Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Day 17- What were you doing when Lady Di was killed in Paris 14 years ago?



Thankfully I was not in the wagon that was following Princess Diana's wagon the day that she died. Instead I was a content passenger in Abigail Noonan's beloved Anglia wagon, as it made its way home from Mighty Morrinsville..

To honour this day I do need to tell the whole story....

So as Julie Andrews would say: "Lets start at the very beginning"!

Miss Jayne, Miss Flea Delonghi, Miss (now Mama) Abigail, and myself had descended on our journey, from Taranaki to Morrinsville, on the Friday afternoon I believe, and whilst driving through Mount Messenger, the beloved Anglia became extremely overheated - I'm sure it was menopause, but Mama Abigail, I'm sure, would beg to differ.

My memory evades me at this point but I do remember, later that evening, driving between Ohaupo and Hamilton when her tyre blew out. We ended up on the right hand side of the ride, safely parked in a driveway, in the dark, with no wheel brace. A wagon was flagged down - and although they had no wheel brace, they kindly parked, safely, facing the beloved Anglia, with lights shining so all could see their way. Another wagon was flagged down, and as it abruptly stopped,the wagon behind it swerved and spun a full 360Degrees on the wet road - taking out a few other wagons in its path. One hit wagon flew at the very first wagon that had stopped, hitting it hard from behind, which in turn smacked into the beloved Anglia just as I had stepped out of it's path.....

Thankfully no one was hurt, although all wagon's were very unhappy as they were towed away. The beloved Anglia suffered a very minor dent (randomly enough in exactly the same place where I had been standing!) and the police officers kindly used their wheel brace to change the blown out tyre....

Phew.. I remember the beloved Anglia full were all very shocked and keen to get to our destination asap.. But that, dear followers, was not the end of it!

No, no, no...... We stopped in Hamilton to get coffee and to pass water at a service station, and then continued on into the township. After all we had experienced that day, a whiskey was what was called for.. But alas, Miss Jayney discovered, as we parked outside a Hip Hop bar (Abigail's choice), that her handbag was nowhere to be seen - and therefore, her precious belongings were also nowhere to be seen. Missy Jayne, and the beloved Anglia had been selflessly robbed....

By now the whiskey was yelling down the staircase of the Hip Hop bar, so Miss Jayne polished her beautiful face and we entered the bar.. After a few whiskeys, a dance or two to distract the minds, and some random sideways glances from huge Samoan Hip Hop blokes, we drove to Morrinsville to sleep the night away..... A huge evening!

To cut a looong story short, and please do excuse the longevity of this novel, as we left Morrinsville to return home to Taranaki a few days later, we stopped atae petrol station to fill the beloved Anglia with precious petrol.. As Mama Abigail re-entered the beloved Anglia, she proclaimed, " Oh my goodness (well something along the lines of), Princess Diana is dead"...

Following stunned silence, not one of us believed her, but as Mama Abigail reported just this evening, "Why would I joke about something like that?"... precisely.....

.........................and now that is a true story......!

And I do believe that Camilla should have sung the following song on Charles and Diana's wedding day all those years past.... it just might have stopped a whole lot of shenanigans ya?

Monday, March 28, 2011

Day 13- If you could change one law what would it be, and why?

One of the many Laws I would certainly enjoy changing would be Michael Laws and his political status in my hometown..

Thankfully, the majority of Whanganui voted in a Mayor who, besides being a strong wahine, genuinely cares for the people of this land - aswell as the land.. I'm pretty sure Michael Laws only cared for how his voice sounded live, and how many people he could offend while throwing his toys out of the cot... (She states while not wanting to sound tooo negative!)

But to cut a long story short, and before I get my forthright shoes on and write a novel, I think this Law can honestly be rectified by gathering together an old fashioned lynch mob to help Michael Laws pack up his bullyness and household goods into sturdy boxes, and move his ego right on out of town? And... maybe then take a leaf out of Bob Parker's book and tattoo it onto Michael's inner eyelids?



Italian Phrase of the day..... "Mi scusi, questa è la mia fermata"
Excuse me, this is my stop...

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Day 11: What was the last thing you Googled, and what did you find out?

Please excuse the trickyness of this challenge - I've eaten all chalk and therefore need to mix up the days a wee bit... and have just got some MB power happening.. so to Day 11 before Day 10, on Day 29!?


