Hx

1) Favourite colour – Red for its dynamics, black to wear

2) Favourite movie – Shawshank Redemption

3) Favourite animal - men



Preference is Sean Bean and then Orlando only as Legolas and the one on the right is Briggsy's



Nothing has to be said in my opinion



Us girls prayed that the towel would drop off

4) Favourite book – To kill a mockingbird

5) Favourite passage from Q4A (if you don't have one, lie)

1. Remember when you were 16 & just had to have the latest drainpipe jeans ?

2. 'So-hiding under my duvet is not effective then?' (Cx defence of earthquakes)

3. I ran a couple of small circles in my bedroom before realising I should put some clothes on. (Fire at Cedar Lodge)

4. The urge to drive my knee into her face was overwhelming. (quest for envelopes)

5. Spoke with Hx today. Instant rapport. Like her. Like the sexy voice too, which she assured me was due to phlegm. (Agh that'll be me being a snotty child)

6. "...but Kylie," I said, "they all have 3 leaves" (I did actually wet myself at this posting)


6) Favourite photo from Q4A (ditto) –

1.
2.


7) Favourite smell – BBQ food, I love burnt food (as long as it's pre-cooked) don't ask why, I really don't know. I love the smell of fresh coffee and that smell after its rained in springtime

8) Most essential quality in a friend – That they let me be me

9) Most desirable quality in a partner – honesty, consideration, zest for life and love

10) Most embarrassing moment – Where do I begin ???



What ears ?

11) Proudest achievement – Being IC of my own ANBCI course

12) Saddest memory – When my Grandfather and my dog Trixie died. Also the day I realised my "rock" wasn't there for me anymore

13) Happiest memory – too many to mention !

14) Heroine – Edith Cavell, we did a project about her when I was at Primary School. She was a British nurse during the First World War in German occupied Holland, rescuing wounded British and French escapes. She was eventually caught by the Germans and tricked into confessing and was put to death by firing squad on the morning of 12th October, 1915. Her statue in St. Martin's Place bears the words, 'Humanity, Fortitude, Devotion, Sacrifice' a fitting tributes to the life she led.



15) Buried or cremated ? Where ? Why ? I think I'd like to be buried to give all those who want the opportunity to, to dance on my grave . . . . actually no, cremated so I'd deprive the buggers from doing so ! I want my epitaph to read "Here lies H, who could put her lipstick on without a mirror"




Wed 7th April 1203
Location : 90 Mile Beach, Top 10 Campsite, BBQ Area, bright, bright sunshine.

454km





Headed off early from Taupo Bay after tea & toast. Starting to get the hang off this camping/moving daily lark. Wish I had my own tea mug rather than borrowing one from other campers, then I would feel even more growed-up.

Drove through the picturesque Coopers & Doubtless Bays headed for Kaitaia via 90 Mile Beach & stopped at the campsite recommended in the brochure loaned to me by Claire.

I was greeted by a lovely old lady who GAVE me a tea mug when I said I wanted to buy one. Facilities here are superb, very clean & aside from a couple of off-road bikers I have the place to myself.

The sun is very hot, tempered by a very gusty wind. My impression is of everything being painfully white & blue. V.nautical.

I am booked in for a hot meal at 6pm & am very much looking forward to it. I couldn't be bothered with the 13km drive to the pub yesterday & dinner was a bag of chocolate Mini-Eggs. Very tasty. Wonder what wine goes with those ?

I am learning to be more discerning with camp-sites now, selecting the ones with restaurants attached which means I can also have a drink.

I am feeling very happy & positive today, after a couple of days in 'no-mans land'. I know myself well enough to know that the 1st few days of anything new are hard for me - after that I feel more myself.

I have never got it when people extol the joys of the open road - but I'm beginning to. Can it really be ? Anal Briggsy starts to shed her compulsive layers & enjoy freedom ? Not quite, but I'm starting.

The tent is up. I have it down to 7 minutes flat (impressed Bill ?) That's including making my bed, ok, rolling out my sleeping bag. I'm off for a look at the beach now & to see how far to Cape Reinga (pronounced Ree-anga) which is said to be worth seeing.



2nd entry, written later the same day.1900
Location:Dining Room, Top 10 Campsite 90 Mile Beach.
558km


I set off for Cape Reinga at 1520 after my walk on the beach & arrived back at 1810.

Even the appalling music tonight cannot dim my enthusiasm for the day I had today. They were playing decent Rn'B when I entered, clocked my age, swapped to The Carpenters & have now settled on some godawful medley of crap 60's songs. Currently, it's 'Love letters in the sand'.

The ham steak I was looking forward to is a piece of deep-fried luncheon meat. My carafe of house red is chilled. Neither of the above have spoiled my glorious day.

I headed for the beach intending to walk for 'a while' to iron out the kinks brought on by sleeping in a bag for a few days. I enjoyed it so much, I ended up walking for 3 hours. The scale of this beach has to be seen to be believed.
It's not actually 90 miles, but 90 kilometres doesn't have the same ring to it. I felt relaxed & invigorated by my walk, the gusty wind making it more, not less, enjoyable.



Makes me laugh to think someone will be reading this, wondering what it means




I don't know what these are. Anyone ? Anyone ?




These got me thinking about a certain spangle.


The last time I spent this long on a beach ? Camber Sands, May 2003.


Where did the year go ?

After 90 Mile Beach, I thought I had ample time to get to Cape Reinga & back. I was wrong. It was only 100 km, but over v.twisty, switchback terrain, the last 21 km being on unmade road. I had a very sedate drive there & arrived at 1640. I got out, gaped at the view, admired the beautiful lighthouse there




& marvelled at the fact that at the place where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea they really are 2 different, unmmixed colours. Only the loud, fat Yank, dressed entirely in green velour bellowing 'Oh My God, it really is one more of those 'Oh My God' views isn't it ?' spoiled my reverie.




I spy ...


I noticed the time & leapt in the car & had one of those memorable, zoned drives. 1 hour of uninterrupted driving concentration. I imagined I was on the Blade & took the most direct route at every bend. I saw 3 other vehicles on the wonderful, sinuous road during the drive. Chris would have loved it. I shudder to think how long I would have kept my licence had I been able to bring the bike over here.

I found Claire's Dido CD in my CD player whilst hunting for something other than '50 Doowop classics' (sorry Bill, but it's just not good driving music) not enough adrenaline.

I found track 12 to be just over 6 minutes of superb driving music, so I set it on repeat & listened to it increasingly more loudly, for the entire hour. There is a hook, 3 minutes & 17 seconds in, when the snare drum bursts in to accompany the violins. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was the perfect mood enhancer.

