From Hamburger to Ham.

I worked today, unlike those many thousands of folk whose bosses run businesses that hold a non essential place in our community. A courier company has got to keep the wheels turning. In my case, I did a van run to Auckland & picked up a staggering amount of bread, meat & vegetables. Enough to fill a Ford Courier Jumbo in fact. All this to contribute in part to keeping the myriads of tourists that flock to our part of the world well, if not expensively, fed.

One of the drops that I did on the way home was a delivery of bread product to a roadside restaurant that we do regular drops to. In an effort to gee up my somewhat jaded Xmas spirits,(the reason for that is a whole different ballgame, & not one that I want to share at this point) I bid the lady in the kitchen "Merry Xmas," & asked her what her plans where for the day. "Work," she replied. "Surely not in here," sez I. "Nope," sez she, "Home cooking Xmas dinner." "Oh." sez I. "Hamburgers to ham, huh?"

This did, at least, raise a smile on her face. She was as busy as. Heaps of traffic on the road, burger orders backed up,hot as hell in the kitchen & just herself & the ditsy blonde teenager manning the counter out front. At least I brightened her day a little I hope.

We are on the road early tomorrow for a two hour drive to spend Xmas with our daughter & the grand kids, so I can empathise with her in that I too will spend part of my holiday doing the same thing that I do for a living, namely driving. It does have its rewards though. i will have herself with me, I will be driving Sherman, & when we get there, I can relax & have a beer or two or three with the obligatory after dinner nap.

So where ever you are & however you spend your day, enjoy it & be safe. Also spare a thought for those who have to keep the wheels turning regardless of how much they want to be with their loved ones. I have been in that situation & could relate some truly horrendous Xmas Eve & New Years Eve anecdotes, but I wont. I prefer to keep those sort of memories in the dark place where wild things roam.

So from Herself & me, have a truly great Xmas & enjoy your special time with your loved ones. I know we will, & thank you all for taking the time to read my ramblings. merry Xmas all.

Xmas lights

Herself, bless her, really enjoys Xmas with all the trimmings. She really gets into the whole deal. I have managed so far to restrain her efforts to the interior of the house, being ever mindful of the high cost of strings of lights, cute Santa's on sleighs, Elves on seesaws, Xmas trains etcetera, not to mention the hazards to aerial navigation all these flashing lights imply. You see, we do live under the flight path of the local airfield & I, for one, don't really fancy the concept of an aircraft, even if it is only a two seater Cessna or something, mistaking my bloody roof for a runway because of them.

The look of disappointment on her face when I said "No" this year was too much for me though. So I worked very hard while she was out the other day & really set things up. Can you imagine the look on her face when she came home & saw this absolute little Wonderland of lights...

Politically Correct Holiday Greetings

Guarded Holiday Greetings to Everyone

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to all of you, but it is so difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my team of human rights lawyers yesterday, and after taking their advice I wish to say the following:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with due respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or of their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you all a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make my or your country great (not to imply that UAE, Pakistan, China, Singapore, the US and Thailand is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By reading this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal without notice and is without any risk, liability or engagement on my part. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no
promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced.

James [ surname deleted in accordance with voluntary code of practice against nationalist symbolism and gender discrimination ]

So this is Christmas

and what have you done ?

So begins one of the most haunting Christmas songs that I know. John Lennon sure knew what he was doing when he penned those words. I hope that you are doing more than the mean spirited assholes that left this crap & rubbish with the Salvation Army Shop in Waihi as donations for Xmas presents for kids in need. People may be poor, but they still have pride.. isnt it sad how condescending & self serving some folks can be. Good on ya Sallies for highlighting this...

RIP CHLOE

Mistress of The Lounge, Terroriser of Ginger Ninja's, fresh fish, cheese & bacon afficionado extraordinaire. You were originally intended to be my Mum's cuddly sit on the lap & purr sweetly cat to comfort her in her old age. Instead you turned out to be a perverse old Tart that refused to sit on ANYONE'S lap, but would on occasion curl up beside you, or wait expectantly in front of you for a gentle skritch under the ears.

The last of the great conversationalists, you could always be relied upon to pass the time of day with me when I got up at some ungodly hour to go drive a truck. Your grip of the English language when talking to the Ninja's was legendary. Even I, as a trucky was shocked & dismayed by some of the language that you used.

But, like all of us, old age &, in your case, cancer, finally got the better of you & you ended up suffering more than we could endure so you had the final trip to the vets & was gently put to sleep with the dignity you so richly earned. Goodbye old girl, I'm gonna miss you. Our life has been so much richer for having shared life with you. May the Heavyside treat you kindly with soft warm beds, plenty of fresh fish, a selection of bacon, both raw & cooked, a perpetual cheese board, neverending milk at room temperature & as much love as you had here.

Everyone should

at least once in their life stand naked in the rain somewhere. It 's a remarkably energising experience, especially after a long dry spell. Sorta helps put you right back in touch with nature at its most basic. The main thing to remember is that unless you live a long long way away from other houses, its best to do it at night time though.......

More Justin Timberwank

on the front page of the Herald ?????? Excuse me while I go mug a walrus for a bucket to vomit in........

Today, we raced

Well in theory we didnt . In theory, we had a controlled run up Lake Karapiro & back doing a poker run. But when you get 40 odd boats in a running shotgun start,(literally) then its not surprising that the old testosterone gets flowing & the throttle gets nudged further & further forward & to hell with other lake users.

You see, we participated in Fish City's annual Poker run. The idea of this is that you circumnavigate a course collecting sealed envelopes with playing cards in them. When you return, the scrutineers open them & make the best hand they can, with you having the option of buying up to 4 extra cards. Its an annual event in memory of a young lad that worked for them & died of a melanoma & the monies raised go to cancer research. This year it was leukemia.

Anyway, we had a ball. Top Dog showed a clean pair of heels to a surprising amount of boats, the only low point being a loss of power on the way home & we had to limp in at a mere 35 km/h. Fortunately it was only loose screws holding the cover plate on the fuel pump & is now all fixed. One of the treasured memories of the day is the water skier who panicked when he saw about 10 boats bearing down on him at a rate of knots & arsed off. It was quite beautiful the way we all peeled off round him.

The halfway point was a particularly beautiful little bay where we all lounged around, drank cold drinks,(non alcoholic) & swam. My excuse for wearing a life jacket in the water was that I had never been in the water with one & wanted to see how well they held an old fatso like me up. Nothing whatsoever at all to do with the 50 ft of water under me....

Then it was back to the clubhouse for the awarding of prizes. I won a spot prize of an outboard motor cover, about 3 sizes too big for my motor. Didnt win the main prizes, but thats Ok.. We had a great day out....

Nice one, NZ Herald....

