33...

Yet again it has been a while between postings. Somehow I just don't seem to have the time that I used to now that I'm back at work...

Speaking of work, I'm still enjoying my new school hugely. It's a fantastic place with a really nice atmosphere to it. A couple of weeks ago I spent 3 days/2 nights on year 9 camp which was held at the Tainui Marae in Otaki. We arrived on the Wednesday & after the Powhiri the girls were regaled with stories of the local taniwha. We then headed down to the beach where the girls had to create their interpretation of the taniwha in the form of a sand sculpture. They did a fantastic job with some awesome talent on display. Call me biased, but I think my group's was the best...

Space was at a premium on the Marae with 4 form classes, several teachers, plus a few parent helpers. We all had to sleep in the Wharenui with our form class which was an interesting experience! It's certainly one way to get to know them well! Luckily they were mostly too exhausted after a busy day to stay up chatting TOO late...We spent all of Thursday doing various workshops including making Maori bread, creating a poi from scratch by stripping & then weaving flax, eeling, & Kapa Haka. Friday was another workshop, & then a chance for the groups to practise their Kapa Haka items for a lunchtime concert. Lunch was an amazing hangi, which we had watched being set down early in the morning. While we ate the locals performed for us, culminating in the most awesome haka. Then it was back on the bus & back to school...

We've been busy in the garden lately. The other weekend we planted 6 small native shrubs/trees that were a house-warming present from our bank. We also put in a 'Cleopatra' magnolia which we are hoping will do well.

As those that have been to visit will attest, we are certainly not short of trees & greenery around our house! We have a huge tree at the bottom of the garden which regularly has Tui & sometimes Crimson Rosellas in it, & the other day a huge fat wood pigeon also decided it made a nice perch...

It was Will's birthday on the 17th & mine on the 20th so we celebrated them both on Saturday at the Homegrown festival on the Wellington waterfront. Wellington produced a stunning day, & we had a brilliant time listening to the kiwi bands in the sunshine. Whilst we were chilling out early afternoon we did have The Checks interviewed right in front of us by C4. They don't look overly excited about the interview however...

People were making the most of the gorgeous day with the diving board into the harbour getting regular use. Late in the day we did see a big group of girls jump in fully clothed, no doubt after quite a few beverages, so it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do...

Our first band of the day was Collapsing Cities who I really enjoy. I had also seen them live at Reading Festival 2 years ago.

We then headed off to the Dub & Roots stage to see Salmonella Dub who I also love. We got there early so managed to catch the last of the Ladi 6 set which sounded really good as well.

Next was the rock stage in the TSB arena where we caught the second half of the Feelers. You can't actually see them in the photo above, but I liked the pic because it gave a sense of the atmosphere. Then it was back to the Indie stage for Liam Finn. I hadn't seen him play live before & I was quite impressed.

Then it was back to the TSB arena for headline act Shihad. These guys might have been around for a while, but boy do they know how to put on a good show! They absolutely rocked!!!

I'll finish this post with the first pic of Will & I as 38 & 33 year olds...

Seven's Weekend!!!

Will & I had a fantastic time at the Wellington 7's. The Stadium is less than a 10 minute walk from my school so I went straight from school on Friday. I did wait a suitable amount of time for all the kids/parents to leave before putting on my outfit... On the Friday night Will & I watched the action from our 'proper' seats. The whole weekend in one huge fancy-dress party with the vast majority of the crowd in costume. Watching the crowd was often more entertaining than watching the rugby!
Some people had put some serious effort into their ensembles...My mate Marty, & his friends Ronnie, Chris & Tim had driven down from Hamilton on Thursday night & were staying at our place for the weekend. We didn't manage to catch up at all on Friday, but on the Saturday Will & I went & sat with them in their aisle. The stadium was sold out, but at any one time there are so many people at the bar or checking out the action around the concourse that it doesn't matter too much if you aren't in the right seat. Nobody was bothered about Will & I anyway...The weather was amazing for both days, beautifully sunny during the day, & really mild at night (although I had had a fair bit to drink by the end of both nights, so probably wouldn't have noticed if it was cold!).

Anyway, about the rugby... I did manage to watch the odd game... NZ lost their semi-final to Samoa, & then Fiji went on to beat Samoa in the final.

Today was understandably quite low-key... We saw off our house-guests around lunchtime. It's great having the space in our house to be able to accommodate guests comfortably. Will & I are both pretty knackered, but Will has been good & has spent most of the afternoon & evening doing some work that he wanted to get done. About the most I achieved was reading the Sunday paper!

My first week at school went well, the girls really are lovely. This week is camps week so the majority of the school are out at some stage. Tomorrow I'm off to Te Papa for the morning with my year 9 form class, then on Wednesday I'm off to the Otaki Marae with them for 3 days/2 nights.