26 July 1999

It doesn't get better than this.......- 26/07/99

Well, it could have in two respects.
No real sport on the weekend, the Orcas game was cancelled yet again, and the opening day was also cancelled. Major bummer as the weather was pretty good all weekend but the fields were too wet. I think we are all getting a stir-crazy with not being able to play our soccer. Only about five games left in the season now. All the kids were disappointed that we didn't get to have the re-match against the Tigers, including some of the Tigers.
Couldn't make it to Paul's game either, they had a draw against Dilworth.
However, in sport that does make it onto the telly and the radio, it was all on.
After a fizzle when Auckland was supposed to "black out" on Friday and hardly anyone showed up, the Saturday night was the big game. Most people in the crowd wore black. A few brave people wore Australian colours and were pelted whenever the AB's scored. The new advertising was used, where they lay in a picture with an ad over the live telecast. A cameraman walked in front of a sign that somehow stayed in front of him at one point. Anyway, the AB's dominated posession for the first half and were up virtually the whole game. The Australians did get a couple of tries towards the end, but didn't get very close. Final score was 34-15, I think. Happy day. Made up for lack of soccer in the morning, would have cried if we had lost.

Then over Saturday night, the Black Caps batted and the took four wickets to have the poms in a reasonably precairous position, with 6 wickets in hand and needing about 60 to make us bat again. Woke up this morning to hear we had won the test at Lords by 9 wickets. First time we have won at Lords out of 13 tests there and only the 3rd or 4th time we have won in England.
Sunday morning, lay in bed to watch the first half of the opening Confederation Cup game between All Whites and USA. We lost, but 2-1 was a pretty healthy score when playing a team ranked 80 places above us. Awesome final minute free kick by Chris Zorosich. We gave them two pretty soft goals, but Utting, our keeper, did some pretty good saves. Very happy with that result. Brazil beat Germany 4-0. We play them in our other two games, we don't have a hope of winning either of them, but at least they are playing real teams and getting experience.
The NZ Badminton team is leading 2-0 for the first time in 30 years in a three match series in Australia.
The Warriors came back from behind to beat the Rabbitohs, rather than going backwards from in front.
In other rugby yesterday, New Zealand A then beat the Australian Barbarians yesterday, and the NZ Universities beat Australian Universities.
So, probably the best weekends results we have had for some time.

Sooooo sick of Kennedy thing. No other news for days as a result. Nearly as bad as documentaries about ex-Spice Girls. Very sad that we stoop this low. At least they found them, burned them, and sent them back. Why bother finding them in the first place? You have to wonder.
Mike Moore will be WTO head honcho for three years, before other guy has three years. About bloody time. No time for a by-election for his electorate before the election, Helen Clark scoffed about that the other night. I can't stand these people, I really can't.
Big day on Wednesday. Lightening hit the Sky Tower 16 times, knocked out IHUG (internet company) transmitter, they are screwed on that front, week after owners were new entrant in Rich List.
Also on Wednesday, that well known local Christchurch lad, Geraldo Cruz, was rescued by Russian security forces, after being held hostage for two months by Chechen rebels.
An Otara person wants to turn the area into a tourist area. This is fair dinkum. Reckons it would give people a bit of colour and experience. I think it would work like a wild game park where tourists drive through a controlled area with chicken wire over the windows and are advised not to stop moving or roll down their windows.
Fallout over the WINZ $165,000 chartered flight for a conference continued during the week, I thought it was less than that. These guys are out of control. They have $12 ballpoint pens, etc, while they are trying to get people off the community wage (dole) and other benefits. There are other scary numbers as well, cost of new logo, advertising campaign, and so forth. Wankers.
Three men were charged with car-jacking a guy with cerebral palsy and who was also partially deaf, after he picked them up as hitch hikers.
Also, a tetraplegic was left on a floor for hours in a cell because prison staff could not care for him after he was arrested for growing marijuana. He could not shower or use the toilet for days. Strikes me as a bit of a sympathy thing. I wonder how much he was growing. If he is let off, then cripples will be able to get out there and produce the stuff in quantity.
A farmer who featured on many of the tv news articles about the flooding near Pokeno a year ago was found dead in a cowshed a few days ago and was buried yesterday. Again, not sure why it is news, but I suppose TV One felt it was important. And here I am repeating it, whoops.
The wall outside a gang headquarters was knocked down using new powers the police have to stop that sort of thing.
Caught sod all news over the weekend. Main fuss over spending by WINZ continues with figures suggesting the conference at Wairaki cost the taxpayer more than a quarter of a million dollars. Now, just about everything they do is coming under scrutiny, plus other conferences for other departments.

