You really got me (The Kinks)

Wie geht's?

There are so many stories from our adventures in London during the last week but I must share this one about the bookshop on Upper Street. Not a Waterstones, a small independent one called The Book Warehouse, around where the Mountain Warehouse is on that map. 

I always seem to pick up a great book every time I visit, and for bargain prices.

While Jacky nosed around some of her favourite Upper St Stores, I browsed around in the bookshop and found Marc Myers' Anatomy Of A Song. 

The sticker price indicated that it was only 5 quid (reduced from 11 pounds) so, while I did have notes in my wallet, I decided to use the change in my pocket that had built up.

I counted it out for the shop girl, however, I was 60p short - but the shop girl smiled and said, "No problem, that's fine".

Wow. When does that ever happen these days?

So, I walked away with a great book at a great price and a happy face thanks to one simple casual act.

I love Upper Street, Highbury/Islington.

Love and peace - Wozza

Turning and returning to some secret place inside (Berlin)

Wie geht's?

Tintagel Castle took my breath away.

Being overwhelmed by an event is something of a rarity for me. But, just like the first time I found Abbey Road and that famous pedestrian crossing, when I approached Tintagel Castle and that bridge to get across, I was utterly gob smacked by the sight.

Then, when I made it over to the ruins, I saw the view north that we've had as a framed picture on our wall for 30 years. I've long imagined the scene, and therefore, have built up a high layer of expectation. That it delivered, and then some, is wondrous. That helps explain my look of contentment.

What an incredible feeling. 

I'll store that away in my wonder compartment.

Love and peace - Woz

P.S. Yep - as the photo indicates it was cold and windy! Perfect!!

Don't know where I'm going 'cause I don't know where I've been (Prince)

Wie geht's?

Being in Dubai for a few days last week reminded me of our times living in Doha and Al Ain.

For instance: the taxi journey to the airport was with a lovely Pakistani driver, who asked me and Jacky where we were from. 'NZ', we said. 'Ar - Kiwis', he said.

Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi taxi drivers in the Middle East love to talk about the NZ cricket team. Their encyclopedic knowledge of players and results always astounds me.

During the journey this taxi driver told me that I looked like Shin Wah.

'Shin Wah?' I said. 'I'm not sure who that is'.

'Yes, Shin Wah. Australian cricketer'.

The penny dropped. 'Arh - you mean Shane Wayne'.

'Yes!' he said - 'Shin Wah. Even your hair is the same'.

'Oh', I said, 'but he was very handsome'.

'Yes', he said. 

'Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!' I said.

Love and peace - Wozza (a.ka. Shin Wah lookalike)

Reality is like a face reflected in the blade of a knife; its properties depend on the angle from which we view it (Venerable Master Hsing Yun)

 

Wie geht's?

Jacky and I are currently in Dubai at the start of our month-long vacation.

Being in a plane from Auckland to Dubai for 17 hours has its moments and repercussions.

As timing would have it, during those 17 hours, we were able to watch the England vs France quarter final live while flying at 35,000 feet in an Emirates A380. 

What a world we live in!

Pity that Tottenham Hotspurs' Harry Kane lost out to Tottenham Hotspurs' Hugo Lloris and therefore football won't be coming home, again, still.

Disrupted sleeping patterns are one repercussion of 17 hours in a plane.

During the flight, we did manage about 6 hours sleep thanks to a sleeping pill, but it's not a very rewarding sleep.

So, at 2.00am on our first Dubai morning we were up watching the final episode of 1899 thanks to Netflix, my computer, and an HDMI cable to our hotel's TV.

Warning - a semi-spoiler is in the next paragraph.

It's been an intriguing 8 episodes but I have to say the final ending really disappointed me. The last episode (The Key) was heading towards a fantastic cathartic ending but then it abruptly deviated into The Matrix territory.

I was left ruing a lost opportunity for the female lead to redeem herself and her prior actions (paradoxically preserving her son's youthful status quo reality via a fake simulation).

Although I ultimately think there is a lost opportunity there, the whole series is mind-bending, mind-blowing and visually stunning. I didn't even mind the dubbing for some characters - even that fitted with the whole reality/fantasy schtick.

So, I recommend you have a go. But maybe not at 2.00 am after a 17 hour flight.

Love and peace - Wozza

The way

Wie geht's?

Toward Compostella (Walking the Camino de Santiago) is a terrific book by Hawke's Bay resident, Catharina Van Bohemen.

Serendipitously, I found it a few weekends ago while browsing in Wardini's Books in Havelock North.  Jacky and Michelle had gone dress shopping, I'm not sure where Gavin had headed off too, and I pootled off to browse in Poppy's bookstore - only to find an empty shop!

Are these hard times for bookstores? I don't know - whatever the reason, Poppy's in Havelock North is no more. So I headed instead to Wardini's - a great bookshop a few streets away.

