Here he is.

Zachery Brayden Bidwell by cell phone to his uncle Mathew then emailed to Nana Lynn then after some technilogical wizardry that I do not even understand I have save the email to Picassa and found out that I had an account and somehow I have been able to upload and down load OMG!! I just have to get his parents working skype and I will be away, LOL. Will keep you posted.

Life and (near) Death Experiences!

Life: It's a BOY!!!! Zachary Brayden Bidwell was born at approx 6.50pm on 20th February, weighing 8 1/2 lbs, 52cm long, and is a good looking baby (according to his unbiased Dad, lol), and his Uncle who has photographic proof. I received phone calls yesterday morning as there was a glitch with the cell phone here which did not receive any messages that were sent the night before. Hence I have yet to receive any photos. Cannot wait to see him. I did get to speak briefly to number 1 grandson when I had a phone call from his Dad with the news too and it was great to touch base with them. That was the best part of the day which went pretty much down hill from there.

(Near) Death: I had decided to take the girls (the three that remain while the others are on camp) into Gton for a mornings shopping, followed by lunch and a movie. As another staff member wanted to go in to get her nails done and there was a shortage of vehicles available on site due to camp, she offered her car for us to travel in. As she doesn't drive (hubby away at camp), in I hopped and off we went. Not far down the road, I noticed a knocking sound, which neither of us could identify. Went a bit further up the road and finally pulled over to have a look as it sounded almost like a flat tyre (this is a four wheel drive beast that I am talking about so wasn't entirely sure what a flat would be like in one of them). Herself said everything was OK on her side, my side was fine, the back of the vehicle where the spare sits was clipped on properly, nothing else was loose, so off we went again. I had been going reasonably slow down the dirt roads (80k) and had moved up to the speed limit on the tarseal (110k) when there was a loud clunk like I had hit something on the side of the road, except there was nothing there. I had begun to slow down and was doing about 100k, when the car started moving like I had a flat or a blow out a back tyre. So, by now I am breaking gently but with serious intent and managing the car as it slew across the road ,to a stop as we went off tarseal and onto the dirt on the left hand side of the road. I remember saying to the girls to hold on (to what, I have no idea!!). Got out to have a look at the damage to the tyre only to find it wasn't there!!!!! The entire wheel had come off!!!!! The wheel was lying on the road about 25 yds up the road. Fortunately, we were all fine, not a bump or a scratch. As we were looking at the vehicle, the wheel, the vehicle, and thinking how lucky we were, a car passed us and stopped. It was a teacher from Mullewa school who carried on to Mullewa to see if the garage was open to come and get the car. (It wasn't). We had rung one of our ex teachers who now lives and teaches in Mullewa , thankfully she was up and heading to town and she offered to come and pick us up so we could continue on our day out. While I was contacting her, my colleague was busy ringing back at school to alert the Brs to our plight to see if they could come and get the car. We were not all going to fit into the ex teacher's car so my colleague decided to stay with hers and get it back on site.

Once we got to Mullewa I realised there would be 7 people for 5 seats in the car going to Gton so what to do next. Rang my co-worker back at school who was meant to be having the day off to see if she would come and pick us up and she said she would take us into G'ton if I drove back. No worries. We waited until she arrived and then went to get petrol. The cell ph rang just as I was standing next to the petrol pump when one of the girls said, "miss, you can't answer a phone near a pump" so wanting to avoid a Saturday morning Armageddon type explosion, I moved around the corner of the store to answer not one, but two calls. I had just finished when my co-worker came out having paid for petrol and off we went. We had barely gone 3ks when she looked at the gauge and hello, it was nearly on empty. She asked me how much petrol I had put in, I said none, that I had answered the ph round the corner as we got out, and then she said, but I have just paid $40 for petrol!!! Oooops, so back we went. After a discussion with the shop, she finally got her $40 of petrol and off we set AGAIN. There was some debate whether we should in fact turn round and go back to school as in how many messages from upstairs did we need not to go into town that day. We were nearly ready to go back and try again for today but I remembered I had promised to cook tea for the Brs tonight and we would be back too late from the movies to do that, so with a deep breath, off we set to Gton once more.