Gavin is now living his double-life, three days in Whangarei and four days in Auckland. It is kind of weird, but I guess we will get used to it. Means I get to use his IHUG account when he isn't in Auckland. Saw him briefly on Wednesday night on his way northward again.
On Thursday, Jeff Wilson and Josh Kronfeld went to Englefield (where Ross and Tania work). Ross managed to get Jeff to sign the thigh of "little Jeff" (the action man I gave Thomas). Jeff Wilson does not think they are very good and wishes that he had the biceps of the little Jeff. Now Thomas isn't allowed to play with it. Doh!
Picked Mum up from the airport on Friday night, eventually. A 3:00pm landing became a 6:20, then and 8:20. Met up with the family at Stanley Tools, and went down to the airport. Worst of all, Diana forgot my change of clothes so I had to hang around the airport dressed like a pillock in my suit. Looked like a real dork when I was on the snowboarding simulator in the arcade, I suspect.
Saw Thomas on Saturday night, where he proved that the rumour about crawling is more than rumour. He was pretty happy. Mum saw him. We only seem to be able to visit Thomas just before one of the kids breaks out in a communicable disease.

Oh, that reminds me, speaking of Mum
JOHN - YOU MUST READ THIS BIT - IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Mum said on Saturday that she thinks maybe she has enough jewellery now. Thought you should know. Obviously she is evolving as a person. Sadly, no clues as to what she wants for gifts in future. I'm thinking perhaps power tools? I tried, but could not get the admission in writing. Diana was in the car at the time, so there is a witness.
Now, what do I have to do to get Diana to reach this same conclusion? Probably buy lots more jewellery I suppose. Should Diana ever say anything about not wanting more jewellery to anyone who reads this, you have to tell me.

Hannah dazzled a mostly disinterested gallery at the swimming pool by doing a whole 25 metres with breathing and everything on Tuesday. After Rory's experience at the school races a while back we could have another solo swimmer on our hands. Her head swelled about four hat sizes as a result of the praise received.
Got my butt whipped at squash on Wednesday, had a game against Harry Hanham's Dad, Craig. Scored about 14 points in I think about 9 games. Hmmm. Good exercise though, walking from one side of the court to the other to receive the serves. My head shrank a similar percentage to Hannah.
Weather prevented training for the Orcas on Thursday,
Build up for Rory's birthday continues, with next weekend being the one. Real thing on Saturday, then party at the rocknasium on Sunday (wall-climbing thing). He actually went to school all last week, bit of a shock for him, really.
Went up to the land on Saturday (Mum and Johns retirement patch). Pond is more like a small lake, is man-made, wasn't there last time we visited, neither was the driveway. Caravan had a flat tyre, so we couldn't do sod all with it. Some bird life seems to have become attached to the little island in the middle, Mum is quite keen to have a family of ducks or something. It is a pretty nice spot.
After the excitement of the swimming earlier in the week, Hannah woke up yesterday with Chicken Pox, and is pretty miserable with it, has it worse than Rory did. Poor little bugger. Watched Grease and Anastasia most of yesterday. I had to take Rory to school this morning, and as George Hanham has them as well, picked up Harry too.
Managed to go on a couple of bike rides with the boy over the weekend, took him and Jared to the school yesterday. They disappeared while I was talking to Richard Stewart, and I found them on the roof of a storage shed. Little buggers.
Anyway, better go do some actualy work I suppose. Don't mind that it is monday, with all the good news. Just hope we get a game this weekend.....

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