lamp posts!

Hi there

As my four readers know by now, I go power-walking in Miramar a lot, usually up Park Road, past Park Road Post Production, and also past Weta Workshop.  A lot of times I end up over the hill at Worser Bay or Scorching Bay.

For quite some time now, I have been annoyed by a lamp post slap-bang-dead in the middle of the footpath in Park Road.  It has a "Temporary Pole" notice on it. 

When I'm walking, I often have my head down, contemplating the ground, making sure that my feet aren't in the way of tree roots, or ruptures in the pavement, or cats that I have to pat, or puppies that I am required to coo over...

The first time I encountered this lamp post, I banged into it.  Now, I'm ultra-wary.

Wink-wink-nudge-nudge - at the beach!

Hi there

Today, I decided to go shopping instead of going to Hataitai beach.  But, oh dear, I missed an ... interesting happening.

A well-dressed man and a woman - both aged about forty - got out of a car.  She trotted into the Ladies' changing shed, the man went into the Men's.  But a minute or so later the gentleman skedaddled into the Ladies'.

What?  The gang on the deck, sitting, and watching, were puzzled ...

 The Young One, never known to not put her best foot forward, casually sauntered into the changing shed.  She reported back to her breathlessly waiting gang, agog in anticipation, that the couple in question were in the lone toilet cubicle.

 Maybe the woman needed help with her trouser zip?   Perhaps there was no toilet paper in the Mens'?

In the 1960's there was that saying, "Save water, shower with a friend";  very ecological, and all that.  "Save water, flush with a friend" could well be an updated version that had yet to come to the attention of the Hataitai Beach regulars? -

This pair certainly were flushed when they emerged from the Ladies' changing shed about fifteen minutes later to the raucous cheers, waves, and winks from the gang on the deck.

I rather think it had been a tryst ...

Second childhood?

Hi there

My swimming friend J, her personal paparazzo, and myself went for a little walk over the Wellington City to Sea Walkway.

We passed a children's playground.  The swings looked inviting -

"Wheeeee!"   J and I were on the swings in a heartbeat.

Then we spied the see-saw.  And yes, the see-saw was strong enough to hold both of us!

It was a good thing that J's personal paparazzo had  forgotten his camera; I would have been so open to blackmail over any would-be pictures.  Let's hope there were no security cameras either.  Retirees should not be frolicking in a children's playground.

But we would so like a playground of our own.  Look into it, Wellington City Council.  Please!

New Zealand ATM Machine

Hi there

I've got over my head cold and I went swimming yesterday.  Goodness, it had only been a week without swimming and yet I missed it terribly.  I love the feeling of that cool crisp water gliding over my entire body as I sink down into the sea.

The ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) banks in Willis Street and Lambton Quay tend to 'do' up their ATM machines when there are special occasions going on in the city.  A few weeks ago the ATM machines were all decked out for Chinese New Year, looking all glittery and red, and festooned with baubles and happiness.

Last week to celebrate the Gay Pride weekend that was on in the capital, the ATM machines were done up again.

Surviving a Cold

Hi there

"I've got a cold," I croaked to a friend, via the telephone.

"Oh, keep away from me, then," was my friend's instant reaction.

I felt I should have been wearing a bell around my neck and chanting, "Unclean, unclean..."

It was so annoying that here I was with just a foot into Autumn, barking like a seal, nose dripping like a tap, and a throat so hoarse that when I answered the phone my friend thought she'd dialled the wrong number and got some croaking old man

And nobody is totally sympathetic over a cold.  A cold is in the same paddock as a stubbed toe or a sprained thumb.  If I had called my cold a virus perhaps, or a "condition", or the flu, I might have got some sympathy

So, I'll just settle down in bed with my Throaties, and my lemon barley water, and my nostrils stuffed with tissues, and my headache, and no lamp-light cause I cant stand the glare, and my aching body, and my hacking cough ... and try to get through the next few days.

Sigh.

Toilets in Geraldine

Hi
There's a little bitty area in the South Island called Geraldine.  It's on Highway No 1 on the route to and from Christchurch.  Aside from a flag-bedecked cafe where I had the best muffin in my entire life, I called in to Visitor Information.  This is the place where you'll see the biggest hand-knitted jumper ever, as listed in a Guiness Book of World Records.

At Visitor Information I was also fascinated by a notice on the inner side of my toilet cubicle door -

Below:  another pic from the top of Mt John in the Tekapo area" - the hiking up side, not the driving up side.