Blog Friday 24th October.

More babies at Cedar Lodge today.

Michelle went out this morning to see why ‘brown ewe’ was making such a din.
She suspected she may have caught a foot in a fence.

She arrived just in time to see the 1st twin arrive. Within half an hour twin no2 had arrived. Mum & blah-lambs are hale & hearty. I took the obligatory pic but she was very twitchy with my being so near so the picture is a bit indistinct I am afraid. I will try to see what I can do about enlarging it & post it to Blog later.

I am so tired, I am typing like Bill tonight. He visits tomorrow, must remember to mail him directions after this. If you’re reading this, bring your trunks, if you fancy a dip in the pool. I dangled my legs in today (up to the knee) when it got too hot. Luvverly. Spicy apple muffins do you ?

Have just spoken to a downbeat Q, he is looking at an enforced move to the Ivory Tower aka Information Room. Yeuch.

Poor Col, who will you talk to now ?

Hadders, KW & Hitman & Hearse, who will get Blog to you ?

Perhaps you could get a petition going ?

I was in Matamata again today to get my haircut & to go to the physio. Things are really getting busy, by Matamata standards anyway, the beds were being watered & there are now lots of billboards advertising the Hobbiton tour. The hairdresser told me not to bother with it but the physio said it was worth a look. I’m sure I’ll end up going. An artist was busy at the jewellers in Arawa Street. She was painting a scene from The Two Towers on the window. I suppose Hobbiton burgers & Hobbiton soft drinks will follow as surely as night follows day.

Another welcome to another reader stateside. This time from Cleveland, Ohio. Ella has been reading since August & e-mailed me this morning to say hello. She stumbled across Q4A whilst updating her own Blog. If any of you struggle with my Blog & the oblique references to people by their nicknames, just think how difficult it must be when you have never met any of the motley bunch of characters.
Ella has even used the feedback system within the 1st few days of it being instigated so you lot have no excuse now. Welcome Ella, lovely to hear from you.

I was looking at the new lambs through the noculars this evening.
‘Oh look’ says I, ‘bunny rabbits’
Big mistake.
Before you could shout ‘slot it’ Eric was off at the trot to fetch his .22 rifle.
Seconds later & bunny was despatched. Within half an hour he was gutted, skinned & in a plastic bag en route to the freezer. No Beatrix Potter books in the Tanner household strangely.

Sorry if this is a bit stilted tonight, I am struggling to think straight & my thoughts are wandering.

I sent lots of nice things in the post today. I get as much pleasure from sending things in the post as I do receiving them. I would love to see Mal’s face when he sees the photo of himself.

Michelle is reading to Alice as I type this. Harriette has gone to stay at the Creswells overnight & Alice is feeling a bit lonely. Eric is reading something on the sofa, “Killing & maiming monthly” no doubt.

I feel very bloated after dinner tonight. I did char-grilled chicken fillets in toasted panninis with an avocado & pineapple salsa. Yum. yes you are right Di, I never made that for you … etc.

I will leave you lovely people for now.

I have the feeling that I have forgotten to tell you something.
Must be my age.

Enjoy your long weekend D-team, you deserve it.

Night-night,

Cx

Good Evening,

Another gloriously sunny day, the 11th now.

The doctor signed me off for another 8 days which takes me up to the 31st.

I had another lazy, letter-writing day today. Wrote a very long letter to Mal
& will be enclosing some flower pics as he was very enthusiastic about the ones I took at Marfell Downs. I will also be enclosing this picture of him.

I think its lovely.

Pic ref to follow thanks Q.

Had a lovely, long chat with my Mum this morning. She has some health concerns,
but seems to be handling them far better than I am. I sent her a goodies package
a few days ago & especially wanted to know what she thought of the Norah Jones CD I sent her. I have been listening to her a lot over here & love her stuff.

Turns out Mum already has it, so we have a spare copy.

Don't Mums know they are not supposed to be into music before their kids are ?

I had a long chat with Q the other evening & something he said got me thinking.

He mentioned that someone at work had said they knew me better now after reading Blog than when we used to work together. It's odd isn't it, a few people have said the same. I suppose that wittering away on this, I often feel it's just me & the pooter so I am more candid than I would be face-to-face. Cheers, hearse-man, glad you are enjoying it. Also, hello to Tony, thanks for the e-mail. You change girlfriends more often than I move house & that's a lot. Why Darwin ? Have I missed something ?
Apart from 6 months of earlies, lates & nights ? Ha.

I joined the library today, so feel like a bona-fide citizen with roots now. I am also starting to think like a Kiwi. I took out 6 talking boooks & was charged $12 & found myself thinking it was expensive. That translates to £4.

I decided it was time, after 6 months to have the barnet trimmed. I selected a salon not based on price or the skill of the stylists but on how upright their chairs were. I am only comfortable sitting upright so it might be the world's quickest haircut. Nothing drastic, just a trim, I am still planning on having Bon Jovi hair.

"Come on you guysh - letsh rock ! Hello & Good evening Shurbiton !"

Aside from turning into a tightwad, I am adopting other Kiwisms, despite trying not to.

I have caught myself saying 'That's way too much' instead of 'far too much' & every morning Eric grimaces when I reply 'Good thanks' to his enquiry of 'Good Morning, how are you ?' All Kiwis say they are good, not well, when asked the same question.

At least I am still rooting for England in the rugby. The day I support anyone else is the day to tear up my passport I suppose.

Looks like Plod will be in this neck of the woods. Bill & some of his gang are visiting whilst 'working' in the area on Saturday. It works out quite well, as the Tanners are away in Thames with the Stokes & their parents. I suspect Eric & Michelle have arranged the Old Bill to check on me to make sure I am not playing with matches.

I won't be entirely alone though, as Bin & Inca will be keeping me company.

Must go for now as I have a couple of e-mails to send.

Please keep letting me know if this is too small for you to read.

There are now 5 of us so you are not alone.

Q says it's a whole day's work to re-programme the font size on Blog.

Michelle suggested he just 'selected all & changed the font size'. Bless.

Cx

ps 2 firsts today. 1. Wore a skirt
2. Bought some make-up.

I almost forgot.

2 things which made my blood boil & reminded me how furious things in England can make me.

Winston Silcott released. Bad enough. Interviewed on Newsnight. Words fail me.

Reports that Waterloo Station may be renamed Europe Station & Trafalgar Square to Concord Square in case French visitors to London are offended. Hello ?????

Hello England,

I have come out of the midday sun because I am a growed-up & I know it’s bad for you & also to send a few e-mails & catch up on Blog.

Nothing to do with the fact that my knees are tingling.

I am sitting on the front deck in the shade & using the laptop. Inca is keeping me company & the only thing obstructing my view is the blue tarpaulin, which Eric has stretched over the gap at the pool end of the deck.

He did this on Sunday evening to keep the breeze off the bbq we had on Sunday evening. Jacket potatoes & steak always taste good don’t they ?

As I type I can hear incessant, fluting birdsong, lambs calling to Mum & the absent clucking of the chichens rooting in the flower-beds. The chichens escape every day from their run despite Eric blocking up holes regularly. It is lovely to see them scratching about for treats but the Tanners don’t want them free-range. This is partly for the mess they make in the beds & partly because the eggs are harder to locate.

At the moment though, the chichens are having it their own way. The two fussy, little bantams, one black, one white, are scratching at my feet now. I really like these little birds. Their feathered legs remind me of the petticoats worn by the ladies in the Deep South & I imagine they speak to each other in lilting Bible-Belt drawl.

The only noise spoiling the pastoral peace is the frequent quarry-trucks which pass the end of the driveway. Cedar Lodge is situated in an acoustic bowl, which means the trucks’ noise is amplified. It is also half-way up a hill which ensures that the engines coming up are usually at full chat.

The noise isn’t too intrusive normally but at the moment there is a run on & the trucks are passing the house every minute or so. They come from a quarry half way along Taotaoroa Road & although my understanding of the logistics is a bit vague, I think they are especially busy because they are delivering a ship-load of coal somewhere.

I need to ask Harriette really, her grasp of it is much more acute than mine.

Last night, during dinner, Eric was discussing with Michelle when he had last cooked polenta.

‘Placenta ?’ asked Harriette.

Maybe you had to be there but it made me laugh.

