Sir Richie McCaw!

Well it had to happen, winning by fifteen points or so in a comprehensive victory at Twickenham.

The whole of New Zealand was glued to the screens, although many will deny it, it was a national victory of the Kiwi Soul. I got up at four am to witness the game at Ron's, with five others. We all enjoyed the romp and the jubilation that followed. And the sky was blue and the day spectacular.

What more could a Kiwi want!

Chiselled jaw of an Otago farm boy..

Pin-up idol of his schoolboy village....

Chubby cheeks in the middle,but leader!

On the field, his birthright.

In Belfast debut tour with All Blacks

The champion of all time...

...even has a blonde girl friend.

These few pics were part of the ten page eulogy appearing in the Sunday paper, even before the game was won and Richie crowned king and knighted by his arch critic Mark Reason. We all knew it, especially the million dolar gambler in Auckland who put forty grand on an All Blacks win. We can now rest until the grand parade when they return this week. The city will stop for a few minutes in adulation as they have a motorcade down Lambton Quay no doubt.

In the meantime, the dirt is flying in Auckland it is time to bring out the big guns. It will be the end of Body Positive as a community organisation if not. If so, it will not be without a fight.

Beautiful Evans Bay view from my veranda

Last night at the Embassy Cinema on Kent Terrace I saw an excellent foodie movie. It was shot mainly in the London high-end restaurant scene of Langhams, and concerned an American chef at the top of his trade trying to win a Michelin Three Stars for his restaurant. Built on the not inconsiderable charms of new Hollywood hunk, Bradley Cooper, it managed to work for this foodie and I would recommend it for other foodies also. It does show a bit of the underbelly of haute cuisine, the toughness in the kitchen, but there are some good scenes of fresh market shopping and overall good performances from everyone, including a charming cameo from Uma Thurman as a food critic. It also has a happy ending, of course!

I think the idea was sown by the redoubtable and controversial Gordon Ramsay and his short fuse in the kitchen.  It is called 'Burnt' by the way, as in 'burnt out', which is what chefs become if they don't take a rest occasionally, lol! At least three stars for this one.

By the way, there was a row of nine womem in their forties I would say, who obviously came to enjoy the fruits of watching their favourite heartthrob in action. I don't think they would have been disappointed, Bradley Cooper delivered in spades.

Calm before the storm

Well Satuday has dawned with some interest. First a blackout at home and when I rang the landlord, first idea, he said ring Meridian Electricity, good idea, but then the electricity came back on, just like that. Olivia later told me Meridian were predicting an outage in Roseneath today. I wonder why, Robbie's big concert at Basin Reserve perhaps?

However all is well and the landlord wants to talk to me about something, no idea what, usually not too important, I hope!

The fifties, my favourite decade...of innocence.

Papers riddled with Rugby.....

Nostalgic photos...

Today's teenager opposite....

Yesterday's girls, more innocent?

Front and back pages.....

As well as the Rugby, the drama unfolds in Auckland with another resignation from the board of BP. I wrote my letter and have kept it waiting for the right moment to send it to the present Director asking him to consider resigning for the good of the Body Positive. I have a director-in-waiting, Scottie, but can I bring this about? It will be tough and I need to do some more backroom work and lobbying in the right places. Some more emails to the right people may help.

Anyway, the gods must be smiling on Robbie Williams as a fine evening is solidly predicted at the Basin Reserve.

Another day, the sun returns..

I awoke to the sun shining through my front doors and a check on bank account to see that the rent was finally paid. Interesting to see I have to teach the young ones much more than I thought, or is it just  that she is a laid back Canadian, and doesn't do money well? May be, but all is good now and she is on automatic payments which is what I wanted in the first place but she didn't apparently know about them. Another lesson for me!

Nostalgia for meand my days in my parents' bookshop/starionery at Gosford where we lived on top of the shop for many years. 

It was not a particularly happy time, going through puberty with an increasing dysfunctuonal alcoholic father and a long term suffering mother. But it all turned out alright in the end. Dad died at 64 leaving Mum to resume a single life without suffering and to create a wonderful home where she welcomed many visitors and where I lived with her in her last years, for eight of them. She passed away at the grand age of 97. I really don't think I want to live to be that old, but who knows, I'm only seventy!

A connoisseur coffee taster, David

The Memphis 'patron', on the go..

Greens' Bossnow retired to the Greenpeace movement.

This TED talker knows the dangers of the internet addiction.....but he does travel the world talking and meditating...not a bad way to live really! I am hoping my membership of Toastmasters may give my public speaking a boost that it needs. On again next Monday, we'll see.

