50 Years of Probus

 It was a special celebration at our Probus club meeting this week, celebrating 50 years of Probus in New Zealand.  Probus had its beginnings in the UK in 1965 with retired members of Rotary forming a community based social club in Welwyn Garden City, north of London, named the Campus Club.  Then the following year the first actual Probus Club was established by the Rotary Club of Caterham.  Probus then found its way to New Zealand with the first club in the Southern Hemisphere being the Probus Club of Kapiti Coast.  Our own club, Levin Combined Probus Club was formed in 1995.

We had an interesting speaker, Cliff Rasmussen, Operations Team Manager of the newly opened St John Levin Ambulance Station, telling us of how the centre is run, and the different roles the staff have.  This talk was followed by a special morning tea to mark 50 years of Probus in New Zealand.

Dot, Jenny and Robin at Probus meeting

It’s that Time of Year again

It’s been busy, busy, with Christmas breakups happening one after the other from various groups and clubs we belong to.  We  attended the last Probus meeting of the year yesterday, and what a great turn out there was, everyone made an effort to be there.  The meeting room in our local Cossie Club was full to bursting.  The meeting progressed well, and the last item on the agenda was a local singing duo.  A lovely couple who sang songs that we all knew and enjoyed.

We certainly enjoyed their singing

We pulled crackers, read out the silly jokes, and put our paper hats on.  And all the time the delicious smells of our Christmas lunch wafted by as we waited to be called up to the buffet tables.   It was a smorgasbord delight.  The catering was wondaful, a great selection of salads, roast veggies, cauliflower in cheese sauce, hot ham and chicken.  And for dessert, sticky date pudding, meringues, fruit salad and cream.

Waiting for our lunch

I’m sure most of us ate a bit more than we should have, and there was talk around the table of going home for an afternoon nap!  It was a lovely finish to the Probus year.

Merry Christmas

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. 

Big Day Out

With the chance for a tour around the famous Weta Workshop, how could we say no to a Big Day Out organized by our Probus Club?  Yes, we had to set the alarm clock to make sure we were up, showered, dressed, breakfasted, and down town to get on the bus bright and early.  About 40 of us lined up, took our seats on the bus, and off we went to the big city, Wellington.  We travelled along the new Transmission Gully Road, a first for some of those on the bus, passing by the Rainbow Bridge.  The bus driver maneuvered the large bus around the narrow Wellington streets, and our first stop was to a short but rather steep walk up the hill to Antrim House in Boulcott Street.

 

Antrim House

Antrim House was built for Robert Hannah (of Hannah’s Shoes fame) for his family back in 1904, and the surrounding would have been quite different back in those days.  With no high rise buildings in sight, the views down to the sea would have been spectacular.  The interior is a warm glow of polished kauri and totara paneling, and features a lovely kauri staircase.

Front door, and tiled fireplace

After the death of Robert Hannah, the house spent some years as a hotel, and was later purchased by the Government to be used as a hostel for young men in the Public Service.  After much debate, it was decided that the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, now known as Heritage New Zealand, would be given Antrim House for it’s Headquarters, which seems rather fitting to me. After a couple of years of renovations, NZHPT moves in. 

Down the hill we walked to our next stop of St Mary’s of the Angels Church, built in the Gothic Revival style, and opened in 1922.  I can vividly remember my earlier (first) visit to this Catholic Church.  It was way back in October 1962, the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the world waited with baited breath,  we thought we were on the brink of nuclear war.  A group of my workmates and I decided to attend a church service here, to pray for peace, I was 17 years old at the time.  Even down here in far away New Zealand, we felt threatened by the unfolding events.   An American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba.   President Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba, to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address.

No one was sure how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond to the naval blockade and US demands. But the leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than twenty-five years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal; the missile crisis was over, the arms race was not.  How many can remember living through this troubling time?  The interior of the church is very peaceful, with many beautiful lead light windows.  After looking around, many of us were happy to sit and reflect awhile, after all, the world is still troubled by unrest in many countries and an unjust ongoing  war.

St Mary of the Angels

The bus was waiting outside for us, we climbed aboard and drove through the city streets.  The conversations were interesting, as people exclaimed of the new building erected since their last trip to the big city, replacing the places they knew in earlier years.  We drove around to Shelly Bay to our lunch stop, Chocolate Fish Café.  Those with long memories will remember when Shelly Bay was an Airforce Base.  Our bus driver expertly backed the big bus up beside the building, and as a nice touch, the staff came and put a step down for us, and welcomed is into their establishment.

