GIFT

A day so happy.

Fog lifted early, I worked in the garden.

Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers.

There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess.

I knew no one worth my envying him.

Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.

To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me.

In my body I felt no pain.

When straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.

Czeslaw Milosz 

A Cunning Plan

"Why, yesterday, was this dinghy laden classic Honda with a damaged right front wheel arch parked under a Pohutakawa tree in Devonport opposite the 'Evergreen' second hand book shop"  I hear you ask --- Well it's all part of a cunning plan that I will explain to you. But first ......

The Evergreen second hand book shop in Devonport has a really good sailing section amongst it's bookshelves. It is from said shop that I have almost completed my collection of UK published Yachting World Annuals 1950 - 1973 (I am missing 1955, 1968, 1969, bugger, but I live in hope ).  I called in to take a look and bought a great book by the legendary Kiwi sailor Adrian Hayter

.........But what about the damaged car ? I hear you ask again. Well, a large and impossibly stupid steel post literally jumped out on me as I was reversing in a supermarket car park, simple as that. Bloody supermarkets, someone should show them how to design car parks fit for sailors, or alternately someone should show the car manufacturers how to fit tillers to cars instead of that stupid encumbrance called a steering wheel.

 Now to the cunning plan, bear with me as I explain. Dinghies are a perennial problem for small yachts such as mine. Inflatable dinghies are problematic because they don't row very well at all ( they are very dangerous in high winds as they are almost impossible to row ), necessitating the use of an outboard motor (fuel cans, stowage, smell etc, etc) which are expensive.

Also, inflatable dinghies not very robust. Nothing beats a rigid dinghy as a tender for a yacht - BUT, and its a big But, a rigid dinghy is almost impossible to stow on board small yachts such as I own ( 30 feet / 9 metres ) unless the dinghy is really small. But the problem is that most really small dinghies are not very sea worthy and don't have a great carrying capacity.

Dinghies are usually stowed upside down  between the main cabin hatch and the main mast. They are stowed here for safety reasons as towing a dinghy offshore in high winds can be dangerous as when running before the wind dinghies have a tendency to surf on the following seas. There are many cases where the dinghy has either surfed, broached and capsized or surfed itself aboard into the cockpit and injuring the crew.

What is cunning about my plan is that this second hand dinghy is the minimum size for sea worthiness, carrying capacity and stowability (is that a word?). It should stow snugly between the main hatch and the main mast with enough room for any crew member who is as thin as a Norwegian racing sardine to slip below when required.

This dinghy is shaped in such a way that it has a lot of volume for its length, has good free board and rows well to boot. This is a dinghy that boxes above its weight. I know all this because my late father had just such a dinghy which he used for his own little yacht back in those far off sailing days that I remember so well.

I got the dinghy for a fair price but it needs a lot of TLC including a complete re paint. What with my yacht Mariner not having been hauled out for two years because of my heart attack, my current big old trusty work horse of a dinghy in need of a lot of repair work and now this new (old) dinghy in need of work ..... guess what I will be doing over the Christmas break.

1st Prize In The Christmas Parade!

We did ourselves proud this year by taking out first prize in the Hikurangi Christmas Parade. What a lot of work for a 30 minute parade up and down the main street of Hikurangi; but I guess it's as much about the process (children involved in a lot of art work) as it is about the product.  A great deal of work went into the creation of this float by teachers and children - what a great day!

CHRISTMAS 2013 ROOM 5 HIKURANGI SCHOOL NORTHLAND NEW ZEALAND

This Saturday is the Hikurangi Christmas parade. Since the year dot Hikurangi School has had a Christmas float in the parade. This year will be no exception. The theme this year is 'Winter Wonderland', not exactly meteorologically correct for Aoteraroa New Zealand at this time of year but we have done the jandals / beach / pohutakawa theme before. So lets just say this year is a nod towards our Pakeha cultural hertitage from the northern hemisphere. The colours for the 'Winter Wonderland' theme are red, black, white and silver. I am sure on the day the float will look as awesome as it has done in years gone bye. These black trees (above) is Room 5s contribution to the parade.

I thought it would be great to have a big Christmas tree in the classroom but then I felt it would be nice for each child to have their own traditional Christmas tree to decorate and take home at the end of term. These are the childrens efforts. They brighten up the our room well and I hope they will brighten up their homes for Christmas in a couple of weeks time.

Sailing

Red sails glowing in the sun, zealous thrum of rigging and tiller,

From afar, from somewhere beyond the shore, echoes of lingering voices

And the the unhurried sounds of filling sails gave joy not only to me.