Last night at swimming we had a new arrival, from Hong Kong, via Melbourne and Whanganui, as you do! Name of Harry, a charming and fit young Chinese boy of multi accent and very intelligent I believe. I wonder if he will be seduced by Wellington like the rest of us? He is on contract for something, I don't know what. I felt great after the swim with Gareth the coach being as nice as ever, not pushing me too much. I will be sorry to leave them if I have to, the week is not long enough for me!

This afternoon I meet up with Ron to discuss the latest drama in Auckland about the Body Positive failure. I still haven't written that letter, and am waiting for the right moment. In the meantime I have emailed the former applicant to see if he would be available and interested if the job reappeared. No reply yet from him, probably won't be, it is New Zealand after all!

Robbie Williamsreceiving a powhiri on his arrival at Wellington airport, dscovers he is to sing outside on a cricket ground! Luckily, the unpredictable weather may well be fine, but not warm, and the crowds will ultimately go mad as they always do to a good show in Wellington. Enormous preparations in the Basin Reserve have made it into a good venue   depending on the weather. Good luck to Robbie, the Kiwis are his sort of people, he sports a big Maori tattoo!

Again New Zealandis punching well above its weight in the singing arena, with this girl at twenty-one, a graduate from a New York school of singing and drama, appearing as Evita, which looks as if it should be a big success, with an all Kiwi, talented cast.

Have just decided to have a pain au chocolat, why? To celebrate Friday, the end of the week!

This likeable, good looking faceof Dan Carter could be the reason the Aussies lose the World Cup final on Sunday morning. If it is, and not through bad and biased refereeing by Clive Owen, than I won't mind too much, as he is a veritable champion and deserves to win, any time. I'm afraid I can't say the same about the captain Richie McCaw, already raised to sainthood status by the adoring Kiwi fans.

Back to the pool

Tonight is my return to swimming, for a while anyway. We are back at Kilbirnie after the refurbishing of the pool, meaning there is a new change area and new tiles on the bottom. I wonder if I will notice the difference...

It's still cool and the temperature is cool at home too as I wrote a letter to the housemates suggesting they lift their game...am not sure how it was taken as they have been avoiding me for the last days, or it may be my imagination, who knows? However it had to be said as two of them do nothing to clean the kitchen up, and that is a normal thing to keep clean in a house of four people, don't you think? I hope I worded the email in the right way however, you just never know.

Aussie accent getting a bum rap in the local press..Kath and Kim getting an airing?

Quiet at Memphis...

Abbott embarrassing Australia stillwith his tirade on immigration and how the bible is wrong with love thy neighbour! He received much flack from everyone, why doesn't he just go to bed and not get up!

World Cup madnessin Twickenham, the world is really crazy, sixty grand for a game of footy!!

Interesting to see that Australia is always in the Kiwi press whereas New Zealand is rarely in the Aussie  press, except for the Rugby of course, and all the other sports where Kiwis excel. 

Such a wet day, made for a movie, and guess what, at eleven there is the latest Aussie film called 'The Dressmaker' starring Kate Winslet, and a few Kiwis of course. It's on at the Cuba Lighthouse so I pop up at the last minute and there are many seats left in this cosy theatre.

Don McAlpine is the cinematographer so it's gotta be great, and it certainly is. And the acting ain't bad either. The hunky Lliam Hemsworth twin from WA is the male lead, as well as Hugo Weaving enjoying playing a transvestite policeman in a tiny country town in northern Victoria. The beautiful Kate's character returns a glamorous woman from London after a career in fashion design, and wants to meet her aged near-demented Mum and exorcise her childhood demons. 

It is indeed a can of worms, and this tiny town has much dirty underwear. Told with great tongue in cheek, not the least due to the great skills of Judy Davis who plays the reclusive mother who gave birth to her bastard daughter, who was then accused of a childhood murder by the village and sent to England to get away. 

The weird threads are brought together by good directing, and although not a great script, it didn't need a great one as it was based on an award winning story by author Rosalie Ham. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, it was a humorous, very off-beat description of the quirks of country Aussie life in the fifties. And tons of fabulous fifties fashion!

It was enjoyable, but more than that, it urged me back to my Aussie roots and I felt very nostalgic. Oz is pulling me again but I have certain things to achieve here before I go, probably not till in 2017 when I will be seventy-two and come back from the European ECK Seminar in Frankfurt in August.  But there is much water to flow under the bridge before then. 

So there, I have sown the seeds in my blog for my eventual return to my roots, but it will be at the right time, with everything in place. Gives me food for thought though, and goals to set.

