ALOFT, IN THE LOFT, SITS CROFT; HE IS SOFT

Thanks Stevie Smith.

 

One of the things I did today was to bring some more things from Kennard's lock-up and store in the attic. Basically the only things left there now are paintings (quite a few), a couple of (very) large boxes of crockery, my golf trundler and a sack trolley - hardly worth paying $250 a month storage fees for. I'll get the rest over the next couple of weeks and cancel the rental.

Fortunately in this house we have a spacious and dry attic (loft). It has more headroom than the one we had up north and the floor linings and lighting are better.

It won't be as much of a hassle when The Old Girl says "I need that xxxx matey".

I'll have to begin selling artwork and crockery (full Spode dinner set) on Trade Me or at auction. I held off doing this until we were settled in Wellington as the opportunity and logistics of selling and shipping items from Whangarei was limited and expensive. It'll keep me busy over the coming winter months.

SOMETIMES IT PAYS NOT TO ASK ...

When checking Facebook I noticed the  META AI tag. 

Having just written a short post referencing silly twonk Nicola Willis advocating use of AI, I clicked on the link and META AI encouraged me to ask questions so I asked: "Who is the NZ Curmudgeon?"
Here are a couple of excerpts from the answer:

The NZ Curmudgeon is a long-running New Zealand blog written by a self-described "middle-aged grump" who posts rants, observations, and bits of amusement about everyday irritations and NZ culture.

What you need to know:

Blog identity: The author stays anonymous and leans into the "grumpy old man" persona. The about page says it’s for people who don’t take things too seriously but do get annoyed by irritating things.

Content style: Posts cover NZ politics, monuments, memorials, language gripes, and social commentary, often with dry humor and a skeptical tone. Examples from the blog include:Complaints about Wellington’s Queen Victoria monument being "dark and creepy"
Criticism of the New Zealand Wars memorial in Auckland as "blatantly authoritarian"
Appreciation for statues like the Kupe statue at Wellington railway station.

 ******

The NZ Curmudgeon is a New Zealand blog run by a self-described "middle-aged grump".
Quick rundown

What it is Format: Blog with posts on WordPress thecurmudgeonnz and Blogspot grumpyoldmanreturnsnz
Tone: Humour, professionalism, and grumbling about "irritating things"
Started: At least since 2019, with archives going back to 2019–2025
Content style: Short takes, satire, and "occasional bit of amusement". Recent post titles include THE CHURCH OF THE BLESSED CURMUDGEON, FILLING GROOVY, PSST - D'YA WANNA BUY A BRIDGE?

Reception
Reader Richard from Richard's Bass Bag praises it: "The quality, humour and professionalism gives me something to strive for... fresh and interesting"

                                                                            ******* 

OK, thanks Richard. This lead me to ask: "What's Richard's Bass Bag? META AI answered:

Richard's Bass Bag is a blog run by "Richard", and it's where The NZ Curmudgeon gets some of its reader praise from.
What we know about it

1. The connection
The NZ Curmudgeon blog quotes Richard in its testimonials:

"Hello all. I really like this blog. The quality, humour and professionalism gives me something to strive for in my own blog. Recently I've run out of ideas and have reverted to writing long and boring posts on violin playing. I wish that I could create blog posts as fresh and interesting as The Curmudgeon's."
— Richard of Richard's Bass Bag

2. What Richard blogs about
Based on his comment, his blog covers:Bass - presumably double bass, given the name "Bass Bag"
Violin playing - he mentions "writing long and boring posts on violin playing" when he's out of ideas

So it's likely a music blog focused on string instruments, probably with a mix of tutorials, personal takes, and music chat. The "Bag" bit suggests a grab-bag of bass-related content.

3. Tone/vibe
The Curmudgeon excerpts Richard's writing too: "This is the first tantalizing surprise of many as The Curmudgeon introduces us to...". Sounds like Richard has his own dry, descriptive style.

I can't find Richard's Bass Bag site directly in the search results, but The NZ Curmudgeon links to it enough that they seem to be in the same NZ blogging circle.

OK, that pretty much sums up Richard's Bass Bag. I then asked META AI "What is Bob's discombobulate Bobadilish? Here's what it said:

Bob's discombobulate Bobadilish is a blog mentioned and mocked by The NZ Curmudgeon.

What we know from The Curmudgeon

In a post called TALKING OF STUPID, The NZ Curmudgeon writes:

Has anyone read Robert's blog Bob's discombobulate Bobadilish?