I see the Heralds lead story this morning is a revue of the Justin Timberwank concert... Why ???? The conceited git has only ever put out two albums & neither of them particularly uplifting.. The last three shows that I have been to, Dylan, Steely Dan & War of the Worlds were all reviewed as well, but you had to hunt for them. Wheres your taste in musical appreciation guys ????

Well, this is me

Just SOOOOOO happy to be off to work yet again starting at 6.00 AM yet again on a run that I don't particularly like yet again.... The only consolation that I have is that Dave is back tomorrow from his paternity leave & he can have his run back.. He is definitely in no danger of a takeover bid from me....

I want to ride my bicycle....

Herself is in the process of losing weight & getting fit. I'm rapidly running out of excuses as to why I shouldn't join her, so any help would be appreciated. Her latest thing is that she has decided to ride a push bike round to her friends place that she walks with. I find this very laudable. After all, our carbon foot print is probably quite big enough what with a petrol powered car, a diesel 4WD, a boat with a 2 stroke outboard & God knows how many electrical appliances.. Global Warming ? Burn baby burn, I say.

Anyway, back to the push bike. I dunno why exactly they are called push bikes, because under ordinary circumstances, unless the chain comes off, or you get a flat tyre, or your going up a steep hill, you don't push 'em. You bloody well PEDAL them don't you. Anyway, thanks to the on air garage sale run by our local radio station, we got her a push bike. Just yer basic 10 speed road bike, although the gears won't get used a lot. The only fly in the ointment is that herself hasn't ridden a bike for more years than she is prepared to admit to.

You know the fluttery feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when your kids, or grandkids first take to the footpath without trainer wheels ? Well, herself wouldn't even let me fit trainer wheels. She was happy with the new pump & the gelpad seat cover, & the little red bell with "I love bikes" on it, & the flash ergodynamically designed hand grips, but trainer wheels ???? Nooooo thank you. Luckily, our drive is quite long & flat so that she can practice. Getting on & off is fraught with hazards, & those initial first few feet untill some momentum is achieved, is definitely a bit wobbly, but she was getting there. Right up until the point that she mucked up getting off the thing & gracefully collapsed into a heap with the bike on top of her.

I'm standing there with visions of trips to hospitals racing through my mind, but she held up both hands & said,"I'm all right." Probably my imitation of putting the boot into her ribs at that point didn't really help a lot, I don't know. Anyway, she is still determined to master the damn thing. I'll probably have to think about getting one for myself soon I suppose. Life can be very cruel sometimes..

We saw dolphins yesterday

Its not like we haven't seen them before. I have been to the dolphin place in Napier & seen them perform, I've seen them on TV as you do, & seen them swimming past the boat while we have been fishing, but this was up close & personal.

You see, Herself & I went fishing yesterday. We usually fish from Te Puru, but when the tide is low there, it can be a little tense getting the boat in & out of the water, so lately, we have been fishing from Waikawau. This ramp offers an easy launch into a river mouth & now that it has been dredged, it offers at least two feet of water under the keel even at the lowest ebb. We are still ,however, finding where the fish are in that particular area. So we went out & ended up catching 4 snapper & deciding to have a look round, as that area offers some very picturesque scenery with bays & little islands & such, so we went all the way up to Deadmans Bay, which is the start of Coromandel Harbour. On the way back, Herself happened to see a big splash in the water , so we investigated.

Imagine our joy when it turned out to be a pod of about 30 dolphins, some up to about 15 ft., in length. They put on a lovely show for us, leaping out of the water in pairs & all sorts of things, all impromptu & all without any human bribing them with dead fish. They were doing it for the sheer joy of being able to, not as part of some routine necessary for food. They even had babies with them. Some of them came that close to the boat you could nearly touch them. God it was fantastic. The only sad bit was that I didn't have any sort of camera with me, so I can't share the experience with you. maybe next time...

Requiem for a friend

RIP WETI

You may have noticed (or not) I know I didn't, a report in the Waikato Times about a trucky who was killed when his truck rolled on State Highway 39 out the back of Hamilton at a place called Whatawhata. I didn't, & my work hours for the last week have been such that I haven't been able to keep up with TV news & I don't usually buy The Waikato Times. It doesn't really matter all that much anyway, because Weti is dead.

He was driving for Five Star Freight, with a full load of timber on his truck & trailer, when he rolled it.

As a trucky , you get to meet all sorts of people, most of whom you wouldn't recognise if you met them in the street. Put them behind the wheel of their rig though, & they are instantly known. "Aaah, there's the guy in the brown Freightliner that does the evening linehaul from Auckland to Hamilton." That was how I first got to know Weti. We used to do an evening linehaul from Auckland to Hamilton & you could usually count on seeing Weti somewhere around Huntly, heading north in one of Road Freight's 6 wheel curtainsiders. Some truckys acknowledge your wave with a casual lift of one finger, others have their own distinctive wave. Weti was one of the latter. I used to fear for his safety at first, because Weti used to launch himself bodily at the passengers side window with a hearty wave & a grin like the front bumper on a '57 Chevy.

Later on, he started doing the Roadfreighters run to our depot in Thames, so I got to meet him in person. Nothing was too much trouble for Weti. he was always happy to do an unofficial delivery for us on the way home if it would help out. Later, when we started doing our own linehaul out of Hamilton & bought our first 8 wheeler & trailer, Weti helped us there too. The boss was doing it for a while & hurt himself badly in a stock car mishap, & Road freighters lent us Weti for the duration. He enjoyed it so much that he eventually came over & worked for us a year or two.

But, Weti being Weti, eventually he decided that a truck full of fruit & veges was a far more attractive proposition to drive, so he left. But we still got to see Weti, because one of his stops on that run was our depot. He left there too, & since then, like the proverbial bad penny, Weti would turn up in the most unlikely places, usually driving something different each time.

Rest well old friend. There probably aren't that many big rigs where you are, but I feel sure that knowing you, you will be able to cut a deal with St. Pete somewhere along the line for something to drive, who knows.

The devil made me do it...

I had occasion to deliver to a bottle shop today. As I was waiting for the signature, I noticed a new item on his shelves... Pina Colada Slushies.. Just add white rum & freeze.. Mundane you say ? So what you say ?? Yes, maybe, until you see the accessory for it. A little container of... Wait for it.... Rimming sugar... For the perfect cocktail.. I kid you not..

Arthur

Tonight, I met Arthur....
Arthur is a large, very genial Maori guy....
Arthur would be about as big as me & herself put together
Arthur drives an eight wheeler & trailor for one of the companies we deal with....
Arthur comes from Wanganui...
Arthur can parallel park his rig into a gap only 10 meters longer than his truck & trailor
I know, cos I measured it.
I think Arthur is pretty cool..
And one helluva good driver...
Better than I could ever hope to be

On the subject of fireworks. Since the banning of bangers & sky rockets, the pyrotechnic capabilities of the light fuse & retire to a safe distance variety of device has gotten louder & more spectacular every year to compensate. When small children are getting severely burnt as a result of this dollar greed, its time to call a halt to public sales. Even experts in the field got hurt this year. This is bad Juju. Anyway, why should we celebrate a failed terrorist from a different country ? In the light of recent Police actions, surely this is a prime example of double standards.. And thats all I've got to say about that..