Lunch time at Chocolate Fish Café

Our group was ushered into a covered courtyard, the heaters were glowing to keep the chill at bay, and we sat and pondered the menus.  Whitebait fritter sandwich was on the menu and it seemed that this was the most popular choice, with seafood chowder coming a close second.  Whitebait is a real delicacy, how often do we have it?  No wonder it was so popular – however Robin bucked the trend and went with a steak sandwich.  After our meals were cleared away, the staff returned with little dishes of chocolate fishes for us to enjoy, that was an unexpected touch, and very welcome.

Robin with our neighbours from the village, Bruce and Julie

The highlight of the day was our 90 minute tour of Weta Workshops, of Lord of the Rings fame.  Kevin, our very enthusiastic host, took us around the display rooms, explaining how the film props were made going through many stages  from conception to the finished products.  And those heads and bodies which the actors wore, turning them into monsters, all these took an awful lot of time to get in and out of.  As Kevin told us, since starting Weta Workshops , technology has come a long way in making these creations.  There is a full time sword maker on staff a required, and his original work of art is used in close ups by the hero and copies are made from this for the crowd scenes.  All very interesting and absorbing, and we were pleased to be able to handle examples of exquisite leatherwork, chain mail, and weapons as they were passed around.  Taking photos was limited to the reception room, and masks were required during our time here.  Our host wore a Weta Workshop tee shirt which declared  “Be creative and make cool stuff”.

Watch out, he’s right behind!

A weary bunch of OAPs climbed back into the bus, and some were sure to have nodded off as the bus took us home.  It was a great day out, many thanks to the organizers.

The Week that Was

Its been a very busy week, certainly was a lot going on to keep us busy.  On Tuesday we attended our Probus Club meeting.  The guest speakers were from Ohau Gourmet Mushrooms, and I'm sure most of the members, like us, had no idea we had this new business venture in our local area.  Owners Brent and Jude related how they came to be mushroom farmers on returning to New Zealand after 30 years overseas working in the corporate world. They were looking to build something sustainable and in sync with their values and found their haven in Ohau. 

Brent and Jude with their mushrooms

They grow both Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms in large grow kits, and sell smaller grow kits and mushrooms online and at farmers markets on the lower half of the North Island, together with trays of fresh mushrooms.   During Covid lockdown the home sized grow kits were in hot demand as people were looking for something interesting and sustainable to do while they were at home for weeks on end.

Baby oyster mushrooms growing, and a tray of pink oyster mushrooms

On Wednesday morning we went down to the Health Centre to get our flu vaccinations.  No appointments necessary, just turn up, we were told.  It was all done quickly and efficiently and we never felt a thing!  With our borders closed for the past two years there has not been any influenza circulating in the community, so those in the know are concerned that there could well be a large outbreak this winter once visitors from overseas start arriving. 

Our Jeep also needed a little “medical” help on Wednesday and was dropped off for an automatic gearbox service, and regular brake fluid replacement.  The jeep is our tow vehicle so it is necessary to keep it well maintained for both our comfort and safety.

Raring to go again

Thursday was a terrible day for Robin, and yet more medical attention was needed.  After a spending a wakeful night in pain with a throbbing tooth, we were thankful to get an emergency dental appointment in the morning.  No wonder he was in so much agony, he had an abscessed tooth which needed to come out.  A script for antibiotics was issued, and he is now well on the road to recovery.  Not an experience he wants to repeat, he told me.

And on Friday we took a trip to Palmerston North Hospital – no emergency this time, thanks goodness.  Just to take Robin’s CPAP machine in for a service to the Respiratory Services.  This was supplied for sleep apnea and is used every night.  He has had the machine for many years, but is still going strong without any problems or loss of pressure.  In fact this machine has been with us on two overseas trips to USA and UK, so it is certainly well travelled.  I decided we needed a coffee and cinnamon donut to keep our strength up prior to the hospital appointment.

 

There's always room for coffee and  donut

We are spending the weekend at home, so here’s hoping it will be nice and peaceful and uneventful.  We had more than enough upset this week with Robin’s tooth emergency to last us a while, I think.

Probus Get-together and getting ready for the Weekend

Our Probus Club had planned a pot-luck lunch on Tuesday at Graeme and Kay’s spacious country home.  Their grand-children were on hand to help with the parking, and all the cars were slotted into place.  Members arrived, with their finger food contribution for lunch, and what a wonderful spread there was.  Plenty for everyone, and wonderful choices, a veritable feast.

