22 March 2005

Wales win six nations, we didn't win the sevens and we still don't mention cricket - 21/03/05

Easter this weekend, yay!

LOCAL NEWS

Today is Racial Tolerance Day, so go find someone of another ethnic group and put up with them. Racial Intolerance day is every second Thursday in the Southern US, wear a white sheet and bring a burning cross, ladies a plate.

Bit of a fuss about filming Parliament after an associate minister was filmed sleeping in the house. People watching Parliament on the telly regularly fall asleep so you shouldn't blame him.

High tides with a storm did some damage to houses around Napier.

St Patrick's day was celebrated in the usual way.

The cock-up with flu vaccines continues (don't know if I mentioned this last week). I never realised it was that important, but apparently hundreds of thousands of people take the flu shots.

National is slipping in the polls. Frankly, I am still struggling to see a credible option. I might vote for the party formed to reinstate smoking in pubs.

TVNZ News boss showed his flair for wit, charm, and diplomacy by telling us if he worked for Prime he would pour petrol on himself. Both overdramatic and puerile, one wonders why he still has a job. Meanwhile, TV3 start their new show at 7pm tonight to tackle Holmes on Prime and the news show on One. Since their launch about 12 years ago, TV3 hasn't been able to crack the market at 7pm weeknights and over the years they have played repeats of Home Improvement, The Simpsons, and Hogans Heroes (sad, isn't it).

A NZ woman with an aggressive form of motor neurone disease is getting stem cells injected into her brain in China today. Sounds primitive, will be interesting to see if it works.

A prissy author is demanding the recall of thousands of CDs because her entry is wrong. Lynley Hood, who wrote a book that was little more than a list of paedophiles, was wrongly credited with having an honorary doctorate instead of a real one. I think everyone should point at her and laugh for reading her own entry. I wonder if I am on the CD? They pay me money for having books in the library (sod all).

Ten years after the Cave Creek disaster (when about 17 students died when a viewing platform collapsed down a hole) a survivor admitted that they were rocking the platform and jumping up and down when it collapsed. Whilst I understand that it should have been better constructed, this is news about them wobbling it.

The annual 'Round the Bays run happened in Auckland yesterday with 72,000 runners (although it looked like most only had room to walk). It's been going

WORLD NEWS

GW assured everyone that two years after invading Iraq, America is a safer place. Not sure if the world is, he didn't mention the rest of us. I know a few Italians that would disagree. He has also come back from a holiday early to interfere in the case of a woman who wants to die.


REAL SPORT

No real sport this week, but proper water polo training starts tomorrow.

SPORT

Rain delayed the start of the first test, possibly the best result NZ could hope for. Losing in five days looked more achievable because of it (rather than the normal four). Australia declared at about 580/8 and NZ was struggling at 122/4 overnight. Not sure it will make five days, but we should.

A local pacer called Elsu won the Interdominion Cup, going through unbeaten and impressing the punters.

The Chiefs got thumped 20-6 by the Reds. Blues were down 41-0 against the Crusaders but recovered to lose only 41-19. The Hurricanes list for the first time this season. The Brumbies won, again. The Highlanders also won in South Africa.

Big news is that Wales beat Ireland in the six nations to win it with a grand slam, the first for Wales for quite some time. Wales is about the only country in the world as rugby-mad as New Zealand.

Chelsea won again, Man Utd and Arsenal both won but not enough to help them catch Chelsea. Time is running out, well has run out really. Liverpool beat Everton 2-1.

NZ lost to Fiji in the World Cup Sevens final.

MY SAD LIFE

Big news this week is that sister Sarah has finally set a date for getting married, in November. Details are sketchy at this stage. It appears likely that this will be the first wedding where all three siblings attend.

Penny is recovering from her shoulder/neck problem, but has a way to go yet.

Rory had interschool swim sports on Thursday. We managed to get there and Granny came too. Rory made the final in freestyle 50m and 100m. He chose not to swim in 100m final because he wanted to be in better shape for the two relays (he swam freestyle in medley, and was also in the freestyle relay. He came third in freestyle final, against kids that are in swim squads and go to National Champs. In the freestyle relay they came second, Rory pulled them in from third (he was fourth swimmer). They came fourth in the medley relay, although Rory nearly got them to third. He was very pleased with his third placing, and the second in the relay.

Hannah went to camp at the Millennium Institute. It wasn't really a camp, more like a luxury hotel. Diana saw her playing flipper ball (beginner's water polo) and she was pretty good at some of that. General feeling is that proper cabin-oriented camps like Camp Adair are way better.

Spoke to Koos this week, he arrives the weekend I am in Wellington. He is going to Goa. He promised to go to a restaurant and tell the waiter "I am goin' to have the Goan curry."

We had a few people over for lunch on Sunday, there were four boys here (including Rory) and they are now all at different schools (three are in first year of high school). They are also all taller than Diana.

Allan returned from San Francisco, without incurring excess baggage costs.

I went to a restaurant for dinner on Thursday night and the cooking staff were bonkers, thrashing out noise on the stainless steel whenever someone got a dessert with a candle on. We sat opposite the kitchen, it was dinner and a show. Diana took Rory to a movie where some people did their best to ruin it for everyone else with their young children, talking on their cellphone, and being generally annoying.

I don't like the new dishwasher, it's always running and when I try to put things in they are both in use and I want the old one back.

Off for a walk with Diana

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