WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PORSCHE AND A PORCUPINE?

With the porcupine, the pricks are on the outside.

 We live in a reasonably nice area with schools and embassies in the street. I'm not aware of there being any gang headquarters (other than the US Embassy) or yahoos living in our and surrounding streets but there are some nuisance types - rich bastards.

There are, living in the street and nearby, several idiots who drive expensive fast cars who from time to time travel way too fast up our narrow street which, as said has two schools and children and elderly people (mainly me) who cross the road.

Two in particular are a dark blue Maserati and a light grey Porsche. I posted on Facebook's Thorndon community site a query and a complaint about the Porsche and someone else has complained about the Maserati.

Yesterday as I drove down Hobson Street I was behind the grey Porsche which, out of character, was cruising slowly. The driver was looking for a car park which normally are easy to find for residents who have preferential parking but, being around the time of school pick-ups, most parks were occupied - legally or otherwise. The car turned right into a side street where the US embassy is and I decided to follow it. The driver found a park and I drove past and turned around at the end of the short dead end street. I drove back to the parked Porsche and stopped. The driver, a woman (flash blonde tart in her 40s) got out and I confronted her. I asked her, politely, if she would take more care in driving and with her speed especially in Hobson street where there are two schools. She expressed surprise and asked when she had been speeding. I told her that it wasn't just now when she was looking for a park but many times over the last couple of months where she has driven at excessive speeds. She seemed non-plussed and was quiet but then said that she was sorry and will watch it in the future.

Now she will probably ignore this 'fatherly' advice and was thinking that I was an old busybody but I feel that sometimes you have to make the effort. I'd feel ashamed if I hadn't and a kid or an OAP get's killed trying to cross the road some time in the future.

I have her number plate details now so, if I see that car speeding again I will send the details to the police.

OK, here's another corny joke for you that almost fits this post:

Q: Why did the Porsche go to school? 

A: To accelerate its knowledge.

THE SEVENTH WAVE

 

The term "seventh wave" most commonly refers to a long-standing maritime legend that waves travel in sets, with the seventh wave being the largest and most powerful. 

1. Maritime Folklore & Science The Legend: Sailors and coastal communities (such as in the Aran Islands) have long believed that every seventh wave is the peak of a cycle, traveling further up the beach and carrying more momentum than those before it.
Scientific Basis: While it is a myth that it is always the seventh wave, oceanographers note that waves do travel in "sets" or "groups". Due to constructive interference, waves in the middle of a set tend to be larger. If a set contains roughly 14 waves, the seventh or eighth often naturally becomes the largest.
Safety: The "seventh wave" serves as a warning for shore-dwellers to remain vigilant, as a larger mid-set wave can easily knock someone off their feet.

OK, got that?

The Old Girl, who is a bit more observant than me commented that I always sneeze seven times in quick succession in the morning.

Now I do know that I sneeze for some reason (it's better than itching) I hadn't actually counted before but do now. By and large she's right - I do sneeze seven times. I'm not sure if the seventh one is the largest and most powerful and doubt that it could knock someone off their feet but it might be worth cultivating especially if some visitor is itching and scratching near me.

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES

An incursion is an entering into a place, often sudden, unwelcome, or invasive (e.g., enemy troops entering a country), whereas an excursion is a short trip or journey out of a place for leisure or educational purposes.

This doesn't stop the stupidest president that USA has ever had from saying that the invasion and war in Iran is an 'excursion'. The background to this is that, because declarations and engagements in war, under the US Constitution, have to be ratified by Congress, the Trump administration has taken to using weasel words so as not to use the word 'war'. Trump and his idiot entourage forget themselves and use the word 'war' and then contradict themselves, often in the same sentence. It's not unlike how Trump's buddy and that other criminal world leader Putin describes the Ukraine invasion and war as 'a special military exercise'. The weasel word that Trump's advisors wanted him to use is 'incursion' but the fool uses the word 'excursion'!

As I said before it would be funny if it wasn't sending the world in to a global war, killing people, destroying cities and infrastructure and likely to case a massive world-wide recession.

I guess that some time soon Trump will be sent packing by the Iranians or dumped at home by the electors so his choice of word might come true if looked at like this"

Incursion vs excursion definition and direction: Incursion means "running into" (entering). Excursion means "running out" (leaving).

 

I ROBERT... SORRY, I PETER

I've booked in for some tennis lessons.

