Mid Winter

Have had the appropriate weather for such celebrations and have combined the two and used the opportunity to invite people round for coffee and cake , then dinner . Made a macaroon cake yesterday which was one of the family favourites in the fifities and sixties, prompted by a new recipe and cooking book which arrived in the library recently. The chapters on the thirties onwards written by family members make good reading and there are some interesting recipes. The four of us ventured forth into the cold after the mulled wine up to the food hall to sample Malaysian, Lao, Indian and, my favourite, Italian food (prawns and courgettes in a tomato cream sauce).

Murphy's law dictates that it is a beautiful crisp clear sunny winter's day so after our few chores we will be off to the North Shore for a walk along the beach , a look at the shops and library and a coffee somewhere.

Am reading the new Rita Angus biography which is superb, puctuated as it is with beautiful reproductions of her paintings, many of which are new to me.

Other bedtime reading is the Oliver Sachs book, Musicophilia which is all about the phenomenom of people hearing music all the time after suffering a seizure or some other kind of brain damage.

Library News

Nothing much has been happening on the home front apart from our weekend trips away to Orewa the last three weeks. Life at the library keeps me busy during the 3 days I am there. I have also been taking part in one of the classes offered by the Learning Services team of the Central Library before starting work on a Thursday afternoon. So far we have learnt how to transfer pictures from camera to computer, how to put them from there on to a CD , how to edit them and get rid of red eye and other such complaints! It is a free 3 week course of one hour a time, held on a week day and a Saturday for those who have more time on the weekend. A lot of our older regulars participate in these classes and I even fulfilled a useful role of blind leading the blind with my neighbour, Patrick, who had no camera or photos so practised with mine!

After that I have been going up to the free lunch time concerts on the second floor to unwind. The last two weeks have been students from Epsom Girls and St Mary's College. St Mary's now has David Hamilton, well-known NZ composer and conductor in charge of their choirs and they are very very good as they were in the past.

The library is getting a new website at the end of the month http://www.aucklandcitylibraries.com/ (Check out the before and after look). It will have a lot of new features - blogs, rss feeds, aquabrowser - a cloud of keywords you can choose to define your search topic more precisely, and lots of library and other lists librarians and the public can compile and share online. I went to some training on this last week too so I will be all geared up for the changes. We all did Web 2.0 training before Christmas over several weeks, learning all sorts of things that come naturally to the young like Facebook, blogs, the rss feeds and lots lots more. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead and challenges they will be.

Trotted up the road to Leys Institute Library today to look at the paper and return some magazines and took in a very interesting exhibition of old maps dating back to the subdivision of the area in the late 1800s. They had some framed prints of old Ponsonby villas too. I have some of these at home but haven't found the right bit of wall space to hang them yet.

Now to some anniversaries. I started work at Auckland Central Library 30 years ago on the 10 July 1978. I was Chierf Cataloguer for the next 5 years and inherited a big backlogwhich took many months to get rid of. It was still the days of catalogue cards and filing but the cataloguing was mainly original cataloging and very interesting. I did the cataloguing of sound recordings - still long playing records mainly, and maps.

Ten years before that I left my job as Intermediate Library Assistant in the Music Dept of the Central Library to go on the big OE. I had had a practice run a couple of years before that when I went to Germany for a year and did a bit of study at Saarbrucken University.

I had a job at Wolfsburg Public Library for 4 years with a short spell in the middle as an archives assistant at Hesse Radio. It was fun working in the German library - I looked after the hospital library for patients, wheeeling a trolley of books around the wards 3 or 4 times a week. I also looked after the Record Library which was only open 3 or 4 afternoons a week for a couple of hours each time, and later on a couple of small libraries, one attached to a primary school, the other in a shopping centre, both open only afternoons.

Of course all work and no play was not on the cards and Dieter and I did a lot of travelling every opportunity and hitched throught Germany a lot , then trained farther afield to Hungary, then Dieter got his licence and a nice orange VW Beetle and we went even further afield to Czechoslovakia, Finland, France and other places.

To finish on a library note, I came home in December 1972 and went to Library School in 1973.
My first job after that was at Hamilton Teacher's College Library where I was Deputy Librarian , then a couple of years later I went to Takapuna Library as Cataloguer where I stayed till July 1978!

