"LUMBERED?"

 I've been watching and listening to old Tony Hancock TV and radio shows on YouTube.

They are over 60 years old now and still very funny with apt story lines. This one, the first part of the half hour programme reminded me of things that Richard and Tony have told me when these two 'likely lads' went out trying to pick up women in their early years of university.

Enjoy.

LIFE'S EVENTS

My sister and I will be doing a road trip to Wellington after Christmas and New Year. We will be (once again) going down to sort out living arrangements for our youngest sister. We last did this a couple of years ago when we moved her from the ramshackle 'family home' that she'd been living in since our parents died, sold that and purchased a small one-bedroom cottage in a safe, almost gated, community in Paraparaumu not far from where she had been living. 

All was going OK for a few years but recently her health and state of mind has deteriorated to the point where she requires a bit more care. Richard and Shelley will understand this. My sister (not the youngest one) who has been in close contact with the younger one's carers, the community she lives in, health authorities, doctors and relevant government departments has been able to secure a place for her in an aged care facility on the Kapiti Coast, one that will cater to a younger client. We will be relocating her to this facility soon.

Over the last few years we have made many trips to visit and support our sister but usually fly down. This time, given the moving logistics we've decided to drive.

The last time that I drove to Wellington from Auckland with my sister was in July 1995 when we drove down for my father's funeral. This was in winter but we had clear weather all the way. When approaching Wellington, driving down the Kapiti Coast we were suddenly in a snowstorm. Wellington doesn't have snowstorms the way that other parts of the country do and, in fact it is a very rare and unusual occurrence. 

What was also very rare and unusual was that at the time this happened I had just put a Van Morrison album (tape) in the car's tapedeck - 'Hard Nose the Highway'.

The first song to play on this album was 'Snow in San Anselmo'.

In this song Morrison recounts a trip to San Anselmo, California where, on arriving he experienced snow.

Snow in San Anselmo

My waitress my waitress my waitress

Said it was coming down

I said it happened, it hadn't happened in over 30 years

But it was laying on the ground

It was a very rare event and imprinted on his memory.

Snow in Wellington is a very rare event and this experience also imprinted on my memory especially since I was at maximum levels of grief and vulnerability, travelling to bury my father. The serendipity didn't go unnoticed either but, being an atheist and a sceptic I didn't draw any religious or paranormal conclusions. It was strange though and my sister and I commented on it.

I'm not expecting any more mystical events on this trip but - who knows?

We were born before the wind
Also, younger than the sun
'Ere the bonnie boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic
Hark now, hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic
Yeah, when that fog horn blows
I will be coming home
Yeah, when that fog horn blows
I wanna hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I wanna rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
Then magnificently we will float
Into the mystic
When that fog horn blows
You know I will be coming home
Yeah, when that fog horn whistle blows
I gotta hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I wanna rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will float
Into the mystic
Come on, girl
Too late to stop now

SUMMER HOLIDAY

 

"I'm very proud of The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ  and what they can offer via their respective portfolios. I see myself as a kind of Prime Minister overseeing the cabinet of ministers and guiding them in a direction that, in this case, is of benefit to the blogging community (all of those readers creates a responsibility). The problem is, that with so many curmudgeons I sometimes take my eye off the ball and some get away without posting for a while."   - The Curmudgeon 11 June 2022

Thanks boss. I'll try to keep up, in fact I was about to write a post anyway.

It's been a lousy old couple of days up north. Yesterday it got so cold - 13 degrees! - that we lit the fire in the lounge and kept it going most of the day.

Today, as happens up here the temperature bounced back to 18 degrees so a fire wasn't necessary but it's been raining off and on all day, keeping us inside. Looking for things to do I went through some old photographs that brought back memories and I want to share this one with you and our readers.

This photo shows me on the right with my older brother Terry and our older sister Sharyn. I think that the date was about 1957 but it might have been 1958. I do know that the location was Hamilton.

As a family, which wasn't unusual back then, New Zealand workers had holidays at Christmas and the New year - usually two weeks. Dad closed his business down at that time and he and employees all headed off for adventure. Our adventures  involved packing up the station wagon, van or truck and heading off to a different place each year. After a day's stifling travel ("are we there yet") we would usually arrive at a township by a lake, a river or a beach. We stayed in 'holiday camps' where if we were lucky dad had pre-booked a couple of cabins (one for Mum, Dad and Sharyn and one next door for Terry and me). If this hadn't been arranged or available then the 'trusty' old tent would come into use.

One of Dad's photographs of his crew

The 'trusty' old tent was a nightmare. Dad was proud of it and if he hadn't kept it from his days in the desert in WW2 had obviously bought it army surplus. It was huge, heavy, cumbersome and it stank. It took two weeks for the malodorous odours from previous expeditions, dampness and poor storage to dissipate and by then it was packed up and we were home.

The holiday I'm remembering was when we as a family - Mum, Dad, Terry, Sharyn and me crammed ourselves into a Holden FE station wagon and drove from Wellington to Hamilton non-stop. We hadn't booked in at any camping grounds because we were staying with the 'rellies'.