Day 9 of good weather here & by all accounts, the temperature is some 5 degrees hotter than it should be at this time of year. It will be a bit of a shock if/when this good spell breaks.

Sounds like Eric is just returning home from another day of persecuting harmless dog owners.

I will take that as my cue to end & send some e-mails.

Only one person has told me their favourite book so far.

Come on you lot, don’t be bashful.

Cx

ps. How did thick pig get out of his room ?

This morning I have an e-mail showing humiliated & resigned looking pets in an assortment of Halloween costumes.

That's right, Ang is back from the States.

Welcome back honey, you were missed.

Cx

Good Evening,

Don't worry, no more words, just pics from today.



Facial piercing is big in NZ





Aragorn (sorry Viggo)



Fancy a dip anyone ?

"The chichens" copyright Matthew Lawrence



Brown Leghorn " I say, I say, I say there boy ..."



"Can Clarrie come out to play ?"



Entries for 'Rear of the Year' have been flooding in



Smile



Harriette & Inca



How clean & inviting does this water look ?



I like flowers ...

I like these pics of Inca, we were playing ball & I like the way he is looking very intently at the ball in this one ...








At the end of the evening I took some shots of the girls & the dogs.

How difficult could it be ?

'Harriette, try & point Bin towards the camera.'
'Bin, put your lipstick away, these are family snaps.'
'Inca stop snuffling Alice for treats & try & look affectionate.'

I am pleased with the final results & have sent some to Michelle's folks





Lots of work here for you Q, hope you don't mind ?

Goodnight UK,

Cx

Hello chaps(esses)

Another warm, sunny day. 6th in a row. A breakfast of salmon & scrambled eggs.
The Tanners know how to do things properly.

We were up late last night, watching the Eng-v-S.Afr game, & didn’t retire until after 3am.

It was a pool match & a win is a win, but it didn’t make for pretty viewing did it ?
It’s no mean feat not to concede a try to S.Africa, & the forwards were magnificent, as ever. I would just rather we got more points from running rugby & not the ever-reliable boot of JW.

After watching the flowing, wing-dominated game that is prevalant down here, our side looked a bit stodgy. Winning’s great, but winning with panache would be even better.

Needless to say, being English, I can criticise, but if you are reading this & you are not then disregard my comments.

It’s a bit like criticising your parents, acceptable if you do it, bad manners if your partner says anything.

There was a happy event at Cedar Lodge yesterday. I was on the phone to Stuart (lovely to hear all the LH updates) watching Eric & Michelle moving their sheep from one paddock to another. My attention was taken by a ewe arguing with Eric & stamping her foot at being asked to move on. As she moved, the reason for her defiance became clear. Two new-born lambs were following at her heels.

That doesn’t sound unusual, I know, until I tell you the last lamb was born over a month ago & so these icklies are very late. The ewe responsible, Lilla, has a happy reprieve as she is ‘about 12’ & Eric had been muttering about ‘mutton for the pot’ as she had not lambed.

Yesterday the kids had their friends the Scotts over, & they spent a raucous afternoon playing in the pool. It was very amusing & reassuring, in this computer-obsessed age, to hear them playing the same games I played as a kid. Whenever they were asked to declare what something was made from they said ‘purple velvet’ or ‘sapphires’ & in their role-playing they were dolphins or mermaids or sea-horses.

Michelle spent the day toiling in the sun, finishing off the bed I cleared when I first arrived with some very arduous digging. Eric continued to work on the pool, sawing wood & filling in the gaps around the bottom of the fencing. The pool looks like being a year-round favourite & as the Scott kids left they were telling Mum that ‘their pool needed cleaning out’.

I was definitely the least productive member of the household (Bin included) & made the traditional Saturday night pizza to assuage my guilt. Bill kept me company on the home-stretch of pizza baking, chatting away 15 to the dozen, as usual …

‘No really, how are YOU ?’
‘HOW are you ?’
‘How ARE you ?’ J …

He still looks on for a visit to the Shire some time next week. He will love it here.

I fed the pigs yesterday & took some pics. They are very endearing, cantering across to the fence to get the scraps & snuffling around enthusiastically to eat the best bits. I got a bit carried away & took some 30 snaps. Some of the best are reproduced here for your enjoyment.

Pig pics please Q, no particular order. ta.

A tx conversation this morning got me thinking. What’s the best book you ever read ?
It’s a hard one & I thought long before deciding on ‘A walk in the woods’ by Bill Bryson.
In this, he & a grossly overweight, morose friend set out to walk the Appalachian Way in the US . It has all the bits I find essential in a good book ; humour, nature, good descriptive writing & laugh out loud passages.

The other prerequisite for a good book is being able to read it again & again. I have a good memory for dialogue & so remember books well, despite this, I must have read most of Bryson’s books 3 or 4 times.

If you can use the ‘comments’ system cos you are ‘live’ please do so. If you receive this by e-mail, please reply by e-mail & let me know. I would be very interested to hear your choices.
This invitation extends to everyone who reads Q4A, don’t be shy.

Today’s e-mails were a particularly welcome bunch. Amongst them was a long, entertaining & very newsy letter from the Davidsons. They are the neighbours at Leith Hill who frequently take care of Barley. They write with the fantastic news that they are holidaying here shortly & seriously considering emigrating here. It was lovely to hear about the kids. Grace taking her driving test already – how can that be ? Very best of luck Grace.

Michelle’s folks have also written to say they got the fotos from the Blog on Friday but no text. It’s usually the other way around. I will forward you the text after writing this. I understand you two are slaves to the little white ball ? It’s a huge source of irritation that I have only played 1 game since arriving here (badly) As soon as the back is sorted, I plan to go explore the course at Matamata which I hear you used extensively during your trip here ?

Right, enough for now, outdoors beckons & I have to download the pig foties,

Love to all,

Especially Mum.

Give Connor a pat from me & take Seamus away & give him a cheap, nasty toy. He’s a puppy & won’t know J

‘Mummeh – can we have a puppeh ?’

Cx

Q,

Seek & ye shall find.

It was hiding & I had overlooked it all the time.

It was right at the very end of the whole week's entries.

I will try & cut & paste my Word doc onto here.

If you could oblige with the foties please ?

Cx

Good Evening from a sun dappled shire

Day 3 of Summer & all is well.

20 degrees & day long, glorious sunshine.

The more observant of you will have noted that the Q-Meister has been busy & that Q4A is now an altogether more stylish affair. The foty that you now see at the top of Blog is one of my favourites of Queen Charlotte Sound. I mucked around with the software that Olympus dish-out with my camera to get the 4 different shades & sent them to Q. I asked him to simply insert them at the top of Blog. Needless to say – he wasn’t happy with the easy option & has now done a ‘Changing Rooms’ on Blog.

The result, I think, at least, is lovely to look at. He has even changed the background from what I found a very dull grey, to my favourite colour – blue.

You will see there is also now room for comments at the end of each segment. Please get stuck in, I would enjoy some feedback.

The downside is that, for the time being, at least, I have lost the facility to update as the icon for updating has disappeared. Sending my stuff to Q on Word for the time being.

This evening I have been left to play with matches as everyone has gone out. The grown-ups have gone for a meal & to the movies in Tauranga. They are going to see ‘Calendar Girls’ which has received some great write-ups. Michelle, especially, looked very glam & Alice asked me if I was going with them for their romantic meal. It’s an indication of how scruffy I must look all the time as she thought my tailored, white shirt was a sign that I had dressed up for a night out. Truth is, all my t-shirts are in the wash J

The girls have gone to the Scotts to stay for the night. Harriette especially, is very pleased as her invitation to the Scotts clashed with the semi-final of the NPC rugby Waikato-v-Wellington at home. It turns out the Scotts have Sky digital so she gets her night out & the rugby.

I am taking the opportunity to catch up on The Archers as well as my e-mails.

I went to the physio again today & was very happy when he located the nerve that was trapped. He says that has been causing the pain down my leg & he worked today to release it. The pain, for the time being, at least, has gone in my leg & the relief is lovely.

Yesterday I drove into Hamilton to have my most recent batch of pics transferred to disc. I have been itching to take pics of Cedar Lodge, especially the fenced pool & the new porkers.

I fell in love with NZ all over again after yesterday’s drive. The light, always different here, has been especially intense with the arrival of this gorgeous weather. I desperately need some sunglasses but, that aside, it’s as if someone has peeled a layer away from the scenery.

