Great news, I've just found a link to an advert that features stubby shorts.
Friday, 31 March 2006
Sunday, 26 March 2006
Kiwi Quirks No. 2: Shorts
What is it with New Zealanders and shorts?
The Jackson effect
Before we came to New Zealand we thought the fact that Peter Jackson wore shorts while shooting scenes halfway up a snow-covered mountain for 'The Lord of The Rings' was a sign of eccentricity. However, we now know better. Instead of marking him out as an eccentric, this behaviour merely confirms that the esteemed film director is just like every other New Zealand male. A true Kiwi Bloke wears shorts all year round, (even if there's a wind chill factor of minus twenty) and for every occasion, no matter how formal. He'll even pop on a pair of 'dress shorts' for his own wedding.
fig. 1: Peter Jackson - not so eccentric after all
Big boys
In the UK only boys under the age of seven ever wear shorts to school, and most boys nowadays wear long trousers as soon as they enter reception class at the age of five. The first time I saw a group of sixth-form lads wearing shorts as part of their uniform I felt terribly embarrassed for them. If they had been in the UK I would probably have told them to stay off the streets to avoid getting beaten up.
fig. 2: painfully emasculated
Beach wear
Figure 3 shows a pair of board shorts, or boardies, so called because they're worn by surfers. (In New Zealand they're probably worn by snowboarders too.) Boardies are de rigeur on the high street. Iain's even got a couple of pairs and he's never been near a surf board in his life.
fig. 3: a pair of boardies
Eurgh!
And finally we come to figure 4, a pair of very short shorts, known affectionately as stubbies. In Europe, shorts this short were last seen at the 1970 World Cup, but over here they're still kicking around. I had hoped to find a photo of a pair of stubbies being worn by a typical owner - a red-faced bloke in his fifties, with excessively hairy legs, large gut hanging out over the waistband, and the back seam splitting under enormous strain. It's probably just as well I didn't.
fig. 4 a pair of stubbies
The Jackson effect
Before we came to New Zealand we thought the fact that Peter Jackson wore shorts while shooting scenes halfway up a snow-covered mountain for 'The Lord of The Rings' was a sign of eccentricity. However, we now know better. Instead of marking him out as an eccentric, this behaviour merely confirms that the esteemed film director is just like every other New Zealand male. A true Kiwi Bloke wears shorts all year round, (even if there's a wind chill factor of minus twenty) and for every occasion, no matter how formal. He'll even pop on a pair of 'dress shorts' for his own wedding.
fig. 1: Peter Jackson - not so eccentric after allBig boys
In the UK only boys under the age of seven ever wear shorts to school, and most boys nowadays wear long trousers as soon as they enter reception class at the age of five. The first time I saw a group of sixth-form lads wearing shorts as part of their uniform I felt terribly embarrassed for them. If they had been in the UK I would probably have told them to stay off the streets to avoid getting beaten up.
fig. 2: painfully emasculatedFigure 3 shows a pair of board shorts, or boardies, so called because they're worn by surfers. (In New Zealand they're probably worn by snowboarders too.) Boardies are de rigeur on the high street. Iain's even got a couple of pairs and he's never been near a surf board in his life.
fig. 3: a pair of boardiesAnd finally we come to figure 4, a pair of very short shorts, known affectionately as stubbies. In Europe, shorts this short were last seen at the 1970 World Cup, but over here they're still kicking around. I had hoped to find a photo of a pair of stubbies being worn by a typical owner - a red-faced bloke in his fifties, with excessively hairy legs, large gut hanging out over the waistband, and the back seam splitting under enormous strain. It's probably just as well I didn't.
fig. 4 a pair of stubbiesWednesday, 22 March 2006
Remember, folks, you heard it here first
I just had to pass on this bit of gossip that Iain told me this morning. Allegedly (note the use of the 'Have I Got News For You' anti-lawyer adverb) New Zealand has just had its first death from bird flu.
The story goes that a man who returned recently from Asia has died in New Zealand from symptoms which would appear to have been caused by HN51 (or whatever it's called - you'd think they could have come up with a snappier name for it). Apparently, a post mortem is currently under way and the authorities are awaiting confirmation before making an official announcement.
I haven't yet decided whether I believe the rumour or not. It could well be true, as this is exactly the sort of way in which bird flu is most likely to reach NZ, but it could just as easily be an internet 'prank' perpetrated by some bored teenager in order to spread panic among Kiwis. If it's the latter, then they don't understand the Kiwi character very well - I've never met a more unflappable bunch of people.
