BUSY DAY

 The blogs have been a bit boring recently with the highlight from Richard's blog being  a "WHAT I DID ON MY HOLIDAYS" bit of fluff.

There have been no highlights from Robert's blog.

I thought I would keep to the vein of Richard's last post with a "WHAT I DID TODAY" post.

I'm glad you asked.

This morning I played tennis at the local old folks tennis club. My tennis, like my golf is getting better with pr..... no, with more playing.

I then loaded up the trailer with more stuff to take to the dump (recycle centre in town). I wanted an empty trailer because The Old Girl has plans for my macrocarpa planters and the numerous pots on the deck which will require lots of potting mix. By chance a local commercial garden operation advertised used potting mix for $12.50 a scoop (2 scoops make up a trailer load). This is a helluva good deal.

I drove into town with the well secured trailer (it has been very windy here today. I was half expecting to see Richard's undies fly past in the gusts). The only hold up was at  the Lower Hatea bascule bridge:

Bascule bridges themselves are relatively common worldwide, but the type of bascule constructed at Lower Hatea is rare. Lower Hatea is a single leaf counterweighted rolling bascule, meaning that it is opened hydraulically using rams, from one side in the centre of the bridge, and makes use of counterweights which work with gravity to reduce the energy needed to raise the deck. As one of only a handful of bridges of this type in the world – and certainly none with such a distinctive design - there was really no precedent for how to manage the construction of the bascule section to ensure it could open smoothly, safely and in a reasonable timeframe.

          Or so said the blurb from the builders McConnell Dowell.

That's my car and trailer stopped while the bridge opened to let a tall-masted yacht motor through.

I successfully dumped my rubbish along with some recycle stuff I left there - the old petrol lawn mower and the petrol weed trimmer both of which I've replaced with EGO battery ones. Cost - $45.

I drove home but, as I had the empty trailer kept going around a few more bays and found the road that I thought the garden place was on. I drove a long way up a gravel road but couldn't find it. Eventually I reached a dead end and had to reverse the trailer back along the gravel road (uphill at that point) until I found a narrow driveway (steep) to reverse into and turn around. I was really glad that there was no other traffic as, although I'm competent at reversing trailers I'm not confident. I gave up looking for the garden place and went home. When I looked up the address on the computer ii was listed as being along a side road that I had passed but THERE WAS NO BLOODY SIGNAGE! 

I'll ring them tomorrow to check that they still have stock and get proper directions.

When I got home The Old Girl told me that the removal company had rung and a truck was on the way with all of the stuff she sent up from the Wellington apartment. It was just as well that I didn't have a trailer full of potting mix as I had to disconnect the trailer, push it around the side of the house and then drive my car out onto the road to make way for the imminently arriving truck. This would have been impossible with a fully laden trailer. My plan is to leisurely empty it and wheelbarrow the contents up to where the planters are.

The 'truck' soon arrived. It was a bloody great container tuck with a 20ft container on it!

I asked The Old Girl what the hell she was having sent up. She said that she was expecting 25 boxes!

I know that 25 boxes would only take up a small amount of space in the container but - bloody hell!

The driver reversed up the drive which is steepish. He was a much better reverser than me but I guess that he does it all the time and doesn't know how to market New Zealand wines overseas. I was impressed though. I wish that I'd taken a picture as the truck and container dwarfed the sheds and was nearly as high as our very high house.

The Old Girl and I helped them bring the boxes in, waved them goodbye and I brought my car back up the driveway.

Exciting eh?