John Pospisil

My Gorgeous ones at Sea World back in January.

Today we went to Coogee with the girls for no reason other than it seemed a good idea. The girls had a great time playing in the sand. We had a big breakfast afterwards at the beachside cafes.

Hannah and Grace helping me blow out my candles

My birthday this year was a relatively low key affair – with Rocio, Grace and Hannah celebrating it with me (my mum and sisters popped in to see me through the week). Rocio and I went out to dinner in the evening and then went to a concert at the Opera House (The Whitlams were playing, not that I’m a fan, but it’s what happened to be on December 3, and it was a great concert).

I used to worry about getting older, but not any more. Now I can see each birthday is actually a blessing. There was no better way than spending  my birthday with than those I love most dearly.

Both my father and I owe our existence to one young man’s quick thinking and luck on the morning of March 31, 1937 (or perhaps 1936).  Below is a translation of the clipping pictured at the bottom of the page:

Crew of burning plane: Courageous landing at Olomovc Airport

At Olomovc Airport on the 31st of March, 19 witnesses described the fearless courage and skill of training plane pilot Lieutenant Frantisek Pospisil and his observer Corporal Josef Pipal.

The training plane took off before 10am that morning, and circled about nine hundred feet above Olomovc airport in heavy winds. Lieutenant Frantisek Pospisil noticed the lower part of the engine was on fire, and as the flames reached the cockpit burning his face and hands, the lieutenant stayed at his controls landing the plane in a nearby field next to the cemetery on Nova Street.

Within seconds of landing he managed to untangle himself , and only his quick reaction in a margin of two or three seconds, were factors that saved him and Corporal Pipal from a horrifying death.

Almost immediately both Lieutenant Pospisil and Corporal Pipal tried to stop the fire from spreading, even after the explosion of the fuel tank, but the task was beyond all hope. Even parts of the metal structure were burning. Immediately they were surrounded by crowds of onlookers willing to help save the plan, but it was beyond salvage.

After an accident debriefing, Lieutenant Pospisil returned to his headquarters, with his face and hand bandaged, he sent for his lunch, refusing to talk to anyone about the accident, expressing only how sorry he was to loose his beautiful plane.

The whole event did not change his attitude towards flying, he said, and he would resume his duties in a few days. His cheerful disposition reinforced the impression of a brave and dedicated pilot. There were no signs to indicate that just a short time ago he had only just escaped a very unpleasant death.

The partly burnt parachutes of both flyers were torn to small pieces by other pilots as good luck charms. The case of the fire is under army investigation.

Incidentally, I never met grandfather Pospisil, he died in the 1940s at a relatively young age, but it sounds like he must have been quite an interesting character.

We got back from Lima on the 13th of December, just in time for the all-important Santa pic. Completely jet lagged for five days, the first chance we got to go to Broadway Shopping Centre was on the morning Saturday the 20th. Fortunately, we got there early so there wasn’t much of a wait. We were there for when Santa arrived – he was a very cheery fellow indeed.

Not surprisingly Hannah was freaked out by Santa, but we managed to get a good shot by all of us crowding in for a family shot.

It’s official – Santa prefers Coca Cola over Pepsi, as evidenced by the above photo.

While at the Circuito Magico de Agua, we came across a magical area where you could see where Santa makes his toys, as well as visit his house, and even get your photo taken with him.

Sponsored by Coca Cola, the El Pueblo de Papa Noel (The Town of Santa Claus) attracted hundreds of parents and children the night we were there. We were in the queue for an hour waiting to get in.

Because of the huge number of people, the Coca Cola elves were very keen for everyone to get through as quickly as possible. “Rapido, rapido Senjor” they urged as I ambled past the entrance gate.

As we’ve all heard, Santa Claus was used in advertising by Coca Cola in 1930s, but it’s interesting that in some countries, Coca Cola still uses him in their marketing efforts.

Oh, and if you have any doubts about whether Santa prefers Coca Cola, here’s a close up of the drink in Santa’s hand.

Now, only one question remains, where did they find THAT gringo?

Ever since we arrived in Lima everyone’s been asking us “have you seen Circuito Magico de Agua”?

We were a hesitant, since we wondered how exciting can some fountains with lighting really be?

Boy, are we glad we went – the Circuito Magico de Agua (magic circuit of water) at Parque de la Reserva was simply amazing. It was something I would never expect to see in Lima.

