Visitors

I keep saying that it's a very small world.  You know why?  Because it is.  

Last year I went to stay with a friend, Viv, at her house in France.  As coincidence would have it another friend, Sally, had phoned to say that she was travelling with her brother-in-law, George, to deliver parts urgently needed by her son's business partner for farm equipment not far from Viv and would like to visit.  And so a couple of interesting days including playing pétanque in Villeneuve was had by all.

As yet another coincidence would have it George and Clair have a daughter who came to live in New Zealand in 1983.  George and Clair come to visit every alternate year for a couple of months.  Their daughter lives about half an hour from me. 

So George and Clair came for lunch yesterday.  A wonderful afternoon.

A Spur of the Moment Visit

Yesterday evening around 8am I had just finished dinner and was contemplating this and that before popping up to The House to catch up on the day and then come down and pack for the 6 day tournament which I'm off to in a couple of hours (from now - lunchtime Friday) in Palmerston North.  As I was pulling my thoughts together Martin rang and said that R and L had just arrived with a bottle of wine for a chat and did I want to come up.  Of course I did.  It's always good to catch up with friends.

The evening was warm and absolutely perfect for wine with friends and the chat ranged far and wide as we sat on the deck: initially in the sun and finally under the stars when the sun retreated to go and play with someone else.  At around half past midnight I arrived back at The Cottage!  Then followed a call from a friend in Scotland and despite my intention of being in bed and asleep within a few minutes of the call ending I eventually switched off the light at 2am!

So I woke this morning with nothing packed and no thought given to my journey this afternoon.  Did I care?  Of course not.  Evenings just don't get much better than that.

All Gone!

Gaz and Carol have gone on their way.  Wellington next stop and then to South Island.  It seemed such a fleeting visit and yet now The Cottage seems empty and strangely lonely.  I've never felt quite like this before.  But, hey, we've done lots, seen lots, eaten lots and drunk some excellent wines.  It's been quality time.   The two halves of my life have been fleetingly joined and now when I talk to Gaz and Carol about this life they know where I'm talking about. 

A Visit from Pauline

"Hiya"

"Hiya to you too.  Are you just boarding?"

"I'm here.  Help.  I'm abandoned!"

Phone call "I'm on my way."

What a way to start a visit.  My diary said that Pauline was due 1125.  Pauline's diary said that she was due 1025.  Pauline works on arrival times to define flights and I work on departure times.  So the 1025 flight for me arrives here an hour later.  For Pauline the 1025 flight actually arrives at 1025.  This afternoon Pauline was due to leave on the 1640 flight.  I had assumed that was the departure time from Napier.  No.  That was the arrival time in Auckland.  Fortunately my male lack of understanding was rectified in good time and Pauline left promptly in good time for her daughter's baby shower tomorrow.

So the last few days has been a time of sightseeing, blog photo opportunities, eating (and the occasional glass of New Zealand and Australian red) and sleeping.

I have now visited several places that I'd not seen before despite all those good intentions over the last number of years.  I'm sure that they will be the subject of blogs over the next few days.  In the meantime here are just a few views from the past few days:
 

 Napier Marine Parade from Bluff Hill

 Te Mata Peak

 Cape Kidnappers, Clifton Beach

The Settlers Museum, Waipawa

and Churches - St Peter's, Waipawa

All Gone

All's now quiet on the Southern Front. The last of my (known) visitors have left. The Cottage is very quiet. It's been a lovely period with such a variety of visitors. Now everyone has gone my life will revert to croquet and petanque and quiet evenings. I have to make the most of the last month with Wendy and Martin and the children because Wendy goes to China the week before I leave and Martin and the children go camping in Gisborne. So I will leave the Cottage without 'family' ceremony.

My first thoughts were to spend tomorrow (Saturday) doing some housework and planning until I remembered that in the morning I have Golf Croquet and in the afternoon I have an Association Croquet match. It's a hard life. I just hope that the weather obliges.

As for the rest of this evening (it's nearly 9pm) I have two lots of washing to be ironed. Guess it's time to watch the rest of The Green Mile which I had to abandon when Mo was here because of a faulty DVD.

In the meantime I'm just a lonesome flower pot man.

Scrumping

You would think that scrumping would stop at mid teens at the latest. Well I have news for my readers. Mo's daughter is past her mid teens. It doesn't stop her being a bad example though.

Easy fence!

See. I'm safe now.

Choosey

Success!

A Day's Guess What

The day started with me waking up. I tried to make that interesting but, frankly, it wasn't interesting at the time and it doesn't sound any more interesting now. But, hey, not everything can be interesting. As I am now about to demonstrate.

I had won our Club's qualifier for the Hawkes Bay Croquet Association Silver Badges Intermediate Golf Croquet and the final was this morning at the Te Mata Club. In fact all the finalists were from our Club and Te Mata. Te Mata took a clean sweep although my match went 5:7 7:5 and then on the last game I was in the perfect position on hoop 12 to win the match when I missed a 6" stop shot and the hoop and then was unable to get to the 13th hoop ahead of my opponent who won 7:6. It was a bummer but a really excellent match.

In Association Croquet all the Silver Badges went to our Club. I have my first one: C Grade. Won before I became a B Grade.

Mo arrives from Canada in two hours so I'd better get on.