I'm a bit of a hacker at tennis, a bit like the way I play golf.

I can serve well and have a sneaky spin shot but my volleys leave a lot to be desired.

I feel comfortable playing with the others at the club but most are better than me and I don't want to let them down so I'll see if I can improve on my volleys.

DONALD, WHERE'S YER TROOSERS

 

You would have seen Trump's latest 'down-trou' actions where the old idiot has made even more of a fool of himself and has been caught out in his incompetence, lies and increasing failures.

It really is ridiculous and would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous. Probably thousands of people have already died due to Trump's warmongering and a global financial crisis has started ... that is affecting me!

We had some money left over between selling our house up north and buying here so decided to invest it. We took financial advice and, two weeks before that fat orange idiot illegally attacked Iran, put our money in to an investment fund. Great timing eh.

When Trump's war started we wondered if we'd made a mistake and sure enough noticed our balance shrinking. After a couple of weeks the Old Girl and I decided to pull our money out of the fund and put it in to a fixed term savings account which will earn less but only by a couple of percent. It took a week to get the funds released and today I put it in to the savings account. The loss to us was a couple of thousand dollars which, in global terms isn't even the dust on peanuts but to us is a lot of money. This could have bought enough golf balls for me to continue playing at Berhampore!

I obviously blame Trump and if someone finds the idiot's trousers please check his pockets for us as this war will be greatly increasing his and his family's wealth, his billionaire buddies' wealth and that of his pal Putin in Russia.

HOLY MOLY!

 I played golf yesterday with Robert.

I didn't play very well but we both played some good shots. Robert played better than me I feel. Even if I'd played well I still would have been outnumbered by Robert and his special friend God* though as Robert himself admitted in his latest post:

"TC did suspect divine intervention when one badly sliced drive of mine bounced off two pine trees and landed back on the fairway!"

Here are some examples.

On the first hole I teed off and hit a rather ordinary shot that landed on the fairway about 3/4 the way up a hill. It was OK, not good but acceptable. Robert teed off and hooked his ball to the left, into some trees and thick undergrowth. We headed off down hill and up on the fairway to discover that my ball was nowhere to be seen but Robert's ball - miraculously - was about 2/3 of the way up the hill on the right side of the fairway, a long way away from where it should have been in the trees to the left. "Funny" I thought, looking suspiciously around for a Trump acolyte-type person who was helping Robert. I dropped another ball and hit off with what I thought was a nice straight shot that sailed over the crest of the hill ... never to be seen again. Robert hit his second shot which crested the hill to the left and should have been in the gorse and long grass on the edge of the copse of trees (no, Richard wasn't in there doing his bear impressions). When we walked up and over the hill and down towards the green, my ball as said, was missing but Robert's was easily found and must have been hovering above the rough grass to the left kind of like the Holy Grail in those silly religious paintings.

"Funny" I thought again this time looking closely at Robert. I conceded the hole and Robert did a nice chip shot and a couple of good putts to finish.

On the next hole Robert, who 'had the honours' teed off to the right of the fairway into the trees and undergrowth. "Lost ball" I stupidly thought and teed off a reasonable shot down the left side of the fairway. I headed to my ball and hit a nice shot which hit the green and rolled across and off to, I assume, nestle beside the longer grass. Robert found his ball (no doubt hovering above the rough again) and hit a good shot to the left and beyond the green into some long grass. "Lost ball" I stupidly thought again and we approached the green. My ball of course was nowhere to be seen and stomping around in the long grass at the back of the green yielded no success. Robert's ball which had gone deeper in to the long grass was of course perched up awaiting his arrival. I took a penalty shot for a lost ball and managed to complete the hole fairly well. Robert also finished but we were even at this stage.

It must be said that Robert, even though he says he has not played much golf, was hitting the ball well and putting very well. I think that he's a natural and, with practice will be a much better player than me, Even better than Richard!

On the next hole we both hit our balls to the left of the fairway with Robert going in to the trees where, I think, his ball was lost. I think we both completed this hole OK and headed to the next where again I thought I'd hit a nice shot up the uphill fairway and Robert, I thought, had hit his in to the trees. Going uphill I found what I assumed was my ball and hit it with a nice shot up to just short of the green. Wrong! It was Robert's ball which somehow had materialised on the fairway away from where he seemed to originally hit it. My ball was nowhere to be seen. We completed the hole with me looking over my shoulder, into the trees with a growing suspicion.