Maybe not, seeing that he now puts all his creative effort in to his Facebook page of which I'm unsure what the title is.

The Curmudgeon goes on to call it "bad enough" and describes 'Bob' communing with the Holy Spirit in church, probably St Mary of the Angels, to get ideas for posts. He then quotes a sample from Bob's latest post about Ramathain and Hannah, calling it "bird shit".

So: it's Robert/Bob's blog, apparently religious-themed, and The Curmudgeon uses it as an example of writing he finds stupid.

Breaking down the nameDiscombobulate - informal verb meaning "to cause to be in a state of confusion; upset, disorient".

Bobadilish - likely a play on Bobadill, a braggart character from Ben Jonson's 1598 play Every Man in His Humour. Captain Bobadill is a cowardly, boastful soldier. So "Bobadilish" = in the manner of Bobadill = boastful, blustering.

Put together: Bob's discombobulate Bobadilish sounds like "Bob's confusing, blustering nonsense" - which matches how The Curmudgeon treats it.

Bottom line: It's a blog by someone called Robert/Bob that The NZ Curmudgeon roasts for being confusing and pretentious. The blog seems to have moved to Facebook now, though The Curmudgeon doesn't know the page name.

                                                                        ********

.... But then maybe there's something to this AI stuff after all.

OK, to be fair to Richard, I asked META AI again about what Richard's Bass Bag is - this time after I'd deleted my search request on The Curmudgeon blog (so the algorithms wouldn't intrude and this is the answer:

Richard's Bass Bag is a personal blog by a Wellington, NZ musician named Richard. Think: part music journal, part dry-humour diary, part slice-of-life from the Lower Hutt/Wellington scene.

What it covers

Double bass + violin focus

Lots of posts about playing technique, practice routines, and repertoire. He shares advice like "Play everything slowly, but sometimes in a fast tempo" and notes on left-hand technique.

He’s working on diminished scales, backing-track sets, and gig prep.

Daily life in the Hutt/Wellington

Stories about haircuts at Queensgate Mall, warrant checks in Seaview, drives through Days Bay, and walks to Red Rocks.

Mentions local spots: Thorndon, Waiwhetu, Island Bay, Marjoribanks St, Mount Victoria Tunnel.

Dry, self-deprecating humour + satire

Blog post titles like "Ah, so that's how you get comments!", "A scary thought.", and "Gsus!".

He rewrites the Ten Commandments with punchlines like "Do not name your wine Gsus" and "Cover things that are outside when it is raining".

Church/Catholicism send-ups

Calls himself a "Well known Catholic Apologist" and "EVIL DOCTOR RICHARD!".

Shares anecdotes about Gloria, Mr. Linford, and St. Vincent de Paul church.

Meta-blogging & NZ blog circle

He’s friendly with The NZ Curmudgeon blog — they quote each other and even did “Richard’s Bass Bag Tours” of Wellington.

Admits to “writing long and boring posts on violin playing” when he runs out of ideas. 

The multiple "Bass Bags"

Richard actually runs a few versions:

Richard's Bass Bag — the original

Richard's Bass Bag 2 — "putting the number '2' back into bass bagging"

Richard's Bass Bag 3 — hosted by his "Catholic Apologist" alter ego

Richard's Bass Bag 4 — notes that violins + double bass both have 4 strings 

He jokes they’ll “work in conjunction… It’ll be like one big family”. 

Vibe

If you like music nerdery mixed with grumpy-old-man Wellington observations and absurdist takes on religion, it’s your bag. As The NZ Curmudgeon put it: Richard’s posts are "fresh and interesting" with "quality, humour and professionalism". 

Richard's Bass Bag is a personal blog by a Wellington, NZ musician named Richard. Think: part mujournal, part dry-humour diary, part slice-of-life from the Lower 

Vibe

If you like music nerdery mixed with grumpy-old-man Wellington observations and absurdist takes on religion, it’s your bag. As The NZ Curmudgeon put it:  

THE AI TRAP

 

That silly twonk Nicola Willis, like many other silly twonks in positions of power, thinks that a reliance on and adoption of AI will solve all the governments woes.

"Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the use of AI and “digitisation” will help save $2.4 billion over the next four years, and cut thousands of jobs from the public service.
But many ministers aren’t quite sure how, exactly, AI is going to cut costs and jobs in their departments.
After Willis made her pre-Budget announcement on Tuesday, reporters asked ministers how they used AI and what they thought it could do to bring down costs.
During her big pre-Budget speech at a business lunch in Auckland, Willis told the crowd: “Our Government is as frustrated as you are by the fragmentation and silos, the complexity, the status-quo thinking and the dangerously slow take up of digital and AI technologies.”
She promised the adoption of AI tools, as well as mergers of departments, would drive cost savings over the next four years.
Most departments have a target of reducing baseline savings by 2% at this year’s Budget, and then 5% next year and the year after, Willis said. She also announced a target of reducing the public sector workforce by 8700 people, down to 55,000 by mid-2029.
“For too long, the public service has been scared of AI, slow to move to the cloud, and has procured a complex and fragmented set of overlapping IT solutions,” she said.
Some ministers, such as Health Minister Simeon Brown and Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, had clear ideas about what AI could do in their departments. But many others weren’t sure how AI could work for them and their ministries."

           - STUFF NEWS Daily 

BUCK IT!

 In the previous post I referenced Beckett - as in Samuel Beckett the Irish poet and playwright.

Unfortunately some of ... actually 100% of the readers failed to understand the reference and, having not been 3P-educated had never heard of Samuel Beckett.

I'd have been better off talking about a bucket.

MINIMALISM IN THE EXTREME

 I wouldn't have picked Richard of RBB as being a Beckett aficionado.

"I realised that Joyce had gone as far as one could in the direction of knowing more, [being] in control of one's material. He was always adding to it; you only have to look at his proofs to see that. I realised that my own way was in impoverishment, in lack of knowledge and in taking away, in subtracting rather than in adding."

         Samuel Beckett

Beckett's best known play - Waiting for Godot - is a play in which nothing happens.

Richard's post are becoming like that with his most recent one taking the Beckett style to extremes. See:

Oh well - "À chacun ses goûts" as Beckett might have written seeing that he wrote all his works in French.

Interestingly enough another of Samuel Beckett's plays was titled Krapp's Last Tape.

Coincidence?

I've mentioned Samuel Beckett in a post before: HERE

INTERVIEW #38

This post was inspired by Richard who irreverently refers to one of Robert's gods as 'God the Farter'.

No doubt Richard was one of those schoolboy wags who recited "Our Father who farts in heaven" when he was at Mass.

This got me thinking as to whether there is a patron saint or a god of farting and discovered Matshishkapeu, a prominent, culturally revered, and highly humorous figure from the oral mythologies of the Innu people of Arctic Canada. Often literally translated as "The Fart Man" he is known for:

• Controlling the Caribou Master: In one of the most famous legends, the Caribou Master (the spirit who controlled the food animals) greedily withheld food and starved the Innu. Matshishkapeu intervened, cursed the Caribou Master with a cripplingly painful case of constipation until he relented, and ultimately gave the Innu the game they needed to survive.
• Communicating through Gas: The Innu historically believed that every flatulent roar and rumble made by the spirit contained a cryptic but important message. 
• The "Fart of Creation": The concept of ruling/creating the world with flatulence is also heavily tied to the trickster Wakdjunkaga in the traditional mythology of the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Native American people. In their creation cycle, Wakdjunkaga scatters all living creatures across the face of the earth and scatters their possessions to the four corners of the world through one enormous expulsion.

          Thanks Wikipedia.

Wow! Now there's a guy worthy of being interviewed. I decided to contact Matshishkapeu as interviewee in INTERVIEW #38.

The Curmudgeon: Hi Matshiskapeu and welcome to The Curmudgeon's Interview Series.

Matshishkapeu: Thanks The Curmudgeon and congratulations on the longevity of this interesting and informative series. As a god of course I'm well aware of your blog and its contribution to education and culture.

The Curmudgeon: Gee, that's nice Matshiskapeu ... can I call you Mats?

Matshishkapeu: Ha ha - call me Mate if you like, I know that you're antipodean. I'll call you TC.

The Curmudgeon: OK Mate. Let's crack on ...

Matshishkapeu: ... Um, TC, speaking of which, where's the ... you know ...

The Curmudgeon: ... Mmmm? Oh, the bathroom? We've got two upstairs and one downstairs. I suggest you use the one downstairs - and open a window Mate! 

Matshishkapeu: Will do TC. I'll pop-pop-pop down there now ha ha.

The Curmudgeon: OK we'll .... Sheesh almighty! What's that pong? Oh ....