Just some of the food on offer, there was plenty more

The weather was nice and warm, so we decided to sit  outside on the deck, under the huge Archgola, chatting to some of the members.  The teenager grand-daughter kindly took a photo for me.  We marveled as she balanced on the edge of the deck on her tippy toes, and climbed up effortlessly onto a wooden bench.  “You can’t do that when you are our age”, we told her, sadly balance and mobility problems are creeping up on us all these days.

Under the archgola

We were called inside to help ourselves to lunch, with coffee to follow, and had a great catch up with friends.  It was a lovely time indeed.  When it was time to go I went to collect my plate.  “Take some of this food home” our hostess implored us, so some goodies came back with me, that saved on cooking an evening meal. 

Then today, in-between the showers, our caravan was moved from it’s parking spot to the car parks outside our villa, all ready to get loaded up for our three day weekend away.  This will be our first time away since early December, so Robin is getting itchy feet.  We are off to Oroua Downs School, not too far away up SH1, and we are looking forward to catching up with our caravan buddies again.

Ready for our next trip away

Early Voting and Happy Birthday Probus

Our Members of Parliament and the hopefuls are in full campaign mode – out in the regions hustling for votes.  After a Covid rocky start and a change of date, the  General Election is not too far away now.  We executed our democratic right and voted early yesterday.  There was plenty of hand sanitiser on tables, and plenty of room available so we were well spaced out.  It was a good idea I thought to be offered a pen each  to keep, so that we could mark our choices on the ballot papers using a pen untouched by others.  All necessary precautions these days.

This morning we attended our Probus meeting – these meeting were closed during Lockdown and for several months after until it was deemed safe for people to gather in crowds again.  I was particularly keen to catch up with Committee member Denys who had our names on her telephone list and made regular phone calls to see how we were faring during the months we couldn't meet.  I hadn't met Denys before and wanted to thank her for the Probus phone calls, it was a nice idea of the committee, I thought.  Especially for people who live alone.

It was a special meeting today, celebrating the 25th Birthday of our Probus Club.  Of course there was a birthday cake, and what a beauty is was, cut by John, who was instrumental in setting up our club all those years ago.

Happy 25th Birthday to us

Our Mayor Bernie Walden (just call me Bernie, he said, not standing on ceremony) was the guest speaker and told us of his life and times.  Standing for Mayor was not on his agenda, he said, but after a little time on the Council when there were personality problems amongst some he decided to put his hat in the rink.  Being a long term business owner he knows the town well, and people know him, and appreciate the way the Council is now being run.  He is very approachable and more than happy to take phone calls from the townspeople, he assured us. 

Our Mayor Bernie

To celebrate our birthday we were promised a “special morning tea’, and and certainly was delicious.  Sandwiches, asparagus rolls, scones with jam and cream, and of course, the birthday cake.  It was a great finale, many thanks to the Committee members and helpers who did all the preparation.

Probus Christmas Meeting

It’s that time of year for the final meetings of the various groups we are involved in.  Yesterday it was the Christmas meeting at our Probus Club.  The raffle was drawn, and despite there being 10 extra prizes this month, we couldn’t manage a win at all.  Birthdays are celebrated each month, and two of our friends were called up to celebrate their special day.

The birthday bunch, friends Graham and Dot 4th and 5th from the left

Robin was the “club speaker” this month, and gave a short talk on his working life.  He worked for 30 or so years in New Zealand Post Headquarters doing supply and tenders, before being made redundant.  Five years in New Zealand Fire Service, and purchasing the new style fire fighter uniforms for the whole country was a very important part of his job.   Made redundant again, he then went on to drive City Line buses and then moved on to become a truck driver for Toops where he gleefully announced he was a “drug peddler”, selling cigarettes to small businesses.  It was a mixture of facts and funny stories.

 

Robin, telling stories about his working life

We were then entertained by an angel, or so it seemed, playing beautiful tunes on her harp.  This girl took up harp playing after suffering a brain injury and losing some of her short term memory, and despite being unable to read music.  The harp is a wonderful soothing instrument, and the members were in awe of her skill, and her story.  She takes her music to hospitals, rest homes and the Hospice, to bring comfort to those who are not well.