I dawdled along at my now customary 80kph gazing at the Waikato river, meandering it’s way along the valley, accompanying me all the way to Hamilton.



Mighty Waikato

I have never thought of this area of the North lacking in colour, especially after coming from Seddon, but it’s as if, at some unbidden signal, everything has suddenly burst forth. The trees have bright, acid green foliage & the grass, which never disappeared over Winter is suddenly ankle-deep along the verges.

Matamata is being prettified at a furious rate, in time for the Summer tourists. Beds are being planted, verges mown & hanging baskets hoisted. On Wednesday, for the 1st time, I saw tourists posing for the obligatory picture with the ‘Welcome to Hobbiton’ sign in the centre of town. I am ashamed to say I will be posing for mine soon.

My journey to Hamilton was a bit of an eye-opener. For the 1st time in 6 months I couldn’t park directly outside the shop & had to use, horror of horrors, a multi-storey car park. Yeuch. The more I see of Hamilton (multi-storeys aside) the more I like it.
Although I wouldn’t recommend taking a vehicle into the town centre, I ended up driving around it numerous times whilst searching for a parking space. I saw some beautiful areas & many houses had the most beautiful views of the river. The Waikato ambles through the town & numerous bridges criss-cross the river. I tried to think what it reminded me of & the closest I can come up with is the Thames at Windsor or Sunbury.

On my return journey, down SH1, I came through Cambridge. It is an incredibly pretty place & I look forward to having a good look around on a day off. It has one of the most stunning, lily-white, clapper-board churches I have ever seen. I couldn’t find a safe stopping place for a photo yesterday but I will endeavour to get one soon. I think it was called St. Andrews ? The most stunning feature in Cambridge was the trees. They are everywhere but I am still struggling to recognise them.

Up to Monday on The Archers now, Linda Snell, bossy as ever.

I saw 2 highly desirable vehicles yesterday. The 1st was a cherry red Jaguar XK8 being driven very sedately along SH1. The 2nd was a Cadbury’s Blade. Always the iconic Blade as far as I was concerned. The Blade was not being ridden sedately, I am glad to report. NZ is the world’s best-kept biking secret. There are surprisingly few bike bikes here. The only draw-back, as far as I can see, would be trying to do justice to the fabulous roads, whilst being able to take in the views at the same time. Perhaps riding pillion would be acceptable, for once ?

On the subject of vehicles, private plates are disturbingly common here. I don’t know if they are more popular than the UK, or if it’s just that fewer vehicles catch the eye more often. Some of the amusing ones I have seen are …

AGRS1VE = belonging to a doctor ?
CUT1CLE = mobile nail salon
SHOO4U = farrier
CHOOK = chicken farmer

I can’t yet work out which car comes from where, or how to work out the age of the vehicle. Speaking of being slow on the uptake, I noticed today, after 6 months, that there are no 1 or 2 cent coins here. I had seen signs in shops, which mentioned ‘rounding’ but had never paid them much attention. I noticed today that when my change came to 3 cents, I was given a 5 cent piece. I was about to draw the cashier’s attention to her mistake when it occurred to me that I had never seen a 1 or 2 cent coin.
How embarrassing would that have been ?

You may have noticed that I have mentioned that 6 months have elapsed since I have been here. I don’t know how it feels to you lot, but it has gone quickly for me. The half-way mark has …

(quick break to give the dogs their supper, their body-clock is incredible, they are fed at 7pm & Inca has just come in & shoved me politely with his nose. The time ? 7.03pm)



What do you think of the diet, Bin ?



He's a gun-dog you know

… prompted me to think again about things I miss.

The answer is quite easy, it’s the news media & radio.
The paper I read in the South was the Christchurch Press & it had a very good world section. The paper here is the Waikato Times & I find it insular & provincial. I remember Malcolm warning me that this was one of the things I would notice & he was right. I don’t doubt the Waikato Times is a good paper for local people (hints of Royston Vasey) but I find the lack of world news irking.

NZ has no national papers which is mind-boggling, given the size of the country. More amazingly still, it has a national radio programme which broadcasts on medium wave only. I have always taken the BBC for granted & thought that most countries received the World Service. It’s true that NZ supposedly gets the World Service but only at stupid-oh-clock & on a dreadful signal.

Every so often, Clare’s copy of the International Daily Express makes it’s way down to Cedar Lodge. A paper I always thought second-rate, is now read avidly, cover-to-cover.

It’s a small moan, compared to the natural beauty here but I miss Radio 4 hugely. Listening on the internet, as this evening, keeps me sane, but in no way makes up for the way Radio 4 accompanies me everywhere in the car in the UK.

I will close for now, as it’s time for dinner. If you have to be off with a dodgy disc & you do have to sit & read, there must be worse places to do it than Cedar Lodge.
Eric arrived home today for his lunch at 1.05pm. He was dabbling his hand in the pool some 12 seconds later. I think, even with a favourable tail-wind, that’s a record.

Bye for now,

Cx

ps. I am finding the font on the new Q4A quite small.
Is anyone else or do I just need glasses quicker than I thought ?

Sorry you guyth no Blog ! Technical dificulties in Matamata , prevent play.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

In the mean time hooray for ' Naive Zebra '

Qx

Summer arrived today, with little or no warning.

Yesterday was beautiful but blustery.

Today was absolutely beautiful, hot, still & no rain.

When I got back from the physio today I sat out on the deck in a vest top & shorts & read.

Eric was, as usual, playing with his pool. As soon as he gets back from work he can be found either adding things to the water, subtracting things from the water or scooping detritus from the surface. His dedication to his pool is above & beyond the call of duty.

At least it's a useful hobby which other people can reap the benefits of. Some men build model trains in their lofts or hide in sheds.

Some time later, I was reading when I noticed a furtive, neoprene-clad creature, sneaking through the gate & towards the water. He was soon joined by Harriette & Alice, similarly clad.

To be honest, I am surprised that after all his ministerings to the pool that he allows the children in it.

Judging by Harriette's shrieking the water was flippin' cold.

Now the fencing is finished, the pool is looking very professional, it is galling not to be able to take pictures. I hope to get into Hamilton in the next day or 2 in order to download the pics onto disc.

Speaking of Hamilton. Long time no hear Malc & Justine. How are you & Mac & Goo-Goo ?

Michelle showed much greater sense by gardening. She too had changed into shorts & a vest-top but clung grimly to Kiwi traditions by still wearing her wellies. (I refuse to call them gummies)

My back seems to have regressed a bit & the physio has taped me up again. As he was applying the tape he was clicking as he was bending. I asked for my money back & told him I was deeply suspicious of a 'clicky-physio'

He got his revenge by applying the tape so tightly across my nether regions that I feel I am wearing my buttocks as a knapsack (copyright E.tanner).

2nd doctor's appointment at 10.30am tomorrow to assess my progress.

Posted my parcel to my Mum today so that should be with her soon (10 days or so)
as I arrived home I met the mail-man whom I have never spoken to before.

'Hello Carol' he said cheerily.

I was about to ask him how he knew when it dawned on me.

Right, off to make some pancakes for dessert & e-mail this to Hadders & Cocky.

Only 1 e-mail for me today and that was the usual daily 1 giving the plot synopsis from The Archers. Not even a rambling, incoherent one from Q :(

Hurry back from the States Ange.

Cx

A very pleasant, slightly more constructive day than yesterday.

Caught up on some letter-writing, including an epic to my Mum as well as printing out & sending some Blog to her. She will be getting e-mail soon, so will join the ever-increasing list of people I print Blog to after typing it :)

Bin went to the vet yesterday with an ear injury sustained during one of his weekend scraps. He came back with a diet folder & a target weight of 36kgs. He is currently 46kgs. To give you an idea of what that is in old money, I am 60kgs.

He went to the vets having had no breakfast in case he needed a g/a. Upon his return from the vets, during which he honked in the car, Michelle took pity on him & gave him some lunch. The directions were 300g of food which Michelle promptly fed him. Later inspection revealed that this was his daily allowance, to be split into 3 separate servings. Bin spent the rest of the afternoon snoozing off his 'diet meal'

3rd physio appointment tomorrow & then a dr's appointment on Thursday to decide whether I return to work or take another week off. My back is hugely improved & I can stand straight now which I couldn't manage before.

