Remember when you were a little kid, what were the qualifications? If someone's in front of my house NOW, That's my friend (Jerry Seinfeld)

Patrick, Randy, Jacky and Wozza hit Taupo

Wie geht's?

Jerry Seinfeld's bit about your real friends came to mind during the weekend as Jacky and I spent quality time with some old friends at Maple Grove and then Taupo (where that selfie was taken).

When you're in your thirties it's very hard to make a new friend. Whatever the group is that you've got now that's who you're going with. you're not interviewing, you're not looking at any new people, you're not interested in seeing any applications. They don't know the places. They don't know the food. They don't know the activities. If I meet a guy in a club or the gym or someplace I'm sure you're a very nice person you seem to have a lot of potential, but we're just not hiring right now.

To paraphrase writer Alex Williams - up to your 50s and 60s, plenty of new people enter your life, through work, your wife's friends, your children's friends/partners and their families and, of course, Facebook. But actual close friends — the kind you make at school, university and in your twenties, the kind you call in a crisis — those are in shorter supply. 

That's very true. Patrick and Randy - thanks for a great spontaneous weekend!

Love and peace - Wozza

46 steps

Wie geht's?

Recently, I somehow clicked onto a section of the blog and found a few really old drafts of posts that I had never finished!

Here's the first one: a poem of all things. Wohsers!!

Written about leaving Patrick Cameron and Randy Buckley's house in north London a few years ago. Enjoy.

The Shire

And then we finally left,

taking the 46 downward steps,

and leaving Ferntower north,

the house and it's occupants,in peace.

The shire settled back down,to its routines and obligations.

Mr Patel sold one less Guardian a day,

the Paradise fish bar sighed,

The Acoustic, the two hour dry cleaner, and the Tesco Express:

all waved adieu,

as the number 73 heaved itself towards King's Cross 

and the Piccadilly line
and the journey towards Heathrow.

Love and peace - Wozza

Good times never seemed so good (Neil Diamond)

Wie geht's?

This post was going to outline my views on GB under the spell of Brexit, or the LOML and my visit to the state rooms at Buckingham Palace.

But our friends, Patrick and Randy, knocked those two aside with a phone call around 2.30pm on Sunday. They were at the Emirates, in a director's box, and had a spare ticket!! Did I want it?? How soon could I get there? 

The 4.00pm kick off meant I had to get my skates on. 

A walk to Caterham station and the resulting replacement bus service to Purley, a train to Victoria, the tube to Highbury Islington and a brisk walk to the Emirates saw me catch the last ten minutes of the first half and all of the second.

Typically these days, the first half of Arsenal games can be tactically astute and steady (okay, boring). Such was the case yesterday, but two quick goals in the second spell had us up man-hugging and joyous!!

At one point, as I was basking in the north London sunshine at Emirates with us up 2 nil, I said to Patrick that this is as good as life gets. And I wasn't kidding!

Love and peace - Gooner Wozza

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: a partridge in a pear tree.

Apart from the lack of snow...

Christmas means digging out that long box that houses our Christmas tree and the other box of decorations we've accumulated over the years.

For the last two years we haven't used them because we've spent Christmas in London at Patrick and Randy's house.

Last year we had Christmas dinner at Acoustic, the cafe opposite their house in Stoke Newington. Freezing cold outside. Lovely and warm inside Acoustic. A great meal. Just me and my best girl. 

Great times.

So...the Christmas tree and box of accumulated decorations has been stored in various garages we've owned over the last three years (Otane, Waipukurau, Mangaturoto).

But this year we have family flying in from the U.S.A. (Fanfa), Oztraya (Adamski and Ashleigh), and Palmerston North (DLG and William).

Christmas at home meant I went in search of the Christmas tree in the long box and the other box of accumulated decorations. I remembered where they'd been stored - the tool shed.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. Over the years, various rodents had visited the box it appeared. Tell tale little blue pellets on the top of the long box. Boy did it stink.

