Random stuff!

We are busy and happy with life here in Wanganui and know that an update on this blog is somewhat overdue - here are a few random pictures taken over the past couple of weeks and which we thought might interest you! Winter is fiercely en-route and we are now in the process of putting away all the summer gear and hauling out the winter woolies and hunting out the hearty beef stew and hot pudding with custard recipes! In between, we have our documentation for Permanent Residence to get in order, so there is plenty to keep us busy and out of trouble!

Jo and Allan chuckling about something or other - Allan works alongside Jo and has been really great while Jo learns the ropes - although the work is much the same as he is used to, things are CALLED different names and are regularly reduced to acronyms which can be most irritating and very frustrating for the new guys on the block. As you can see from this photograph, Allan is a fair bit taller than Jo and he has to be one of the very few people in the world that Jo looks up to!!!

Is it just me, or does that product name and country of origin sound somewhat suspect? We have no trouble believing that this is the world's most durable outdoor clothing, but to be very honest, we haven't had much occasion to see any swazi folks complete with what look like zulu shields wandering about here.

Admittedly, it's a very striking and eye-catching product label - it certainly caught our attention!

These fluffy, tame and very domesticated alpacas (I thought they were all llamas) are quite a big deal here in New Zealand and people farm them for their wool. Apparently they are of the camel family - I suppose if you look at their mouths, that makes sense - and they are incredibly hardy and cope well with the cold weather in winter here. They do however, spit vehemently when provoked! Not a pretty thought.

This particular one fascinated me, since I wonder how he can see through all that fluff over his eyes!

Now there are 'starter packs' and 'starter packs' - let's be honest. It was just interesting to me to see that if this is a route that I chose to explore, having abandoned the idea of teaching music, I could acquire a couple of young heifers and a bull and would have all the support and expertise at my beck and call! Although, practically speaking, our 'garden' here in Tawhero isn't up to scratch for this sort of enterprise - we would have to move again!!!

We thought that this limo (had it been red or purple of course) could well have been Melinda's first choice for her wedding last month. The interior boasts every gadget and luxury known to man and we surmise that hiring it would cost a few dollars.

The cafe on the corner with tables on the pavement is very popular with tourists and bikers alike - this view of the centre of Wanganui is taken from the window of the conference room where we hold our SA church services each week. If you look really closely, you might just be able to make out the hanging baskets of flowers which adorn each and every building in town - when they are in full bloom the picture is really quite spectacular. This idea was apparently started in Wanganui some years ago and has been adopted by many New Zealand towns.

Dis al!