Visit by Ida Bang

Ida is the daughter of Jens who was a Rotary student with us when the boys were in college. We had a pleasant weekend with her did a trip to Kapiti, after we put her on the bus for the South Island. She was a joy to have in our home.

Thursday Bridge

Today I went off to my usual Thursday Bridge game with David determined to do my best and not make him dissappointed. I looked about the room after there had been a spate of awful coughing an spluttering spotted all the old men who do this without thought for others. There were three who seem to think it is their right to do this and the rest of us can jolly well put up with the products of their diseased lungs being coughed all over us! Why is it that women seem to be more discreet and try to be more well mannered!! Pat came to our table we haven't seen her for a while we were chatting and she told us that she waslosing her vision and might not be playing in the foreseeable future. She is a nice woman whilst her husband seems to be a tad selfish so I hope he will look after her. Then we had Graham who has recently retired from any work with his rental properties and orchard. He appeared to be sunk in gloom and getting worse as the weeks roll on. This made me feel quite sad we are all getting on in years and old age is starting to take its toll. Thank goodness David and I had a good result that will make him happy. I was pleased to get home to Graham and the hole I mad venison snitzel and salad with Kumara chips followed by peach tart yum

Catch Up Late February

A lot has happened since I last wrote, so here i am again hoping to write more regulary. Steve, Millie and Carmern came for Christmas which made the celebration a family affair. I even made a Xmas tree!!. Their stay was too short as they had to get back for Carmen's school year to begin. She is a dear wee girl very mature for her age but I guess thatis what children are like now. I remember fondly her asking me where do NZ children go to shop for clothes? Gosh it's a long time since I have done anything like that

Friday - Last day of the week

Looking out tonight it is grey and windy the days are getting longer which is nice. Last day of the week, went to sit down excercises run by I think the Stroke Foundation, quite energetic. Makes me think of Nana who would not go to any activities at the senior citizens in Walkane because they were all too old. Good to do something in a group there were three others there from the Bridge club so it was quite social. Got some Cliff Kidney potatoes to chit will have a tyre crop again. Caught up with Janice later this afternoon she had bought some greens for the chooks. All the streets seem to be blocked with the road works for the water pipes I think and of course the bike lane! Jaunting off to have lunch with Julie in Whitby then popping over to see Mary and Paul for a visit tomorrow. Still watching the Vikings which I am enjoying even if it is the 2nd time!!

Cold and Grey

Looking out today after coming home from Bridge with David. Briefly we saw the sun shine out the window but now it is cold and grey. I had coffee in the greenhouse before I went to bridge which is always pleasant. My two tomatoes are coming along slowly, am also hoping to get some seed started. In reality it is still a bit cold. Yesterday was a bit nicer I went down for a sneaky lunch at Harrisons while the sun shone. It was lovely to see the little fat sparrows hopping about waiting for crumbs. That will have to be my latte lapping spot now Ruth Pretty has closed. Not much to write today Graham is chopping up steak then going to Rotary I have a frozen roast dinner to have. Not much sign of Pat-a-Cat she is truly wild

Books I am Reading The Garden of Evening Mist which looks promising

Out of Control

Winter is striking now the days although we are past the shortest days are grey and gettin colder. When I look out my window this afternoon it looks grey an cold. Went up to the village earlier it did not seem to be so cold but now later in the afternoon it is getting colder. Took Normas dog Ali on my morning walk around the block, she rarely gets a good walk, it is times like this I miss Max badly

. Seeing a picture of him still brings tears to my eyes. Poor Charlie just did notcut the mustard but I do hope he finds the home he deserves. I feel sad about him too. Now I am trying to befriend Pat the cat but I I have little hope of that being a success. Winter is cheerless Denyse is coming for a visit perhaps that will buck me up. I am going to try and write more not that it willbe very exciting at the moment