The other afternoon, after confirming with the GP that "Yes, it is indeed a ganglion upon your wrist", I popped into mama Pamela Anne's (with an 'E') for a grand old pot of tea on the lazy Susan - Now in the interrim, I do not know of any lazy Susan's by nature.... My Aunt Susan works herself to oblivion, and I know of a fellow kindergarten teacher who contently seems married to her profession, and... I cannot think of any other Susan's....



So, returning to the pot of tea on the lazy Susan - I was gifted a beautiful pair of Blue Babushka earrings! Smiling from ear to ear.... and.. this evening I googled 'Babushka Shop Melbourne', to give her the address for her upcoming holiday, and...... discovered that there is indeed a 'Babushka' shop in Prague.... and they say you learn something new every day (although who are 'they' in the grand picture of it all?)... What I do know is I shall be placing my feet on Prague soil before October of this year.... and no doubt starving myself for a few days in order to make a few purchases from the 'Babushka' shop.....


A Sesame Street Clip that I do remember...


BABUSHKA: From Russian бабушка (bábuška, “grandmother, granny”), diminutive of баба (bába, “old woman”). Also known as Russian Nesting Dolls, and Matryoshkas, Babushka's make up a set of a wooden figures which separate, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside, which has, in turn, another figure inside of it, and so on. The number of nested figures is traditionally at least five, but can be much more, up to several dozen with sufficiently fine craftsmanship. Modern dolls often yield an odd number of figures but this is not an absolute rule; the original Zvyozdochkin set, for instance, had an even number. The form is approximately cylindrical, with a rounded top for the head, tapering toward the bottom, with little or no protruding features; the dolls have no hands (except those that are painted).

Italian Phrase of the day: "Amo il mio mama"- I love my mama..

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Day 10- If you could pick your 15mins of fame, what would you be doing?

15 minutes of Fame? I know exactly what I'd be doing......


Playing the grand ole blues/roots/jazz tunes, on the ukulele, in a set with one of the greats - maybe on the Stage at the Bowl of Brooklands in Taranaki? With BB King, or Richie Havens, or Bob Dylan or... or... or......?
Thousands upon thousands of people would be in awe - "did you happen to see that dreadlocked wahine who blew the socks off everyone that was standing on that grass that day..?!"


.. and... and Louis Armstrong would still be alive, and have caught wind of my tricks... and have personally requested I play a section on his next trumpet album.... maybe "The Very, Very Best of Louis Armstrong - Accompanied by the sweet tunes of Paula Ann Signal's Ukulele"...?

Please, leap into this daydream with me and take 2 minutes to honestly imagine your own name up in lights by Louis Armstrong, or whomever takes your fancy?....


Struth Ruth! I adore day dreaming on a sunny Sunday where the earth is still and Mother Earth is hopefully resting...... and also a day that I've found myself pondering on all the people who live rent free within my mind.... xo.



Italian Phrase of the Day: "Ti presento un amici mi, Louis" This is my friend, Louis....

Friday, March 18, 2011

I cannot honestly pick an evening that I last stayed up to see the sunrise - although I do have a vacant memory of waking up at Lisa's new whare very whiskeyed out and making my way to my own whare, sometime in 2009, and shadely watching the sun rise before literally passing out.....

Oooowah, and and there was the New Years in amongst the hills of Paakaraka when Amanda Jones (Nee Orme) and I leapt and laughed around the firepit until the sun rose - everyone else slept...
We witnessed the rooster and his girly girls waltzing up the driveway with such grace, and proceeded to do a voice-over in regards to their conversations of which we believed a rooster and his girly girls would conduct at such an early hour.... Grand laughter for sure!
Italian Phrase of the Day: "Adore voi" - I adore you..

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Day 08- Take a photo of the weirdest thing you can find in your community and tell us why


This creature (it seems soooo alive) majestically appeared beside the Whanganui Awa around about the time mother earth put on her unsettled shoes - before random earthquakes destroyed Christchurch and Japan, and before sooo many peoples hearts actually stopped...
The fissures are meant to portray the Whanganui Awa, but when I coincedently found this 800kg steel ball, it immediately felt prophetic... someone out there knew what was coming.... maybe?
The artist prefers to remain anonymous, while the creator, David McCracken, has produced a masterpiece - it holds grand acoustics and would sound incredible with a whole heap of hearts beating a drum beat on its surface....
My heart beat furiously, early hours of Saturday morning, at the knowledge that recent earthquakes in Hawaii create a triangle with Japan and Aotearoa! To this day, anxiety stops me watching footage of the devastation because (a), it's entirely unbelievable yet sooo real, and (b), I'm leaping on a giant plane soon to see the world, and will be entirely helpless if anything major occurs.. what about my whaanau?
The photo's and video footage that have crossed my path remind me that we completely have no control over mother earth, and that enough is enough - we must take care of her, even if it is tooo late.... To be honest, I'm incredibly nervous.. Please do not think I am a scaredy cat though - just a wahine with a heart that is tooo big and quietly sensitive.....


