Happy new year to everyone, as I am too late for the merry xmas to you all. Thanks for the Xmas cards, letters and messages received to date. We have had a year of mixed blessings. We welcomed with open arms, Chris Walker, Bex’s husband, at a very romantic wedding at Tora beach, north west of Wellington. We had a whole weekend of celebrations with most of my family, all of Roger’s and some of Gary’s in attendance.
I have also had the great pleasure to meet up in Wellington regularly during the year with Bex, Chris, Rohin and his lovley young lady Kirsty Tait; and yes she is of Shetland heritage. Kirsty’s parents came to the Viking Ball in May with us.
In October, sadly my father, John Rayner, almost 75, lost his battle with heart disease, and died of heart failure on the 8th. He had been gifted with the last 7 years of life, depending on his 2 defibrillators, Charlie, then Charles, and the fabulous coronary care staff at Christchurch hospital. He also had a great community of people living around him in Glentunnel, an old mining village about 50km west of Chch. He adored his old cottage, and had an army of helpers to keep the garden and house in tiptop condition. Dad provided character and variety to the village with his multicoloured waistcoats, various hats and his sharp/gruff tongue. After he died we found 30 waistcoats hanging in his wardrobe…. We farewelled him at the little St Andrews of the Glen church, where Dad had been the bell ringer.
Between these 2 big events, Oli busied himself at intermediate school, and really improved his cello playing. He loved being in the school orchestra, string ensemble, and took part in the big school production, Tohora, about saving whales, at the end of the year.
We spent too little time at Omarama in 2007, although Oli, Christopher and I were there for a week in winter, and it was very, very cold. The water pipes froze 5 out of 7 nights, and we had a stalagmite every morning under our dripping bath tap. The days were clear and beautiful, but it took a lot of heating to combat the -12 deg C temperatures.
Also, Oli started wearing glasses during the year and looks very intellectual!! Work took up a lot of my time in 2007, with me speaking at 2 conferences in Australia, and many trips to Wellington. Our big strategic changes at Statistics NZ are at a crucial stage of needing to deliver benefits. But it’s like trying to move a huge ship that rumbles on under its own momentum, and changes take time to make a difference.
Gary is in the 2nd year of his master’s degree, but spends a lot more time pursuing geocaches all over the south island, and also a couple of bonus weeks in Aussie in December. He and 8 other kiwi blokes, did a 24 hour raid on Adelaide, finding 195 geocaches in that time. There were many blisters and sore muscles, but they achieved a southern hemisphere record. He also finally finished the double sea kayak and we launched it at the end of the year, on New Year’s Eve.
We spent the final few weeks of 2007 at our wee house in Omarama, 33 Blackpeak road. It has been very hot, dry and dusty. Gary goes hanggliding, while Oli, me and Mercury go to the river, which is nice and cold being snowfed. It’s very exciting with glider competitions in the skies overhead, and we have as neighbours, the family of the captain of the All Blacks, Richie McCaw. And, no, we haven’t asked him what happened in Cardiff.
Goodbye for now, Eliz, Gary, Oli and Mercury.
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