We had travelled nearly 80k and were about 20k out of Gton when in the middle of the road was a bloke with a sign saying stop. He approached the driver's window and said there would be a 10 - 15 min delay while they tarsealed the road up ahead. ARRRRRGGGHHH. Well, that was number three I figured, and we were still alive, so the day could only improve now, surely ....... The temp outside the car was in the late 30's if not 40's so my co-worker found a skinny bush that was casting the merest shade on the side of the road and we parked beside it until being given the go ahead to drive on. Meanwhile, as it was cooler to have the car windows open whilst in the dubious amount of shade provided by said bush, the car filled with flies ( I have not told you yet have I, that the flies are back in pestilential proportions out here!). Great. Could the day get any better. Four hours after we left school, we finally made it to Geraldton. We went straight to Maccas for something to eat before checking out what was on at the movies. We had 40 mins to spare before the movie began so we did a quick run to the shopping centre where I bought a very, very cold ice coffee and just sat while the girls did a scurry round to get their bits and bobs.

We had decided on seeing "He's Just Not That Into You" which was a total chick flick . It's probably worth just about the three stars I saw it reviewed at. The movie has Jennifer Conolly, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Anniston and Kevin Connolly to name a few, starring in it. Not an Oscar in it for any of them I would think, but would provide spending money for them at least. At least the picture theatre was air-conditioned and by this stage that was bliss as travelling in the car, the air conditioning was intermittent at best.

I drove home and had a uneventful drive all the way for which I was truly thankful. Got back to find colleague was all good, her car had been taken to Mullewa after the wheel had been put back on. (it would appear that it had not been put back on properly the week before when it had been changed over after a flat tyre!).

I was asked if I had been scared, when the wheel came off and in fact I wasn't at all because I thought I was dealing with a flat tyre or blow out and once I had bought the car to a halt and we were all OK, that was it. I think I would have been terrified if I had known the whole wheel had come off and it would have been horror on a busy road, but there you are, the angels were on our side yesterday. However, if it is anything like the snake story, by the time this one does the rounds, no doubt it will sound much more dramatic, LOL. And who says a misspent youth in vehicles cannot come in handy some time, heh, heh eg sliding on gravel roads at speed etc.

It's 10am here and the girls have just got up as they have had a sleep in this morning. We are having a very relaxing, home base day today. I need to go and get some bacon and eggs for breakfast so will sign off for now, alive and well, LOL.

It's been a busy second week.

OMG, it is a week since I last wrote a post and where did it go????? Yes to those who were wondering, the old connection thing had not been the best last week. I am needing to check with somebody re how my computer is linking into wireless because I think I have dropped my main provider and seem to be picking up on others frequencies ..... or it could be me at my technilogical best, lol.

I have also had trouble talking to people on skype, it has been like talking to people through a tin can with lots of echo but hoorah, tonight I managed a perfectly good interchange with a friend in Waiuku (wave to Viv, lol).

Last week seemed to pass in a blur - it was the second week of school and we have had quite a bit of movement in numbers attending, with some of the students getting used to the new processes and protocols or not, which has led to some of them taking time out to think about how they might want to continue here (or not). At the moment we have only 5 girls at school and on Wednesday the WM leaves with 3 of them on an Outward Bound course for 10 days. I feel I've only really hit my stride this week getting some sense of order about the place. I have springcleaned the filing cabinet and our two first aid boxes today, updating everything in them, re-stocking and getting rid of meds past their use by date.

