Boxing Day

Boxing Day is that wonderful English post-Christmas tradition where you can relax and start the job of consuming all the leftover food. For almost as long as we have been in New Zealand it has also been celebrated by Morris dancing at the top of the cable car. Noreen & I were in at the birth of the current revival in 1977 and we have drifted in and out of active involvement since then. The children grew up in a Morris environment and have participated at different times over the years. Sam was very enthusiastic in his early teens because it meant he could go into pubs and drink beer (in moderation I hasten to point out). Anyway, the point of this ramble is that Noreen and Jenny have recently started dancing with White Rose again, and appeared today in the traditional venue. 

It was another stunning day, warm and still with just a bit of cloud way over the Orongorongos.

Afterwards we repaired home to take tea and mince pies. Sam and Bex’s hammock was a big hit.

One of the characters we have met through the Morris is Tony Catford, loyal member of the Imperial British Conservative Party, Wizard (2nd class) Bluebottle, 'Alf' of Alf's Imperial Army and erstwhile Duke of Wellington. We prevailed upon him to perform the official inauguration and switching on of the chandelier. Which he did.

Happy Christmas

Today followed the pattern of recent years. Both children plus Bex stayed overnight and Andy’s nephew Robbie visited en route from Auckland to Wanaka. We started with champagne breakfast

while wearing tiaras and playing aeroplanes,

 and trying out our new presents.

 The broad beans have been very prolific this year and I harvested a good crop for lunch.

 While the cooking proceeded there was time for relaxing in the warm sun (and unusually for Wellington – no wind!).

Finally we could sit down to the smoked salmon and caviar starter (provided by Sam and Bex)

followed at an appropriate interval by the main course of roast chicken.

Then several hours later as the sun was beginning to dip to the west we finished off with Christmas pudding, brandy butter, chocolate dipped strawberries and cream.

We hope you all have a similarly pleasant and relaxing day.

Peace on earth and good will to all men.

Christmas Baking

Jenny has been a hive of activity preparing for Christmas.

Her latest creation is these wonderfully colourful stars

which she has laid out in the dining room to dry.

Now all we have to do is eat them!

Happy Birthday Blog

The blog is now four years old. A lot has happened in that time. I know posting has been a bit sporadic lately so here is a brief run down of what has been going on in the last few weeks.

Ali came down for a brief visit and we went up Kaukau.

It was a good clear day and we had a great view from the top.

Sam and Bex have established a garden. Here they are relaxing after a hard day’s digging.

We went round for a barbecue and admired the view from the garden which is behind the house. This is Jenny with the airport behind her.

Last weekend David and I went for a walk up the back of Wainuiomata and along the ridge for a while. We sat on ‘that’ seat

and saw a tui in a fir tree.

It was also Stir up Sunday so we did the traditional making of the Christmas pudding and cake and making a wish while the mixture is stirred.

And finally, after three years of waiting, the Royal Doulton crockery 

and Noreen’s shiny chandelier have arrived from England.

Red Zone Enigma

Our favourite brewery and pub in Christchurch (and possibly the world) was The Twisted Hop. It was severely affected by the February earthquake. On a recent visit to our wine and beer supplier I was intrigued to see some beer had come out of the brewery.

This a strong ale (10.5%), the Mag 6.3 refers to the seismologic intensity of the event.

The back explains a bit more about the provenance of the brew – I have transcribed it below. We wish all in Christchurch good luck in re-establishing their businesses and lives. May it not be too long before we can sample fresh brews from this wonderful brewery.

For the record the ale was very drinkable, quite heavy (as you would expect) with a marmaladey flavour.

Barley Wine is the English term for a brewer’s strongest offering – so fear not, it is indeed a beer best served at room temperature with a strong blue cheese.

This batch, though, is a little special. What you hold in your hands sat in the Red Zone cordon from February 22^nd until August 8^th, 2011. While we watched Poplar Lanes crumble from behind military guarded fences, made countless calls to insurance companies and officialdom; shovelled liquefaction and tidied our homes (again); this barley wine sat patiently, avoiding looters and damage from yet another major June quake.

Savour this superb drop when you have a moment to sit, enjoy and reflect. The little pleasures we take for granted are amongst those we miss the most when lost.

Christchurch and The Twisted Hop will rise again, of that we’re certain. So if you need something to raise a glass to we hope that will suffice.

The Round Ball Game

The new football season has started. Last week the Phoenix drew in Australia, this week was their first home game. It was a lovely sunny day and the ground had recovered well from its recent use for the oval ball game, although there were some reminders of the event still taking place 650 Km north.