Italian Phrase of the day:
"Ho bisogno del tabacco di aiutare i miei nervi"
- I have need of the tobacco to help my nerves

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Day 07- Who is your all time favourite artist and what is their best piece/s?


Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring has to be, I must admit, one of fmy all time favourite paintings..... Today the painting is kept in the Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague - but where fore art thou is Hague?? Oh hold on one moment while I consult Google....

Ah ha.... tis the third largest city in the Netherlands, therefore I can sleep easy (aided by a few G&T's aswell) knowing that perhaps I may just be able to behold the painting in real life - very soon infact!

I myself, own a print of this glorious painting, of which I acquired in an auction to aid mama Lisa's journey to Vietnam a few years back... I must admit that mama Lisa has often enquired of buying it back but I cannot part with it - although if anything happens to me in my own wee journey, I have left specific instructions that it be delivered to her beautiful hands.. Not that I am expecting anything to occur, but best we be safe rather then ever so sorry.....

Above is a wee personal take on the painting - My dear sister Becks arrived home from Ghana with a head full of braids.. We wrapped her up and indulged in a photo shoot.... Blessed beauty she is indeed!
Italian Phrase of the day: Bellisimo!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Day 6: What is your daily morning routine?


I would wake most mornings looking, and feeling like this:

and now.................


Mostly, the smile is sooo grand, I'm often not too sure what to do with it......

So, where were we? Ah yes, my morning routine:

  1. Wake to the alarm of the body clock (more often then not!)

  2. Doze for a bit - light dreams of more sleep time

  3. Literally leap out of bed with dreadlocks standing on end and sleep wrinkles on either side of my nose....

  4. A visit to the wharepaku - as you do.....

  5. Espresso coffee pot goes onto the stovetop...... Very important...

  6. I'm practising 5 minute showers for the backpacking styles in Europe, and I tend to execute this while the organic, fairtrade coffee tis brewing....

  7. A grand coffee, and some fruit and yoghurt with the sun upon my kanohi - and a quick quiet time to contemplate the day ahead (this was also the time to puff on a couple of hikareti - but alas, those days are looong gone and entirely missed sometimes)

  8. Then, I whip the dreadlocks into place..... and brush up my teeth

  9. and............. flee out the door at approx 7:30am, merrily singing "hi ho, hi ho, it's off to mahi I go...!"

Italian Phrase of the Day: Buongiorno voi merdina....



Monday, March 14, 2011

Day 05- Tell us something interesting and treasured that your mother or father taught you.


One grand thing I remember, at the age of apprx. 16 years, is a dream I had of my papa (he'd been gone say 8 years by this time).. He picked me up in his beautiful styley Holden Special 1967 vehicle, and took me for a driving lesson - my first one ever, and with column change!

When I learnt to drive in waking life (thanks ever sooo to my glorious cousin Kirsti and her ever trusty wagon which always ran happily on empty), I remembered a few tricks of the trade that my papa had taught me......
  1. No need to keep your foot on the brake while you ride the accelerator
  2. Window ledges are for resting your elbows
  3. Always wear a seatbelt, always.......

And now my grand wagon that I adore, has been sold and is awaiting the installation of new CV joints - I will miss thee dearly and hope to behold myself a beautiful van on my return from the grand continent of Europe - of which there is only 12 weeks and 2 days until departure...... soo close yet sooooo far....


Italian Phrase of The Day: Quanto per quel vagone, per favore?
How much is that wagon, please?

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Day 4 - Draw a picture of your family in just 10 minutes.

