Sports events

Hello all again

We are in the build up to the next Test-it being about an hour away. The All Blacks and the nation have had their confidence shaken by last week’s loss in Dunedin. They have a least acknowledged that France deserved to win, though of course there is a frequent chorus that it was the NZ “B” team, giving no recognition for the fact it was the best team they could out on the day. The best team available is not necessarily the best team that may have been available.
So tonight will be interesting to see have far the All Blacks improve with a change of some personnel, and how much France can improve with the availability of some new players. The game is in Welllington, and I can asure you the weather is not pretty. Very cold and wet, and so not a day for throwing the ball around with abandon.
We shall see.

On the rugby theme, we today and on previous weekends, have been asking where in the parents’ manual it mentions standing on the side lines in foul weather, to watch your son play and his team be thrashed on a regular basis.
Today the weather was pants. The pitch had huge puddles, and all were soaked and cold within minutes. However today they played well in losing-about 30-15. It was competitive and they kept going to near the the end. Joe played much better today, giving it some omph at tight head prop and putting in some tackles and getting involved. He did though give away a intercept try when he thought he was the scrum-half when he should have just taken the ball up with some aggression.
The previous two weeks have been heavy loses against good teams, though the attitude was terrible two weeks ago, and has improved since.

Here’s to the hard crew parents for the next few weeks. Looking forward to some dry weather.

Hello to all, after such a quiet period.

It again has been lack of time rather than lack of comment. The swine flu response means that work has been getting in the way on life, with late finishes, fatigue, and poor sleep. The response up until this point has been “keep it out” and “stamp it out”. with border control, tracing of symptomatic travellers, and their isolation and their treatment, andf then cluster control with treatment of cases and isolation of their contacts. Spread within NZ was and is inevitable, and we in Wellington showed community transmision first, by going to look for it. The main focus was on travellers, and so if you only test travellers, then you will only see cases in travellers…..
So the Ministry has now moved to managing the epidemic, which from the perspective of the frontline in Wellington is no before time. It appears there was an unwillingness to acknowledge the presence of community spread, and so delay in moving on with the respnse, and so pushing the frontline, already under stress of limited resources, fatigue, and sense of futility, too far.

So things have changed, and I am due to move on. It has been an worthwhile experience, and enlightening, but thankfully I have some time to finish off other work before I enter the doors of the Ministry of Health.

More news soon.

Polar Blast

My fingers have been so cold of late that I have been unable to put them to the keyboard.
The weather has been ridiculous. Last weekend it was gale force winds and rain, with rain during the week. This weekend has seen an increase in the intensity. Yesterday we had rain, hail, sleet and snow. Yes flurries of snow! We live by the sea-this should not happen. Our latitude is the equivalent of Spain!

Anyway, must not moan.

I have managed to watch the first B&I Lions game in South Africa. Of course, being New Zealand, I had to sign up for the rugby channel, as simply having the sports channels is not enough. It was not good for the blood pressure, as I forgot that I had told myself previously that I would watch sport just for the aesthetic. I would not become emotionally involved, as it has never worked; there are always painful outcomes.

Today is a national holiday-Queen’s Birthday. Not sure what that is all about. Anyway, as it is holiday time we went for a walk-A new one over by Eastbourne. The “we” was M&D, plus the boys. Eleanor was out with her mates having an unsuccessful meet up with some boys, who apparently, preferred some alternative easy bimbos. No sh.. Sherlock.

Happy birthdays to the May babies.

May 21, 2009James Ihaka with NZPA
Photo / Kate Ward, Weatherwatch
Cold snap hits NZ

Related links:
Snow blocks roads in North and South Islands
Heavy snow forecast for central North Island
Roads reopen as sun melts snow

Bad weather continues to plague the country with slips in the central North Island and avalanche warnings in place.
The cold spell across the country is expected to continue into next week, MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said.
Windy cold conditions were easing, but another cold front was forecast to cross the South Island tonight and tomorrow morning, then hit the north in tomorrow afternoon and evening, he said.

The above from the NZ Herald.
The weather has been terrible. Lots snow in South island, and low temperatures. In Wellington 8-10C in the last few days, with a southerly blast to give a wind chill of 2C.
Even at the work it is cold.
So winter has come early-is it climate change???
Lucky then that I have been doing my penguin stuff under the house, though I have yet to finish. Last weekend I was at it again and found it very difficult under the lower corners of the house. Maybe a bit like those Colditz tunneller types?

The weekend round up

Again a long time since I updated the activities of the clan.
The most important item is that Sunday week ago was Mothers’ Day-so breakfast in bed supplied by urchins, with Dad gratefully receiving as well. The staff later in the day produced a fine dinner as well-so a glorious day.
There was also a birthday celebration that day. The birthday cards were great and thoroughly enjoyed. The presents were of superior quality and imagination. The U2 album, which I jave not yet made my mind up about, but is growing on me. A fine book The Bromley Boys written by an avid fan, describing the fortunes of Bromley FC in the 1969/70 season, when they were extremely poor and had a woeful season. I think the boys gave me the book because of my interest in the Super Bees, but not quite appreciating that they have just been promoted as champions, and so, have had a very fine season.

Also, I received a very high quality, stylish and warm Ice Breaker.
And this weekend?

Sporting “fun”. Joe played basketball on Friday night and the team was thrashed-70-10. He played rugby on Saturday and the team was thrashed-too many to count but 100+ to nil. His team did not get a sniff of a score. It was terrible to watch, they played so poorly-it stands to reason that the tackling was poor-come non-existent. We were on the sidelines wishing the time away. All was made worse by a South African dad yelping on the sideline after each score. “I’ve never met……………..”
Apparently tackling practice is on the agenda for this week.
It reminds me of when I played for Gunnersbury U-13 and we lost to John Fisher 53-6, in the days of 4 points for a try.

Penguin action

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This is me after working under the house.
I have been installing underfloor insulation-polystyrene strips. The house is built on a slope, and so some of the joists re about 2.5metres high and some about .5metres from the ground, hence the dirt covered clothes.
The insulation is straight forward, but not quite as easy as the video starring the penguins would have you believe.
New Zealand homes are notoriously cold, partly as a result of poor building standards in the past. I really should have done this before. Hopefully, it will make a significant difference, and help make the new “heat pump” more effective.