Now a young man's gone, yet his legend lingers on (The Beach Boys)

Wie geht's?

Recently, Jacky and I attended the funeral of a whanau member (Sam Moore) who had passed away in tragic circumstances in a car accident on the 17th of December.

I'm not good at funerals. I can feel myself withdraw from what's happening and all the funerals I've attended in my life start stacking up. I can't help it.

For good or for ill, I was spared attending funerals as a young child. I reflected on that fact while watching Sam's four young children climbing on his coffin in front of me. Times have changed and this now seems a perfectly normal thing to do.

As an adult I have had to attend quite a few funerals for young people, including former students, 19 years ago George Moore and now, 19 years later, his younger brother, Sam.

As we drove to New Plymouth for a family Christmas, the day after the funeral, the radio at one point played Tom Petty's Free Fallin' and I was immediately back at the Howick funeral for former Macleans College student Andrea Holmes (also killed in a road accident).

The two former students who took their own lives also flashed into my brain - one when I was Principal at Stratford High School, the other a student I taught at Woodford House.

Sam's funeral was the fourth in the Moore family and the third in as many years. The first tragedy was George, which his parents never really recovered from. 

That kind of history is devastating and tough to recover from (sadly, Tim never did). But recover from it we must and will (I know something about this).

Sam was made of solid stuff - a deep loyalty, an amazing work ethic, and a fierce love for his family drove him. As he grew up to be a man, he turned himself into the best father possible. His story is inspirational in that regard.

I will miss you Sam. Rest in peace.

Love and peace to Jen (also made of solid stuff), and their children - Jordan, Rebecca, Elizabeth, George, and Alexandra.

When I grow up to be a man will I dig the same things that turn me on as a kid (The Beach Boys)

Father and son - December 19, 1984

Wie geht's?

Last week's Jewels For The Thirsty mentioned that Keegan's birthday completes this subset of the Purdys for 2025, appropriately begun by Jacky in April.

[In order: Jacky; Samantha; me; Jade; Adam; Keegan]

Keegan's origin story is here and it's worth re-reading, even though it was written in 2016!

Keegan turned 41 last week and that just seems wrong - I can vividly recall holding him in the palm of my hand (as I wrote in that origin story): 

The whole experience was completely overwhelming and draining. Jacky slept, while I sat beside her in an armchair and held onto this new life in my hands and was drenched in pride and tenderness for both Jacky and Keegan.

It's one of those moments. 

So, to think that happened 41 years ago is a mind blown moment.

Happy birthday Keegan!

Merry Christmas to all the Purdettes, their families and partners!

Love and peace, now and forever - Dad

Hope is never mere, even when it is meager. When all other senses sleep, the eye of hope is first to awaken and last to shut (Gil-Galad)

Wie geht's?

This week's Jewels for the Thirsty blog mentioned that we have watched the first two seasons of The Lord of the Rings TV spin-off - The Rings of Power.

It's been a struggle.

Generally, the tendency to stretch out a thin prequel plot (Sauron's rise to omniscient power thousands of years before the events in the novels) means it's quite slow moving at times. There's still at least one more season to go. Peter Jackson has a lot to answer for. He's not involved in the TV show, but his lengthy LotR films set a precedent (I forgive him though because Get Back wasn't long enough).

While it looks good, there are far too many characters to keep track of and the one hero most likely for us to form a bond with (the Amazon woman/Elf - Galadriel) is a churning mess of guilt and thoughtless aggression. 

Actually, the other heroic figure I could like is the ninja like wood Elf - Arondir. He keeps popping up at crazy times to kill orcs with his bow and limitless supply of arrows, but he arrives without exposition and then drifts off once the action is over. Frustrating.

It's all very hard to keep track off as the locations shift continuously. There are so many times we have wondered where and when we are in the story. Then there's the wizard (a.k.a. the stranger, a.k.a. Gandalf) who's arrived from a different planet it seems. Whaat?

Unfortunately, once we'd watched one season we are committed to watching the rest.

It doesn't help, I guess, that my brain has wandered away from Hobbits, Elves and rings. 

I read The Hobbit and the three books that make up The Lord of the Rings when I was 15 - 16 and loved their world. I've re-read them once when the films came out and I didn't enjoy them as much as I did when I was a teenager.

Plus, I am conflicted over the films. I prefer the worlds I created in my teenage imagination. For good or for bad, my fascination for elves and fairies (and fantasy fiction) has passed. 

Regardless, I'll still watch season 3 when it drops.

Love and peace - Wozza

Will you still love me tomorrow? (The Shirelles)

The white pebble is from Rishikesh -
thanks to friends Christine and Paul

Wie geht's?

Obsessed? Moi?