Snippet and Snicket

I have just finished a book set in India and was reminded of a snippet of info about Pearl and Daisy too. Cant remember how old I was but I recall Pearl being asthmatic. I guess maybe in the late 40's or early 50's Pearl had these asthma cigarettes that were used, she also had some medication that left yellow dribble on the pillowcases. When I checked the cigarettes out they were made from Belladonna, Strontium and Atropine all supposed to help with breathng.I don't think she found one. Its funny how the memory gets jogged but I clearly recall Daisy tearing the place apart one day looking for one of theses cigarettes when she was desperate for one. I don't think she found one. Don't know what happened but suddenly Nana didn't have asthma any more. I don't recall her going to the Doctor for medication or saw her taking pills of any sort. Sutherland Road was a small white timber cottage built at the front of what I saw as a longish thin piece of land. It stepped down to a lawn with a clothes line behind the cabins then stepped down to a henhouse and vegetable garden at the very end there were dwarf fruit trees. When you stepped out the back door on to the path it took you along the lefthand side of the property to an empty piece of land that lead to the Dairy on Queens Drive. This was called the snicket not sure if it was the path or the gate. Tis word is used a lot amongst the Maddocks to mean a variety of things that are small. Anything from a gate to a sweet. A word about the neigbours, on the left hand side was a large double section that belonged to the Ravens, they ran a trucking business and had built large garages to store the trucks in. On the right was an ordinary dwelling where Elliot ran a cattery business Denyse worked there in her school holidays. According to Nana the previous owner had put her head in the gas oven and ended her life. This probabaly was result of the depression maybe. Across the road lived the Newtons thats where Harold came from beside them was Nanas friend Audrey and 'The Bull' probably called this because he drank I don't recall ever meeting any of these people.

Pearl and Daisy part 2

Nana's mother Margaret Williams who was also known as Margaret Hamilton died in 1934 she was 65 years old. Accorning to Nana the Hamilton connection was not one that had happy memories, when Daisy named Anthony Hamilton Harris Pearl told her in no uncertain terms that she and her mother had had no time for him. Documentation that Robyn Taylor has she was known as Margaret Williams. So now we have 3 surnames attached to Pearl, Williams, Hamilton and Nagel. Remember in those early days people changed their names and remarried at will. Written records were not always accurate. Pearl was a resourceful woman and I am thinking that she turned her hand to Floral art and Millinary after her mother's death. I recall a Milliners block sitting on the dressing table in the main bedroom. James would have returned to his family after the depression had ended I have a memory of someone recalling that he had been a baggage handler at Wellington airport. When Daisy was 14 her words to me they cut her hair short and sent her off to work at Evans drapery in Cuba St. Money was still short. The Evans's were Lyall Bay people so posssibly Pearl used her wiles to get her daughter a job. This is where Fay met up with Mick Evans and probably this is where their liason started. I am not sure love was involved or whether it was a contiual thing or just opportunistic. This we cannot be sure of. Pat,Diana and Tom would have been sent to work as soon as possible. This snippet i missed from the 1st post Daisy at some stage during the depression won an elocution competition but was unable to take advantage of the prize as I guess there was no extra money for bus fares. But it she always spoke well. Pearl also was carefulwithspeech. I recall that when son Tom boughthome Aunty Mary she was critisised for saying ongion instead of onion. Remnants of Pearls Convent education perhaps. So now they are jogging on towards World War 11 and recovering as best they can from the depression.

