A Future All Black?

Spook and I had a very lazy day. He wrinkled up his nose at the thought of swimming, and a story about underpants didn't tickle his fancy iether, (I read afterwards that he is a well-known and funny columnist, so it might have been worth a look).

It meant we were in for Tony and Kate next door when they came to tell us that someone was interested in buying the house and were coming round for a look. The people arrived about 5mins later, so it was a bit of a surprise!!!! Apparently these people also want to let out the house, so there is no particular concern. I can't really see anything happening very fast anyway, so we weren't terribly bothered by it.

We all went out to Cromwell to watch Finn in his first game of rugby. Any Lochaber rugby fan would be delighted to see their colours represented here by Finn's Upper Clutha team. Finn played the first half and they won 10-2. He loved it.

Spook took Finn there ahead of Meg and I as she had Yoga. He went for a coffee with John's mum and another lady called Emma. She used to work in the Spean Bar about 20yrs ago and lived at Killechonate She knew Davie Austen as she was a skier - Spook forgot to ask her if she knew Frazer. She has lived here for 18years.
Spook and I may have to be a little more active tomorrow. He didn't half hold me back.

Love and Sewage.

It rained all day today, which meant that everyone was in their cars and I had to apply myself to remembering the 'unique rule of the road'. You are driving along the road and going to make a left turn. A car coming in the opposite direction is going to make a right turn. In Britain, I would just turn left. In NZ, I have to wait and let the car on the other side of the road cross over in front of me. I don't know how many times I have forgotten to do that. The other rule is 'see a gap - go for it'. I drive around waiting for people to launch themselves out of junctions just as I am nearly upon them. With big wide roads and not lot's of people, it's funny how they don't just wait until I am past!
It is the Autumn Festival of Colours this week - like a mini Edinburgh Festival. There is a lot of good things going on, but they sell out quick and many of them cost too much. I was going to listen to a Scottish musician from the Highlands for $5 (this is a fringe event - Frank Burkitt), at 12.30pm and then join Maggie for coffee instead of the lunch she had invited me for. However, Spook required a package from town to be delivered to the poo works as a matter of urgency. He wooed me with the promise of a nice coffee. Unfortunately there was no milk and then he realised he'd run out of beans. I watched him eat his lunch which made him hiccup twice and finish off with a burp. This amused him. I munched on a packet of Girl Guide biscuits which claim to be NZ's favourite but had gone a bit soft, because no-one likes them very much. It was very romantic, with the waft of sewage and the gentle drizzle of rain.
So I missed lunch and the music, but Maggie had coffee beans so things picked up.
I met the children at school and we went to buy the regulation winter school trousers. Meg is meant to wear a kilt but the girls can get away with the boys trousers, so that's what she is going with. Then we bought their ski passes. It was $180 for the 2 passes together. This is approximately £66. It is amazing that life in Wanaka is so expensive, and the children can get a full season pass - for £33 each. (It was $55 each for the trousers!!!)
Spook is off tomorrow so it would be nice if the weather cleared up. Not expected to, I don't think. We could always go to the swimming pool and I could teach him how to do the crawl. Or we could go and listen to a man who bought some cheap underpants in NZ and then traced them back to their source in China. (part of the festival!!). It's hard to decide.

Lake Hawea

Just thought I would try this again as Spook got it free as part of his entry fee. So if you click on it you should get a better view of the epicness.

Wrestle Free Night.

It was so wet this morning that I felt sorry for the children and gave them a lift. It soon cleared up and felt like early spring in Scotland. Very disorientating.
Meg came home in great form, which got better when she found a parcel form Amy and Grieg and family. It nearly finished her having to wait for Finn to come home from rugby training.
They poured over the Oban Times, and loved the gifts, and letters. Very, very happy.
Finn brought his Toe by Toe book home to work on and really enjoys his extra lessons for literacy. Meg finally started today, but complained that she was missing Technical, as she really likes that class. However, she enjoyed her class too, so credit to the teacher!
Finn told us how his Health teacher lost the sight in his eye. He saved a girl from a man in an alleyway with a knife at her throat and ended up with the knife cutting his eye. The girl got the police and the man went to prison. Mr Hose is Scottish, but we can't quite get from Finn if he comes from Raasay or Rothesay yet. I don't think the incident happened in iether of those places though.
We banned Finn from any wrestling with his father tonight, just to give Spook a wee break. He is obviously not doing enough at training as we thought he would be more tired.
Meg is talking about going horse riding with friends on Saturday and having Hannah Smith to stay on Friday night. The first she has planned anything for ages. If they dare to tell me they are home-sick tonight...........