Dieter's 70th Birthday

Well the birthday went off well; l took a couple of days to recover from it and then there was work Wednesday - Friday . Being a long weekend we went to Waiheke Saturday and Sunday and I just had Monday morning to make a dutch apple cake and a chocolate hazelnut cake. I was having my daily game of scrabble early afternoon when there was a ring at the front door - our first visitors who I thought couldn't come until 4pm were 1 1/2 hrs early.. That threw me . I had to do all the preparations - fancy tablecloths, get china out, make coffee etc. Another friend had suggested we meet that Monday so I invited her to join us which she did, then our goddaughter Jane emailed to say she was shifting to Karapiro to live with her parents so invited her so by that time I really was fluffing round . E came too of course. Roland is diabetic and brought a nice German yeast raisin loaf, and a fruit cake, both of which he could eat, so we had plenty of cake. Following that we celebrated with some Lindauer and feijoa wine. Some of us went to the Ponsonby foodhall for dinner afterwards so that made it a bit more of a celebration. Then on Wednesday night D and I went to AUT restaurant a deux and had a beautiful meal. I mentioned it was a birthday celebration and they brought his wedge of Mississippi Mud cake dessert out with 7 flaming candles and sang Happy Birthday which was quite unexpected. D was adamant he didn't want any fuss, and I couldnt have coped with doing a big gathering on my own anyway so it was just nice as it was. He got some phone calls and cards from Germany on the day and following day or two and I gave him a new backpack for taking stuff to Waiheke along with some other bits and pieces.

Old Surfdale houses and toi toi

Waiheke once again

Had a wonderful weekend at Waiheke our first for 3 months. Great hearing the birds and seeing all that lush greenness, seeing the sea and hearing the waves, walking along the beach and going to the Art Gallery up there. Am about to succomb to a painting, what the hell. More about that another day as I have to ring up tomorrow and hopefully it is still there. It will give me a lot of pleasure. Walked to the market on Saturday and then in other direction as far as the library in the other direction in the afternoon. 7km at least over the day. Mass the next morning at the ungodly hour of 9.15 but good for coffeeing afterwards. Home on the 4 pm boat after a modicum of gardening and a walk along Surfdale beach. Viva Waiheke!

The pictures are of boats on Surfdale Beach on Sunday afternoon, the view of the bach is from the neighbours place and that is our kitchen window. Our neighbour Mike sold and moved to the Mainland a couple of weeks ago, so we will have a new neighbour soon.

Shelter Exhibition

The Shelter installation was set up last Monday and Tuesday at Art Station. They assembled some scaffolding and then draped the blankets over the top and round each side just leaving a narrow entrance into the cavernous structure. The effect is magical. I went to the opening on Wednesday evening after work and caught sight of some of the blankets through the windows from the street. They look terrific. There was a big crowd at the opening, coming and going and exclaiming over the beauty of the blankets. There was a short speech by one of the Knitterati group outlining the progress of the project over the last year and then the women from the Red Cross spoke about how refugees appreciate such gifts, especially if they go to colder places like Hamilton where one of the women was from. Imbibed a couple of glasses of wine with the traditional cheesey accompaniements, to celebrate the occasion.

Today 6 days later was the first school visit, a group from a Mt Albert Kura Kaupapa, a Maori immersion school. It was a large group of about 30 with a few adults. They had a good look at the installation then had a short talk on the project and knitting, then were shown how to knit. I was helping do this and it was very rewarding when they finally got the knack of it. We are doing the same on Thursday, Saturday and next Tuesday and Thursday.