It may look like that from the outside (Jacky posed a question t'other day - You'd cut your arms and legs off to bring John Lennon back wouldn't you?) but on the inside The Beatles have been a constant powerful presence and loyal friends who've been alongside me since watching them on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 (my memories here as well plus a clip of I Want To Hold Your Hand). And they keep on showing up!

I'm not alone. It's also not my fault (okay - yes, my music rooms surround me with Fabs posters/prints and memorabilia such as in the above picture).

Mojo Magazine regularly have cover stories on them, books like Ian Leslie's John & Paul keep coming on a regular basis (I warmly recommend his book as it takes a fresh look at that seminal relationship - my playlist is here), records keep appearing (Anthology 4 is the latest) and their musical and cultural influence persists (I use the word Beatlesque to describe a lot of music on my music blog).

Imagine a world without The Beatles? No thanks.

Love and peace - Warren Ono Purdy

P.S. I Love You...erm...I mean - I'll always be true (to answer The Shirelles question).

Adam Purdy Day

Ashleigh, Adam, Andrew, Samantha, Jade, Me and Jacky -
Peregian Beach, July 2022

Wie geht's?

December 11 is Adam Purdy Day in our whanau.

The third big Purdette birthday of the year (one to go) sees our special little guy creep towards his fifth decade. Yes, Adamski turns 39! Whoop whoop.

His origin story is here if you want the deets.

Adam will no doubt be spoiled rotten by Ashleigh and Poppy Mae this year - no less than he deserves.

Regardless, treat yourself to a record Adam!

Love and peace - Dad

Meditate often on the swiftness with which all that exists and is coming into being is swept by us and carried away (Marcus Aurelius)

Palmerston North, Saturday December 06, 2025

Wie geht's?

Nu Zild is made up of a finite number of small towns where Kiwiana is alive and well in 2025.

On Saturday we joined Jade and her family to witness Palmerston North's Christmas parade.

Love the spelling of NZ by the makers of this montage

Watching the annual Santa parade on a blazing hot Saturday afternoon is part of the NZ experience, right, like taking the children to see Santa in his grotto - a rite of passage. 

We each reflected on our own past experiences with these rituals while watching the parade. For instance, I can distinctly remember watching with mum and dad and Ross, the Farmers' Christmas Parade down Queen Street as a young padowan in the early sixties.

Auckland 1965. Trying to get a view from the fifth row back was always part of the experience.

Then with my own children we'd continue that tradition. It's only fair.

Palmerston North's latest version had all the requisite Kiwiana touches: classic cars; bagpipes; big trucks with tinsel on them and mostly bored looking youngsters riding on the decks; fire engines; police cars with sirens; water pistol packing kids on those trucks; brass bands; dance troops; local ethnic minorities dancing in colourful costumes; Real Estate companies getting some free publicity via their floats; the local Star Wars devotees in costume; loads of kids handing out lollies (Asher held his hat out and got more than he could comfortably eat).

Ivy is only three months old, but she sat patiently through the whole thing with a bemused expression, wincing at times at those blasted air horns. Her first Santie parade - bless her.

Love and peace - Wozza

You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today and then one day you find ten years have got behind you (Pink Floyd)

Wozza eating a luverly sundae

Wie geht's?

Christmas is within sight, again. Thought I'd take a trip back in time for this post - back ten years in fact, to 2015.

Where were you and what were you doing in 2015? [or: Who were you? and, Where were you going? if you prefer]

Can you tell where I am in that photo? A hint? Think Anaheim. The happiest place on Earth. Got it?  

Yes, that's right - Disneyland. The full post is here from 2015.

I can recall this time vividly because we'd flown to Auckland and on to LA straight after junior prize-giving at Woodford House. We were heading to the UK for Christmas. That was good actually - like a Band-Aid - rip it straight orf.

Anyway, back in 2025, it's nearly holiday time - time to break out the Christmas jumper again. I thought I'd wear it to prizegiving on Friday, but it doesn't really go with my pink hood. What to do? What to do?

Mention of the jumper reminds me of talk this week in the clubhouse (the Tier kitchen where all the cool kids sit, a.k.a. the maths and English staff). Somehow, chat centred on Love Actually and other Christmas movies.

[BTW our Purdzilla family hardy perennials are: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation; Die Hard; About A Boy; Love Actually; It's A Wonderful Life; The Grinch; Polar Express].

The general consensus was we each miss a northern hemisphere Christmas - one that makes sense. Wistful, meditative even, it was (rare for mathematicians but part of the DNA of English teacher types).

Oh, before I forget - here's a picture of my Christmas jumper in case I chicken out on Friday:

I hope my readership approve of this post. It has food, a festive theme, even has a Christmas tree, Die Hard, a Christmas jumper, and the happiest place on Earth without any mention of Dickens. Actually, he wrote a cool Christmas story, didn't he?

Love and peace - Wozza