"MY MOTHER SAYS, TO GET THINGS DONE, YOU BETTER NOT MESS WITH MAJOR TOM"

Tonight I watched (again) the brilliant original video of David Bowie's 'ASHES TO ASHES'.

This is a great video of, to me, his best song. If I ever do have a chance of leaving a 'Celebration of Life' playlist this will definitely be on it.

                               ASHES TO ASHES

It reminds me of my mother obviously as Bowie used that sequence of his 'mother' giving him a lecture and trying to set him off on the right path. It worked seemingly for him and me.

I wasn't a heroin addict or an any form of drug addict (except for good wine but that's another story). I did though, from time to time, along with my university friends, smoke a bit of marijuana (cannabis to the young ones today), It wasn't a lot as we couldn't afford it and had no supply contacts but every now and then someone would know someone whose second cousin had a friend .....

One of these contacts supplied a seed.

Yes, you read correctly - a seed.

Not a half a kilo box of seeds. Just a seed!

I carefully planted the seed in a small pot and propagated it to a tiny plant.

I was living, with my brother in the little family home in Vogeltown. Our parents had moved to a flat ( a 3 to 4 bedroom penthouse apartment) in Taranaki street. My father  had for many years done lots of good work (real physical building type work for free) for the catholic church in Wellington and when a caretaker job came up in the Wellington Catholic Diocese offices building (3 stories plus penthouse) they offered it to dad. Mum, dad and my two sisters went off to live in the flat and my brother and I stayed in the Vogeltown house.

The house was small but the property was huge and one of the sections ran right up the side of the valley to the crest of the hill. On this section were the remnants of the old chook house and some garden sheds. Alongside a small shed I created a little garden and planted my  little plant. I nurtured it with some nutrients (as recommended by Yates) and water. It grew and grew.

Now I mentioned earlier that we lived in a valley and that our property ran up one side of it. On the other side of the valley other people lived including some (I don't know exactly who) long term friends of my parents. One of these 'interested people' rang my mother to tell her of my nefarious activity.

At this time (early 1970s) I should mention that the TV news was full of the new techniques that the police were using to discover marijuana plantations in New Zealand. They were using helicopters and infrared cameras! My mother was shocked and afraid and, during the day when I was at uni (working really, really hard) she and my father drove helter skelter to Vogeltown, discovered my 'plantation' and ripped it up and disposed of it (I don't think they smoked it).

I COULDN'T RESIST IT

My mum, love her, thought that the Police would fly up our valley and discover my marijuana plant. Oh the shame!

In following years this was the subject of family banter and I remember once, when mum brought it up, that I told her that my older brother, who they gave the next door section to, after building his house, planted his own little plantation of about 6 plants hidden in the bushes from the prying neighbours. She was shocked of course but saw the funny side of it. 

I loved my mum.