And that is that..... especially when there are no whaanau around and you have a spare sheet of lined paper in your planning book that your mama gave you for Christmas.... and a biro that you whipper snappered from the NZEI union lady because she refused to just give you an "Education Cuts Do Not Heal" T-shirt in support of the campaign... No, there actually was not a reason but it seemed pretty forthrightly fair at the time.. Okay, honestly? She left it behind, sneakily, on my desk... No not my desk - the communal desk!
Exaggerators Anonymous, do I need to register or can I do a walk in?
I did speak German to an unsuspecting German sheila today - "Wie Heissen sie?", she answered me, saying what I am not too sure, and she adored my accent.... I can surely pretend to be German in Germany - Ja!

Italian Phrase of the day: Potete parlare tedesco? - Can you speak German?

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Day 03- Write a poem about a person you know.



Ode to Kate Paris...


At the beautiful wooden table, you will find Miss Kate,
when all is well at about a quarter to eight......

She will have feathers in her hair from the manu in heaven
when all is well at about a quarter to seven....

And she might even cook kai with a fire made from sticks,
when all is well and warm at about a quarter to six...

She'll save you, momentarily, from thoughts of earthquakes and lifes,
and all will be well, at about a quarter to five...

When she turns up to knock at your Nana's lovely door,
Sometime well before a quarter to four....

She will thieve off with you, laughter running down to your knee,
Before te ra has set at a quarter to three...
If you cross her, she'll break the heart of a rubber hedgehog named Sue,
Way, way after bedtime at about a quarter to two...
And to top it all off and cover it with a lamington bun,
She will surely curl up and contently snore at about a quarter to one......
(March 2011)




Italian Phrase of the day: Amo le uova, dalla mia testa giù ai miei piedini - I love eggs, from my head down to my legs....

Friday, March 11, 2011

Day 02- If you could have any animal as a pet what would it be and why? Name the pet and tell us any special tricks or traits it might have.

Firstly, a confession if I must..... besides sneaking (on invitation) into Cecelia's land today to pick fresh peaches from the tree, I also ate my Golden Queen Peach.. But on the upside, I did refrain from leaping my nana's fence to eat all the apples in the neighbours yard.. Please deliver me my punishment Denita...

And if I could have any pet?



A Giant Tortoise w0uld indeed cut the mustard - but it may just have to be a knitted one as I have sworn never ever to let a creature, whether it be four legged, furry or scaly, ever befriend me, ever, again in my life.... ever!


But how's this browsy below whose "pimped his ride"!? ooowaaah... now thats ingenuity in its best form - wonder if he has a remote control, or whether the wheel has ever run him over because it gets impatient with the slowness - like the random 40km drivers on Mosston Road when your running a tad to late for work because you've never needed an alarm clock but just this once your body clock failed you?

While wiling over a grand cup of real coffee, with my grand browsy Daniel the other morning, I spied four Jamaican tortoises on the telly box... okay, so admittedly they were humans dressed up in giant tortoise costumes, but struth Ruth, they were entirely funny with green dreadlocks and congo drums.... Daniel was near done choking with laughter on his rice bubbles!

I'd call my giant tortoise 'Rico'... and it would speak fluent Italian...

Italian Phrase of The Day: "Lo ho trovato un tortoise giamaicano, uomo."
I found me a Jamaican tortoise, man!






Thursday, March 10, 2011

Day 01- Buy a piece of fruit, post a photo and tell us why you bought this type of fruit. Keep it in a safe place for the month.


The very beginning of a Brand spanking new 30 day Blog Challenge - courtesy of Mrs Denita Tizard... I must contently confess that I never actually purchased this here Golden Queen Peach, but instead it was found in my Nana Manu's refridgerator (Is this honestly how you spell the full word for fridge?)..... and it is one of my favourite fruits, but my mama loves them much much more then I - Personally, even though it is not in season, a CHERIMOYA, or CUSTARD APPLE, floats my grand old paddle steamboat.... and this GOLDEN QUEEN PEACH takes a very comfortable second place position...

Whether it will actually last a whole month without me devouring it is another blog entirely! I adore its juicyness and its ability to not be as furry as other types of peaches......

AND..... peaches bring a whole myriad of visuals and sounds to my mind:

- I once painted a backdrop for "The Wizard of Oz" production where the hills looked like hundreds of peaches, or bottoms even..

- My first smooch was under the family peach tree (Maybe aged 8yrs?)

- I'd love to drink pure golden queen peach juice on a daily basis!

- Are there peaches in Austria perchance?






Italian Phrase of the Day: "Milioni de peschi per me"
- Millions of peaches for me!