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Christchurch today. Big shock, worse than the one in September it appears. Also, during the day this time.

Wellington awaits its turn?

I think it is worth highlighting a few items from the merry-go-round weekend.

• Sara came out of her dungeon and is “free” until feedback is received on her writing
• On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a BBQ and pool party. Obviously not at our house as the pool is not on the horizon. It was a scorcher, and must have been 25C
• Saturday as cricket day, and was it Isaac’s best yet?After a diappointing start with the bat, he bowled three good overs giving the batsmen plenty of trouble. He took a wicket in his first over, had two other chances dropped and ended with 1 for 3. He also executed a lovely run out with a direct hit from square leg. His POD certificate was well deserved.
• Joe’s cricket team had a “rum old game” being bolwed out for 75 but taking the oppo to 7 wickets for their win, with Joe also throwing the stumps down for a run out.

The sunshine continues, and all are happy!

The circada noise is huge at the moment. The boys and girls (not sure if both do) are making constant noise at the moment.

Here is the sound courtesy of a video from out garden.

I have just watched this baby dock from our window. The Queen Elizabeth looks massive even from this distance. From the Dom Post:

This time of year is a parade of ships arriving, with the numbers increasing each year. Oh the maritime life.

I noticed the plethora of police motorbikes and cars on The Terrace this morning. On my stroll at lunchtime I saw the red carpet adorning the steps up to Parliament.

Presumably the Australian hairdressers are in tow.

So Eleanor is home, a fact that I have managed to overlook in the last two weeks since her return. Maybe that is because she has been so busy with school and her social life that it seems she is still not around?

She returned from Germany having had a great time, and was treated very well by all concerned. She made new friends, and experienced  grandparents. It cannot be all bad when you have a day trip to Austria for snow boarding, a week away in Switzerland for snow boarding and a  and a journey from West to East to experince Berlin. On her return it was straight back to school

And now she has a job. She is a waitress in a local cafe. She has done one proper session, and will be earning the minimum wage.She is already moaning about the tax take.Where did I go wrong?  Maybe it is not surprising given the benefits of working  the baby sitting  black market.

Teenagers  having a job while at school is much more common here, but care will be needed that there are enough hours in  the week to fulfil all her responsibilities. Including the washing up at home.

The Super team drag their season back on track, with a massive win in the massive cup.
So off to Wembley in April.

I hope it is screened live, or is the cost of a return flight worth seeing history made?

This is a holiday weekend in the Wellington region, hence the ability to enjoy a bumper selection of events.

On Saturday Sara scratched her seven year itch-we made it to an agricultural show. We chose th better of the 2 days to go; the weathr was much better, and the wood choppers were active, as well as the show jumping.

The axemen (women) were excellent, a fascinating talent, which Sara spent most of the day watching. Most of them were big blokes, but also fit with great endurance. The better ones managed to swing with great speed. The competitions were handicapped, similar to have a golf handicap, based on previous success. There were even two competitors from Austria and England, over here to improve their skills!

The show jumping went on all day. The horses were fantastic specimens. However, looking at the equipment on show, competing in these events appears to be a horrendously expensive sport.

Sheep dog trials were part of the action, though it did not seem to compare with “One man and his dog”.

We walked around the sheds to see the varieties of sheep, pigs, cows and birds, and watched the judging of the various categories.

A beautiful day, and I am sure will be keeping in touch with our country side again.

Friday evening was a novel event. It was a special family outing to the speedway track  to watch saloon car racing, at Wellington Speedway.

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The event was a different one: watching a variety of classes of cars whizzing around a dirt track, with plenty of nose and exciemement. It was good fun with the noise and roar of the engines producing excitement, nip and tuck racing giving drama, and a little bit of bash and crash emphasising the risks involved.
There were standard road saloon cars racing, then two classes of powerful racing designed saloons. The bigger cars must have been using a mixture with ethanol because they produced a differnet smell as they powered by.

Myself and the boys had a tip to the pits to see the motors up close. It was a realiation to see how many back up crew were needed to keep the car and driver on the track. A cheap sport I think not.

Sara had a good night, with memories of Nottingham days evoked.

It is noteworthy that no alcohol was allowed in the ground, either brought in on bought in the venue. I do not think there were too many people from Khandallah there. Lots of families, who Sara decided watched rugby league in the winter, and speedway in the summer.

We left a little early as we had been stupid enough not to bring sufficient warm clothing, but it was a good value evening. we will go again.

I have just returned from a walk arounfd the city as I neeed to go out and enjoy the sun.

I walked to Parliament where I would have had a pleasant sit down in the sunshine. However, the place was full of police, lots of police cars and the roads were blocked off. Wow! A security alert in NZ! As it transpires they is a bomb alert.

So, as my intended route was blocked off I walked along Hill St. passed Eleanor’s school and came up to a motley crew of men dressed in black suits. They looked like a bunch of accountants on the way to a meeting. As I ambled by, closely, with them not seemingly taking too much interest in me, I realised that the one in the pin-stripe suit was John Key, the PM, and the rest were his security team and an adviser.They were on their way to Premier House.