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.