Testosterone during the Adverts.

The children headed off to school in unaccustomed rain. Thunder rolled around the mountains all day. When I had heard a long, distant roll last night, I had wondered if it was an earthquake as they tell me it sounds like a lorry or train coming towards you and not stopping. Finn's pal John called in on his way to school to give me his recipe for Milo biscuits!! (Chocolate Horlicks). Then he came home with Finn to do homework together (Bootcamp cancelled due to light rain) before John disappeared into Finn's room to play on the xbox. It is like having a 3rd child - birth to 11yr old in a weekend. I haven't seen a child get quite so comfy so quick. Spook clicked onto pictures in the computer and found 20 photo's of John blowing gum, his nostrils, his eyes, his forehead......I had shown him the webcam and that was his entertainment for the rest of the afternoon yesterday. I made the milo biscuits and they are yummy.

The forecast is for snow coming in by Thursday to about 700m. And cold to boot. The temperatures today felt like a wet summers day in Scotland.

Scots Wha Hae Again.

It was a beautiful warm day with a very warm wind - not very wintry at all, though it rained all night. The first rain for a long time and much needed. So glad it didn't come earlier and spoil Spooks race. Some people were out on the track for 12hrs.

The Brooklyns headed back to Invercargill and Spook went to work. The children and I had a lovely afternoon chilling out. Finn's pal John, from his class and rugby came over to play and Meg and I made a monkey out of an old pair of socks. It was very therapeutic.

The children are bonding over more bouts of homesickness, so we will have to celebrate the bonding part, if nothing else! You could talk midges and rain all you liked, Scotland is their top destination for everything. So it's Bootcamp for Finn straight after school, rugby training on Tuesday and a game at Cromwell on Thursday. I'm trying to persuade Meg that Bootcamp is just what she needs too, but I'm not making much progress there. I think it's probably what I need!! The text running accross the front of the TV, with breaking news tells us that 10 students have returned from Mexico with influenza that may turn out to be swine flu. They don't say where, but the children's headmaster has just returned from Mexico, so I hope to goodness it isn't him or the children will insist on being evacuated. We really couldn't be in a more magnificent setting, with a terrific school (some interesting incidents apart), some amazing coaching opportunities, the promise of a great snow-boarding season just ahead, some real decent wee pals (and one or two unfortunate ones), but their friends from home are all they want right now.

Anzac Day.

Anzac Day today. I'm fairly ignorant on many issues, but I grew up believing these were oatmeal biscuits, from an Australian friend of Mums. We made it to the dawn parade at Lake Hawea just as the mist was lifting from the lake, everything was in a hue of blue and the Last Post was being played on the Bugle, for all those who fell at Galipolli in The First World War.

Spooks race started 5 minutes later and he had a great run on the bike round the Lake. 120km of majestic beauty and 7hrs and 7mins in the saddle.

Finn had rugby in the morning and really enjoyed it. He managed to pick up a lot of the rules which had been a mistery to him. He thought he was fit but realises he will have to work hard to get his fitness up to a game of rugby. His first game is against Cromwell, so we will all go and support him on Thursday night.

Can Ye See me Noo?

Meg and Finn have had yet another day thick as thieves. Meg tidied up the house and Finn tidied his pit for The Brooklyn family who are all having to share it. David is doing the race with Spook. Josh came round for the obligatory pasta tea.

I took Finn for a pre-school haircut - you can see from the photo that there is one missing from the left hand side near his cheek. That removal cost me £12. We got our $40 deposit back from the library because we have been here longer than 6 months, so we celebrated by going for a hot chocolate in a new shop where she makes her own drink with real chocolate and a tiny hint of chilli for extra warmth. It is a gift shop and cafe and the proprietress was very charming. It inspired Meg to ask if she could work there when she gets busy. So she took Megs name and e-mail address.