They cater to a wide demographic with young children, teenagers, adults, and niche interests all pretty much covered. I used to buy a lot from them when I was Head of English at Woodford House.

Anyway - I was browsing when I noticed the title - I've long been fascinated by the idea of walking the Camino. Turns out Catharina is a local - a Havelock North resident, which made it interesting for other reasons.

The book is also a beautiful artifact - great cover, lovely design and layout, paper quality is high end, and it's a perfect size - it feels great to hold in your hands!

The dream of walking the Camino like my friend Paul has done a few times was rekindled by Catharina.

One day...

Love and peace - Wozza

Long distance runner, what you standin' there for? Get up, get out, get out of the door (Grateful Dead)

Photo by Arturo Castaneyra on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

A recent toe injury has disrupted my pursuit of a 10,000 step-a-day goal.  

I stoopidly dropped some wood on my left foot's big toe while working inside an empty chimney breast, stoopidly, without shoes on my feet.

At the best of times, collecting 10,000 daily steps is harder than you'd think. On a work day, I need to walk at lunchtime and do another meaningful walk to get to that goal. My youthful female colleagues concur with that as they also need two lengthy activities to get to their goals. 

Most work days I don't make it. Usually it's close - around 8,000 to 9,000.

Weekends are easier as I'm explained before, as Jacky and I have got into a good walking routine. Or we had done.

Yes, my stoopidity has set me back. For a week I struggled to put a shoe on, and even had two days off work.

This last week has been slowly but surely better and, although my pace is off, I did do my first 10.000 step day on Friday.

We have one week left of school and then we head overseas, where I'll do a lot of walking. Hopefully I won't be hindered by the injury.

Love and peace - Wozza

Happy birthday to you (The Beatles)

Wie geht's?

Time to celebrate Jade's birth again this week - her 31st trip around the sun!

DLG was cute as a button as a caterpillar, but she's turned into a beautiful butterfly during those 31 years.

We celebrated her birthday with her yesterday in Palmy, but her real birthday is Monday 28th of November, 1991. Yes, 1991. I remember it well.

Have a great day today DLG!

If you want the back story you could revisit it here.

Love and peace - Dad

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (Michael Buble)

Jerry approves.

Wie geht's?

Last weekend, we embarked on our usual rituals around putting up our Christmas tree.

We'll be away overseas for the Christmas period so this is for Jade and Asher, and Georgia, our house sitter, to enjoy.

First the familiar search for the best place for it to reside in our house. In the past we've tried extreme measures like relocating the TV and placing the tree there, but these have all been ultimate aesthetic failures.

So, having been there/done that, we ultimately went back to where we've always had the tree at Maple Grove - in the formal dining room.

Next is a division of labour - top tip - go with your strengths: I reassemble the tree and hang the lights (with a deliberate careful demeanor that my dad would be proud of), then Jacky takes over hanging the decorations with her brilliant superb artistic flair to the fore.

It's a well perfected recipe for success (a.k.a. no squabbles).

Love and peace - Wozza

Take the chip off of my shoulder, smooth out all the lines, take me out among the rustling pines, till it shines (Bob Seger)

Two crazy kids with Graham Purdy, 1984

Wie geht's?

My father-in-law (G Brian) has been working on transferring our VHS home movies into a digital format and delivered the first batch to us last weekend. I am truly thankful for his time and expertise.

Excited? For me, this was like waiting for Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary of the Let It Be sessions. I was itching to see what was on these tapes - some, like my dad's things, had been lying dormant for decades.

I was over the moon with the results. Jacky and I (with Brian, Sallie, Ross and Michelle in attendance) were looking impossibly young and getting married again in April 1984. The Purdettes were young again, family holidays with friends reminded me of fun times again. Jacky scowled at the camera again and again - every time it was pointed at her in fact. Ah - the memories! I had quite a few cushions hurled my way during these videoing occasions - let me tell you!

A few of the tapes starred people that dad knew but he's not around to tell me who they are any more. I did see Nita in a few of them so those are from the late eighties/nineties.

The footage of him from that time at his Taupo house in the garden and his preparations to smoke a trout are priceless.  His knowledge of plants was amazing - he knew all of the botanical names! Predictably, he's dressed as if he's just returned from the office (business shirt, dress pants and a cardie). He never wore work clothes like jeans/ T shirts etc. Ever. 

What I loved the most though was his deliberate and careful preparation for the fire and the process that was used to smoke trout. He was a chemist by trade and fastidious by nature so everything like wood, sawdust, charcoal is in neat, precise piles. The methodical detailing of the process had me spellbound.

At one point, I caught myself shaking my head and then...

With a jolt I realized how much I do the same thing! Like making an omelet or assembling a flat pack. I do the same thing dammit!