All's Quiet at HeeBeeGeeBeEs

When I came home late this morning after being knocked out of the Croquet Club's Handicap Singles, Marsha and Callum had left for Palmerston North and Wellington. The Cottage is quiet and empty. I shall miss them, their company, Marsha's cooking, Scrabble and films.

I can, of course, watch films on my own it's just that I would probably watch different films and fewer of them. My way of watching a film is to sit at my computer and do what I am doing and just pay attention when something interests me or I need to watch to keep up with the plot. I concentrate on the computer when something upsets me or irritates me or bores me. I am the worst person in the world with whom to watch most films - as Steve (an avid film fan and buff) will tell you.

I can, of course, cook for myself and I do. It is easier, though, to cook interesting things for three than for one. One thing is certain: I shall eat less! No more pancakes with ice cream and chocolate sauce all evening! I have a waistline to consider.

I decided after putting two loads of washing on the line to have a lazy afternoon. A wash cycle takes 35 minutes and by the time the second wash was complete the first wash of sheets and shirts etc had dried! The second wash of towels took very little longer. The wind is strong and warm - more efficient (and a lot cheaper!) than a tumble drier.

I finished reading McCall Smith's The Right Attitude to Rain. The key to contentment in the Scottish climate is the right attitude to rain - just as the key to happiness lies in making the best of what you have.

I should take the bike and go and get some exercise but, to be honest, I'd rather stay and read John Mortimore's Titmus Regained (sorry CJ but my reading at the moment is decidedly easy on what passes for my brain) with a gin and tonic in the sun and then, when the news comes on at 6pm, do the mountain of ironing that now awaits me.

And, yes, I do realise just how lucky I am.

Enthusiasm and Talent Win Through

Marsha and Callum have decided to stay on for a few days longer than they originally intended. They are great company and it's lovely having them and it's good being able to repay, in a miniscule part, the hospitality I've had from the Familia Luti. Callum, in particular, is hooked on croquet so we went down to the Club this morning and opened it up for a game or two. Marsha and I took on Callum and lost. Callum took me on and lost 7:1. This obviously spurred him on to greater things and he took me on again and beat me 7:6 - and I wasn't playing badly. This boy has great potential. Now he wants to come to our Club morning tomorrow. He may make the newspapers!

Amazing! Callum, a natural jumper - self taught. Successful too!

Marsha

Game end, congratulations.

Moas and Croquet Players

Friday: The dismal weather of the last four days gave way to a beautiful morning that had the heart singing once more. It is hard to believe when one has had the rain that we have had in Napier that the Waikato where I was playing Croquet in Feilding and Wanganui a week or so ago is having the worst drought for many years. There, cattle are now being culled according to tonight's News.

Marsha and Callum decided that they would like to see what all this croquet was about so they came to the Club this afternoon and had a couple of games. They seem to have enjoyed it thoroughly because they have decided to stay an extra day and play some more tomorrow.

I was a Moa today and mowed the lawns whilst they played. Unfortunately there was a match being played on one of the lawns. I'd have happily gone back later to finish but I'm looking after the children this evening whilst Wendy and Martin are out, so I had to mow through some rather unhappy players.

Marsha cooked spaghetti bolognese for dinner. It's a hard meal to better in my book. If I'm looking for a comfort dish which I know will never disappoint then spag bol is the dish.

Why are children so amenable with someone other than their parents? Catriona went to bed at first asking and, after a couple of stories (I'd forgotton the Peter Pan story although, oddly, not the characters), was fast asleep. Fraser likewise though without the story. David, who is the 'responsible senior child' now that Jamie is a weekly boarder at Napier Boys High was keen to finish a game that he and a friend who is sleeping over were playing on the computer but went without demur after a second request.

Television was rubbish and I hadn't brought up a DVD so I read until after 0100 when Wendy and Martin returned. Why don't I make more time for reading.

As I came out of Wendy and Martin's the night was absolutely still and clear and the millions of stars lit the sky but what struck me was the noise of the sea. We are a good few kilometres from the sea and there is a range of hills between us and the sea but as it pounded the coastline the stentorian reverberations could be heard as if I was standing on the beach. The guys said that when they were returning to the Cottage this evening along the coast the waves had been huge. There is a cyclone out in the Tasman and that must be causing it. Wow.

When I got back to the Cottage the film the guys were watching just ended. I returned a call to Mo's daughter in Oz who was, fortunately still up, to confirm her visit arrangements later in the month.

Bed at 0210 (by this time it was today!). Up at 0710. I have a match to determine who represents the Club in the N Z Silver Badges, an Association match this afternoon and the guys after that. The rest of the spag bol will be waiting for us this evening.

Life's pretty good.

First Visitors

Yesterday, Waitangi Day, the first visitors to HeeBeeGeeBee's (which, in case you have forgotten, is the name of The Cottage) arrived: Marsha and Callum. It is very appropriate that it should be Marsha because for the last 12 or so years I have been privileged to be treated as part of her family by her Mum and Dad, Peter and Sandie in Callander and have stayed with them on countless occasions.

Despite the fact that they were tired because they had driven so far and done so much over the last few days and it was late evening before they actually arrived at The Cottage, we chatted into the wee small hours.

I'm off to represent the Club as Jayne's partner as part of the team playing Te Mata Croquet Club this morning and Marsha and Callum are catching up on some sleep before going off exploring. Although no strangers to New Zealand they have not been to Napier before.