In this angelic picture, the children are watching Still Game on Meg's laptop, which means they are learning to curse in Scottish. I must go and put their light out!

Oh Dearie Me.

Finn and Meg had a very harmonious day. They enjoyed being home and doing their own things. There were long periods of occupied silence as they worked on scrap books, interrupted with requests for spell check - mostly by Finn. He doesn't remember after you tell him so I'm often spelling the same words. But I was surprised to be asked how to spell 'uh huh'. Meg fell off her seat with a fit of the giggles when he asked her how to spell 'Mmmmmmmmmmmm!'

It was another beautiful day, but they must be waiting for winter as there was no particular interest in stepping over the doorway - except to go to the Internet Cafe to print off photos. They can have their peace now as rugby starts on Saturday and they are both planning something called Bootcamp on a Monday after school which I think is running. Rugby trains Tues and Thurs so there will be less time for the spelling of tricky words.

I told them in the car yesterday that they will be coming home with me for a month in early October - hence the making of scrapbooks of things NZ. Finn has done a page dedicated to chocolate. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

The Cat is a bit Historical.

We had a delightful 10hr journey south. I really do mean that. the journey is far more dramatic in that direction and the children are becoming accustomed to long journeys. It's not that long since they were falling out on the way to Granny's - 12 miles north of Banavie! Granted, Finn did still talk all the way. He kept finding himself stuck beside his father, iether with him driving or in the back seat and as Spook had armed himself with an mp3 player, he tried to engage Meg and I, iether from his front seat position or his back seat and it wasn't working very well. He declared himself to be a loner, meaning that he was lonely. I taught him how to enjoy simple things, like listening to his father singing The Long Dark Veil in monotone. And how to laugh when his father would suddenly shout out to us about something he'd just seen and forget that he had the earphones on, making him seem a little unbalanced. Unfortunatley Finn didn't think it was funny when we went to the toilets and he nipped off to explore The Hysterical Hut. He said it wasn't as scary as he'd expected. I said that was because it was a Historic Hut. He said it was unkind to laugh at his Dyslexia.

We had lunch looking at The Franz Josef Glacier (in photo), and I couldn't resist stopping back at Bruce's Bay again on the way home (photo). This is 2 hrs from us and I want to come back to stay in the wee fishing house that is for rent by the road. Although it is on the main route on the coast, people only stop to take photos for 5 mins as the sandflies chase them away again. The beach has heaps of drift wood and I reckon if you cover up and slap on the repellant, a day of beach combing would be bliss and a wee night in the hut wouldn't do any harm.

It was a wonderful holiday - 5 star treatment, but it is nice to be home, now that we are here. Josh has been staying and the house is spick and span. The cat is well fed and a bit boisterous, jumping on my face when tucking Meg in and clooking both our feed from the end of the bed, making us squeal and hide under the covers in a tight ball. The air is much cooler high up here and Finn said it felt like Piazzatorre when we got out the car. It's not freezing, but it has a mountain feel about it.

Spook is back to work tomorrow and the children and I will unpack and try to keep it as nice as Josh has.

Henrick 'Hood' Larsson.

The boy with the dark clothing has a bit more of a satisfyingly Robin Hood look, compared with the Celtic shirt.

Whacky Races.

We went out to Abel Tasman National Park. I think it would be ok to live!

The boys did a bit of fishing and Brooke joined them for a while. She stayed on while they came for something to eat and we all admired her young, solitary figure in the distance as she harmonised with nature. We didn't realise she had snagged Finn's spinner and was desperately trying to release it. She eventually came back looking really crestfallen and embarrassed. As if Finn would give a hoot!
The races were good fun (if you don't mind being last every time), and no one could catch the 5'10", Brooke.
No fish were caught on this occasion, but we had Evans big catch of the other day for tea (trout). Lovely.
We are all packed up and ready to leave tomorrow morning. It has been so good to be here with established friends. It has been a great holiday and I'm delighted to see what a great place Robbi and Roddy have landed in.

Play nice or walk.....!