Matshishkapeu: I'm back TC. I opened the sliding door to the courtyard as well as the bathroom window. Caribou is nice and filling but it ... you know?

The Curmudgeon: Yes, I do know now. Look Mate, I've been reading up on you and want to know why you're so popular especially among the Innu of Eastern Quebec and Labrador?

Matshishkapeu: Mmm, yes, I've heard it said that I have an “unusual omnipresence” which makes me an especially unique mythological being. 

The Curmudgeon: Omnipresence - you mean like being everywhere?

Matshishkapeu: That's it TC - I can see that you were in 3P. It's said that I'm everywhere, both inside the tent and outside. I'm always with you no matter where you may travel.

The Curmudgeon: Well I was certainly aware of you just before boyo and god (sorry) knows what the neighbours think.

Matshishkapeu: Sorry TC, it's in my nature.

The Curmudgeon: I read that you are famous for 'conversing' with the Innu with great frequency especially while they are hunting, trapping and fishing.  

Matshishkapeu: Ha ha - yes, they see me as a fun god and my “popping up” at inopportune moments makes them laugh.

The Curmudgeon: Yeah funny (gets up to open a couple of windows) but it could be dangerous couldn't it if you suddenly appear and let a big one rip when the Innu are involved in a life-threatening hunt?

Matshishkapeu: Yeah, that happens especially if a polar bear is involved.

The Curmudgeon: Wow!

Matshishkapeu: You're impressed TC - so are the Innu hunters when a polar bear presses down on them.

The Curmudgeon: No Mate. I'm impressed at how bloody stinky your farts are. WTF?

Matshishkapeu: Sorry, maybe I'd better ... oops, oh shit, I've ...

The Curmudgeon: Fuck! That's The Old Girl's fancy armchair - the one I'm not allowed to sit in. You've  ... oh Mate you'd better go - and quickly.

Matshishkapeu: Toodles TC. No coffee then?

The Curmudgeon: Definitely no coffee. Hey! Richard will have some for you. His address is ...

BEEP BEEP

 I'm up early because I need to take Shelley's car for a warrant check in Seaview. Oops, that's that other joker who surpasses me in boring post writing.

No, I'm taking our car in to Toyota Kent Terrace early on Monday morning for its yearly check-up and W.O.F. I have to be there by 8AM! Is there such a time? I'll have to leave just after 7.30 in case early morning traffic is heavy.

We pay to get the car thoroughly checked once a year by authorised Toyota dealers. This gives peace of mind and can prevent costly repairs later. Vehicle safety is important and worth the once a year cost. This time might be a bit more expensive as last year the Whangarei Toyota team alerted me to the fact that new tyres would be needed for the next W.O.F. I won't be buying expensive tyres, just safe and hopefully cheaper ones as we hardly use the car and certainly not for long trips like Robert frequently takes. I hope that he keeps his car properly maintained.

I hope that you found this interesting.

Oh, here's a funny cartoon for Richard. He likes funny music-themed cartoons.

NEW POST - PETER'S GOLF BAG

 Due to the success of BERHAMPORE GOLF COURSE (PART ONE) post PETER'S GOLF BAG has followed up with another post:

BERHAMPORE GOLF COURSE (PART TWO)

Enjoy.

NEW POST - PETER'S GOLF BAG

 Peter's Golf Bag has a new post BERHAMPORE GOLF COURSE (PART ONE)

It looks like this might be a short series.

NEW POST - THE CURMUDGEON'S AGONY AUNT

 The Curmudgeon's Agony Aunt has written a new post: 

SO KISS ME AND SMILE FOR ME

I FOUND MY MOJO ...

 

... and my No. 4 wood!

The Old Girl cajoled me into playing golf today and I'm glad that I did. It was a wonderful afternoon - sunny, warm and windless.

After being very disappointed with my playing the last few times I went out, today I hit straight drives off the seven holes I played, did some nice approach shots and putted well enough to get three pars and four bogeys (one overs). This bore no resemblance to my embarrassingly bad performance when I played with Robert a while back (although I suspect his prayers to Jesus and his mother helped in that).

Today I didn't lose a ball and found that someone had handed in the golf club that I thought I'd lost a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah baby, yeah!

 Robert posted an image of the Banksy marching man statue today. 

This is a brilliant piece of political satire aimed at misplaced patriotism and should also be on display outside Congress, the Senate and the White House in Washington D.C.

