Heaps o’ Visits – my Meandering Memories –1982 to 2020
Anither visit was in February, 2010 when Ewen and Lynda were there from Scotland – that was fun, the auld school freenz thegither. It was the time I went to their auld hoose on Westenra first, forgetting they were on Gwynfa Tce. I think James got dressed up in tartan! – just to make it even more of an occasion. Rod and Marie-France also joined for dinner. I think that was the time that wiffy had created a tidy smoked fish as “horsey deuvers” with the lager or a glass of wine. Great to have such cullinary memories with fine cooking of delicious Greek spinach pie called spanakopita.
Mar.23, 2012 Met Billy Connolly in Wellington before flight. Also met writer Matthew Turner in Chch. He has written a book about Japanese protesters against the Vietnam War. Had a good night at Js’s. Mar. 24th with Denis at Pomeroy’s met ex-mayor Gary Moore. Mar. 25th walk round Hagley.
April 12, 2013: For Rod’s birthday at pub and James’s for the usual delicious dinz.
After Elevate pub on corner at end of Sydenham we went to buy Bluff oysters. We watched telly later, an interview on TV 1 with Beth and Bianca on the expressway. Sat up late listening to old rock’n’roll music, a great night for Rod’s birthday. I’m in Georgina’s room for third time, beautiful feeling of old Christchurch.
April 4, 2014 Both Bee and me, sushi lunch at Sumner and walk on beach. James’s for great sphenacotta dinz. I gave James a “corked” glass for late 65th pressie. We talked about his resthome business idea, me weel mindin’ o’ his last disastrous business venture.
Sat. April 5th Beth and I met her cousin Sue at Luciano’s on Moorhouse Ave.
Sept. 2014: To see Rod&M-F … Sara also there for dinz. Great to get Rod’s news of their son, Chris’s second child to be born early October and they hope to get home for that. Also Rod told a terrific joke: North Spain people blocking entrance to elevator? Shouldn’t put all your Basques in one exit! They said our mutual friends Danny and Lyn Cronin are very well, he and Rod still drinking Armagnac quite often. Rod was full of praise for the NHS, saying they had served him very well with a polyp removal from his bowel recently.
Other visitings: It wasn’t just Beth and me visiting James and folks in Christchurch. They visited us in Levin at the end of 1981 when I had just returned from a year in Mackay, North Queensland, and we were minding John and Ngaire’s house while they were overseas. Actually James didn’t want to come to Levin but he was pleased to catch up with auld freen’ Grant who also visited for an evening meal round a tiny table; he liked James and made an extra effort to visit from the Wairarapa. James had visited my father and me at Grant’s homestead at Rangitumau in the countryside there in the late 1970s.
April, 2013: James joined Tom to celebrate my 65th in Paraparaumu, staying overnight. We enjoyed quite a few wines, just the three of us, Beth having left us to our reminiscing and daft laughs to enjoy a film at the cinema with a friend. That was the broken chair time, but nuff said, it was put together again OK until a professional could make it sittable on.
On August 22, 2015 a couple of days after Beth’s brain operations, baith freenz paid a kind visit frae Christchurch to go and see Beth lying “oot o’ it, fair stunnert” in Wellington ICU. Both were very supportive, saying encouraging things. James said, “She’s looking good … considering.” He also said readings were still OK and stable. But there was still a fair dose of Noradrenaline being administered, and he’d like to see that reduced. Amazingly, that’s exactly what happened two days later, the Noradrenaline getting halved again to become five mls/hour. Great predicting, mun!
It was Beth’s fourth day in ICU when they stayed the night at our place. James gave me a hug after a few wines, one of those hugs that would do justice to a wrestling clinch. I was nearly breathless after it! Still, I knew he meant well. Also visiting at the same time were Tom and Karen over from Brisbane, such great support was very much appreciated.
Another visit to us was when Beth had recovered “nay sae bad”; I think James was on way to Martinborough, maybe in early 2018, seeing relatives there. They went on a hill walk behind our place and got caught in some brambles on the way back. James muttered a few serious oaths since I had recommended the walk, knowing there were terrible thorny things … yeh, right! “Mah fung legs are a fung mess, fung sair tae, yakunche!” I said, “Ye shouldnaeah been wearing fung shorts, ya daftie!”
On another visit James told me about their trip to Scotland. There was some medical year reunion, maybe the 25th since graduating in 1972. But that would make the visit 1997 thereabouts. I would have said my visit was more like around 2005 or ’06, so maybe it was a 35th reunion. Not sure. Anyway, it was the time James gave a talk in the McEwan Hall near the medical school. It was to assembled doctors from his graduation year. He showed me the video of it, all about doing his musculo-skeletal speciality in NZ … half a dozen of the audience walked out. I felt a bit sorry for him, his specialisation not legal in UK. Must say it was courageous that he talked about it to his medical year. I was glad he told me and showed the video. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t think much of the lack of respect or politeness of some of his colleagues.