I was meant to have had last weekend off but ended up working Sunday as the WM, the WMH and several others studied, and passed their bronze medallion life saving badges over the last three days. The WM insisted I have Saturday off for my birthday which ended up being a very quiet day but lovely. The day started with a call from a friend in England at 8am and mid morning, I went to Geraldton with the Italians who took me out to lunch which was very nice indeed. Before we went to lunch we went to a place similar to a Bond and Bond at home, to look at some electrical goods and OMG found these massage thingies you can put over a chair while you are being rolled and thumped by the pad you sit on and against. I hopped on first and it was bliss, good firm massaging up and down my spine. Like Goldilocks I though I would try the next one which vibrated and thrummed up and down, and finally tried one that felt very like some sweedish brunhilde was working on my body. By now, himself was seated in the first chair, and I swear it was a toss between purring and dribbling to watch as the chair did its work. Not to be outdone, herself hopped on one and as we swapped, oooood and ahhhhhhd with the rollers finding all the right spots, we all decided WE WANT ONE!!!! Unfortunately by now we were running short of time so decided we would need to try them all again before we made the decision on which one was going to be the best. For anyone wanting a fun morning out shopping, I urge you to hunt around and try one yourself. I have been meaning to go on line to search out in NZ where you can buy them to compare prices etc.

For lunch we went to the Camel Bar where we had been for pizza the week before and had another terrific meal. As it was Himself's birthday today we were having a double celebration. Herself ordered oysters Kilpatrick for us as a starter - baked, thank heavens! I have only eaten cooked oysters before, usually deep fried in batter, in oyster vol au vents or smoked oysters out of a tin. I was a little apprehensive but these were beautiful - oysters in a shell with mozzarella cheese, finely sliced spinach, diced bacon and capscicums I think, grilled with parmesan cheese on top - yum. I had squid rings next, (calamari for the discerning), and was expecting 1/2 doz crumbed types such I would expect at home. Instead I received a huge plate of over a dozen rings, lightly, crisply battered, with a greek salad and tartare sauce - double yum. A bit more shopping and then it was back here and later on dinner up at the WM's. We were all knackered after our respective days efforts so did not have a late night and went home after watching a spectacular lightening show all around the horizon and a brief torrential downpour. Got home to read my emails, check facebook, answer ph messages, and managed to talk to Mum and Kay on skype which was great.

Was in Gton yesterday again because of basketball and have worked today as well. Yesterday began with a call from No 2 son and wife who had been at a wedding the day before and it was great to hear from them. I do love that my birthday has continued today as well. Tonight a good amount of the staff gathered for an impromptu pot luck dinner after the students had been fed for the Feb birthdays and what a great night it was. We had Happy birthday sung twice, two different cakes so am feeling a trifle spoiled right now.

Earlier today, I became the possesor of a new(old) fridge. The icebox in my current fridge has thrown a fit and took two days to freeze some food, then completely iced up and then looks as though things may have thawed again - not sure what, anyway, I have inherited a fridge that you could use as a high rise building, from one of the houses not being used anymore. This fridge is HUGE so will be able to store things much better if I only get to do a grocery shop every so often. The last fridge was not keeping vegies very well so hope this one does the trick though I am buying mainly fruit at the moment. I am totally enjoying fruit like I haven't done since I was a child. White fleshed nectarines, honey dew melons,mangos water melons, peaches and grapes are all very reasonable so am feasting indeed. Watermelons were down to $1.45k on Saturday, nectarines and peaches $3.95k and grapes $4.95k from memory. It's too hot to eat a lot, so apart from fruit and water am down to one main meal a day which means some of the kilos gained back in NZ are melting away, heh, heh.

Not sure whether I have mentioned it before, but the landscape is so different this year to the same time last year. It has been fascinating driving past the grain bins at Mullewa when the train has been in and watching the grain pouring into the carriages. I counted 60+ carriages on one train the other day. One grain bin is nearly emptied with another three to go that I can see. Have not seen much wild life - there have been two ex kangaroos on the side of the road, only joeys by the size of them, and I saw my first blue tongued lizard walking across the road on Sunday morning. The birds are still plentiful and the WMH has the imprint of the dust out of a pigeon's wings and body, left on the windscreen - such was the impact when it flew into it. The girls gave me grief on Sunday as I was driving along, then hit the brakes at the same time going no,no,no,no,no as a flock of green budgies flew at us while I was driving the van. I did mention, they were perfectly safe as there wasn't a car in sight 10k before or after us on the road.

