You say Capsicum, I say Pepper. What's your problem?

We've noticed that not only is the quality of fruit and vegetables better here (the climate is such that pretty much anything can be grown locally) but they are much bigger too. Take a look at the photo on the left. Your eyes do not deceive you and I promise that there is no camera trickery involved. Ruth is holding a red pepper that is nearly as big as her head. Of course, in Oz they are known as capsicums. I can understand why they need a different name, as this Australian capsicum is only related to a British pepper in the same way that the QE2 is related to a rubber dinghy. But if you're going to go with a different name why not do it properly and call it a Frankenpepper. After all, it is clearly some kind of genetic aberation.

Reid and I decided to bring Calvin in to line and give him the Offical Webb Male Haircut (tm). He quite enjoyed me buzzing around his head with an electric razor and it certainly looks pretty good. His hair was getting a bit chaotic evil.


I've found a simple pleasure - having a shower after finishing work. My work now is a lot more physical than it used to be (unless you count wrestling some of the elders to the ground when a leadership meeting got out of hand) and is certainly a lot more dirty (unless you count...nah. I won't say that). After five hours driving round Dubbo in the MatMobile and then heaving filthy mats around I've found that there's something indescribably wonderful about coming home and having a hot shower. For me this has driven home the fact that we in the West surround ourselves with so many creature comforts designed to make us happier and our lives more enjoyable but then reality is that very few things are actually needed to live a life worth living and full of joy. Nothing in the Argos catalogue can give the deep satisfaction of a life lived for God in genuine relationship with other Christians. In this context, with fundamental needs met, an immense amount of pleasure can be gained from having a shower, taking a walk, drinking Splashe cola and simple things like that.

Eddie has a girlfriend! Ruth and I came home one evening to find this little lady attached to one of our walls. Actually, I don't have any idea how to correctly identify the gender of a gecko, so who knows what sex it is. I will say that the new lizard was bigger, whiter and had the most evil-looking black eyes that bore into your soul. That last bit might not be obvious from the photo. The new lizard, as yet unnamed, was also seen outside earlier today so s/he has obviously found a way to come and go as s/he pleases. Eddie, on the other hand, remains our prisoner. He is not a number! Anyway, there's a new idea for an interactive blog. You get the chance to name Eddie's companion! Post your suggestions in the comments section, or if you're really desperate to suggest a name but are the kind of technophobic Luddite that can't use the comments section then please send an e-mail. Or enscribe some kind of crude pictogram on the back of an animal skin and post it to "James Webb, Land of the Upside-Down-Men". Winner will be announced in a future blog!

Despite our best efforts Xanthe has got some kind of auto-quiff going on with her hair. Unless we make a concerted effort to paste it down it springs up like a 'roo. It makes her look like some kind of alternative comedian.


We've been here for over a month now. It's been a good month. I got my first assignment back and scored an implausibly high 85%. I think that means that 85% of what I wrote made some kind of sense. That's pretty good going for me. I celebrated by buying a packet of mint M&Ms. They seemed like a good idea but were, overall, disappointing. In future I shall only buy them if I score less than 50% on an assigment. Hope you are all enjoying your lives, whatever you are doing at the moment. Peace out!