Sept., 2012: A long time before this, James and I enjoyed a fair bit of the company of friend Warren Burge in Wellington, and many years later we caught up with him again in Christchurch. Warren told us about his “tap on the shoulder”, surviving prostate cancer. I think he was maybe in his early sixties. It was good seeing him again after many years.
On Feb. 28, 2015: Visit to Chch to see Mike and Jane who asked me not to tell the result of some big cricket game New Zealand was playing maybe agin Oz. They wanted to watch it later. It turned into a nail-biter of a game somewhere, which they won only just – no probs not telling them coz I didn’t know the result back then. Jane’s brother had died Xmas Eve, and they’d had a fine visit to Japan recently, especially Yokohama. They both love Japan. I gave them a copy of Ed Levinson’s book, Visions of Japan. It was great yarning with Hamish about Auckland life and work, also his flatting there – he was in Chch to do a triathlon next day. Mike and Jane were off to Nelson to stay in an Air B&B.
In Oct., 2012: we met the Christchurch yins on Nelson waterfront in a café there before going to the funeral service for Pat, Claire’s mum. (I’ve already written about this in connection with James giving me the great idea for “Living Funeral”.)
Nov. 8 – 11, 2013 We got shuttle from airport arriving Noosa for lunch. James arrived later that evening in time for Tom’s 65th celebration dinner at Sails Restaurant on Laguna Bay. Tom&Karen stayed in a luxury apartment with the family at Number One, Hastings Street up on the hill while we rented an apartment at the Lookout Resort with a fine swimming pool. We had a good time reminiscing with Tom and James. We were driven back to airport Sunday, Nov. 10th in time to get their flight home to Chch. We stayed the night in a nearby motel and ate at a Chinese restaurant where a kind couple paid our bill without saying, a kind of charitable act.
Oct. 22, 2015: Great to see Rod and Marie-France again, looking well. Good to joke and chat over old times. Georgina arriving early flight next morning. James off to work at 8.45. Before he left he kindly gave me a couple of necessary painkillers for the imbibing the night afore.
I had a pleasant yarn with Georgina, got a job interview at Air NZ next week. She likes Jacinda Ardern very much. I told her I’d met her at a Kapiti Branch Labour meeting, one of our speakers.
I learned that all Beth’s demanding is typical in stroke recovery, something to do with loss of recognition of social behaviour. Great information to get. coz it’s very tough at times.
James told me a great tale of buying a tie for a wedding in some back-country village in NSW in Oz. He was directed to a garage, the person thinking he had asked for tyres! He got a nice one at a St Vinnie’s but it had H for Honda on it, very small H fortunately.
Early March, 2016: Walked Sumner Beach, too windy for a swim. The big main room at James’s was fair hoatchin’ wi’ fowk, Bernadette’s and Sara’s families. We had a lovely dinner of spanokopita (I think this must be one of their favourites!). About 10.30 James got out the Port and the Black Label… I stuck to his good W5 Sauve Blanc. It was a great little overnight visit to Chch., also catching up with Michele for coffee at Savoires in Merivale.
Jan. 19-21, 2017: To see Rod and Marie-France
After I’d been out at Governor’s Bay staying overnight of the 19th, I met Rod, James and Hamish next evening at the Christchurch Club. James bought me a very nice dark ale from Liberty Brewery, Auckland. We had a fine fish dinner later at home. I brought flowers and a couple of bottles of French wine to James. He said the Narbonne Merlot was really smooth. Rod recommended I take a look at “Wings over Scotland”, a critical news programme. James told one of his favourite jokes about “rubbing the ointment round back passage”. (See “Heard a Guid Yin!” and go to this joke under a great photo of Ewen and James.)
July 26 – 30, 2018 To Wanaka for James’s 70th: (Chch overnight 26th, overnight Q’town 27th) Met Tom and Karen at Captain’s restaurant in Q’town, then longer drive than I’d expected to Wanaka, getting there for lunch, walk by lake, photos of lone tree in lake, andd noting good-looking restaurant called Wineglass; later beautiful dinz of salmon and mashed tatties. I gave James a bottle of Cognac and a bottle of low-alc. wine; Tom gave him an album of old photos – Brilliant! Played daft poker game until 1.00 a.m., reminding us of all the crazy games we’d played many decades ago, except back then it was real money, ironic when we didn’t have much! Next day a fine lunch at Mount Difficulty, a bit of a drive to get there but well worth it in glorious sunshine. Great wine tasting of Pinot Gris, Riesling and Pinot Noirs. Returned via Cromwell. Out to Italian restaurant in evening.
On the 30th, we got the early morning (8.00) shuttle to Q’town for our flights home arriving by early afternoon.
This had been the second-last time to see James, next time would be Tom’s 70th in November on Moreton Island, near Brisbane.