Shelter From the Storm

One of the down sides to being a recidivistic Loopy is that the most insignificant things can ruin an otherwise great day by grabbing the scruff of your neck & plunging you into a really blue & introspective mood. It happened to me today. You see, the music on Hauraki is getting a touch progressive for my liking, so I listen to the Morning Pirates till 9.00, then switch over to Solid Gold & lose myself in the 60's & 70's. The track that did it for me today was a Simon & Garfunkel one, namely Slip Sliding away. A lovely song, but the lyrics affected me badly.

Another downside, while on the subject, is that I seem to have difficulties starting new projects, especially if they involve something that I'm not really terribly conversant with. For example, I have a bit of concreting to do round the place. I bought a mixer, have bags of premix, know what to do & have the tools to do it with, but.......................... Another example is the spouting on the house. Its not a high house, & I have completely redone at least two houses in the past, but again.............. I don't know what it is. I have spent a lot of time thinking about why it is. The nearest that I can come up with is a cross between lack of motivation & loss of confidence. I don't know. Herself has been very patient with me, but the work still isnt being done. Being a perfectionist Virgo, I like to do it right & things like concrete are very difficult to fix if you happen to fuck it up.

Anyway, back to the blues. I have by trial & error come up with a way to cut my bluesy bits down from 2 or 3 days to 2 or 3 hours. Just put some Bob Dylan on quite loud & listen to it. Dylan to me at those times produces the same sense of security as snuggling down under a favourite eiderdown in the height of a thunderstorm. It doesn't actually provide any physical protection. It just makes you feel warm & secure. Emotional shelter from the storm in both cases.

Eight miles high

About the only good thing about my recent sojourn care of the Health system was that it enabled me to catch up on some serious music listening. You see, I asked Herself to bring in for me my CD Walkman, my wallet of CD's & a generous supply of AA batteries. I listen to music on two separate levels you see. If I am working around home, I play a disc, generally either Blues or Irish music, quite loud & warble away melodiously, much to the probable disgust of the neighbours.

On the other hand, if I really want to LISTEN to music, I will sit down with headphones on & the volume at the appropriate level, (sometimes quiet & some times loud), close my eyes & immerse myself totally in every nuance of tone & melody & lyric, so you can understand that this was a preferable option for me over such stimulating pieces as Overture for Bedpans in A# minor, or similar opuses, or should that be opi, after all, the plural of octopus IS octopi isn't it? I don't know. If you want to know, go Google it. I really don't care.

Anyway, so here I was with earphones on, eyes closed, & the dulcet tones of Dylan warbling through his latest album, Modern Times. At times like this, its very easy for me to get to a special quiet little place in my head that I can otherwise get to by means of meditation. Please remember also that at this point I was high as a kite on morphine. All of a sudden I came to the realisation that not only had I reached my place in the sun I had gone beyond it, & the music had taken on a whole new level of depth & that I was seeing it with enhanced perception. As I lay there absolutely entranced, & really digging all this, there came a hand upon my shoulder & the cheery voice of the orderly, "Come on James, its time for your ultra sound scan. What are you listening to anyway?" Somehow the answer, "The vibrations of the cosmos." seemed somewhat banal, so I just said "Dylan" Turns out he is a big Dylan fan as well, so we had a great old chat all the way down in the lift. Mood gone forever.

Y0u needn't worry , gentle reader, about the possibility of me becoming a dope fiend & wasting away my life on a search for that elusive first high. The trip to that place is not one that I care to make except under extreme duress. Vomiting & unconsciousness has sort of lost its appeal over the last few days. Anyway, it takes too long to get straight again. I still feel decidedly strange....

So it's Labour Day.

I suppose you are expecting me to compose something that waves red flags & blathers on about Brotherhood, Solidarity & Up the Unions. Well, I'm not going to. Do you know why ? A couple of reasons. One is that I have never really been that big on the whole Solidarity/Trade Union/Glasnost thing. Don't get me wrong, I acknowledge & accept the part that unions have played over the years in achieving a safe & reasonable workplace/wage environment. It just seems to me that every time I hear a union official making a point in the media, I hear a Pommy, (English) accent. The inference is that Kiwi's have been around sheep too long & lack the ability to achieve significant results for themselves. Apparently, in the UK, Kiwi's are sought after as workers because of their "can do" attitude. So why do we need Poms to run our unions? Is this one thing we "Can't do ?"

I really would like to have been able to say that we have been fishing all weekend too, but I cant even do that. We have had a traditional Labour weekend weatherwise too. Cold & shitty with lots of wind.

The main reason that I haven't been anywhere, done anything though is that I have been sick. Three days of a bad tummy bug. Real bad. Three days of saline drips & morphine in the hospital. I really cant understand how anyone can get addicted to Morphine. OK there is pain relief. That is wonderful. But for me, its accompanied by vomiting & passing out. Sometimes simultaneously. Once I even managed to vomit through my nose at the same time. Who says men are incapable of multi tasking ? It was just as well that my step daughter had dropped everything & come down to give herself moral support. She had to come collect me from the Hospital, because Herself was home in bed with the same bug. Fortunately Herself's bout of it wasn't severe enough to warrant hospitalisation.

Anyway, we are both muchly improved, though still feeling like hell hit with a brick, so just gonna spend Labour Day quietly at home thinking of excuses why we can't mow lawns & do gardening etc.. Happy what ever & back to work tomorrow.

I've got babies....

I was gonna clean out my fishpond, honest, but it got deferred somewhere along the way in between going fishing & tidying up the courtyard for a visitor that ain't bloody well coming now anyway. But I sorta just had it forced on me a bit. Went out to the courtyard, & here is one of the Ginger Ninja's with one of my prize fish flopping around in the cement dust that I've been sweeping into the cracks. It looked like it was a lost cause, all nicely dredged in cement & ready for the pan, but no, a mouth gaped & a tail weakly flopped, so I picked it up & carefully wiped as much of the cement off it that I could, tried to drop kick the cat, with about as much luck as Daniel Carter, & carefully placed the said fish back into the pond.