Mother's Day

I had a very pleasant Mothers Day - went to Mass at St Benedict's - a nice family Mass with all the mothers going up to the front at the end to get a special blessing with everybody in the congregation stretching out one arm in solidarity.
From there we went to the museum. Wandered through the Wintergarden, first looked at the exotic eggplants in shades of yellow and white , beautiful chrysanthemums, bromeliads and ferns. At the museum there was an interesting and moving exhibition of paintings by the present war artist, Matt Gauldie, realistic looking paintings and portraits of soldiers in Afghanistan, the Solomons and several depicting aspects of the trip of the Unknown warrior back to New Zealand and the ceremonies back here.
Home for lunch with some delicious flatbread from an Italian bakery off Ponsonby Road to go with the minestrone I made during the week. Time for a game of scrabble online before we headed off to a recorder recital in the Baptist Church in Jervois Road, not a church I recall being in before, a lovely old wooden church with blue columns flanking the altar. The music was great - Baroque mainly - Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and others.
Elisabeth joined us for afternoon coffee and scones I made. Didn't get round to making the cake or biscuits I was planning but hey, there will be another occasion, Dieter's birthday to be precise, in a couple of weeks.
Didn't feel like cooking either so we all went off to the Food Hall where we had the Coco lamb, a Vietnamese lamb and pumpkin dish with coconut cream, not as nice as the Beef curry we had there last time.
So it has been an enjoyable day and hope you all had a Happy Mothers' Day too, one way or another.

More Photos from Matakana Trip

The hearts are decoupaged, many using old postage stamps.

The vessels on ther top sshelf of the next picture are decoupage on glass by Joy Bell from the Warkworth area. She rinses out them out with gold paint on the inside to create rather an opulent effect.

My new Morrison and James planter. I am standing with June Evans, my tenant and dressmaker extraordinaire from the front house at Orewa. She was been in Orewa for 10 years - 5 years in the little flat and 5 in the house.

Visit to Matakana and Weekend in Orewa

Friday was the Silverdale Historical Society trip to Matakana. Met up on the bus with a nice lady Dorothy, whom I met on the Bay of Islands trip last year. Her name reminded me that it is the anniversary of my Aunt Dorothy's death a few years ago.
It was a lovely day and not very much traffic on the road. Our first stop was the Honey Centre before you turn off to Warkworth. It was a little early in the morning to sample too many things but we did try the ginger honey . My favourite is still the plain old clover honey as it was, is and hopefully ever will be - nice and creamy and pale. They have a great variety of soaps and other confectionery too. From there we drove straight to Matakana in time for our visit to the new cinema with its ceiling of 30 000 paper roses. It does look rather nice. The film was Made of Honour all about the romance and very imminent wedding of an American girl to a Scotsman. It is averted by the "Maid" of Honour, the former playboy boyfriend of the bride-to-be, who is whisked away from the castle just in time to live happily ever after in America again. Lovely Scottish scenery which was the highlight for me.
From there it was across the road to one of the several eateries for lunch - a fetta and spinach quiche and a hot cup of coffee at one of the outdoor tables, very nice until a sudden shower sent everyone scurrying for hard-to-find cover. I found it in the general store where I bought a bottle of my current favourite wine - Lothlorien sparkling feijoa wine which we will enjoy on Mother's Day. Bought some lovely chicken and satay parcels for our evening meal at the wonderful deli with its succulent-looking meat cuts all on display in the window. Took in the op shop (no finds in its rather cramped interior, though they did have big white bowls outside for 50c each so things were priced right to sell) and galleries with beautiful glass, pottery and jewellery.
From there we went to another Country Market with crafts and art galleries and other activities, designed to appeal to children. There is also a weekly Farmers Market in the village on a Saturday which is very popular. Once back on the bus we continued on to Port Wells and Omaha to have a look around, then on to Morris and James Pottery for afternoon tea - a glass of feijoa and apple juice with a slice of yummy spicy apple and walnut cake with cream. Had a browse around the showroom where I bought a nice blue planter, which I have always wanted and will put one of my orchids in it.
Saturday we spent in Orewa visiting the Rotary Book Sale where I picked up a couple of Fiona Kidman books - one of her first novels, Mandarin summer set in Kerikeri where she grew up, and short stories, Mrs Dixon and friends. I am looking forward to reading them once I have read another book of hers I am reading, Ricochet baby.
Spent part of the late afternoon doing some pruning of the hydrangea bushes rescuing a few last blooms for a vase, and removing cape gooseberry bushes and spent dahlias from the driveway.
Reviewed the trip and day's activities over afternoon tea with my neighbour, Gladys before collapsing in a heap in front of the tv in the afternoon.

Home today to a wet miserable Auckland and a cold house. Escaped to the confines of St Lukes for a bout of retail therapy - 2 new blouses - and exchanged 10 jars of old outdated spices and herbs from my pantry for new ones at the Greggs mobile spice centre there this weekend. They have some tasy combinations which I chose - chilli and lime, dill and lemon to name a couple. Elisabeth will no doubt want some of them which she is welcome to have of course.

