Guest blog by Paul the favourite uncle

Reading Cathy's blog while back in Australia, I was troubled.  There appeared to be too much sleeping in, too much pizza and chocolate, too much lounging around in the sun by lakes, and generally too much fun. Particularly by the younger members of the touring party. As a concerned uncle, I felt I had to step in. Knowledgable uncles understand that nieces and nephews thrive on routine, discipline, hard work and respect for their elders.

So, being a caring uncle, I have made some changes.  Firstly, the sleeping-in had to end, and I replaced it with a 6:30am start and an early jog.  Zali and Jett initially took some convincing, and on their first run they only made it to the garage and back, but the routine is now established and they look forward to their ice-block alarm each morning.

After the physical exertion it was time to eschew the devices and exercise the mind.  Using my skills as a charismatic uncle I provided some instuction and then left Zali to work through some quadratic equations. In the meantime I helped Jett with some basic particle physics, and promised him a trip to the large hadron collider when we return to Geneva on Sunday.  He was thrilled.

Finally, dietary habits needed to change.  Less chocolate, cheese and white bread, and more leafy greens. Being a culinary-trained uncle, I whipped up a delicious salad that Jett was more than happy to tuck into.

Stay tuned for further updates as I apply my uncle-based skills to improve the lives of my charges.