Rain in Northland

Kia Ora Whanau
The rain has set in Northland and we are forecast to be getting 150mm (6 inches in old money) by tomorrow night. Good for the dried out soil, grass and sheep etc that eat it. Good for the veggy garden and for filling up our water tank. Not so good for the adolescent population of Kaitaia who have been denied their annual end of summer party venue at the annual A&P show. On the one hand it is a pity that it is raining as it will be a wash-out even if it is not cancelled. On the other hand there is often trouble at the A&P showground on a Friday night, with old scores settled. There has even been a suggestion/ rumour that a virulent youth gang is going to have a presence. So from a teaching/ concerned adult point of view, maybe the rain will keep the town a bit cleaner.

We have had another manic week, perhaps not as much of a trial as last week as we all adjust ourselves to the routine and get used to getting up early. We had some good developments this week too. Patrick and I went mountain biking with the big boys last sunday. Cool!! We went up Larmers round onto a track that runs through the bush to diggers Valley. If i was really dedicated I might show our route on Google Earth! I have pictures and even a bit of video that might end up on Youtube. After our little escapade in the paddock when I took a rather painful tumble that might have had consequences on family size 10 years ago, I was a bit shy about going any where near full pelt up a track on my bike. Paddy had no such qualms and we could well have discovered an outlet for his interest in risk-taking that C and I had been looking for. He was off in front of me, going through streams and over roots and getting off where it got too steep. he put me to shame with my 18 gears against his single back cog! Time to get him a better bike methinks. He often spends an hour cycling round the yard in the evenings. Meanwhile my fitter colleagues went off much further and were clearing the track so that it could be ridden from end to end. By the end of our run I had picked up speed and dropped the saddle right down. I started to get up to speeds where you get an adrenaline rush from going fast and having to make split second decisions where a slip can send you over the bars.

Stuart came home upset on Monday because of some nasty kid who was playing mind-games with him at his new school. Another kid had been giving him physical grief. We went down to the karate school which runs 2 nights a week, by coincidence in his own school, and Patrick and he enrolled. From my observations on Monday, it is run by a number of men who have a good grip on what is going on, without making it too serious. There are lots of kids lives that are blighted by bullying and there are some answers and a lot of hand-wringing. We shall see if karate helps Stuart.

Thats all for now.
Ka kite ano.