Eric is very disappointed that I am recovering as he has spent the last few days making cruel & unnecessary jokes at my expense. His rendition of me loading the dishwasher whilst resting my head on the work-surface was particularly uncalled for. At various points in the weekend I have been compared with Bruce Forsyth & Galen (Planet of the Apes)

However, he who laughs last & all that malarkey ...

Eric came in from his chores this afternoon with a pronounced limp & a grimace. When I asked him if he was in pain he denied it strongly. There was no fooling me though, I am just pleasantly surprised to find sticking pins in wax effigies really works.

I have to say, he was being rather pathetic. His injury is only an old gunshot wound (sustained whilst tackling armed robbers off-duty, if you're wondering ?) Whereas, of course, my injury was collected under the far more dangerous circumstances of moving
vicious & savage sheep.

Right, time for sleep now. Sidney Sheldon tonight, who I have never read before.

Did you know he was responsible for Hart to Hart ? No me neither ?

"And when they met ... it was moyder !"

Goodnight all, especially Mum, posting you a ickle something tomorrow,




Cx

A fruitless day today & time here is too precious to waste.

You know what it's like when you're off sick, it's only enjoyable if you can still do the gardening.

I didn't join the Tanners til lunch-time having spent the morning reading & listening to my talking book. I am conscious of the fact that Michelle works from home now & I know how easily I would be distracted if I did. She did say that she wondered if I had collapsed behind locked doors & should she bring me a cup of tea as a welfare check ?

Went to the physio at 5pm & my back has eased off a little so hopefully I'll be back at work before too much longer.

At dinner yesterday evening, 7 yr old Hannah was questioning me as to what my job entailed & how long I was staying in NZ ?

'And are you single ?' she enquired.

'Yes - are you ?' I replied.

'No you're not' piped up Alice 'what about that guy from Lord of the Rings ?'

I had to explain that he was only my boyfriend in my fevered ickle mind.

Mastercard are doing an incredible promotion over here at the moment. I'm not sure what exactly you have to do but it entails spending $100 on your Mastercard. The winner & 4 friends are flown to Wellington to see the world preview of return of the King. Have you seen the poster ? - words fail me. Smouldering perfection

Prior to the movie, you receive a make-over & are driven to the cinema in a stretch limo. There is a party afterwards & you get to mingle with the stars.

This is where the terminology gets difficult as far as I can see.

One person's 'mingle' is surely another person's 'hanging desperately off Viggo's ankle' saying 'I came all this way to meet you & I can drive a tractor & ride a gee & everything-no, please don't call security.'

I went to Warehouse on my way back to get some essentials (stationery) & also to look for a CD. Since not hearing any trance music I have got very into the radio station I listen to in a morning - ZM. Michelle & Eric have just had radio fitted in the car I use for work so I will be able to listen to more now. The morning show is hosted by Polly & Grant, a husband & wife team. Kind of a funky Richard & Judy. She is very dry & witty & he is her foil.

One of the bands I am very into is Linkin Park . I loved the single they released when I was at Marfell Downs which was called 'I will not be ignored' (I think) It was very appropriate for letting off steam when Trish was hacking me off & it was their CD I was looking for. I think they are a US band & very unlike the kind of stuff I listen to normally.

Faint

I am a little bit of loneliness a little bit of disregard
Handful of complaints but I can’t help the fact that everybody can see
these scars
I am what I want you to want what I want you to feel
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe
this is real
So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here cause you want what I've got

(I can't feel the way I did before)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)
(Time won't heal this damage anymore)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)

I am a little bit insecure a little unconfident
Cause you don't understand I do what I can but sometimes I don't make
sense
I say what you never wanna say but I've never had a doubt
It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you for once just to hear
me out
So I let go watching you turn your back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here 'cause you’re all that I've got

(I can't feel the way I did before)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)
(Time won't heal this damage anymore)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)

(Now)
(Hear me out now)
(You're gonna listen to me, like it or not)
(Right now)
(Hear me out now)
(You're gonna listen to me, like it or not)
(Right now)

(I can't feel the way I did before)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)

(I can't feel the way I did before)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)
(Time won't heal this damage anymore)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)

(I can't feel the way I did before)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)
(Time won't heal this damage anymore)
(Don't turn your back on me)
(I won't be ignored)

I can't feel
I won't be ignored
Time won't heal
Don't turn your back on me
I won't be ignored


I treated myself to Nirvana's Greatest Hits & also some ELO just in case you thought I had gone completely grunge.

I am also very into Pacifier who are a Kiwi band & now Nickelback having over-looked them earlier. I won't attempt to describe their sound if you haven't heard of any of these bands suffice to say the Coven would be proud of me. Plenty of hair-tossing to be done when my back is ok.

Speaking of hair, mine is very long, having not had it cut for some 5 months now. I can't decide whether it suits me or not & will probably wait til I see a photo as that's the only way I can judge. I plan on having it trimmed when I can sit in a hairdressers seat but will probably carry on growing it. It's the longest I have ever had it & goes with the Linkin Park thang.

I will leave you with a cheery poster I saw amongst the goodies in Warehouse today.

Start shopping beat the rush - only 11 weeks til Christmas

Cx

A very sociable weekend.

The Stokes & kids arrived on Friday night, then last night, Michelle got to employ her catering skills to the maximum when the Frews arrived. Dad Dave, Mum Veronica & three kids, John, Rochelle & Sophie. The Frews are the epitome of Kiwi dairy farmers. Loud, friendly & weatherbeaten. The kids teased Dad about his jokes & when they left Kevin observed that is sounded more like a couple of thousand of people leaving rather than 5.

Apparently they were much quieter than usual. I can only imagine what they are like when they are full on.

Alice had spent the afternoon parading around with her knickers over her tracksuit bottoms & wasn't in the least concerned about it. When the Frews arrived with their 13 yr old son John in tow, Alice came running indoors a very fetching shade of pink shouting

'Oh no - John's seen me in my undies'

She was mortified.

The Stokes brought their 2 labradors Bella & Jazz much to the delight of Bin & Inca.
The boys spent a very exhausting Friday evening trying to bonk them. It was quite disconcerting trying to chat whilst Inca was humping away in a very amateurish but enthusiastic fashion. Jazz was underwhelmed & mostly slept through his attentions.

He got himself so worked up that sometimes as he walked along & nowhere near the object of his affections he would still be making little thrusting motions as if he was a canine Ricky Martin. Poor love, we found him very amusing.

Bin has behaved a bit oddly in the last few days & has been having a bit of an anti-social 'kevin' weekend. It began on Thursday evening, with Eric trying to clip the dogs nails. Inca was a bit pathetic & kept snatching his paw from Eric's hand but Bin definitely didnt like it

He began with rumbling growls & ended by snapping at Eric. Needless to say, Eric was not amused & Bin was sent to the kennel which is called his 'hole'. The next morning when the dogs were let out of their kennel they had their usual 5 mad minutes & attacked each other whilst racing around like loonies.

On this occasion, the fight, instigated by Bin, got a bit out of hand & ended with Inca running down the driveway. Inca wouldn't come anywhere near me until I put Bin in the hole. Bin continued his anti-social theme by fighting with the other dogs at feeding time yesterday morning. He seems a bit out of sorts & unsure of himself for want of a better phrase. Perhaps he will grow out of it.

Well, after 4 years of waiting, it's finally here & the best thing about having a back injury means I should be able to watch all the games for this 1st week at least. I don't know if I'm just miserable but I thought the opening ceremony the usual waste of time & money. I think each hosting country should donate all the money it spends on opening ceremonies to families who can't afford to get to see a World Cup game.

I watched the Aus-Arg game until it was obvious that Arg would definitely lose then went to bed shattered. I must have been the only person in NZ rooting for the Ozzies. The NZ-Italy game was a predictable whitewash but amusing nevertheless.

I think the video is being set here tonight for the Eng-Georgia game, I doubt anyone will be awake enough to watch it.

It is very peaceful here this afternoon. Kevin & Eric have gone into Matamata to get videos for the kids & some bits & pieces for dinner. Juliet is reading, and Michelle is arranging her office which is situated in a corner of Alice's room.

