I may fall over again....

........because I'm so busy watching may hand! I had decided that when the money from the vineyard came through I would treat myself to a remodelled engagement ring. Then I rationalised - I dont need to spend THAT much, so I went ahead and got it done anyway. As the citrine in my ring was looking very cloudy I went in and checked out getting a golden sapphire - more expensive, but it should see me out. The diamonds are the original, and also part of the band. The picture was quite hard to take. I am just about to intoduce it to the real world of gardening.

And if thats not enough to draw my attention away while I'm walking , it may well be my feet. I have had a pedicure this morning, wonderful massage on my ankle which seems to have reduced the swelling heaps, and got my nails painted bright, deep pink. I dont know how that will go with my red patent leather sandals, but they both have that shiny quality.

Its not Kneesy

I have been checking to see if Jill has been blogging on my site since I put pictures on hers but no. I dare say we will get a fair few when they move. So here are some photos of body parts which have been causing me some grief lately. Firstly the knee which I injured recently at Ohiwa. I was just celebrating being back in reasonable shape when I was walking up the path at school, talking to some student over my shoulder. The the knee gave way and I hit the edge of the path with my other foot and over I went. (I think this is very puffy - but just the angle I took the photo from)

This is the ankle that I sprained as a consequence, so my life has been quite quiet as I tend to nod off as soon as I put my foot up as a result of the painkillers. However I've stopped taking them now and can move slowly, and in a straight line without my crutches. Steps and rough ground may take a wee while longer.

However I got the candy cane award (a walking stick at Christmastime) at school from Sonja. She was the teacher who was not far behind me and was able to pull my skirt down and prevent my knickers being seen by too many students!!

Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness?

Isn't that Autumn? Yet have a look at these photos. Can you see the mist rising off the squash? The weather has been so weird lately. We consistenly get cold winds. As for fruitfulness, we have been inundated with raspberries from Anna's, so I have been making jam and put down some Framboise - raspberries in brandy - which cant be consumed for eight months yet.

My Christmas dollars have now been spent. Which is just as well as I love shopping, and have a great tendency to buy "just one more thing".

One more week of school, finishing on Tuesday the 7th. I have a pedicure and painted toenails lined up for the Wednesday, as my treat for making it through another year.

Double Dutch

Our theme for race day this year was Doubles. We all took doubles on race 3 and 4 which was very stressful for duncan on the computer, but we did have one guy get over a $100 return on this. We had everyone come dressed as doubles. Duncan and I went as North and South magnets, we had a couple of bikies, two sets of cowboys/girls, and Sitzje and Ineke came in their clogs with little dutch themed scarves. Murray and Shirley came as life guards - even had matching speedos on!!. They have been involved in surf-liesaving for 40 years, so every second race, they disappeared and came back in a different outfit. They missed out on the birthday suit and the wetsuit. One was too bulky to bring, and the otherone wasn't.

From our back yard to theirs.

In our back yard we have a whole heap of gewurztraminer. Its clone is Colmar 456. So when we decided to go to France next year it seemed only logical that we explore the wine district of Colmar. Its in Alsace Lorraine - a region which has a bit of an identity crisis as it has been French, but invaded by so many other armies throughout the centuries. We hope to spend 3 days there followed by a day in the bigger city of Strasbourg. Their national dish is sauerkraut, but the buildings look very Swiss. They also grow quite a bit of Pinot gris as they are close to Italy, and the hot dry weather allows them to ripen Tokay - which we normally get from Australia! Should be interesting.

We are using a travel broker instead of a travel agent this time and it seems that for people who sort of know what they want this has been so for a very positive change. We have been alarmed by the number of seats already booked on the planes, but all is in place and we should be confirmed by the end of the week.

Warming to the Awning

Couldn't get away to Ohiwa until Saturday afternoon, but got the awning up before drinks that night. The instructions were translated from Spanish. Several key areas seem to have been omitted. Velcro straps weren't there. We were introduced to fitons, which is a bit like a piton for scaling icy peaks. However, despite these sticking points we were so pleased with the functionality of the awning, and lots of options in the cool wind which plagued the weekend. There was a huge crowd in the camping ground, but no one we knew. Many with dogs.