In short we completed a few more holes rather unsuccessfully but with the odd good shot including a nice par three hole that has great views down to Island Bay. We both hit well with our balls landing on the green and both got pars I think.

The next  five holes were indifferent and I managed to lose three more balls with them being gobbled up by trees, gorse and long grass. These 'hazards' didn't seem to bother Robert's ball though and at one time I swear I saw a magpie picking his ball up from the gorse bushes and carrying it to the the middle of the fairway!

On the last hole we played - the 12th - I hit off with a long drive that crested the hill and over to the unseen green but a bit to the right where it should have been sitting below the raised green. Yes, you guessed it, my ball was nowhere to be seen. Robert teed off with a nice long ball to the right where it went into the copse of pine trees (like  the woods really but again, no Richard) and managed to collide with two tall trees before bouncing back on to the fairway! Holy Moly! He hit his second shot which rolled over the crest of the hill, once more in to some more very long grass and "Lost ball" I stupidly thought once again but of course the ball was sitting up nicely on top of the weeds. I imagined Robert gliding across the rough without touching the grass like Jesus on the water.

All in all it was a pleasant afternoon's golf even though Berhampore (Mornington Golf Club) is a challenging course. It will be good for my fitness though if I can find some more golf balls. I lost six of them yesterday and am now regretting giving away about 500 of them to my sister.

I'm looking forward to some more hits with Robert but it might pay to go to Mass beforehand next time.

* Adherents of the Fourth Council of the Lateran who believe in the Holy Trinity would suggested that I was playing against four people.

SUCCULENT

 No, not the tender juicy and tasty pear I ate after lunch. I'm referring to the succulent plants that I put on a couple of Free Stuff sites yesterday.

To date there have been no takers from the two sites that I posted this on - Free Stuff Thorndon, Kelburn and CBD and Free recycling Wellington, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt.

Obviously Wellingtonians are too well heeled to bother or are not into gardening. If I'd posted this offer in Whangarei Heads there would have been at least half a dozen people clamouring for these. They are nice and in good condition.

Succulents are diverse, drought-tolerant plants with thick, fleshy tissues designed to store water, thriving in arid climates and often used in low-maintenance, decorative gardening. Popular for their varied shapes and colours, they require well-draining soil, bright light, and minimal watering, making them ideal for indoors or outdoors.

Oh well. Never mind eh.

I SAY, THAT'S A BIT RUDE

 From Google:

I started this blog many years ago when I was a whippersnapper and called myself a curmudgeon as a bit of a laugh but, funny enough, as I've grown oder I notice that I've been taking on some of the curmudgeonly characteristics as described above.

Not all though.

I don't see myself yet as misanthropic, disagreeable or miserly but will admit to cynical, cranky, stubborn, cantankerous and becoming set in may ways. The annoyances in modern life and geopolitics run by idiots are not helping in my ever-increasing 'churlish' disposition. The best, or worse, is still to come I guess.

LET'S TALK ABOUT BEES

 Robert called Richard 'the bee's knees' in a post and, predictably, the apis (not a pissed) gentleman from Whyonearthdoesitmatter, went off on a tangent about the anatomy of bees, a subject that he doesn't know a lot about - remember his confusion about Daddy Long-legs?

By way of a riposte (not a rip-off) he suggested that I was a bee's foot! What's that about?

It's not funny but I can live with that.

I think he's more of a bee's arse than its knees but, hey ho.

*** WARNING! ***

 

Anyone living with a woman and, in particular, a woman who is on the cusp of OCD will know the warning signs when it comes to house maintenance and cleaning and take steps to remove a problem before she notices. An example I'll use today is to do with carpet cleaning and vacuuming.

I think that I do OK on the vacuuming front, giving it a go once a week. The in-built vacuum system in this house makes it easier and fun with no machine to drag around behind.This however doesn't make me want to do it any more often.

Today when walking in to the study I noticed this:

Here's a close-up:

Yes, it's a speck. A tiny bit of paper or something but a speck nevertheless. It was right in the doorway where she would have had to have noticed. This would have brought the instruction to vacuum the house tomorrow!

I removed the speck and, on inspection discovered more specks - two on the stairs, three in the lounge and several in the kitchen. I removed those on the stairs and in the lounge but left the bits on the kitchen floor. This is wooden so, when I receive my instructions on removing these a quick brush with a broom and employment of the dust pan and brush will sort that out.

