"SOUTH OF THE BOMBAY HILLS" *

 * A saying Aucklander's used meaning that "New Zealand stops at the Bombay Hills" 

The most discerning disparate desperate of you will have noticed that Richard's Bass Bag is out of action.

It is no longer publishing the usual entertaining entangled  entropic posts for which it is famous for known for sometimes mentioned.

The good news for some is that this will only be a temporary situation.

The bad news for most is that this will only be a temporary situation.

Richard's Bass Bag will return, unlike, hopefully, Donald Trump.

"Where has Richard gone?" I think I heard one person ask. Well, this, from his last post explains it:

As we know, Richard is geographically challenged but he did get the picture of the bridge right.

Here is a little more information on Tuakau, also borrowed from Wikipedia:

When I managed Murphy's Wines and Spirits in Manurewa, Auckland back in the early 1980s Tuakau was indeed part of Auckland and was a town that we serviced with ancillary alcohol supplies along with many other towns, villages and communities in the greater South Auckland area. An 'Ancillary' license back then  was a liquor license (not retail, wholesale or on-premise) that gave authority to sports and social clubs to serve alcohol to members. Murphy's as one of the largest wholesalers in the area used to compete fiercely with other wholesale liquor providers and we used to have to offer increasing amounts of sponsorship (money, fixtures and fittings, uniforms and gear etc.) to the bowling, rugby, rugby league, soccer, and other sports clubs along with cosmopolitan and working man clubs. As manager I used to have to attend annual prize givings to present sponsorship cheques and play in bowling tournaments. Most times it was fun but a two day bowls tournament, in Summer playing with members who wanted to have a beer or other drink after each 'end' was hard work. Have you ever drunk rum and milk?

Note that the above is what Richard would term 'the alternate universe' where one person's story is borrowed and embellished. Well, in the case of Richard's stories they can only be improved upon.

What does Tuakau mean?

Well, nothing to do with  'two a cow' which Richard used in an attempt to make a pun - that's for damn sure.

NZ History .govt.nz tells us that  the meaning of Tuakau is:

Tū: to stand; ākau: shore, river bank. The reference may be to the high bluff on which the Alexandra Redoubt was built during the Waikato War, which lends a commanding view down the river.

Now, aren't' you glad that Richard is away?

To close here's a picture for Robert.

Sunday, November 18, 2018 at Tuakau saw a large gathering of Marist Brothers, former brothers and old boys assemble at the Tuakau Hotel for a reunion luncheon on what promised to be an historic day for this “Marist family”. The occasion was to commemorate the return of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the restored grotto at La Valla, formerly the site of the Marist Brothers Juniorate (1922-1974).