What's Been Keeping Us Out of the Pubs

Thanks so much, everyone, for taking the time to wish Winston all the best with his broken leg. Here is a photo of him sitting on a digger that was parked in the back garden a week or two ago!

What has been keeping us off (or, rather, on) the streets is that we have been moving house again. We love Te Kuiti, and our house there was sound and tidy. But on our way up to Auckland a few weeks ago we found a smaller house -- though on a neat 1/4-acre plot -- in a village near Te Awamutu and Hamilton. It seemed to click so well for us. Although this was a bold move so soon after moving into Te Kuiti, we feel that it makes sense. Indeed, moving more or less straight out of a property is quite practical as things are still pretty much packed and there has been little time to put down roots.

So we have been getting the move underway and looking after little Winston. He is too young to use crutches, and for 4-6 weeks is not to put his weight on the leg, so we have been helping him get around. But now he has his 'permanent' red cast he has, typically, adapted wonderfully and now scoots himself around the house and garden. Also, ACC (the NZ accident-care system) sent him a wheelchair this week which is great: his leg rests on the seat nicely and he does not get the pins-and-needles he did when sitting in his umbrella stroller with his broken leg.

This week has also seen some encouraging signs re. work. Might have more to report soon.

Last weekend Vera's parents, who live in the US, were able to stay with us for a night in the middle of their NZ tour. Their trip started in Northland and the weather there and in Auckland/the Waikato was very good. On Saturday we all went to the Te Kuiti Running of the Sheep event, when 2000 sheep run along the main shopping street (Rora St.) as part of the annual Te Kuiti Muster. A great weekend.

A quick NZ-migration thought:
As I (Matt) write this blog entry I am listening to my beloved UK-based radio shows via the Internet. Although, with the house move, our Web access is a bit difficult at the moment, it remains very important to me to stream or save some shows by Tommy Boyd, Bob Mills and Danny Baker. It's not so much a touchstone as a real love I have had since I was a lad.
I mention this because it seems to fit with an inkling we had as we went through the move to NZ in the first place: which is that part of knowing oneself reasonably well is knowing what small selection of possessions or pursuits to bind to yourself with hoops of steel during the process of relocating to, and settling in, NZ! Migrating is not the time to cut yourself off from the one, two or three most enduring and important parts of personal furniture for which you know you always reach. Migration has enough huge changes of its own. While I think it's probably v.dangerous and daft to try to lift and drop every feature of pre-NZ lifestyle into NZ, there is a strong need to keep a couple of choice interests or items in your personal 'belt kit'. Discover what they are and protect them. And if you really don't value them anymore, deep down, you'll slough them off easily and naturally anyway.
(Obviously, being physically away from family and pals is what we'd most like to remedy. I'm talking above about an individual's own passions and possessions).

More very soon! Thanks for reading.