Michelle seems to be really enjoying her new job although the 1st couple of weeks have been meeting her colleagues, a lot of driving & setting up her office. Yesterday, she took delivery of a an exciting package of stationery. She even got a whole pack of hi-lighters, having only asked for one.

The kids are playing (suspiciously quietly) whilst seated at the dining room table. They are colouring something & Harriette seems to be organising things.

The kids were all supposed to be doing an introduction to fly-fishing this morning at Rotorua. The torrential rain put paid to that idea, although, needless to say, as soon as the decision had been taken not to go, the weather brightened.

Yesterday I read an article in a local paper which made me laugh out loud.

If you live here it sounds completely normal but I will try & find a way to copy it onto Blog so that you 'non-Kiwi' people can read it. I don't think it needs any introduction or explanation.

Enjoy.

Heading for the hills this weekend, instead of tackling the traffic, will be an easy choice for keen hunters. And for those entering the annual contest run by the Katikati Pig Hunters & Deer Stalkers Club there's the added attraction of $5000 worth of sponsorship & prizes.

"This year, for the first time, we have a couple of 22 calibre rifles on the prize list and an excellent new link up with Tauranga Hunting & Fishing as sponsors, " said John Campbell, new club president.

"It's an open contest which means anyone can enter and there's no limit on where you can hunt. The heaviest pig caught by a club member so far this season is an 88.5kg one shot by Greg Konning."

John is fresh from a Fiordland expedition where he shot 22 pigs. And while the hunting in the Kaimais won't be as easy, he says members have had steady success with both deer & pigs this year.

"The kids aren't forgotten and the contest we run for them at the same time is always popular. Entry for children is free, they can bring in their eels, possums or magpies and this year we have a new competition for tossing the possum into a drum."

Women will be flexing their muscles to show they can keep up with the blokes and there will be deer & pig-carrying contests as well.

"This has become a great family day out, especially when the weather is fine and we hope to have a Ferris wheel and bouncy castle as well this year.

I have looked on the website for the photo that goes with this article but unfortunately, with no luck. The photo is the icing on the cake & I am only sorry I cannot share it with you. I won't describe it in case I can find it at a later date.

Good Morning readers,

Thought I would take advantage of an enforced week inside by telling you some NZ stuff which I don't normally get time to as I am telling you about work & stuff.

NZ is a fantastic country & I am sure you are all bored of hearing how much I love it here.

However, it is not exactly the same as the image it likes to portray to the outside world.

I must stress that the following observations are based on only 5 months & seeing limited areas & I apologise to any Kiwis reading for any innacuracies.

Firstly. NZ is very eco-conscious & green & environmentally friendly isn't it ?

No.

The only people here I know who recycle are Brits. The Kiwis don't bother, claiming not to have the financial resources to make it viable. Most large places, ie farms, studs seem to have a particular area of a paddock which is 'the dump'.

It is here that the household rubbish ends up for subsequent burning. At Marfell Downs I cause hilarity by asking if the glass & metal also went on the fire ? 'Of course -where else would it go ?' was the reply.

Anything that doesn't burn eventually gets buried in the ground.

That doesn't pose a problem now at this point in time, but I imagine in a few hundred years when land starts to change hands & landowners start digging to develop, they may be surprised to find cars buried on their land. (Common practice here & something I witnessed at Marfell Downs, the illegality of it concerned them not a jot)

When I met up with all the other trainees at Kaiapoi earlier in the year they had similar stories to tell so the practice would appear wide-spread.

The same is true of pesticides, antibiotics fed to meat & a whole host of 'land-improvers' I suspect the reason farmers are able to get away with so much is the simple lack of people. This country is the size of the UK with less than a tenth of the population. Land is much cheaper than at home, hence farmers own comparitively vast tracts of land. The ability to do things unchecked & unobserved is endless.

This country guards its tourist industry very jealously & quite rightly too. Especially since the LotR phenomenon, tourism along with agriculture is the main money-spinner. I should imagine the government will clamp down very tightly on refuse & the like when tourists start to scratch beneath the surface & find the image less than perfect.

Please dont misunderstand. There is no litter blowing around the countryside & the beaches I have visited have been clean & lovely. However, the rubbish is there, buried on people's private land. The only difference between here & the UK I suppose is that we know there are landfill sites & choose to forget about them. Here, everyone's litter is buried in smaller amounts.

Speaking of the government, for anyone that doesn't know (I didn't before I arrived) there is a Labour government here, the leader of which is Helen Clark. She is widely referred to as 'Our glorious leader' & I haven't found a Kiwi, or a Brit for that matter, with a good word to say about her.

She was absolutely reviled at Marfell Downs for her anti-US stance before, during & after the war in Iraq. She made some very personal remarks about Bush & Blair & alienated the US in rather spectacular fashion. As you may remember the Redwood's major business was mussel production & their best buyers, pre-Iraq, were the Americans.

After Ms.Clarke's timely comments the Americans would not touch NZ produce & the bottom fell out of mussel demand.

Her ungracious & insincere apology to the US, when the country's entrepreneurs forced her to climb-down was embarrassing & she lost every shred of credibility she ever had.

Can you imagine Maggie apologising for something she believed in to appease the money-spinners ? I think not.

So - a Labour government, deeply unpopular with farmers, sounds familiar doesn't it ?

Another similarity is Tranz-rail, NZ's national rail-service. Customers complain of tardy trains, unreliable service & fare-hikes at a moments notice. Apparently the rail service used to run much better whan it was owned & run by the one company. It was then nationalised, sold off to separate buyers & has never been as good since.

Hmmm.

The roads here are a great deal better than I expected. I remember reading how a road which Q was travelling on, collapsed, & the car toppled into a , thankfully dry, river bed. I think I expected a road set-up similar to Africa after that.

It is not, & most roads here are metalled & fairly even. What does differ is the way they are made & repaired. I won't pretend to know anything about how roads are made in the UK but I know how thick the surface is & how, when you watch, you notice several different components to the surface. Here, it appears to be a fairly thin layer of macadam which splits & frays with little wear & tear.

The repair consists of the same thin layer being spread over the top. Cones aren't even placed over the 'repair' while it hardens, so the next large truck to cross, cracks the repair & back to square one, crack in the road.

The road from Cedar Lodge to my work-place is frequented by dozens of fully-laden quarry-trucks on a daily basis. The road has deteriorated badly in just the 3 weeks that I have been using it.

I imagine the rest of NZ's roads would disintegrate very quickly with the same usage & the only thing that keeps them together is the negligible traffic volume.

Speaking of which, I think that is the thing I like best about being here. The last traffic jam I encountered was Auckland & I can always park outside the shops I am visiting. Paying to park is an unusual encounter. My idea of a stressful drive to work now, is if I notice there is a car following me. I tend to pull in & let them pass as I don't like feeling crowded on my sight-seeing journey to work & back.

I am investigating a reputedly well-paid job with TFL (Transport for London) at the moment & wondering just how I would feel about seeing & being in that sort of traffic again ?

I have encountered complaints from Brits about the shops here. Michelle finds it difficult to get some items which she needs for cooking. I'm not talking about everyday things though but edible rice-paper & specialist stuff like that. Barring Toast-Toppers which I now have a lifetime's supply of (thanks L) I haven't had problems finding anything I like.

Bill's wife Linda says she struggles to clothe their kids, as the clothes market is either very expensive or cheap tat. The shop she misses most is Next. As someone who doesn't have to clothe kids I can't comment, but all the kids I see appear to be dressed nicely & no differently from UK kids. The exception being, they routinely wear poo-splattered overalls which I think is great. (This applies to the rural kids, didn't see any in Auckland dressed like that, maybe that's what I didn't like about it ?) Many kids also go barefoot & in most cases this isn't poverty-related. During school-hours they all take off their shoes & quite routinely come home without them.

They are hardy little buggers too, going barefot in all-weathers not just when it's sunny.

As a kid who could never be persuaded to put slippers on, I whole-heartedly condone going barefoot, I think it's great for your feet & have never had problems with mine.

I will leave you for now as I am going for a shower & Q has just rung,

Catch you over the weekend,

Cx

Not content with bringing me tea in bed this morning, Michelle also made me a 10am appointment at Matamata Health Centre. What an angel.

I filled in some forms upon arrival & was told to take a seat.

