Forty-three thousand people in one Place – NZs home of Rugby, Eden Park. To feel alive again in a place we religiously go to for most Blues home Games, the largest crowd for a blues game in 15 years!

Kids were free and a 3.35 kick off encouraged a family outing for those with the younger generation! The flag became a bit tedious when the kids got bored and just flicked them around when trying to watch the game!

After the Waipora meeting in the morning, me joining the locals for the AGM, it was off to town for the Bonnici Carter’s (and Trudi) in the Getz- squish squash! Boys in the front, girls in the back and as planned, being early scored a prime park!

Being early also meant, the seats we wanted…..and two and a half hours to kill, no problem! Lunch followed by hotdogs, donuts, excercise (up and down four flight of steps for a loo stop) and watching the warm ups!

The time just flew and we were ready for the greatest game to begin! It sure didn’t disappoint. As the Hercules flew overhead, the start whistle blew and it was game on. From the sky walk on the roof of the stadium to the drone buzzing overhead, the English boys enjoying the stadium wave more than the rugby, the kids with their dads and the big kids, old kids, stadium food, expensive beer and wine…there was something for everyone (all 43k of us). And the Blues won 30-20, continuing what they started before the lockdown. Just want to say, Russ your support all those years was not in vain!

Five slightly fatter; pies, donuts, hotdogs, chip fulled Bonnici Carter’s and Trudi squeezed back in the Getz and headed north, picking up pizza for tea on the way home. It was a great day in more ways than one…Rugby, junk food, people and a win for the home team! A post covid world of small adventures….back to the places we enjoy!

And the working week begins!!!

A short story…

Steph (my daughter in law) has filled in a covid19 work lay-off with beach fishing…

The first five weeks of NO fishing was spent practicing knots, tying tackle, working out the right size hooks for which fish and which environment.

The Next level gave her the opportunity to “Beach Fish” laden with supplies Steph, and sometimes Jaxon, have hit this estuary religiously since the level 3 restrictions allowed only beach fishing…

A couple of weeks ago, boat fishing was reintroduced, but with Riverhaven sanitising tractor rules and regulations and the no hose water restrictions, not many boats were motivated to move from the ports. So for Steph and Jaxon the beach fishing continued.

This is where the story really begins…..as humans invade!

Now with shops open, tackle replaced, rods in prime condition (just saying here – While Steph has her surf caster, Jaxon has been using my newly replaced braided rod and reel – $60 of beautiful new braid)

As today is Rugby day, yesterday was Stephs last day (to beach fish) before returning to full time work tomorrow so off she went to sit at her favourite estuary spot! Jaxon joined her after a garage cleanup…while the afternoon was uneventful fish wise, the adventure, as usual was good for the soul …. until …..

YES the boaties are back! Just after the tide turned a boat cruised up the estuary! NOW when Russ and I used to bring in our boat – if people were fishing in the river we would take a wide berth and even stop if needed!

Well No such luck, this one didn’t detour or deter or desist…just ploughed on through (even came closer) hooked my brand new braid, would have broken the rod if the trace wasn’t so loose and Jaxon wasn’t such a fast runner. Did they stop? Ummm no! Took the whole line, waved and carried on after Jaxon managed to break the line before the rod broke.

How could you not notice a 100kg man with a pink rod (yes my rod is pink) running beside the estuary (10 meters from said boat) yelling to stop and Jaxon is not a quiet lad! Steph running after him with a pair of scissors to try and cut the line and save my rod!

I would like to think the driver of the boat didn’t notice what he’d done and was just being friendly with a wave, thinking that Jaxons usual behaviour is to frantically run up and down the river yelling like a madman! I do believe the boat cleaning may have taken a little longer while at least 40 meters of brand new braid was unravelled from the boaties prop and maybe other awkward places!

I guess now we get ready for post covid casualties! Inconsiderate humans, bad drivers and boundary pushers as the world bursts back to life.

In saying that, I need to burst out of bed, today is a big day, meetings to attend, lunch in town and live Rugby matches!

Waking up on a Saturday morning to the familiar rumble of the empty buses looping the turning circle by the beach outside my bedroom window.

While the waiting game is tough for some, things are changing fast for others….the short version: Jaxon’s time with southern hospitality is over? Steph is finally back to work on Monday….we have a new oven (yes another spaceship to learn how to drive)….Trud is looking down the barrel of a new roof and waiting for the green light on the wings to the other side of the Tasman.

