocolat" - but he really was perfect as the demented chocolate king Willy Wonka. If you haven't seen it but plan to, watch out for the early scene where he starts to take the children on the tour of his chocolate factory. The look of disgust (at the children) on his face is priceless. It was certainly on the dark side for a children's film (though Will really enjoyed it and said it was "funny") I thought it could have been much darker and would have been better for it (but then it would have been more of an adult's film so I guess it wouldn't have really worked). Highly recommended.

Sunday included a less than average yum cha experience at the Marigold in the city. Normally this is one of our favourites but it was annoying on a number of levels this time around. First off, they have this maddening habit of standing each group next to a table of people who are just about to go. So you end up hovering uncomfortably next to a table full of people who are ready to go but haven't actually left. You block the aisle and the trolleys have to barge past you. Then the waiters come and clean up the table while you hang about some more. Not good! Then, when we actually sat down, we realised it was bloody freezing in the restaurant - I mean meat isle of the supermarket freezing. As it was a wonderfully warm day outside we were all fairly lightly dressed and were quickly shivering like little penguins adrift on an iceberg. Let's face it, you don't go to yum cha for the silver service. It's basic and that's fine. But this time the waiters seemed to be straight out of some Siberian gulag, glaring at us, throwing down drinks and utensils in a most unhospitable manner. Despite enjoying the usual array of dumplings, ribs, noodles and chinese tea I really couldn't wait to get the heck out of there. Back to East Ocean next time!