Pearl Maddock and stuff No 1

193 Sutherland Road was the most important address of my early years. It was a smallworkers cottage, 2 bedrooms,kitchen/dining area and lounge. A fishpond on the front lawn behind a picket fence and on the lawn between the cabins a wishing well. I believe it was rented until after James Enoch's death. He had at some stage built 3 small roomsa short distance fom the house. These were built with the timber from NZ Butter Boxes according to a later owner who said the timber was marked. Wire and stucco strengthened them. Thesse extra rooms were built to house the expanding family. Daisy,Pat, Diana, Tom and Barbara. Sometime during the depression Pearl had her mother living with them I reacall Daisy telling me that she and her grandmother shared the small bedroon off the kitchen. These were hard times for families and this was what it wasa like for the Maddock family. I cannot give dates but recall being told that James who had been a shearer and had avoided war service until the last days only got as far as Trentham camp, Shearing was seen as an essential occupation. I think that after the war he worked as a shipwright until work in the shipyards ceased. If you look at the history of the Great Depression in NZ I think unemployed men were sent off to do what they called relief work doing hard physical labour preference given to married men with families to provide them with some income. Remember that James was 20 years older than Pearl so it might not have been easy for him and according to Nana she said it wrecked him. I am guessing he would have been about 50 which was a bit different from 50 today. It is obvious thet he was the gardener because I am woondering why they did not grow more of their own food. However Pearl had 4 chidren an aged mother and I believe she worked at a deparrtment store n Cuba St called CS Smiths which was near where the old Farmers was. Margaret Hamilton must have looked after the children at home so there was probably little time for gardening. During these early years Daisy developed pneumonia and spent about 6 weeks in Wellington hospital these are her words and no one came to visit her. When she finally came home from hospital the front porch was added to the tiny house for her to sleep in. This left her with weakend lungs for a lifetime, this would have been pre penicillen days

The London Apprentice

managed to get out for a walk today and a breath of air Graham still unwell. He as been struck very badly. Got a bit lost but managed to get home with the help of the bus

Here is one of Gre sitting in the the flower seat. Have to get the next load of washing out

We Finally got here

the weather has been patch some days quite cold.Graham and I have been sticken with what Steve calls the Spanish flu. Today we ventured out to Richmond I found a jacket to wear to The party purple velour. came home and fell in to bed. graham has gone out to forage with Steve and Millie Wilfie has beento the vet so he,s in te lounge with collar. seen lots of little dogs around makes me think of Max

Its lovey being here with Caren she is such a treasure xx

The Saddest week I can remember

we made the decision with the vets advice that our darling Max was not going to make it. I have been weeping in corners all week finally the vet came today and did the deed. I shall miss him sorely. Meredith came in after work which was nice. A darling friend I cant write any more. I love darling boy

A Sad Prospect

 

A sad day Maxie is not well and the prognosis is not good. We have decided to say goodbye before we go away to the UK. I cant put him through vetenary treatment and it will not cure hme. Every visit is traumatic for him We will say goodbye at t he end of the week. Funny there was a single magpies sittig at the gate when we came home . I love you Maxie xx

Found it at last 19/4/23

 After an exhaustive search I have found my blog site to put on my Apple iPad. This seems to be the only free one I have been able to find.

 Keep keeping on this is a voice recognition. Very good. Now I don’t even need to type it just goes by Voice. I’ll probably will probably have two later edit that very easy.

Need to go now and forage for coffee.

 Keep keeping on this is a voice recognition. Very good. Now I don’t even need to type it just goes by Voice. I’ll probably will probably have two later edit that very easy.

Today, when I look out the window it’s pouring with rain a day for inside activities need now to forage for a cup of tea. All devices are now set for Isleworth!

Back to Bridge today

 Yes back to Monday bridge. Managed to misread this stupid watch I have and got up at 7.15 when I thought it was 9.15, While I was messing around wondering what to do with my spare time I suddenly had. David phoned during this spare time to say his car battery was flat' surely he has been out since he last went to bridge before Christmas!! Poor man he really enjoys his bridge.

I ended up playing with Kay who kept saying she was too old to learn anything new. Don't think I will ever feel like that. But who knows how one will be affected in old age.

It was very hot almost unbearable but at least the washing is dry and all crisp.

Tonight we have a lovely clear blue sky with streaks of pink something we haven't seen for a while there seems to be a warm glow about my outlook I have taken a photo.

oo hot to cook anything we had rice instead of potatoes with BBQ sausages and salad it worked out very well. Ate on the front deck it was more sheltered and I was reminded how the Cabbage trees are about to flower.

Mary and Paul are coming over for a couple of days managed to get the back room sorted and the bathroom for them.

Kerry"s Oleander is flowering unfortunately you cant see it in the first photo.

The golden glow of evening.

