Summerabbacat

I assume @weinerdog that Luke's role is merely witnessing that it is Tony who has signed the contract and then affixing his own signature to same. This is just so wrong on so many levels. Kangaroos are not domesticated pets and should not be treated as such in Australia or anywhere else in the world. As for a kangaroo farm in Washington, I shudder to think what they are raising the kangaroos for. In Australia in some states they are considered a pest because of their numbers and their encroachment on farm land and even residential areas. In such circumstances my only comment is "I wish kangaroos knew how to use guns too".

An appearance by the Three Bears and Big John (freshly washed of course)?

The funniest thing is @centexhairysub, Toby probably won't realise it is an inappropriate comment and/or moment to make said comment.

I think you are right about Toby noticing @chris191070, and he will not filter his comment(s) at all as they will be said with a degree of innocence or naïveté.

A drop of dried cum on the forehead of either or both? A hickey on the neck of either or both?

As noted by my canine-loving fellow Hugillite, @Gary L, this chapter was quite thought provoking, The discussion about ultra-camp men on TV was interesting, particularly in an historical context for Freddie, and was discussed in a very calm and dignified manner. Historically, ultra-camp men have invariably been ridiculed and viewed as detrimental to obtaining and/or furthering equality for gay men. Mr Humphries, as flamboyantly portrayed by John Inman in the very popular Are You Being Served, was one of the most well known gay characters on TV in the 1970's, although it was never explicitly stated he was gay. In Australia, we also had the home grown Number 96, a nightly soap opera which ran for 5 years from 1972-1977. It featured a gay couple, one of whom was a very camp barman/hairdresser and both of whom were openly gay. It was reputedly, the first TV programme broadcast anywhere in the world to feature a same-six kiss between two men. It also featured quite a bit of nudity, in fact, I recall seeing my first naked adult male butt in one episode and it was very exciting. I don't recall gay men ever being thought of as unreliable when I was growing up in the 1970's/1980's in Australia. They were invariably thought of as promiscuous and/or child molesters. Perhaps they were thought of as unreliable, but being unreliable is nowhere near as salacious as being promiscuous or being a child molester. Another fine chapter @Robert Hugill. My favourite moment was Gray's tongue-in-cheek suggestion to Matt that he would like to join him in his relaxing bath.

It seemed appropriate given that is the chart 'Most Read - Contemporary Romance' on which you had your first #1 with A Good Place. I guess I could have referred to you as the 'Queen of Contemporary Romance', but that conjured up an image of you resembling Barbara Cartland and I just could not do that to you, no matter how much you may like the colour pink. I had forgotten K-bear.

Aaaarrrrgggghhh, the things we do for love. My Frida bit me several times 4 weeks ago on my right hand. My index finger copped the worst of it and is still a little swollen, with possible permanent bone damage. Two weeks and two courses of antibiotics later the infection in the fingers healed, but I have had a secondary infection since which is still causing night fevers (and not of the Bee Gees kind), heavy fatigue and headaches, and aching arms. I am 62 (almost) going on 90 at the moment. The cold and incessantly damp weather is not helping.

This was one helluva sensual chapter @E K Stokes; the encounter between Corin and the wealthy merchant, and even moreso the encounter between Corin and Étienne, sizzling such that they "set the pages alight". Étienne revealed the purpose of the letter from Cardinal Santino to Prince Charles, and no surprises, it is a plea to retain the Catholic Church's supreme position in the monarchy in England. Purely mercenary (some things never change). A revelatory chapter in more ways than one @E K Stokes. Étienne's quiet, growing "obsession" with Corin appeared to mirror Giovanni's obsession with Étienne to some extent, in that there was a sense of possessiveness on the part of Étienne, one which I don't think he even realised, or if he did, one which he chose to ignore because of the discomfort it may cause to himself and/or Corin.

I don't recall ever encountering the word "prognosticated" before. It sounds positively painful, like some kind of bowel obstruction (LOL), rather than a prophesy. Another example of where the English language has multiple words which all essentially mean the same thing.

I had forgotten you said that, and it represents my opinion of him perfectly.