The beautiful harpist

At the end of the meeting the members drove to a local restaurant for a Christmas celebration lunch.   We pulled our Christmas Crackers, donned our silly hats, and read out the corny jokes.  The meal was lovely, hot ham, lamb and roast veggies, followed by my favourite, Christmas Pudding, custard and cream, all very tasty indeed.  The rain poured down while we were enjoying our lunch, and never stopped.  The downpour was so heavy that we had to wait for a break in the weather before running outside to the cars when it was time to go back home.  Someone tell the weather gods it is meant to be summer time now. 

Probus Christmas Lunch

Tomorrow we have two outings – a birthday/Christmas lunch out with one group of friends, then an evening dinner date with friends from our village.  It’s a busy time of year!

It’s the Silly Season

It's that time of the year, the Silly Season and the Christmas break-up get-togethers are coming thick and fast.  We had our last Probus Club meeting earlier in the week, followed by a Christmas Lunch at a local café.  It was a good turnout, with about 70 members attending.  We were presented with a little bag of “Old Age Pills”, they are sure to come in handy for our various ailments.

The tasty meal was buffet style, with hot ham and lamb in gravy served, then we helped ourselves to the veggies and salads.  Followed by Christmas Pudding, custard and cream for dessert, and we heard murmurings around the table that there would be no evening meal served in most households that night.

As usual when in a crowd, the conversation flowed around the tables, covering all sorts of topics, although we noticed that the sound level dropped dramatically once everyone was tucking into their lunches.  We pulled our Christmas crackers, donned the hats, read the jokes, and had a great time.

Lots of happy diners

And as it happens, we will be dining back in this establishment on Friday night, for another Christmas get-together. 

Jet Boating on the Wanganui River – Day 3

Day 3 of our Forgotten World Adventure trip started with another hearty breakfast in the motel dining room.  Before we started the long drive home we had another adventure planned – a jet boat ride on the Wanganui River.  What a wonderful experience this was – we had already had a jet boat ride previously, but for some of the other passengers it was their first time.  Our guide was so knowledgeable about the local history and had a folder full of interesting photos.  Wanganui River was the local highway in earlier years, and goods and people were carried up and down the river  before the roads were built.

The safety briefing came next, our group was split into two, and and we were given life jackets to wear.  Not that our guide was planning to tip the boat over, he told us, but a necessary safely precaution.

Once aboard, it was interesting to see that the river was a combination of smooth parts and then many rapids.  Our guide drove the boat expertly around the many large boulders as big as cars in the river, carried down by glaciers, we were told.

The river banks had very interesting geology and our guide pointed out the layers of  mud and limestone from when this part was previously on the ocean floor before being uplifted.  And there was a huge layer of white pumice ash clearly visible on top of the cliffs from the Taupo Eruption which was the most violent eruption known in the world in the last 5000 years. The eruption plume reached 50km into the air, with areas near Lake Taupo being buried in more than 100 metres of pyroclastic flow. This scorching hot flow spread up to 90 km from the vent and covered all local features except Ruapehu. it is possible that ash from this eruption was the cause of red sunsets recorded by the Romans and Chinese at that time.

Interesting features on the river banks

The river views were beautiful, and there was abundant birdlife, flying quickly out of the way of the noisy jet boat, or quietly dabbling around the river edges.  Stopping by a small stream running into the river, complete with a pretty waterfall,  our guide told us the gory tale of  two warring Maori tribes when the stream ran red with blood after a battle.  The area seems so peaceful now.

Pretty river scenes

We  had a great ride, including several “Hamilton Turns” where the boat is turned sharply around before coming to a stop.  The scenery was spectacular and the abundant birdlife showed that the river was in good health.  Then the other half of our group waiting on the river bank finally had their turn in jet boat.  And here they come racing back.

After all that excitement we piled back into the bus and were driven to Laurens Lavender Farm for morning tea, which we enjoyed under the shady awning.  Such a pretty place, so restful, and it must be a marvelous sight when all the lavender is in flower.  And our bus driver Leon told us that he and his bride were married in these lovely surroundings a few years ago.

Laurens Lavender Farm

Then we settled down to the homeward journey, travelling back through National Park.  Stopped at Waiouru at the rather flash public conveniences, designed to mirror the National Army Museum across the road.    The public toilet in Waiouru has been recognized as the best of its kind in the country, and won its category in the 2016 Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards.

Award winning public loos

One last stop at Taihape and then we settled down with a few nodding off in the bus, till we arrived back in Levin.  What a great three days we had on our Forgotten World Adventure.