Beez Neez now Chy Whella

This & That

Big Bear and Pepe Millard

Mon 30 Jun 2014 22:57

Two Weeks of This and That

Another shopping trip. Very sad to report that the trusty little steed we borrow from Bill at the Insurance shop has failed its MOT equivalent. Entered on Trade Me – EBay to the rest of us, it had only just risen from one dollar to two at the time we headed to Countdown in Paihia. Here we don’t have a shopping trolley or a shopping cart as in other countries, here in New Zealand we use and park a trundler, quirky but fun. At least today we could see across the bay. Very excited our windows were re-fitted.

I spent an entire morning converting the forms Bear had sent to Air New Zealand. He had sent PDF’s that couldn’t be opened by them, don’t look at me, the ladies in the marina office did them for me. Oh did they......... Anyway, he had sent full sized photographs, once again not me, that were too big for the email capability. Within a hour of sending the new stuff, Bear had an email saying that as his claim was “very reasonable”, they would do a bank transfer. The second that has happened I’ll be in charge of making him get a new pair of slippers as I have heard all I am about to put up since I threw his one remaining slipper away.

I could have kept one foot warm at a time, my feet could have taken turns, it was almost brand new, fur lined and from Marks and Spencer.

Have you ever seen anyone grab a bread board – the nearest weapon-like object to hand in such a hurried and fervent need - with such power and threat whilst growling like a banshee. In fact, now with it in both hands, swirling it like a gladiator did when he wanted to chop the enemies head off with his sharp-edged, round shield.

I was just saying.

For the thousanth time, you whinging - - - - -er

Less calmly than usual........Bear has.

Run Bear, Run

Just typing this I feel a level of annoyance rising to mete out a violent act on him.

I was just saying.

Get out of my sight, now, if you know what’s good for you.

I was just saying

GROOOOOOoooooooooWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwllllllll

Ok, Ok, I’ve gone

We love this little working girl. Bear put an electric box across the batteries to reduce sulphation – to me - wear and tear. I caught up with unfinished UK visit blogs and pottered about inside Beez.

Plenty of rain as this little girl suggests. We received a postcard from our own Baby Beez, she is having a very nice holiday with several other dinghies, loves her smart new letters and her repair feels good. Very sadly, the re-fitted windows leak........ Yep, they are coming back out again. Rob is tearing his patient hair out and Peter will never take on re-sealing windows ever again......

A fishing girl ashore for some TLC.

Bear finished his chain plate resealing. I have decided to sort out my ITunes. Two hundred and fifty days of music and audiobooks are held in a couple of files, a couple of libraries and backed up twice on hard drives. I am going to have one transportable master list. Oh really, that is one major task. Yes, however, I will do a letter at a time and spread the task over many months. The birth of the new list is going to happen on my laptop. I see trouble ahead..........

Bear took this picture of a very elongated and bent shackle, the clippy thing that joins the anchor to the chain. A massive strain is needed to do that,considering it began life almost round. I bet it happened the night of the storm off Haafeva Island, Ha’apai Group in Tonga. Quite probably.

The anchor and anchor chain was next to go on holiday to be re-galvanised, a nice man came to collect them in his van, Bear wound it down from the locker – the terminal end did indeed shed like it was, a real mess for Bear to sort out.

I left Bear complete with mucky hands and bimbled off to do the laundry.

Paul put the final touches to Ioleta as Kate looks on. All ready for launch.

I have taken a real shine to this little beauty as she shoots around the boatyard.

We tend to go for our shower before it gets dark and really chippy, far too cold at this time of year for al fresco cockpit ablutions. The late afternoon sun makes for great lighting across the bay. Bear has found condensation on the ceiling of his tool shed, time to buy some sponge to line it. Bernie, Bobby and Claude have been invited to join Beds on our road trip, after some whispering together they have enthusiastically agreed to come.

Saturday the 28th. I sat up to birthday cards, emails, messages and breakfast in bed. I chose Criminal Minds and finishing off the A’s in my new super duper ITunes list. At seven we bimbled up to the Yacht Club and joined a keen throng for cheese, wine and sausage tasting, yes, you read it – sausage tasting. The supermarkets here stock so many different ones, pork, beef, chicken, lamb, Italian, Austrian, South African and every flavour imaginable. Our team of six was made up of Keira and Rick, Kate and Paul and the two of us. Serious deliberation for Team Two over the first white. Kate surprised me a piece of date cake and a candle to make my birthday wish, then on to round two.

Much deliberation.

Paul took charge of one of the reds, looking really professional............

Keira took charge of the water round, yes, the water round. Paihia, city tap or bottled.

By the time we got to the final round, none of us cared that we were last. The team name of The Chase Packers seemed somehow appropriate and Rick, Kate and Bear looked the part too.

My new photographic form. Puddle Art. I can certainly get a lot of practice in – it seems to bucket down every day at some point.

Sunday the 29th. Sat up playing with my really tidy, nearly finished A’s, we heard a knock. Rod and Brenda, State of Mind surprised us with a call. They were up from Whangarei for the day. They had some people to see and we arranged to meet for Sunday food later on.