Looks like you had a great day 

For several months a friend, Paul  and I have been trying to find a mutually convenient date with good weather to paddle to some islands about 4 kilometres off shore. On Sat 22nd August we had our chance and one of Paul old paddling friends joined us, 

Now that we have a garage with space and had some time with the lockdown, there is some progress with the Mini.

The glass went in and doors on whilst we were still at Whitestone Road in order to make it weather-tight. Front and rear subframes also went on.

This all made it much heavier to move, though still (just about) managable with Roo and Douglas lifting and Nicky moving trailer and saw-horses.

The rest of the running gear is now getting attention and the interior re-painted.

We had a fantastic day at the 2019 Te Anau Medieval Tournament and Banquet

Sadly Pealing's lost their Archery trophy to the Shaw's.

There are more photo's at /blogs/roo/images-medieval-tournament-2019

Most years we try to take a 3-5 day canoe trip in early October, the leaf colours in Nova Scotia at this time of year are stunning, the weather is variable but not usually too cold, the water still reasonably warm and there are no blackflies or mosquitoes!

Had a visit to the wildlife park in Christchurch

A couple of weeks ago, the forecast for Thursday was great. Thursday is "adventure day" for local GP David & anyone who can join him.

We decided to go up Gertrude Saddle. David ski's with skins and ski crampons. I just crampon up & down.

We took Dilys - she is allowed in the National Park for SAR training & becoming comfortable in the mountains is essential.

We had stunning weather. 

The summer route heads around the east side of Black Lake. In winter straight across the lake is quicker.

After Mum had learnt how to use email and the computer she sent this to me.  It is time I posted it here.  I have copied and pasted it from her letter.

"The Power of Prayer.

This is a true account of a miraculous recovery. Des and I talked about it between our two selves.

It is a long time since I recorded myself playing sax.  I made this recording to post on Cafe Saxophone since I am hosting the "Ballad of the Month".

So here it is for the family to listen to. The backing track was made by a friend in Bristol.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xlgw5m89hi2z1an/I%20Loves%20You%20Porgy%20v1…

I used a Zoom H1 microphone plugged into Vivien's 2010 Mac and Audacity music editor to remove the background noise and add a tiny little bit of reverb.

For Douglas's 21st birthday, we bought him a drive in a Radical SR3.

He got 7 laps with a professional driver alongside him to coach him a little.

He thoroughly enjoyed it.

After that, Douglas, Gethin and Roo had a go in the rental karts. Gethin was (predicably) the quickest, and Roo was (predictably) slowest, but it was a lot of fun. Nicky and Papi watched !

Then we all went for lunch - Nicky's choice as it was Mother's day here in NZ.