Job done!

PUTTING THE WORLD RIGHT

 I played 9 holes of golf today at Mornington Golf Club which is the fancy name for Berhampore golf course.

The weather was ideal for golf being sunny but not too hot and wind free. Great.

Now I'm a bit of a hacker but there were three young guys ahead of me who looked like they were university students and who were hopeless. Bloody hopeless. Look, to give you an idea of how hopeless they were think of Tony and Richard playing golf. They were that hopeless.

I don't have a photograph of Richard playing golf - that's probably a treasured item at the Marton Golf Club - but the above photograph shows Tony, Mike and me sometime in the 1970s at Pauatahanui golf course. Mike was the best player and still is.

Anyway, after two holes the guys in front stopped and asked me if I wanted to play through. I declined and said I was just enjoying the sunshine and besides, I had friends who were much worse golfers than they were, They laughed and everyone was happy (except Richard and Tony if they'd been there I guess).

I enjoyed my golf and feel that I've made the right decision in joining this club as the views from the top of the hills were stunning. Of course I might think differently in August in a howling southerly.

I didn't lose a  single golf ball but ... I didn't find any either. What's that about?

A MARKER

 Before that old guy moans here's a post ... or a start of one.

A pretty picture

AND IT STONED ME TO MY SOUL ...

That idiot Trump said a day or so ago, when told that the Iranians were going to have a congress of some sort to elect the replacement Ayatollah, that he should have a say in the appointment.

WTF!

Is there no end to this narcissist's hubris?

The Assembly of Experts - the 88-member body is constitutionally responsible for selecting the new leader and is currently holding meetings, reportedly in secret and sometimes virtually due to the ongoing conflict.

Personally I would like to see Trump in the middle of 88 Iranian clerics trying to convince them of his and America's rights over them. We know how that would work out.

OK, OK, you were expecting this:

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD

"Everybody Wants To Rule The World"

Welcome to your life

There's no turning back

Even while we sleep

We will find you

Acting on your best behaviour

Turn your back on mother nature

Everybody wants to rule the world

Or, in Trump and his cronies case ... fuck the world, the bottom of the barrel has been reached.

Somehow United States of America has managed to elect the dumbest and most venal president in its history and that's saying something when you look at many of the previous incumbents.

Not only is the guy at the top putting USA into disrepute and accelerating the fall of the empire, he has managed to surround himself with dumb and venal people who he has inexplicably elevated to positions of power way beyond their capabilities.

Trump's cabinet in his first term was made up of idiots and sycophants who, over the four year term almost all got fired.

In this second term he seems to have recruited even worse arselickers assistants who are so stupid and or unqualified for their positions that leaders around the world are laughing at them, President Trump and America.

I'm sure you know the rogues gallery but some stand out as being worse than others like:

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are billionaires who have had long-term and very high positions in finance over many decades. It's bewildering how they managed to become so rich and to head up major companies when they are so incompetent and display dumbness in their sycophantic subservience to Trump.

Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth is a gung-ho fool who is (mis)leading the military into disastrous confrontations - at Trump's bidding.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, another Trump arselicker and enabler is woefully unqualified for the position and should have been booted out many months ago, I guess that toeing the line and doing Trump's dirty business is what keeps her in the job.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem whose reported cruelty, egotism and dishonesty has been harmful to thousands of immigrants and citizens and who now is the first major player to get axed. Noem who should have been dumped ages ago for her activities seems to have stayed on in the position because Trump has not wanted to look like he made bad choices and, like the others she has slavishly done his bidding. When things blew up over a quarter of a billion dollar, possibly illegal advertising spend on promoting Home land Security yesterday Trump, who allegedly instructed Noem to spend the money suddenly denied any involvement and had her sacked (if promoting her to a new position of Special envoy for The Shield of the Americas is a sacking).

Trump then immediately promoted 'dumb as a rock' Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to the position of United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS). It's worth doing a search on Mullin (an ex MMA fighter) to see how stupid he is, how phenomenally unqualified he is and how he has blundered his way through politics to date. It would beggar belief that he can be promoted to a cabinet secretary position  ... if it wasn't for the fact that he's in good company.

NOT LOST YET

After a couple of wet, cold and windy days I think I'll make my way outside today.

I've done the washing (mine as she won't let me do hers - I don't do it properly apparently) and sorted out a few things on this computer so now will head out to play a few holes of golf and later play some tennis.