I washed the sheets and blankets, but didn't risk the bedspread as the weather was quite cloudy. Duncan did some good runs, spurred on by reading the Kerre Woodham "Fat chick in Paris". I had quite a bit of marking to do, so all in all a quiet weekend. I took my togs - as a child, first swim of the year at Labour weekend - but didn't use them!

Back home to Gisborne and hot dry norwester.

Wet wet wet!

I was just preparing to do a blog about the joys of spring when the weather changed. The rain has not let up, and we are approaching a very worrisome night. This is the racecourse quickly filling up. Millie suggested it should be called Lake Gisborne

The weather has been made worse by the strong winds, and before that the hail - but I havent ventured over to the Back Block to investigate the damage yet.The water will make it very hard to get the sprayer around the vineyard, so we will be wide open all all the mildew diseases.The racecourse drains out through our property. The drains are getting very full. The ducks next door are loving it.Still the rain is pelting down!!! Wet, wet, wet!

Summer, here we come

This last week has been all about getting the caravan ready for summer. We took it up to Tauranga to get the freeview TV put on. This caused our first problem as the firm - that we had been recommended didn't have a plug to use with a caravan point, so, since we hadn't unhooked the caravan from the car we went for long walks while they completed the job. Then we trundled on to Ohiwa, and set up in time to watch the six o'clock news. The statellite dome finds the station itself and the reception is brilliantly clear. On Wednesday we did a bit of tidying up. I'm changing the loo system from liquids whose perfume was almost as overpowering as that which it is trying to mask, while Duncan de-spidered the nooks and crannies. Then we went for a game of golf at Opotiki. I played extremely badly. When we got back Duncan went to try the dea of using anchovies for bait, which wasn't successful. Nor was trying to teach his cellphone to swim.
Up bright and early on Thursday to go to the awning place in Taupo. We decided to get walls on our roll out awning, but the lady warned us that this would need to be taken down in stormy weather - which is not what we wanted. So after vowing and declaring we wouldn't get a proper awning for this caravan we came to the conclusion that for the christmas break, it was the best solution.
Duncan had a go at the hole in one at Lake Taupo. He managed to get one ball onto the pontoon, but it rolled off the back. I was amazed to read later that there is one winner every fortnight! Decided to pick up a case of European wines from scenic cellars, and had a lovely lunch there before heading home in rainy conditions.
On Friday it was up and over to Whakatane to get the old awning off as the new one will not operate with this on. More driving and walking around. Did the big circuit of the beach estuary when we returned - saw one godwit. The wind was pretty cold - it might have thought it was still in the artic.
That night as I went to the loo, my Crocs suckered into a patch of mud that I did not see and I landed on my knee, then skated forward getting mud from top to toe. Next morning I could not use this leg. I think I have related most of this in an email, so here is the picture:

Well done , Son

We were very pleased to see that Simon completed his marathon in Berlin in 3 hours 37mins - a few minutes faster than the last one. We are also proud that he managed to collect 556 pounds for the MS Society. He and Jax are off to Greek Isles to recover. Certainly Duncan never managed to do this after his marathons! Its great to see the next generation - both Jill and Simon have got into the fitness regime that dominated their family life.
We have had budburst on the vinyard, and the record winter rain has finally dried up in the gusty winds we have had. The district has been troubled by erinose mite, but the ground was too wet to put the early spray on, so the vines will look quite disfigured. We may have to drop crop as it reduces the amount of photosynthetic area.
Tomorrow we head off to Tauranga to get our dome TV aerial fitted. Then back to Ohiwa, and hopefully calling into Taupo to get an awning. Then we will be all ready for summer.
I'm sure two weeks of holiday will fly by.

Weekends away

Great to go up to Hamilton last weekend and check on Liz who is going very well with her chemo this time - a little bit tired, but not too tired to come shopping with me. Had a great night with Barry and Liz and Wren and Margaret. Then up to Auckland on Saturday for the Caravan show on Sunday. We got there bright and early and just as well as we spend 6hours, and quite a few dollars! That insurance payout that Duncan got on turning 60 is proving very handy. We were going to look at caravans, but very few on offer, just motorhomes addressing the problem of the lack of transport when you are parked up.

Well, why not take some bikes in the storage area? Or upgrade to the motorbike??
Nah, go the whole hog and take a little smart car along!

Dont know how much this combo cost as it was POA, but we went into campervans with no extra transport which cost up to $530,000. As one lady said to me as we sat in the leather lazyboys (cream) "Its indecent, costing more than our house!"