Called in to see good friend Marlene, seeing we were in the area and enjoyed a chat over tea and anzac biscuits . A visit to King's Plant Barn to get some orchid mix for this year's plants and some mesclun lettuce salad seed mix. I heard on a radio programme recently that Kings seed mix is one of the best and their mesclun is grown widely in Vietnam for the hotel and restaurant trade .

Still two more days of leisure which we will enjoy before the work-a-day world beckons on Wednesday. Arohanui!

NEWZ

Went to Knitterati this morning and this is the invite for the exhibition of blankets I have been talking about for several months. We met at one of our member's place in Grey Lynn, artist Jude Graveson. She makes art works out of handmade paper with impressions of native plants and flowers and sells them framed. She also makes sculptures using cow gut - the finished product looks like parchment. She has a very tidy compact studio in her garden where she makes the paper, dries it out under pressure and does her art. She is also a great textile artist. The others all have their own talents. We are sewing blankets together, a real cooperative project at this stage. A lot of people have been knitting squares and every week there are more to be incorporated into a blanket.

We had Anzac Day and the weekend at home as we will be away at Orewa next weekend. It was quiet with several walks in between showers , a visit to the food hall for Vietnamese and Italian food and some gardening. By Monday we were ready for a bit more activity so walked into town to the Art Gallery to look at the retrospective Lawrence Aberhart photographic exhibition. He is renowned for his black and white photographs of lodges, art deco and other quirky (unaesthetic buildings) as well as photographs of Northland churches, many of them in the Hokianga area. Had lunch in the Council cafetaria - chicken in pesto with veges for a $6.50 main and yummy morsels from the dessert bar to finish off the meal. Put me in a good mood for my afternoon's work.

Autumn

The evenings are getting cooler and darker, an intimation of things to come. We have been making the most of our days getting out and about up to Orewa this weekend.
I had a walk along the beach on my way to get some organic eggs for the week from the Farmers' Market.

Mass up there then home to feed the cat and do a bit of pruning and thinning out of the thicket outside our bedroom and all the rooms along that side of the house. D was rather reluctant to do so but obliged me in the end and it has made a bit of a difference. Hopefull;y they will come from the zoo's browse dept and pick the branches up for the animals. Some of the animals like parsley, rosemary and thyme so will trim our bushes and plants.

Went to a play by Sia Figiel "Where we once belonged." It i s all about growing up in Samoa, with all the double standards and undercurrents brought out into the open. I am rereading the book now.

Reading

This week I have read and enjoyed Fiona Kidman's memoirs - At the end of Darwin Rd [Kerikeri where she grew up]. She wrote the book in the Katherine Mansfield House in Menton and , just as she describes a 50s and 60s NZ childhood and teen time, she evokes the Mediterranean atmosphere there brilliantly. It was a happy time for her and her husband. She had an interesting though not an easy life as a writer in the 60s and 70s. She is writing a second volume , by which time I hope to have reread her novels.

Now I am on to Shonagh Koea's "sad and moving book" about her life. Her father was a violent man and tormented his wife and daughter. Anyway there are lots of happier memories too often focussing on those that are linked to food or a particular dish , for which she gives the recipe. So far fish pie, marmelade loaf, shortbread, marmelade - all quite basic things , but I might be inspired to make some of them - and record some of my favourite recipes for posterity in my blog.
Summer is drawing to a close - the days are still great but there is a coolness in the air morning and night.

Not My House and Garden

But friend Leny's in Christchurch. This a prize-winning garden with beautiful roses, hanging baskets, box hedging aand much much more.

Deacons for the Auckland Diocese

Went to a meeting hosted by the Bishop of Auckland , Patrick Dunn, to introduce the Deacon Formation Programme to train deacons for the Auckland Church. This was held in the Columba Centre - which formerly was one of the blocks of the Vermont Street Catholic School, closed in the 1990s when they reckoned it would cost too much to repair. Then it was repaired.

Anyway these deacons are going to be non-stipendiary - that is they don't get a salary unless the job they may do, has a stipend attached to it - such as a chaplain in a prison.

Candidates or aspirants as they are called in the first year of training - (1 evening a week, one Saturday a month in school term time) will be over the age of 35, married, or be celibate.
The wives will be expected to be quite involved. There was a big crowd there, many couples a lot of clergy and a few women like me there.

