Country Folk know how to have Fun

Yes indeed, people living in the country know all about having fun.  While we have been staying here with the family at Kiwitea, (such a tiny little place you would miss it if you blinked), we have tagged along while they have been visiting the neighbours.  Bringing extra people is no problem at all, and we have been warmly welcomed in various households.  As well as sampling the more usual cuppas and cold beers, several people decided to have a go on a pair of stilts.  Oh, oh, this won’t go well, we thought.  It’s OK for the agile kids to climb up on the stilts, but for middle aged people who may have wet their whistle on a beer or two could well be in for a fall.  Surprisingly, everyone who tried did really well.  The boys in the household showed how easy it was, then my daughter Nicky decided she really must try the stilts out.

Nicky on the stilts

Quickly followed by grand-daughter Megan

Another fun day was when neighbour Roger turned up in his 1912 Warrick Tricar and kindly offered to take the two townie visitors for a spin.  This veteran car was originally owned by the Christchurch Press and was used to deliver the newspaper from a box in the front.  This was eventually removed and the front seat was added later for passengers.  It felt like dicing with death as we sped along, with me hanging on tight to the arm rests and visions of tumbling out the front onto the road.  With only forward and reverse gears, no brake, (so I was told, but he could have been telling tall tales) and nothing much to hang on to, no wonder I was a little nervous.

Roger all set to take me for a spin

The tiny motor

  Single back wheel

This car is very economical to run, Roger told us, and he had driven it down SH1 to Levin and back.  That sight would have turned a few heads, for sure.  Robin jumped in for his turn, but didn’t seem nearly as worried as I was. 

Roger and Robin off for a ride

Definitely not having fun was Roger’s dog who came to visit with a sweat shirt tied over his chest – he probably felt as silly as he looked, and we all had a good laugh at him.  He’d just had his coat clipped, we were told, and was feeling the cold.  Roger and Christine’s dog was a “Bed Spring”, a cross between a Bearded Collie and a Springer Spaniel. 

Neighbour’s dog didn’t like being laughed at

While we were being taken for a ride in the Tricar, son-in-law Robert and grand-daughter Megan were all dressed up ready for a day out at the races.  Don’t they look smart?  Robert has a winning formula, he told us, and more often than not comes home with more cash than he went with.  They are just out to have fun, with their annual trip out to the Boxing Day races. 

  Robert and Megan