Again another week has flown by and the mini breaks from screen time include a stroll down the road or along the waterfront in between rain showers. George is back swimming and gyming and life is certainly more normal as we race through 2020, trying to hold onto our goals and dreams.

The pair of wood pigeons hanging out in the palm tree in the sunshine – the birds are still in abundance and enjoying the lack of humans in a post covid world.

Saturday passed in a blur of dumping obsolete ovens, coffee time, supermarket shopping and a lamb roast!

Right down to the bone, while watching the first live super rugby match on Jaxon’s 70 inch TV….and the rain is back to wash us through the rest of the weekend!

June 10th 2020, yesterday after 18 covid free days was our first day of level 1…..YES the gates were unlocked! No more climbing activity, I can slip into my cottage like a normal human being!

So what did I do to celebrate? Threw on the trackpants and sat in front of the computer all day! After my morning coffee and a visit from these guys….

We are still surrounded by feathered friends.

George ventured out for a gym session, Steph took herself off for a beach fish and Jaxon battled through a second day of working out his redundancy. A casualty of covid! There are many covid casualties here that do not relate to getting sick, many business closures and job losses and life changes.

Some things however don’t change.

Saturday nights will always include a Speights, Birkenstock’s can be worn summer and winter (just add socks), and Floyd will always be too big for any mat! (Usually stretching towards the food).

Looking forward to the big family outing on Sunday as we hit our first live sports event in three months…Jaxon, Steph, George and Sue at least will be heading to Eden Park, Rain Hail or Shine. I usually take a rain check if it’s not fine, but this time I am prepared for any weather!

We need to start counting Rainbows, and look forward to the future, baby steps…jobs, travel, weekend roadies, more sports, time spent with family and friends. And maybe hunt out some warm winter clothes as we are in for a cold snap – minus double digits in the South Island!

Yes there will be thunderstorms on our pathway to a new future, but I think with the tsunamis the Bonnici Carter’s have navigated in the last year, a mere dog paddle will deal with the thunderstorms.

First week into June 2020, and good old kiwi weather has thrown four seasons into one. We started with storms, waves and cold and we finished with calm seas, sunshine and washing hanging on the line.

Saturday morning sent a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow into our little seaside village of Waiwera.

Then provided us with a sunny cloudless winter day. Trud headed off to work and my friend Jill and I wandered around the beachfront before she headed off back to town after our girls night in my new abode. George has headed for the hills this weekend with some uni mates for some mountain biking adventures!

Jaxon is the chef tonight with a BBQ ribs and pulled pork extravaganza! Trud and I supplying the salads. And so there goes another family Saturday night around the fire pit.

Trud is heading back to her cottage for one night tomorrow night for her days off….with still 30 days or so up her sleeve, one night a week will last a lifetime. They haven’t got rid of us yet, I still have around 50 days I can use when summer rolls back in, in November! Rules are rules and we, at least, cannot be accused of breaking them.

Time for some self TLC, 15 days of no new covid cases in our country, maybe a few of the healthcare maintenance visits can be ticked off!

And the exciting news is, with NZ super rugby lining up for an eight week season, if we move to level one next week, we can go to all the “Blues” home games with our membership passes that are yet to be used! The Bonnici-Carter family without a few sports hits has really felt the drought! Out come the Rugby jerseys, scarfs and hats and loyal support for our Auckland boys. Having secured Dan Carter for this super league round, it’s looking like an exciting few weeks ahead.

June 2nd, 2020….the nature gods change the world. We can’t control the storms, the earthquakes, the drought(with so much rain we struggle to understand this one), fires and ice.

The weather gods unleashed their fury over the weekend giving the boaties a taste on Saturday, but putting a stop to any more, save the fish and give the surfers a wave! Those brave enough to don wetsuits and only have freezing feet.

The sands are shifting but the beach seats are chained, the angle is adjusted but they hold their ground. It’s a little like humans, they can be pushed and pulled but those with their feet firmly on the ground will stand with their heads above the bullshit (apologies for the adjective, but no other way to explain it).

Bring out the wild side….and never lose the ability to laugh and be kind. My friend Trud, without jeopardising my dad (her other residence) , finds herself homeless. Oh well, there are worse things in the world, you know pandemics and stuff! We keep putting one foot in front of the other and will always show kindness and look forward to our next adventure. A smile can light the day and a laugh will ease the soul. We must feel sorry for those who cannot smile or laugh – they should watch “The Inbetweeners” you can’t help but laugh!