Phoned Robyn they are finally free from Covid but finding the recovery slow. We watched  last night Madoff and all about the ponzi scheme he ran interesting after all these years,

Better be early doors tonight as I will have to be sharp tomorrow. Thank goodness I am not doing bnb any longer too stressful I don't think Graham realises this. Anyway the place is not set up that well thank goodness. 

Another Grey Day

 Miserable morning managed to take Ma for a walk around the block, most of the woofingtons were out !! Then  just potterd about getting Mary and Paul's room ready. Denyse's bedroom furniture looks a bit battered, so perhaps we are doing her a favour.

Forgot to say Rosie's mother has died, we are going over to the funeral on Thursday. Nice for her she had been having a merry time at Xmas with family then that was that . Sad for the family, Rosie will be a free agent now.

Made Mac cheese for dinner not my best but Graham liked it. Also tried a new recipe in the breadmaker that looks like a success it will be in the tasting tomorrow.

This was my chalk paint effort over Xmas break a cabinet I plucked from the street. Very handy to keep stuff in though it doesn't have files. Have done quite well out of Atkinson ave. Bridge tomorrow.

Rain came today

 Some light drizzly rain was good for the garden and gave the greenhouse good water. Ant came to visit we were able to provide him with some fishing gear and my old pack. He had been staying at Simons for a couple of nights, returning to Levin. Like me, he doesn't like Levin much but unlike me, he is planning to do some tramps in the hills. Perhaps Graham might accompany him some time.

Thinking this journal might be called The Book of old Age, I will have to dream up a plot. Would anyone be interested? 

Am sick of the dud fruit cakes gave the burnt one to the chooks and made a banana cake to take to Mere's. Graham had a Rotary visitor who by chance we found had served in Bosnia with Mike so we took him along to TeHoro as well they had a bit of an Army reunion.

Mike and Mere are trying to give up smoking praise the lord let's hope it succeeds.

Thought I saw a seagull fly out of the pohutukawa tree on the verge that would have to be unusual, better get dinner started its clouding over and the wind is rising. This all seems to be a bit of a ramblebut its been that sort of day. Max seems to be a little brighter which is good.

Easter Monday 13/4/20

Still locked down the only escape is to troll the streets of Greytown. Yesterday did a big loop and spoke with Phil and Karen from the approved distance. They are managing well and have their visas extended until September. I know Karen would like to stay here but don't think Phil is so keen.


  State Highway passing through Greytown yesterday.
                                                           

We walked through town, alas some of the shops won't survive I fear..
                                                                                                          
Graham's birthday yesterday got everyone together on Hangouts and we sang him a happy birthday while he blew out his candle!! Forgot to get a picture, unfortunately.

Here we are in Isleworth with Steve and Millie and of course the delightful Carmen. The sun is shining it's about 12 degrees.
The journey was long 12 hours to Shanghai, 6 on the ground, and a further 12 to Heathrow.

This post is completely out of sync !!!

Whoops missed a day

 Yesterday was a grey wet day rained most of the day we went for a walk on the beach which was nice. Watched Madoff on Netflix which was interesting all about the vagaries of the 1988 crash certainly it was a man's world.

I Sat on the deck with my morning coffee listening to the birds they certainly love the cabbage tree and the pohutukawa. It's just as well Roubles can't get to them.

 Got a message from Rosie that her mother died last night sad for Rosie but for her, it must have been nice she had had a lovely Xmas time with her family and appeared to have had good health as much as old people can have. We will go over to the funeral on Thursday.

Mary and Paul are going to come over for a night on Tuesday so will have to get the bedroom spruced up for them. Mary will be able to collect the strips!!

Did a few jobs about town today dropped the petanque balls off for Carolyn had d coffee with Basiia she is such a serious person then I suppose so am I.

It's a nice peaceful view despite the awful fence. My Xmas bowl still looks good. Not much else going on today but I have stirred myself and done a few jobs.

The view from my turret window is shiny and green everything looks clean that's because it is wet.

Shopping for food is depressing everything is so expensive bought some frozen broccoli and cauliflower which I think might be more economical.

Meredith and Mike are trying to give up smoking it would be lovely if they could the cost of it is terrifying me anyway. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Apart from writing I have to get a picture to post as well !