I guess we left early because in those days the 250 miles (400 kms) took a lot longer than it does today with 'old-style' roading and cars. We did travel through some interesting landscape though, probably going via the desert road, Taupo and even Rotorua but the things I mainly remember on these trips were us kids plaintive 'are we there yet?" wailing.

This was in the late 1950s remember and, while it was a great time to live in New Zealand, things were a bit primitive in regard to hospitality and customer services. Added to that was the fact that, as I mentioned previously, in New Zealand at the time the whole country virtually closed down  for Christmas and New Year holidays and, yes, this included cafes, food stores and sometimes petrol stations.

  Luckily, (or unluckily depending on your viewpoint) Dad had come prepared. Those years in Crete, North Africa and Italy, on campaign, had armed him with the knowledge and the suitable equipment to take advantage of any stops in travel. In our case it was 'rest stops' being pee breaks behind a hedge or copse of trees on the roadside. Note: This is a luxury no longer afforded to the modern traveller as I can attest to when desperately needing a pee while driving along a country road recently. There are very few places to stop and, if and when you do there are even fewer places to have a discreet pee out of sight of the passing traffic, the landowners and any other bloody nosy person who might just be wandering about!

Dad always ensured that he brought the 'big box' on holiday that contained 'brew up' materials. He used this term even though he was in the Divisional Cavalry which was a cousin of the tank regiments and 'brew up' had a very nasty connotation. His box contained some kind of kettle, enamel mugs, tea, condensed milk in cans, bags of sugar and a water boiler. This little contraption would marvellously boil water very quickly fuelled only by a few trigs and sticks. He used to enjoy getting the kit set up and brewing. We hated it and had to race about finding twigs and sticks to get it going. I must admit though, it was very efficient. It was kind of like a thermos in that the outer layer was separated from the inner reservoir of water. In the outer layer, sticks and twigs were placed and set on fire. The fire would quickly boil the water . I guess when speed was of the essence given that 'brewing up' could bring a rain of enemy shells and another sort of brew up, the soldiers were on the go.

Another of Dad's photos, doing a brew up in the desert.

So, whenever we'd stop because someone wanted a pee, Dad would make tea. It must have driven Mum nuts.

Anyway, we would have arrived in Hamilton late in the day or in the evening. When we were kids sleep came easily so no doubt were were packed off to bed and slept through the night wile the old folks had  a catch up, some eats and certainly some alcoholic drinks.

The aunt and uncle in Hamilton at that time lived in Frankton near the railway line. It was an old villa-type house of the kind that I love and which we currently own. Later they moved to a new-built suburban home in a 'posher' part of Hamilton, a house that I hated when visiting later. It didn't have the character of the old house.

I remember, during our week and a half stay, the soulful and wonderful sound of a steam train going past in the middle of the night. It might have been the Wellington-Auckland night train, I'm not sure but the chuff chuff sound of the engine, the rattle of the wheels on the rails and the mournful sound of the whistle are embedded in my memory and probably add to my lifelong love of trains and train journeys.

Even though I was very young - 5 maybe, I remember that summer holiday very well. It was warm and sunny and we spent days in the big garden and orchard or going swimming in the nearby lake. 

We had a day trip to Auckland and, as you did back then, went to Farmers department store which was on many levels with a kids playground on the roof.

Magic!

One of the lasting memories though, triggered by this photograph was time spent on the verandah of the old villa and playing in the garden and orchard. I think that this influenced my love of old houses which we've owned in Auckland, Christchurch and now in Whangarei.

COOL!

 

I've always been cool - what can I say!

They say that success in life depends on time, place and opportunity. As you can see from the photograph above, circa 1954 I had the inherent qualities for a career as a superstar but living in Wellington, New Zealand at the time meant that I missed out on the benefits of time, place and opportunity to fulfil my true potential.

 I could'a been a contender: 

"I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO GET A STORY, BUT NO." - RICHARD OF RICHARD'S BASS BAG

 I'm running out of time today to write a new nostalgic post but, fear not, I looked through The Curmudgeon's blog and found some appropriate ones to provide links to.

The Curmudgeons are the only ones in this blogging community to activate the 'Search this blog' function. I was able to type in 'nostalgia' and up came some past blog posts with nostalgia in the theme.

GO BACK JACK...

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP

PATHOS

TIDDLYWINKS GOLD MEDAL

" NEED GRACE TO KEEP GOD'S FOES AT BAY..."

WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG

HAPPY AND I'M SMILING

 There are other appropriate posts in the Music Curmudgeon's, The Religious Curmudgeon's, The Food Curmudgeon's and other Curmudgeon's blogs but these should keep you going until I post a new one.

I REMEMBER WHEN .....I REMEMBER ... I REMBER WHEN ....

 CRAZY

In the main The Curmudgeon blog I find myself wandering off topic with memories, usually pleasant of my life, friends and experiences.

I thought it necessary to separate these from the main blog which, as the name suggests should be about gripes, frustrations and annoyances.

To follow, as they get dredged up in my memory will be some anecdotes and images from  the last nearly 70 years - if I can remember.