Help the Aged

I will probably get into trouble for the Help the Aged title for this post, but 3 of the 5 people who I have helped with their technology this week (4 of whom were paying customers) were 70 or over, and one of the other two must be in his 60’s, so it has had that feel about it.

The evenings have been the most eventful parts of the week, though Nicky did fall on her way to work on Monday morning so was grazed and shaken when she arrived. Directly after work on Monday evening there was a do for all the people who are leaving New Lynn in the next few weeks. I understand it was quite a muted affair, but the flowers were nice.

On Tuesday evening we went to a very intimate meeting at the Community Centre about the Whau Board 3 year plan. The Whau Board is the “local council” for our area of Auckland, and they are starting to put together their plan and have a series of consultations with the residents and businesses in the area. It was good to meet some members of the board and have an open and friendly exchange about the things we would like to see happen in the area in the next three years (e.g.: good bus service to and from the railway station).

We hosted the house group “start of term” social on Wednesday evening. I had made a trifle and Nicky did a green salad. The first attempt at getting the BBQ going didn’t work, but the second attempt with fresh charcoal and firelighters proved successful, and some hours after we had finished cooking it was really good to go! We had a great evening, with loads of excellent food and good conversations.

Thursday was another public holiday (we can’t get enough of them) for Waitangi Day. We had a late breakfast and a quiet morning at home, before going over to see Ruth. Nicky commented that she was looking frail. We took our mid-afternoon picnic to Karaka Bay, just a few minutes drive from Ruth’s, and had a lovely couple of hours on the beach, which is down quite a steep path. This appears to be the only access for the nine houses that nestle into the cliffs behind the beach. We felt very cosy on the beach as Browns Island and Rangitoto looked very close. I had my first tentative swim since my beach accident, which was good.

Nicky was doing a late shift on Friday, so we had taken the opportunity of a late start to have her annual hearing and hearing aid checkup. Her hearing has deteriorated a little in her right ear, and her right aid is not working properly so they have both been sent away for a service. We had expected to pay $190 for this visit but due to a recent change in Dilworth Hearing policy it was free (yippie!).

Friday night was very warm (a low of 20°) and humid, so we didn’t sleep to well. The weather has been pretty good all week, just a few bits of cloud and a light shower on Friday then quite a bit of rain overnight on Friday, otherwise good summer days.

The cloud quickly cleared on Saturday morning to leave us with a lovely sunny day. After a quiet morning pottering at home we headed into town for Ciclovia on Quay. Basically, the whole of the waterfront from Silo park to the Britomart was closed to traffic and dedicated to cyclists and pedestrians. There were lots of cycling-themed things setup along the route, such as bike maintenance and safety tuition. We drove down Beaumont Street to the Jellicoe Street car park but it was full, so we found a P&D spot on Beaumont. It’s the fist time I had driven and tried to park in this part of town, and it was really good to start at the western end of the waterfront because we usually walk to this end and are quite jaded by the time we get there.

We had decided to have a treat by having lunch out, and the first thing we were greeted with at Silo Park were a range of concessions stands. We choose meat filled omelettes from one stall, and mango juice and mango and pineapple milk shake from another, and sat in the sun at a door on a couple of trestles and thoroughly enjoyed our purchases. We then went for a wander towards town, past the giant outdoor Scrabble, got distracted by the pop-up library, and ended up in the Ocean Gallery, which is just by the Maritime Museum. They had some fantastic photographs of ships and boats taken in the harbour, and at reasonable prices for artwork. My right foot was starting to feel quite sore so after a sit down we headed back via the fish market, a very olfactory and visual experience. Finally back to Silo Park to buy some Wheel Cakes, which are like soft thick pancakes with fillings (we choose three custard and three chocolate) to take to Henderson with us for Scrabble.

Wheel cakes being cooked

It must have been nearly 7 when we got back from Stella’s, so Nicky put together some cold meat and salad and we watched a pre-recorded episode of Silent Witness.

Today started cloudy, but soon developed blue skies and sunshine. We were hosting another BBQ, this time for Nicky’s prison group ladies. They arrived with far more food than we needed (though a little light in the dessert department so it was a good job that Nicky had done ginger nuts in cream). Again the BBQ was not very co-operative, and even though it got going, it just wasn’t very hot, so we did some of the meat on the hob. It mattered not as we still had a very good lunch and afternoon.

Take care,

Rick