I was going to mention the rugby in greater detail. How last Saturday I wandered through the streets down at Viaduct Harbour, where the French had been given an area to advertise their culture - with can-can dancers, crepes, buskers and classic cars (noteably Citroen) - see above. The sun was shining and the atmosphere was jolly and infectious . It was no good, though - they were roundly beaten by the All Blacks later.
Yesterday, same place, pretty much same time. This time lots of kilts, occasional bagpipes (one even being played by a man dressed in a black T-shirt and black jeans, with not an ounce of tartan to be seen!) and some eccentric costumes and face paints.
You can't say people aren't entering into the spirit of things!
England won, in the 79th minute as it happened. Whew! And today the All Blacks survived without Dan Carter. Also whew! Although we missed him. Thank goodness Zac Guildford lit up the stadium. Great way to spend a wet, windy and cold Sunday afternoon.... (watching it on TV, I hasten to add).
New addition to the house. A slow cooker. Well, if I can't have my Aga here then it's the only other way of cooking something and then 'going out'. Which is what I did yesterday. Roy went racing for the first time in a gazillion years in something called an Elliott 7 - a fast 21' open racing boat with no back end. Why, you might ask? Search me, but he seemed to enjoy it. He managed to lose the Yacht Squadron Commodore (his host) overboard whilst he was helming; got him back, thankfully, minus his expensive sunglasses. The Commodore didn't seem to hold it against him ... Not sure Roy will be doing it again in a hurry, though. Just waiting for our own Kahu to arrive late November for some more leisurely (and, I hope, dry) sailing.
And so another week has slipped by. I've played some tennis, and been invited to play for the club team. Should be a good way to visit other parts of Auckland city. And I did manage to find a hairdresser, in St Heliers, too. Japanese Tommy seems to have done a pretty good job, so that's OK.
To close I thought I'd add some random photos taken over the past few weeks...
And say that apart from comms with family and friends, old and new, and hospitality from lots of Kiwis, I am particularly thankful for:
- BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Afternoon Plays, etc
- the changing colours of the sea
- and trim flat whites, my favourite way of having excellent Kiwi coffee
Wonder what this week will bring.....?
PS And no, sadly my stoles have not yet re-appeared : (
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