Happy Birfday Liz

I'm not sure why you have your birfday now instead of when it is, namely 21st April, but happy Birfday anyway.. I guess its probably so that you & Phil & the kids can have a quiet day together with the kids. Shove on the old track pants & sweat shirts, pile into the limo & beetle off down to Mac Donalds for a couple of deli rolls, a coffee that takes the skin orf ya tongue & tastes like crap & a cheap chokkie cake with a couple of skinny candles in it.

Its not that I want to rain on your parade or anything, but you forgot to mention me in your honours list again. It would be so cool to have somethimg other than MNZFBI after my name. I mean you mentioned Ric Carlyon & Ivor Reid. I remember Ric from city station in Auckland days. One of the most dedicated fire buffs you could imagine. In those days he was an NZBC reporter covering fires etc. I think the first encounter I had with Ric was when I helped to forcibly remove him from a fire scene. He also turned up at a major fire once in his antique Dennis fire appliance & offered his services to Squizz Wilson, the chief at the time. Squizz , in his usual diplomatic but forthright style, told him , "Fuck off." One of the things I remember most about Ric was his willingness to share. After the big Ash Wednesday fires in Australia, he came down to the station with a tape of all the news feed that came in off the satellite & there was a lot. Our training that night consisted of sitting & watching it. We, as general public, really didnt get to know the half of it. Do you realize that it was the equivalent of fighting a fire on a continuous front from Auckland to Christchurch?

Ivor was my SSO at Hamilton when I was there Nice quiet guy who eventually ended up in Masterton as Chief.

Well, thats my Queens Birthday speech. Happy Birthday you old Queen you. We thought we had it rough. All that power & money & you're still working full time at age 80. Tough shit for ya huh ? Still, I spose you could always turn it all over to Chaz & Camilla to run... On second thoughts, maybe the corgis are a better proposition..