It's a family affair (Sly and the Family Stone)

Wie geht's?

Part two of some recent snaps from the whanau get together at Maple Grove, Palmerston North and Wellington. Special times with a special bunch of people. Warning - super cute geekids ahead!

Love and peace - WNP

Wear your love like heaven (Donovan)

Wie gehts?

We're back at Maple Grove after a week away, first in New Plymouth and then with the whanau in an Air BnB in Wellington, where all the grandkids (the cousin crew) turned up. Because we're all distributed in a variety of countries, these are special times and it's great to spend time with these remarkable people.

These days everyone has a phone, so, luckily, everyone has a camera to document these times. Here's a selection from the beauties taken during the week from a variety of people. They show some lovely family moments, captured forever.

Love and peace - Papa

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

Song for Adam (Jackson Browne)

The males of the family

Wie geht's?

Adam's birthday celebrations are today's order of business.

The 11th of December 1986 seems a while ago now in some ways, but in other ways it's permanently in my brain in full focus.

Here are the facts: 

• Born in National Women's Hospital, Auckland at 10.28am, Adam Lennon Purdy was an 8 pound plus bundle of energy right from the off. With deep blue eyes and a killer smile to boot. 
• His horoscope for the week gave good advice - 'be versatile, keep things simple'.
• Top of the pops was Walk This Way - Run DMC.
• Arsenal F.C. were leading in English Division One on 38 points.
• Jacky, Wozza and Keegan were proud as punch!

Join with me in a rousing happy birthday to our special little guy.

Love - dad

Fly me out the window somewhere far away, news on the radio, happy birthday (Concrete Blonde)

Wie geht's?

Adam Lennon Purdy (in Australia) and Keegan Warren Purdy (in China) had birthdays in the last week or so - ALP on the 11th and KWP on the 19th, so this is my customary birthday post for these two mischief makers, wascally wabbits and brothers-in-arms from the mid-eighties.

Happy birthdays to our special little guy (37) and his big brother (39)!

Love and peace - dad

The future hides and the past just slides (Jackson Browne)

The Purdy men

Wie geht's?

Apologies to Adam Lennon Purdy (on the left) - I missed a birthday post last weekend. Mea culpa.

I guess I've established a tradition now and when there is a rip in the space-time continuum, a glitch in the matrix, a messing with the fabric of tradition, and I neglect my dad/blog duties I can expect to hear about it.

So - here it is - Adam's belated birthday post.

The origin story featured a few years ago and you can revisit it here.

Thirty-five years ago - on Dec 11. 1986, Adam joined the whanau. 

Life changed a little with a second child and there was suddenly a need to move from our two bed flat in Windmill Road, but basically two wasn't like double the work. We made the transition to two children and a bigger house pretty naturally.

He's now married and living in Melbourne and, as with Samantha and Keegan who also live outside of Nu Zild, we miss seeing him regularly. 

Merry Christmas to all of the whanau, spread as they are around the world. Jade, Jacky and I will have your share of the trifle, team, so don't worry - we have that covered!

Love and peace - dad  

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Wie geht's?

News and communication is pretty instantaneous these days.

I went for a walk around the adjacent sports park at lunchtime yesterday (it's a frequent thing on nice weather days and a great way to clear the head), came back and went to the staff room for lunch where they were talking about a big earthquake in Melbourne; sent a quick message to Adam on the family chat and got an instant reply that he and his wife were shaken up but otherwise fine.

Great feeling knowing that instantly. Otherwise Jacky and I would have worried until we heard some reassuring news.

I'm very thankful for that aspect of the phone and modern technology.

It also allows me to keep in touch with friends like Noel Forth.

My recent Goo Goo G'Joob blog post reminded me of a time when I was about 18 (still a schoolboy) and Noel asked me to pick up a record for him (he still lives in Adelaide): The Radha Krsna Temple London album on Apple Records (pictured above).