This is my last chance to take advantage of free trials at both Mornington golf course and Thorndon tennis before joining and paying membership fees. I'm pretty certain that I will do join both but today will be the test.

Just to be clear, I'm a crap golfer and a rubbish tennis player but it's a way of keeping fit. "Use it or lose it" -

- Harvard Health tells me and also reminds me that I have a $150 gift card to use that Crown Removals sent me. That will come in handy for a present I want to buy.

*****************

We did go out yesterday evening - to Cuba restaurant (before Donald Trump bombs it) and then to a film at the Lighthouse Cinema. We saw Holy Days, a NZ film set in 1974 depicting a road trip from central North Island, across Cook Strait and down to Aoraki Mount Cook. It was a good little film that's worth a look and was particularly good at capturing the era. It reminded me of a similar road trip that Robert, Noel and I took in 1977 going across the strait, travelling down the West Coast and crossing past Aoraki Mount Cook to Christchurch and then back up the East Coast. I remember the roads being similarly empty and the scenery stunning.

That's it for now but remember -"Use it or lose it".

THE CLOUD HAS ARRIVED

 Last year I wrote several posts about Trump's limited understanding of world politics, detente, war and resolution and how he was likely to force the world to the brink of catastrophe. Here's a link to one of them:

IRAN

(The Flock of Seagulls video clip was removed so I've posted it below again - probably temporarily)

Just saying.

BACK IN THE GAME

 

KEEPING MY POWDER DRY

 I've been checking out golf courses to see if there's one I want to join (and can afford).

On Monday I played 9 holes at Karori Golf Club. The course is pretty good but a bit too remote. I'd probably think twice each time before driving the 25 minutes to it - it's less of a last minute decision to play.

Today I played 9 holes at Berhampore (Mornington Golf Club). This is the one I first played on back in about 1962. It's changed a bit but still has the 'goat track' holes I remember. The course is nice but the hills are challenging.

It was good weather on both days that I played - lots of blue sky, sunshine with no wind. Yes, this is Wellington I'm talking about. Sadly though, this is unlikely to be the case through Autumn and Winter.

The 9 hole round at both courses cost $25 (Berhampore cost is $25 for both a 9-hole or an 18-hole option! Maybe they think most casuals won't be able to do the 18 holes and they are correct as far as I'm concerned as I don't have either the stamina or interest to play 18 holes at a go).

The membership cost (9 hole midweek) at Karori is $750 a year although the first year introductory is discounted to $560.

Berhampore 9 hole midweek membership is $485 but full membership (7 days a week 18 holes) for a Gold card holder is $545 (non Gold card is $740 a year with $590 first year introductory).

Are you with me so far?

Looking at the best on-going deals offered at each:

Karori: $750

Berhampore: $545

 Berhampore gets the nod.

I then thought about the frequency that I might play at either and, assuming at best, once per week less the unplayable times in Autumn and Winter, I came up with an optimistic 36 times which, at $25 a round would add up to $900 paying green fees.

Looking at it another way, to get 'my money's worth' at Karori I'd have to play 30 times a year and at Berhampore 22 times. Berhampore once more gets the nod.

I'll put it to the boss aka The Old Girl, She Who Must Be Obeyed and occasionally, Her Indoors to see what she thinks.

If I were to carry on paying green fees and, over the next few months play 10 times, that's half the cost of the Berhampore membership - a 'no brainer' as those other bloggers will be familiar with.

*******************

A side note: Playing at Berhampore to day I managed to lose my sunglasses which I'd bought on-line back in August. These are polarised colour-changing ones which fortunately were still available to buy on-line at $42 (delivered). I ordered another pair and hopefully they'll arrive in a few days.

THEY'RE HERE

 

As you can see the new computer chair mats arrived and have been installed.

"Whew" I can hear you say.

Nothing to do with this:

A GOOD WALK RUINED*

* 

 I took some more interesting photos of shadows today and would have shared them except that a grumpy old ingrate has shown no interest.

If it wasn't for the fact that he makes up for about 90% of the readership of this blog I'd have ignored him but ... beggars can't be choosers.

Today I drove out to Makara - a camel and a packed lunch away- and played 9 holes at Karori Golf Club.

I did this to check out the course to see if I wanted to join it. It was a 23 minute drive from Thorndon even though the golf course website reported it as being 15 minutes from Wellington! Who did they use - Sterling Moss? There were some roadworks in Karori and the new Karori village speed limits have slowed things down a bit but ... 15 minutes - really?