I may have picked up that trait from him gosh darn it. 

I'm not sure if I've passed it on to the Purdettes. I may have.

Food for thought. 

Can't wait for the next installment from G Brian.

Much love and peace - Wozza

Wozza's web.

Wie geht's?

When Jade was very young - for a couple of years around 3 to 5 years old, she loved to watch Dumbo, the movie, over and over again. She must have watched it about 200 times I reckon.

She never got tired of it. Every time she watched it she would cry at the same scene - with the mother in a cage arching her trunk out to comfort little Dumbo, who was outside that cage.

Next time she had a chance to watch TV, she'd ask for Dumbo again. As I say, this went on for a few years. Same deal - Dumbo, same crying, same request to watch it again.

This gave rise to the idea of Dumbo movies, books, songs - whatever.  Things that could be watched over and over again with no loss of enjoyment.

Hold that thought.

For a while there, a couple of my mates and I were making Spotify playlists for fun. They're based around some themes, such as songs with a place name in the title, or a person's name, or with body parts in the title (a Kevy suggestion that one), or songs of the year - that sort of thing.

It was fun, but we've gone into a lengthy on-going hiatus (I know that's an oxymoron but it's accurate). Probably through exhaustion! The lists were big motor truckers. Over 200 songs for most of them.

Still, I loved making Spotify playlists.

So, I decided to make my own while on this hiatus. So far I've finished one and the other is a work in progress.

This's where the Dumbo idea comes in.

Wozza's Wonders assembles all the Dumbo songs that roll around in my brain. Again - there are over 200 of them. I feels good having them in one place.

The work in progress is called Wozza's Women - where I'm compiling a playlist of my favourite songs featuring a female vocalist. 

And yes - I like alliteration, okay. A few more potential options are: Wozza's Wailings (heavy songs); Wozza's Waves (summer/beach songs); Wozza's Weaknesses (guilty pleasures); Wozza's Weather (songs about the weather obvs); Wozza's Wildlife (animals); Wozza's Whines (moany ones); Wozza's Winners; Wozza's Wise Wons; Wozza's Wordy Wons; Wozza's Workout; Wozza's Withdrawals (drug songs) and Wozza's Winkers (misprint). There's probably a few more I haven't thought about. So the lists could be going for a while yet.

But I digress.

For Wozza's Women, I thought it would be easy to put a song a year since 1957 on the playlist but it quickly became impossible to choose just one representative so I added the parenthetical bit (At least) to 'one song for ever year...'

I'm up to 1974 so I have a fair way to go. But even in those years from 1957 to 1973 I've rediscovered a huge number of brilliant female vocalists. You're welcome to join the journey.

Love and peace - Wozza

Ha ha ha, bless your soul - you really think you're in control (Gnarls Barclay)

Wie geht's?

It's a funny old world innit!

Recently, I have been following the progress of the Houston Astros through their baseball world series with the Phillies. 

I'm not that into American baseball but I was interested for two reasons: every year the Philadelphia Phillies have won it there has been a recession; but more importantly,  furniture mogul, Mattress Mack (pictured), had a $10 million bet riding on the Astros.

So, what happened? Recession crisis averted - the Astros won. Which meant so did Mattress Mack - $75 million to be exact!!

Crazy.

Love and peace - Wozza

Into temptation, knowing full well, the Earth will rebel (Crowded House)

Photo by Doris Morgan on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Habits. Yes, I know I've written about this a few times but it's currently relevant, as you'll see if you hang in there.

My brain likes them because it equals efficiency in Wozza's world.

There is an old idea from 1960, by the delightfully named Dr Maxwell Maltz to be precise, that it takes 21 days to make a habit automatic, but this has been debunked over the years.

Maltz (I swear I'm not making that up) said, "These, and many other commonly observed phenomena, tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to gel.”

The modern bet-each-way vague take on things is that it takes between 18 and 254 days depending on loads of variables (with an average of 66 days). This is according to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology. 

Sure sure. I'm inclined to stick with Maltz.

Frequent readers will know that I gave up various things a while ago to get healthier (i.e. get down to 78kg from 83kg).

What did I give up? A recap: alcohol; cakes and biscuits; donuts; fizzy beverages; food in-between meals.

I'll just track back my posts and see when this all began...around September 8 I think - that was when I posted on swapping sugary drinks for Kombucha but Jacky and I think it started a little before then.

That means I have changed my eating/drinking habits for at least 57 days but probably around 66 days now. That habit has now become automatic in that I don't crave any of those things, and haven't done for a while; giving credence to Dr Maltz's theory.

Initially it was a bit tough - I used to love chips, cinnamon donuts, cokes, a cold beer or two - all those pleasure-based habits. These are particularly hard to break because enjoyable behaviours like eating/drinking those things prompts your brain to release dopamine.