Opened about 18 months, the Circuito Magico de Agua consists of 12 spectacular water fountains with amazing lighting in a park close to Old Lima. Some of the fountains are set to music.

As corny as this might all sound, it’s really impressive. According to my father in law, it cost $8 million to build, and I’d believe it.

Funnily, we almost went home after seeing only four fountains, thinking that we’d seen the whole park. Luckily a park attendant pointed out that there was a tunnel that led to the second half of the park.

This park would be impressive if it was in London, Paris, New York, or Sydney – to find it in Lima is astounding. Apparently, the mayor of Old Lima has a program of creating and repairing public spaces, and if this park is anything to go by, he’s certainly having some success.

The park was full of locals, and the odd tourist. A very nice evening out if you ever happen to be in Lima.

Admission is four solace per adult ($AUS2) and children are free.

While in Lima, we thought it might be nice to get a family portrait taken. From left to right, my beautiful wife Rocio, my one-year-old daughter Hannah, my three-year-old daughter Grace, and of course, me (that balding, but still very youthful looking guy on the right).

We had the photographs taken at a small studio in San Isidro, and were surprised at the studio’s brisk business- they were booked solid.

A set of six photos (and one bonus duplicate) cost us $US100, which is expensive for a typical Peruvian, but cheap by Australian standards (Pixie Photo will charge you AUS$200 for a single photo, if you don’t go with the AUS$400 package).

Many people think the kids’ music show Hi-5 is an Australian invention. But as Rocio, Grace and I recently found out, the real Hi-5 is actually located in Lima, Peru.

Today the three of us (Hannah stayed at home with grandma and grandpa) went to Mila Florence to see a Hi-5 show, where local Peruvian actors played the actors from the US version of Hi-5.

Of course, in true Peruvian fashion, the actors turned up late, so the show didn’t start until half an hour after its advertised time.

But then again, the tickets for the show cost 15 soles each (about AUS$7.50) , and the popcorn was 1 sole (about AUS 50 cents), so we were pretty relaxed about the whole thing (you learn to be relaxed in Peru or you go mad).

We sat in the first couple of rows from the front, and there were only a hand full of people in the theatre.

The show itself was really good. The young actors playing the Hi-5 actors put on a really good show – actually sang some songs, and really got into their parts. The light show was also very good.

At various stages the actors came down and asked the kids questions, and there was a good level of interaction.

When the show first started Grace didn’t know what was going on, and seemed quite stunned. But as the it progressed, she started singing and clapping, and really enjoyed it. And at one stage, even though she was desperate to go to the toilet, she hung on so that she wouldn’t miss out on anything.

On the way to the taxi (when we happened to bump into George W Bush) she kept on begging us to go back to see Hi-5. We had to explain that the Hi-5 singers were all already asleep.

PS We found that there’s another Hi-5 show with different actors playing at different theatre – not sure how that works exactly.

Rocio, Grace and I were strolling down a street Mila Florence (Lima, Peru) on our way home to Rocio’s parents’ place after a Hi-5 show, when we noticed a particularly flustered policeman screaming and waving at traffic at an intersection urging it to “avanza”.

We knew something was amiss so we stopped and didn’t cross the road. As the policeman got the last of the traffic through the intersection, we saw that a motorcade was coming through.

With APEC in town, the city is full of presidents, prime ministers (hi Kevin) and diplomats.

When we saw the two motorcycles sporting US flags we knew it was likely that it was President George W Bush.

As his black limousine passed by, President Bush waved by at the people who had stopped to watch the motorcade.

While I’m not particularly a fan of George W, it is quite exciting to randomly bump into the President of the USA when you’re not expecting it.

Oh, and this is not the first time that the Pospisils have crossed paths with a world lead. Back in Sydney, we live in the same suburb as Australia’s former prime minister, John Howard*, who George Bush once described as “bald, ugly, one hell of a guy”.

John Howard often does an early morning walk down the street we live in, so it’s not uncommon for us to see him from our balcony, or to cross paths with him on the street.

It’s well and good bumping into these old have-been conservatives, but I think it’s time for the Pospisil’s to start bumping into the new breed of much cooler world leaders!

*Random coincidence – I take my car to get serviced at the service station in Dulwich Hill that was once owned by John Howard’s father (obviously that is not the reason why I take my care there!)