I sent a tx today, it read 'Fantastic day, best yet, high on life, beauty & speed. Could depart this life now & be utterly content' I have kept it amongst the Outmessages on my phone to remind me.

It wasn't any one thing today but a combination of the beach, the weather, the lighthouse, Cape Reinga & the drive back.

What struck me about today though was that my other 'good days' have featured other people. The fact that I spent today totally alone enhanced my experiences rather than detracting from them.

They have now turned off the awful music in the restaurant. If only the Japanese woman opposite would close her mouth as she chews her fish, I really will have found nirvana.

My memories ran riot today & I thought a lot about Gaynor, a good friend of mine who died in November 2002.
I cried at how I couldn't say goodbye & laughed at how outrageous she was.

Gaynor was the house-keeper for a Baroness who lived nearby, when Stuart & I lived at Leith Hill. Never knowingly underdressed, Gaynor had a passion for all animals & high heels. She would totter out to feed her geese, dressed in revealing clothing & perilous footwear.

She was dressed like this when Stuart & I first met her. She, of course, knew all about us, in advance of our arrival, as is often the way in small villages.

'Coooeee,' she shouted as she spied us walking Barley, new to the area & out exploring the woods near the Coach-House.

'...are you the flea people ...?'

I, in my usual way, took umbrage & wondered who this loud, tarty-looking, 50-something woman was. As we got closer, it became apparent she was asking if we were the 'police people ?'.

She confessed later, she had expected 2 gay blokes, upon hearing that a 'police couple' were to move into her area.

She introduced herself & it was the beginning of one of the most rewarding friendships I have enjoyed. I would like to say it was a long friendship but she died after too short a time. I wish I had met her sooner.

Gaynor was loud, animated, opinionated & possibly one of the kindest people I have encountered. Her greeting was always the same, a huge hug & a filthy, suggestive laugh if you were a bloke. A huge hug & a kiss if you were a woman.

Some of my funniest memories of Gaynor are when she was helping people.

Gaynor subscribed to a local idea, in which people were asked to do some shopping & chores for the elderly housebound residents in the area.

Her very first victim was an elderly, irrascible major who lived at the top of a very steep crescent-shaped driveway. Upon arriving, Gaynor's motoring nerve deserted her. The drive was approximately a 1-in-3 ascent & Gaynor stood at the bottom, wondering what to do. The major espied her & called out to her, asking who she was & what was taking her so long ? She replied, introducing herself as his salvation & told him that she didn't fancy driving her car up the hill, in case she rolled down again.

'For goodness sake woman, stop dithering & drive up here immediately' he barked at her.

Gaynor, who was never shy about voicing her opinions, asked him who he thought he was speaking to & told him he could 'F*** off !' Tossing her blonde hair imperiously, she got back in her car & drove off, leaving the indignant man, stranded & foodless.

I can still remember our mirth when she recounted the story, it was her 1st & last example of helping 'the elderly' with their shopping.

On another occasion, we had rashly offered to help the Baroness move some things from her flat in Chelsea to her house at Leith Hill. It was only upon arriving in Chelsea that Gaynor confessed to me that she didn't have an address for the flat but would 'know it when she saw it'

It was impossible to be angry with Gaynor, even on this occasion as we drove aimlessly around Chelsea. I don't think she had any idea how large Chelsea was. Every time we looked at one another, we would burst into giggles. Finally, in desperation, we rang the Baroness & asked her for the address she was at & to explain where it was. Unfortunately, she could only explain where it was, in relation to the House of Commons which didn't help hugely.

We eventually arrived at the place, more by luck than judgment. We were slowly driving past it for about the 4th time, when Gaynor shouted excitedly that she recognised it, this time.

We were some 2 hours overdue & weak with laughter when we finally presented ourselves at the very smart, concierge attended, intercom system & buzzed the Baroness to announce our arrival.

'About time, stop giggling & come up' came the haughty reply.

We couldn't even look at each other as we loaded the weirdest assortment of belongings ever, into the tiny white Daihatsu Charade. 10 year old pots of decaying honey, umbrellas with bone handles, decimated suitcases with the buckles hanging off & years & years of yellowing copies of the Times newspaper.

I had given up one of my much looked forward to rest days to move this motley assortment of stuff across London & into Surrey & yet, I don't begrudge a minute of it now, as it was one of the best days I had with Gaynor.

The final insult came as I negotiated my way slowly & carefully down the heavily pot-holed driveway to the house in Leith Hill.

'Thank you Carol', said the Baroness in clipped, precise tones, 'you really are a much better driver than Gay-nor' which was how she pronounced Gaynor's name.

The snuffly explosion from the rear seat caused my eyes to meet Gaynor's in the rear view mirror. We only managed to contain our laughter long enough to escort the Baroness into the house.

Driving was not Gaynor's forte & I recall once how she sat, immobile with terror as we drove down the M25 in torrential rain after a shopping expedition to BlueWater. I had taken her there after she confessed that she would no longer attempt to drive on motorways after a journey to see her terminally ill friend in hospital in Guildford.

On this day, she set out from Leith Hill to do the 35 minute drive to the hospital in Guildford. After missing her turn on the A3, she somehow, ended up, hours later, in Portsmouth. She arrived at the hospital, tearful & apologetic & explained her error to staff who had told her visiting hours were over.

It is to their credit that they allowed her to see her friend after the ordeal, after laughing heartily at her mistake.

My most enduring image of Gaynor though, is the evening that we went to the local, very dressed-down, country pub to see an Irish band called The Falloons. Gaynor had a passion for music & dancing & had said we would all enjoy this band. She suggested all four of us go, her with Stan & Stuart with myself. The band were terrific & I bought their CD, which I used to listen to whilst doing the washing up at Leith Hill. What really stole the show that evening was Gaynor's appearance.

She wore a coral lycra top with a keyhole revealing a deep, quivering cleavage. Her pencil skirt was grey lycra, slashed to reveal ample thigh. Her clothes didn't so much cover her Rubenesque proportions, as do battle with the curves which always seemed to threaten to burst free from their restraints. The most amazing aspect of her dress however was her purple suede, peeptoe 'f***-me' shoes. These shoes were a triumph of style over physics. The heels were easily 4" & they were held on by a very sexy, hugely leg-flattering ankle strap. I really coveted those shoes. She told me jokingly, she would leave them to me that night. Her look was completed, as always, whether at rest or play, by an immaculately coiffed platinum blonde hair-do & lashings of mascara. When it came to eye make-up, Gaynor didn't believe that less was more.