A North Shore deacon (in dog collar and cardigan) looked more clerical than the clerics and was ordained to the diaconate in South Africa in 2001. I think he is going to be involved in the training and selection. Monsignor Arahill himself an older man now, warned about having too many old men in these jobs.

This South African deacon likes the rubrics of the job and enjoys bringing back all the bowing and scraping , incense and the like.

The Bishop and the deacon gave a historical overview of the diaconate including a mention of the fact that there were deaconesses in the early Church, but that there was no conclusive proof that they did exist. And so that was that.

Now there are deacons in 131 countries, including our own - the Hamilton Diocese is training a second group. They do everything a priest does, except consecrate the bread and wine, and give absolution.

It looks as though it will be all very clerical, traditional and, might I add, sexist.

Finished blankets

Handed in my blankets at the Domestic Craft this morning. The Shelter exhibition is on at Art Station from 6 May then the blankets will be given to refugees. Next week we are making a trip out to Pakuranga to Te Tuhi Gallery to knit there. Some of our blankets are forming part of another exhibition by an Australian artist about the Tampa refugees. Apparently the refugees were promised blankets and never got them. So this exhibition features 135 blankets or however many there are. Bought a lovely garment on the way home - woven and crocheted by an Argentinian woman - in a traditional Argentinian style. Looks great. Will post a picture of it soon.

The oak stand is an oldfashioned cake stand. You either put the cakes onto a doyley, or you could put a fancy plate on to the wood with the cakes on it.

The bottles are Brylcream bottles. I did the embroidery on the cloth below in 1973 when I was in Wellington and learning how to embroider at a night class.

Easter

We had a pleasant Easter - - D wanted to stay home on Good Friday and have a quiet day which I found a very boring prospect, so invited friend M over to go to the Good Friday ceremony at our local church which has a big Polynesian population - lovely singing, tho very long and hot. She came back for a game of Scrabble and some games of Uno before sharing some Lenten fare.
Went up to Orewa on Saturday , did a bit of shopping for food seeing the supermarket was going to be closed then helped D clip the hedge with the electric hedgeclipper. He did not appreciate my hovering round anxiously giving instructions. That was his penance! I did have a wonderful swim beforehand. Elisabeth came up on the bus after all the hard work was done and we had a night and a day together which was very pleasant, being a family again, albeit for a short time. Had 3 more swims on Sunday and a nice Easter dinner of smoked chicken and salad with lots of Easter eggs - I have had 4 pinkie Easter eggs since Saturday. None of the cream or solid chocolate ones. I will be able to resist those.

The pictures are from Dieter's sister's Easter in Germany. Her son Christian bought the Easter eggs . The Germans like to bring Spring foliage or blossom such as pussy willow or forsythia inside and hang Easter ornaments on them.

Opotiki to Hicks Bay and on to Gisborne, then Rotorua

The real part of the trip was when we went round the coast of course. Wonderful scenery and beaches. We stopped to look at a couple of Maori churches which were open to the public. The one at Tikitiki had a stained glass window with two Maori soldiers in uniform kneeling at the foot of the cross. We stayed a night at Hicks Bay in a big motel, having a lovely roast lamb dinner in the traditional dining room there. Then on the next day to Gisborne with a stop at Tolaga Bay for lunch and a walk down the pier. On our arrivalk in Gisborne we went straight to this amazing Museum of Technology - Museum of Junk really but so much of it in various states of decay and rust. This elderly man with Parkinson's , the owner showed us around proudly. He had collections of absolutly everything, a man after after my own heart. Tools, fire engines, cars, washing machines, toasters, biscuit tins, prams, chocolate boxes , long drops, an old Post Office, a derelict church and much much more. It is a private museum and the only job he and his helpers are on top of is the lawnmowing. This was a very hot day and it was stifling in the big corrugated barms most of this stuff was housed in, so the beach was very tempting once we were ensconced in our tourist flat at the camping ground near the beach. The water however was several degrees colder than at Orewa or Waiheke, but exhillerating all the same.