We got our first look at the new goalkeeper Tony Warner from Liverpool who was playing as Mark Paston was injured.

The club has had a change of ownership with the founding owner Terry Serepisos relinquishing control after running into financial difficulties. He was given a good reception

and Yellow Fever had a massive “Thanks Terry” banner.

Then the players came out

and the game got under way. It wasn’t a wonderful match, the Newcastle Jets have had their own troubles and didn’t play particularly well. The end result was the Phoenix winning 2 nil but most discussion was on the two controversial red cards handed out by the referee.

Chinese Spring Festival

The Chinese Anglican Mission have a church and large hall just by the Botanic Garden. Every year at about this time they have a bazaar which features lots of ethnic food and various cultural displays. When the children were young they loved going down to see the dragon and lion dances on the Soundshell lawn.

This year we went down after lunch and the lion dance was performed in the hall.

Jenny really enjoyed it and wasn’t scared like she was when she was 4!

These fan dancers were very elegant and colourful.

Sirocco

One of my long held ambitions was to see a kakapo in the flesh. Given that they are confined to two remote islands in the deep south I didn’t have much hope in ever realising it. Yesterday that dream came true. The tale of Sirocco is well known, hand reared as a sickly chick he imprinted on people and has been appointed as spokesbird for his species. As part of his duties he has started touring some of the conservation establishments in the country and for a short time only is at Zealandia. Being a member I got preferential booking and we went last night. These pictures are pretty grainy due to the low light levels (kakapo being nocturnal). There are better ones on some of the links. 

This one gives you a better idea of the size of the bird – Sirocco weighs in at about 2.7 Kg (weighing is part of the show) but breeding males can be up to 4 Kg.

 We were also given some samples of his feathers to feel (very soft) and smell (sweet and musty). Jenny is a fan.

Topical Tulips

The Botanic Gardens are preparing for the annual tulip festival. It’s still a bit early but you can see the beds all planted and budding. 

This year the theme is reproducing the flags of some of the countries participating in the Rugby World Cup. They are a bit difficult to see before the flowers come out but you can probably make out those of Australia (top centre-left), South Africa (in the middle behind the phoenix palm)

and Fiji.

The magnolias are putting on a magnificent display. Here is Noreen basking in the awesomeness (the young people tell me this is a real word).

This bank covered with wild flowers is always a favourite at this time of year.

Talking of the RWC – the game last night between Australia and Ireland was a cracker, especially as the Irish won.

And it appears that Happy Feet has shed his transmitter, or perhaps it just stopped working. (We are not entertaining the idea that he has been eaten by an orca.)

Spring Tranquillity

After a windy week the weekend has been quite still. Yesterday we planted flowers in the front garden (Noreen’s responsibility) and veggie seedlings in the back (my job). The garden is looking good at the moment. Here are some of the new silverbeet plants (with the remnants of last year’s mizuna forest behind).

This is a broad bean that has over-wintered. It flowered soon after planting when we had an unseasonably warm spell but it seems healthy enough now.

Today we walked the Eastern Walkway. I have never seen this area so calm and tranquil – there must be a big storm brewing!

This afternoon I exchanged some noxious weeds (blackberry and old man’s beard) for some young manuka seedlings at the annual weed swap event. They will be planted somewhere up the bank although I am starting to run out of space for newcomers. You can see some of the spring flowers in the background.

In other news – the Rugby World Cup (RWC) has started. We watched the opening ceremony and first match between the All Blacks and Tonga on television. Last night England were lucky to beat Argentina in a very physical encounter in Dunedin. Tonight we will watch the Springbok-Wales game on the box. It’s being played in Wellington but I’m not interested enough in rugby to pay the inflated RWC prices for tickets. There has been a profusion of flags flying from cars and properties as people get in behind one (sometimes more) of the teams. Here is a Welsh supporter’s house in Kilbirnie.

Happy Feet is still heading vaguely south, although he seems to be meandering a bit. This may be caused by the inaccuracy in his low tech tracking system. They deliberately choose this approach to keep the device lightweight but capable of operating for up to a year (it’s superglued to the tail feathers which will be shed when the bird moults). And now I see the tracking satellite has stopped working due to solar flares. Hope it recovers soon.

Finally, spare a thought for the inhabitants of Christchurch – just over a year since the large 7.1 earthquake, and six months from the far more deadly event in February, they are still experiencing substantial aftershocks. If you know anybody there let them know they have not been forgotten as they await the long task of rebuilding for a better future. Kia kaha.