chilly for June!!!!

The weather forecast for the weekend said there would be snow down to 500m. This morning we woke to lovely clear skies and snow on the nearby hills.

It is dry and sunny here but cool. It is good to look at snow from a distance!

another broken hand

J has sustained another broken bone in his right hand as a result of falling awkwardly at rugby training!

This is the third broken hand in 18 months!

It probably happened as a result of the Hawkes Bay drought... the playing fields are like concrete!

It is very unfortunate timing as this is exam week at school and his right arm is in plaster! He is able to write very slowly with his left hand and the school is encouraging him to attempt the papers!

Hopefully it is only a minor fracture and the plaster will be off in 2 weeks.

He is more concerned about missing competing in the schools orienteering relays next week but I think he will be able to run with the plastered arm.

rain at last

It finally started raining in Hawkes Bay at the weekend while we were in Wellington. It rained steadily for about 48 hours. It should cheer the farmers up a bit.... but it came too late to make the grass grow. They are selling off their cattle and sheep as they have no fodder to carry them through the winter and there is no spare fodder in the region.

Wellington at weekend

We went down to Wellington last weekend for the New Zealand - France rugby game. New Zealand sports events put on an excellent show before the matches or games - the pre-match show at the Westpac Stadium was a bit like the opening of the Commonwealth Games! The Westpac Stadium would be a good model for the future Northern Ireland stadium!

The AB's were too good for the third rate French team but some of the New Zealanders kep getting injured and may not make the World Cup team!

The weather in Wellington was lovely for a change... much better than the summer weather when we were there in December and January!

Queens Birthday weekend

Both Australia and New Zealand celebrate the Queens Birthday in June will long weekend holidays. I expect the UK does not need another bank holiday in the springtime!

J went away with the Hawkes Bay orienteering group to compete down in Wellington region. You can find more on the HB orienteering on http://www.hborienteering.com

They put all their competition results on the website.