We have had 6ml of rain in the past week which has been enough to help settle the dust. One of the Brs said tonight he was pleased to get the rain as the lightening storm was happening as it could have started a fire otherwise with lightening strike on very dry wheat paddocks and scrub. Having been so busy last week I have not seen much more re the fire's in Victoria. Millions of dollars have been raised since and I know several sport's fixtures donated their takings to the cause, plus took collections at the grounds. It was interesting to go into a dress shop in Gton on Sat to see they were having a sale - 20% off most items and they were donating that 20% to the victims.

Am needing to sign off and get some sleep - have an early morning to make sure the girls are packed for camp tomorrow morning so they can be checked off and any last minute things can be sorted.

Mum, Kay, Viv, J&J, Hein and Laura, thanks for your comments - always great to hear from you.

Fires and floods

After writing my post yesterday, I followed the news as the toll from the Victorian Bush fires rose to 35, 65, 84, 104 and have just heard via the 10.30 NZ news while talking to sister Kay on Skype, that the toll has now reached 130+. I have not seen any TV here today nor heard any news reports as I have neither a TV or radio at my place. I did watch two news specials last night and what I saw was more than I can comprehend. Whole towns are ash and rubble. There are cars burnt where they stopped and one can only imagine the people in them are included in the death toll. There are some amazing stories of survival but more of devastating loss. Witnessing the pain the survivors were going through, the shock and disbelief as some of them tried to make sense of their losses was enough to bring tears to my eyes. It was made more poignant as the news people at the report I watched at 10pm, had just been told that one of their own, a retired news reader - Brian Naylor and his wife were two of the casualties. There was a sensativity shown in some of the reporting yesterday when news often looks for the sensationalising of situations like this, that somehow made it seem more impacting to witness.

Alongside that, NZ losing the cricket seemed pretty small potatoes. I did get to see an amount of the game and it was a good match with what I would call a narrow loss. At least it keeps the competition more interesting.

With Australia being such a land of contrasts, as I was watching the news last night, after the reports on the fires, it then went to reports on some very severe flooding in North Queensland with 12m floodwaters south of Darwin (if I remember correctly) There was also a story of a 5yr old thought to be taken by a crocodile as he and his brother walked beside a flooding river, and two more people caught in the floods in a vehicle also probably eaten. Not something one has to worry about in NZ (crocodiles, not floods!).

The fires have touched people here on site. Some have family close to where the fires are - it got to 25k from the CBD of Melbourne, and one of the staff has many ex-pupils in the Kings Lake area and surrounding areas. Most likely there will be people he knows amongst those who have lost their lives.

It is a full moon here tonight and just glorious with the moon a perfect circle and large. The evening had a pinky tinge on the horizon at sunset against a blue background of the sky. We are due for some temps in the 40's later in the week - its a comfortable 22C inside my kitchen with the aircon on at 11.30pm at night so all is well.

Killer Cupboards

I see it is nearly a week since I last put a post up. My chief excuse is that I have had itinerant connectability with the internet - go figure the atmospherics at the moment, AND it has been the beginning of term with a new Principal, new DP (recycled from last yrs staff though) and a few new ways of doing things. From my point of view, all is well with the above as it is pretty much business as usual with the few girls that we have this year.

The snake story has now reached epic proportions and I believe is doing the rounds in Sydney thanks to the new Principal who is figuartively dining out on my reaction. The snake is now about 6' long and highly dangerous, lol...... ah well, you have to make your own fun out here!

On the sports front (gasp, I know, could anything be more disconcerting than my being aware of sport in its many and varied shapes and sizes) I believe NZ BEAT Australia at cricket the otherday AGAIN and Collingwood beat the Hawkes last night. I did not see the cricket but had a snide comment from one of the Brs yesterday, and saw only snippets of last nights game before turning the tellie off at lights out. I understand that NZ are playing Oz at cricket again today so may get to see some of that. It would be nice for a trifecta win so I can gloat a little - well maybe a lot, lol. Scarily, I miss the tennis being on daily!