When I opened the long box I immediately saw why it stunk. At some point in the past three years, Ratty had made his or her home in the fake branches - mixing scraps of cardboard with string. 

A very dead flat rat lay underneath the fake branches.

Doh!!

2017 version

For some reason SWMBO wouldn't entertain me cleaning off ratty's home and water blasting the branches. 

So, off to the Warehouse we went. The last one in the store became ours.

We constructed the new Christmas tree and unpacked the accumulated decorations (separate box and not penetrated by ratty).

Looks good huh!!

Its now sitting decorously and calmly in the lounge, waiting for the Purdettes and their significant others to visit.

Roll on Christmas.

Love and peace and ho ho ho - Wozza

I'm a secret agent man (Devo)

It's been a bit of a barren spell culture wise of late. No reading aside from my monthly Mojo and Prog magazines; new music hasn't amounted to much as I have been buying classic album sets (I'm generally disappointed by new music - even Ry Cooder's latest live album was shaded by Show Time - released nearly 40 years ago); haven't seen any new films of any note; TV has been dominated by Homeland, Banshee and Game Of Thrones season 3 as a precursor for Season 4 which starts this week.

Unfortunately this dearth of high brow culture has resulted in me having a run of disturbing dreams.

I'm either being continually chased by CIA men (bizarrely in the form of various whanau members) or chasing others through all sorts of terrain. 

Poor SWMBO has had to deal with my broken sleep patterns and sleepy attempts to protect myself. 

Bizarrely - I recently dreamed that Randy Buckley was a dangerous CIA agent who had chased me into a house - I went to kick the door closed behind me. Unfortunately I kicked SWMBO in my sleep.

Last night I dreamed that someone was attacking me with a huge bundle of toilet rolls (I have no idea). I went to kick the bundle out of my attacker's hands but, yep - you guessed it - I kicked SWMBO in my sleep.

Thankfully we've finished Banshee and Game Of Thrones for a bit so I need to go back to Grand Designs and leave SWMBO alone for a while.

Love and Peace - Wozza

Wild horses couldn't drag me away (The Rolling Stones)

And so it's January. Happy new year y'all.

I've flipped the desk calendar back. Yes you read that right. I have a calendar from 2004 that I use every year. Each month of that year had a fantastic (and appropriate) quote that I need to be reminded of every year. 

January - Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals - Sydney Smith.

Here are the photographic reproductions that have piled up over the last three weeks.

Randy, SWMBO and Pat

Wozza - shotgun

SWMBO, Wozza and Pat at their Ferntower down under.

Jade and Shimara receive wisdom in Mabelle's kitchen

Christmas dinner at Belle and Gav's with the out-laws

SWMBO and I embrace and recommend the two potato diet

Next edition - the family heirloom!!

Love and peace - Wozza

Into the great wide open, under them skies of blue (Tom Petty)

SWMBO and I have been busy sorting out the stuff to bring back to NZ next week and the stuff to donate to friends in the building and elsewhere. Of course, we've also been shopping for the new house.

Inspired by Patrick and Randy's London home in the shire we are aiming at a theme for each room. I love the way they have their red room (TV lounge), a blue room (spare bedroom), white music room, modern stainless steel sleek kitchen and so on.

Their red room has red curtains, red wall coverings, red sofa, red ornaments. It's red red red all over and it looks spectacular! Not only that but it's very cosy and a great lounge/living space. It shouldn't work really - all that red is an initial jolt to the senses - but it does!


Unfortunately we are like many people who accumulate a variety of different styles of furniture over a number of years. We have collected art work from exotic locations on our travels, along with loads of knick knacks and ornaments, so that over the years rooms have taken on a jumbled jumbo sale type of look.

Before SWMBO gives me a slap I should say that I am obviously over exaggerating and she has impeccable taste for interior design and colour co-ordination. It is me who is to blame for an eventual mish mash of styles.

BUT - I have acknowledged that I have a problem and the solution is the coherant thematic way forward for our home in Otane.

