RIP Dad

The day after I returned to work I took the day off for the internment of my dads ashes. My sister Mary and her husband Tony had flown down to Wellington in the morning on the first flight out of Auckland. 

The weather couldn't have been worse as I drove into the airport to pick them up.  Luckily most of the drivers were being very cautious (as was I) driving slow in the pouring rain and heavy winds.  By the time I arrived at the airport the rain had died but the gale force winds were still pretty atrocious.  Mary reckoned it was the worst landing she had ever had in the capital renowned for the strong winds. Otherwise known as ‘Windy City’ although I don't think it is as bad as I remember years ago.

After a lovely breakfast with my niece we headed for Wainuiomata and the lovely remembrance garden with an area set aside for returned servicemen.  In the meantime Derek was at home baking a tray  of hot scones for our arrival back there.

Back to work!!

After nearly 6 years I am now back working where I had been nearly 10 years ago.  Only temporary supposedly as I am relieving in the sole charge position of receptionist at a Real Estate Office. There is a lot of changes that have been done with the Property Management Software that I have had to relearn after many years.  But I will get there.

To be honest I am enjoying it although I am only doing 25 hours a week and leaving his lordship at home.  It is lovely coming home in the afternoon and sitting down to an evening meal prepared by some one else. Long may that continue.

What a Surprise!

Dot was doing her usual thing of checking emails etc. this morning when she said there was one that I might be interested in. It was a response to a blog dated 20th February 2008 where we had posted a picture of a lad on a horse drawn barge.  The email had come from a Steven Canvin  who apparently is a 3rd cousin once removed.

He has confirmed my initial thoughts over the name of the barge and that the young man on the boat was Matthew Henry Frank Canvin aged 18. Frank as he was known was born in 1901 and died in 1995 just 9 year prior to us becoming involved in our narrowboat adventure. What a pity we never met. Frank worked for his uncle on the boat working out of Leckhamstead Wharf carrying coal from Bedworth in Warwickshire and bricks from a works at Gayton in Northamptonshire. Frank’s grandfather also worked on the boats on the canals. So there you have have it, it’s in the blood as I have have suspected for some time now.

It’s ironical that in the last few days I have been browsing through some 2006 edition Canal Boat and Inland Waterways magazines that have come to light during the unpacking. I think I will have to start buying some Lotto tickets.

Fire! Fire! Not quite but almost!

We are still slowly working our way through the mountain of crates and boxes we had all our worldly possessions stored in. It was while we were testing out an old TV in our bedroom that we nearly had a serious mishap.

We had plugged in the TV and switched it on using some old Bunny Ears aerial just to see if it worked. It did work so after tuning in the channels we just turned it off using the remote but leaving it plugged in at the wall. I just carried on with what I had been doing earlier and was moving from room to room. I returned to the bedroom and was sorting out some papers in the safe when I smelt burning. I looked up to see the TV enveloped in a huge cloud of smoke. I dived behind the chest of drawers pulling the plug out of the wall socket to kill the power supply, grabbed the TV and headed off towards the internal access door to the garage with smoke still pouring out of the set. Dot, wondering what all the commotion was about ran down the hall and opened the garage door so that I could dispose of the smoking monster outside ASAP. Luckily my prompt action had stopped the TV actually bursting into flames, had I been in a different room the outcome could have been quite different. Just shows how prudent it is not to leave electrical appliances on standby.

Time for disposal now after the smoking episode.

Ah well, crisis over its back to unpacking, sorting and putting away with the occasional “What the hell did we keep that for”. Another one for the rubbish bin.

It’s just like a Lucky Dip!

Setting up home again after 6 years living the itinerant lifestyle has proved to be a bit of an eye opener. We have learnt that retailers don’t like missing out on a sale and are prepared to negotiate sometimes quite extensively. It takes a bit of time traipsing around the various stores to compare prices but it pays off in the long run.

Now we have all our gear back in the house it’s been interesting working through all the crates and boxes finding things that we had forgotten that we had or where they were obtained. It’s nice getting familiar articles back on the wall or on display where we can appreciate them once more.

Furniture wise we are now reasonably well set up but we still need a few more chest of drawers, a book case and china cabinet but we are in no hurry for these. We will just keep a watch on Trade Me for suitable items.

A welcome to the neighbourhood from John and Kerry.

I have managed to find some time for a bit of work in the garden and Robin and Jenny kindly donated some Rhubarb crowns which are now planted out. This will probably be the extent of a vegetable patch for the time being. Dot’s Uncle Bill has offered us another variety of Rhubarb which should give us a reasonable supply.

Heading into Lower Hutt this afternoon for some small bits and pieces we wanted we were pleasantly surprised to bump into our friends Geoff and Eileen from Otaki.  After chatting for some time we had to part company before the shops closed for the day and promised to catch up again soon.

On a different note we have received a copy of a letter from the NZMCA to sign and forward to various MP’s regarding pending changes to Road User Chargers. These charges are going to unfairly discriminate against a lot of motorhome owners especially with large converted buses or large truck chassis'. I also added a personal attachment regarding our own situation and sent a copy each to the Prime Minister, Minister of Transport and our local MP.  Despite requesting a reply the only response I have received was from our local MP who happens to be Labour whereas the other 2 who are National. Typical, National are only concerned with big businesses and the rural community, Mr Joe Average doesn’t even get a look in with these guys. We will remember them at the next election. At least they have backed down over increasing class sizes, pity they don’t take more notice elsewhere.