Autumn scenes in the Waikato

Here are some pics taken on my last foray into the dairy land of the Waikato.

The funny letter box is a rural mail box. The farms have a Rural Mail delivery each day where their mail is either picked up or dropped into the mailbox, sometimes the morning paper is also delivered and in days gone by, also the daily loaf of bread.

Rural mail boxes are interesting, some are grotty and decrepit, others are sterile and standard plastic boxes, and some are works of creative art.

Shopping dilemmas

Petrol prices have risen here, and will very soon reach $2 a litre for 91 octane. At the moment it is $1.96 a litre.

So grocery shopping each week can be a depressing affair with prices rising across a whole range of foods - fresh vegetables, meat, dairy products, everything has been affected.

To compensate I find myself making a few compromises - trying a cheaper bread brand, fewer treats etc.

But there is one item I will NEVER EVER compromise on - I always buy Free Range eggs. I read the packet carefully to ensure that they are genuine, sometimes I buy them from a Farmers Market where you can meet the growers.

I avoid eggs that come in cartons with suspiciously friendly sounding names like "Farmer Browns Eggs" "Happy Hen Eggs". they are usually cheap and have no details at all on the packet as to the origin.

Its just a small thing to do but if enough people did it then hens would no longer be kept in the inhumane battery hen facilities to supply us with eggs.

Football in England

This post is for Tismee at Squared Off

In May 2006 my husband and I went for a trip to the UK to visit two of our children who were living in London at the time.

We were immediately caught up in World Cup fever as England was rising through the ranks and became a hopeful in this prestigious event. All around town the cars were sporting a little flag attached to the windows somehow. The drivers honked at each other and there was a general air of excitement.

There was a critical game coming up, against Ecuador I think (all you soccer fans can send me comments to correct me as I am sure to have got some facts wrong!)

Well, England lost. We even went off to a pub and watched the game on the big screen there. There were lots of people drowning their sorrows afterwards.

But the saddest thing of all was this flag I saw later that day, lying abandoned on the road and cars were running over it!

It was strange being in a different country, watching their sport, and observing the hype but feeling no emotion whatsoever!

I suppose rugby evokes the same hype - there were some very sad NZers when we lost against France in the last World Cup (oh the shame).

Sydney views

Having posted photos of all the furry and non furry friends I made in Sydney, I thought that I should show you the typical views of their beautiful harbour.

Sydney makes the most of its harbour and in the main keeps it in pristine condition.

In the downtown area Darling Harbour has been developed into a wonderful space for visitors and city dwellers alike, and Circular Quay and The Rocks are a pleasure to walk around and explore.

New Zealand cities are slowly getting there - Auckland has begun with the Viaduct Harbour but still has some way to go.

Mothers Day

My thoughts this Mothers day keep returning to an event I witnessed many years ago, in 1974 to be exact.

I was in hospital after giving birth to our second son and in those days we stayed in hospital for some time, at least 10 days, sometimes longer. I was kept in hospital this time for nearly two weeks as he was a little jaundiced and they wanted to keep an eye on him. Nothing serious.

Consequently we often got to know our fellow 'inmates' quite well, especially as we were in wards of eight beds! In fact, apart from missing our other children it could be a lot of fun.

The lady next to me had had her tenth child, a dear little girl. Her next child was about nine years old so there was quite a gap. She looked to be in her early 40's.

An adult niece and her husband often came to visit, they would hold the baby and fuss over her, bring clothes etc. They were all so excited about the baby and there were lots of large family gatherings around the bed.

Then came visits from the 'authorities', an official looking lady with a clipboard under her arm.

As the mum and I got to know each other better slowly the story unfolded. She had had this baby for her niece who was unable to have children. Instead of the usual whangai arrangement they wanted to make it a legal adoption. This was before surrogacy began to make world headlines, but here in New Zealand it is common especially amongst the Maori people.

Tamaiti whangai is the New Zealand Maori term for a foster or adopted child. "Tamaiti" (plural "tamariki") means "child" and "whangai" means to feed or nourish, in the narrow and broadest senses, so a tamaiti whangai is a child who is nurtured or raised by someone other than his or her birth parents. The practice of whangai is very ancient: the first tamaiti whangai is said to have been the hero Maui.

The Maori have no term for the nuclear family as known in European societies: two parents and their children. The most restricted term in Maori for "family" is "whanau," which applies to the extended family.

It has always been common for Maori children to spend time as tamariki whangai in other households within the extended family: when their birth parents are temporarily unwell or overcome by circumstances, if they and their parents are temporarily on bad terms, etc. In other circumstances a child will become the more or less permanent tamaiti whangai of another adult or adults. Birth parents may give a child to a relative who is childless or has lost a child. Children may be redistributed if a birth family becomes too large and other households have more room.

In my first year of teaching in a predominantly Maori community roughly half of my class lived with Grandparents, Aunts, cousins etc. It is a wonderful form of open adoption as the children always know their origins and are happy and secure and loved very much by the whole whanau.

For a European it is sometimes hard to comprehend. For this mother to have had her tenth child for a niece, to me, was such an amazing act of love.

Could I have given away my son? I don't think so.

Joys of Flying

We had a funny (but disconcerting) incident on our flight back home from Sydney to Auckland last Wednesday.

As we were nearing New Zealand the Captain made an announcement - "This is the Captain speaking - as you may be aware we have begun our descent to SYDNEY airport and our predicted landing time is etc etc".

We looked at each other and wondered if for some reason the plane had turned back to Sydney. Checked the GPS picture on our screens - no - it showed us just off the coast of NZ.

Then about 20 minutes later the Captain came on again with a similar announcement - " our predicted arrival time at Sydney airport is etc etc"

Luckily for us the passengers knew where they were!

Very soon after this announcement a different voice came on - the First Officer I think it was - "the weather in AUCKLAND (he stressed the word slightly) is 15 degrees and showery".

Fifteen minutes later we landed in Auckland - not Sydney Australia.

Wonder what they were drinking, or smoking, in the cockpit?

I won't mention the Airline but it is a well respected one - not Air New Zealand.

Market at 'The Rocks'

Didgeridoo anyone?

I would have loved to try and get a noise out of one but was put off by the amount of 'slobber' there probably is on the end! The noise they make is quite eerie. It must be amazing to hear one in the bush echoing around the hills.

More Australian friends - furry ones this time

"Wake me when food arrives!"

Aren't they gorgeous! I could take them home to cuddle! It always amazes me how they can sleep in such awkward positions and yet look so comfortable!

Aussie friends

I have been away for the last week on a visit to Sydney Australia.

It was a lovely occasion - our eldest son graduated, he was made a 'fellow' which means that he has reached specialist status in his profession which is Medicine.

We stayed on for several days visiting and enjoying some of the sights of Sydney.

True to form, I spent a good part of the time away photographing 'creepy crawlies'! Australia has a lot to offer in the interesting creatures department.

Last of the Summer flowers

These are Japanese Anenomes in three different shades, white, pale pink and a semi double in a darker pink.

They have a beautiful simplicity.