To my surprise, it very carefully swam off. A little lop sided at first but it soon came right & off it went. While I was watching I noticed some baby goldfish swimming round. About 6 or so of them. This is very cool for me as I have never in my long history of goldfish keeping actually had any breed before. So I cleaned out all the dead leaves & topped the water up to give them all a fighting chance at getting below periscope depth to avoid the Ninja's, threw a clod of dirt at said Ninja, (Fattums) & sat & wondered at the marvel of creation & procreation for a while. Now I gotta go put the shade sail back up... then, once the cement drys, I gotta move the spa pool to its summer location & fill under that, finish off the back fence, make some mowing strips in the back yard, put up some more trellis, replace the spouting............... Did I mention that I'm on holiday ?

We went fishing yesterday

Wasn't exactly optimum weather for it, but we ended up with our limit of nice fish. Herself ended up feeling a bit blurky. Something which I will admit is MOST unusual for her. To be fair, the boat was sitting about three quarters on to a nice little 1 metre swell, which wasn't exactly comfortable. I will admit to feeling a touch unsettled my self. I was disappointed that she turned down my offer of sardine sandwiches though. You see, I always tie a burley bomb to the bottom of the anchor warp. As a purely academic exercise, I would be interested to learn if a bit of surface burley would have helped as well.

Still everything considered, a day on the water with herself is always enjoyable as it combines the two loves of my life. Its a nice bonus to come home with enough fish for tea & the freezer plus the satisfaction of being able to give some to a few good friends.. We off to see my Mum this afternoon.

Some of me pictures...

CITY AT NIGHT...

This is the view from the balcony of our apartment on the 8th floor of Quest on Eden, where we stayed for the Steely Dan concert. If you look, you can actually see the Vector Stadium sign where the concert was. Thats how close to it we were . I never took my tripod with me so this pic was taken by steadying my elbows on the balcony rail. Don't ask me the exposure time. I just let the camera take care of that....

I have just started two weeks holiday. You would never guess it by the crap weather we are having at the moment. So much for getting some fishing in. Gale warnings with gusts to 100km/h all over the place. Herself & me decided to Tiki Tour on Monday, so we did. Across to Port Waikato, then down through one way metal roads, through Te Akau down as far as the North side of Raglan Harbour, then up through Waingaro, through the old coal mining area, across the Waikato river at Huntly, then up SH1 as far as Te Kauwhata, then through the back way & home. These are one or two pics we took..

At one point, there was a flock of Peacocks on the side of the road. They were pretty shy & took off through the fence & down the paddock fairly quickly & the sound of the camera shutter made them run even faster. I did, however, manage to get at least one reasonable shot of this fellow. Pretty isn't he ? I have only ever seen one white peacock before & that was at the Auckland Zoo & he was nowhere near as magnificent as this fellow.



A little further on, we came upon a brace of Hares taking the sun in the middle of the road. They took one horrified look at Sherman bearing down on them & headed for the boonies. They didn't go very far though, just hopped about 10 or 15 feet up the bank & froze. I pulled up very gently, fired up the camera & carefully holding it in my lap opened the lens to the maximum zoom & took these two shots. I needn't have bothered being quiet or anything, because even extending my arm out the window & shouting "BANG" at them could induce them to move. These two pics were taken at a distance of about 10 ft. The closest I have ever come to one of these magnificent creatures in the wild. We also saw more pheasants than you could shake a stick at & at one time had a Rosella flying along in front of us.
Talk about waiting for God. We saw this old truck in the middle of nowhere. As you can see, its been there just a little while. I would love to know the story behind it. One would assume that the poor old thing had a major haemorrhage in the middle of the paddock & whoever was driving just got out & walked away, not even bothering to close the door.

This is typical of miles & miles & miles of road along the coast. These stunning pancake like limestone formations. In places that are close to the sea, you can actually see where windblown sand has ripped the softer intermediary layers out.

This is the view from the old boat ramp at the end of the road back across the harbour. Pretty isn't it ?


This is Herself posing between two rather striking rock formations. It was blowing half a gale at the time... Aaah the things she does for love. The view is up the harbour towards the ocean. From there , we headed home & the scenery became a lot more mundane. 320 kilometres later, we very happy to get back to the Flatcattery. We have decided that each time I have holidays, we are going to go at least one place that we haven't been before. This holiday it was supposed to be on the water, but the weather put paid to that, so we did this trip instead. We had fun.

Been there, done that...

This is an autographed programme.......

This is a Martian Fighting Machine............







This is one very contented old Cat..

As you may have guessed, I have just gotten home from the New Zealand premier of the stage show of Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds, courtesy of some birthday subterfuge between Herself & Tish. I thought that I would try to put down some impressions while the show was fresh in my mind, but where do you start ? The show was such a visual & audio feast, that one would just about have to see it twice to take in everything. It was utterly monumental. Jeff is like the Energiser Bunny with his conducting. He doesn't stop. Justin Hayward showed us that he still has the testosterone levels needed to sing his part, & Chris Thompson, though his actual involvement was fairly small, still managed to get tears flowing unashamedly down my cheeks with his from the heart rendition of " Thunderchild." I will admit to getting a touch moist round the lachrymals even when I hear it on vinyl, but that was awesome.

The new artists had big boots to fill. I mean the names David Essex, Phil Lynnott & Julie Covington surely are names to fill any up & coming young artists heart with fear, but The three young Australians, Rachel Beck, ( Nathaniel the Persons wife, Beck,) Michael Falzon,( The Artillery Man,) & Shannon Noll, ( Nathaniel) Did so with impressive ease, Giving their roles the power & the passion needed.

A plug for local muso's here now. We talked afterwards to a couple of the orchestra after the show & they are all local artists. They did us proud they did. Very accomplished. Integrated effortlessly & well with the band "Black Smoke" that came out with the show. Speaking of Black Smoke, I have just been reading the bio's on them in the programme. What an impressive lineup. It even includes the original bass player from the album. A who's who on the band would be worthy of a second, & fairly lengthy post on its own, but I won't.

The only slight negative I found was that I thought that Richard Burton's animated head appearing to one side of the stage a little distracting. I gave up looking at in the end because One tends to miss whats happening elsewhere . And there was a lot. Maybe just the voice over with no visuals would have worked better.

The Fighting Machine ? Even though we were close enough to see the ropes & chains that operated it & to hear the winches working, it was still stunning. Full marks to the build team. Oh & a huge plug to the sound & light boys at the back. What an amazing job, & no hiccups in the system at all. Once again, a top show at a top venue...

Now I can genuinely say, " Been there, done that, read the book , seen the movie, got the teeshirt AND the coffee cup to prove it... See?

I've run out of words.....

Yep, the old fellow verbose as he is has actually run out of superlatives to describe the Steely Dan Heavy Rollers Concert he went to last night.... What an awesome show. Right from the warm up act of World Party, whom I must admit I actually hadn't heard of prior to this show. Dunno why , cos they rock. Excellent set by them that finished almost too soon.

That was the entree, then the main course... What a main course. Fagan & Becker served on a bed of beautifully seasoned musicians with a side sauce of two rather delectable little female backup vocalists, who like the rest of the group were very polished at what they did. They sang pretty well too.

