So she has been to the flicks with the lad-a film with lots of dancing. I presume her choice and that he is a compliant lad.
Caught sight of him later when I had to drop EQ off to give him his key back..I think a ploy to extend day’s fun.
Anyway looked like a typical youth; beany on his head,wearing a grin and sports jacket. On the positive side a surprisingly good complexion.
Sounds like summer!
Well, we’ve been so lucky with the weather
Autumnal weather more like summer; a message to those with time to travel.
A lovely long weekend, with sea and boats to travel on, swimming and snorkelling, then beer, wine and BBQ time.
Early to bed after watching the stars. Three great nights for the stars, clear skies and no one else around with their light pollution.
Easter Break
We are off to the Marlborough Sounds tomorrow morning until Monday. Off to J&L’s land, via a ferry ride to Picton and then a thirty minute trip on their boat. They stay in the shed, we camp in a tent. It is secluded and beautiful. Thankfully, the weather forecast looks good, with mainly sunshine, and 20C. Happy autumn.
The truth will be known on Tuesday.
The Cricket season is dead…long live the rugby season
Last game of the season on Saturday, which I missed because of other commitments…work.
Sara was in attendance to watch the lads soundly beat the oppo who apparently had a concentration problem. Maybe straight out of the local ADHD school?
Joe took a wicket and bowled well it appears. I put it down to sound discussion of bowling techniques with Dad prior to the off.
The game played in mixed weather conditions, after the Friday was gorgeous 28C and wall to wall sunshine.
Final season figures;33 overs, 5 maidens, 7 for 119, with average of 17 and economy of 3.6, plus his 3 wickets in Hastings tournament.
batting: balls 124, runs 5o, average 6.25, at 40/100 balls. Catches 3.
So to Sunday with first meet up and practice run for his rugby team. There were quite a few familiar faces, and familiar lack of fitness. They were soundly beaten by another Western Suburbs team. So apparently there is plenty to work on during trasining this week. Joe also has scrummaging training this week! They are allowed to push this year, but only 0.5 metres.
Joe will be in intensive fitness and skills training around the streets of Khandallah before the official start of the season.
More dances and stuff
I was on pick up duty again last Thursday. The venue for the teenage dance event seemed quite a dingy one-lots of dry ice coming out of the doors.
Anyway, “the lad” was there again, and EQ has been more upfront and a date is wanted. Duly discussed by M&D, and event planned for holidays. A “turning point”.
Another Parental Moment
Last night I did another of those “collect me” trips. Eleanor went to a school dance(disco in other language)at the equivalent boys’ college in Kilbirnie. I was on collection duty for her and her friend. It was another of those “life is changing moments”, as I stood on the pavement waiting for her, surrounded by a throng of young girls with too much make-up and bad dress sense!
It was all excitable conversation about who did what and who was with who.
This morning it was followed up with a “hypothetical” question of how I would respond if a boy asked her out- a friend of a friend!
Hmmmm….. I blame it all on allowing the ear piercing.
One eyed.
From the same page. Sceptic views; cause or effect?
Global climate efforts ‘woeful’
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Efforts to help developing nations adapt to the impacts of climate change have been called “woefully inadequate” by a UN-commissioned report.
Rich countries have focused on ways to reduce carbon emissions but have largely ignored helping poor nations cope with the consequences, it says.
The findings appear in the UNDP’s Human Development Report 2006.
The authors say farmers whose crops are reliant on rainfall are already having to cope with unpredictable weather.
The report, called Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis, says climate change “now poses what may be an unparalleled threat to human development”.
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 The adaptation agenda is somewhere between embryonic and heavily under-developed  Kevin Watkins,
Report’s lead author |
Lead author Kevin Watkins said people living in vulnerable conditions were already having to adapt.
“There is a lot of evidence that the droughts in the Horn of Africa this year are connected to climate change,” he told reporters. “This is not an issue for 50 years down the road, it is an issue for today.”
Mr Watkins added that the worst affected areas were regions with very limited water infrastructures, such as Sub-Saharan Africa.
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“It is not a region that has the irrigation capacity or the water harvesting capacity to store water in ways that can smooth out irregularities in supply,” he observed.
“More than 90% of people living in rural Sub-Saharan Africa are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, so what happens to rain and moisture content in the soil has very profound and immediate implications for poverty.”
He warned that crops yields could fall by a third or more in some regions.
Climate concerns
While the outcomes may vary from country-to-country, the report said some “broad consequences” could be predicted:
- agriculture and rural development will bear the brunt of climate risk
- extreme poverty and malnutrition will increase as water insecurity increases
- more extreme weather patterns will increase the risk of floods and droughts
- shrinking glaciers and rising sea levels will reduce access to fresh water
Because industrialised nations have focused their climate change initiatives on reducing the amount of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere, support for adaptation in developing countries has been “piecemeal and fragmented”, the report says.
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It calls the international response “woefully inadequate”, because of the lack of serious investment by nations in adaptation projects.
“The adaptation agenda is somewhere between embryonic and heavily under-developed,” Mr Watkins said.
“Funding… under the Kyoto Protocol currently amounts to $20m annually; so this is something that, as part of the multilateral negotiations, has not had any weight attached to it.”
He also said that adaptation funding through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) would be about $50m over the next three years.
“What we are facing is one of the potentially biggest set-backs to human development in Africa in the past 100 years or more, and the response from the international community to date has been $70m,” Mr Watkins said.
‘Climate-proof’
The latest round of international negotiations on tackling climate change is currently underway in Nairobi, and the issue of adaptation is expected to be high on the agenda.
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SEE THE FULL REPORT
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At the start of the global gathering in the Kenyan capital, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) published a report that described global warming as a serious threat to Africa.
It listed a series of reasons why measures to help African countries “climate-proof” their societies, economies and infrastructure was widely seen as vital.
Next week sees the start of the high-level segment of the conference, where any new agreement on adaptation would be reached.
Kevin Watkins hoped the talks would deliver the funding and strategies needed for people living in vulnerable rural areas: “Their future critically depends upon the international community getting serious about adaptation.”
Saturday Cricket Update
Today’s game an eagerly contested local derby gainst another Onslow team the Culcuttas.
I did see the boys bowl but Joe had a fine 1 for 16 off 4. The first over had 2 4s hit off him, but acceptable as straight hits over mid-off, mid -on, and one nearly a catch. He had his success caught behind.
He then batted to score 16 not out, coming in at 9, and hit the winning runs.
So a successful day, with particular pleasure as the oppo have beaten us a few times over the years, and the wicket Joe took was of a boy who gave Joe bit of gip on the Hastings trip for not being good enough, so a pleasurable wicket. Also the boy’s Dad talked in a similar vein, and for Joe to hang in at the end and score the winning runs was an added bonus. The oppo parents were quiet at the end.(“You only sing when your winning…..sing when your winning….”).
Also to add to the psychology, the team was a player short for the game, and sent in a 9 year old as number 11 batsmen, so they lost against a team with a 9 year old in it……….twist the knife!
You should have seen the other fellah!
Away we go!
This weekend we were away up the “cup of tea coast`’ with other families from school/church. It was our first camping adventure since the less than successful attempt at Ohope last January.
This time the weather was fine, suuny and warm. fun was had with the eating, drinking, and outdoor pursuits. Isaac went for a run and walk with those who had bikes as we could not bring ours. I went with him. We had a beautiful afternoon at the beach with MG making his first splash in the sea this summer. Beach football was competitive and lead to a muscle strain for MG.
The evening was partilly spent watcjing the sun go down behind Kapiti Island.
Camping was the winner.