Before the five senses were opened, and earlier than any beginning

They waited, ready, for all those who would call themselves mortals,

So that they might praise, as I do, life, that is, happiness.

Hikurangi Art Exhibition (4)

This is another selection of work from the junior, middle and senior rooms that was exhibited in our Hikurangi School end of Term 4 Art Exhibition.

Flying Pigs - Hika Art Exhibition (3)

Tara's class created a squadron of magnificent flying pigs for the Hikurangi School Art Exhibition. I have to say I have seen my share of flying pigs in 62 years of living. Some of these pigs have flown very high within the veracity of some of the stories I have heard, others have mingled with very festive pink elephants, the sort whose specialty is always one of over imbibing.

These pigs were created by covering an inflated balloon with paper mache. When the paper mache was dry the required number of paper mache bumps were added for feet, nose and ears. Then porcine eyes and exquisite, soaring, gossamer glitter glued wings were attached with avionic precision and voila! a very versatile animal indeed was born. All of the piggy wiggies have a slot in the top to put money into if you want to use the them as money boxes - but only a real sadist would weigh down the avian dreams of a aerobatic pig.

Hikurangi Art Exhibition (2) Senior Girls

Hikurangi School Art Exhibition (1)

All professions, careers, jobs and vocations have their ups and their downs, their sacrifices and rewards, their disadvantages and their compensations.

There are a number of compensations in the Teaching profession that offset some of the frustrations, stress and relentless work.

One that is at the top of my list is childrens art. After 40 years of teaching, for me, childrens capacity for creativity is still a high point of the educational process. Childrens art is always fresh, like a new morning, like dew on leaves or a sun rise. It often takes my breathe away. I would be pleased and proud to have any of the art works created for our exhibition to be displayed in my home.

These are two exhibits that my children from Room 5 have made for display. The first is an exhibition of painted and decorated papier mache bowls. The bowls were made over a plastic bowl which was used as a mold. The second is a multimedia block print. We made the printing block and then decided not to use it with printing inks to make prints. Instead we used a number of other media to decorate them - vivid pens, crayons, dye and pastels. Some children etched into areas covered with pastel with the sharp end of a nail.

Congratulations Room 5 - You are all bona fide original artists of very high attainment. Well done.

Whangaruru Kapa Haka Festival

Yesterday Hikurangi School went by bus down the winding 'Old Russell Road' to Whangaruru and assembled with  a large number of other local schools for a Kapa Haka festival. A Kapa Haka group is a Maori cultural performance group.The forecast rain didn't eventuate so we were treated to a warm sunny come overcast day. It was a day of song and dance and Hangi food.


Each school took turns in performing, supported by large contingents of Whanau and friends. The performances were polished and engaging.
It is great to see Maori culture and language integrated into the primary school system in such a natural and comprehensive way.

E tipu, e rea, mō ngā rā o tō ao; ko to ringaringa ki ngā rākau a te Pākehā hei oranga mō tō tinana; ko tō ngākau ki ngā taonga o ō tïpuna hei tikitiki mō tō māhunga. Ko tō wairua ki tō Atua, nāna nei ngā mea katoa.		Grow tender shoots for the days of your world. Turn your hand to the tools of the Pākehā for the wellbeing of your body. Turn your heart to the treasures of your ancestors as a crown for your head. Give your soul unto God the author of all things.

As a teacher and a Kiwi I look forward to the time that Te Reo Maori (Maori Language) is taught in all our schools.

Florence Nightingale

I have called this 21st Century nurse extraordinaire Florence to disguise her real name of Christine. Christine is my beloved wife and the person to whom I owe so much. If it had not been her careful and patient nursing of me during the first week out of hospital after I had been operated on for  a quadruple heart bypass  I would have surely died - it's as simple as that.

William Shakespeare - All's Well That Ends Well - (1603)

I cannot give thee less, to be call'd grateful:

Thou thought'st to help me; and such thanks I give

As one near death to those that wish him live:

But what at full I know, thou know'st no part,

I knowing all my peril, thou no art.

Shipshape

 SEA FEVER - John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

GIVING THANKS

"It is better to light one candle, than to curse the darkness" - I find this thought even more relevant since my recent heart attack and subsequent heart bypass surgery. Life is too short for regrets. Life is to be embraced and lived fully - which includes standing back from time to time and fully reflecting on what you have to be grateful for and to whom.