The Three Bears made an "interesting" appearance in this chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters, which begs the question, where was Goldilocks? Perhaps Goldilocks could be Charlie's "pet name" (I have a vague recollection he might be blonde). And what of Big John? He appears to be rather impressive and well named. Charlie's observations regarding Toby's quietude and his gratitude for his inclusion in the family Christmas celebrations speak much as to his character. His late mother clearly instilled some good qualities in him, qualities which Kieran's father highlighted and provided mutual gratitude for. Charlie's "official" welcome into Kieran's family has been a painless exercise, one which was unanimously supported by the extended family too. Charlie's intimate acquaintance with Baby Bear, Mama Bear and finally Kieran Kangaroo were incrementally increasing moments of pleasure which I am sure he will revisit often, his "first time" an experience he will never forget and likely treasure forever. Superlative chapter again @Mark Ponyboy Peters aka "The King Of Contemporary Romance".

If Jeff goes before Judge Jevon Jackson again he may not be sent to RYDC; if it is anyone else I think he is, as Jeff said himself, "fucked". I don't think he is as obnoxious as I originally thought, particularly if one compares him to Gavin Richter. For this reason alone, I found Kyla Davis' gleeful pronouncement of the charges she expected (hoped) Jeff would face, somewhat disturbing. Leon's defence of Tevin has confirmed for me he does not have a homophobic bone in his body. His prior negative reactions to Stephen and Michael's relationship are I believe the direct result of his fear of his Uncle Mark's pending release from prison. Gavin is shaping up to be another "Wilson wastrel". He is at least racist and homophobic. As noted by @chris191070, Ted appears to be a sheep, following Gavin and likely obeying any orders he dishes out to Ted. In more pleasant company, Ted could well prove to be at least bearable. Another fine chapter @Lee Wilson, with another wastrel added to your collection.

Jeff reminds me of Marie Louise. He is 14 going on 7 and responds to everything which makes him uncomfortable or with which he does not agree, with hostility and/or stupidity. The only differences between the two are that he appears afterwards to realise he is an idiot, and I don't think he is as malicious as Marie Louise. His biggest problem seems to be that he is just not learning from his mistakes. I think his chances of going to the military academy now are buckley's and none. Excellent chapter as usual @Lee Wilson. Jeff is an idiot and at times unpleasant, but he is nowhere near as malicious as some of your villains in other stories.

You hope! You may be "injured" before departure and be forced to cancel your flight. Woof.

As much as I detest Victor it pains me to agree with you @Cane23. If Victor is in love with Will it may explain, although not excuse, some of his unpleasant behaviour, but it is the business of no person other than Victor. And if Victor watches gay porn or has the Grindr app on his phone, so what? The only issue I have with this is that he has on a number of occasions referred to Jonah's sexuality in a negative manner, including calling him a "fucking faggot" in this chapter. I don't agree with outing people, but when they make negative remarks as Victor has, for me that line is blurred. If Victor was a public official and was making such remarks to demonise or vote against the LGBTQI community he would deserve to be outed in my view. The comment Victor made which presented him as the "most human" for me was “Do you know how hard it is to be shaped into something you’re not? I am a product of just that.” His jaw quivers, eyes closed." This appears to me to be an acknowledgment of what c*#ts both of his parents are. Regardless of what the law states, I do not believe Jonah should have acted with such rage against Victor, and as commented by @Flip-Flop what was everyone else doing, just watching Jonah continue to beat him. The senior Kildare's and least two of their children (Calvin and Blair) leave much to be desired regarding their behaviour on more than one occasion. I cannot see how Jonah is not going be sent back to North Carolina given all the recent events he has been involved in. He has brought some of this on himself, but frankly he has not been helped much by Vienna and Nolan, two adults who should have taken a more "active" role in ensuring he was not in danger of being returned.