Anyway, not much new in the way of caravans so we just added some extras to our camping scene - freeview TV, a deepfreeze, and an awning (to be organised when we go to Taupo), A new set of pots, and tablets for the loo instead of liquids. Looking forward to getting set up for summer - heading off next week to get the TV fitted in Tauranga before a few days in Ohiwa.

Whew! 4th Blog posted today.

I hope you can scroll back and read the others, but I thought I'd better wrap up this trip.

Saturday 10th July 2010
We have had rain and barking dogs in the night, but still wake up refreshed.
Duncan goes up to the office to pay, there is a little discussion, but we do not need to pay extra apart from our evening meals and drinks. The shuttle arrives and we get to the airport on time. A good flight to Noumea and to our surprise Arc en Ciel put on a transfer to the hotel. It is too early to check in, but we leave our luggage and take the Noumea Explorer to the zoo.

We did the native to New Caledonia section including some extremely large pigeons whose bass cooing sounded like the scary booming noise we heard at Queen Hortense’s Cave. Also Flying Foxes, a silver pheasants and peacocks, both white and blue.

Another highlight was the water dragons – thank goodness our little lizard in the aircon was just a few inches long.

We rejoined the Noumea Explorer and continued with our journey to Palm Beach where we had a late lunch – Croque Monsieur (like a toasted sandwich) and a burger with some delicious fruit smoothies. No baguette!!!
Then we walked along the Anse Vata to our hotel. The rain was limited to squally showers, but hundreds of wind-surfers and para-sailors were out on the bay, careening along at a great rate of knots.
At Casa del Sol we have an apartment – not that we need it now, but use the drier to dry Duncan’s running gear after he has been for a long run up the promenade while I go and book us into an Italian restaurant. We are really looking forward to it, but the French don’t do Italian very well. The entrees are so large we don’t enjoy our mains.
The bed is quite hard, the night is quite noisy – mainly wind, and we sleep fitfully until the wakeup call at 4.50am.

Day 6

Very cloudy today which is a disappointment after the glorious day we had yesterday. Duncan does another good run, and we head for breakfast – guiltily taking cheese and salami off the buffet for our lunch. After breakfast we check on the menu at the gite next door – Nataiwatch. It seems very friendly and informative, so we book in. Then we walk up the road to the boutique again as I have decided I want the pink and purple tshirt as well. We walk back along the beach.
We sit out on the loungers at the beach with our books until lunchtime. It’s mainly cloudy weather so neither of us go swimming, but Duncan returns later on for a snorkel. The man comes and attempts to fix our lock. This has been broken throughout our stay, and the little safe in the room can’t be used either.
We both finish our books! and then walk over in the dark to Nataiwatch for a beer and then dinner. Duncan has the mussels and I have the entrecote (faux fillet) and we have two half bottles of an excellent Bordeau. Surprisingly we are the only ones in for dinner, but the ambience is pretty relaxed, and the crème caramel is excellent!
I watch a program (en francais) about the French shoe industry, and then we turn in for an early night to help reset our time clocks for an early start tomorrow and an even earlier start the day after.

Day 5 in New Caledonia

What would go wrong today??
Duncan woke up to watch the world cup semi, and Spain won against Germany. Then he went for a run while I got up at a leisurely pace. After breakfast Duncan went to suss out dinner at the Gite next door, but since it features fish and taro it doesn’t really sound ideal.
Meanwhile I go to the boutique by the port where they make jewellery and screenprint tshirts and pareo. I buy a tshirt and a necklace and spend all my money.
When I arrive back Duncan has had the bad spot of the day – the manager has been, demanding money. Duncan tells him politely that he has paid, and he must recover the money from the travel agency.
It is brilliantly fine and we head down to the beach for our first real day of blobbing out. After a while we take a kayak. Some fish visible in the coral, but there is a surprising swell in the middle of the bay. Our midriff muscles are unaccustomed to paddling so we spend some time drifting over the reef.
The Beach Hut has run out of snorkels, and gives me a mismatch of flippers, on of which doesn’t fit, so I use Duncan’s snorkel and my crocs. The reef is quite close to shore and it is easy to get to the many fish – black and white, yellow, shimmery blue, but I didn’t see any of those lovely purple and orange ones of the Piscene Naturelle.
A late lunch of crackers, tuna and cheese – and a glass of wine followed by reading and snoozing before we returned to the beach. Duncan stayed down there until the very brief sunset just after 5pm.
We caught up with the World News before heading off to dinner at our restaurant. We both began with salads, then tuna for Duncan and chicken for me, and a decent bottle of red wine from Chinon. We are both engrossed in our books until bed time.

