Week 7

Monday 13^th June

A gentle start to the week with an easy cycle which included a stop at the Wharfside for our usual trim flat whites. It was a calm sunny day so we sat outside and watched the (very srtong) tide go out. In the afternoon we headed into Richmond to see a planner at Tasman District Council. We wanted to check out what you could or couldn’t do with a property we might want to buy. She was very helpful and she gave us lots of useful information. We then went to Rabbit Island on the way home and went for a walk along the beach. There were about six other people on the beach.

Tuesday

Went into Tasman Sport to work.  Almost did a full day….need to be more careful in future!!! In the evening I put some more photos on flickr and wrote my blog.  A very productive day

Wednesday

Did a hard bike ride in the morning, with lots of hills. It was cool in the morning but then became  mild and sunny later in the day, so wore shorts and  t shirt in the afternoon (less than a week away from mid- winter). We then went to see a house in the afternoon. I think we get withdrawal symptoms if we don’t view a house at least once a week.

Thursday

Had a coffee with Lisa at the wharf, before going in to work. Another busy day at the office. Today I was chasing up sports clubs who are organising events for the masters games but who haven’t collected any promotional material yet.

On the way home I stopped at Rabbit island and went for an hours run on the beach. This time I didn’t meet anyone else on the beach. It was quite mild with some sunshine and if it was a day like that along the north coast, Portstewart Strand would be busy.

Friday

An almost cold start to the day. We met up with Tasman Wheelers for the coffee ride. They thought it was too cold to go up onto higher ground so we stayed by the coast. We ended up going through Rabbit island (my third visit this week). When we got to the road by the beach on the island everyone just stopped. We all just admired the beauty of the sea and the beach and the general peacefulness of the location. Sometimes there is a need to put your head down and work hard on a bike, other times it is beneficial to enjoy your surroundings.

Lisa spent the afternoon chopping wood for the fire. We then went to the wharf for the NZ tradition of a Friday evening drink.

Saturday

Heavy or very heavy rain all day.  I saw an ad for a pair of second hand gumboots (weillies) in the paper, so I had arranged to call in to try them for size. When we got to the house no one was in but the gumboots were left with a note for me to try them on. They were my size and were like new, so for $10 (£5) they were a bargain as they cost $75 new. My last Huntress weillies were 30 years old and they didn’t get packed. They are now retired from use and are the centrepieces of Regis’s floral arrangements (probably not all the time). I think my new Skellerup gumboots will last 30 years, but I might stretch them out for a bit longer if need be! I almost needed to use the gumboots to do the shopping and go to the library, but I don’t feel native enough to carry that look off. I did however count several pairs of gumboots being worn in the supermarket.

Sunday

After a night of torrential rain and storms, we were glad to see some dry weather by morning. We went for our compulsory trim flat white at the wharf. Many others were doing the same. After lunch we then headed off on the mountain bikes. We explored some unsealed roads nearby and found some long steep hills. Landslips had closed one of the main roads and we saw lots of smaller landslips as a result of yesterdays weather.

We got back before it started to rain. Lisa then did some homework and I applied for a job.

Another busy week over.

THIS WEEK’S NEWS

This week the media is hyping up mid-winter. I think as a marketing opportunity they are promoting mid- winter Christmas !!!! The 25^th June is winter xmas. Bars/restaurants are advertising events and are taking group bookings. TV ads have snow, snowmen and ho ho ho sounds. I am not a big fan of Christmas so I hope I haven’t ended up in a country which promotes it twice a year. From what I remember from before, they are too busy enjoying the summer in December, to get too involved in the Christmas thing. In June we have short days and we are in our houses for longer so we are at the mercy of the marketing campaigns. At least it seems to be targeted at adults so there are no toy ads. I will watch with interest next week how it builds up to the 25^th. I’m not sure yet how we will ‘celebrate’.

We are also having a James Nesbitt onslaught (as if Christmas wasn’t bad enough). He was interviewed on TV last week as he is living in Wellington for a year. He is playing the part of a hobbit in the hobbit film they are making. He then  featured in the film on Sunday night TV (Five minutes of heaven). I fear that as NZ TV is several years behind, and buys a lot of UK TV programmes, we are about to relive the glory years of James Nesbitt, appearing in every other drama. He was not the only Northern Ireland TV ‘personality’ on TV, as the news programme reported on a cow from N Ire that has become an internet hit as she has been videoed letting herself out of her pen, buy undoing the bolts with her tongue. 

What a week…… Christmas hype, James Nesbitt and a cow…that is what they would call a mighty triple ‘combo’ in these parts !!