This Week……..

I’m still the designated driver in the household while Robin is recovering from his knee replacement operation and we have been going on a few small trips around town this last week.  We were pleased that our local strawberries from “Shirley’s” are now available so drove down on Saturday to get some, the first of the season.  Two large punnets, one to eat now, and the other one Robin hulled, halved, and froze.  Shirley’s now has a “real fruit ice-cream” cart, so I’m sure we will buy one of these each next time we come calling.  So far we have enjoyed strawberries for breakfast with our cereal, and strawberries for dessert with jelly and whipped cream, and there are still plenty left in the punnet.

Strawberries from Shirley’s

On the way home we called in to check out a newly opened café for a coffee.  The place was buzzing, which was good to see and the owner was very happy with the support he was getting from the locals.  We tried coffee and a cake each, and looked through the menus for later – they serve breakfasts and lunch, so I’m sure we will be back.

Robin was the BBQ king on Saturday night, and cooked a rolled stuffed lamb shoulder, it was a good size so I’m guessing it was actually a hogget.  All that tasty stuffing was trying to escape!  There's nothing like a roast on the BBQ,  it smelt and tasted delicious. 

Mmm, roast lamb for dinner

The weekly physio sessions are ongoing, and Robin’s knee is continuing to show small gains each time with flexibility.  Then on Tuesday we attended out monthly Probus meeting, it’s been a while since we were last here with all the hospital/medical appointments.  The guest speaker was Simon Manning who talked about his role in managing the Funeral Disaster Response Team for the NZ Funeral Industry.  When natural or man-made disaster strikes, sometimes there are more fatalities than local resources can manage. Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORTs) support local mortuary services on location, working to quickly and accurately identify victims and reunite victims with their loved ones in a dignified, respectful manner.

Simon Manning

Following the 1979 Erebus air disaster in Antarctica which claimed 257 lives, Simon Manning helped establish a more structured disaster response for future fatal events.  This team was called in to help in disasters such as the Cave Creek disaster, the Christchurch Earthquake, the Mosque attacks, .and the White Island Eruption.

Simon Manning was made a Companion of the Queen's Service Order in the Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours list this year for services to funeral services and disaster victim identification.  This was such an interesting talk, and I’m sure non of us were aware of this very important group and the services they provide for the country when disaster strikes.