The next day we headed back to Opotiki through the Waioeka Gorge and on to Rotorua, stopping at Hell's Gate for a look around the thermal area there. Lots of steaming pools and boiling mud and the usual overpowering smell. Stayed in a nice motel with a heated swimming pool, which Dieter and I took advantage of rather than the thermal pool . Dinner out with the group at Valentine's, seafood night with lots of delicacies like oysters, mussels, seafood mousse, even some mini crayfish , maybe they were lobsters, which we couldn't bring ourselves to try.

The next day was Friday and the day we returned home. Our first stop was another interesting museum at Tirau, a bloke's museum that grew. He had most of his stuff behind glass, nicely displayed, clean and tidy. Many of the same sorts of things as the Gisborne
Museum but not in such overpowering numbers of everything. He started collecting as a boy and had carried on right through life. This is also a private museum and on the outskirts of Tirau coming from Rotorua , well worth a visit. He had honey for sale too. Some of the things I remember were his collection of tables made out of slabs of marble and old Singer sewing machine legs (we have a couple of these), a collection of coins , banknotes and tokens, bowling memorabilia from the local Bowling Club, an old dentist's chair. I really should have made a few notes when I was there. We were there for over an hour there was so much to see. Lunch at Tirau with its great selection of cafes and antique shops then back to Auckland in slow motion along the motorway to Orewa, dropping people off here and there as we approached. I think we were the last to get off but we are not ones to complain or moan. I was doing my knitting to keep calm and while away the time.

Had another lovely swim in the wabe at Orewa the following day and did the usual things like shops, library, internet cafe, catching up with my neighbour, G, and the local gossip. She like op shopping too and as she has a big house chokka full of everything and doesn't see very well, she often buys things that don't fit her and she passes them on to me!! They don't often fit me either!!But it is the thought that counts. She has a lush garden and brought me some grapes. I was going to make some grape jelly for us both but havent got round to it yet. I note with horror that our guava tree is laden with ripening fruit too. And her quince tree is full of large golden fruit so there is more jellymaking in the offing.

Home again on Sunday in time for the Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral.

The pictures are of some of our own bits and pieces. Dieter has a number of these paintings of Vietnamese people , a couple we have got framed, the rest are waiting for their turn. The map is a a 1969 reproduction of Cook's map of 1772, showing Stewart Island attached to the South Island and Banks Peninsula as an island.

Edna Boon - a little family history from Waioeka

While in the Opotoki Museum I saw a book "Waioeka School Centennial 1884-1984". This is the school that my Aunt Edna worked in with her husband Ernest Boon from 1932 - 1934.

She was my father's elder sister born Edna Gabb in Christchurch. She was a talented pianist and teacher. We had visited Waioeka on our previous visit to the area some 15 years ago but don't recall seeing this book. It says Ernest was a keen sportsman and took swimming lessons down at the river after school. They also set up a rugby team from the Pa, which Ernest coached and they had also a Waioeka choir with weekly practices being held. They organized a tennis ladder with pupils and residents alike permitted to make use of the facility during weekends and after school.

Edna organaized concerts at the Pa during the winter, the profits being spent on a piano for the Pa. So popular were these concerts that many residents from town, including the mayor , attended. In October 1932 the children and locals put on a concert in Opotiki which received a very positive review in the local paper.

A 50th Jubilee Committee was set up in November 1933 for the celebrations February 24-25 1934. Edna was secreatary. The programme on the Saturday started with a haka of welcome, roll call and inspection of the school, followed by luncheon at the pa , then a concert by locals and a display of Maori crafts.

In the evening there was a dance from 8-12pm.

Sunday at 2pm there was a church service.

According to the school log and a newspaper report the celebrations were well attended and a great success, with the concert in the hall being the highlight for many.

Now the sad part . As reported in the book "unfortunately Mrs E Boon accidentally drowned in the Waioeka River during the weekend's celebrations which did put a damper on the weekend".

My grandmother did not go to the funeral and did not want an inquest to be held. According to my aunt Dorothy, Edna , Ernest and another female teacher had been out walking near the river when this accident and drowning ocurred. The family thought it was suspicious.

Their first child a girl named Fleur after Galsworthy's Fleur had died in infancy and both are buried in Opotoki Cemetery. I remember when I first saw her monument there was this broken pillar which I thought was damaged, but apparently this was how it always was , a symbol of her being cut down in the prime of life.