Dopamine is nasty because the dopamine reward strengthens the habit and creates the craving to do it again. I'm fairly lucky in that I have a strong will to resist the rewards and going cold turkey pays off for me, as long as there aren't temptations in the cupboards/fridge. This and upping the exercise (10,000 steps a day) has resulted in shedding a number of kgs. and feeling much healthier. 

Bit of a no-brainer that one - eat less, exercise more as dieting regime isn't rocket science

Now the trick is to maintain the habit and stay away from temptation.

Love and peace - Wozza

Ah, you gotta make the best of life while you're young. Right now, weekend (Wet Willie)

Wie geht's?

We tend to pack a great deal into our weekends.

Saturday: 

• Trimmed the smoke tree so that the birds stop spreading guano over my car bonnet 
• Erected some scaffolding that we got from Jade last weekend
• Used the scaffolding to repair some guttering that has been pesky since we arrived at Maple Grove three years ago
• Moved some garden furniture and planter boxes into my music room Zen garden
• Repaired a trough that had a faulty ballcock last weekend but at that point I had to cobble together a repair. During the week I bought another joiner and put that on. So far so good.
• Wrote some posts for Goo Goo G'Joob blog - Grateful Dead albums and a Paul Kantner album (somehow that blog has gone viral with thousands of people reading my posts)
• Went for a 6k walk along the Tuki Tuki river walkway - this time a big loop that we hadn't done before. That added 7,000 steps to my step counter (18,000 for the day is a 2022 record). 
• After the walk we enjoyed sharing a three pepper chicken Subway, two cookies and an ice tea.
• After returning home and put all the winter wood boxes away until next autumn.
• Adjusted the watering systems to the three garden areas around the house.

Sunday:

• Repotted a plant that was looking a bit wilty, moved a few things into pots that weren't growing where they were - a lemon tree and a jasmine.
• Cleaned and water blasted the back door area where the wood boxes had lived
• Caught up on the morning's Premier League action - exciting Leeds last gasp victory against the scousers at Anfield! (Arsenal in action at 3am Monday morning - so that was an early start - 5 nil to the gunners!!)
• Also caught up with the NBA world series - Houston Astros vs the Philadelphia Phillies - game two. One all now.
• Family zoom as usual on a Sunday - Adam and Jade joined us, Samantha was at a Halloween party and Keegan was unavailable.
• Walked the dogs in Waipukurau and did another 10,000 step day. Phew.

I'm an early riser and while Jacky and I don't muck about, that list is ridiculous!

Love and peace - Wozza

Stay under the tree line, and you might be alright, I'm a treetop flyer (Stephen Stills)

Wie geht's?

We had a great excuse to get outside and fix up the Tree House on Maple Grove. That translated to: get rid of the blackberry around it; chop off dead tree branches; have a big burn up, and it wasn't just because of the sunny hot days on this recent Labour Weekend. 

The main reason was around Asher and Jade coming to stay for a few days and us looking after Asher for a day while Jade was working.

Nothing like a young child's perspective of things to change your own. It was Asher who commented on the blackberry tendrils outside his tree house window. I wouldn't have bothered but having seen it I couldn't unsee it.

After watching him lean out, Jacky's concern for Asher falling out of his windows meant I added a wooden rail to preclude that eventuality.

Asher then negotiated his way up and down the ladder with aplomb, finding toys for his new toy box and suggesting to Mema (Jacky) that a rug would be a good idea.

He's only three and a half but he knows what he's about.

Love and peace - Papa (me)

The road we're travelin' has been unravelin', sunny days were never meant to last (Molly Tuttle)

Wie geht's?

Currently, I'm feeling uninspired by the book I'm reading and the television show I'm watching. It's a bit of a slump, a meh period.

I realise I'm not going to love everything I read or watch - same with music, but I need to feel inspired from time to time.

The book is Tom Sharpe's Wilt, the TV programme is Quantico on Disney+.

Partly the problem with TV is that streaming's voracious need for content has meant a dilution of quality. Take a look at all those shows on Netflix and Disney+ and all the other platforms. Scary.

The problem with music is that pretty much everything is now available to us on Spotify and so it's much harder now to find the diamonds on the soles of the shoes.

Rotten Tomatoes is a good place to check critical receptions of movies and TV shows. The 46% audience score was a warning, but the 70% indicated hope so, I loaded it up.

Quality is interesting - it's in the eye of the beholder and so every individual's concept of quality is on a different continuum. To know you like something means you have to experience the meh from time to time.

Seems to me a lot of 'product' is in that middle ground. That 46% is spot on.

That's where I am now with Wilt and Quantico (Jacky seems to be liking it so we'll persist). With Wilt I'm waiting for something to happen and it better happen soon because Dicken's Martin Chuzzlewit is nudging my arm.