Donald Fagan, who looks as though he wouldn't be out of place singing "You've got to pick a pocket or two" in Oliver is an absolutely dynamic personality on stage. Mostly seated behind his keyboards, but occasionally venturing forth with his trusty Melodica, (Remember those ? ) Walter Becker just stood to one side playing some blinding Guitar solo's, content to let his musical partner of some 40 years take the limelight.

Steely Dan have never played in New Zealand before last night, & I think that those performing were determined to give of their best. As was the audience. We responded by singing their songs back at them & bringing the house down with applause. Thats when we weren't up dancing of course. The tekkie's actually brought the house lights up on several occasions so that the boys could see what a damn good time we were all having. If I never go to another concert again, this one would be a good one to go out on.

We actually bought earplugs, as our seats were 5 rows from the front, but they were unneeded. Even with banks of speakers across the front of the stage, the volume level was comfortable. Loud, sure , but comfortable. Effects wise, it was a no frills, Pam's Budget sort of concert. basically just a few banks of coloured lights & the odd bit of smoke, both used to very good effect. We didn't go there for frills anyway. We went to see one of the best show bands in the world. That we got. The only disappointment for me personally was that they didn't play my alltime favourite. Black Jack.. God I love that song. They , however , are probably sick of it.

This by the way, is my eldest grandson, with his gappy teeth. Damn but that boy is growing up. Its absolutely nothing to do with the concert, but I just wanted to show him off...


Ain't he cute ????

A lovely (Sur)prize..

We went down to Te Puru for the AGM & prize giving for the fishing club today. Richard & Hami came as well... You remember Hami, with his 2.8 kg Kahawai that he caught. Here. Well. he was awarded a trophy for it today.. Here he is with it. We had his Dad bring him along to the meeting. Hami had no idea he was going to get it.. We celebrated by going out fishing, it was such a nice day.. Mind you, we did that yesterday as well.. We had a good weekend.

Do you know the piano's on my foot ?

This afternoon when I got back from Tauranga, I was sent out in the old Ford, the one with half a broom stick stuck in a meat grinder for a gear box with three deliveries requiring a fork lift for delivery. Daniel followed me on the forkhoist as we went round delivering to unload. I have known Daniel since he was a very angry 8 year old, now I work with him... How time flys. Anyway, one of the deliveries was to a new shop in town called "Sun & Moon" The recipient was a very voluble little Asian in a white hat. After I got home, I got changed & herself & me went out for tea to our favourite restaurant, De Luca's. After the usual beautiful meal, we still had enough room for dessert, so I had this..... Chocolate Fettucine with raspberrys & cream.


Now, I'm not saying that I would actually commit murder for this dessert. Grievous bodily harm, certainly, & perjury , yes, & probably a couple of other "Thou shalt nots"as well. Damn, but it was nice. Well, after that we went for a wander & happened to walk past the Sun & Moon, so I regaled herself with the story of the Piano in full 3 part harmony & the 8X10 colour glossy photographs, while we peered through the window at a wonderland of Oriental treasure, the center piece in the window being an exquisitely crafted wooden bath for two.

As we stood & gazed, the said little Oriental came & opened the front door & invited us in for a preview. Gone was the voluble & excited little man that received his daughters piano that afternoon. Instead we were treated to an amazing lesson in history & philosophy & religion by a gentle, earnest Taiwanese Gentleman. The pieces he has on show are exquisite. A lot of them are copied from artifacts on display at the Taipei National Museum. This place, something that I already knew, has an absolutely priceless collection removed from Mainland China in the face of the ravening hordes of Communism. The furniture that he has for sale is the sort of furniture that just invites you to run your hand over it & he is more than happy to let you do so. There is even an area at the back with a comfortable lounge suite where you can sit quietly & wonder what to buy while he makes & serves you tea. Not that we were invited to buy. "You can come in and look, but not for sale till next Thursday."

He has moved down here from Half Moon Bay in Auckland. "Why have half a moon up there when you can have the full one down here?" His name translates to James Sun & Moon, a name implying a bright personality, which he certainly is. I learned a lot tonight about things like the different incarnations of Buddha & the different 'isms in Chinese religion. I learned that he was familiar with the analogy of the blind men & the elephant.. Here if you don't know about it.. We had a wonderful time, interrupted only by our daughter ,who is in the throes of buying a house, ringing Herself on the mobile wanting to know, "Where the bloody hell are you ?" Jeesh, anyone would think we weren't allowed out without a keeper.

Anyway, we had a lovely evening all told, which hopefully will segue (isn't that a neat word) once again here into a great weekend. The haul out winch is repaired on my boat trailer, the scallops & the snapper are in the water waiting & we are ready to rock. Now is time to retire & digest, both physically & spiritually I think. Both body & soul have been well nurtured tonight.. Bless you all....

On a Clear Day....

This is the view from the deck of my truck at a building site I was at today. The little bump that you see on the horizon is Mt Maunganui. At the other end of the vista, you can see Mayor Island. It is absolutely stunning. No wonder someone wants to live there, but what a bastard of a place to take an 8 wheel 11.25 tonne truck. Its 8.5 km off the main road heading towards the Kaimai Ranges from a little township called Aongatete, whose main claim to fame is a massive Kiwi Fruit packing complex. About half the road is a metal surface, & the final track up to the building site is first gear material with about 20cm clearance either side & a sloping paddock to turn round in. Its lucky that my truck has a 4 wheel drive option for the two rear axles. I needed it to get in & out of there.

My Back Pages

As you are probably aware by now, I turned 57 last weekend. Not a particularly significant milestone as far as birthdays go but still. If the Gummint hadn't moved the finish line, I would only be three years away from retirement. As it is , I'm still 8 away... (sigh) I don't actually feel old. I don't feel wise as I thought that I would. I still sort of feel like a little boy lost still . I have always felt the need of an older sibling that I can refer & defer to. Ok, I have my big sister, but she is mentally disadvantaged, and my Mum has totally lost the plot with senile dementia. I don't even go see her as much as I should these days because it fucking well hurts too much.

I don't think my life is a waste or a failure though. In my years, I have seen & done an awful lot of things, & my birthday has occasioned me to ponder on some of them. I think that there are some pretty cool things in there, & some sad ones too & I would like to share a few of them with you.

As a teenager, I played in a band, & later when I discovered folk music I used to play solo at a local coffee club. Music wise, I have been professionally recorded & played on our local radio station. OK, it was only a commercial promoting one end of town, but still... I also recorded the same bit of music for a TV programme about Thames, but it couldn't be included due to copyright problems. I have however been on TV in a different show though. I have also met & talked to Peter Paul & Mary.

I gave sixteen years of my life to the New Zealand Fire Service in various parts of the country. I have run a wheeled escape, (the ladder on the back of this Fire Engine) through the streets of Gisborne & set it up as part of the crew to actually use at a major fire.