I also wanted to see what the course was like in regard to upkeep, condition, location and interesting features. While not as interesting as The Pines in Whangarei Heads where I've been a member I think it will do. I also think that they might let me join without being blackballed in the vetting process given that they have bogans from Northland as members!

I'll try out some other clubs but, on talking to some members there, they said that one of the advantages of Karori is that it was easy to get a tee time and that during the week members can come and go and play a few holes without having to wait around. This casualness is what I've been used to at The Pines so is an attraction. I don't want a formal membership where I have to play in groups.

It was the first golf I've played for months and months and for every good shot I played I followed up with a crap one. That's OK though as I'm only interested in the exercise and the chance of finding some golf balls. The course is a bit hilly but this will help with my fitness. I think that I might join as a 9-hole member.

"I'M TOUCHING CLOTH HERE"

With apologies to the more sensitive readers this video clip from Still Game is very funny.

Richard, in his blog posts, often mentions the urgent need to use the toilet. It reminded me of Winston in Still Game.

STILL GAME

LIFE IN THE SHADOWS

 One of the The only interesting thing on Richard's blog this morning was an image he used.

This is a good photograph that he stole from somewhere and it makes good use of stripes and shadows. I like stripes and shadows. See: LIFE IMITATING ART

Yesterday there were some interesting shadows cast in our house and on a neighbour's house.

This one reminds me of a Gordon Walters painting as seen below

This one reminds me of a Piet Modrian painting as
 seen below:

I trust you enjoyed that. No need to thank me.

LETTING YOU KNOW

I went for a long walk this morning exploring the Ahumairangi bush walks for future expeditions.

This from the web:

Te Ahumairangi (formerly known as Tinakori Hill) is packed with a network of trails.
The most popular trail is the Ridgeline Track which runs from the corner of Orangi Kaupapa Road and Bedford Street in Northland, up and over to Weld Street in Wadestown.
The Northern Walkway also climbs up from St Marys Street near Wellington Botanic Gardens in Thorndon to join the Ridgeline Track.

Elephant Rock loop
Start near the corner of Grant Road and Poplar Grove in Thorndon. Head up the track to junction and a large rock known as Elephant Rock. Follow the Northern Walkway uphill and past the East-West Connector, then turn right to quarry. Go past the old quarry and descend to Grant Road.
You can lengthen this walk by staying on the Northern Walkway until a sign on your right points the way to Wadestown Road and Sefton Street. Follow the markers back to Grant Road.
Use the mobile optimised webmap of Ahumairangi Elephant Rock Loop to help you navigate the complex Wellington Town Belt trail network. Tap the crosshair icon on the webmap and allow location services to locate yourself on the map.
Stellin loop
Start at Stellin Memorial Park carpark.
Walk up to the Memorial, then turn left down a flight of steps. Take the next right up the lookout, then up steps to the picnic area and uphill briefly on the sealed road (Ridgeline Track). Take the first right downhill into the forest until you come out overlooking Thorndon. Head down then turn right onto Stellin Track back to the Memorial carpark, or alternatively continue downhill on the Stellin Track towards the Botanic Garden.
Use the mobile optimised webmap of Ahumairangi Stellin Loop to help you navigate the complex Wellington Town Belt trail network. Tap the crosshairs on the webmap and allow location services to locate yourself on the map.

These are a network of tracks heading up, down and side to side. No doubt the old ex members of the Prowse Garden Road gang know about these tracks but they are new to me. I'm going to enjoy walking them even though they are in need of maintenance (but then, so am I).

I miss the bush walks of Whangarei Heads and, while not as spectacular in terms of coastal views and birdlife, the Te Ahumairangi ones will do. There are also the Otari-Wilton's bush walks a bit further over that I'll try as I build up my fitness levels. 

I'm going to enjoy this and the tracks begin a short walk away from home along Hobson Street, Tinakori Road and Grants Road.

So now you know.

"NOTHING NEW HERE" ...

 ... said the grouch from Wainuiolalaland, accessing my blog too early.

I've had a full day made up of a long walk around the waterfront early this morning, shopping and tidying up/sorting out the study/office.

