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.

Waves and Tropical Cyclones

The tropical cyclone out in the Tasman Sea has been causing huge waves on our shore. I mentioned in yesterday's posting that the waves were exceptionally noisy. Well tonight on the way home I went to see. The waves were much smaller than they had been but were pretty spectacular nonetheless. Yesterday they had been over the Marine Parade footpath and cycleway and huges tree trunks had been washed onto them. They had been moved off but were still nearby.

Friends, Roamers and Countrymen

Don't worry. I'll soon get back to blogs on interesting topics such as Maori culture and life in New Zealand. Having friends staying who are roaming around N Z on holiday from Scotland is providing a relief from the routine which has become my life here. The routine is, by the way, a statement of actuality and certainly not a complaint. I have come to accept that even a day in which nothing of apparent interest happens is a day to be valued for its mundanities.

But today has been anything but mundane. I had a match at 1000 with my mentor, Jayne, who took me under her wing on the open day at Merewa Croquet Club when I first discovered the sport. Jayne is one of the most enthusiastic of players whom I both admire and like immensely. The match was to determine which of us would represent the Club at the play-off for the Hawkes Bay Golf Croquet Silver Badge. Unfortunately one of us had to lose. My win had the irritating consequence of reducing my handicap from 6 to 5. Good for the 'image' but bad for the number of strokes I now give to the opponents whom I usually meet.

I played an Association doubles match in the afternoon. Our (Frank and my) opponents included the Club's Handicapper. Frank and I won 17:3. My handicap was immediately reduced from 22 to 16! Bummer.

When the Association match ended Marsha and Callum arrived for a few games. One of the Club's senior players offered to make up a foursome: she partnered Callum and I partnered Marsha. Marsha and I got a drubbing - it looked as if I was played out. Actually the truth is that they were just much better than Marsha and I. Callum is a natural. After Chris left Callum and I had a game. After 6 hoops the score was 3:3. I, with my 5 handicap, was struggling against a player who had had a mallet in his hand twice! Experience and luck however prevailed and I managed to save my dignity and win. Give Callum more experience and the opportunities and he will come back and thrash me; of that I'm certain.

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.

The Top of the Morning Book of Epitaphs

Between 1994 and 1999 Brian Edwards hosted a programme on New Zealand's National Radio called Top of the Morning. During that time he had four competitions in which listeners submitted, respectively, Limericks, Excuses, Short, Short Stories and Epitaphs. Each topic formed the content of a separate book with the royalties from each book going to a charity. In the case of the Book of Epitaphs the royalties went to the Starship Children's Hospital in Auckland.

Here are a few of my favourite epitaphs which were not specific to New Zealand - for many of the epitaphs referred to living people. The main target was, of course, politicians.

Adam Gittins, healthy man.
Ate no fat and loved his bran
Lived on wheatgerm, honey and grain
Went out one day and got hit by a train.

Here lies bungy jumper Clarance Cleg
They tied the rope to his wooden leg.

Here lie the bodies of Vladimir and Estragon
Who died of pneumonia after a long period of
Inactivity and exposure to the elements.
Still Waiting for Godot.

Here lies Beethoven
Decomposing

Here lies Pavarotti,
Nestled, Dormant.

Steptoe & Son
Scrap Iron Dealers
Rust in peace

Here lies
The Invisible Man -
We think

Bill Gates
Unrecoverable Error

Tiddles
Requiescat

Experiencing Mongolia

Tonight we ate out at the Mongolian Barbecue in town. I've always avoided it in the past because it represented a bit of the unknown. Actually it's a very simple concept. You go in. You pay. You collect your bowl 0f meat or tofu. You fill the bowl with sauce ingredients, noodles and vegetables. They cook it on a massive hot plate for a few minutes. You collect your bowl. You get your drink. You eat the food and drink the drink. You get your ice cream. You eat it. You leave. You have experienced Mongolia. Well, perhaps not. But it was fun and excellent quality and value for money.

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.

Waitangi Day

On 6 February 1840 representatives of the British Crown and over 500 Maori Chiefs signed New Zealand's founding document: The Treaty of Waitangi.

Every year on the anniversary of the signing New Zealand marks the signing of the Treaty. The day was first officially commemorated in 1934, and it has been a public holiday since 1974.

For some people Waitangi Day is a holiday; for many, and especially for Maori, it is the occasion for reflecting on the Treaty. Since the 1970s the style and mood of the commemorations on Waitangi Day have been influenced by the increasingly heated debate surrounding the place of the Treaty in modern New Zealand.

Waitangi Day is recognised as New Zealand's national day, but the long-standing tensions associated with it are always likely to surface in one form or another. The date is an important marker in the country's history. Recognition of the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi as the nation's founding document will continue to encourage leaders, communities and individuals to mark the day in new ways.

The Treaty was signed in a marquee erected in the grounds of James Busby's house (now known as the Treaty house) at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Maori rights to their land and gave Maori the rights of British citizens. There are significant differences between the Maori and English language versions of the Treaty, and virtually since 1840 this has led to debate over exactly what was agreed to at Waitangi. Maori have generally seen the Treaty as a sacred pact, while for many years Pakeha (white New Zealanders) ignored it. By the early twentieth century, however, some Pakeha were beginning to see the Treaty as their nation's founding document and a symbol of British humanitarianism. Unlike Maori, few Pakeha saw the Treaty as a valid legal document which needed to be strictly adhered to.

More information can be found on the Ministry of Culture, Wikipedia and N Z History Websites

An early meeting of the Waitangi National Trust Board, held in front of the Treaty House.

Te Tii marae at Waitangi in 1934, when the great hui was held to celebrate the gift of the property where the treaty was signed. The treaty house stands across the bridge among the trees.

Apirana Ngata leading a haka at the 1940 centennial celebrations at Waitangi. The meeting house, Waitangi House, is on the left.

Birds and Bees

We have advert on the TV here at the moment which really appeals to my sense of humour.

An 8 ? year is picked up from school by his Dad and asks where he comes from.

Dad spends the journey home (in his Mazda) telling him about the birds and the bees. To which the youngster responds "That's so cool Dad. Jimmy Johnson just comes from Scotland."

Global Weather Chaos

It's very hard to understand how bizarre the weather is here at the moment. Two nights ago I had the air conditioning on for a short while before I went to bed because it was too warm. Yesterday morning it got up to 31.5 deg on the deck and I was working in shorts alone. This morning on the Croquet Lawn I was wearing long trousers, a body warmer, a fleece and a windproof jacket! Tonight I have the air conditioning on to warm the Cottage. We are supposed to be having a record hot, dry February according to the forecasters. Eh?