Meg, Finn and I drove Spook to meet Marion and then we shopped for school shoes. Spook didn't get to do the scary downhill stuff as there was logging there today, but they managed to cover a fair distance - having won the very prestige NZ Coast to Coast race a few years ago, 2 babies have only slowed Marion down a little - and not for long!
Under threat of having to go for a walk, all 5 children managed to occupy themselves all afternoon. Robbi bought me a sketchbook so I drew Spook sleeping in the hammock, before Shannon and I cycled along the road for a bag of lemons at a wee stall. It was so beautiful that I managed to motivate myself to go back out for a 5km run around the block. The sun had just gone down and this time, as I looked across flat land to where the sun had gone, I saw The Carse of Dundee in late October. Sometimes it is Kent or Norfolk. The weather was sunny and warm today. Tomorrow there will be nothing to save the children from a walk along the coast. Marion and Glen cant make it, but Robbi and Roddy's friend Evan, and his lovely 15yr old daugher Brooke have finally arrived from Oz, so our numbers will still be up.
After a week of gluten free, I surely must be the better for it, so now I'm on a gluten-less (as in not as much as I used to) diet, which is far more tasty. Spook did hear on the radio of a lemon-detox diet under the influence of which he's hopeful I could undergo a major personality change over the recommended 7 days. I'm quite sure I would suffer a change of personality, but I don't think I would be the only one to suffer! I might consider it for journalistic purposes in the future. Meanwhile, there are quite a few cakes waiting in Robbi's cupboards that I have yet to taste.....

Dining Alfresco.

I got up early for a cycle with Marion and some girls, which became a later 9am cycle with a few more and some boys as well. This really was a cycle that Spook should have been on. It was a long cycle uphill, but that was fine. It was the long scramble back down the single track running beside my bike, trying to find all the trail riders and not let them down too much that was a little wearing. Gluten-free doth not a downhiller make. Spook is going to meet Marion and do it tomorrow. I'm sure he'll have a lovely time!
The girls took Hamish to Hockey and checked out the other recycling centre but it didn't match up to Megs standards. spook did a road cycle and Roddy took Cam and Finn to the Hungarian Archer for a 3hr lesson which cost $15. Cam will eventually work up to riding a horse fast and firing the arrows at the target!!! I will have pictures of the non-horse archery lesson tomorrow, once Roddy works out how to get them out his camera.
Then we all headed up to Aniseed Valley to the wee park there to meet Marion and family and have our tea. We were there about 3.45pm and only Cam and
Finn would brave the water. Roddy hadn't met Marion and Glen before, but shooting and fishing featured large in the conversation with a diving and fish spearing trip being planned by Roddy and Glen, over the bbq. Robbi had put a great spread together and we had a mean game of rounders to finish. We headed home just as the sun was setting over the hill.
These bbq's are all over NZ at picnic areas. Some with gas, some for wood burning. Spottlessly clean and gas always supplied!!!

Hoons.

We went to the market in Nelson. It is a colourful and creative place which gives an idea of the folks who live here. Browsing in town, met Marion's Mum in one of the shops and was nice to see her as she lived with Glen and Marion in our caravan for a few months in Scotland.
We had a terrific lunch with The McNeillys at their beautiful hillside house, sitting at their Italian style long table out in the garden. Their house is a sun magnet, which looks out over the Abel Tasman, and as we were leaving, the sun was setting between the palm trees at the top step of their deck.
We walked (Marion and Spook ran) to The Centre of New Zealand. The picture is of the children standing at the point which is half way between the bottom of the South Island and the top of the North Island. Jessica-Anne tried to leg it out of the picture. The view is of Nelson with these houses looking out to sea, right of picture. We picked figs from a tree growing wild next to the track.
The children let fart-bombs off at the view point, while couples relaxed and whispered sweet nothings in each others ears.

Hot off the Press.

I heard Robbi inviting them all to play a game of Uno. I also heard Meg and Finn saying I couldn't play as I had to 'blog', such is the act of blogging a part of our daily life!! And it was very noisy while I sat at the computer in another room. This is what I found when I went back through. See the picture that Mel Shand painted for the Sinclairs when they left Braeroy. It has been to all their schools over the last 5 years and is much treasured.

You Can't Beat The Beach!