He gave me an address in Ponsonby and I drove there after school on a Friday afternoon. It was a fairly grungy student flat, bottom floor of an old house - this is around 1976 so Ponsonby was still a run down part of central Auckland at that time.

A bearded young guy wearing sandals, I presumed a drug crazed University student, answered the door, invited me in and went to a pile of records stacked in an old beer crate. I grabbed the record, and beat a quick retreat before he and his drug crazed friends abducted me, shaved my head, and forced me to smoke some illicit substance or pop a pill that would alter my consciousness for ever (I'd read about this sort of thing and Paul McCartney had indicated his reticence for drug taking in that he might end up in a state that he couldn't return from). Oh my!

I have an active imagination!

I guess that's why I remember this isolated incident from the late seventies so vividly.

I asked Noel for details around how he knew the record was there and he couldn't remember anything about it at all!! Laugh out loud!

Love and peace - Wozza

If you ain't got the do re mi boys you ain't got the do re mi (Woody Guthrie)

Wie geht's?

Adam and Ashleigh have arrived at Maple Grove, as have Jade and Asher for a rare mini family reunion.

It hasn't been a catch up as such because the Sunday zooms keep us all up to date, more a 'remember when...' and a chance to play Monopoly Deal - a card based game without the board and dice of the real Monopoly game.

It's been fun, lots of good natured banter and ribbing. Honours were shared amongst us with Ashleigh cleaning us all out in the last game last night.

Board games/ card games have always been great for family times. Having some time to enjoy our adult children (and Ashleigh, Asher) is very precious.

Love and peace - WNP

Trigger (Trigger) and he pulled the fastest milkcart in the west (Benny Hill)

Trigger looks big here, but he only comes up to my waist.

Wie geht's?

Covid-19 lockdowns have had one very positive spin-off for our family: the weekly family zooms that we started a year ago (thanks to Adam's suggestion) during our alert level 3 and 4 lockdowns have continued long after the alert levels returned to 2 and then 1. And they are still going strong.

So, each Sunday evening Jade and Asher (in Palmerston North), Samantha (in LA or SF with Jesse),  Keegan (in Shanghai) and Adam and Ashleigh (in Melbourne) have joined up with Jacky and me (in Takapau) for a weekly catch up.

It's been great, and has certainly brought our far-flung little band of Purdettes a lot closer together, figuratively speaking.

Hot topic this weekend was Trigger - the little pony that Jacky and I have bought for Asher, nearly 2, to ride.

Trigger naturally suffers from little man syndrome

He's certainly got personality!

See - I told you - comes up to my waist, just!

On the search for more apples!

The kids maintain this is another très subtle attempt to interest her children/grand-children in horses, but Jacky disputes this. Natch. 

Wherever the truth may lie, Jacky has plans to find a cart for Trigger to pull around so that he can pay his way while Asher and I pick up pine cones for Trigger to pull back to the barn.

That should be a hoot! I can't wait.

Love and peace - Wozza

It's a boy (The Who)

Wie geht's?

Early sighting of the Adam grin

Time to celebrate the birth of Adam Lennon Purdy (December 11, 1986).

We (Keegan, Jacky and I) were living in Windmill Avenue, Mt Eden at my grandfather's flat at the time, when Adam made his appearance, just in time for that year's Christmas celebrations.

It topped off a pretty good week for me - the summer holidays were starting (I was teaching at Macleans College), Arsenal were top of Division One (the Premiere League was a fair way off yet) on 38 points, and I was blessed with two sons.

It's a wonderful life.

Happy birthday Adam.

Love and peace - all of us

I want to get back to my city by the bay Ooh, Ooh (Journey)

Samantha always knows where the camera is!

Wie geht's?

This post is our final stop in the return to 2007 and our first trip to San Francisco.

In the wash up after the wedding dances we went to the zoo, the Hard Rock Cafe, a diner with everyone to watch the Golden State Warriors, and then it was back to New Zealand, leaving our hearts in San Francisco!

The sisters cutting a rug

Watching the Golden State Warriors

Jade was there! True fact!

Love and peace - Wozza