A week less ordinary
Hi all, hope life is good wherever you are! The weather has picked up again, it's gonna be a scorcher tomorrow, so I'm going to try and get myself a tan. I have a six pack now - it's in the fridge, tried Gisborne Gold last week, not too impressed - sorry Gissy!!.
Moving swiftly on, Toni, her sister Donna and Stacey, Toni's baby niece and I(?) went to Tauranga over the weekend. That's about three and a half hours drive from here, with some breathtaking scenery! We saw all sorts of wildlife along the way - wild turkeys, hawks, falcons, N.Z. kingfishers and cyclists to name but a few.
Pohutakawa
Also saw Pohutukawa trees in bloom. This tree is the symbol of summer, the 'New Zealand Christmas Tree'!. The tree in full bloom is crimson red. A story from Maori folklore explains how pohutukawa flowers received their colour. A warrior named Tawhaki wanted to borrow the dog bands of Tama-i-waho, to help him avenge his father's death. He visited the heavens and found the dog bands, but Tama, unhappy about his dog bands being borrowed, caused Tawhaki to fall and perish. When the people of the world awoke the next morning, they saw that the blossoms of Pohutukawa (and also of rata) had been stained by the blood of Tawhaki to a bright scarlet red.
They grow along the coast of the Northern half of the North Island, and are very hardy, often growing on the most inhospitable of places:
'From crest and crevice, tortuously flung,
Those monstrous iron-hearted myrtles hung,
Stiff, snaky, writhing trunks, and roots that clave
And crawled to any ramparts gave'
(From 'Ranoulf and Amohia', by Alfred Domett, 1872.)
Kiwi humour
Anyway, back to my story.. Toni and I went out on the town on Friday, and managed a mini pub crawl - well, they all had different beers to taste! We eventually found a nice bar with a live band, who sang all sorts, from The Beatles to The Proclaimers and other local bands. The main reason for the long trip was for us to attend a the wedding of Mandy and Gareth, friends of Toni's. They came all the way over from Wales with an enterage of 40 people, for it to rain solid all day! We still had a great time - the kiwi bride came down the river in a boat instead of an aisle while the Welsh groom and his mates sang the Welsh National Anthem. Different! Free food and beer kept the festivities going nicely! I love this place! Met up with Lisa, who introduced me to Toni in the Welsh Club all that time ago - good to see a familiar face and catch up!
As I have already mentioned, I live in a farmhouse surrounded by orchards and vineyards, and yesterday a helicopter came by and sprayed them. It was literally only metres away from the house, swooping low over the fields, I felt like a big kid getting excited about it, as Toni's family just said 'they're spraying again then'!
Off to dream of a white Christmas, just like the one I used to know!!
Owen
Moving swiftly on, Toni, her sister Donna and Stacey, Toni's baby niece and I(?) went to Tauranga over the weekend. That's about three and a half hours drive from here, with some breathtaking scenery! We saw all sorts of wildlife along the way - wild turkeys, hawks, falcons, N.Z. kingfishers and cyclists to name but a few.
Pohutakawa
Also saw Pohutukawa trees in bloom. This tree is the symbol of summer, the 'New Zealand Christmas Tree'!. The tree in full bloom is crimson red. A story from Maori folklore explains how pohutukawa flowers received their colour. A warrior named Tawhaki wanted to borrow the dog bands of Tama-i-waho, to help him avenge his father's death. He visited the heavens and found the dog bands, but Tama, unhappy about his dog bands being borrowed, caused Tawhaki to fall and perish. When the people of the world awoke the next morning, they saw that the blossoms of Pohutukawa (and also of rata) had been stained by the blood of Tawhaki to a bright scarlet red.
They grow along the coast of the Northern half of the North Island, and are very hardy, often growing on the most inhospitable of places:
'From crest and crevice, tortuously flung,
Those monstrous iron-hearted myrtles hung,
Stiff, snaky, writhing trunks, and roots that clave
And crawled to any ramparts gave'
(From 'Ranoulf and Amohia', by Alfred Domett, 1872.)
Kiwi humour
Anyway, back to my story.. Toni and I went out on the town on Friday, and managed a mini pub crawl - well, they all had different beers to taste! We eventually found a nice bar with a live band, who sang all sorts, from The Beatles to The Proclaimers and other local bands. The main reason for the long trip was for us to attend a the wedding of Mandy and Gareth, friends of Toni's. They came all the way over from Wales with an enterage of 40 people, for it to rain solid all day! We still had a great time - the kiwi bride came down the river in a boat instead of an aisle while the Welsh groom and his mates sang the Welsh National Anthem. Different! Free food and beer kept the festivities going nicely! I love this place! Met up with Lisa, who introduced me to Toni in the Welsh Club all that time ago - good to see a familiar face and catch up!
As I have already mentioned, I live in a farmhouse surrounded by orchards and vineyards, and yesterday a helicopter came by and sprayed them. It was literally only metres away from the house, swooping low over the fields, I felt like a big kid getting excited about it, as Toni's family just said 'they're spraying again then'!
Off to dream of a white Christmas, just like the one I used to know!!
Owen
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