Auckland Marathon

Ever since friend Marlene and I did the 5km walk part of a fun run and walk round Epsom last year I have been on the look-out for a similar walk , and lo and behold with the Auckland Marathon's 5km walk segment starting up the hill and down the other side at Pt Erin this was the occasion I was waiting for. This time friends Sue and Pam joined in too and we were part of Len's Team, a Heart Foundation team of walkers from cardiac clubs and similar groups to our YMCA Never 2 Old Programme, that Sue and I belong to. ( Len being, Len Brown, mayor of Auckland) It was a beautiful day and great to walk the 5km under the bridge, round Westhaven to the Wynyard Quarter and across to Victoria Park where the race ended - and the picnic began. We joined some of the others at the Heart Foundation tent for a healthy gourmet lunch of venison stirfry with hummus, salad greens, nuts and parsley served in pita pockets. I have not tasted such deliciously tender meat for a long time and hope to try and replicate it some time myself. For the record Pamela and Susan were placed 236th and 237th in 1:02:03 and Marlene and I, 240th and 241st in 1:02:12. Len got 318th There were 333 entries in this event.

Home and Away

The month of October has been spent getting back in to the swing of domestic things after the excitement of the trip to China and enjoying the convivial atmosphere in Auckland provided by the Rugby World Cup. I was very keen to avoid the hype associated by the big matches so we escaped to Waiheke and Orewa a couple of times, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of beach and garden,

though the latter required some serious action before we could do so. The lawn and onion flowers were flourishing and have been cut down to size now, showcasing the self-sown cinnerarias, a splash of colour in our rather shadowy back garden. Went over the Bridge to Northcote and met up with Knitterati friends to look at a textile arts, and very fine embroidery exhibition by Olwyn Horwood, beautiful traditional work spanning several decades. It spurred me on to get out my patchwork but also to think about making something creative of my own , recycling some old bed covers and a woollen blanket I found in the hut at Waiheke . I only want to make something very small, just a reminder of days gone by. The following week went to the Art Gallery with the Knitterati again and looked at the NZ art. Being the school holidays and with many visitors in town for the rugby the gallery was full of excited people enjoying the fabulous new building and its contents after waiting an eternity for its refurbishment. The cafe serves delicious food too. I am going back there in a week or two to catch up with two old friends who worked with me in the library which coincidentally was in the old part of the art gallery in those days. (1967-68). When I came back from my OE and had returned to Auckland Public Library to work after a stint in Hamilton and Takapuna the library was in a new building across the road. Over the ensuing years even that building has been extended and refurbished several times and is a hive of activity, industry and enjoyment which is as it should be. October is a month of celebration, first another year older but for me the chance to see all my friends over a week or two or three, then our wedding anniversary which we are spending the way we like best - making an excursion to one of the suburbs we haven't been to for a while. Today it is to be Birkenhead.It has history in the form of the Chelsea Sugarworks which we are used to seeing from the Herne Bay beaches , leafy streets with old villas (I hope) and a new library , which for me is the main reason for going there! Can't resist libraries.

Exercise in the Park

Singing, balancing and moving while watching the world go by. Not to mention tai chi which is done too. I never had the time though the inclination to do so however. It had to wait until I got home and have started going to the Y again sporting my red panda T shirt with 24 pandas demonstrating the 24 movements.

Cruising down the Yangtze

Spent a few days cruising down the Yangtze in the Century Sky which had 306 passengers, 30 of us and several other Wendy Wu groups and other groups, all doing similar shore excursions in tandem with us. It is all very well-organized requiring early starts and sometimes late arrival back home in order to fit everything in. You need stamina which thankfully I had, and fitness to negotiate the many steps and stairs, both on board and off board.

The gorge scenery, dam and locks were spectacular, the small boat trip into the Three Lesser Gorges, even more so. This is on a tributary of the Yangtze.

Shanghai in Two Short Days

Shanghai is a super-modern city, the financial and shipping centre of China. It has a population of 23 million over an area of 6400 sq km. Hard for us to take in coming from a small country like New Zealand. Of lcourse there are plenty of skyscrapers, tower buildings and apartment blocks to accomodate everyone and the accompanying technological infrastructure to support everything, from the fastest lift (45 seconds to travel 88 floors, an ear-popping speed, I assure you) to the fastest train in the world (I forewent this pleasure).

I enjoyed my look into the past at the Shanghai Museum with its galleries featuring ceramics, furniture, jade, colourful costumes of the different ethnic groups in China , sculpture and bronze, all beautifully displayed and impressive. There was even a visiting exhibition of Maori art from Otago with beautiful tiki, kete and a dog fur cloak.

Visited the Bund area, an old economic centre along the river with colonial buildings from the 19th and early 20th century. We walked along the embankment promenade with lots of Chinese tourists, one of whom even wanted to take a photo of us with their elderly parents.

The lady in the lowest picture is separating silk worms from their silk. It is a very strong fibre and is stretched several times and made into duvet inners among other things, beautifully light and warm.

Back from Beijing

Slowly coming back down to earth after a wonderful holiday in China - Shanghai, Yangtze River, Chengdu and the pandas, Xian and the terracotta warriors and Beijing. It was gruelling at times as each day was jam-packed with activity, visiting different sights, eating out, lunch and dinnertime, then going back to the hotel or boat. Was pleased I was able to keep up with the rest of the 29 others in the group

and have never climbed up so many steps - over 1km of them through some limestone caves for a start, and the last lot going up the Great Wall of China which would have to be an exhilerating end to the holiday. Will be adding posts on the individual places visited over the next few days.