Went to Vicki’s again Sun evening, for another film of the Maharaji talking, interesting but not really for me at this point I think. No meal there this time, so we entertained Ingrid & Dave to Erola’s special sausage curry, sounds awful but is very good, followed by the remains of the lemon ginger cake she made at Easter. Entertaining here is certainly much more informal & seems to be very last minute, not what I’m used to at all.
Picked up the car (see above) which passed the inspection, discovered that the salesman has a half-Maori wife & their child is in a ‘total immersion’ primary school i.e. Maori language only, but they speak English at home. So you can see this may be the shape of things to come. Though apparently as yet there are no Intermediate schools which are Maori only, I believe this is age 9-12 approx.
Drove into the city to get some cheap duvet sets from a temporary outlet centre. There is not much traffic at all in the centre, not like any other capital city I have ever visited! It is very windy today but very sunny & bright, so walked along the beach again.
Took my rental car back Wednesday, was concerned because the windscreen had been chipped when I drove up the highway thru Mackay’s Crossing, the re-surfacing of which is a very sore point hereabouts, it has taken 2 goes & it’s still not right, while causing utter chaos. No problem with getting half my money back, given I was no longer renting long term. & no excess charged either thank goodness. It was another very bright day, but for the first time since I arrived really quite cold at night, below 10 & of course no heating! We are ordering a ‘cord’ of wood for Saturday week, for the wood-burner, which is the only form of heating here. There is a gas fire which I can use during the day, because then I can pay for it myself by just getting the bottle re-filled when necessary.
April 3 is my grandson Charlie’s birthday, so sent him an e-card & tried to phone home, but had to be content with text to Emma since they were all out with my ex. Have sent a card & cheque by post, but don’t expect it got there in time, the post does not seem very reliable. It was an absolutely beautiful day, bright blue skies & I could see South Is really clearly. Went for a walk up the Coastal Path to a beach half-way between here & Raumati, I will pay for it on Saturday I think!
Friday I joined the local library since I am doing a lot of reading. Discovered that the books are generally in much poorer condition than in the UK, I guess it’s money again. Also the fiction was only classified by author, which I am not used to, so it made finding something a little more difficult. Went to the local re-cycling centre, Kiwis generally are not very good about this, whatever they say, and as in the UK local authorities differ widely. Only newspapers are collected here in Kapiti Coast, all plastic, tins, bottles etc have to be done by the individual, which I guess makes them less careful. Also, they have to PAY to dump stuff at the local dump! Unfortunately this means that some people dump stuff by the re-cycling bins instead, not very friendly.
Saturday was a busy day, went to the Sustainable Home & Garden Show in Paraparam, got some info about solar heating & also about storing rainwater in a tank underneath the house, garage or deck, which is then used for the wasing machine & to flush the loos, may pursue this! Have to decide immediately, cos believe detailed house plans should be available Monday, and I’ll have to make any necessary changes then.
In the evening, went with Hilary & her friend VM (Verena Mary) to see Roger Hall’s play ‘Who wants to be 100?’ which was very funny but also rather sad. Hilary used to work as an administrator in a retirement home & she said that a lot of it was very true to life. I really do not want to end up in one! Stayed the night with Hilary, we finished off a bottle of wine & reminisced about our childhood in Exeter, she has a much better memory than me.
Picked up the car (see above) which passed the inspection, discovered that the salesman has a half-Maori wife & their child is in a ‘total immersion’ primary school i.e. Maori language only, but they speak English at home. So you can see this may be the shape of things to come. Though apparently as yet there are no Intermediate schools which are Maori only, I believe this is age 9-12 approx.
Drove into the city to get some cheap duvet sets from a temporary outlet centre. There is not much traffic at all in the centre, not like any other capital city I have ever visited! It is very windy today but very sunny & bright, so walked along the beach again.
Took my rental car back Wednesday, was concerned because the windscreen had been chipped when I drove up the highway thru Mackay’s Crossing, the re-surfacing of which is a very sore point hereabouts, it has taken 2 goes & it’s still not right, while causing utter chaos. No problem with getting half my money back, given I was no longer renting long term. & no excess charged either thank goodness. It was another very bright day, but for the first time since I arrived really quite cold at night, below 10 & of course no heating! We are ordering a ‘cord’ of wood for Saturday week, for the wood-burner, which is the only form of heating here. There is a gas fire which I can use during the day, because then I can pay for it myself by just getting the bottle re-filled when necessary.
April 3 is my grandson Charlie’s birthday, so sent him an e-card & tried to phone home, but had to be content with text to Emma since they were all out with my ex. Have sent a card & cheque by post, but don’t expect it got there in time, the post does not seem very reliable. It was an absolutely beautiful day, bright blue skies & I could see South Is really clearly. Went for a walk up the Coastal Path to a beach half-way between here & Raumati, I will pay for it on Saturday I think!
Friday I joined the local library since I am doing a lot of reading. Discovered that the books are generally in much poorer condition than in the UK, I guess it’s money again. Also the fiction was only classified by author, which I am not used to, so it made finding something a little more difficult. Went to the local re-cycling centre, Kiwis generally are not very good about this, whatever they say, and as in the UK local authorities differ widely. Only newspapers are collected here in Kapiti Coast, all plastic, tins, bottles etc have to be done by the individual, which I guess makes them less careful. Also, they have to PAY to dump stuff at the local dump! Unfortunately this means that some people dump stuff by the re-cycling bins instead, not very friendly.
Saturday was a busy day, went to the Sustainable Home & Garden Show in Paraparam, got some info about solar heating & also about storing rainwater in a tank underneath the house, garage or deck, which is then used for the wasing machine & to flush the loos, may pursue this! Have to decide immediately, cos believe detailed house plans should be available Monday, and I’ll have to make any necessary changes then.
In the evening, went with Hilary & her friend VM (Verena Mary) to see Roger Hall’s play ‘Who wants to be 100?’ which was very funny but also rather sad. Hilary used to work as an administrator in a retirement home & she said that a lot of it was very true to life. I really do not want to end up in one! Stayed the night with Hilary, we finished off a bottle of wine & reminisced about our childhood in Exeter, she has a much better memory than me.
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