It was fair to say her entrance brought the brought the pub to a stand-still.

I will be honest & say that Gaynor's appearance embarrassed me that night. I worried (I worry too much) about what people would think of her, what they would think of me & whether they would judge us to be 'easy ladies' by her appearance only.

As the night wore on however, I saw Gaynor for what she really was. A lively, vibrant women who drew people, men & women alike to her company. She played darts, very badly, laughing loudly, every time she missed the board. She flirted outrageously with the waiter & jigged irresistibly in her seat during the whole performance by the band. Had there been a dance-floor, I don't doubt she would have monopolised it.

I realised in that evening & more so subsequently, that Gaynor's appearance mattered not a jot. People liked her & were charmed by her. I loved her a great deal & miss her very much.

When she knew she was dying, she decided not to tell me. I still don't know whether this was to protect me or to save a goodbye. I suspect it was the former. Stuart had to break the news to me over the telephone whilst I was with Cocky, we had been riding at the yard. I remember having to leave the yard very quickly, unable to believe the news. I found out later from Stan, her husband, that she had 6 weeks to prepare her funeral & that she selected the songs herself.

She chose 'Morning has broken' which I thought especially apt, with its mention of blackbirds, as she fed all species of bird daily, spending even more than I do on bird-feeding treats.

Ever the rebel though, she was carried out to The Mavericks 'Dance The Night Away'. If you can't remember it, take a look at these lyrics,


Here comes my happiness again
Right back to where it should have been
'Cause now she's gone and I am free
And she can't do a thing to me

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

And if you should see her
Please let her know that I'm well
As you can tell
And if she should tell you
That she wants me back
Tell her no
I gotta go

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

And if you should see her
Please let her know that I'm well
As you can tell

And if she should tell you
That she wants me back
Tell her no
I gotta go

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

It's a very happy, upbeat song & there were a few glances exchanged at how inappropriate it seemed at that moment. With hindsight though, it was an inspired choice.

It reflected perfectly this fantastic, gutsy, foul-mouthed lady who showed such zest for life. I miss you Gay-nor.

ps. I never did have the nerve to ask Stan for those shoes.

Cx

Name: The Naughty Milkmaid / Darsha aka Bx



Bx & The Girl's

1. Favourite colour: Purple and blue

2. Favourite movie: I can't narrow it down to just one movie, but you know I'm going to say an Adam Sandler movie, The Waterboy. Also Remember the Titans, Lion King, Braindead, Bad Boys II, Sixth sense & Titanic.

3. Favourite animal: My cat Darsha, and my pet cows Bella, Phoebe, Pixie, Weezer and 62 (not decided on the name for her yet, but Pain in the arse, Ow don't do that, stop it! come to mind)

4. Favourite book: Hmm books are a little harder. I'd have to say Red Dragon / Silence of the Lambs because they are way scarier than the movies, The Power of One & Tandia both by Bryce Courtney and the Collins pocket Thesaurus because it helps me sound smarter than I really am.

5. Favourite passage from Q4A (if you don't have one, lie): Well to be honest I have yet to read anything earlier than New Year (I will get around to it promise!) but without a doubt the speaking Kiwi lessons, especially the yeahno one.

6. Favourite photo from Q4A (ditto): the one Stan picked, the trees in the mist.



7. Favourite smell: What? You're weird Briggsy. Well its definitely not cow poopies. I guess nice baking foodie type smells are always good, not that I hardly ever bake, but also girlie fruity bath products are always good, and freshly washed boy. Not stinky stink boy.

8. Most essential quality in a friend: Loyalty without a doubt.

9. Most desirable quality in a partner: RESPECT. Someone taller than me would be nice, also a nice smile, funny, someone who'll let me be independent, etc etc I could go on forever.

10. Most embarrassing moment. Hmmm I tend to shut them out but walking off with a policeman instead of my dad when I was 6 rates up there. They had the same shoes on alright!

11. Proudest achievement, conquering my fear of public speaking by making a complete arse of myself. And my I-really-shouldn't-be-proud-of-it-but-I-am-in-an-embarrassing-way moment, drinking 24 bottles of beer in one night when I was *cough* attending university. This still stands as a hostel female record. Yes I know it was stupid but damn it was fun at the time, certainly not during the next 2 days.

12. Saddest memory: holding my grandfathers hand when he died.

13. Happiest memory: um winning the All Breeds class at a cow show with MY cow for the third year in a row.



Darsha's Cow

14. Hero - my parents. Now I'm an adult (well at least people tell me I am) I realise what a great job they did raising me. All that time they spent making sure I had good manners, was polite, cared about others and knew what respect was, wasn't wasted on me. I see others who lack these qualities and appreciate them even more.

15. Buried, cremated? Cremated because there is not enough space in this world for everyone to be buried, and I'd hate to be a waste of space. I don't know where my final resting place will be, I haven't found a place I am truly in love with yet. Many have come close but are not quite right.




Tuesday 6th April 1655
Location : Taupo Bay Campsite. Propped against wheel of car, eating sweeties.
390km

Arrived Taupo Bay, en route Kaitaia. Just returned from the nearest place to eat, which is Monganui, some 13km away. I have been listening to The War of the Worlds on CD (thanks Bill) which is fantastic. I had forgotten how scary the noises were. If you have it, dig it out. The Martians 'Ulla' when they destroy something, scares me as much now ,as it did when I first heard this, all those years ago.

This campsite is more remote than the one in Paihia, aside from the mower, all I can hear is birdsong.



This morning I had a leisurely pack up in Paihia, attempted to sunbathe on the beach (bit cold & blowy). Have booked the 24 hour cruise on board 'The Rock' boat for Bloo & I. At $128 with an $11 surcharge for a private room, it seems a bargain.

We met up in the bar of the Scenic Circle last night, then went for a meal. We were both tired & a bit off-form last night & apologised to each other today for being stuck records. Bloo is now doing a dive course for the next few days, so we plan to meet up again on Friday to do the cruise.

I think the enforced activity will do us both good.

I have been reading 'A time to die' the story of the Kursk, which Eric kindly loaned me for my trip. It has been a riveting read. I urge you to read it, even if this kind of book isn't normally your thing. It answers a lot of questions I remember asking at the time. It is written by a journalist who undertook 2 years of research prior to writing. I don't know how accurate it is, all I can say is that it steers clear of emotive language & tells the story with the minimum of fuss in a clear, concise way.

I took some gorgeous shots of Taupo Bay today. Words like 'magnificent' are starting to lose their meaning. I am trying to cram these memories away to sustain me when I return.