Premature Deafness

Duncan has always had a bit of a hearing problem, but it is with great sadness that I have to report it has got so much worse. And the cause - Ear candy!. Yes Duncan has joined the world of iphone users. Now he walks around all day "plugged in" to the National problem, and I have to wave at him to get him to take them out if I want to have a conversation with him.
And for a total change of image he has large black glasses, which reminds me of someone from the movies in the 50's - not sure who yet. Maybe Michael Caine.

Meanwhile I remain much the same!

Day 4 Ile des Pins

Hope Springs Eternal! – surely our holiday will get better – after all we are off on an excursion today. However the day does not get off to a good start as a seagull lands on our table at breakfast – I hate birds up close, and make a fool of myself.
We pack up for the excursion, which I understand involves an outrigger trip, a short walk and a pool of tropical fish.
We are picked up by the shuttle driver – who appears to be heading in the wrong direction. He drops us God knows where, and the extent of the tour guiding is a finger pointed down an estuary. We head off looking for an office or an assembly point. Then we see the sign to Upi Bay. I remember this is where the outrigger trip is. But were we supposed to go this way??? It was about an hour’s walk through forest and then we finally saw the turquoise sea. We stepped down off the track onto sinking sandy mudflats. We cautiously struggled along the beachline hunting for the outrigger connection. The place was totally deserted. Nothing for it, but to turn back again.
Duncan tried to persuade me to go back down some side track, but after a few terse words we kept on returning down the track. Although the bush was pretty and the track quite easy it was pretty much the same sort of forest throughout. Finally we make it back, and after taking some advice using my limited French skills. (Nous sommes perdu!- we are lost) we make a crossing over the shallow estuary and took a short path to the Piscene Naturelle. It was a large, shallow pool with some coral and fish just everywhere, weaving in and out of our legs, some large, some small, some brightly coloured orange and purple, many just sandy coloured. This is definitely today’s highlight. Some Japanese tourists who have actually managed a proper excursion have bought bread to feed the fish with. We were amused by the Korean tourists with their lifejackets on to snorkel even though the water was never over your head.

We then returned to the pickup point – exhausted, not so much by the walk, but by the stress of not knowing where we were. On our return we were asked if we had enjoyed our trip to the Baie D’Oro (Bay of Gold). We replied we never got there.
After a bath or shower and a rest we set off to a restaurant at Kuto Bugny. We decide to go before the sunset at 5.30pm, but dinner is not served until 7pm,so we have a few drinks overlooking Kuto Beach and Harbour. We both have duck, and thanks to the handy torch I have brought, we make our way home in the pitch black of a tropical night. One small hitch as Duncan hits an overhanging branch.
A replay of the Dutch-Uruguay game is on – with a French commentary, but that’s OK.
We are getting used to the squeaks of the lizard that lives in the aircon.

Day 3 Ile des Pins

Tuesday 6th July 2010
Duncan went for a good run before breakfast. Then we went for a walk to Kuto sussing out other places to eat at and walk to. The torch I packed (hint on internet) may prove useful. We investigated getting a rental car.
By eleven o’clock we had signed up for our rental car.
First stop at Vao, where we finally found the ATM and the shop (sort of in someone’s front room). No beer as it is not sold to the Kanaks – Ile des Pins is dry except for the resorts and gites (guest houses) – but we buy cheese, ham paste, tuna, crackers and iced tea. Next stop is at the Bay of Joseph where we see outrigger canoes ready for use.

Then we drive inland through lush vegetation liberally dotted with Pine trees.
It is a short walk to Grotte de La Reine Hortense. This is where Queen Hortense rested or hid (both stories are told) when she ruled the island in the 1880’s. A large bush clad cave opening with rocks as stalactites hanging down and a pure stream following through it. The area is beautifully kept with wild flowers and plantings tidied up, and this was the highlight of our day.


Gadji is the most northern point with soft muddy sand on its small beaches. We have some lunch here.