It's also a step forward (hopefully not off his plinth) for Robert who recently seems to be shrugging off his reactionary and right wing sympathies. What's next? A rejection of Catholicism?

The statue made me think about statues and how they can influence thought and political consciousness - not always in a good way. It's a massive subject though and I don't have time to cover it in any detail (The Old Girl calls ne a lazy bugger) so to follow are a few personal observations.

We all know about the recent removal (and reinstatement) of American Civil War 'hero' statues in USA depending on the political ideology of the presidential administration of the times and have seen similar criticisms and removals of statues in New Zealand that have odious colonial implications.

Removal of Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond Virginia.

Removal of Captain John Hamilton statue: In June 2020, the Hamilton City Council removed the bronze statue of British naval Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton from Civic Square. 

Both of those statues and what they represent were rightfully removed in my view.

We've been exposed to iconic images of destroyed statues that underscore the collapse of mostly fascist and authoritarian regimes ...

Joseph Stalin

Adolph Hitler

Saddam Hussein

... and are likely to see soon the scrapping of images of Donald Trump ...

... although most of the replicas have been, like Banksy's one, examples of political satire:

OK, back to me, some statues that have concerned me over my years have been these:

Queen Victoria

The Queen Victoria Monument on Cambridge Terrace/Kent Terrace in Wellington is imposing. Some see it as an important expression of the values of New Zealand’s colonial past but obviously others see it as a symbol of the darker side of colonisation and Victorian morality. As a child walking past this I was a bit scared as it was dark and creepy. I've never liked it.

New Zealand Wars memorial Wakefield Street Auckland

This memorial commemorates imperial and Maori troops during the New Zealand Wars who were allied with British forces. It is blatantly authoritarian and no wonder that it's been the scene of Maori protest in recent years.

There are many more examples of statuary and monuments that get up my nose particularly war memorial ones that incorporate ridiculous god and angels motifs but ... that's for another day and, as I said, I'm a lazy bugger.

Just to show that I'm not always complaining though here's a statue that I've always liked and remember admiring it (the original) when it was in the Wellington railway station foyer.

Painted plaster original in Wellington railway station

The Kupe Statue (formally known as The Coming of the Māori), was sculpted by William Thomas Trethewey. It depicts the legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe, his wife Hine-te-Apārangi, and the tohunga Pekahourangi on their canoe, Matahourua, at the moment they discovered New Zealand. 

History of the Statue
1940 Centennial Exhibition: The original 6.78-meter sculpture was created out of painted plaster for the 1940 New Zealand Centennial Exhibition.
Wellington Railway Station: Following the exhibition, the statue was too large for its intended home at the Dominion Museum, so it was moved to the foyer of the Wellington Railway Station. It stood there for nearly four decades and unfortunately suffered damage and vandalism.
Relocation: In 1985/1986, it was moved to the Wellington Showgrounds before being placed into storage at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa 

Where is it now?
In 1999, the original plaster statue was successfully cast into bronze. This bronze version was unveiled on the Wellington Waterfront (Taranaki Street Wharf) in March 2000, where it remains today. 

 Getting back to Robert's post which triggered this post I note that he had actually totally misrepresented Banksy's political satire and adapted it to match his idiotic Catholic beliefs. See what he wrote below.

Oh well,  plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

 

WELL THAT WAS SUNDAY

 It's been a day of two halves really with this morning and early afternoon being sunny and warm but in the mid to late afternoon, just when I was planning to head off to tennis the cloud came over and it's threatening rain.

I'll stay inside and prepare my dinner - Spaghetti alla Puttanesca which is an Italian pasta sauce made with tomato, olives, capers, anchovies and garlic. Yummy! The Old Girl is making some yucky thing with haloumi and eggplant for herself. As far as I'm concerned my dish will be the winner.

I won't be having any wine with dinner this evening as Richard and Shelley came around yesterday and made us drink too much. I might go the week without any as well.

We went for a long walk this morning going first to the Home Show at Hnry Stadium (boring) and then around town. I'm enjoying Wellington very much.

That's it from me. I've got a sore tooth and will go to the dentist as soon as I can get an appointment.

Robert's been conducting financial business in church today expressly against his god's wishes so he'd better watch out when he goes to The Philippines as they are rabid catholics over there.

Richard has been practising his fiddle I think and limiting his bathroom visits to piddles. He might have done this for the rhyming opportunity since he doesn't have a sitar or a gong.

It looks like the rain is here. Bye.