Taupo Bay. 'Stop shoving everyone ...'



Leave only footprints

Think I will head off tomorrow though, still bound for Kaitaia which appears to be a sizable town, lovely as it is here, there is not a great deal to do.

Cx

First one in from MTM - aka Milk Tray Tray



This is how he looks ........ honest

This is completely unedited

Favourite colour: Black


Favourite movie: Very, very difficult. And I can't bring it down to one. If I'm really pushed I would have to say the Star Wars saga. All of them. And yes, I am very excited about Episode III.



MTM - knew his calling @ an early age

Favourite animal: Yoda the dog. We adopted her in Bosnia. She had little pointy ears - hence Yoda. I'd never thought before that war could be pretty upsetting for animals - but she definitely suffered from shellshock. For a long time, food was scarce, so one of the first things that stopped happening was feeding pets and non-eatable animals. Although the definition of non-eatable was pretty flexible after a while. Anyway, Yoda turned up at our house one day, crying and whimpering. My Dutch colleague, who had a kinder soul than me, brought out some American MREs, (Meals Ready to Eat - also known as Meals Rejected by Ethiopians - they are foul). Yoda loved them. Although, she wouldn't go near John or any of us for some time. John would put the food out, and she would come and eat after we'd left. (I think she'd been kicked off a few doorsteps during her time as a homeless lowlife). After a while, we built her a kennel at the side of the house and filled it with blankets and toys, (I cannot describe how cold Balkan winters can be). As aminals do, she grew to trust us, and after we got her to play, she was even bold enough to come inside the house. She would sit and watch videos with us in the evening. I actually became very attached to her, and I'm not really an aminal lover - quite like dogs and cats but could never get excited about fish or gerbils or rabbits if you know what I mean.

Every morning, about four or five of us would get in the cars and bugger off for the day. Yoda would run along the road after us, barking and jumping and generally being enthusiastic. (There were always two guys left behind in the house to guard it. They looked after her during the day). When we returned in the evening, or sometimes much later to be honest, she was always there, jumping up at us and making happy noises. I don't know, because I know sod all about aminals, but on the days when we thought things might be a bit hairy, I think she sensed it in the morning when we drove off, and there was a difference in her greeting when we returned, much more staring and pawing than jumping. Dunno though, could be imagining things.

I was normally up very late because my team was multinational, and I had to translate their reports every night from Portuguese-English, Dutch-English, Flemish-English and American-English etc, into MTM-English. Yoda just sat their quietly, (admiring my gifted genius naturally), and I found that tickling her between the ears was a real tension buster at two in the morning as I tried to figure out what some of the guys were trying to write. This one I will never forget from Carlos, the Portuguese guy. Lovely bloke, and clearly had better English than my Portuguese, but he had a small failing. Every night I would read his reports and become exasperated:

"Carlos, you know when the words have little squiggly red lines underneath them?"

"Yeth."

"That's because they're spelt wrong."

"Oh."

"Do you know what spellchecker is?"

"Not yet..." Cue big grin from Carlos and the knowledge that he's coming back up to the Ops Room for an IT lesson from Uncle MTM.

The very next night I sat down and read Carlos' report. It was worse than anything which had ever gone before. It had also reached insane o'clock in the morning and I didn't want to wake him. Bloke had had a hard day and had done well. I was baffled by what had happened. There was one sentence in particular which had me clueless: "Mr X was filleted by the Radical Party." Of all the political parties in Bosnia at the time, the Radical Party was the only one which had an honest name. (The Progressive Democratic Party for example was more likely to shoot your children than further democracy). So I thought about it for a while. Had the Radicals really killed Mr X, and taken his bones out? It seemed a bit extreme - even for them.

Then I realised what had happened.

Just about every word which Carlos typed was spelt wrong. He had employed spellchecker and accepted the first suggestion thrown out by Word every single time. Then he had accepted all the grammar changes which were recommended as well. Hence the nightmare. I put an 'x' in front of all the words where the sentence had become meaningless and did another spell-check, in the hope that it would show me all the alternatives which Carlos could have picked from first time round.

Eureka!

Mr X had not been filleted by the Radical Party. (Yay!). Mr X was affiliated to the Radical Party.

I'm assuming that Mr X was as relieved by this as I was.

Anyway, I digress. Yoda became an outstanding guard-dog. Our house was really in the middle of nowhere, and if anyone strange came near she would bark like a mad thing. One day my boss, who was French, came to visit. I was upstairs when he arrived but heard a lot of commotion. When he finally arrived Herve was not a happy camper:

"Ey, Ey. Yur durg!"

"Yes sir?"

"Yur durg it az bit me."

"I'm sorry sir I don't quite follow."

"Yur steenking durg it az bit me on ze hass!"

He then turned round and showed me the rip in the seat of his trousers. Yoda got extra MREs that night.

Favourite book: Can't do that either really. But for a series I can read again and again I would have to say the books of David Eddings. They're sort of sword and sorcery type epics that go on forever and ever. They're also absolutely hilarious and very human.

(I note that two of these answers could look bad. I don't actually sit at home in a stormtrooper outfit playing dungeons and dragons games with a 12 sided luck-dice. "Hey look guys, I'm a seventh level magic user!" I am actually a very balanced individual. Ahem).


Favourite passage from Q4A (if you don't have one, lie): You don't make it easy do you? I only came to it late and am still working my way through from the beginning, so it's not fair to answer properly yet. Of the bits I have read - umm, probably when you first got out there. But I'm probably saying that because it's the bit I'm on at the moment. (Stop Press. Actually not any more - I'm up to July - could be the description of the kids).

Onto the kids, Genevieve is the youngest at 7 & is very sweet & has latched onto me already.
Lizzie is 11, she is a very good kid & stunningly pretty, although I am not allowed to tell her as too many people already have.
Think Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet.
Innes, a boy, is 13, he has a shock of untamable red hair & looks like neither parent. He thinks a lot & says some very funny things.
Zoe is 13, going on 33. She is extremely opinionated. She said to me this morning 'If they ever find Saddam Hussain they should drill a hole in his head to release the demons'

For recent bits - could be the lessons in Kiwi.

Favourite photo from Q4A (ditto): Again, haven't seen 'em all, but neddies in the mist was ace, and I have to say that the 'Briggsy in Two Bottle Shocker' is an image I will find hard to forget.



