Well,so much for Xmas

Thats it over & done with for another year. here we are sliding inexorably into another year. Its been very quiet in some respects at work. Mostly bulk deliveries that can be gotten rid of early. I've had two nice short days out of three. This is good because we have Morty & the kids staying with us & it gives me time to spend with them..

Yesterday we went out to a local builders supply & purchased 1/4 of a cubic metre of a lovely white shingle & finally finished off my rock garden in the back yard. We think it looks great, but the Ginger Ninja's arent that sure. Not too big on change those two. Its bad enough that they have to tolerate the presence, albeit a very dignified presence, of Nushka, but change to their evening watering hole ? Not on old chap.

Hopefully today, I will be able to get the kids out to experience a poor man's version of Sea Biscuiting. I have acquired an old truck inner tube & with the aid of a length of lightweight rope, have transformed it magically into said object. Quite how it will all go being powered by a mere 15 horsepower, I'm not really sure, but I think the kids will enjoy it anyway.

New Year is traditionally a time for reflection & the making of resolutions. I have reflected a lot & have come up with two resolutions. I am going to make more time for Jude & I together this year. I am also going to brush up on my guitar playing sufficiently enough that I can hold my own in accoustic jam sessions that are being held once a month at a local bar. Hopefully, I might meet someone interested in forming the basis of a small, low budget semi accoustic band. At worst, a jam session is always a good chance to have a chat with fellow muso's anyway.

So happy New Year. I hope it brings you what you want. I somehow cant see world peace happening though.. But it would be nice, wouldnt it?

Road to Escondido

I have just bought this album & have so far listened to the first 7 tracks.What an awesome album. Smooth as silk, creamy as butter & slides down like a glass of Bailleys with a shot of Drambuie in it.

Its hard to believe that Cale is 68 & Clapton 61..Where has our youth gone ? Not the least of it by any means, is the involvement on keyboard of Billy Preston, the only muso to ever play with both the Beatles & the Rolling Stones. He also had a leading role in the movie "Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club band.

Damn this is one fine album. I think I will have to copy it so I dont wear the original out, because it is sure gonna get some air time..

Merry Bluddy Xmas

I havent blogged much in the last week or so. Its been a combination of being too damned tired & not actually feeling much like it. We have been busy like a bee with a bum full of honey workwise & last Saturday, my next door neighbour & good mate finally lost his battle with cancer. Rest in peace Geoff.

Xmas wise ? Well, the Boss conned me into being Santa Claus at the work do. Photo's posted as available. It went well. Had Xmas dinner with my Sis yesterday & took her thru to see my Mum in the afternoon not so good. Mum really wasnt at the top of her game. On the bright side, off to the big smoke tomorrow to have Xmas dinner with the grandkids. Looking forward to that . House inspection coming up by Morty & the kids... Looking forward to that too. Prolly another Chrissy dinner as well, cos herself allus stocks up too much... Looking forward to that too..

Well, Merry Xmas to you all & thank you for reading my blog over the year. I hope the New Year brings you nothing but joy. I would like to toast you all with an old Irish toast.... "May the skin of your bum never cover the head of a banjo"

This is Dotty

By her human servant's own admission probably the most spoiled cat in Te Aroha. She runs the accounts payable department for Williams Furnishing in that fair town. Its a wonderfully old fashioned family store in which you can find all sorts of treasures, including the owners, who were only too happy & went to considerable trouble involving bribery & cajolery to get Dotty suitably posed in her favourite spot for me.

Such a lovely store & lovely folks to deal with, but then, most of the retailers there are. Must have something to do with living in the shadow of a mountain , the name of which translates out as, "The Love"

Happy Birthday Jim

We miss you

Dammit.....

I LIKE this sign....................................

Requiem for a friend

I went to the hospital tonight to say goodbye to a friend. I havent known Jeff for all that long, only a couple of years. Since he, his lovely wife & his teenage daughter moved in next door in fact. he has led a most remarkable life; from a fitter & turner on the Tyneside to a personnnel manager in a Saudi Arabian fish farm in fact.

Jeff could always be relied upon to find something humerous in any situation, from our Kiwi ways, to being blown up in a terrorist attack. Even collapsing in the classroom & subsequently being diagnosed with terminal cancer of a particularly savage kind. When I first met him he was a big man with a big presence. In 6 months, I have seen him melt away to nothing. The two of them are very strong in each other & it has been quite amazing to see. Now they are both worn out & had enough. Jeff is ready to move on & Lorna understands & is ready to let him go. I admire their courage.

So fare you well my friend. Both Herself & me will miss you greatly, but we understand your need to move on. We love you...

Tapu Lifting

One of the headlines on the New Zealand Heralds web site this morning concerns the lifting of Tapu on State Highways 1 & 2 by a concerned group of Maori elders, or Kaumatuas. For my overseas readers, the state of tapu is real & a very serious thing. I have experienced its effects first hand. Something is declared tapu for a variety of reasons, the most frequent these days being violent or accidental death. For instance, if somebody drowns in the sea, then that area is declared tapu until the body is recovered & nobody gathers seafood until it is lifted. The particular tapu that I encountered involved a large carved panel stored in a museum that I was working in as a handyman at the time. It needed to be shifted, but for some reason , I just didnt feel inclined to touch it. We found out that it was tapu for religious reasons & I also found out that one of the other employees at the museum had handled it, gone home & cooked tea for her family, & the entire family ended up ill for 6 weeks, so I dont scoff or mock tapu at all, because to me it is a real thing & is to be respected

Anyway, back to the gondolas as the Monty Python team is wont to say. This group of Kaumatuas is involved in a joint effort involving themselves, the New Zealand Police, The Fire Service & Fulton Hogan Construction to lift the tapu on 2 very notorious stretches of highway & free the Wairua or spirits of those killed violently in road accidents on both stretches of highway by spraying 10 000 litres of water taken from the Waikato river along the road & prayers spoken at two strategic points along the way. The MP for Clevedon, Judith Collins has suggested that this is a waste of time & effort, & that the police would be better involved in fighting the rising crime rate in South Auckland.

This may be so, but frankly, I think she should keep her big mouth shut. Anything that may reduce the road toll along these two stretches of highway has to be good. The police are going to work it in to their existing patrol schedules & the convoy will be moving at 80 km/h, so there will be minimal disruption to traffic. As someone who has not only worked the sharp end of vehicular accidents & death for more years than I care to remember, but also experienced the gut wrenching agony & trauma of losing a family member in a motor accident, my prayers are with them this morning. Anything to make these two bits of road a little safer to travel.

Now all we have to do is find some form of ceremony to instill common sense & sanity into the average lemming like driver commuting to & fro from his metropolitan residence to his weekend retreat.