Love and peace - Wozza

Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain (Gerry Marsden)

Tukituki River on the right.

Wie geht's?

The joy of walking has been a topic for me a few times before.

The study break has given me a great opportunity to walk with Jacky. I cherish those moments.

At work, I walk around the Hastings' Mitre 10 Sports' Park each lunchtime. Or, at least, that's my aim, weather and meetings allowing. I enjoy that - it's a chance to appreciate life while taking a break from work and getting exercise. My current record is 21 minutes around the park. But it's no where as good as walking with Jacky.

Paradoxically, living in the country doesn't allow for much walking. Generally, roadsides are dangerous with cars travelling at speed, and there are often no tracks or footpaths. We do walk to the local Four Square in Takapau but that's not very far away and various dogs line the route.

So, most days during the break we have driven the 12 minutes to Waipukarau to use the walking/cycling track beside the river. We've tried both directions and settled on a 30 minute there and back to the area by the recycling centre. 

Our pace matches well, although Jacky can walk faster than I can. Her top speed is my slow jog! So, like much in life (and marriage), we compromise and settle into a great rhythm and zip along nicely. 

With the study break now finished, it's back to lunch time walks and the cross trainer when I can, until December.

But, I'll miss our daily walks.

Love and peace - Wozza

Me and Jenny, twinklin' like crystal and pennies (Carly Simon)

Wie geht's?

A recent article that I bookmarked on platonic male friendships asked the rhetorical question: ever feel like you were fated to be friends with someone?

Well yes, I have.

At school, once in a year group you hardly ever knew kids in the year above or below. It's the way it goes when students are groups according to age. Maybe this silo-ing of friendship groups still happens.

In The Beatles the age range between John/Paul/George was three years. John was two years older than Paul, three years older than George. That combo only happened because Paul was introduced to John by a friend, and Paul and George were school friends, otherwise John wouldn't normally meet George. Ringo came along later. Fate.

At M.A.G.S., in my first School Certificate year (a.k.a. 5th form or Year 11 in new money) I was in class with boys of my year like Mike Budd, Vernon Kingstone and Peter Cahill who had failed School C the year before and had to repeat the year - that's how I met Loo Loo's brother Brian who was a year older than me.

In turn, when I failed School C, boys in the year below me caught up with me - that's how I met Greg Knowles. Fate.

So, unusually, my friendship group was spread over three years thanks to my ineptitude a sitting School C and the way M.A.G.S. organised their classes. 

While looking at Facebook posts by guys following M.A.G.S's 100 year anniversary, I was again reminded of this friendship phenomenon. I recognised very few boys in the other years beyond that three year spread. 

That phrase about brothers from different mothers really applies to Greg and me - our shared history and thoughts about music so closely align that I'm sure Kevy things we sneak a peak at each other's reviews before we hit publish.

At Auckland University, Greg and I fortuitiously met a different bunch of people (Loo Loo was the conduit), some of whom have become life-long amigos. As a consequence K Simms, G Knowles, L Wood and I have had an easy friendship for well over 40 something years now.  

That article included an analysis of the writer's male friendship group that largely resonated with our own three male amigo interactions:

A substantial amount of my interaction with male friends involves talking shit with one another: jokes, fake insults, gossip, arguments about songs. This might seem impersonal, unemotional, but in fact the digs that Sean and I deliver to each other are based on the particulars of decades of playful banter; each fresh debate with Ehren about a new album advances a conversation we’ve been engaged in since 1994. And interspersed with these rituals are real revelations about our own lives, our partners, our dreams, our families.

There you go. Fate.

Love and peace - Wozza

Look over the horizon, see the sun shining down on you (The OJays)

Wie geht's?

The count down is on to a month's holiday at the end of Term 4, that includes Christmas and New Year's Eve while in the U.A.E., the U.K., and the U.S.A. (a lot of uniteds in there huh).

The Californian bit will be with Samantha and Andrew and hopefully we can take in either a National Baseball League or National Football League game in January 2023.

 Some NFL maybe - either the LA Rams or San Francisco 49ers. I'm keen to sample the atmosphere and see how it compares to British football; the Giants game was great to witness a few years ago but the atmosphere was very polite.

American Football has been a passion for many years. Admittedly, I've had shifting allegiances over the years. As a teenager it was the New York Giants, but when the Sivaks moved in next door to us in Wakefield I couldn't help following the Pitsburgh Steelers because that was where they were from.

The Green Bay Packers also appealed to me for a while in a romantic way - all that cheese head/Lambeau Field/frozen tundra stuff. There was a great picture on my wall for years with the caption something like - it's the fourth quarter, it's fourth down and it's 4 below - what do you do?

Having fallen in love with San Francisco, I also have an interest in the 49ers. That extends to  other SF teams too - the Giants and the Golden State Warriors.