Neddies in the mist

Favourite smell: For God's sake. I need a month to figure this all out. Girls' hair after they've washed it. For some reason girl shampoo always smells really nice, and boy shampoo doesn't really smell of anything. The sea. Chip shop chips with lots of vinegar. Dawn and dusk in the woods. The Dining Hall at DYRMS. I went back there for the first time in about ten years last Old Boys. Everyone knows that smells are very evocative. This was absolutely amazing. It still smells exactly the same as when I first walked into it in 1984. It wasn't just a reminder. It was the same. Mind-blowing.

Most essential quality in a friend: Loyalty.

Most desirable quality in a partner: Aaarggghh. Can't be narrowed down to one - needs to be a combination of the following: loyalty, honesty, intelligence, humour, patience, cuddly and about a thousand other things I've forgotten.

Most embarrassing moment: No way.

Proudest achievement: Hasn't happened yet. : )

Saddest memory: Funerals. And messing things up with a girlfriend. Unbelievable idiocy on my part. Not cheating or anything like that. Just not paying attention and kind of just drifting away. I'm ashamed of myself every time I think of it. Particularly because I did it twice to the same girl. I hurt her enormously and I will never forgive myself for it.

Happiest memory: Again, sorry, can't answer this one. There is no happiest. There are several very happies though.

Hero: Don't have one.

Buried or cremated ? Where ? Why ? Neither. Not applicable. Because I'm going to live forever...

Paihia Dive, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Brief news flash for bloo and briggsy

I have just called the guy's in the dive shop
and they are expecting you

They said they would love to look after you and pop out for beers

Thats Ty - Ray , Junya & Wabbit

Monday 5th April 0947
Location : Picnic area, campsite, Scenic Circle Hotel, Paihia
251km


Arrived in Paihia c.1400 yesterday. Did the shops, ate chips, found this campsite @ $14 per night. set up tent, VERY proud of myself, tried out bed & sleeping bag, not bad.

After a reviving hot shower in the spotless shower block, I made my way to the hotel bar, ordered an Export Gold & felt tremendously growed-up reading the Sundays cover to cover.

I went to bed at 2130, slightly squiffy after not bothering with dinner.
Slept well, inside 2 sleeping bags, traffic started early. Awoken @ 0530 by a duck trying to gain entry to the tent.

Ate breakfast in the hotel dining room. Was asked the most stupid question ever. $13, cooked or continental ? (same price).

Spoke with Stan at length twice. His 2nd call finished with him saying he had spoken to Mummeh. At the end of their call she told him to 'Sod off', he replied in kind. 'Kisses - all 4 cheeks'.

Bloo arrives in Paihia later today, a day behind my journey.

Cx

My funniest memory of today was Adidas-woman at the bar this evening.
She wore an Adidas shell-suit, accessorised with silver nail-polish, silver shoes (eat your heart out Cocky), silver bracelets & long, sparkly diamante earrings.

Middle aged women, please note ; Either tracksuits or jewellery. Never both.

I love Paihia, extremely lovely, despite being grey.

Sunday 4th April 0951am
Location : Car Park, Pak n' Save, Albany

Up at 0800, shower & tea.
Grey, uninspiring day, feel low, odd, apart, uninspired.

Original plan was to go to the Coromandel, then The Bay of Islands.

Having examined the map, it makes more sense to start off with The Bay of Islands & see the Coromandel on my way back down the country.

Tx from Bloo asking about my plans. Haven't replied yet, not sure if I'm up to company.

Don't like myself much today.

Cx

Well I suppose I better start it off

I am Stan the man , editor behind the scenes that convinced Briggsy to do the Blog ! in the First place.



1) Favourite colour - Magenta

2) Favourite movie - Hardware , Sigmata , Finding Nemo

3) Favourite animal - My Brother or Freckles @ Cedar Lodge

4) Favourite book - 1984

5) Favourite passage from Q4A (if you don't have one, lie)

Considering they are all volunteers & had to come from 10 kms away, the Fire Brigade arrived remarkably quickly last night.

6) Favourite photo from Q4A (ditto)

Toughie for all differant reason's

Either



or



'Pass the nuts Michelle'



7) Favourite smell - Vanilla and Frangipani and Freesia's - Sorry about spelling

8) Most essential quality in a friend - Loyalty

9) Most desirable quality in a partner - Having a Black passport , no seriously. tolerance for my failings

10) Most embarrassing moment -

Hmm where do I start , I have so many , my mosts consistent one and it happens often , is whn I walk up behind someone whom I think I know and think I recognise them , tap 'em on the shoulder , abuse 'em and when they turn around , I am horrified to realise , they are not any one , I know at all.

I normally respond with such lines as , ' It was that person other there and point to some poor unsuspecting bastard walking away from me.

I suppose being locked out of my flat in my boxers at 0400 hrs in the morning , drunk , on a winters day , and being unable to raise my lodger , and then waking my upstairs neighbour , a conservative middle aged lady , to seek a sofa for the night.

Not once but twice.

11) Proudest achievement

Seeing Briggsy embrace the net and write for year , about NZ , even through the dark day's. She's a tough boss , and being involved in the whole project ( I expect a mention in despatches when this get's bloody published )

Kicking Drug's

Recovering from my ' Glitch ' in 96 and getting back on the bike and riding.

Standing up and being counted and refusing to be a rape ' victim ' for the rest of my life.

12) Saddest memory - Losing my dear dear flat mate & Couch Roadie Phil S. from cancer at such an early age.

13) Happiest memory - Seeing Briggsy get NZ after all the boring stories that I told her about. Paihia

14) Hero - Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley ( Kiss ) , Gary Numan , Ty Ray White & Jun Ya Kato ( For saving my life ) , Eric St.J Tanner QGM , RNLI B.M , Mummie











15) Buried or cremated ? Where ? Why ? - Cremated ( Far more sensible , I want no one to visit me and grieve for me in a fixed spot , I am a proud traveller and refuse to consider any where home. ( It's also cheaper )

Hector NZ in the surf , I want to breathe my last breath here ever , If I cannot do that there I want my to be scattered in the surf there.




.

Work was unremarkable.

Even the sun forgot to come out today.

NZ weather is typified by doing 'something'. There is always weather. (bing bong, Stan)
If it's not raining, it's sunny. Or windy.

Today was a grey, still day, like him upstairs forgot to flick the switch.

I wasn't spared from a b******ing, even on my last day. Bad Briggsy, in your bed !

I hung around Murray, at hometime, watching him fencing, in the way you do, when you don't want to say goodbye.

In a gesture which really surprised me, he has asked me to feed out the stock with him tomorrow morning.

We are rving at the tractor at 0800 hours. The fact that it's a day off tomorrow is neither here nor there,
I recognise the gesture for what it is & wouldn't dream of saying no.

