So, a funny old weekend.
Joe’s rugby cancelled as it poured down overnight. Super 14 final ruined as a game and spectator event by the all enveloping fog, which of course would not have happened if it had been due to play in Wellington.
A Sunday trip to the club followed by Confirmation session for EQ.
Then parents did their gardening stint to spruce up the place, and felt all the better for it afterwards. This was followed by a walk at Oriental Bay and a “well earned pint”.
Middle class bliss?
Is it the FA Cup?
Super 14 final today, which features The Hurricanes and The Crusaders, two Kiwi teams. A big event and so continual talk and newspaper articles all week. The enemy are the favourites. Nearly a domestic competition, or at least a mini -international one that NZ teams do well in.
As an event I suppose close to FA Cup, or maybe Champions League final.
Go the “Canes”.
The inevitable march of time?
Back to the knee then.
Saw the bone doctor yesterday and arthroscopy booked for June 29th as long as ACC approve. ACC?-essentially an alternative health and support service if your problems are accident related. I did mine intially sailing, then a whole ot worse when I went running and knee went “squeeelch!”
I certianly cannot run at monment and even walking is limiting, and pain at night…….
So a bit of repair to the ageing body.
The most worrying bit of seeing the man yesterday was how he noted the muscle wasting around my knee that I was not aware of.
Sara’s biggest concern was that I was not wearing my best pants.
Saturday Pattern
Rugby was not rained off this weekend, so trip to Ian Galloway Park to see the U-11s do their stuff, which in the first half was not upto scratch. This was noted by the coach
at his half-time team talk ” as individuals your are playing well, but as a team you are crap”-no punches pulled then. And yes they were crap; poor tackling, too many “lone rangers” and trying to run around the other team, rather than straight. A better “second 40” (actually 25 minutes), saw two tries to our one, better team work and commitment.
Lots of shouting from sideline involved the usual “tackle”, “run straight” and “keep up with the ball”.
Joe apparently suffered some “stomping”. Someone stood on his achilles in a ruck.
A good Saturday morning.
Doom and Gloom
Monday morning gloom. It has been miserable weather since yesterday with freezing strong winds from the south west with large dollops of rain. Woken in the night by the wind howling around the house and chucking the garden furniture around on the deck. Next up was the shaking for about five seconds.
“A five magnitude quake has rattled the lower North Island this morning.
There are no reports of damage or injuries following the shake, which struck at 5:32am.
Seismologists say it was located 40 kilometres northwest of Porirua, at a depth of 60 kilometres.
The earthquake is the second to be felt in the Wellington region in the last 24 hours. At 7.26 last night, a 3.8 magnitude quake was felt in the capital and Marlborough.”
Then to get up and check out the BBC and find Brentford lost to the Swans…….
A welcome to Brighton due next season.
Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…………..
I bet the postman(woman actually) is dreading taking all those parcels and cards to our house today.
Goodies so far-Arctic Monkeys CD, U2 collection CD, a book “The Silk Riders” about a trip by an NZ economist and his mates who drove BMW bikes tracing the route of Marco Polo to China, and a pair of Bart and Homer slippers.
Can’t say fairer than that.
Kapiti Island
Or a trip to ‘cup of tea ” island in some peoples’ vernacular.
It was a trip orgnaised by the family group we belong to through St. Ben’s.
These are monthly events to make for social contact.
So off to the island via Paraparaumu beach and to an island that is a DOC reserve.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/001~Other-Places/008~Wellington/Kapiti-Island-Nature-Reserve/index.asp
All pests such as rats and possums have been eradicated to allow the native bird live to flourish. So the bird life is varied, plentiful and keen to interact with the visitors.
We walked up to the top of the island despite the knee(more later I am sure), taking an hour and half to the then look out from the top into mist. There was nothing much to see!
Down we went (not good for the knee), and the children played children stuff on the beach.
A fun Sunday with a little detour to Waikanae for beer and fish and chips.