While the Steelers have had a disappointing start to the current season (fan for life yunnerstan), the 49ers look to be the real deal this time out. During their recent victory over the LA Rams I found myself cheering enthusiastically for the 49ers win. Jacky told me off for upsetting Rey.

An Arsenal game in late December is also high on my list. Potentially, that will be another big highlight of our northern expedition.

Love and peace - Wozza

Hey boys, I think I'm getting old, sitting by the fire when the weather is cold (Hamilton County Bluegrass Band)

First of Rocktober 2022. Cake by DLG.

Wie geht's?

Pop quiz: What do these people have in common?

Caroline Kennedy, Stephen Fry; Spike Lee; Sid Vicious; Melanie Griffith; Frances McDormand; Wozza.

You got it - all celebrated their 65th turn around the sun in 2022. Well, Sid didn't as he died along the way but you get my drift.

Yes! The day has arrived when I've reached that age when NZ considers me a senior citizen. Quite sobering really. Especially when my mother-in-law calls me with advice on the Gold card benefits. Thanks Pat. I appreciate the thought (main takeaway - Google 'Gold card').

If I wanted to, I could retire from work, stay home all day listening to records and reading books. Hmmm.

Sounds good, but then, what would I do on my weekends? Actually, weekends would disappear.

I'm sure there will eventually come a time, but in the meantime - thanks but no thanks. Work is how I roll. I still love my job and while that's happening I hope to remain gainfully employed.

Love and peace - Wozza

I'll stay with you 'til my seas are dried up (Cream)

Wie geht's?

A chance conversation during dinner at Joe's Garage in Christchurch recently has resulted in my reconnection with sport on TV.

I was in Christchurch for a series of meetings and I'd asked my District Principal pals if they had Sky Sport and how much they paid a month for it.

Quite a lot was the answer. In the past, my forever problem with Sky was that I'd get it for sport and we'd never watch anything else really (Would I Lie To You being an expensive exception). 

But Arsenal have started the season well, the NFL season has just started, and the World Cup in Qatar is on the horizon (kicks off November 20 - happens once every four years) - so I'm motivated.

During the conversation Sky Sport Now was mentioned - via an app I could have just sport and I can watch on my phone or on my home TV via my device and an HDMI cord.

All for $40 a month. Oh baby!

That means I can now watch the English Premier League (we're playing Spurs this coming weekend - please boys!), England slog through to relegation in the Nations League via a loss to Italy (Italy! Who failed to make the World Cup), the Steelers lose to New England Patriots (that one was really painful), but balancing all that - the ABs smashed Australia, retained the Bledisloe and won the Rugby Championship after a horror start to the competition. That's more like it!!

Love and peace - Wozza

Don't forget to wash your hands before sup-per (Elaine to George)

Wie geht's?

A recent morning conversation at work touched on American vs British humour and our preferences.

First of all - let's agree that there is a distinct difference between them. Oh yes - there is!

Generally speaking, each reflects their distinctive cultures.

Brits are characterised by a certain pessimism and that is strongly reflected in their sense of humor. Satire that considers the absurdity of life, clever puns, and sarcasm rule the roost. 

On the other hand, Americans are more optimistic, and their humor is overt and exaggerated. They don’t value subtlety and wit to the same degree as Brits; being big, bold, and charismatic are more esteemed than cracking clever jokes. Slapstick and physical humour are preferred, as is an observational type of comedy.

Obviously these aren't hard and fast rules. Monty Python is mainly clever clogs absurdist British humour but the big bold physical humour also contributed to their success in America.

When I was growing up in suburban Auckland it was radio funnies by British icons like The Clitheroe Kid, The Goon Show, and Hancock's Half Hour that got me started. 

Then, with one TV channel, it was a steady stream of great comedy shows like Dad's Army, Hogan's Heroes, I Dream Of Jeannie, Green Acres, Steptoe And Son, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Morecombe and Wise, The Carol Burnett Show, The Two Ronnies, The Benny Hill Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Andy Griffith Show.

A quick count reveals 6 British and 6 American shows in that list - an even split! I rest my case, m'lord.

Given that grounding, it's not surprising that my favourite comedy show ever is Seinfeld - ostensibly an American observational kind of show about nothing, which in fact covers everything.

It has it all - slapstick (mostly featuring Kramer and George), clever word play (everyone), sarcasm (mostly from Jerry and Elaine),  absurdist humour (mostly Jerry and George), satire (mostly from Jerry and George) and cracking clever jokes.

Although I have all the DVD sets, I'm currently viewing it again from the beginning on Netflix during Jacky's bath time. She's not a fan. Currently I'm up to Season 5.

Last night's episode (The Sniffing Accountant) had me laughing so much I couldn't open my eyes!! Apart from Elaine's killer sarcastic putdown of George (he's living with his parents) that headlines this post, highlights centre on Kramer doing the drinking while smoking trick and before that getting hit with a folding bar top - kills me every time. I'm laughing days later, just thinking about it!

