No, you see, this is different. I hated all reality TV…BEFORE now. Because it was rubbish. It was either totally pointless (like sending people on a race across continents to do silly challenges and waste resources) or based around something that holds no interest for me (baking, sewing, valuing antiques, surviving in the jungle…all of which waste resources).

But now, TV is starting to dip into the nitty-gritty. You know, stuff that has actual worth.

So I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m hooked on the Great Australian Trade-Off. It is relevant to my interests. This week was especially relevant, since I’ve been around Cranbourne, exposed aggregate driveways are a former jam of mine, and all the tasks were around that general sort of theme. First they were presented with a pebble-lied driveway and they had to identify the flaw in the technique. I saw it immediately, of course…it was the uneven grinding of the crushed rock. Try to drive on that and you might just end up with a flat tire. It was Harry who got that one, which is a relief because Harry has scraped his way through to week six by being mediocre.

Personally, I was most interested in the part where they were each given a section of driveway and garden, and they had to use the bare minimum of tools to produce landscaping magic. Tell you what…no one can resist a good before and after shot. Ryan managed to blend in his crushed rock driveway with his bed of petunias in a snaking pattern, which won him the Star Tradie title at the end. And Harry escaped elimination yet again, since Jordan’s boulder formation- though elegant and inspired- just wasn’t strong enough and collapsed before it could be judged. Devastating. I’m not addicted, or anything…but it’s quite the show nonetheless.