We had a lovely morning at the beach (Rabbit ISLAND) while spook went for a cycle. The pictures show the group in the water which even includes me in bra and knickers because I couldn't resist. As the wet suit picture showed a while ago, I don't really do water, but the surf and the temperatures were too much for me. I'm better when it's not boiling hot and the contrast of hot body and cool water isn't too extreme. This was really gorgeous. Once my own children recovered from the shock of knickers on show, they were delighted to have me in there with them.. Next picture is 1. Hamish 2. Shannon and Hector 3. Cameron 4. Jessica-
anne 5. The boys with Hector 6. The girls with Jessica-Anne.
spook joined us just as everyone was leaving but I had to go back in with him - must be the gluten-free change of personality!!
We will meet Marion, Glen and the children for lunch tomorrow after the Market etc and Spook is going for a run with Marion which I MIGHT join them on if it looks feasible. Roddy will not join us til tomorrow night as he has Possums coming out his ears and wont get cleared until later in the afternoon.

Glugged-up Spook

Spook and I went for a 3 hr cycle today, up over a steep road to Aniseed Valley. It wasn't long before it became Argylle, in appearance. Steep forested hillsides with the cloud just sitting on top. It wasn't a very exciting cycle, but was good to get out together. Spook was feeling a bit tired and flat - possibly the afterwork period of adjustment, or just that he's not gluten-free. I felt fine, obviously. It was warm enough for just long-sleeved tops and shorts despite the cloud, and the rain never arrived. The children were all happily occupied when we got back so Spook drove me into Nelson so that I could see what it actually looked like. There was still low cloud so it wasn't at it's best, but I think I drove through Troon, Largs, past The Hotel California, and round Perth. I need to have a look at it in bright sunshine, as this cannot be an accurate assessment!
So Rabbit bay tomorrow and looking forward to seeing Marion and Glen's children almost 6 months since we saw them, soon after we arrived. Jessica Anne is talking now and Hector is trying to walk.

Brightwater Peace.

Nelson has a very different feel about it from Wanaka. A garden country. People growing things everywhere. It hasn't got the wilderness of Otago, or the small town feel of Wanaka. The place where we are staying is just out of Nelson and called Brightwater. The North of France comes to mind somehow - maybe Normandy. We didn't go far today. The chidren have been so contended to hang around together, that we jsut did a wee cycle round the block past vineyards and orchards, with wee stalls and honesty boxes on driveways selling capsicums, tomatoes, courgettes, chillies etc. After a mad dip in the cold swimming pool in the garden (the children), we went to the recycling centre in Richmond - the poor neighbour to Nelson. It was the attendees of the centre that were more interesting than the items for sale. It was quite run down compared to Wanaka's but the couple of ladies browsing through were a feast for the eyes. Probably in their 50's and 60's and with a wonderful sense of freedom where they obviously didn't care a toss what other people thought and just got up in the morning and threw whatever precious items they'd bought at the recyling centre on - leapord skin trousers, trainers, woolie jumpers, big belts, jaunty hats and great hairdo's. I can't imagine them spending hours choosing an outfit and worrying over the size of their butts or if an outfit matched. Robbi and I admired them very much and she confessed to me that she would love to don stripy leggings and boots, but always felt self conscious and stuck to her jeans. I thought we should choose an outfit we would most love to wear and then make a pledge to phone each other and say, 'today's the day', and report back to each other about how it feels. Maybe total confidence doesn't come in your 40's - maybe we can still make it in our 50's. When our children don't wail at us for stepping out of line!
I completely gave up on the dairy free part of the new regime. 2 days of that has made gluten free like a picnic.
Marion and Glen came round for a drink. It was lovely to see them and we made plans to cycle and picnic at Rabbit Bay on Friday. Market, gallery and aftenoon tea at Marion and Glen's on Saturday, cycle and lunch here with Roddy on Sunday.

Holidays!!

