@dentarthurdent @ps1l0v3y0u @winston I confess that I’d completely missed out on Peter Capaldi’s earlier work, with the exception of seeing him in Pinochet’s Last Stand (2006 TV film), which I believe we watched on HBO. And, of course, his earlier guest turn on Doctor Who. I’ll have to see if there’s a way for us to watch The Thick of It. Sounds…[Read more]

@winston

The detailed instructions he gave Ollie Reeder on where he should insert his I-pod and how Malcolm would then change the playlist…

Roger Allam was as (genuinely) classy as ever as Peter Mannion.

@winston @nerys  @ps1l0v3y0u    I really started something with oystercatchers, didn’t I?

I’ve been lurking/incommunicado the last few days because we flew down to Christchurch last Tuesday and, among the things I forgot, was my laptop charger.   Since then I’ve been running on battery, just enough to check emails.  I ordered a charger online…[Read more]

Just reporting in, everybody!
@winston -2 months late to wish your family all the best with the wonderful new addition!
Much love to you.

@blenkinsopthebrave good to see you about these pages, also.

@winston   Thank you.   The rest of the country  (well, parts of it) didn’t do as well, major flooding and storm damage in Northland and North Auckland (just to the north of us, duh) and the Coromandel to the southeast.   This has happened several times now.   In fact these things tend to be very ‘regional’ and often quite localised.   Notoriousl…[Read more]

@winston   @janetteb   Thanks.   Unless the storm has an unexpected sting in the tail, it looks as if it’s missed us, all we got was a lot of rain (though not in torrential amounts).   Storms seem to keep causing chaos to the north of us, to the east and south-east, but the last one that hit us here was three years ago.   So we’re either well over…[Read more]

@winston the maple syrup sounds lovely. I always think of you when I buy it in a little bottle from the supermarket. so much nicer to make one’s own. I miss snow. I think that is why I like to watch tv series set in the Arctic or Antarctic.

@dentarthurdent fingers crossed for you here too.

cheers

Janette

@janetteb  Thanks.   Apparently it’s a very dramatic one.   The last few that came this way caused devastation to the north of us and the south-east of us and managed to miss Auckland.   Hopefully this one will too (miss us, I mean, not cause devastation elsewhere  🙂    We’ll know if we’re OK tomorrow morning.

The last few days have been love…[Read more]

@winston That’s a lot of snow! I would have preferred to visit at a more springlike time, but it reminded me how much I enjoy spring. Yesterday morning, we awoke to a thin layer of snow. As the sun rose, the dripping snow glittered like gems. Eventually the snow melted, turning into a spectacular spring day by mid-afternoon.

@janetteb   I actually have all my DVD’s indexed and numbered, so I can find them.   But of course if I see a DVD in an opp shop, and it’s a movie I might like, I can’t remember if I’ve got it already.   So two bucks is a reasonable price to secure it, even if (as often happens) I find I have it already and just end up donating the DVD back.…[Read more]

@winston I loved spring when we were in Sweden. Crocuses were the first sign of life to emerge from the frozen soil. I have photos of them peeking through snow. We were renting and the garden was deeply buried in snow when we moved in and so it was a daily discovery of new flowers and plants all through the spring. Maria, the owner, who had just…[Read more]

@winston So happy to read your update on your little fellow. You’re right, those sleepy times will become farther and fewer between, so hopefully his parents are banking their own sleep time now. They’ll need it!

We too have a lot of snow, but we’re getting a nice warmup now, so it will be gone by the end of the week. Fortunately we’re seeing a…[Read more]

@winston Congratulations! Oh, this is happy news, and most welcome today. You’re right, it’s the young ones we need to fight for. Hugs to you and your family.

@winston wonderful news. You are very fortunate and I hope that the future for the wee lad will be a happy one. We do all need to keep up the fight to make it better, hard though it is.

cheers

Janette

@winston

Fabulous news!

@winston

That’s really lovely news. Many congratulations to you and family. Is it your first grandchild?

@winston

congratulations!

@winston     Congratulations.   I’m sure we could all use a little bit of sunshine.    I wish the best for his future.

@winston Fortunately, the bottom (in the harbour) is only muddy, not weedy – that would add an extra level of creepiness. Also, whether in ‘the bush’ or the sea, we have very little in the way of bitey stingy things. We do have a few sharks offshore (though nothing like Oz gets) and they usually only – rarely – attack surfers who are out in the…[Read more]

@dentarthurdent I too saw a bit of Farscape. Forum members here suggested it, actually.

I’m sympathetic about the grouting & other volunteer assistance for your family because I totally get that. You did well. It sounded excruciatingly difficult though. And they left you to finish it all!

My brother was never one for renovations or tiling u…[Read more]