Did the town run on Wednesday - the temp was in the 30's so a little cooler and reasonably bearable with the aircon on in the ute. The radio has been fixed so I need to make some tapes as it is pre CD car radio with a tape deck as its extra. Otherwise you get interviews and lots of news. As I am in the midst of my spring cleaning kick, I decided I needed more cupboard space in the kitchen as I was tired of storing appliances on the floor and food in stacks all over the miniscule bench space that I have. In one of those ephiphany moments whilst pondering the same and standing in a kitchen aisle in Bunnings, I spotted a sale price stand with guess what .... one door and two door, you build it pantrys!!!! Could there have been a better answer to a maidens prayer (alright, crone, but you never see that written in any fairy story!!!) I decided to go with big is always better and as it said 800mm wide, and I figured that was less than a metre which is about a yard in old measurement, give or take, decided that the two door would fit the space I had and do the trick (Cost, $99!!). Managed to get a worker person to help load it on the ute (with only about 8" resting over the edge. Had a pretty quick round to do and was back here by 5pm. Br helped get it off the ute (it weighed 25k from memory) and I rang the WMH to help lug it inside and natch, got an offer to help build it. Had my new neighbour (current DP) come over to offer a screwdriver and advice as well. We started to build it on the deck but the melamine was getting a bit damaged on the other wood, so with space to manage, took it into the kitchen to build. In short order the sides went up with the top and bottom in place and then the shelves slotted in when I decided to move from one side to the other (forget the reason why), when, as I lifted my not inconsiderably sized foot off the ground to place it between the shelves to get to the other side, I sliced my big toe open on the edge of the melamine shelf. I immediately started bleeding like a stuck pig all over the floor as the WMH dashed for paper towels to mop up small puddles of blood where I had hopped about and then wrapped more around the wound to staunch the flow of blood which was reaching epic proportions. Ick is all I can say. So, I am now seated on the floor with paper towels around toe with foot elevated up on a chair whilst the cupboard building continues (was also handed my beer to finish off, lol). The workmate's boys were also helping and the next thing I knew, was one of them had a cut along his knee where he had rested momentarily against the edge of the bottom shelf!!! Who would have thought a cupboard could also masquerade as a lethal weapon!!!! Maybe instead of buying any more sharp knives, I can throw various cuts of meat at the shelf edges when I want to slice said meat into shreds!!!

Everyone soldiered on and got the pantry upright and one door attached - it was nearly 8pm by then and the childer were starving and needing dinner and bed as they had school the next day. We decided to leave the last door as they are time consumingly tricky to put in so the boys could get fed. The WMH insisted I go up to their place so that my wound could be dressed properly after a heated discussion whether it needed stiches or not. I was willing to take the risk of having an ugly big toe and quailed at the thought of have needles jabbed into it to block the pain before another needle was used with thread, that would have to be undone again when healed. It had already sort of glued itself together by the time I had dinner and finally got to the plaster stage. I must admit to a slight twinge of nervousness re thinking a tetanus shot or not as I think the last one might have been 34yrs ago when I was having no 2 son but decided to gamble 24hrs to see how I went rather than another 1 1/2 hours to the Dr (and the thought they might want to stitch foot as well) Lucky me, no twinges of any thing (and I did stay up for several hours just in case, lol) and today when the plaster finally fell off, I can report the skin has held together but I will likey have a good scar out of it.

I can also report, that the pantry, other than trying to kill me off (is there a Stephen King novel in all this??) has fulfilled its requirements perfectly. All my appliances are stored within as are all my baking goods and the rest of the surplus tins etc are no longer on the bench but stored in the other cupboard - yay.