Now down the western side of the island. We take a side road down to another bay. It has potholes up to a foot deep, but we also see the roading machines here and a bulldozer and a truck of gravel, just off the barge I would say, on its way as we head home. The beach at the end of this road is very pretty, and I make use of a small toilet – no toilet paper, just a bidet hose. Worked for me! Very refreshing if a little damp.


The next stop was in the area where the French Convicts were deported to from Paris after defying the order to surrender to the Prussians (I knew there was some point to me learning about the Franco Prussian Wars in History!). There is a melancholic letter from one convict roughly translated – “Here I am in Paradise, but what is it worth when I am separated from my family?” It is very moving.
The convent and the gaol are very overgrown, but the Water Tower is still functional and the cemetery is well tended – only 2 out of the 240 graves have names. The others have been lost.

We drive back through Kuto where there is a boulangerie and a bakehouse. On round passed the wharf, filled up with petrol and returned to the hotel. I had a little nap, while Duncan did a sudoku and went and did some snorkelling, but the sunshine was patchy so it wasn’t all that warm so I didn’t. We went for drinks at the outdoor bar, but a cool wind drives us back to our Fare (like Fale – our separate unit) and catch up on the News of the World before going to dinner. Dinner was not the greatest – Duncan citing the taro and coconut as the worst offender. We are told the boat will be bringing fresh supplies tomorrow.
We have discovered that we have a pesky lizard in the airconditioner. Let’s hope we get some sleep tonight.

New Caledonia Day 2

Monday 5th July 2010
The bed was very hard. The shower head required some expertise that we were not acquainted with and Duncan drenched his pyjamas.
The manager was very agreeable and took us to the airport where we got the shuttle to Noumea (XPF6000 or about $96). It took about 45mins.
We were picked up by the Arc en Ciel (Rainbow travel agent) people and left our luggage with them and set off for the New Caledonia Museum.
The museum was very well set out, with a preponderance of penis shaped objects, and a very jolly collection of fine woven penis sheaths. There is also an exhibition of intricately carved bamboo and photos of colonials – rarely smiling. A school class was being taught local dances to drumming with very enthusiastic responses.
We found an internet café and sent an angry email to Elliot Travel, followed by a visit to the Post Office to buy some stamps for my postcards.
We walked to the large park – Place des Cocotiers (Place of the Coconut Palms), then down to the wharves, hunting for a nice place to have lunch. We ended up at a not so nice place – their idea of a panini is to toast the French stick.

After lunch we went walking to the Bir Hakiem where there was a war memorial. Then up a hill to St Joseph’s Cathedral which is a huge, serene wooden building with the odd Kanak (Native New Caledonian) asleep on the pews.

We went back down into town, and stopped for a beer, then back to the Place des Cocotiers where Duncan read the Listener while I did a bit of shopping – being Monday in a French Territory must shops were shut.
We walked back along the docks – the water was teeming with tropical fish. A few big spots of rain, so we retreated to McDonald’s for a tea/coffee which was very difficult to procure owing to some problems with a machine. At least the loos are clean. The Arc en Ciel people organised us a taxi to the Magenta Domestic Airport where we catch the plane to Ile des Pins. The “all on, find your own seat” works well and means a fast getaway. We are soon settled at the resort and enjoying our evening meal which begins with snails.

Noumea Day 1

Sunday 4th July 2010
Anne took us to the airport, with Duncan suffering the beginnings of a migraine. We had applied for an upgrade but we didn’t get one. The overseas flight is a code share with Air Calin – definitely French as when they handed out the small bottles of wine they asked you if you wanted two!
After a good flight we came through customs to see a man with a board and our name on it. Went to the transfer desk, but a transfer to Tieti Tera just wasn’t a possibility. Waited and waited. Many phone calls decided that the transfer would be tomorrow afternoon.
Put up in the very substandard Toutontotel. All evening with nowhere to sit in the room. The meal was OK – the anger had made us hungry. The Cote de Rhone wine made us a bit more mellow. Then back to the grotty room with the grotty wellworn blanket on the bed. I burned my hand on the lampshade which had to be on all the time as the old bedspread that was strung up over the window could not be drawn.