I have also used this Godawful piece of kit at an actual fire. If you are sufficiently interested, check it out on Wikipedia here. They were originally designed as a mines rescue set. There are a lot of things I have done while in the Fire Service. Some of the things I have seen aren't particularly pretty & I prefer not to mention them. I'd much rather remember the good times & the practical jokes.. We used to put a lady's purse out front of City Station on a fishing line Friday nights, wait for someone to go pick it up, then yank the cord.. Kept us amused for hours that did.

I went down to help clean up after the earthquake at Edgecombe. That was scary & bloody hard work. I have held too many people while they died in shattered cars, but on the plus side, I have seen both my sons born, & heard their first breath & their first cry. That would have to be one of the most profound experiences of my life.

I have experienced a marriage of 14 years & two sons go down the tubes, & experienced the grief & pain that so many of my generation have. I have experienced the wonderment of finding someone new in my life at a time when I wasn't even looking, & knowing that this person, (herself) was without a doubt the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. This holds true still after some 20 years together. Then there is the bitter sweet learning curve that comes from recycled familys. The person that can come up with a formula for successful step parenting is on a winning streak. Out of it all, I have ended up with two sons that I manage a razors edge sort of a relationship with, a wonderful stepdaughter & two stepsons, & two gloriously wonderful grand children, (So far) that we both just absolutely adore.

I know that I have a lot more life to enjoy, but I still find it a little bit scary when younger ones that I work with defer to me as "older" I don't feel so. My body tells me the other side though. It takes a lot longer in the mornings now for different parts of me to settle into place & accept that we are all vertical & on the move. I'm not too proud to ask for help to do things any more. A sore back for a few days sure strips a body of any pride that you may have.

Anyway, I don't care. I am happy with who & what I am, even if there has been the odd wobbly wheel in the system. I have friends, I have family, I have a roof over my head & good food in my tummy & most of all I have the love of a good woman. Take care out there OK ?

Demanding with menaces

This is Thomas, who condescends to allow Tish & family to live in his house, & barely suffers Nushie's presence. I am currently doing the Tauranga run so am able to slide on in & have lunch with Tish most days. Normally , one doesn't see Thomas at all. Today however, he slid on in the ranchslider while I was there, noticed the fact that I was eating, jumped up on my knee & demanded to share my sandwich. So enthusiastic was he, that he didnt even realise that the first tasty morsel that he gulped down was actually a bit of gherkin...


This is Nushie who follows the principle of , "They also serve who only stand & wait." Or is it that they also GET served... I dunno..... This pic is a touch out of date , cos Nushie now sports a rather fetching red collar..

We're going !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Herself an Tish snuck round behind my back, even had me unwittingly transport the tickets up from Tauranga... Bless they's little cotton socks....

4 rows from the freakin stage we is goin....WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Jeff Wayne will be conducting The 10-piece Black Smoke Band and a 40-piece String Orchestra. Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward returns to reprise his role as The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist. The show also features Guest Artistes Shannon Noll (MTV’s ‘Best Male Artist’ for a third year in a row) playing Parson Nathaniel, Rachael Beck as Beth, Parson Nathaniel’s wife, and We Will Rock You’s Michael Falzon portraying The Artilleryman. Manfred Mann Earth Band’s Chris Thompson will be returning on stage as The Voice of Humanity.

UK fans and media alike were astounded by the groundbreaking technology featured in the 2006 production, but the 2007 show (which will Tour not only Australia and New Zealand but also the UK this year) will be even bigger and better! World First 3D Holography will be unveiled as Richard Burton appears in sight and sound as George Herbert, The Journalist in the form of a 3 metre high 3D photo-real Hologram.

Other impressive ingredients will include a 3 tonne, 10 meter-high Martian Fighting Machine firing Heat Rays at the audience and scanning them with its bug-like eyes and a 30-meter wide screen projecting CGI-animation throughout the entire show. Surround Sound and other special effects will heighten the audience’s experience even more.

Well thats what the blurb said.. Quite an exciting prospect. Its the weekend after the Steely Dan concert which we also going to & right at the start of my holidays.. I think I'll need em to recuperate. Had a lovely weekend I did.. herself & I went fishing on Saturday. Although it cut up a bit rough, we came home with 10 nice snapper. This is herself with the best one. It tipped the scales at just on 5 lbs. Pretty damn good for this early in the season.
Thats the other love in my life behind Herself. My Haines 1550 called Top Dog. I think its going to be just as lucky as our faithful old Cool Change, that served us so faithfully over the years. This is whats happening at Alf's old place out the front. Amazing to think that they can cut a house in half & shift it from one spot to another. The drivers have my admiration. takes a modicum of talent to line something that big up so accurately on its pilings..






Tish & the rugrats came up from Tauranga today to poke the shit at me because I was another year older... Seriously, it was lovely to see them & Tish & Ads between them turned out a wonderful Birthday cake, even if she did stuff the numeral candles up & have them reading 75 instead of 57.. At this point, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt on it. Guys, I really appreciate the effort. Knowing that H had her Ball last night & the effort you put into that, the early start this morning was a big ask & I love you all dearly for it. We had a blast. As usual, Tish brought some extra hardware to shoehorn into my puter box & I now think I have enough computer power to take over some smaller 3rd world countries.. Cant be a lot of room left in there now. Anyway the beast is running super fast an slicker n greased weasel crap now, so thanks a heap. Lovely to see ya all up here.. (Sigh...) back to the real world in the morning I guess..

Curiosity nearly killed the cat.

Today we went to Auckland instead of going fishing. Pretty poor choice I know, but we had a fuel tank to collect from a very nice lady in Howick & herself's brother only lives 10 minutes away from where we had to collect the tank from & he was flying out to San Fransisco this afternoon, (Thats what he does for a living) & we hadn't seen him in ages, soooooo.......

We had a lovely lunch with John & his lovely wife & Johns newly grown up son & wandered off just after 2.00 to let him have a nap before he strapped on his 777 & disappeared into what passes for a sunset today. So we had an afternoon to kill.. I suggested to herself that we go take a look at this, & much to my surprise she agreed.

Well, God knows that I pride myself on being a fairly worldly wise sort of an individual & curiosity has led me to some strange & wonderful places on the net, but this lot.... I think we were probably nearly the oldest there apart from a rather elderly couple at the bondage & discipline stand. He looked tired & she was dishing out strokes with a cat of about 200 tails to anyone that cared to step up & assume the position. (No I didn't) This beast was about the size of your average wet mop head & took this old girl both hands to swing it. But swing it she could. It landing with a "Whommmpppp" that sounded like a wet telephone book hitting a brick wall at about 80 km/h. Anyway, I digress. I thought the male & female genitalia where relatively straight forward to operate, but damn there is a lot of gear out there to stimulate & tittilate. I nudged herself & pointed to one rather large black implement & muttered as sotto voce as the loud raunchy music would allow, "That would be guaranteed to get your undivided attention. She looked it up & down , muttered ,"Yep" & kept on walking.