I am off today until dinner tonight and then again Mon - Wed evening. I drove the minivan to Morawa yesterday afternoon so the girls could go for a swim. The WM is going for her bronze medallion next Sunday so we will have someone qualified on site to use the pool here. That is the minimum requirement in WA and I have buckley's chance of earning one. You have to be able to swimm four different strokes for 4 lengths each, under 12 mins. The WM can do it in 10 mins - I can barely swim any recognisable stroke so no contest there.

Spoke to the no 2 daughter-in-law on Thursday and she is still with child and doing well. Unfortunately Minnie,(the cat) who had been to the vet several times since Christmas, was put to sleep last week as while she was in surgery it was discovered she was suffering from cat leukemia and was not going to have a long time ahead of her. Minnie was nearly 13 yrs so hard to say goodbye to a loved pet after that length of time.

Manged to get two cans of continuous spray insect death whilst in town last week and am happy to say, it seems to be working. I am feeling more confident that they will take care of the nasties that may lurk inside. I have also bought some surface spray to spray around the doors and windows, so am hoping my house will now be an insect free zone.

Hope everyone in NZ had a great Waitangi day/wknd. Have just heard that there are bush fires raging in Victoria and that 25 people have been found dead with possibly a higher toll once buildings are cool enough to be searched properly. Over half the houses in one town are gone, and one of the saddest stories, 6 people were found burnt in the car they were trying to escape in. The fire started by someone throwing a cigarette butt out of a car window. It's hard to get your head around.
Had better go and get some work done and some emails checked. Caio.

Who knew tennis could be so riveting!!! amongst other things

It is amazing how much one can pack in to a few days when living in the back of beyond. Friday, I set of with the WM to Gton as she had a dental appointment to attend and school uniforms and books to buy. The other main reason for being in town was the commissioning service at the Cathedral that afternoon for all the Catholic schools in the area. We had all got to the Cathedral at 2pm which was on the board back at school only to find that the service was not until 3.30pm. What to do,what to do - a late lunch for some was in order and I took the opportunity to do some speed shopping in town for two new shirts and 3/4 length pants to start the school year. The service when we returned was interesting - lots of singing - nothing that I recognised at all, but lovely to hear an organ playing. The Cathedral is something to behold inside - the walls are all gray and light gray horizontal stripes with orange and white striped painted bricks? around all the arches ( and there are many) which gives it a very bumble bee sort of look and not restful at all to contemplate. It is a shame because the building itself is very cathedrally with a domed ceiling, arches, stained glass windows and all the trimmings - just a very odd colour scheme indeed. There was a bit of a bun fight after the service at the parish hall so went for a minimalist graze and a beer (the aussie influence coming in here, heh, heh). We decided to make a complete day of it and stayed on in town to go to the Camel Bar for a pizza dinner which was absolutely delicious, followed by a walk along the beach front again before returning to school.

I was up at 7.30am the next morning to head back into Gton with another colleague as neither of us had done our grocery shopping the day before and our 'quick trip' cost several hundred dollars between us as we set ourselves up for the year with food and sundry items such as pots and pans, dinner sets and glasses (colleague, not me with that). Got back in time to defrost the fridge and clean it out for all the meat and beg I had bought, then back up to dinner at the WM's and to watch the womens' tennis fianl with Serena Williams beating Saffina in a very quick time.

Yesterday, (a mere 46o around noon), the WM's family and I assisted our newly promoted DP to move abodes to a house right opposite me. This involved moving out from his house next door which was an old caravan and leanto into a three bedroomed abode with a decent kitchen, living room and inside laundry - such are the small pleasures in life. Furniture was lugged back and forth and the satellite dish so TV could be connected which was a main priority. In the midst of this, I was trying to spring clean my own abode which became even more of a job when I dismantled my current bed which was a very old wire wove and exchanged it for a slat bed with head and tail board that is like a mid sized four poster - so many places to hang things off, lol. I sleep on a divan at school and I think the change from hard to soft mattress was giving me back ache so have had to let go my nostalgic trip down wirewove memory lane!!! The plus is that I now have a queen mattress on a queen frame instead of the queen mattress and double frame with the ww bed. As soon as the bed was made and room tidied, I have to admit to a nana nap because the heat and exertion made me decide on a siesta under the fan with the aircon on full warp speed. Even so it was only 10o cooler inside when I checked the thermometers.

