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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.

On Sunday we had a family trip to the Rimutakas, to the north of Wellington, past Upper Hutt.

We went to the Rimutaka Rail Trail which follows the original train route  between Wellington and the Waiarapa, built in the 1870s. There is an gradual incline to the summit, which I managed to overlook in the planning, and then a steep decline over the other side to the Waiarapa. Isaac and I cycled, while Joe and Shaz ran to the summit. The sign says it is 10km, but it seems longer, probably partly because of the incline for the second half.  The gradient was very much more apparent to me on the way back when I did not have to pedal for about 4 Km.

Everyone did well, particualrly Joe and Shaz. It was a very windy day, which did not help. Isaac was certainly happier on the bike on the the way back. We had lunch at the summit, and Isaac and I loooked at the summit tunnel which is 580m long. You can see the end of the tunnel, but within 30m it is too dark to see the ground. So a full trip will have to wait until next time when we bring some lights.

As isaac and I reached the car park a long time before Joe and Shaz, Isaac and I squeezed in another activity. We made contact with our ‘petrolhead side’ by going to watch karting and motorbike racing at the raceway just along from the car park. I thought it was quite good fun, but Isaac (not surpisingly) was not impressed. He thought it all too noisy, and the the cars and bikes just followed each other around. He did not appreciate the maneuvers or the smell of 2-stroke.

Even though the holidays are over I felt the need to keep some beard. So the goatee is here for now, modeled on a masterful exponent. Is it a tacit recognition that I need to make up for the decline on top? Maybe grey does not work so well?

It has to be worth revelling in. If only I knew more Australians. Was it a coincidence that it was hard to find the sport section of the ‘The Age’ website?

Last time in Australia when England were walloped 5-0 I was there for some of it. In 1994 I sat through a terrible day 1 at the Gabba, and a poor day 2 at the MCG. It has a shame that I could not witness this in person, but I have seen quite alot of coverage, so it has been good enough.

Looking forward to more of it.

Tomorrow is back to work time, so the beard has to come off to some extent at least. The sunburn will take a  little longer to deal with.

Picture from the Sydney Morning Herald, and very similar caption and image at ‘The Age’ website.

Joe has more to say:

http://tanajoe.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-christmas.html