We headed off for Nelson at 9am and finally got there at 7.45pm. I am now very concerned about how they managed to get from Nelson to wanaka in 7 hours when I was in Scotland. I may have insisted on a couple of coffee stops, and I couldn't resist the beach, but 7hrs and 10 and 3/4hr's is a hell of a difference!!!
It was fantastic to get to the sea. There was big surf and it felt suddenly very exotic, which New Zealand hasn't really felt, up until now. Less exotic was the long black to wash down the salted cashew nuts, while Spook and the kids tucked into chocolate cake. but hey, I'm going to be soooo vibrant in a few days. It was a long journey, which the kids coped really well with, and we all coped well with Finns new love for conversation (doesn't translate down telephone wires or on Skype, where he is likely to bare his butt when he doesn't know what else to say), which he subjected (sorry, entertained) us to (with) the entire journey.
It was wonderful to get to Robbi's warm and welcoming house (Roddy is away until Friday), and to eat some bloody good gluten free food!! I knew it was a wise week to do this. Kind of broke down over the dairy bit as I asked how she got the cheesy sauce to taste so good without dairy products. She lookded horrified and thought I had developed a terrible allergy and was now poisoned - of course nothing was going to taste so good as real milky sauce and real cheese! she was relieved to discover it was merely a fad. I forgot that Hamish's food was only gluten free. But what's a wee bit of cheese and milk. I had a liquorice tea to make up for it.
It was dark when we got here, so I can't wait to see what the top of this Island looks like. Meg can't wait to show me what the local recycling centre looks like!

Gurgling Tum.

I decided this morning that I would embark on a gluten free/dairy free diet for a week. I don't sleep well and seem to be tired most of the time and not very energetic and my brain is gluggy. This is no different from how it was in Fort William, but I figured it was worth a try as we are going to Nelson tomorrow and Robbi's son Hamish, is allergic to gluten so I will be empathetic, more likely to apply myself to new ideas and learn a few from Robbi. It is not good to embark on a new diet plan on the morning of the day, as I have very little gluten free snacks. As a regular snacker, this means that I am hungry. The dairy free thing was ok as I have some soya milk and managed a banana smoothie for breakfast. There were some old rice cakes from the last health fad, which were a little soggy (I think they come like that) and they disintegrated beneath a couple of poached eggs at lunch. I tied up the loose bits on the grape vine outside the back door and ate all the grapes on there. I scoffed a few tomatoes smothered in mayonnaise which appears to be gluten AND dairy free, (please, please be right) and was the most indulgent thing I managed. Dry rice cakes whenever I needed a snack as I have no soya marg. Qinuoa, tomato sauce, onions and mushrooms for tea and some fresh pineapple while I watch Spook and Finn tuck into ice cream. My favourite morning of 'flat white' coffee, became a 'long black'. Can't get too excited about that, but I think it should only take a week and I will be running and cycling everywhere, sleeping in all the right places and be sparkling company. Easy-peasy. A week's not that long, is it? (Finn and I managed a run today over the Sticky Woods and back along the outlet track - he got home-made oatie biscuits and I got a glass of soya milk with a rice cake to dip).

Disaster.

Just got an e-mail from my sister titled "We Will Rock You", and I thought 'fantastic title, she's right behind me on this'. But she was just informing me that Ben Elton wrote it years ago, she's already seen it and is taking her boys to see it in Edinburgh soon. She suggested Leonard Cohen as an alternative, but didn't think it would be as cheery as Mamma Mia.

And it's Still Here.

In order to spend some time with ones husband on Easter Sunday, one has to go the distance. Finn and I went up to see him as Finn is learning to juggle and keeps looking at wee video clips on the internet which is making my internet gadget smoke and go over budget, so I thought I would double up some quality time with Spook and get some free juggling advice at the same time. Finn and I were arguing over who had farted when we realised it was just that we had arrived! Spook had the poo works going full pelt. He was pretty busy, so Finn occupied himself at the computer and I sat on his sun lounger reading the paper. I always buy the ODT (Otago DAily News), because I live there and it has a wee regions bit which often features our adopted town. It has a scary opinion page that makes my hair stand on end, but I didn't really think of changing papers as there is little choice. This was The Southland Times and what an improvement. Not only an opinion page with some opinions I have half a chance of relating too, but a features page with 2 references to blogging!!! The first was by a woman who had Aitken in her double-barrelled name (double barrels very common over here). She said that she had no patience for Twitter - an online comment blog where you are limited to 140 characters, but that it did save her from the terrible "blogs out there offering up extraordinarily boring detailed accounts of extraordinarily ordinary lives. Yawn, No offence." Yikes - non taken! I felt there was some connection here as she also did a review of Singstars Queen for PlayStation. Even Spook would be drawn in to that singstar offering. Ms Allison-Aitken thought Singstars ABBA edition couldn't be topped until she saw this one. And the connection here is that I did ask Spook a few months ago, if he thought someone could make a story out of all Freddies songs the way Mamma Mia did with ABBA. (I could work on this while cleaning toilets - if I actually knew the words to his songs instead of just the tunes - ipod!!!)

