Going underground

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It has been a bit of a odd week, one way or another, but we have got to the end of it and will progress onto the next one.

Nicky had Monday and Tuesday at home because she really wasn’t up to going into work due to lack of sleep, caused by work, so spent most of the time applying for other posts within the library service which had been listed as being unfilled over the weekend. What will come of it we do not know, but she has done everything she can.

I have had a few items of work along with my house husband duties. I collected Dawn and Lorraine form the airport on Tuesday (they seem to have had a good trip) and we finished my birthday jigsaw. On Monday evening I went to a graduation show on the invitation of one of the students (who is also a D&M member) as I had been the model for her project. I had done the sitting for free but she had printed out one of the images for me which gave me at the show, which I though was very generous.

In a sort of parallel theme to Nicky’s work situation, there has been five part “interactive” and live series on the TV this week looking at what our lives might be like in 20 years time, and are we (as a nation) prepared for the changes which appear to be coming? It was quite an interesting series and intermingled with our own personal situation has made the week feel a little surreal. Driverless cars, apprenticeships for retirees, a cure for cancer and chicken-free chicken were just some of the items highlighted. Twenty years ago we had no idea about the impact of the smart phone because it didn’t exist, so how we get a handle on life in 2037 I don’t know, but it was an interesting attempt.

We have had a mixture of weather through the week, sunshine, showers, very strong winds, and then a weekend dominated by fog. Nicky had a BHB quilting day yesterday so I did laundry and watched the last of The Hobbit films. Today after church she played Scrabble over at Stella’s and then we had possibly the highlight of the week, and the culmination of a good few years of waiting (almost there now). 

The Waterveiw Tunnel will open in a couple of weeks, and this weekend we have been able to walk through some of it. The tunnel connects SH16 to SH1 meaning that there is now a second north-south route through Auckland, and finally there is a motorway link from the CBD to the airport. The future has just arrived!

The walkthrough is a very popular and all ticket event (which we only just managed to get after being given a heads-up by Becky) which around 65,000 people are attending. Today and next Sunday and a couple of week days are for walkers, and there are a couple of dates for cyclists too. We caught a bus to take us part of the way there then walked to the temporary entrance. We got to walk to around the middle of the tunnel then turn through one of the connecting walkways and return back through the other tunnel. Each has three lanes for traffic. Nicky, as ever, met people who she knows, and we had some fun conversations. It was dark by the time we came out and we managed to get another bus home.


Southbound Exit
Tour guide points out an interesting feature


Take care, Rick

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