Anniversary Weekend

This picture was painted by a friend of Dieter's way back in the 1950s. Dieter met him in Hawaii in the 1960s whilst on his OE. His name was Sir Riga de Mazaryk, a title he gave himself, we think. He was a seaman back in the 1960s and when his ship was in Auckland he painted scenes from round and about but also travelling up to Orewa and Waiwera where he did a couple. When Dieter returned to New Zealand with me in the 1970s Sir Riga sent Dieter his NZ watercolours and a couple from Hawaii. He died in the 1980s , taking the secret of who he really was to the grave with him.

Music in the Park

Had a pleasant afternoon lounging in the grounds of Alberton listening to some Scandinavian folk music by a trio of young Danish musicians - 2 females on saxaphone and violin and a guy on guitar. They had a lovely manner and spoke about the songs and tunes, many of them from the Danish island of Bornholm. As they said this kind of music travelled over the centuries and it was surprising to hear how similar it sounded to some of the Scottish music. Had a look through the house beforehand. Several women showing people around were dressed in period dress adding a nice touch. Hadn't been to Alberton for about ten years it seems. Admired the lovely Wedgwood blue and yellow dinnerset. We are members of the Historic Places Trust so we can and should go to these houses more often, so watch this space.

The Whitford playcentre had a stand selling tea and coffee and lovely homemade cakes and scones. Had a piece of sourcream berry cake and Dieter had an apricot mereingue slice.

29 degrees in Auckland today. Would have been a good day for the beach but both our baches are let this weekend. Wew have two long weekends ahead of us - Anniversary weekend and Waitangi day which is on a Wednesday this year. I will only need to work Thursday and Friday morning.

Sir Edmund Hillary

This is a very sad day for us New Zealanders as we mourn the death of Sir Edmund Hillary. I got an email at work from a colleague soon after it was announced. The tv presenters are in black suits and ties and he is to be given a state funeral next week some time. The Primem Minister is on her way home. This evening the whole evening is devoted to documentaries about his life and achievements. I have reread some of the books over recent months - Louise's books about their trips, John Hunt's book The ascent of Everest. Dieter had a sheet of commemorative stamps, marking the 50th anniversary of the conquering of Everest which he had listed on Trademe already and now somebody has bought them. I have listed my books too for somebody else to get pleasure from. One of the first books of adult non-fiction I ever read at the age of 13 or 14 was his book on climbing in the South Island. Well, off I go to watch the documentary on his life.

Christmas and New Year

Chrismas passed quietly with the usual festive meals and religious observance, just the 3 of us, though on Chrismas Eve we were 4. Went for a walk up one of the Three Kings on Boxing Day, back to work the next day and over to Waiheke for our Chrismas sojourn the day after. Had 6 wonderful days there, with a couple of swims, cafe, library and art gallery visits and a couple of visits by friends from the mainland. Back to work on the 3rd of January for a day and a half .

Have had a nice weekend at home although D finds them difficult and gets a bit gloomy. We went for a walk along the Carrington walkway behind Unitec and parallel to Great North Rd on Saturday morning . Saw the waterfall and walked along Oakley Creek. Lots of native trees have been planted but there are a lot of weeds. The Friends of Oakley Creek work there once a month. It is something we might do one of these days. Then today we went to the Avondale Market - lots of exotic vegetables used by the different ethnic communities who were out in force in their headgear and robes. It got very crowded and after I had bought cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, strawberries and peaches I was pleased to escape back to Ponsonby. Toimorrow I am going to make some tomato relish and piccallili. Roland and Rosalie made a belated Christmas visit and over coffee and goodies we listened to a German Christmas CD. Time to pack the decorations away again, but no doubt it will be another week or two before we get round to it. Finished the evening off with a visit to the foodhall and had a delicious prawn fettucine with courgettes in a creamy light tomato and herb sauce.