Love and peace - Wozza

 

It's as easy to learn as your ABC; it’s murder by numbers, 1, 2, 3 (The Police)

Photo by Markus Krisetya on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Have you ever noticed that numbers are everywhere and the exact number you need is often not at hand?

A large dollop of frustration happened today as I tried (in vain) to find my IRD number.

You see, I am about to turn 65 years old - retirement age in Nu Zild. I know! Crazy talk, right? 

I don't intend to retire from work for a spell, but I do now qualify for the NZ government superannuation, a.k.a. the pension. As I've been contributing to government coffers by working and contributing my share of tax since 1983, I figure that it's fair I now get a little back.

To apply for that though, I needed to fill out forms and one form requires, you guessed it - my IRD number (amidst a sea of other numbers - bank account; mobile phone; pin codes; birth dates and on and on).

To even get that far, I had to have a client number and then an MSD number.

I had to wait until I got home last night to find the IRD one on an old document called 'Important Dates and Addresses'.

So, in the end it took two days to complete all the steps necessary, which included, just when I thought I'd finished, the need for Jacky to verify that she's married to me.

More numbers as she now needed a client number, an MSD number and yada yada yada.

Perhaps the thinking is that the more difficult the process, the less inclined retired people will be to keep going with it.

Gotta tell ya - it was a pretty mind numbing exercise.

Love and peace - Wozza

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl (The Beatles)

Wie geht's?

When she wakes up, Jacky has a habit of looking immediately at the latest news on her phone and yelled out the other day as I was getting dressed three rooms away, "The Queen's died!"

For a lot of people, it was a bit of a surprise hearing that news - even though she was in her mid nineties, somehow you think people like the Queen are above all that earthly stuff. That is until age catches up with them, as it does all of us.

The topic of conversation at school on Friday was naturally about that news. When I arrived at school, I lowered the school's flag to half-mast as a mark of respect and after getting home, I watched the rolling coverage on the TV with Jacky.

Then on Saturday I watched the remembrance service from St Paul's Cathedral. I was doing quite well too, until the singing of the 23rd Psalm and the Lord's Prayer that is. The communal recitation of the prayer on these occasions reminds me of similar times and gets to me.

Why did I do all that?

Although I've never had any close contact with the Royals, thanks to Look and Learn, my upbringing (by Dulcie Mary Purdy especially) and being part of the baby boomer generation that has known nothing else but the Elizabethan era, I am a fan of the monarchy in general and the Queen in particular.

Why Look and Learn? All those stories about Kings and Queens; King Arthur and his knights; Chivalry; Sir Walter Scott. All put their hooks in me via Look and Learn.

She and the monarchy represent things I care about - tradition, respect, a sense of service and duty, and a commitment to things. Their charity work is immense and the income generated from tourism shouldn't be discounted.

I guess it's easy to sneer at these things and point to colonialism and the louche lifestyle of some royals (Andrew has done a lot of harm in many ways) but the Queen is the Queen.

I remember the royal visits to NZ  over the years and I remember at Royal Oak Primary being part of a parade for the Governor General in the 1960s. He was a big deal! 

As God Save The Queen was played in cinemas before a movie played, we would stand as a mark of respect.

So, yes, I have royalist sensibilities. I don't think that's a bad thing. It's certainly something I share with millions of others.

Watching landmark occasions like royal weddings on TV is always observed in our house, and I even have a vivid memory of watching Charles' investiture as the Prince of Wales way back in 1969 at Caernarfon Castle (right). I was twelve and it seemed to last a looong time, but I watched the whole thing.

Jacky and I have had a few tangential brushes with royalty over the years with visits to the Palace of Holyroodhouse (where Jacky was politely told to keep off the grass), Buckingham Palace, The Tower Of London, and the royal mews. We love all that pomp and circumstance.

I also love the quiet dignity the British have during these historic times. They provide a great example to us amid changed times in New Zealand. 

The faces of those in St Paul's seemed to me to represent a modern picture of Britain that I will cherish. All races and ages and sexes looked to be there. No one was distracted, everyone was paying careful attention, no one was out of control emotionally, all were reflective and respectful. It was very British.

I liked that.

Love and peace - WNP

Sugar, ah, honey, honey - you are my candy girl (The Archies)

Wie geht's?

Have you ever considered how hard it is to find a drink that both tastes good and is good for you (apart from water that is)?

I faced this very conundrum this week as I attempted to avoid bad for me drinks like Coke classic and Coke no sugar - my staples (if you want to know why they are bad for you please feel free to contact the light of my life a.k.a. Jacky Purdy and our fourth awesome child - Jade Purdy who have strong opinions on this stuff).