I have developed a few really good pics for Murray & am framing them to present to him.

Another hard goodbye.



I head off tomorrow to go North & follow my nose. I anticipate being away until about the 18th or so.

I plan to drive little, walk lots & relax. It will be my decompression chamber prior to heading home
& growed-up life.

I hope you will all understand when I say I will be uncontactable during this time. I don't intend logging on
& my phone will remain turned off. For safety reasons I will let Stan know where I am each day.

It's just me & NZ with no outside distractions.



So ... I was thinking today whilst in brain turn-off mode mucking out my 6th stable.
I have written almost every day for over a year now, so I would like to ask you lot to
do a little writing for me.

The idea is that when I do log back in to Q4A, I will have something to read after my break.
We get to know each other a little better & laugh at each other's darkest secrets. Joke.

Please would you take the time to answer a few questions for me ? The invitation is extended to
everyone who reads this whether you have introduced yourself via comments or not.
That includes Brian, Tim, JR and any one else at all. If everyone takes the time, there should
be at least an entry for every day I am away.

Instructions

Complete the following questions, then e-mail them to the Ed
He will then use one reply as one day's entry, so we all get our 15 minutes of fame.
If you are able to send a foty too, so much the better.

If you don't do this (I'm pleading, not threatening), Q4A will be empty for over 2 weeks.
I will also feel used & abused.

After very little thought, the questions I have come up with to get to know you all better are as follows ...


1) Favourite colour
2) Favourite movie
3) Favourite animal
4) Favourite book
5) Favourite passage from Q4A (if you don't have one, lie)
6) Favourite photo from Q4A (ditto)
7) Favourite smell
8) Most essential quality in a friend
9) Most desirable quality in a partner
10) Most embarrassing moment
11) Proudest achievement
12) Saddest memory
13) Happiest memory
14) Hero
15) Buried or cremated ? Where ? Why ?


If you don't want to answer any of them, no drama, don't.
I don't mean no.s 1-7 by the way, they're obligatory.
Replies can be as long or as short as you like.
I've hogged this Blog all year, it's your shout now.

Over to you.

See you in just over 2 weeks,

take care,

Cx

Slightly calmer today.

Kirsty is cooking tonight, accompanied by Bob Marley. She rates him very highly, uttering the immortal line
'Dusty f***ing Springfield !' in disbelief when the afore-mentioned beat Bob into 2nd spot on 'Stars In Their Eyes'.

Claire has gone out with her folks, so we two are going to watch 'A Beautiful Mind' which I hear is very good.
I thought 'Gladiator' was one of the best films I have ever seen, so will be interested to see how Crowe tackles
a thinking movie.

Last night it was 'Meet Joe Black' which I really enjoyed. Brad Pitt was mesmerising, even if the hair was a shade too blonde.

The film made me cry, although I didn't need much excuse yesterday. Pretty much everything I saw set me off.
I blame it on the gurana drink I had in the afternoon when I was feeling tired. It left me feeling buzzy & paranoid.
Oh yes, and tearful.

I was going to tell you about the whats/wheres & whens of being upset, but in truth, it's nothing we haven't
discussed before. It's just that I told myself I had come to terms with leaving & it's clear I haven't.

I went awol for a little quiet, thinking time after work yesterday. I hadn't been gone very long when I received messages from Claire & Trina asking where I was & if I was ok. I told them I had just been food shopping (which was true) I would have felt silly telling them the real reason I had gone.

Enough rambling for now, I will let the pics do the talking now.

The first ones are from our night out on Saturday.

They prove that drinking is neither big nor clever.

However, it does make for some very amusing photos.



'He doesn't look at all attractive, quick, drink these'



'That's better, he looks gorgeous through these'



'I'm not pissed darling'


These are from Sunday, when I met Bloo,



Point to the neddies ear, Briggsy



Caption competition for the Bloo one perhaps ?

And finally, I know these will cause much hilarity & need little explanation.



It's that cat with the feet again

Tomorrow is my last day at Trelawney.

Cx

I was going to wallow in self pity after a bit of a weepy day.

Mum's news jolted me out of it.

STRE & MTM, I may be calling on your joint contacts to deal with the grey-suited jerk of a nobody
who paper sifted the claim.

Too angry to type any more.

Trousers bursting, gut straining, that's right, dinner at The Tanners tonight.

This will be a quick posting as it's past 10, I'm knackered & I still face the drive home. Eric, this cd burner is too close to the keyboard, please reposition it immediately. Add it to your list of jobs please.

Met up with Bloo on Sunday night, it's fair to say we got on. Clamping your hand over the other's mouth became the recognised signal for 'stop, I need to urinate'. We talked solidly for 5 & a half hours.

It turned out we had many similar views & shared experiences.

It's true, we are both left handed, Saggitarian, Jehovah's Witnesses.

Who could have known ?

Despite my best efforts to go somewhere other than The Albert, we ended up there. I enjoyed my meal very much but I don't think Bloo was happy with his. He threw his chair roughly to the floor, not once, but twice to indicate his displeasure. We then played pool til they kicked us out & headed off on a picturesque moonlit tour of Cambridge whilst Bloo tried to remember where the hell his motel was.

We also paid a visit to the newly completed neddy statue

I thought it was very beautiful & am glad I saw it before leaving.

The weather has been stunning here the last couple of weeks, cold bright nights, fresh frosted mornings & hot, sunny days. The Waikato has shed it's surly, sogginess at the best possible time, I will have wonderful memories of this beautiful place.

Very sad to read on the BBC website of the death of Alistair Cooke. Radio 4 won't be the same.

Cx

Strange thing, the human body ...

2 glasses of red wine Friday night ; hangover Saturday morning.

Numerous glasses of wine, more than 2 Vodka Cruisers ; no hangover Sunday morning.

Tonight my experiments with alcohol and the human nervous system continue.

I am due to meet up with Bloo aka Stu, an old-school friend of Stan's. He is on the NZ leg of his world tour & I plan
to take him to the Clubhouse in Cambridge (by way of a change from the Albert) for food, beer & pool.
Check out his travels at www.bloo4u.blogspot.com

Last night was a slightly disappointing night, the way they often are when you hope they will be good.
We started off at a beer festival at The National Hotel in Cambridge. This is a biker's haunt & it was, indeed
full of interesting 'characters'. We had been tempted by the $10 entry which promised 'continuous food'
together with a band and a DJ.

The band, unsurprisingly perhaps at a biker's pub, favoured the GnR, AC/DC type stuff & when by 9.30pm
the promised food still hadn't materialised & the drizzle was starting to curl the newly-straightened hair,
yours truly was starting to feel a tad precious. It must be noted that my food intake on Saturday consisted of
a cheese sandwich at lunch to 'save room for the food in the evening' so I was hungry to say the least.