It appears the picture Joey's mother painted of his father is accurate. He acknowledged he was a lousy husband and a lousy father. He may have regrets, but the regrets seem to be totally self-centred, all about his loss and nothing about the hurt and harm he caused both Monica and Joey. I think Will's assessment he did not murder Joey is sound though. Not a man it would be easy to like or admire for any reason. "Marry me," he said. I blinked, staring up at him in shock. "What?" "Let’s get married." I sat up too, heart racing. "Are you... You're serious, aren't you?" "Completely," he said without hesitation. "I was going to wait until Christmas, get a ring, make it all perfect, but I can’t wait. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Will. I want to grow old with you." You have got be kidding Aidan. I thought Aidan was the sane one, it appears this has been a masterfully created and acted deceit on his part. He is clearly deranged, even more deranged than Will who responded with a 'yes'. WTF. And this occurred after Will had finally realised that perhaps Caitlin is not all she claims to be, particularly regarding Joey's alleged baby she is carrying, and Aidan gave him excellent advice to contact Ilana to discuss Caitlin's demand for money. She is looking more and more like a scammer. Her reaction to Will and Aidan's coupling was also interesting, I am almost certain it is she who "leaked" the false information to the press that she is Will's fiancee. "Don't listen to him," Nikki interjected. "He's just being modest. I had to restrain myself from tasting everything, it smells so good, and it's not even vegetarian. I'm going to send Sam to him for cooking lessons." Another reason for me to like Nikki, although I have to say as a vegetarian of many years the smell of a pork tenderloin would be enough to make me dry retch, especially when combined with Brussels sprouts, the most disgusting vegetable I have ever eaten. An action-packed chapter @Josh Aterovis, filled with some "extreme" behaviour, from Laura's nasty comment about Will's suicide attempt failures (Will was way too forgiving of her), to Aidan's marriage proposal and Will's acceptance, to Caitlin's demand for money. The Pemberton Predator remains at large. Not even Tavares know who the murderer is yet. Check out their threads and highly choreographed dance moves. They had some great songs, but I don't think this was one of them.

Alannah Currie was almost an Aussie @Mark Ponyboy Peters and @weinerdog as she was born in NZ. I did not realise until just now that she and her fellow Thompson Twin, Tom Bailey, were married from 1991-2004. I knew they were a couple post-Thompson Twins and that they co-wrote the fabulous I Want That Man with Deborah Harry, but did not know they formally married.

He is a spotty little old git.

Track 6 Side A from their third album titled ABBA. Initially released in 1974 by Swedish duo Svenne & Lotta and then by ABBA in 1975. Written by Benny, Bjorn and Stig Anderson. The album was massively successful in Australia and featured 4 singles, 3 of which went to #1 and a #4 single. I remember my mother bought the album around Christmas 1975 when Mamma Mia was #1 on the Aussie pop charts (it had replaced I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do at #1 after 3 weeks). It was subsequently replaced at #1 by SOS after 10 weeks at the top. Halcyon days @Tris.The album ABBA was the 3rd biggest seller in Australia in 1976, behind A Night On The Town by Rod Stewart at #2 and The Best Of ABBA at #1 (which was the 1st album in Australia to ever sell more than 1 million copies, when our population was about 13 million).

I rather enjoyed this chapter @Robert Hugill. Denise and Brian's discussion aside, it was interesting to learn Jasper's brother has been charged with additional offences. I wonder if those offences are the same as those with which Jasper was also charged. Their mother can hardly blame Deirdre for Jasper's brother's woes. Perhaps she should look at her own influence on her sons before pointing the finger of blame at Deirdre.

When Brian and Denise were having their discussion I kept thinking of the old adage 'a man marries a woman who is like his mother'. Dare I say @Gary L, one of the reasons Denise and Deirdre may have clashed when Brian and Deirdre were a couple was that they are so much alike. Initially Denise was a bit of a harridan, but she redeemed herself with her broadminded attitude towards Brian and Gordon's relationship with Russ, and her rather sensible suggestion about a future home for Brian, Gordon and Toby. Perhaps Lilibet's reputation precedes her. @Robert Hugill maybe terrified she will board the next British Airways flight to London, track him down and take a large chunk out of him, after all don't dachshund's have a phenomenal sense of smell?

I forgot that our "honorary" Aussies wrote a great song about a boomerang @weinerdog. You may not be familiar with it. It is one I am sure @Tris will love.

He has grown into a fine looking specimen @Paladin. I have seen a lot of articles about his sister on the internet but not so much about him. I probably remember her more because of her "unique" given name.

"Thank you,’ he whispered into the cool morning air. ‘For what?’ I chuckled. ‘For understanding,’ he quietly replied. ‘I just want you to be happy.’ I whispered, as I cuddled him yet closer to me. We lay there for a few moments more, content for both of us to just catch our breath, then presently I asked, ‘Do you feel like a shower?’ ‘In a little while perhaps. Let’s just hold each other for now.’ ‘Whatever you want,’ I replied, while placing an arm around his shoulders and hugging him tight." This is what Aaron appears to need more than anything right now @centexhairysub.