I can now say that I have seen a blow up doll. If my only chance of a date was a bird that looked like one of those, I think I would take a vow of celibacy. I mean really.. 3 foot tall with a permanently surprised look on a face with permanently pursed lips, no hands & no feet. Mrs Palmer & her five daughters would have to be a better option.

I am very proud of herself. She took it all in her stride. The jelly wrestling, the permanently screening blue movies, the strip shows, the young lasses wandering round in just barely enough to stay decent.. and that was just the visitors.. She even, bless her, nudged me on several occasions to point out particularly interesting ones that she thought I had missed. She wouldn't let me buy her any red velvet corsets, or plastic nurses outfits though.

But what really got me, was that in one corner of all this lewdity, sinfullness, pornography, & general celebration of human sexuality, huddled together, for mutual protection I guess, was a group of stalls advertising clairevoyancy readings, tarot cards & aura photography.. I mean really.. What are they gonna tell you ? I saw you coming..? Which reminds me of a very old & sad joke. Why do Gypsys have crystal balls ? So you can see them coming.. Later Possums

Yuss, well.....

left click on this to see the full pic

Massage my ego Baby

I have been given a plum new run to develop at work. Everybody says I deserve it. I think I do too. For quite a time I have been the "Go everywhere, do anything Mr Fill in man.. " It has been said that Superman wears pyjama's with my name embroidered on them. Anyway, I'm doing this new run in a different town with new clients. They say a change is as good as a rest, & trust me, it is. I'm really enjoying it & also enjoying regular hours & being home evenings with herself.

Anyway, back to the main issue as the actress said to the bishop. The subject of weekend activities arose at this particular depot I was at, & the lady I was talking to said she was going to a 50th birthday party Saturday night. I assumed my best wistful look & said, "Ah yes, I had one of those a few years ago..." To which she charmingly replied, "Bullshit, you're not that old." Protestations to the contrary failed to sway her, so in the end I had to produce my drivers license to prove my advanced age. What it is to have led such a clean & virtuous life... I like that lady.....

I fondled a Ferrari...

Its true.. There they was pretty as a picture, all still in their protective wrappings. Damn they be awesome looking motor cars... Just HAD to have a wee fondle...

Oh, an happy dead day to Elvis Presley. Yup, its 30 years since old Fatso kicked the bucket.. Still earning his family $60 mil in royalties though...

The Bob Dylan Concert

I know you have all been waiting with bated breath for a review from me, the ultimate Dylan fan, well don't be disappointed. Here it is. I have read various reviews & critiques in sources varying from newspaper reviews to message board junkies. The only really bad comments I have read are from those who went along to relive their golden years expecting Dylan to sing exactly as he did in nineteen humptyseven. Anyone who is a real dedicated Dylanophobe would realize that he never sings a song quite the same. They are his songs, he can do what he damn well likes with them OK?

He didn't disappoint on Saturday. From a kickass start with Rainyday Woman #12 & 35 to the final of All Along The Watchtower, The whole evening rocked. His backing band was superb & Dylan was Dylan. Clad in black , he stood splay legged behind his keyboard & gave it all hell. he isnt that terribly good on keyboard & the volume for it was relatively low. Which was more than could be said for the volume on his microphone. That was too loud & distorted his vocals badly at some points, but hey, it was Dylan & we all knew the words anyway. Highway61 revisited, tangled up in Blue, Rollin an a Tumblin, & herself's personal favourite Masters of War. Quite a lot of stuff from Modern Times, But hey, thats a kickass album too. He even had his oscar in pride of place on one of his amps. It was a no frills gig. Just Dylan, a 5 piece band & the sound gear on stage.. Very basic lighting, no flash screens or other distractions. We got what we all went there to see. Our hero. The man who popularised the thoughts & ideals that we all had but couldn't articulate. The man who right from when he left school wanted to be a singer & did it.

We saw Bob Dylan

The Devil made me do it........

I honestly had no intention whatsoever of posting this picture, but this Satanic little voice whispered in my ear saying, "Do it, do it, do it." So, to quote Their Satanic Majesties, "What can a poor boy do ?"

Aleister Crowley excused his utterly abominable behaviour, sexual deviance & generally abhorrent excesses with the catchall phrase "Do what thou wilt to be the whole of the law." Now you know me, live & let live & believe what you like, but surely one can extract sufficient wisdom & guidance from mainstream religion, & yes I include Witchcraft here without having to make fucking pathetic efforts like this? What next ? The Gay Gospel according to St John ???

The last of one of the greats

I found this clip on Youtube strangely enough when I was looking up some old Muppet Show clips,(Don't ask). Its kinda long at 9 minutes, but well worth watching. Its the last performance ever filmed of Johnny Cash . Its done at the Carter Family Ranch, with all his friends & family round him.. Rest in peace Johnny , you gave us so much

The evil that cats do...

As you should be aware of by now, we are servants to two female ginger cats. herself adores them, I tolerate them & Mr Dog lives in abject terror of them. The smaller of the two, Fattums, is a wonderful little hunter, but suffers from a lack of teeth. Thats what ya get I suppose when you don't floss. She does the hunting, but can't do the ritual dismemberment & compulsory feather spread on the lounge carpet, so she catches the birds, sits outside the back door yowling in that special "I've got a gob full of feathers. Grubs up !" To which Tiggs, the other cat, responds, sits reverently until Fattums has finished the ritual torture & execution, then takes the poor pathetic sodden little corpse in through the cat door & proceeds with the final part of the ritual. So determined is she in this that she bought the same bird inside 4 times, twice recovering it from the front garden where I threw it from the front door, carrying it round the house to the back door & giving me that "I dare you to take it off me again asshole," look. So I did & put it in the wheely bin this time.

We have noticed that Fattums has been having more than her fair share of success with little finches recently. Herself found out why today. You see, we give Mr Dog regular bones to eat. Having been told in no uncertain terms that the hall carpet is NOT the preferred place for canines to masticate, he has settled for just outside the back door. Being the time of year that it is, the little finches & waxeyes come down to pick at the marrow & meat shreds left on these bones.

Herself saw an extremely cunning cat at work. What you do, is sit just inside the cat door, which is in the back door, with your nose just poking discreetly through & quietly wait. Sooner or later a poor starving little unsuspecting Finch will come down for a feed.. BAMMMM. Goodbye Mr Finch. Wicked little bitches that they be....