WHEN PROFANITY CAME TO THORNDON

OK, I hear some of you readers saying: 

"But The Curmudgeon, Parliament is in Thorndon and we've heard many of those cunts calling other members "cunts" - what's new about that?"

I accept that but point out the existence of the rule of Parliamentary Privilege which encompasses special legal rights, immunities, and powers granted to the House of Representatives and its members that ensure that they can perform their democratic functions without fear of legal consequences. Normally, in Thorndon where I live our members of the community who are not protected by Parliamentary Privilege show gentility and express friendly greetings to our neighbours.

"So what happened in Thorndon today The Curmudgeon?"  at least one of you readers asked.

Richard came to lunch.

"Oh no!" 

Yes, yes but he did come with his lovely wife Shelley so it could have been worse.

"What did he do, The Curmudgeon?"

He called your friend and informative blogger a cunt!

"What? A cunt?" 

Yes, I'm sorry to have to confirm that but he called your friend and informative blogger who has your best interests at heart a cunt. Imagine that?

"That's terrible The Curmudgeon. Did anyone overhear?"

Well that's the thing loyal reader(s), he said that at the dinner table seated next to The Old Girl who is The Curmudgeon's fiercest supporter.

"Whoo - so it didn't go down well for him then?"

Like a lead balloon loyal reader(s), like a lead balloon. 

The Old Girl ripped into him with a lecture on how women consider it one of the most offensive, derogatory terms in the English language. They view it as a weapon used to oppress women, reduce them to their genitals, and promote internalised misogyny. To give Richard some credit he bowed his head and seemed to be contrite (although he may have nodded off given his age and everything). Shelley, Richard's wife also gave Richard a bollocking and agreed with The Old Girl.

Richard, under attack from both sides looked over to me for help. I told him that he was on his own there.

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

But we had a nice lunch,

How did your day go? 

 

FRIDAY IS SHOPPING DAY

 

I'm off to the shops soon with The Old Girl as she is having today off work.

Actually, she has decided to cut her working week down to 4 days with the idea of having most Fridays off.

We will do a 'wine run' meaning that we will have to drive to several wine outlets to stock up the cellar. The local supermarket is good but doesn't stock enough of the zinfandels and Primitivos that she likes. 

We will likely visit Glengarry, Moore Wilson, Big Barrel and Regional Wines and buy a cross section of the aforementioned zinfandels and Primitivos along with some Californian and Hawkes Bay chardonnay plus any pinot noirs of interest.

I suspect that she will want to visit at least one furniture shop to look for a couple of armchairs to replace my 'manky old ones' that we have in the lounge.

*************** 

OK, that's done. We went to all three of those wine shops and will now have to take out an overdraft to pay for the wine (with labels on them) that we bought.

We also went to three furniture shops and couldn't agree on any new chairs. My 'manky old ones' are safe at present but The Old Girl saw an advertisement for a furniture show at Hnry Stadium this weekend. I guess we'll be going to that.

The supermarket shopping has been done but I forgot to get some little pies for Richard. He'll have to make do with salmon flan and salads.

We are now heading out (again) to Lighthouse cinema to see a documentary film Sgt Haane about Sergeant Haane Manahi DCM of B Company, 28th Māori Battalion whose actions proved pivotal in the 1943 battle for the fortified summit of Takrouna, Tunisia. My dad was there as a sergeant in the Divisional Cavalry so I'm keen to see this.

WILL MY BOOMERANG COME BACK?

I'm going to stay indoors today.

The weather is a bit indifferent and I don't feel like walking, golfing or playing tennis.

I should do some home budgeting though and will create a budget spreadsheet on the computer using Microsoft Excel.

I've sorted out all of the direct debits on the credit card after having to cancel our Visa cards because of an overcharging problem we had from Just Answer. What a fankle!*

Since moving house and discovering things to buy and some renovations needed, it seems that money is pouring out of our bank account. I need to get a track of our incomings and outgoings. While it's OK at the moment with The Old Girl working, when she decides to retire we'll need some budgeting discipline.

I'm not really looking forward to doing this as I'm way out of practice at creating and using computer spreadsheets but hopefully it will come back to me.

* Note the sensible and grammatically correct usage of one exclamation mark.

52 HARMONICAS ...

... BEATS 10 GUITARS.