Waikanae appears to be a great place for the stars being small, flat and much reduced light pollution.
Total Kiwi
Saturday was a complete rugby day.
First up was the first game of Joseph’s rugby career, playing for Western Suburbs U-11 “Reds” against a Johnsonville team.
A late change in the rules meant the boys have to play on a full size pitch, no mean feat when you are 10. They played well, and it looked like rugby with the forwards fighting for the ball and the backs lined up waiting for some action. The forwards were greedy-some things do not change from generation to generation. The passing along the backs is not slick yet-but of course they all want to do spin passes. There was some committed tackling going on and some nice running. The opposition had one of those electric runners that no one else can catch. He scored two tries.
The lads kept on running and appeared truly knackered after 50 minutes of action.
So a good game for a first outing with so little practice behind them. More happy Saturdays to come?
After lunch it was off to watch a local club game as a family. Marist St. Pats v Tawa. MSP play in B & I Lions colours. An enjoyable outing, with a trip to the “Brewery” on the way home. Dad and big son then went to watch the Hurricanes and Chiefs fight it out at the “Cake Tin”. Not great weather, and not a great game only partially explained by the conditions. Also,we had the misfortune to be sitting with a group of misfits on a works trip from I assume Upper Hutt…..hmmm.
Rugby, rugby, rugby……what more do you need? This is NZ after all.
ANZAC Day
25th April for those not in the know.
It is a national holiday here, though no roll over to Momday if happens to fall on the weekend.
So, it is like Remembrance Day or Sunday, but with more importance possibly.
http://www.anzac.govt.nz/index.html
http://www.rsa.org.nz/index.html
The commemoration services are at dawn to mark the start of the Gallipoli campaign 1915.
Today we were at the Wellington service at the Cenotaph, Lambton Quay. So early rise, 4-50 to be there for the 5-45 start. All Quirkes were up and raring. There were a few thousand people in attendence, with all ages covered. The ex-servicemen marched in with a military band and followed by members of various organisations, like the Guides and army cadets.
The speeches concentrated on the acknowledgement and celebration of sacrifice not the glorification of battle. The importance of remembering the sacrifice of men and women in unpopular conflicts like Vietnam was stressed, being reminded that they were sent like any others, and if you have a problem with the conflict, direct your thoughts at those who do the sending.
ANZAC is an important way of Kiwis expressing their national character, I think more so than Remembrance day does in the UK. I suppose it is something to do with being a smaller and younger nation.
It is impressive that so many get out of bed early to attend, and do not necessarily see it as just another holiday and so have a lie in.
The shops are closed until 1pm also!
Last year Sara and I went to the dawn service in Nelson when we were there on holiday. This time the children has the pleasure also. It was obviously a smaller affair but more intimate and as a result more moving.
Anyway, something to make the children think and adults to reflect upon also.
Later today we are off to the Civic Square to see “beating the retreat”, though according to my well informed source, no one does it as well as the Royal Marines.
A final note;God is definitely a Kiwi. The much forecast rain held off until after the ceremony and when the bands has finished their final marching.
Super Wife
A surprise weekend away was organised, all the way to central Wellington. So distance is not a prerequisite for being away, just not the same surroundings and without the usual responsibilities. The “Celt” moved in to be aunty to the delighful three.
So we had an action packed 24 hours. We saw”Capote“, well worth the effort, and I am currently in the slow process of reading “In cold blood”. The a return walk back to the Bolton Hotel, one of Wellington’s finest. Dinner was enjoyed with fine rare beef, wine and chat.
There was plenty time to explore Wellington sea front in the dark with the camera. We enjoyed the lights in the wind free air, and took in the arts, The “Whispering Water” and the art form for which I do not know the name. Coloured flourescent tubes in a swirling pattern.
There was time still to enjoy the Canes lose on tv while drinking bubbly.
On Sunday it was back home to work and the kids after a morning of gym work, swimming and sauna.
The children seemed to have had as good a time as the parents. So a winner all round.