During the week, I went to the Four Square by school and checked out the drinks' chillers.

Yikes - everything was varying degrees of bad to terrible for me - sugar or caffeine loadings, artificial sweeteners or else artificial other things.

I settled on a bottle of Ribena blackcurrant fruit juice - figuring all the no this, no that, no the other thing, was cool.

When I got back to work my staff reacted with horror and shock. 'What are you doing?', they asked! 'Didn't you realise it's full of sugar?', they asked?

'Sugar?', I said. 'It says no this, no that, no the other stuff!!'

Doh! Of course it was, stoopid! So, I donated the Ribena to Thomas and sought help from the internet and my staff.

Green tea came top of the pops. So I tried that - good for me? sure. Tastes good? Nah-har.

Kombucha!! one of my helpful teachers suggested.

Hmmm. I tried a cola version and....actually...yes! Tastes good (or at least tastes like a cola) and is good for me.

Jade's verdict? Yes, okay, she begrudgingly admitted. It is very good for you, but in small doses.

Phew. So water and Kombucha (if I can find it) for me from now onwards.

Love and peace - Wozza

P.S. I feel duty bound and, full disclosure, I did need a brief pause on the water and Kombucha as I was out to dinner with colleagues last night and enjoyed a beer and a coke (classic). The road to ruin is paved with good intentions but - starting tomorrow...

I need a job, I'm willing to work, but I need a job (Chickenfoot)

Wie geht's?

One of my amigos - LooLoo, sent me this picture with the message, "Found the perfect job for you back in good old Auckland!"

Seems Roger is hiring!!

Let's see...

• Comprehensive musical knowledge? Tick.
• Current and historic popular music? Second bit = big tick. Current stuff - if it's in Mojo magazine I'm all over it so - yes - Tick.
• Classical and jazz? Second bit = yeah man I dig. First bit I'm okay on all the biggies - so half a tick.
• Tidy and friendly? Tick Tick.
• Computer literacy? Tick.

So that's 7 and a half ticks out of 8 Roger! I'm your man!

Love and peace - Wozza

Like a virgin, touched for the very first time (Madonna)

 

The first 12 - 18 Korma Ave. Royal Oak, Auckland, 1971

Wie geht's?

Warning for the fandamilly - this one's about music and records...

That grainy photo above was taken by me over fifty years ago. It shows my record collection at the time.

I thought I'd recreate it for you and talk about the distance of time.

First albums - 50 plus years later in Hawke's Bay 2022

Last week, I found myself in Hamilton on school biznis. After searching Record Shops Near Me on my phone I visited Tron Records. Of course, right!

While there I noticed a sign the owner had put up saying something like, 'Some of these records are 50 to 60 years old, so please consider that as it relates to quality'. That was the basic message and it got me thinking.

Doh!! Of course they're that old! And of course they will be! Miraculous that some of the records from that time are in near mint condition really.

My record collection goes back 50 to 60 years as well. 

The black and white photo of my first records (above) has a few that I've lost along the way and the singles outnumber the albums because they were cheaper and much more available to my early teenage budget which came from pocket money and returning glass pop bottles to the corner dairy on Pah Rd. That's also why there were some budget albums and compilations in the mix.

But I still have the majority of them:

• Santana (Santana) - 1969
• The Cowsills (All Time Hits) - 1970
• Headband (Happen Out) - 1971
• Led Zeppelin (III) - 1970
• The Beatles (Hey Jude) - 1970
• The Monkees (Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd) - 1967
• The Hollies (Reflection) - 1969
• Various (Loxene Golden Disc 1971) - 1971
• Various (Solid Gold Hits Vol II) - 1971
• Kenny Rogers and The First Edition (Greatest Hits) - 1969
• Cream (Swlabr) - 1970
• Small Faces (Biggest Small Faces) - 1972 (not in that original photo but acquired shortly after it)

I notice that those albums pretty much cover my core musical taste (I can hear Jacky say, "What taste?") that exists still: harmonic pop songs, hard rock guitar, country rock, blues rock. 

It was a nicely representative collection of cities (San Francisco, Liverpool, Manchester, London), and countries (New Zealand, England, America) as well.

In terms of distance - there isn't any really. Although I'm roughly 50 years older, I am still in touch with that teenage Wozza. I haven't changed much inside myself and certainly my interests haven't changed at all.

Listening to those records now takes me instantly back to my bedroom at 18 Korma Avenue and my Garrard SP25 Mk 3 turntable (yes, I still do listen to them from time to time, but the Garrard has long gone).

50 plus years of additions to the first 12

In other respects - it's some 50 years later and I am another, very different, experienced Wozza (husband, father, grandfather) and the collection has had 50 years of additions and subtractions.

Those first 12 though remain a very special touchstone back to my 13 year old self.

Love and peace - Wozza