It was Stuart's turn for a birthday on Monday. after a number of options for presents had been debated exhaustively (I am not exaggerating here), he decided he would like to get an inflatable boat. This he did and assembled a crew of his mates to join him on the maiden voyage around the pond. Dad was instructed to rush home on Monday to supervise. The staff meeting finished and I raced home.
Then nearly a disaster - I was trying to carry the inflated boat down the hill on my own and it snagged on a piece of wire, puncturing it in 2 places. When Stuart found out all hell broke loose. Puncture repaired the trip was back on and proved a hit with the kids!
I went to Auckland with 8 Year 10 pupils for a bit more than 24 hours. It was weird being in a city again. Big buildings, lots of traffic, confusing road signs, cosmopolitan lifestyles and a more diverse racial mix. The purpose of the visit was to encourage Maori students to study Science and medicine at University. Although Year 10's don't give away too much about whether they are impressed or not, they were exposed to some good role models and an inspirational atmosphere. Even the 6 hour van journey each way wasn't too painful!