Kate Winslet, with Singer sewing machine.

Paul at Memphis

Am waiting with my long versato for Paul H to arrive for the rendezvous we made on Sunday last, on his return from UK. He is jetlagged, no doubt, so I have no expectations of his arrival, at least on time.

The Basin Reserve is under big constructionto house this concert of the beloved wild child Robbie Williams this Saturday night. The crowds will also probably stay up to watch the final of the World Cup at five am on Sunday morning. Courtenay Place will be alive that's for sure.

This may well be the film of the year,albeit an ugly one.

Called '99 Homes', it is about the mammoth foreclosure of private homes by the banks which went on in the US in the eighties. A horrible tale told only by the Americans, this time a Persian academic from Columbia University, a brilliant man, Ramin Bahrani.

Interesting to see Auckland race ahead with its building Casinos and money making institutes ....and then there are more big airplanes to bring in the gamblers. Not hard to see why Wellington lags so far behind in its wealth and size when you read news like this. But of course it keeps Wellington the jewel that it is.

The future for the generation Xes...Life Coaching by the NLP generation!

Something smells bad here...and it is not in the Aussies' favour I'm afraid. Will be interesting to see if it is a just final with Owens in charge with a record of favouring Richie McCaw to a crazy extent.

Well Paul, came and went and was full of UK news and showed me pics of Renie and Jasper. Tom met and liked him and he wants to meet up some time in the future. Will be on my conditions though.

With Pam at Memphis

Have made final rv with Pam at the Memphis today. The weather has gone back to windy and cold, what can you say, you can never predict it!

I had a wonderful weekend and and now must settle back to my regular state. I am wondering what there is more for me to do here?

This 1.5 million dollarpurchase is excellent -half the annual spending budget!

The story which embarrassed Kincumber

Sonny Bill showing style

Dawn French smiling wide

Eating banana skins..would you believe?

Well Pam arrived early and a bit later Tom appeared, which was excellent as I had spoken about them to each respectively. We spoke at length about Pam's inheritance, or not, and what she should do. Tom had some good insights from past experience and Pam was eager to learn, but how she registers this information in the future is not sure. She then told me after Tom had left that her iMac pro had crashed about the time of Philip's death, and she had lost everything; a new one would cost $1500. Why did it crash I asked? Don't know, I hadn't been upgrading, she said. Well that is the reason for the crash, Pam has a blind spot when it comes to technology and just doesn't want to know about it. Philip was not much better it seems.

She wanted to take me to lunch, but no I must go home, so she gave me three more French pastries from the best shop in town, Moore Wilsons, and she left me, she one way, me another.  I wish her the best, but I'm afraid there will be be few problems to resolve if she doesn't organise herself better. She is such a child sometimes as her dear father will attest to, although she will be the last to admit it.

Home to update my computer now as I don't want the pot calling the kettle black! And I may even catch the latest Marlon Brando documentary at the Paramount tonight, I need a good movie fix.

Brando...what more can you say. This was a brilliant doco movie about about a brilliant and mesmerising personality. Troubled upbringing, fabulous looks, outstanding  natural talent nurtured by the legendary Stella Adler in New York, this is a definitive rendition of Marlon Brando and makes you want to go out and see (nearly) all of his movies again. Certainly 'The Wild One' and 'On the Waterfront', both immense acting portrayals and award winning movies. Possibly even 'The Godfather' and 'Last Tango'!

Labour Day Holiday

Monday and the two workers have been labouring on this Monday holiday for three hours already, and it's only ten am! I rolled over in my Afgan bed at four am and tried, unsuccessfully, to listen to the Aussies knock out the young Argentina team which I heard later won by fifteen points or more. Next Sunday the final between the ABs and the Wallabies will be the classic feud between the two top Rugby nations in the world. Poor northern hemisphere, they didn't get a look in!

My comfy Afgan bed

Newly mown lawn...

Blue skies in Norsewood..

Tom has such plans for this Post Office cottage, which I discovered yesterday he bought for the paltry sum of 18.5 K dollars in 1998, only eighteen and a half thousand dollars! Telecom were off-loading now useless outmoded Telecom offices and this one had no-one interested except Tom, and he pounced and got his prey. It is now worth two hundred thousand or thereabouts but of course he has no wish to sell as it is indeed a gem. 

At the back is a gorgeous garden soon to filled with fruit trees, a lock-up garage,  and at the street front opposite the only hotel lies the two bedroom house with lovely sunroom where I have been sleeping and a cosy sitting room with a wood burning fire to keep the house warm. And then, of course, the former PO itself, soon to be a self-contained studio flat, or office work space, available for some rent or used as a caretaker's residence. 