We have so far settled on a rustic theme for the lounge (in my mind this means autumnal colours to go with our oak furniture); the master bedroom is to be gold and white with a definite Arabian theme going on; the first spare bedroom has a regency look (yes all the regency furniture will find a home there).

That leaves the third bedroom and my music room/enclave/extension/studio (I dislike the concept of 'man cave' so forget that one). Incidentally, the music area is henceforth to be known as...(I'm open to suggestions - the room needs a name).

I have been given free rein to furnish the music room as I like so look out!

Love and peace - Wozza

How is the air up there? (The La De Das)

I arrived back in the sandpit yesterday after a terrific couple of weeks in Nu Zild for Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

It's good to be back too, not that I didn't enjoy the break from the Al Ain apartment but it always helps when you don't have to go to the limited supply of clothes in the suitcase. Staying with relatives was nice but nothing beats being able to put a CD on whenever you want, eating food from your own pantry and sleeping in your own bed.

Arriving at Dubai airport was a treat, mainly cos I'm a nervous flyer and being on terra firma is always a great feeling anyway but Dubai airport is great - clean, friendly, and spacious.

The friendly bit is the starkest contrast between service in NZ and here. It didn't take long before I was asked (by the doorman at The Park Regis Hotel when I picked up my car) where Marm Jacky was! I know this will happen over and over again too. I told him that Marm Jacky was still in NZ to co-ordinate the move of our stuff into our new Hawke's Bay home.

I need to backtrack a tad before these posts get onto new business. Namely Zen/SWMBO and the wedding of the century (which lived up to its billing by the way).

Zen is big! Over 17 hands high which according to SWMBO, is big. But not as big as the grin on Jacky's face when she rode him for the first time. It was a thrill to see.

The wedding was also a special highlight of the trip back. We've been looking forward to it since last Christmas when Pat and Randy told us the news and invited us. Jacky and I felt really honoured to be included in the Cameron-Buckley global whanau.

Randy's parents and brother, Art, came from Canada; Pat's business partner and her husband came from Manchester, we came from the UAE and there were relatives from all parts of NZ in attendance.

Lindsay Loveridge, who officiated and is pictured between Pat and Randy, has had a long association with Pat, almost as long as Jacky, who has known him since she was a teenager. Lindsay did a great job keeping the ceremony on track when either laughter or tears threatened to deviate proceedings.

It was also a great chance for us to catch up with old friends, some of whom had actually attended our own wedding 28 years ago and it was fun for me to watch people as they recognised Jacky (Jacky Smith????? Is that you???). SWMBO looked stunning btw.

All in all, like everything Pat and Randy do, it was a classy occasion, even the rain cleared up and the sun emerged during the afternoon. Jacky and I loved being there and wish the groom and groom, two great guys, everything they'd wish themselves. Be happy!

So that's it for the NZ break - some great times with friends and family. It was so good to catch up with everyone - we even managed a couple of coffees with Jansy and Graeme in New Plymouth before I departed for Al Ain!

Now I'm back in the apartment which is VERY empty without Marm Jacky, but work starts again on Sunday which will be a welcome distraction.

Love and peace - Wozza

In the white room with black curtains near the station.

This post is dedicated to our London friends in a hopeful attempt to get them to read my blogs - Randy Buckley and Patrick Cameron. As promised - here are the recent photos of Randy and Pat's pad in Highbury/Islington (nestled into Ferntower Rd - part of 'the shire'). That's Randy on the left and a dapper looking Patrick on the right. As you'll remember from an earlier post I had the blue room on the 4th floor - directly below me was the red lounge (housing the smaller organ and yes that is a huge TV) -


Below the red lounge is a landing housing the bigger organ

and then the white lounge (lots of music in here - piano, harp, guitar) and some great artwork from NZ




There we have it - a visual and aural experience - many thanks again guys for allowing me the chance to stay here and project manage the building site!

Love and peace - W