We have all just been through an extraordinary time of covid 19, of our life standing still. This has provided many insights into what is important in life, and the smallest kindness has been the warmest light!

Someone once told me…You can’t save the world mum (one of my sons obviously) choose carefully what you try to save!

But I will never give up, what you give out will always come back, I think maybe some forget this

So today is work day, time to leap out and attack the business world!

….with the wind and rain are howling in off the beach, you know that winter is really here.

Today is the third day (Monday) of our last holiday weekend until the end of October.

The weekend started with clear sunny skies, sea like glass and provided the gasping fishermen the opportunity to get out on their boats. Saturday night turned the tables and we have been battered with nor-easterlies, waves crashing in and continuous precipitation.

I have seen a couple of Riverhaven visitors, who have been very friendly, but it’s mainly been a weekend of family….

Saturday visit with our cousins saw George making another canine friend. “Sunshine Lollipop”the lastest in his list of conquests. A cuppa with Dad and Sandy and then weather enforced lockdown for the rest of the weekend.

Sunday was filled with a visit from our Wanganui nephew and his gorgeous kids, inside day doing jigsaws, watching cartoons and a shared dinner with Trudi and her yummy chicken pie!

Today is looking like another jigsaw day without much outside activity. George is working as it is not a public holiday in the UK and the seaside village is very quiet apart from the sound of waves and wind.

I would have been packing my bags (with summer clothes) and heading off to a Northern European summer about now. I am trying desperately to let that go and make the most of just life and the small things that make it worth living.

Saturday, May 30th 2020, we thank the Queen for providing us with a long weekend after the four week flurry of adjusting to a new work life. While it’s not her actual birthday, it’s a good reason for a holiday.

The week has passed in a blur of busyness, business, bleakness and buses…

Day and night they roll in, usually two or three at a time, some stop, some dont! I watched an elderly man (one of the two people that take the bus all day) wait in the pouring rain, hat, coat, bag – only to have the next bus drive by as fast as it could, turning at the beach and putting the foot down past the bus stop…bright spot he didn’t have to wait long for the next one. But wait….

Waiwera residents have the undivided privilege of getting stuck behind a bus, crawling up the hill,when leaving for work, adding another 10 minutes on to their travel time!

Last night was Friday night and some things don’t change! My family and friends still gather on my deck, over the fence, to celebrate the end of the working week…the word is out, we are still here and our doors are always open.

While we are still in a COVID world of lockdown two, we can now have gatherings of 100. Let the good times roll. NZ has had no reported cases for almost a week, the shops are full, the roads are busy and I will need to buy gas for the second time in two months! The uncertainty and stress is still growing for those who have lost jobs or will do so in the near future, with NZ predicted to hit the 10% unemployment level by September. Economically there will certainly be some challenges.

Today, however, I can see blue sky (for now) and can focus on domestic activity without screentime.

And as the buses roll in and out (even on a reduced weekend schedule) Waiwera wakes to a winter long weekend of rain and thunderstorms, so they say.

May 28, 2020, 5.00am bus just thundered in! They say when you get older you don’t sleep in, just as well isn’t it?

Yesterday was just rough! Rough sea, rough wind, warmer in the morning turning real cold early afternoon and rain all day, mostly at right angles driving in from the sea.

The morning, however, brought colour to my doorstep…

The Rosellas are getting bold in this humanless world and comfortably sitting right outside my French doors while I work. The apple on the top of the tree may have something to do with his boldness.

George ran, came back very wet, I just sat at my computer most of the day until around 4pm, when it lightened slightly. Went for a walk to see the cooped up canine, and did a couple of laps of the driveway, at least he did.

Walked back, through Riverhaven, to wish Len (bubble buddy) a happy birthday. Had a Speights and a catch up for a bit until his mates arrived, boys night. Back via the cottage and over the fence (in the wet even) In weather like the last few days I’m sure the gate could be unlocked – it’d be like in a 24 hour washing machine.

The afternoon visitor, definitely to the apple, was a Tui. These noisy guys have become prolific in the trees around Waiwera over the lockdown…and are becoming bold and cheeky, and very loud at times!

So the apple is still a temptation and succeeds to push one outside the comfort zone. The moral of a wet day (and week ahead) is reach for the Apple and step outside, even in the Rain! Oh and it’s nearly the weekend, a long one!