Really, it has it all, but he is putting in some hard word to achieve his goals, with Brent's help of course. They are happy not asking for my help as indeed I am not in a state to offer it, so I am happy to be observing and appreciating their gigantic efforts.

We plan to return to Wellie when they are finished, possibly mid-afternoon, and risk the holiday traffic, which, from the Wairarapa, shouldn't be all that bad. It has been, indeed, a nice 'weekend in the country'!

The hard working, bemasked Brent

A lushly laden lemon tree

Country simplicity

The drive to Norsewood was a leisurely four hour cruise, with light traffic and delightful countryside, including a forty five minute stopover at the original TUI brewery at a little place called Mangatainoka, where we had a nicely served light dinner at about five o'clock. We were their last customers and they kept the kitchen open for us which was very hospitable. Then on to arrive at the Scandinavian hamlet of Norsewood. 

Tom, fifteen years ago, had bought a neglected old Post Office and had been renting it out cheaply to friends but he has now done a big job renovating the house at the back, with the front, the original Post Office, in the process of being emptied for another friend to caretake when he is not here. He had the fire stoked on arrival and we chatted till we had an early bedtime, as I said I was going to be tuning in the All Blacks vs Springboks game at four am. Which I did, and it was an exciting nail-biter which the ABs won by two points only.

I then returned to sleep for a while till the sun came shing into my room, which happens to be called the sun room!  It is a a sleepy hamlet Norsewood, built by the Norwegians who were given blocks of  land in the 1800s to cultivate and build on. Right opposite there is the one pub, The Crown.

Tom has created an idyll of simple country living which he plans to have for his retirement years in this small and sympathetic community which he will embrace. He is already quite friendly with the pub owners and no doubt he will improve the fabric of the local society (no pun intended!)

My room, the sun room.

Looking onto a park..

And the large back yard..

Tom's beautiful bedspread from Uzbekistan,...he is after all, a fabric freak!

The day turned out to be a hot one, but undeterred, Tom and Brent got stuck into the demolition of the old redbrick fireplace in the front Post Office which is destined to be replaced by a metal wood burner. They both worked so very hard while I relaxed, but later it was the plan to take me for a long drive around the Wairarapa and look at some stately houses. We left Brent who decided to mow the lawn and we drove through a countryside verdant and royally beautiful, the towns quaint and Kiwi, and it was totally delightful.

Home at six to see Brent finishing mowing the large lawn and Tom to began to set the fire for tonight.

Brent on the job....

Sunny Saturday to Norsewood

It is a beautiful morning and all bodes well for a lovely 'weekend in the country' with Tom and Brent, as Stephen Sondheim so aptly put it in song.

Am shopping at New Town for the week anyway, and then have a RV at Zaida's with Pam. Two texts this morning as PH is back from London amd wants to see me on Wednesday. He sounded full of energy that boy. He will have news of Renie and Jasper no doubt.

My back is still much the same and the four hour road trip to Norsewood will be the real test. I may have to visit Joe again on my return. This time I will also have a massage.

Am leaving the three young ones in charge of the house on this holiday weekend and it will be interesting to see if it is order when I return. They are an interesting bunch these three, seem to get on well but all are quite selfish although Alice seems to be the most aware of sharing. The others have no idea!

It will be my last chat with Pam today as she fills me in on the latest drama with The Will. It will never be easy as she is still too attached to the situation amd I'm afraid it will be a lawyer's win in the end.

She may even return to Wellington with her tail between her legs so to speak, but I hope not. Shedeserves  better.

Strange dream of Sonny last night ...I wonder what that boy is thinking sometimes. He appeared with his bro Koroi yesterday and delicately picked some errant flowers out of Koroi's afro hair, like a doting wife. Such a bromance going on there. Koroi now has a flat in New Town and I am wondering if Sonny may move in but I doubt it, he has it too good with me here, and  cheap. I really give these three an excellent life at home in Wellington.

The orange cake is baked, it didn't drop, looks great, and I am packed for the roadtrip and amreally looking forward to it, although the papers say the one hour trip yesterday to Waikanae took three hours. The roads out of Wellington are very limited but we are going to the Wairarapa which is a tiny less popular than the Kapiti Coast. It will he OK with Tom he has done it many times before.

My new creation....!

Sunny at New Town

Typical kiwi I'm afraid....

Tomorrow's decider....

Really....??

Michael CampbellMaori golfer who beat Tiger Woods