And the other article in the paper about blogging was about an ex editor of Cosmo who had a blog called mamamia.com.au. She attracts 300,00 hits per month. She talks about current affairs, fashion, celebrities and relationships. I do that too, don't I???? And this other one by an ex-Mormon dooce.com gets more than 4 million hits per month. Think of all the clicks on the adverts!! fatmumslim.com.au gets between 300 and 400 a day. I'm going to look them up now and see what it's all about.

Spook finally got a free moment to chat with me. I had moved over to the retaining wall which has big stones in caging and a nice wee shelved bit to sit on so that I could look up at the skydivers.

"That caging's infested with rats", he said - romantically.

The Wind Blew in a Cat.

Meg, Finn and I went for a longer cycle today, as yesterdays was too easy for them. We went out through Albert Town to Dublin Bay. We did about 15k against the wind and had to call in the troupes. Spook left his work and came and rescued us. Best to quit while we were ahead, and they still loved me.

This little cat has been hanging around for a while and Max and Michaela brought her in as their Dad was not impressed with it's presence in their house. The children have made a poster up for any owner who's been missing it, but they are all hoping it's needing a home. It is very sweet and loving and even Spook was seen stroking it. She jumped up for a wee snuggle with all of us and now we have 2 Crone children sleeping in Megs room tonight as no-one wants to be parted from the cat. It is lovely to see them all re-united as it has been a slow recovery of relations. They will need to sleep with the window open and we will need to sleep with our door shut, as it wont last long if it keeps us all awake. It could be a very cold winter. At time of going to press, it is called Milky Way - Milky for short. The children have desperatley missed animals to love. Their Mum and Dad are just not enough.

Uncomfortable Story.

I've been sitting on a story for a week, because I couldn't quite get my head around it.
The High School - Mount Aspiring College - MAC for short, was having their 'Formal'. They hold it at the end of summer, for the Yr's 12 and 13. There is a formal dinner, which comes under the auspices of the school and then an informal 'after party' which doesn't, but is supported by parents and kept an eye on by the police so that they get some freedom, but don't go crazy. The Formal is a big event on the calendar and involves dressing up and taking a date - very like the Prom stuff you see in American Movies.
It came to light, last Friday, as the pre-Formal acitivities began, that the 180 tickets printed, were titled White Supreemacy. Spook heard this on the radio and also that there had been a report of two people wearing white cloaks and hoods at the local garage to advertise the event on the Saturday. 'A parent' complained of the inappropriateness of this and the Head Master and students of the organisation committte went on the radio to apologise and explain themselves. One of the girls became very upset on the radio and cried. At the end of the broadcast, the presenter was heard to say - presumably meant to be 'off-air' - "That woman wants running out of town" (The woman who had made the complaint).
Apparently the girls - one of whom is the daughter of a very well respected Maori family - had decided on a dress code of white and were going to call the event White Supree. Then they liked the idea of a play on words by adding in the MAC, so were at supreemac and hey-ho, why not stick a y on the end because it makes a word. And this was all there was to it. The one member of staff who ran an eye over it (and the Headmaster was making a very big deal out of the fact that this was all organised by the students), didn't seem to pick up on the inappropriateness. Someone obviously picked up on it enough to don cloak and hood! The girls had worked very hard on the event over a period of 2 months and were tired and emotional at having got it so wrong, hence the tears on the radio. My inside informant told me that the outrage from the radio presenter was that the parent had gone to the media rather than the school. She was also able to tell me that this woman had had a few run-in's with the school AND the family of the Maori girl. And the womans daughter had to go to the Formal, and face all those Yr12's and 13's, whose big night had been tarnished - not by the title on the tickets (which had been hastily re-written to say 'Black Tie'), but by the wicked woman who had reported it.
Even as I write it, I am struggling. That these 17/18yr olds could get to this stage in their education (and these will be the top students), and not know what white supremacy signified, is shocking. The Headmaster was at pains to support his students whilst pointing out that this was done without their knowledge, well, most of the staffs knowledge. Did he miss out on the point that he had failed to educate them well, on some pretty important issues?
This was reported, to some degree, at national level, but somehow managed to stay very low key. I wonder how many people are shifting uncomfortably on their sofas? I imagine, in Britain, this would have hit the 6 O'clock news.
Finn told me that they discussed it in is Whanau (pronounced Fano, and is his group of students from all years that come together every week). The students talked about the Formal and referred to the white supremacy incident. It was then discussed further in his Home Room (his main class room) and Finn understood that it had not been a good thing, that the students hadn't understood what they were saying, and that he, still didn't quite know what it was that was wrong with it. He knows now.