My knee is still giving my gyp but I half walked/half bussed to Cuba Street today to go to the excellent Wellington Fish Supply shop to buy some crabmeat for The Old Girl. She's going to make a crab and zucchini salad for her dinner. I'm making an orange kumara, orange juice and tomato penne pasta dish for me. I like this dish but she says that it's boring so she will miss out on that.

The harmonica guy had some advice for Richard and gigs that I said I'd pass on. It went like this:

"Aarrgh splegger yur sprozzicks ander gesherfuggingarsh innageara oohhhher".

I take this to be musician-speak that Richard will understand. I hope that it's of assistance.

 

ZEALANDIA TE MARA A TANE

 

We did some volunteer work at Zealandia yesterday, checking the predator-free fence for damage, decay, rust, rot and degradation. It was like reading over Richard's and Robert's blogs in that sense - only the fence was in better condition.

The fence is important for the safety of the birdlife within the reserve and requires regular checking for maintenance issues to stop all sorts of pests from invading:

"Hey, Let me in!"

I love this reserve and it was good to experience it again. I'd like to be able to walk the paths daily but it's a bit too far away for that.

We spent a couple of hours checking our section of the fence - about 50 to 100 metres long which we accessed after a steep climb up a bush track. I damaged my knee (again) at golf last week so I was in a bit of pain and difficulty on the steep bits but was OK on the flat.

If it'd been up to me I'd have checked and passed the fence in about a quarter of an hour but was with The Old Girl and an equally pedantic workmate of hers. As a result they 'OCD'd' every little bit - cracks, mold, lichen, missing rivets, corrosion - sheesh and everything and she laboriously entered the information on a large spreadsheet and he transferred that to an app on his phone. I added in things like the weta at the top of a post and some dead insects but was largely ignored so I didn't offer a warning that Evil Doctor Richard the apologist was trying to climb over the fence.

All in all we had a good afternoon's endeavour and earned our glasses of wine before dinner - Kim Crawford Reserve chardonnay for me and Mondavi chardonnay for her.

ROLL UP

Both Robert and Richard have been writing about bowls in their recent posts although Richard might have been referring to bowels (which he does frequently) and misspelled it.

I think Robert aka Second is contemplating taking up bowls as he saw time's winged chariot flying past his window. No doubt he will discover a pristine set of bowls at his local op shop for sixpence.

Maybe, if golfing becomes a bit more difficult, I should reconsider taking up lawn bowls as well and give Robert a run for his money. I've played bowls off and on for over 40 years so might remember some of the rules and techniques. 

Can you spot me?

Here are a few of the posts I've written about it:

HERE

HERE

HERE

HERE

HERE

No need to thank me

Who knows - if it's a go we could get the old whiner from Wainuiomata to join us. At least it'd be another excuse for having arguments.

PLAYTIME

 I read Richard's latest blog post. 

It's a pity that it's such a nice day out as posts like that are best read when it's really bad weather outside. Or when there's no grass to watch growing. Or when you don't have a life.

Here's  a snapshot from some of it:

What was I thinking?

Where does stuff like that get generated ...

... Oh yes, his playroom. That figures.

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

Anyway, I have a life, don't have a lawn and it's nice outside. I decided to give golf another go.

Yesterday I told Richard that I think I've forgotten how to play golf. Every time I give it a go at Berhampore golf course I end up duffing shots, hitting balls into the trees, losing balls and today I discovered I actually lost a golf club - a lovely 4 wood.

I played 8 holes today and was prepared to give the game away but fortunately managed to hit some really nice shots and scored well. After a long drive on a par 5 I looked in my bag for the 4 wood to use on the fairway and couldn't find it. I remembered using it on Wednesday when I played 4 holes really badly. I didn't throw the club away but must have just left it in the grass for some reason. Weird. I asked at the golf club today if anyone had handed the club in but no such luck. Bummer - it's a nice one and is part of the matched set I bought from a Japanese woman in Whangarei a couple of years ago.

I don't know why my golf has deteriorated so much. Berhampore golf course is a hard course with very steep fairways and unforgiving rough, big pine tree plantations and out of bounds areas. I should though, be able to carefully hit straight down the fairways but for some reason don't, either duffing the shots or slicing or hooking the ball in to the trees. I think I made a mistake joining up and will have to confess this to The Old Girl soon. In the interim I'll try and get my money's worth. The 12 month membership cost $485. A round, regardless of how many holes you play costs $25. I calculate that I need to play about 20 times to 'get my money's worth'. That will be my challenge for the rest of the year.