Getting better most of the ti-hi-hi-hime

Wednesday.  The most remarkable thing about today was that I didn't appear to have moved during the night, as per the photo.  Must have been tired.  Feeling much better but still spluttering, I walked up and down the cliff to the beach a couple of times, flinging myself into the ebbing tide on both occasions.  I also extended my bucket list to 3 things - the ride in a helicopter (non-medical emergency variety) is still there but has been joined by spring in our flat in Florence and a third I am keeping quiet about until I discover if someone else has already done it and to prevent anyone pinching the idea
Taken from 200m with my trusty Leica
Georgia came over for dinner last night and we strapped on our posh frocks and wandered off to Bolliwood in Orewa for another of their splendid curries.  It was beautifully presented but you'll have to take my word for it as we ate it without photographing it.  Where's our manners?  A long walk along Orewa beach and an earlyish night led to an equally earlyish Wednesday morning (my camera tells me that first picture was taken at 5.26 a.m.)  Following a slow and simple breakfast, hugely enhanced by Al (the owner) bringing us hot lattes, we once again braved the gravel road to the beach for a long and unathletic bob in the waves.  Glad I put in all those preparatory lengths at the Y before I came.
 As I was saying, up with the tui this morning - George and I parted company at lunchtime.
So I had one housekeeping job to do which was to get some minutes on my phone.  Easy.  I believe that last time I was here I said that whoever created Spark's website deserved stuffing.  Instead, he seems to have been promoted to the head of a team of craved dervishes bent on telling me that my userid, password, data of birth and first letter of the alphabet are all wrong.  So I drove into Silverdale to go to their flashy new shop.
When I was a student and later as a young married bloke (and now at the big Ingles in Tunnel Road), I hated going to the butchery department where I was clearly invisible.  Same goes for Spark shops where they twice insisted on serving the person who had arrived after me.  Anyway, I shelled out my plastic and trotted off with my new enabled phone.  Next stop - Farro in Constellation Drive for kippers.  If you don't know Auckland, Constellation Drive is roughly comparable to Patton Avenue or Southend High Street.  So, of course, the huge industrial strength GPS that Georgia had lent me had never heard of it.  No sweat!  My trusty newly loaded cellphone was at hand!  It had never heard of the internet, roaming or GPS.  So after a quick tour of north Auckland's building sites, I called it a day, only just managing to get caught in the parking lot known as the rush hour which starts at 3:30 p.m.  Damned if I was going back to wait in line again at the Spark store, I called them and, after a mere 2 hours, most of which I spent on the phone, I suspect I may have a working GPS and browser in my phone.  And, if I haven't, I will buy a sodding map book.
Weirdo rock formations below the house

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Confuse-A-Brit

Image
Confuse-a Brit So the book says that, to stop your brain rotting, you have to confuse yourself a bit.  So here goes.  In the grand tradition of Monty Python's "Confuse-a-Cat" sketch, I am now engaged in confusing myself.  I'm not really stupid (yet) so, rather than really confusing myself I will simply be doing things differently and, sometimes, bloody awkwardly (already experienced that). The idea is that, by varying your routine and experiencing things using different senses than usual, you develop new connections in your brain.   Day 1 Let's start gently - a stroll, with camera, round Biltmore.  A number of options for confusing myself here.  First of all, I ignored the main car park and headed for the carpark by the garden centre, effectively making me take my usual route backwards.  And, of course, I wandered off my usual route (tip for Biltmore visitors - if you choose to walk on the road rather than the footpaths you stand a good cha...
Read more

A perfect day to hang out (for some of us)

Image
It appears to have been low tide all day today which meant a perfect day for hanging round on the beach, in the sea and stuff.  Not that it was all fun and games as Dave's car got broken into when he left it by the road outside Puhoi because it had a puncture and a non-functional spare.  Everyone was terribly philosophical, apparently the insurance company was most understanding and it was "lesson learnt" all round.  Very grown up.  Though I wouldn't be the owner of the balls of the cretin who did it if Dave catches up with him. Up early this morning for a wander along Red Beach at low tide with Murphy.  The sea wasn't too inviting but, as the tide was out, we had plenty of beach and rocks to explore. From the deck here, it looks like the tide is always in  and, with a strong wind behind it, we could hear it washing into the cove (but not as thunderously as on previous occasions).  The bach I am staying in is remarkably well equipped, ri...
Read more

The norf wind do blow and we shal ave snow...

Image
OK - it's the east wind but it do blow.  I started my day in what has become traditional fashion today - glass of apple juice, cup of tea and a laptop on the long squashy bench on the deck, checking email.  After having the wind slam the lid a couple of times and realising I have wrecked enough laptops this year, I headed back indoors. So back indoors to check the news and things.  My laptop has finally realised I am not in Kansas anymore and shows me the NZ news.  That means there is no mention of American politics which is very refreshing. I spent most of the morning doing a tiny bit of housework followed by a hundred pages or so of the Bourne Identity (on the windy bench outside) before trotting off to the Albany Pool to share some lunch with Nonie in the local park.  Once again my GPS made its mark by guiding me perfectly for the first 15 kilometres, which I knew, and then, as I zipped round a roundabout a bit sharpish, it dumped itself on the floor and mu...
Read more