Great Uncle Phil's Christmas Present

When we send money for Christmas presents there's always a nagging feeling about its ultimate destination. Well, let's put Phillip's mind at rest and show him the outcome of his present to Max, who received a new scooter. It travels with him wherever he goes because it conveniently folds flat and doesn't take up much space. It also means he hangs out local skate parks as these photos show. We've been home two days and already our skate park has received two visits, the latest at 7.20am when he was the only occupant. Yesterday, at mid-morning, the park was crawling with kids Max's age or a little older.

Our local skate park is large and well-equipped with the concrete shapes making them so much fun. It also caters for any age from 5 to 20 ... or as we shall see, 65. The first couple of pictures show Max in action on the more gentle slopes. He cannot handle vertical faces just yet, but is improving his style with each visit.

Of course, there's the occasional splat factor like this:



For the record, Max wasn't hurt although the fall was real enough. And a strange sight was caught by the camera Max just happened to be holding. That scooter rider disappearing into the distance looks much older than the traditional skate park inhabitant. Sure, the dress is appropriate - board shorts, singlet and cap, but the size and shape look suspect.

AS