It's been a bit of a mess since we moved in with lots of things just dumped on the shelves but today I spent a couple of hours sorting through papers and filing them in dedicated boxes. Believe it or not it looks a lot better which hopefully you can see here:

The computer chair mats I bought a couple of weeks ago are about to get the humpty-doo as The Old Girl doesn't like them. She has ordered a couple of clear plastic ones on-line so I guess my purchases will go to the garage and will be positioned under the exercise machines. Hey ho - a glass of Champagne is calling ...

NOT THE LAUNDRY POST, BUT ...

 I had fun today doing the vacuuming.

No, I haven't gone doolally or joined Robert in his commercial cleaning activities. I tried out the internal vacuum system in the house.

The Old Girl has been using it but it's the first time that I've given it a go. It works very well. There is a main 'engine' on the ground floor in a cupboard below the stairs. This drives the system that has plug-in outlets on each of the three levels. It is powerful with that added advantage of not having to drag a vacuum cleaner around which is a plus when cleaning the stairs.

I enjoyed using it but suspect that the excitement will rapidly wear off and it will become another chore. Hey ho.

GING GANG GOOLIE

 

I'm spending some time in the study this morning (The Old Girl is at work - at her office in town) making arrangements for our trip to Australia in August.

We were planning to go to Italy on an opera themed package tour, see: PRONTO but have decided against this and will do the GHAN train trip instead.

This is a 3 night, 4 day train trip from Darwin to Adelaide.

We like train trips and I might have mentioned this fact before 🙄.

At my age it's a nightmare making on-line bookings. In the past I've done stupid things like booked my trips back to front and cocked up the dates and times for rental cars etc. This time I'm taking a lot more care so the exercise is laborious (why should I be the only one to suffer - that's why I'm sharing this with you).

The first thing to do was lock in the train booking as this is a very popular attraction. I've managed to make a booking and have paid a deposit for the 'Ghan Expedition' starting on 8 August this year which is my birthday. Yay!

I can now work backwards and forwards to make airline, accommodation and rental car bookings to work around this.

We will fly direct to Darwin from Wellington. 'Direct' is a bit of a misnomer as it will likely mean 3 different fights on two different airlines and take about 12 hours but hey! Have a look at the map above to see where Darwin is. It is remote. The plan is to spend a couple of days in Darwin, probably the 6th and 7th August which means I can now look at ex NZ flights on 5th August. In Darwin I'd like to see where the pesky Japanese bombed Australia in February 1942 but doubt that The Old Girl will be interested so, as a counterbalance we will no doubt visit some galleries and museums and try to spot a crocodile or two. We aren't 'beachy' people so have no intention of sitting on sand for hours on end. Maybe two days will be too long.

On the journey we elected the 'Ghan Expedition' option which will include some side trips:

The Ghan Expedition

Darwin to Adelaide (March to November inclusive in 2026) - Coast to coast, through the fiery Red Centre, experience Australia at its dramatic best. Your four day, three night (2,979km) journey includes all meals and beverages on board plus your off train experiences at Katherine, Alice Springs and Coober Pedy (with optional scenic flight/tour of Uluru also available - additional fee).

Our arrival date and time in Adelaide is now set. We plan to spend a week travelling to and staying in Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale and a couple of other scenic wine areas before heading home. 

I'll update you on the itinerary as soon as I can but Richard has put in a special request for a post on my laundry.

"Toodle-oo" as the Aussis say.

A COUPLE OF THINGS ...

The cupboard person called in this morning to measure for the garage cupboards installation scheduled for the end of March. We're making best use of the garage space by having fitted cupboards built in.

These will be used for:

• Kitchen pantry additional items.
• Rarely used appliances, pots and pans etc.
• Tools
• Electronic items, cords, plugs etc.
• Study 'overflow'
• All of the essential clutter that a household needs.

The clutter on the garage floor can be tidied up and, once installed I can have some garage carpet laid down and move the third exercise machine, the bike in.

The more observant of you will have noticed the small TV I bought, snuggled in on top of the existing built in cupboards. I'm quite pleased with this purchase of the 32 inch Samsung Smart TV. I saw them advertised in both Noel Leeming and Harvey Norman for $350 last week but when I called in they were sold out. I searched around and found that PB Tech also had them at this price and were selling out fast (nearly $200 off normal retail). I'd been searching for a while for a good quality TV that would fit the small space in the garage. The Samsung satisfies both requirements. We find that exercise time (up to an hour for me and longer for The Old Girl) goes quicker when watching TV. 

So now you know.