Forgive me, Blogger Father, for I have sinned. It's been over a week since my last post. We haven't been flattened by an earthquake or invaded by hordes of giant spiders. We've just been very busy.
Last Sunday night we met up with Ian, a friend of ours from the UK, and his fiancee Carol. They're planning to emigrate to New Zealand in twelve months' time and were over here for a two-week fact-finding tour. Ian spent a big chunk of his childhood in New Zealand, in the nearby Taranki area, so for him emigrating will probably feel like coming home. He and Carol met during a tour of New Zealand a few years back, which is another reason why New Zealand is close to their hearts. Wanganui is currently on their shortlist of possible places to live when they get here, so they came to have a look at the town and check out what's on offer in the local estate agents. It was great to see Ian again (and to meet Carol for the first time) and we had a very convivial evening. I'm hoping that, wherever they end up living when they get here, we can make a habit out of meeting up.
Iain has had a really hectic week at work. One of the childcare tutors has left, so as well as taking his usual Teacher Aide lectures he is having to teach some of the early childhood modules. Those of you who know Iain will no doubt be rolling around on the floor laughing by now. The stress has got to him so much that he's had to buy himself an X-Box 360 to compensate. He was very good about it, though. He waited until I'd given him a permission slip first. The terms of the agreement stipluate a major revamp of my yoga room, so I'm on the lookout for a TV, a DVD player, a storage cabinet, a friendly floor restorer (the room has the original floorboards and apart from an inexplicable coat of green paint they're in good repair), wall coverings and an 'ethnic' looking blind for the window. The great thing about it is, we both think we've got the better end of the deal!
I had some exciting news the other day. I've had one of my poems accepted for publication in 'Poetry Monthly' magazine. Many thanks to my friend Caroline from the writers' forum for a) cajoling me into submitting it somewhere and b) actually doing the submitting for me. I'm 'stoked', as they say here.
Pookie has earned herself a new nickname this week. Like all good pussycats, our two bring anything they've caught into the house for our approval. During the last week Pookie has started bringing home litter, which we think she's probably been collecting from the 'reserve' (area of common land) on the hill above our house. Tonight I heard a loud meowing from outside the kitchen door, and saw a pair of paws scrabbling at the cat flap, but no cat followed. It turned out Pookie was trying to force her way through the cat flap carrying a McDonalds paper bag in her mouth. I'm now calling her 'Womble'. (Apologies to Roy.)
On Friday night we went out for a meal with Dave and Judith who are originally from the UK but now live in Wanganui. We met them via one of the emigration forums that Iain posts to. Dave had very generously dropped off some firewood for us earlier in the week, taken from a tree on his land that came down in a storm a month or so back. During our evening out Dave revealed that he used to ride for Cradley Heath Speedway in the 1970s, which impressed Iain immensely, as he used to be a big speedway fan as a teenager, following the Stoke Potters. The thing that impressed me most about the evening was the ice cream I had for dessert. It was the best ice cream I've ever eaten. Even better than the gelati I scoffed by the bucketful while we were in Italy. I have to find out who the restaurant's supplier is, and I have to do it soon. I think I'm already addicted after just one hit.
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