Some 90 minutes later, & finding it difficult to sit comfortably, I approached a different receptionist. In my usual British 'sorry to be a nuisance but ...' I explained that I had been waiting an hour and a half.

She searched her computer, explained that I hadn't been shown as arriving & asked who I spoke to ?

'That lady there' I said, indicating the women in the green top who had booked me in & was now looking at me in a very embarrassed fashion.

I expected the usual reaction of a UK doctor's receptionist, denial, anger & possibly some tae-kwon-do. This lady hurried over to me & apologised profusely, explaining that directly after my arrival she had dealt with a protracted enquiry which diverted her from logging my arrival. The poor thing even held my hand whilst apologising.

I finally got into see the dr. who also apologised.

She has diagnosed a popped disc which has trapped my sciatic nerve.

At least I have a proper excuse for almost flaking out on Murray.

I am off work for at least a week & have been to book an appointment with the physio on Friday at 5pm.

It's painful to say the least but the doctor seems to think it's a freak occurrence & should give me no more problems once healed.

On my way home I got a good idea of what it must be like to be elderly, infirm & surrounded by cocky, healthy, young whipper-snappers.

I popped into a stationery store (for medicinal purposes honest) & tried to locate envelopes. I hobbled through the shop & found them at the far corner of the store. They were sold in minimum units of a 1,000 but there was a notice advising customers that if they wanted smaller units they should ask at the counter.

I gingerly negotiated my way to the counter & made my request.

'They're over there' the school-leaver informed me with a jerk of her head, indicating the corner I had just melodramatically crawled from. 'I tried there - they are only in large numbers'

'In that case you'll just have to look everywhere else, I know we sell them'

The urge to drive my knee into her face was overwhelming.

I didn't partly because I couldn't stand on one leg to do it & she had no idea how much discomfort I was in. After locating said envelopes I queued behind an elderly, deaf lady who not only asked for each part of the transaction to be repeated but who fumbled in a plastic bag for the appropriate amount of money.

As she produced each 5 cent coin towards the total of $2.45 I could feel my back going into spasm. I cannot stand straight without leaning on a solid surface & I was resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa & feeling increasingly light-headed.

I stopped myself from snatching the carrier bag from her, inverting it & shaking the loose change onto the counter only with the most supreme will-power.

I took advantage of my indoor-curfew by completing all of my change-of-address details & listening to a very interesting talking-book about the disappearance of an NZ schoolgirl in 1983, Kirsa Jensen. To this date her body has not been found. Poor Mum.

Michelle is making tea at the minute, Eric is putting up fencing panels at a phenomenal rate & the girls are under orders to tidy their rooms as there will be 14 of us here for the weekend. Michelle has invited the Stokes & the Frews so it will be a full house. Not to mention the 4 dogs !

I made the mistake of telling Eric that the doctor had recommended that I move little & often to prevent my back locking. He thinks I should be able to crack on in the veg patch this weekend. Oh how we laughed !

Bye for now,

gotta clear my paperwork from the table,

Cx

Good evening folks,



Something quite unexpectedly rewarding has happened.


I have had word that Blog has reached as far as Illinois.

I had an e-mail from a John on Monday. Turns out he stumbled across Quest4Aragorn whilst settling a discussion about ducks & their mating habits.

He came across my bit about Paradise Shelducks & thinking it was a proper scientific paper commenced reading. He realised after a very short time that it was the inane ramblings of a limey in NZ but has very politely asked if he can continue reading.

So, welcome aboard John, until anyone can tell me otherwise I think he is our furthest away Blogger ?

He has said he struggles with some of the terminology & specifically asked what ‘ickle’ means.

Very amusing.

There was good news & bad news today.

The good news was I passed muster with Murray yesterday & he asked for my help again.

The bad news was I have done ‘something’ to my back & had to come home early due to being unable to move.

I really don’t know exactly what I did to set it off but it was a very physical morning with lots of gate-vaulting, ewe-wrestling & bending & stretching. I realised at 1100 that my back was hurting & within a couple of minutes felt very sick & light-headed. Sheer stubbornness kept me on my feet. I wasn’t having Murray scraping me up & calling me a whinging Pom.

Numerous painkillers did nothing to relieve the pain though & at 2.30 I gave it up as a bad job & came home. Michelle has turned out her very well-stocked medicine cabinet & I am hoping a good night’s rest will sort me out.

It feels like I have either trapped a nerve or pulled a muscle & after a lay down this afternoon flat on my back I thought the problem had gone away. 20 minutes of struggling to get off the bed convinced me otherwise.

If I am no better in the morning then a visit to the doctor & physio tomorrow looms.

A rare thing now, a word of praise for the Met.

When I went to the office today to ask for pain-killers neither Brent nor Robyn asked why I was asking for them. I would like to think that if a member of staff approached me for painkillers, the least I could do was bother to ask why they needed them. Maybe working for the Met has softened me up but I think it’s just basic management.

When the pain-killers did nothing I went to the office, told them I was going home & asked to fill in the injury book. It was produced, in all it’s glory, a 4” by 4” notebook full of enlightening statements

May 2001Kicked by horse

June 2002 Electrocuted by fence

Aug 2003 Head fell off

Sep 2003 Tractor ran over me, sewed on my own leg.

I took the time to fill my entry in properly just in case I should end up being jobless & reliant on medication for the rest of my working life.

In fact, I didn’t actually take the decision to go home. It was Murray’s threat of saying that if I didn’t go home he would make me take over the dagging of the ewes.

As I left he said ‘Go lie down for the afternoon love’ which I found very touching. He then spoiled it by saying that when we sent all the tough convicts to Oz, Britain was left with a country full of feeble workers like me.

I have been thoroughly spoiled this evening. The kids took over some of the cooking chores with Alice saying ‘You sit down Carol, I’ll peel the carrots’

She proceeded to make tea, fetch a blanket & insist I got comfy on the sofa.

Michelle received similar treatment for her migraine & all was going swimmingly until the tang of burning reached our nostrils & Michelle had to salvage Harriette’s burnt offerings from the oven.

The Tanners continue to be lovely landlords. Yesterday, I got home from foal-watch at 8.30pm. Due to my own oversight I had eaten nothing all day save an apple, banana & orange. Not only was I served a delicious fish dish called ‘trevally’ but it was freshly cooked for me after the family had already eaten theirs.

2 more mares foaled yesterday which made it 5 foals in 24 hours. Clinique was one of the mares to foal. She was the lovely chestnut mare I told you about who fell asleep across my legs whilst enjoying a back rub on my 1st foal-watch.

She was extremely uncomfortable when I left at 8pm so I was very grateful that she waited until 10.30pm when I was snugly in bed.

I will disappear for now as these pain-killers are making me drowsy,

I can’t remember if I told you but the reason there have been no foties is because the Kodak store in Matamata were unable to transfer my pics to disc & my memory card is currently full.

I plan to get then transferred this Saturday in Hamilton so the pics should resume next week.


Some mentions.



Mum – Hope all went well, thinking of you, will tx later.



Di – Great pics thanks but you didn’t say who you were ?

Were you Marilyn ?

Consider yourself forgiven re wb, not a problem. Give the ‘flea-bags’ a big love from me.

Can’t believe Joy has moved – where to ?

Bet L was checking to see if R’s car was there.



Ang – Glad you are settled & having a lovely time. Immensely impressed with the 21lbs

are you working hard to rectify it ? Any romance yet ?



Lolly – Are you back yet ? Was it as good as you remembered ?



Stu – Don’t know if you got my message but I did get the mail it’s just it had been

filed under February for some reason ? Glad to hear your game has suffered.

Lovely to hear B.Roo is being walked by Colin’s kids as well as next door.

The girl I worked with for 2 weeks was very like Grace, a really sweet kid.

Say hi to all at no. 2 & tell them I expect to hear from them soon !



Bill – Thx for yours, will reply soonest honest. Thanks for sharing the story about poo. Lovely.

It’s not really sick when you think they have to be in the post by mid Nov.

Pleeeease forward my e-mail to Fred to me, don’t know why you keep forgetting

it’s not as if you snakes do ‘owt J



Q – Is Hawaiki permanently disconnected these days ? I miss the team news & your entries

about the shifts .Have you heard any more from Ma S ?



Weeny – Are you settled or still living out of boxes ? Glad to hear Murph is kicking butt in the

neighbourhood.