What’s more it rained!
It rained hard.
It seems to us that the promised transfer was from the local airport, not the International Airport three hours away. Night fell very early, and what with the migraine and red wine, we were not inclined to hire a car for a journey that involved sections that were not advised for night driving as they are mainly one way.
That evening, Duncan had a brain wave and we were able to cancel the trip to Tieti Tera and head straight to Ile des Pins.

Back to Basics

Last week I had a cold, and after taking a cold and flu tablet I suffered terribly with a crashing head ache and dry mouth for three days. The cure was far worse than the complaint. My blodd pressure sky rocketed and the doctor said it was the decongestants that effected me. So I am back to oldfashioned cures for colds from now on. Vicks on the chest, honey on my toast, and lots of tissues as I cant take anything that dries me up. This week I have another cold - after two good days in between. So I am suffering in sniffles - well I could hardly say silence. The blood pressure is still a bit elevated, but will review when I am well again.

You may have seen the picture of the Tamarillo tree with its fancy frost protector. You may also have heard of Mary Poppins. Anyway the long and the short of it is we've put rocks around the base and removed the umbrella and will have to resort to basic frost methods like wet newspapers.

Live and Learn!

Matariki

They say that Matariki co-incides with the winter solstice and this is when the Maori would harvest their Kumara. We didn't plant kumara this year, but the yams have been a great success! There are still things sprouting up in the garden - I have a huge picking of rhubarb to process - I use boysenberry jelly instead of sugar which gives it a lovely flavour.

We have had a few frosts lately and Duncan has kindly rigged up this umbrella over the Tamarillo Tree that was planted for Dawn's 60th birthday. Hopefully it will fruit next year.

There always seems to be something to do in the garden. I am planting some vireya rhododendrons. At least when you weed something it stays weed free for quite a while. This rose is called Faithful Friend and it blooms on until the bitter end. Normally when I prune it, it is still producing. However the garden will have to take a back seat as we are both helping with pruning this year.

Queens Birthday in the wineries.

Well I guess the fact of the matter is that we have been drinking more wine than we have been buying so off we set on a buying trip in the Hawkes Bay. Just a slight panic as we approached Havelock North as we had booked our accomodation on line and then taken no printout with us. Luckily we fronted up to the correct motel! Nice meal and wine on the first night and we awoke to a brilliantly fine day. Duncan went for a run while I enjoyed the Dominion in bed. Then we went clothes shopping for Duncan as the only decent men's wear shop in Gisborne has closed. I was pleasantly suprised that we came out with 2 pair trou, a black jacket and 3 shirts. Very smart!! After loosing weight with his marathon training he needed to update his clothes. A visit to the information centre for Wine Trail Maps which we studied over tea and a muffin. Then we set off to Brookfields, Unison, Trinity Hill, Crossroads, Abbey and Alpha Domus. What struck us was how welcoming and knowledgable the people were, and we seemed to come away with quite a few free gifts if we bought half a dozen.


What a contrast the next day was. Very cold and miserable, but we started off at the driving range as I have had a golf lesson and hope to get back to golf again after quite a break away. Our first stop was Askerne where we met the winemaker who was a very jovial host.

He had there a sweet red grape "sticky" which he insisted we try with dark chocolate buttons. Yum. so I've got some for next time I have the girls around for afternoon tea. Here are the botrytised grapes still on the vine in June! We then headed out for the coast and went to Te Awanga after having lunch at a cafe watching the waves crash on the beach. We had hope to have lunch at Clearview but there were a large crowd of Her Royal Highness lookalikes there obviously celebrating the birthday. We finished on a posh note with Te Mata, Black Barn, and Craggy Range who were tasting their flagship wines, so it was nice to taste the $120 bottle even though we didn't buy it.

By now the back seat of the car was full to the brim with wines and when we got home Duncan meticulously wrote them all up in the wine book. We are now on wine book 14, having started our cellar, and book 1 on 6th April 1974!

