Author: telboy2

Lesson One

Isaac earned his learner’s licence today and so we had his first lesson in the Fiesta.

Automatic transmission for him to make life more easy and a succesful lesson of about 25 minutes. Until the next….

Christmas

So today is Boxing Day. The intense festivities are over and today is more a relaxing day, winding down after the consumption of food and drink.

We went to Midnight Mass at the cathedral in Wellington. It worked very well. We arrived after the beginning of the carols when the church was nearly full. So we sat in the front row; the one that everyone leaves. The carols were good, the service was good led by Cardinal John( who will be involved in the choosing of the next Pope-himself? You read it here first). There were musicians and a choir to provide a good atmosphere. Such an improvement on the St. Ben’s experience from a few years ago.

The only problem with Midnight Mass is the lateness of going to bed particularly when you cannot sleep. Excited? Or too much coffee late in the evening?

Christmas Day was organised as ever with Sara doing lots of cooking to provide the traditional feast with roast turkey and ham. Sven was around to enjoy the offerings. Of course there were the multitudes of presents to be opened.

I even spoke to Michael. All good.

 

Boxing commenced with a decent lie-in. Much needed after the day before and followed by a family run from Kilbirnie to Oriental Parade. An easy stretch of the legs or Sven, though less so for the older participants. Joe did well.

Change at the top

New Zealand hits the headlines overseas as the PM changes. John Key resigned unexpectedly last week despite his high approval rating.

Apparently he wanted to go out at the top at a time of his making and there were family considerations.

Bill is well known in the St Pat’s Town circle – a regular at the Big Boy’s Breakfast and parents’ evening!

So it makes new in the Telegraph:

Bill English elected to replace New Zealand prime minister John Key

 
Bill English, right, will replace John Key, left
Bill English, right, will replace John Key, left CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

New Zealand’s ruling National Party appointed Bill English as the country’s new prime minister on Monday following last week’s shock resignation of his predecessor John Key.

The centre-right National Party caucus met to confirm the decision on Monday morning with Mr English to be officially sworn in at Government House in Wellington later in the day.

Mr English, 54, was Mr Key’s preferred candidate to succeed him after serving as finance minister and returning New Zealand’s budget to surplus. But critics say the 54-year-old lacks the charisma needed for the top job. Mr English has previously led his party, taking them to a big defeat in the 2002 election.

A farmer with degrees in commerce and literature, he has been in parliament since 1990 and was previously leader of the National Party in 2002 when it suffered its worst election defeat.

Festive season

It is December and the season is well under way.

Today in town was the Santa  Parade and street activities. Or  was yesterday the parade? Anyway there was lots of activity along Lambton Quay as we were trying to do a bit of shopping after our run along the waterfront.

More importantly is was the Messiah yesterday evening at the Michael Fowler centre performed by the NZSO with the Tudor Consort choir. It was intended to be a family trip but in the end Isaac went off to Melbourne this week to visit a friend and Eleanor went to see Swen in Auckland. Dave and Michelle took their places.

As ever I enjoyed the performance but there were  few differences from other times. The choir seems relatively small in numbers and were positioned at the same level as the orchestra. I think this made their impact less than usual and reduced the power effect. The arrangement was perhaps different- no ‘ to you a child is born’ and new sections in the third section that I and not heard before. At one point two of the principals were singing together! Not seen that before.

It is now 10+ times we have see the Messiah. We will certainly keep going. We have seen a variety of performances in a variety of venues. Yesterday’s was not the best but certainly not the worst.

We will need to find somewhere very different one year to give it all a boost.

One method to learn

Trying to learn  German with a  variety of inputs. As well as a class in recent weeks I have been used in various applications for the last year. Duolingo is highly rated. I find it very good too with the range of strategies used. However I do think that my current rating is overstating things a little!