TRE – Job offer noted & being seriously considered. You are right, money’s not everything but I

could afford my own gee on that sort of dosh. Await to hear more.



Cocky – Long time no hear. How’s the menagerie ? Is H enjoying school ? Are they enjoying

him ?



Trudes – Glad to hear you are beating them off with a stick. Quite right too.





John – Welcome.



Cx

Getting away with it ?

I hope you mean getting away from it ?

Gorgeous day today, frosty start as per yesterday.

Sunshine all day & for 2 whole days now which means the rain cycle is finally broken

Today I spent all day assisting Murray with the sheep.

He dagged about 500 ewes & lambs assisted by another chap who turned out to be a farrier as well as a Waikato huntsmen.

Thoroughly nice chap too.

Murray is a lot less quiet with stock than Mike was, hence I came home today reeking & covered in sheep-doings. Still, a nice break away from yearlings who want to dance on your swede.

We have the other half of the mob to do Thursday so I suppose I'll find out then if I was any good today. If Murray asks for my help again then I must have been alright.

He is a very taciturn man, he didn't shout at me for standing in the wrong place & I was glad I'd had the experience with Mike so that I didn't make an ass of myself.

We have 3 babies born today 0100, 1100 & 1500.

The mares have been crossing their legs during the rain & babies have been plopping out left, right & centre since the sun started shining.

My last few hours at work today were spent watching 17 mares & 2 foals.

I won't say the usual, I am sure it is starting to get boring by now.

But it was lovely.

Have to go now, 13 hr day today & I'm beat,

Later,

Cx

In case anyone is interested in joining CB and ' The Cedar Lodge Posse ' in getting away with it for the rest of their lives maybe you should have a look into going to this .

Regards Q

Seminar Timetable - Job Opportunities New Zealand

Good evening Blighty,

A thoroughly relaxing day today.

Began with a trip into Matamata, feel very smug as I have bought my Christmas cards. Not a patch on Angie, I know,
who will have no doubt bought all her presents as well as cards by now.

Spent far too much on stationery in general & spoiled myself with this month’s ‘Horse & Pony’

Also bought some baking goodies to do some more muffins tomorrow.

The family went shopping & to the cinema this afternoon & evening so I had the place to myself.
Caught up on some washing on what was in my Gran’s words ‘a good drying day’.

Pottered around doing some chores, wrote to my Gran & didn’t manage to do any of the change of address letters I was supposed to do this evening.

Macaroni cheese for dinner (home-made, not even tinned) & then several episodes of The Archers as a lovely treat.

I can’t believe Jennifer hasn’t discovered Siobhan was in the car with Brian yet. And who would have thought weedy Nigel would have the guts to stand up to Siobhan & tell her to sod off ?

I forgot to tell you yesterday about an incident on Friday. We were transferring a mob of flighty fillies from a small addock to a larger one.
As a result of my dragging my heels, I found that when I arrived at the paddock, the 3 ‘normal’ fillies had been claimed. Only Star remained.

She is easily distinguishable by her wild, long mane & permanently ‘scalded cat’ appearance.

Telling her to be good, I clipped a lead-rope on her & we, all four, set off.

As we reached the new paddock, Natasha who was leading in front of me, dropped her stick on the floor, directly in the entrance to the paddock.

When leading the yearlings, we all carry these sticks. They are orange or yellow, slim, made of lightweight plastic & about 3 or 4 feet in length. They are held in the left hand whilst the lead rope is in the right.
The horses are always led on the right.

The sticks are for 2 reasons. Firstly, if a horse is not stepping out properly & dawdling, the stick is to be tapped lightly on their quarters without moving it from your left hand. The horse should not see the movement so they do not associate the tapping with the handler.

Secondly, sometimes the horses will try & barge to their left & push the handler out of the way.
If this occurs & the horse is leaning heavily, you are encouraged to raise the stick to head height & hold it to the left hand side of the horses head to discourage them from barging & leaning.

The sticks are not to be used to punish the horses & the biggest no-no is to hit them on the face.
These horses are supposed to go on to earn their living from being saddled, bridled, ridden & raced. If Trelawney sent youngsters to be broken who were too scared to have their heads touched then they would be doing them a huge disservice.

Racehorses who are too frightened to be handled do not have a bright future.

Natasha didn’t realise the implications of dropping her stick where she did but Star refused point-blank to step over this very scary object. Had it been any other horse I would have kicked the stick out of the way but this was not an option with Star.
I encouraged her to step over it which she accomplished with a mighty leap which lifted me clear off my feet.

As we landed over the stick, the next obstacle was a large puddle. Without much time to gather my thoughts I was lifted clear again as she leapt the puddle. As we landed again, she decided she didn’t want to stick around any longer & set
off for the far end of the paddock.

I dug my heels in & managed to jerk her head around so that she was facing me.

Now began just about the longest 30 seconds I can remember. She combined rearing with running backwards dragging me in her wake like a flag.
Each time I thought she was tiring she would be newly spooked & set off again.

At the point that I finally stopped her she commenced running around me in circles. The only thing I could do was try & make them smaller. I was feeling quite nauseous by the time she finally stopped. Huge, quivering nostrils, wild eyes lots of bodily expulsions. She looked quite spooked too.

I had forgotten anyone else was there until I heard Trina ask if my hands hurt.

I realised everyone was there, still watching & holding onto their horses. The idea is that everyone holds onto their neddies until each of them is calm so that the whole lot don’t charge off madly en masse & hurt themselves.

It was very nice to have the guys congratulate me for hanging onto the filly. They all thought I was desperate not to have to buy a 6-pack which is the punishment for letting a horse get away from you. In reality, I was eyeing the ankle-deep mud & not relishing the idea of being dragged face-first through it.

I was not aware even, that I shouted my catch-phrase during our contre-temps.

All together now …’PACK IT IIIIIIIN !’

Off to bed now, the clocks go forward tonight so I lose an hour’s kip,

Good-night all,

Cx

You know how you keep reading about me being outdoors & happy in the lovely fresh air watching aminals whilst you lot are sitting in air-conditioned offices looking at computer screens ?

Well, today was your revenge.

It has lashed down all day. The weather now is whipping itself into a frenzy like a fractious child.
The weather forecast promises a storm 'worse than the recent one'

The Tanners neighbours Ian & Clare have lost a large chestnut tree today with no undue damage luckily.

And at Trelawney we lost another 200' tree today, again near to poor Spook's paddock. He must be starting to feel like there is a bullseye on him.

And our job today ?

Picking up poo in the paddock which has had 40 mares through it recently. We filled 4 trailer loads & I can honestly say it was a thoroughly awful job to be doing in the pouring rain.

Even my full-length oilskin gave up the job after an hour of the most insistent rain.

As I am typing the rain is clattering against the windows. It is so hard that it sounds like small pebbles hitting the windows.

It has now rained every day at some stage since the 16th September. I make that 48 days. That's just not funny. When we turn the horses out into paddocks we issue them with water wings.

I am sorry if this leaps around a bit but I am finding it difficult to concentrate as Eric & Michelle are doing crosswords with the kids & I can't resist poking my nose in & answering the odd clue.

Well, I say that Eric & Michelle are doing crosswords, in truth, Michelle is doing crosswords & Eric is lusting over an office stationery catalogue.

Harriett is telling us about the diarist Samuel 'Peeps'.

The kids accents are doing weird things over here.Alice sounds almost entirely Kiwi & causes Eric no end of dismay by trying to attract his attention by shouting 'Diddy ?'

Harriette also sounds Kiwi but with the weird addition of an Essex accent. Weird because she has never lived in Essex in her life.

They have both adopted the very Australasian =habit of finishing every sentence on a rising inflection. This makes listening to an ordinary story very distracting. Instead of just hooking in at the end to take note of the punchline/point you find yourself waiting for the pont at the end of every sentence.

Try it for yourself to see how odd it sounds.

Read these statements as questions.

The Smiths have a lamb ?
It's name is Flossie ?
It is very cute ?

Hard work isn't it ?

The kids have also shamed me by adopting all the local words for things.

Hence wellies are gumboots, Weet-a-bix is Weetbix, registration numbers are rego numbers.

I steadfastly refuse to call my wellies 'gumboots' & have caused much unprovoked hilarity at work.
I am perversely clinging to my Englishness despite loving my adopted homeland.