Social Days

Despite the weather in the rest of the country, we have had a pretty fine weekend. The only problem has been the forecasting, leading us not to plan to be outside, but Duncan got in two rounds of golf and I got in two sessions of weeding and all the washing up to date. Just having a light tea of broccoli quiche tonight as Duncan bought in 4 broccoli and one cauli from the garden. That should see us right for the next few days. On Friday morning we had a big (typically Brethren) morning tea to farewell our office girl who is going off to get married. I skipped lunch and went on to afternoon tea at Anna's as our weekly get together to take Jo out. Then home and out to dinner at old friends Kaye and Bruce Easton. Kaye had just been made redundant in quite bizarre circumstances at Girls High where she was the office lady and had one of the previous principals Karen Johansen there, and also Jill Chrisp. They are Human Rights commissioners. Kaye had done all my favourites - Cob loaf, Lasagne and salad, pavlova AND brownie and fruitsalad.
On Saturday we had a farewell for Graeme and Olwyn Black who are off to England so we gave them a british themed meal and quiz. All typically stoggy dishes!! Great fun.
I'm sorry these pictures of Simon doing his marathon (3 hours 40mins) on chip time in Copenhagen. He is the one in the red shirt.

Simon has signed up for the Berlin Marathon now, but only got in on a Charity Tag, so he is running for Multiple Schlerosis. He has to raise 500 pound for his cause. This weekend he is at Roland Garros watching the tennis.

We seem

Stick it in the family Album

A grey miserable day in Gisborne, and we have been to a matinee of Boy which was sad but true of Coast culture, so I think it is time I got on with completing the diary of the Banks peninsula walk as tomorrow I get to pick up my photos of the wedding and I have a nice album to stick them in. This hut was at Stony Bay and had no power so it was candles, gas cookers and fires. Much of the furniture had been made out of huge slabs of wood and sheepskin rugs. It was very rustic and this is where the outdoor bath was.

"Your feather's tickling me"

The sale of the vineyard - which looked so close this time last week now seems very far away. So back to the grindstone.

In just a month

WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS PICTURES WHICH MAY DISTURB.

Although we have enjoyed the Indian summer it is now into a damp winter. We seem to have flies lingering about - we need a frost to kill them off. It was just a month ago that I was swimming in the sea at Otanerito on the Banks Peninsula. It was so refreshing after a hard days tramping - not to mention the sign which said 20mins to hut a good hour before we got there. However this swim and the walk up the beach meant that I got sand all through my blister plaster and when we cleaned it out the skin was rough and raw and led to be being taken out by car for the last leg of the journey.

The new skin has grown quite tough now and I am back walking again, but the old skin has peeled right back around to my nail on the other side. I will have to wear protective patches next time we tramp.

What you can do at 60!

This is the story of a challenge.

To run a marathon at 60.

Nothing was sure, until it was run, and here is the story.

First of May, after 67 hours and over 600 km of training, the canon sounded and off Duncan set for an attempt at the Rotorua marathon. Family had rallied, and friends sent supportive texts. Jill, Rua, Millie and Alex came from Dunedin, Robin (Duncan's sister) had come from Brisbane, niece Phoebe also. Heather came from Wellington and stayed with Lyn. Team talk and Carb loading of pasta and roast vege salad on the Friday night with carefully conservative amounts of wine.

Early sightings of Duncan had him as comfortable. We popped in to show Millie and Alex Mum and Dad's grave. More supporting. He still looks good!! We think he will be passing people as the end nears.

That's Millie Lyn, Alex and Jill clapping as he makes his way up the finishing path.

Yes! he finishes in 4hours 22 mins. Exactly on target. The knees feel a bit wobbly so we adjourn to the sportsdrome to rest where we see Keith and Margaret Scholes from Gisborne, John and Barbara Clark and family from Gisborne, and Wren and Margaret Bartram with Corrine (from our Hahei days.)

Duncan hugs me, covered in sweat and mucus. "I made it!!" he cries!! Slowly we walk back to the car. Fotunately the motel has a thermal pool and after a transfusion of Gisborne Gold he starts to feel quite normal.

When all are assembled we crack open the French Vintage Moet and Chandon 2003 kindly provided by Heather who has recognised the immensity of the situation.

We attend the prizegiving, but no spot prizes for Duncan, and have a very pleasant evening with Robin and Phoebe who now are in a motel across the road from us.


Next morning we take the family to Te Puia - yes thats what they are calling Whaka these days. Very good to visit after all these years. Quite expensive, but after all it is so unique. Certain people needed a little rest that afternoon and then it was off to Lewishams for a slap-up meal.

Millie has no problem with the after dinner conversation, while Alex takes the opportunity to write a long diary entry about all that had happened to him over the weekend.

What an enthralling weekend! I'm hoping it will just be short runs now.