My polite enquiry at the bar was met with the reply 'The chef's closed the kitchen' accompanied by a smile & a shrug
of the shoulders. My policy of not complaining in NZ is mostly because there isn't much to complain about but also
because 'I'm on holiday' so I restricted myself to a look to convey my hunger & displeasure.
My ice-laden stare must have worked better than I realised. Some 10 minutes later, our party was approached
in the gardens, not once, but thrice by nervous-looking waitresses laden with sausages in bread.

I would like to say sausages in rolls but there is a bread shortage in NZ & every sausage comes inadequately
wrapped in one sad slice of bread. Splash out for the tourists guys, give us 2 slices. Please ?

The fact that these girls wound their way past other ravenous headbangers to get to us 1st spoke volumes.
Well done The National.

Once rain stopped play we headed off to ... where else ?

Unfortunately, there was also a band here too, who despite being a squigillion times better that the one at
The National, were playing stuff which just wasn't 'dancable to'. Think Ugly Kid Joe & my song for Millie.

So, we had a decent night, but it's never a classic for me unless I get to embarrass myself (& my party) on the floor.

Last night was memorable for the fact that we met our 1st belligerent drunk Kiwi.

Whilst waiting for the cab at the end of the night we were approached by an extremely tedious boor.

The usual tactics of politely asking him to go away, followed up with cutting him out of the group & then walking away
were all met with enthusiastic swearing as he assured us he was only trying to 'brighten our night up'.

Claire's observation that he had an extremely limited vocabulary just made him the more determined to impress
us with the f-word. Once the mini-van taxi arrived, who piled into the front seat ? By now, things were quite heated
with the man advising us that we were pig islanders & Brit bitches in 'his territory'.
Lyn's assertion that she was in fact, a Kiwi, was ignored.

I was on the verge of asking the taxi driver to stop & drop the bloke in the middle of nowhere when it turned out
he lived in the road we were in. We then explored every driveway in the dark at 0330 because Einstein was too
drunk to recognise his own house. We didn't get much mileage out of that, as you can imagine.

This incident won't sound unusual or isolated to anyone reading this in the UK, but he was the first real p-i-t-a
we have encountered whilst socialising. Shame it had to be on my last night out with the girls, but not bad
when you consider how many really lovely Kiwis we have met.

Right, enough being indoors, the house smells & I need a shower & some fresh air.

5 more days of work left, then a proper break for a few days.

Bill has offered the loan of a tent & I am planning some time away, walking, camping, relaxing & exploring
the top of the North Island. Sounds good doesn't it ?

Oh yes, I almost forgot. I haven't watched any of the 6 Nations but am reliably informed we came 3rd after
the French & the Irish. I want to explain something to forestall the enquiries I keep fielding from Kiwis
anxious to rub it in about the lacklustre performance of the team.

Imagine The All Blacks have just won the World Cup.
They played the final with style, verve & panache against worthy opponents.
They won in the last heartbeat of te game & accepted victory gracefully.

Now imagine your local team have lost a round of Super 12. You are an Aucklander for example
& The Blues have lost to The Chiefs (oh yes, they did didn't they ?)
Anyway, this is how relevant it is to ask a Pom how they feel about the losing the 6 Nations.
It would be nice to win it, of course, but in the grand scheme of rugby, when your team have
proved themselves on the international stage, it matters not a jot.

The End.

Not quite, cos England managed to beat someone at cricket. Now that's truly remarkable.

Wonder if Bloo will let me watch Kiwi Idol before we head out ?

Cx

Saturday am, 0730, supposed to be having a lie-in, can't sleep so ...

... thought I'd write to you lot.

I have a stinking hangover after 2 glasses of red last night. How unfair is that ?

Things got a little animated here last night when we were discussing work & in specific, the boss.

We were supposed to be watching 'Priscilla Queen of the desert' & having a quiet chill-out night prior to our night
out tonight so why did we end up talking about work ? Oh well. Net result, one glass of red spilt (not guilty) & tears
shed (not mine, cos I'm bleedin' 'ard). 10 minutes of typing & I have corrected 8 mistakes so far, Stan you would be
in your elephant.

Name checks at the beginning, for a change & because I have too many e-mails to reply individually & my head hurts.

Mummeh As things stand, I am advised to return to work on the 29th April. That's the bad news. The
good news is that now that I am coming back to a normal job, I get days off PLUS bank holidays. My rosta is
0900 - 1800 on the 29th. Early turn on the 30th, then rest day on the 1st & 2nd, followed by BHL on the 3rd.
Which of course is Lloyd's birthday (& Bill's too, another co-inkidinky) So, whatever happens, I can come see you
straight after earlies on the Friday, stay Saturday & leave late Monday, as I am late-turn on the Tuesday.
Would you like a Barley-Marley visit too, or would she freak out the mogs ?
Let me know.


Stu Please see above, VK have decided they don't need extra security checks.
They obviously didn't find out about the band of pistoleros I have been house-sharing with.
Please may BM come a-visiting if Mummeh is up to a bouncing Spangle ?
Has Fog been stealing any more food recently ? I was thinking maybe you could fit bells to his
paws to alert house-owners to the fact that there is a glutton prowling in their kitchen ?


MTM Check out the cartoon. Co-inkidinky ? I think not.
There are obviously dark powers at work here. Either that or the Big Fella's hacking into your e-mails ?
As well as his Mum's. Sorry, low blow, couldn't resist. Take a de-merit for no offering yesterday.
Unless of course you had pressing business with a ukelele.


Chef Cycling is obviously too dangerous if you are going to sustain injuries like that.
From now on, you may only ride your bike on the street directly in front of your house.
You will wear full protective gear at all times including elbow pads & you will not venture out of sight.
Rest up, take it easy, make it your goal to read ALL of Q4A before returning to work.
There will be questions to test your understanding of the subject.


Trudes You can't read this, you're across the Tasman in Ozzie.
Your mobile doesn't seem to be working there either.
Your pooter is also broked so, all in all, I'm buggered trying to get hold of you. Oh well.
Hope you are enjoying yourself & that the weather is lovely, as it is here at the moment.
Stop press. Scrub the above, as I type, you have txd across the waves, glad to hear the sun is shining for you.
If I had known I could get people to reply to texts just by blogging to them I could have saved
a shedload of 20 cents !