Anyway, maybe it was a coincidence, and maybe it wasn't, but this morning in the post we received a government leaflet entitled 'Getting Ready for a Flu Pandemic'. It advises people to have a written plan of action in case anyone in the family should become ill, and to build up an emergency supplies kit. *insert shocked smiley here*
Over the next couple of days I shall be watching the evening news with interest.
Helen
The story goes that a man who returned recently from Asia has died in New Zealand from symptoms which would appear to have been caused by HN51 (or whatever it's called - you'd think they could have come up with a snappier name for it). Apparently, a post mortem is currently under way and the authorities are awaiting confirmation before making an official announcement.
I haven't yet decided whether I believe the rumour or not. It could well be true, as this is exactly the sort of way in which bird flu is most likely to reach NZ, but it could just as easily be an internet 'prank' perpetrated by some bored teenager in order to spread panic among Kiwis. If it's the latter, then they don't understand the Kiwi character very well - I've never met a more unflappable bunch of people.
Anyway, maybe it was a coincidence, and maybe it wasn't, but this morning in the post we received a government leaflet entitled 'Getting Ready for a Flu Pandemic'. It advises people to have a written plan of action in case anyone in the family should become ill, and to build up an emergency supplies kit. *insert shocked smiley here*
Over the next couple of days I shall be watching the evening news with interest.
Helen
Tuesday, 21 March 2006
My, haven't they grown?
Our little mogs are getting bigger by the day, but unfortunately, no more sensible. Pookie still spends a significant amount of time trying to eat her own tail, and Mo regularly gives herself a headache by attempting to fling herself through a locked cat flap.
Here are a couple of recent photos.
Pookie
Mo
Here are a couple of recent photos.
Pookie
MoSunday, 19 March 2006
Incy Wincy comes to tea
Last night we were sitting watching telly when I noticed a spider scurrying along on the sitting room carpet. "Ooh," I said, "Is that a white tail?" I put a glass over it and went to look up white tail spiders on the internet. We got a positive ID pretty rapidly. It was a white tail, all right. So Iain did his best pest control officer impression and duly dispatched it.
The spider wasn't very big - only about two centimetres across, but it looked really mean. White tails originated in Australia and have been known in the North Island for over a hundred years.
A white tail doesn't build a web to catch its prey; instead it actively hunts other spiders. Its main method of hunting is to enter the web of its intended victim and mimic the struggles of a trapped insect. This tricks the resident spider into investigating the disturbance and so instead of gaining a meal, it becomes one when the white tail strikes.
White tails' bites are venomous, and they can and do bite humans. Typical symptoms of a white tail bite include pain and swelling at the bite site. The bite can develop into a small ulcerous wound that heals inside a week. In some instances, victims report flu-like symptoms.
There have also been reports in the media of people who have been bitten by white tails going on to develop more serious infections such as 'necrotising arachnidism', a severe form of skin ulceration, but these reports are generally unsubstantiated and it is not always confirmed that the bite was definitely made by a white tail. All the same, I'll try to steer clear of the little eight-legged darlings in future.
I was interested to note that The Australian Museum Online's factsheet on white tails mentions that
The spider wasn't very big - only about two centimetres across, but it looked really mean. White tails originated in Australia and have been known in the North Island for over a hundred years.
A white tail doesn't build a web to catch its prey; instead it actively hunts other spiders. Its main method of hunting is to enter the web of its intended victim and mimic the struggles of a trapped insect. This tricks the resident spider into investigating the disturbance and so instead of gaining a meal, it becomes one when the white tail strikes.
White tails' bites are venomous, and they can and do bite humans. Typical symptoms of a white tail bite include pain and swelling at the bite site. The bite can develop into a small ulcerous wound that heals inside a week. In some instances, victims report flu-like symptoms.
There have also been reports in the media of people who have been bitten by white tails going on to develop more serious infections such as 'necrotising arachnidism', a severe form of skin ulceration, but these reports are generally unsubstantiated and it is not always confirmed that the bite was definitely made by a white tail. All the same, I'll try to steer clear of the little eight-legged darlings in future.
I was interested to note that The Australian Museum Online's factsheet on white tails mentions that
White-tailed Spiders around your house can be controlled by ... clearing away the webs of the house spiders upon which they feed.Up until now I've been leaving alone any spiders' webs I find, as they help to keep the number of insects down (we have a real problem with flies here) but this morning I went round with the long-handled duster and got rid of all the cobwebs.