The big event last night was the Federer/Nadal final in the tennis, with NZ playing the aussies in cricket (watched in the ad breaks, lol). The good news is NZ won the cricket - played in Perth, and the bad news for those of us who were backing Federer, is that Nadal won the final. I kid you not, there were times during the match when I was looking through my fingers as some of the rallies were that nail bitingly scarey. I have never seen tennis played with the intensity that those two played and it was a grand spectacle indeed. It was incredibly moving at the end to see Federer bought to tears, such was the high regard the Australian fans have for him which was mentioned by those giving out the awards as well as the standing ovations he recieved. Nadal did deserve to win in the end, which was a mamoth task playing 5 sets after a 5 hour marathon two days before. What impressed me most was the sportsmanship they both displayed once the match was over. Very moving TV indeed.

Today was up early again to set up the boarding house for the girls' return, whilst trying to maximise the cooler morning temperature. Just as well as it was gaspingly hot this afternoon and I was dripping wet just moving about the place. Fortunately, during the holidays a very 'you beaut' new airconditioner was installed in our sleepover room - which has been set on a hoar frost temp of 18o all day. It is bliss, so will happily sleep with my duvet on tonight, the only downside being the noise of the said aircon but I will live with that. I think today was hotter than yesterday but didn't get to look to properly compare. So far we have 6 girls back. It seems there have been floods up in the Kimberlys today and they are cut off without land line or cell ph coverage according to the news tonight. One of our girls is still stuck out bush somewhere as a river has risen that she cannot cross so we are expecting her back later in the week.

I nearly had a heart attack in chapel tonight. As I was listening, totally focussed on what the new principal was telling the students who had returned, the WM tapped me on the back and said very quietly pointing to the floor at my feet 'snake'. I believe I froze and could not move for several moments as I then espied a very small snake about the size of a no 8 knitting needle, slither in a snake like way, under the pew in front of me. Once I had ascertained the size of the snake and parts of me would move again, I slowly lifted my legs in one smooth movement, horizontal and rested them up off the floor on the pew I was sitting on. I am not sure whether it was my movement or the way I was intensely focussed on where the snake was slithering to that caught the attention of the Principal, but as he raised his eyebrows in mid talk, I managed a strangulated gasp and said in a loud whisper, "SNAKE". He paused, complemented the students on how well they had been paying attention and dismissed them and then he called a couple of male staff up to check what sort of snake it was as it had finally reached the corner of the floor and was looking for somewhere else to crawl.

Apparently it was not a poisonous snake - and one of the men killed it by taking off his shoe and beating it to death there and then. That is now my second chapel/snake experience and I would hope the last!!! The thing is, I keep expecting something huge when talking about snakes, and they are so small, hence you could be on top of one before you knew it.

I am not having a good wildlife week as last night narrowly avoided a large spider whilst on the way to the bathroom. I usually head there and back in the dark, knowing the way, as you do, but last night as there was stuff everywhere, for safety sake I turned on a light - all the better to see this flopping huge spider run through the door from the laundry into the kitchen. I backed up into my bedroom where the trusty flyspray was and standing about 6' away, gave at least 30secs blast to where the spider was lurking, shot to the loo and then back to bed. Have not looked for a body yet, will wait until I have the vacuum cleaner in hand which is about as close as I want to get to the dead body parts. The joys of summer and returning to a house where the continuous blasting flyspray has run out during the hols!!!!!

A final mention must go to the wonderful news that the Otaua Village Preservation Society were successful in their submissions to halt the building of a waste oil processing plant in the heart of their rural village just out of Waiuku. The waste oil people may challenge this decision but how fantastic that with all their money and expensive consultants, they were beaten by the passion and common sense of a local community that registered amongst the legalese also bought to bear on their behalf.