Outlet Track

It was a stunning day and the children and I went for a cycle along the Outlet Track. It was looking fine in it's Autumn colours. It is very confusing to have Autumn in April. I went for a cycle myself at around 4.30pm, on the road bike. Everything was golden in the evening light. Pretty phenomenal. It was a lovely temperature until the sun went down and the cold was imediate. I had cold toes and hands by the time I got home, where Spook had the stove lit and the tea on. It was without a doubt, by that time a clear, late October evening.

Srub and Scrum

Meg went back to the doctor and was allowed back to school, despite having her first slight temperature since the start of the infection.

Spook and I went back to the scene of yesterdays bush whipping. These photos are the wrong way around as he points to the innocuous looking hillside which has scarred his butt. He said that he had thought it was innocuous too, until he tried to cut through the paler green bit. It was very high fern - like bracken - and full of hidden briars. We had intended to go to the top of the hill, but he got a call from work to go clean a poo tank, as a matter of urgency.

Finn had his 1st introduction to Rugby training today. He was supposed to be in the under 11's as he lacks experience, which might save him from getting a beating. At the last minute, he was drawn into the next age group and now finds himself as part of the scrum, in a group of little experts. He got into all sorts of hands on predicaments that were new to him, but said it was fun. He is having major testosterone surges - or pestosterone, as his Dad calls it, as he pounces on his father and wrestles him at every single opportunity from dawn til dusk. A bit like the Pink Panther and his Chinese counterpart, but much, much worse. He does a lot of thumping of his chest as befits his new status as a MAN. Yet this morning he insists I cut his toast in half, even though it is a very small and managable piece of bread, because his little boy teeth can't break through the nasty crust!! Rugby starts officially in 2 weeks - thank goodness.

Meg is over at Vicky's for dinner and that's the schools on holiday for 2 weeks now. Spooks back to work for 4 days. (he didn't clean out any tanks in the end as it's there is too much poo around, now that people are starting to pour back into Wanaka for Easter).

Athletic - Spook 2, Mo 0.

Woke up to fresh snow on the hills. The 1st 2 pictures are taken at about 8am, and the 3rd at 3pm.

I got an emergency call from Spook from the Doctors and had to leave work. The doctor had decided Meg needed a 2nd anti-biotic and wanted a doze injected intravenously to catch up with the 1st one, other wise he was considering 2 days in hospital - all from a bang on the leg! Doc still thinks there must have been a tiny break in the skin to let infection in. The junior nurse who injected the antibiotic went through Meg's vein and into the muscle on the other side. This was very painful and continued to be so for quite a long time afterwards. By the time I arrived at the Dr's, Meg had dismissed her father from the room, having insisted I come. The nurse tried twice on the other arm and failed to find a vein. Meg was in no fit state to cope with any more, so the 3 nurses and doctor sent her home and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully the extra antibiotics have made an impact oral means and normal life may resume tomorrow. I stayed with Meg, and Spook went for the wee run that we were to do together. He returned a long time later, having got lost in the bush and had to fight his way out through bigger than head high scrub. Back into the recovery position once home. Such a shame I couldn't have been with him.

He said the hail stones HAD been quite painful, but the views were spectacular.

Tomorrow is our last opportunity for an adventure this week. Meg is feeling much better but has to see the doctor 1st thing in the morning. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to persuade her to take the day off to be safe (well, to keep ME safe) - if not, Spook will have some gentle excercise planned.