He is really an interesting boy with a great knowledge of Ancient Egypt & Greece. I told him that I would bring back a Greek book for him when I go back next year.
After 2 months of silence I thought I'd better return to cyberspace. After all the occasion of our granddaughter Emma's 21st demanded I do so. We traveled over to Hamilton last weekend to celebrate her day with Janine & Kerry. Kerry & Janine were staying in a luxury hotel by the river, while Bunny & I were at a budget motel not too far away. The only other time we've stayed in a motel in Hamilton was when Maurie graduated from Uni about 30 years ago, & what do you know, it was the same one! However, Hamilton today is totally different from those staid old days. 
It now has a pretty lively night life, & we had our little rave up at the Monkey Feather, where Emma works part time. All of us enjoyed ourselves, & thanks to my Crete nights out, I could handle a bit of techno with Janine. Bunny & Kerry preferred the Pool table. More pics on Picasa.
On Saturday Bunny, Lucy & I traveled over to Taupo for Tawhai's last game with the NZ Area Schools rep team. We'd hoped to call into Janine's for coffee before the game, but we had an unscheduled stop near Waimana when Lucy spotted Opo Rat sharing the back seat with her, & had no intention of traveling any further with a furry companion. It eventually ended up under the bonnet, but the Rat Catchers had no luck finding it. So armed with sticks & car brush we headed off on our way, & arrived at the Rugby field in good time, & with no further mishaps. The game was great with Tawhai & his team playing well, & beating the opposition 35-10. Kerry will correct the score if I've made a mistake.
Management are hoping that Tawhai will stay on at Te Waha o Rerekohu next year, so that he will be available for the NZ team again. Well they didn't wear the Black, but the white/black combo looked great. For those of you who don't know Tawhai, he's the one wearing the black/white headgear in the first photo . Click on these pics for a bigger view, but check the Picasa link on the right links panel for more pics from the day.
Nice to receive the latest pics of Taylor. Looks as if he's carrying on the sporting tradition. There'll be a few more pics on Picasa soon.
Along with the fabulous magnolia display this year, Lucy turned up trumps at the Opo College Sports Awards Dinner. She won the Most Valuable Player award 
for her efforts at the recent Secondary School Soccer Tournament in Taupo, plus the Most Valuable Player Award of the season. 
In the absence of 'official' photos from the evening I took these pics today. In a couple of weeks we'll be cheering Tawhai on in his NZ rep match in Taupo. I hope that you can make a link to my Picasa web album for more spring pics.
Today Lucy turned 14. 
It only seems like 2-3 years since these photos were taken. We hope to get together this evening to celebrate with her. The Parents are returning from the Bob Dylan concert in Auckland, so she's with her second Mum, Shirley now. Though she won't be much help with calf feeding after spraining her hand at soccer yesterday. I'm burning the midnight oil right now so I can post a couple of pics from the birthday tea. 
We enjoyed a lovely evening with Marg for Lucy's birthday. Lucy was happy with her MP3 player & other pressies. I was pleased that she liked the football shirt that Dave helped me choose on Crete. 
More pics on Picasa.
However, with the help of her new shoes, she finished much faster than she thought. Too early for official times yet. Bunny set off 
with a hiss & a roar, & at the halfway point couldn't believe that he was on the way to cracking the 3 hours again. Unfortunately disaster struck at 13k when he tripped on some rocks & fell heavily on the side of his head, hand, arm & leg. He declined the offer of ambulance assistance, & managed to stagger across the finish line in a pretty good time considering his condition. 
The ambulance crew finally managed to get hold of him & did a great job in treating his injuries. So it was a pretty uncomfortable time for him afterwards, & especially having to endure my night driving back here. This pic was taken before the drive home!