Michelle has just cause great mirth by delighting in informing me that the long-range weather forecast is rain for the whole of October.

Today I said a temporary goodbye to a lovely girl who has been with us on work experience during the last 2 weeks. She is only 14 & lost her Dad a few weeks ago after a racing accident.

Oddly enough Michelle nursed him whilst he was in ICU. She is a lovely kid & a delight to have around. The staff have decided we could be mother & daughter & the sad thing is that age-wise it's feasible. How scary is that ?

As if it isn't hard enough to lose your Dad at 14 she also suffered a horrific riding accident herself.
She was on her horse, 6 strides out from a jump when the horse had a heart attack.

It fell on her & suffered her into unconsciousness.
As it fell it broke it's neck.

She relayed the story as if it was an every day occurrence. I have been very taken with her & impressed with her attitude. She has a natural way with the horses, is completely fearless & has brains to boot.

When I asked her what she would like to do I assumed with her connections that an equestrian career was a foregone conclusion.

'Law' was her answer.

We have exchanged mobile numbers & e-mails & I have told her I will go & see her compete at the weekend when I have days off.

Well, I have hogged the pooter for ages & I have a good book to finish so I will sign off for now.

I am reading a lot of Mary Wesley at the moment, in fact I think I am finishing her last one today.
She was a bit of a late developer, in fact she didn't publish her 1st novel until 70 so I have a way to go yet.

She writes nothing like an older person & has a shocking honesty which makes for very entertaining reading. Her descriptive powers are acute & I will be very sad to finish her last book.

Bye for now,

thinking of you Mum,

Cx

Good Evening Bloggers,

Thanks coven, enjoyed both messages.

I don't know why Blog is so unreader-friendly at the moment, it's all short lines then long lines, is difficult to read as well as not looking 'right'.

Not a major problem you might think but you're not obsessive compulsives are you ?

I have tried to edit numerous times with no success, will have a bash agaion at the weekend.

I had a cracking day today. Did 2 hours of tractor work which comprised of loading loads of fallen branches from Spook's paddock onto the trailer.

There were 5 of us doing it & it was very satisfying to see the difference we made.

Not to mention the fact that I got to chug around in the tractor & use the hydraulic tipper.

I was going to show you lots of pics from my journey home but for some reason the file that I use to send pics is absent.

Pending advice from Q, I will put the words anyway & hopefully send the pics soonest.

The 1st shot is the rainbow I saw this afternoon over the Karapiro dam. I pass over this dam every day & it spans the Waikato river.

It is very popular with rowers & anglers.



I then parked up with the Japanese tourists to take the following couple of shots.





A thing of beauty is a joy forever

The route home is about 20 kms & takes about 20 mins. Although I am usually too tired to appreciate the drive to work I never fail to enjoy the drive home.








It is this kind of scenery that makes the drive so special. The light today was particularly intense.

As I parked up I took this one of the red hot pokers alongside the cow paddock.



I have always disliked red hot pokers in England finding them brash & loud.

For some reason here, they fit in really well & provide a dazzling splash of colour.


Goodnight all, hope to get the pics thing sorted soon

Cx

1st October tomorrow ?

Where is the year going ?

At some point in every week, Brent examines a mob of horses. He does this to assess their development & discuss any remedial steps to be taken with staff.

He examines them by having 3 or 4 people parade the horses up & down. Sounds straightforward doesn't it ?

Problem is, they are young, silly & don't like being separated from their mates. It also wouldn't go down too well if they mowed Brent down as he examines them.

We brought in a mob of fillies today who were hyper, fresh & excitable. I was asked to lead 'Nothing less' in the parade. The fillies are paraded singly.

I entered her box & attached a lead rope.

It was all going well at this stage.

In the next box to me, Mark led his filly out onto the parade square. My horse, seeing her mate outside made a mad lunge for her door, disregarding the fact that I was standing in front of it trying to slide the bolt home.

She barged me straight through the door & we arrived in an undignified heap of hooves & shavings directly at Brent's feet whilst he was scrutinising the 1st filly.

Without so much as taking his eyes from his notebook he said

'One at a time please Carol.'

I wanted the ground to swallow me up but that wasn't the end of my problems. Relieved at being in the open with her buddy my filly was in no hurry to go back in the box. After much pulling, coaxing & finally threatening I got her inside.

She then proceeded to quite determinedly pin me into the corner of the box by leaning her entire body weight on me. I have occasionally known a horse inadvertently barge or a horse which tries to trap you against a wall if it does not want to be handled on one side.

I have never had a horse systematically set about trying to crush me before & it wasn't at all pleasant.

Within a very short space of time I couldn't breathe & my ribs felt like they were going to break. I tried putting my elbow in her side but my arms were pinioned to my sides.

I tried to attract Trina's attention as she was in the next box along but couldn't call properly due to lack of breath.

I was seeing yellow pinpricks when thankfully she looked over, saw my predicament & hurried in to move the filly.

It was very unnerving & I gratefully accepted Trina's suggestion that she lead the filly for Brent.

The pleasant part of the day was seeing the filly who has been in long term confinement in the barn, go out for the 1st time in over 2 months today. I will miss sitting with her at lunchtime but I can't say I will miss the daily saga of trying to groom her without her dancing on my head.

That's it for today, short I'm afraid, have to go make my packed lunch.

Night all,

Cx

Storm leaves trail of debris
29 September 2003

Gale-force northwesterlies and heavy rains smashed through the North Island overnight, uprooting trees, blocking roads and cutting power across the Waikato.

A huge low preceded by two rain-bearing fronts delivered the spectacular weekend storm, and 1800 lightning strikes across the upper North Island.

Heavy rain fell across the region in the 24 hours to 7am, including:

7mm at Kaimai Summit east of Matamata.

41mm at Mangatangi Dam, about 18km northeast of Pokeno.

Strong winds –- gusting to gale forces of 70km/h in Hamilton, a rarity –- left a trail of debris across the Waikato during the night.

Weighted plastic road works barriers at the intersection of Te Rapa and Church Rds in the city were strewn about SH1 during the night.

Three power poles were blown over on Te Pahu Rd, northwest of Te Awamutu, about 5.45am.

Hello you lot,

The storm finally abated at 0600 this morning which means it had been howling for some 15 hours. I got very little sleep last night.

It wasn't just the wondering if/when the pine trees were going to crush the cottage (& me in my bed) but the sheer volume of noise.
I don't mind admitting it was scary.

Today, Eric said he was worried too.
Not about his lodger though but the pigs.
He was contemplating checking them at 0230to see if their hut had blown away.

As a result of my lack of sleep I found it very difficult to stay awake today.
I have passed up an invitation to some friends of the family for dinner & propose an early night after a very hot bath to try catch up on some sleep.

Today was very exciting at work.
At 2.15 a huge pine tree crashed to the ground in Spook's paddock. Spook is a pony stallion whose job is to 'check' if the mares are in season.

I feel sorry for Spook. The chaps give him a hard time & say he is grumpy but I have to say I don't blame him.

His only function is as a warm-up guy for His Royal Highness 'Van Nistlerooy' or 'Nissle' as he is now called.

Essentially, Spook gets a lifetime of foreplay & no relief. Now wonder he's grumpy.

Where was I ?

Ah, the tree. It came down right where he normally stands so he had a very lucky escape. It was about 200' tall & crashed through the electric fence.

Steve cut it into chunks with a chainsaw whilst Murray scooped up the bits in the tractor & made a huge pile of logs. I have to say Murray is a dab hand with a tractor & made it look very easy whilst I looked on enviously.

Did I tell you that I drove one of the farm tractors on Friday ? I can't remember.
There are 2, 1 is old & red & the other is posh, new & blue. Needless to say it was the red 1 I drove but it did have a huge trailer which empties hydraulically :)

I am now working on Murray to drive the blue one. He is a fan of my baking so there may be some blatant bribery involved.

When I asked him how long he had driven tractors for he said since 'he was in nappies' He asked if we had them in England ?

I told him most countries have nappies.

I must sign off for now, lots to sort on the pooter tonight.

Have just e-mailed Genevieve telling her all my news. Hope the e-mail doesn't get 'lost'

Bill sent me a photo of 'Emily Victoria' today along with a comment that she was more atttractive than a foal.

Strange some people.

Cx