Later in the year a plaque to commemorate her death and contribution to the school was unveiled and was still there on the wall when we went there in the early 1990s.

Ernest took time off in 1934 after her death "to recover" and "accepted a transfer to help him over his grief" in April 1935.

My father never spoke of this incident and my aunt only in the late 1980s - early 1990s.

The photo is probably that of Edna, taken by Tyree Studio. It is not Auntie Dorothy who hated having her photo taken. In the school photo I think Edna is on the far right.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

As some of you may know we were away for a week with the Silverdale Historical Society on a bus trip round the East Cape. It was a very cruisy week sitting back in the bus with everything arranged for us and an interesting list of places to see en route. Being a hisorical society we looked at a few museums and took in a bit of history as we went along.

First stop after the morning tea break at Drury was Paeroa with the usual array of cafes, op shops, antique shops, library, arts and crafts and museum. Had time to look in most of them except for a quick look in the museum. They have a lot of china of the Royal Albert ilk and the Society is thinking of making a special trip later on to go to that museum and also to Katikati to look at the murals.

Then it was on to the Mount, looking rather built up - and with a lot of tourists sitting at beachside cafes. Went for a quick swim for old times sake and was immediately transported in my mind's eye to 50 years ago when we had a family holiday at the Mount, staying in a bach near the beach and going swimming on that stretch of beach. It was exhilerating and worth the rush. The water temeperature was just a few degrees cooler than Orewa.

Then on we went to Ohope Beach, a wonderful, deserted, windswept beach, miles long. Stayed at a very pleasant motel Surf's Reach right along the far end of the beach. Had along walk before dinner at the Ohope Charter Club - a tasty smoked fish casserole which I must try and replicate - and cheap drinks.

The next day was the actual start of the East Cape tour - driving first to Opotiki for our look at the historical Anglican Church where Volkner was the missionary amongst the Maori population in the 1860s.
The Hauhau were in the Bay of Plenty and the people warned him not to come back after his trip to Auckland. They reckoned he was up there to report on activities but he came back and was killed. I won't go into details. The British took cruel revenge burning crops. Later Kereopa was hung. I think he was pardoned posthumously a few years ago. All very sobering. Went to the little church op shop next door and bought an old book on NZ interiors, a magazine and a set of 4 thin knitting needles to cheer me up.

Had been to the Opotiki Museum (Shalfoon and Francis Museum) which was housed in 3 big shops with many of the original fittings and stock of the general stores of these two people. They were originally from the Lebanon and the shops were in busiuness up until the late 1970s I think. there was a great array of everything under the sun - pots and pans, old scales, bottles. There was a sweet sshop set up as a grocery store with all the old tins and packages. They sold peanut brownies and sweets , traditional crafty items to raise money for there new building three doors up the road. It is already set up with a marvellous photo display.

The Week that Was

It declined somewhat, the working part of it, however time and the hour runs through the roughest day and after the weekend at Waiheke I am all brighteyed and bushytailed again. Went over on the 2pm boat straight from work and was just in time to meet the gardener who was removing the privet trees and cutting up the wood for firewood.

Out to dinner at the Bowling Club buffet with roast pork, vegetable bake and other meat and salad dishes. Saturday we got the first real rain for a couple of months. Our water supply was getting low but it is up a third again, so we didn't mind too much being housebound with the weekend Herald. However must have my daily dose of computer so up to the library on the bus and back in the afternoon. I really appreciate my email contact with you all. Sunday the weather was better so walked to Mass at 9.15 then coffeeed at Cortado, which had been reviewed favourably in the weekend Canvas magazine. Good coffee and stunning view over Oneroa Beach.

I have let the bach for 3 months to a former resident of the island so spent the afternoon cleaning and tidying for her. We will be turning our attention to Orewa on the weekends for a while.

Yesterday carried on with bottling and turning the golden queen peaches into preserves and chutney. After the windy weekend there were a lot of windfalls to process. Also brought back pears from the island to do something with once they ripen.

Elisabeth is in the South Island having a great holiday. Today she did the South Dunedin op shops and was going out to a Greek restaurant tonight.

The first picture is the view from the roof of the bach looking over to Surfdale beach, the hall and the macrocarpa trees, the next, my souvenir writing compendium, my trusty preserving pan and good old Alison's recipes.