Well, this time next week we will be seated & anxiously awaiting the arrival on stage of The Frames. As you may recall from an earlier post, they are the opening act for Bob Dylan. I have seen on the Herald web site that there is such a demand for tickets to the Auckland show, that there is another concert booked for a Sunday, two weeks later. At the ticket prices, I think once will be sufficient for me. Rest assured that you will get a comprehensive review after the event..

later

Once in a Blue Moon

Some time ago, herself won first prize in a fund raising raffle at the local hospital where she does volunteer work every Friday afternoon providing moral support, tea & sympathy & various other comforts for patients in the Emergency Department, all in all a worthwhile way to spend time. The prize was a nights accommodation plus dinner & breakfast for two at this fine establishment Hotel du Vin. Unfortunately, due to stuffups & misunderstandings, we missed out. Or so we thought. The lady that organised it all asked how we enjoyed, so herself told her the sad story. "Not good," says she & got in touch with her brother, who is one of the head banana's there & suddenly, it was "Yes Cinderella, you can go to the Ball after all." We had our weekend there this weekend. It was lovely..

This picture was taken from the front deck of our cabin on a rainy Sunday morning. The high wire fenced enclosures aren't, as I initially thought, POW yards for recalcitrant petanque players, I have been reliably informed they are tennis courts.

The evening meal was wonderful. The whole megillah. Silver service, formal dress, collar & tie etc. As we didnt have a flunkie for a group shot you will have to put up with individual shots of us. Herself is the pretty one..























Thats us.. the next one is a general shot of the dining room.. Intimidating innit ? The other shot is herself looking relaxed after some very nice food & a few glasses of wine..




















Speaking of before & after shots check these two out. This is a before & after shot of the dessert sampler for two. I warn tou, the after shot isn't pretty






















Like I said, not a pretty sight. Neither is this next one.. This Herself and me nekkid in the spa pool & well, I'll leave the rest to you imagination....


Now you really didn't think that I was gonna show that do ya? And anyway, who the hell would hold the camera ?

Anyway, we stayed on for lunch on Sunday Along with the live jazz band there. A lovely way to spend a weekend it was.. Glad I didnt have to pay for it though because they charge like wounded scrub bulls. What we gnawed our way through on Saturday night would have cost $280.00 alone. The service though was awesome. And it was nice to be served by someone called Hanne or Yogi instead of the usual Sung Mae, or Egg Fu Yuong. Our every need was well catered for. Even 3 choices of water to have with your meal.

Oh yes, & there really WAS a Blue Moon too... When we walked from our cabin to the restaurant on Saturday night, I happened to look up & the moon had this beautiful blue halo around it. We stood & watched it for about 5 minutes, it was that pretty...

This Weekend, I said goodbye to an old friend

She has been sitting on the lawn casting envious glances at the brazen hussy that has taken her place inside. She of the good looks & smooth ways has supplanted the old girl that has served me faithfully the last 10 years or so. Whilst I am totally enamoured of my new love, it was not without a tinge of regret that I left her sitting in the driveway of her new home.

I know her new man will treat her gently & not expect her to extend her abilities the way I have. He wont put her into situations that really are out of her depth, but still parting has its pangs. I have finally found someone that will love my beloved old "Cool Change" as much as I have. Our trusty old 12" parker Craft has been turned over to an older gentleman that I have worked with over the years. I know he will look after her & doesn't intend to go out very far in her.

Meanwhile roll on settled weather so that we can get out in "Top Dog" Its going to be a good summer this year. Still, it IS rather strange to see that empty patch on the lawn out there .......

Well, there's my weekend stuffed

You just don't realise how much damage a simple thing like weather can cause. Admittedly, the damage at our place was of a fairly minor scale compared to some. A few branches down off trees, the cladding stripped from our chimney & the gardens just absolutely devastated. Fortunately, our beautiful Silver Birch tree at the rear of the house & in the most exposed position, survived magnificently, only losing the tip branches which it does usually do in a gradual process over the winter months. Still, its taken me most of my weekend & a Jumbo bin to clean it up. You have to feel for those who felt the wrath of the weather in a somewhat more intense fashion. AND they have more coming up North as well..

WHEN INTEREST BECOMES OBSESSION

I guess I should be flattered really. Over 12 months ago we had a falling out with an acquaintance over something that I had written in my blog. 12 months or so later, this person is still checking my blog site at least once a day. I guess he is hoping that I'm gonna say something mean about him still.. Well, here you are then.. This should keep you visiting for another 12 months.. At the very least, I thank you for keeping my statistics looking healthy..

Well, thats about me. The poor old body is stiff & sore.. Nap time followed by a soak in the spa with herself...

Sometimes words fail me

Honestly, They really do..................................

I think I'm technophobic or summink

You see' I decided to singlehandedly drag myself kicking & screaming into the 21st century & shout myself an mp3 player. I mean how cool is that ? here's old Flattie, the King of Vinyl, (in the form of records, so lift ya dirty minds) movin on up. Its a neat little gizmo. I've managed to put 4 tracks that I have coaxed & wheedled out of frostwire onto it & can play them.. I also thought that I had downloaded my latest Bob Dylan album to it, but that would seem that I havent. Or at least nowhere in that little beast that I can find... I guess that I'll figure it out eventually. At least I havent got a yodelling cat which is summink I guess...

Not sayin it was cold today

But the term Brass monkeys does spring to mind. The first pic is the stone guard on my truck this morning. (I wasnt driving Ok ?) The second is the towing hook on the front bumper. Guess what the white stuff is?

We stopped at the Waihou Tavern today to collect a pallet full of crates of empty beer bottles. While there I had occasion to "Ease Springs" as it were . This sign was above the urinal in the Mens toilets. Its a shame its not in a few other more prominent places as well....

John Kay, you're an asshole...

Some time back, Radio Hauraki announced that John Kay & Steppenwolf would be touring New Zealand. I was mildly interested I must admit, but decided against investing in tickets for a number of reasons. The Auckland concert was going to be mid week & its a hassle organising time off. The main reason I decided not to eventually was that John Kay was the only original Steppenwolf member to be touring, the rest being what ever session Muso's he could round up at the time. I would have been more interested in going to Crosby Stills & Nash, but for some reason decided not to chase that one either. At least they had a legitimate reason to postpone their tour. Crosby was suffering complications induced by his recent kidney transplant. Thats a fair reason. John Kay didnt give a reason for opting out of his tour, at least that we know of. Nobody in NZ has been able to contact him or his management company to find out. Today, the news has come out that he is due to play a big gig in Canada round about the time he was supposed to be here. Dollars obviously speak louder than loyalty to fans.

Kiwi's unite ! Cash your tickets in. This tired egocentric hasbeen is more interested in money than keeping promises to fans.. John Kay, take your magic carpet & give it to the pusher. I'm certain that he will insert it far enough up your geriatric asshole to be really uncomfortable.. Meanwhile, I'm born to be wild..