Bat School, Day One

And so I waved a tearful goodbye this morning as Darren left to start his first day at Batschool.

Well, no, I didn't because it was a quarter past six and I just had one leg poking out from under the covers and I grunted a goodbye and off he went, all brave.

I can't help wondering do they have a bat bell as well as a bat phone. And if they do, does it ring or does it go dinner dinner, dinner, dinner, Batman? I'll find out and let you know.

Anyway, I asked him about it when he got home and he told me he'd learnt about the aerodynamics of the helicopter, potential hazards and, more importantly, where the boot is on the aircraft, which is handy when you need the picnic rug and flask between jobs.

Then they'd done some stuff about survival in the bush, which I'm disappointed to report didn't include eating witchetty grubs under the gleeful guidance of Ant and Dec, but did involve lots of boring things like carrying enough water and carrying a radio transmitter and knowing how much fuel you've got on board (you'll get three hours on a full tank).

And tomorrow Robin is joining them and they're going for their water training at Maroubra Seals and I'm trying not to think about saltwater crocodiles.