Weeny The kikkens here are gorgeous, I wish I could bring a couple of them back for you.
I will take pics in the next couple of days for you, they are calm enough to let me touch them when they eat now.
We have hatched a plan to capture them & take them to the local SPCA, if we don't & they breed it will start
to resemble Catropolis & Uncle Murray will come a-visiting with his shotgun.
I can't remember if I said it before, but if not, I am very impressed that you are learning the piano.
I have such a cultured group of friends. I envisage a winter's evening around a log-fire when you lot
will play instruments, recite poetry & discuss current affairs & I will skin dead lambs, do some spot welding
& sand down the calluses on my palms. Happy evenings ahead.


Di's pooter is also broken, so she can't read this. Could someone tell her please how funny Q4A has been ?
Don't mention the spelling mistakes please. Thanks.


Lovely Col, I won't know what to do any more ! Please make sure you are posted to Cad for my return. You can hide
my inadequacies.

Hx It took a while but e-mail finally replied to, I lost your original as some techno-berk decreed it was
Spam so you have been sitting amongst the penis enlargement ads. Not a bad place to be.


Ang Good luck for Tuesday. It will be horrid working for a living again,after being a 'lady who lunches'
and being the 'new kid' is always rough. However, you will hit the ground running as always, for the following reasons ;

1.You are very sharp
2.You are extremely professional.
3.You are top-drawer crumpet, blokes love you & so do girls cos you are lovely (BIANL)
4.Your cats have paws like blackberries.
5.You have lovely hair.

The 4th doesn't necessarily help you in the work place, but it is very endearing to hear you tell everyone again, when you
are squiffy.

Lolly Long time no hear, you must have got over the being in bed all the time stage by now.
Come on, leave her alone for a minute, poke an arm out from under the duvet & tell Briggsy what's happening ?
Did you see Di had been to NY again to do the shopping thing a bit more thoroughly this time ?

Hadders I am very sorry to hear your news, but glad that you have the neddy bug.
It will be very funny to go out riding with you and Cocky. Ask Cocky to tell you about some of my adventures
on Mad Hannah to give you an idea of what to expect. I got the gist of 'being born certain ways'.
I think next time, you should highlight that fact that you have very good rhythm for a white guy.
Maybe it will help ? Hello to Frances.

Cocky Well, at least you won't have high moving costs, given that you are only moving 200 yards.
I'm glad you are able to stay in that part of the world, it seems to suit you very well & the longer you keep buying
houses here, the less likely you are to disappear off to bog-trotter country.
I'm glad you didn't marry the Bruce Forsyth lookalike too. By the time you read this you will have been to the place
where you needed to wear your Bet Lynch slippers & dressing gown (which I have on good authority you DID buy for
yourself) I hope everything went well & you are 'comfortable'. That's the word they use isn't it ? Seems a bloody stupid
word to me but you know what I mean. I am very much looking forward to riding out with you again, although I
suspect after 8 months of no riding I will look like a sack of spuds on a gee. Perhaps Hadleigh can take me where he
goes for lessons ? You are right, where did the year go ? I could swear it was a couple of months ago that you
said 'Have a great time, everyone will have forgotten you in a month' or words to that effect.

Stan Nights at the Yard ? What a stinker. I think nights is the shift that will hit me hardest.
That bleurgh feeling & a permanent sense of jet-lag. Deep joy. Oh well, in Winter, at least we get to drive
home against the traffic & snuggle under the duvet as everyone else is going to work. I know Winter is a year away, but that's
the only positive thing I can say about nights. So, I logged on, hoping for fulsome praise for my arty black & white shot &
what do I get ? Criticism from you for my spelling. Man that hurts. Another Q4A reader has
pointed out that perhaps because the photo is so 'good' (thanks, by the way) people don't realise that I took it. When I sent it to
you minus a title I was very pleased with what you came up with. Not only a title for the photo, but something which described my
ramblings and inner decision-making process. However, perhaps the title should have been 'The photo what I took'
So, I will edit & use that as a 2nd title, hoping to prod some praise from people. I am not above fishing.

Bill Sore head ? Me too & I only had 2, at least you had a 'proper' night out for your suffering today.

Dear Dr.International dentists Thank you for your concern about my cavities. However, the mark you refer to is
a filling from ye olden days when your colleagues still chose to dice with our mental health by using mercury-laced fillings
rather than the sexy,white ones you use these days. The mercury may indeed be responsible for my 9mm inspired death-fantasies
towards a rotund person in a position of power recently. If I chose to re-enact this fantasy, I will of course not be
responsible for my actions & will sue your dentist-ass for loss of earnings whilst serving time in a Kiwi prison.

ps.'been putting naughty things in your mouth' ? My Mum reads this, and quite possibly my Gran too, let's keep it clean please.


I will close by telling you about my dream of two nights ago. Those of you who know me well, know I dream, vividly & in colour
every night. Some of them are very disturbing & not suitable for a family Blog. I don't share them usually because I think our
dreams are only fascinating to ourselves. I started to read another Blog which was witty, incisive & very beautifully illustrated.
I stopped reading it when it became a daily list of the author's dreams.

I was at the roundabout at the bottom of Gipsy Hill, where I once rescued Chris with fuel on his bike when it ran out.
I was with 3 or 4 other people, one of them was Dean, the guy who was responsible for Van Nistelrooy the stallion who
stood here. Van Nistelrooy was there too. The horse, that is, not the footballer he is named after.
He had travelled from somewhere & was very stressed so Dean gave him a cigarette to calm his nerves.
I remember asking if it was wise to give cigarettes to a horse ?
The horse then became an eagle & was still stressed so I made a newspaper cone & put his head into the
pointy bit with his wings pinioned against his sides. We walked this way, across a crowded forecourt of a pub with
the drinkers asking what was in the newspaper cone. 'An eagle who is stressed' I replied.
The eagle then became an Afghan hound & to save it we had to remove the body from the skin. The body & the skin
became 2 separate animals, both of which could function normally. The skin was homed to a lady in Upper Norwood
who promised to take good care of it. She let the skin out on the 2nd day never saw it again. We were angry with her
as it was still wearing it's horsey travelling boots. The End.

I understand the following from the dream. I am stressed about cigarettes as Kirsty is a smoker & the house smells.
I am also aware that Mummeh is suffering nicotine withdrawal. I admire all the animals I dreamed of for their
grace, power & beauty. After that, I'm a bit stuck.

If anyone reading this is a dream interpreter, amateur or not, please let me know what's happening in my addled mind ?

For now, Claire is attacking the wine stain with the vacuum & my head is asking her to stop.

Back to beesies with a cup of tea for me.

Cx