NZ - and we - get behind the All Blacks

Just about every second car in Wellington had an All Black car flag on their rear window; houses had large NZ flags on their balconies; some even had flag poles with the NZ flag - oh yes, we certainly got behind 'our boys'.

I had a NZ flag on my car - Daddy had 2 flags, one NZ and one England; we hung two flags off our balcony (yes one NZ and one England ... afterall you can take the boy out of England but you cannot take England out of the boy!!). Mummy was just SO relieved that it never ended up being a New Zealand and England final. Just imagine what that would have been like ... only solace was that it would have clearly been 2 against 1 as Josh is certainly a 'kiwi' kid (sorry Daddy!)

RWC 2011

From the unique and spectacular Opening Ceremony on 9th September until the Final Game on 23rd October 2011, all eyes were on New Zealand as we hosted the seventh world cup rugby series. The 6-week 48-game tournament catapulted New Zealand onto the world stage All the cities throughout NZ had set up fan zones and became party central ... the streets, cafes, restaurants, musicians and entertainers all absolutely showcased their best for the 95,000+ tourists that flooded to our country.

We were so thrilled to have Wellington Stadium tickets to see France beat USA, Australia thrash the USA, South Africa beat Fiji, South Africa beat Wales (oh that was so close, only 1 point between them) and of course our amazing All Blacks thrash Canada.

As you can imagine, the boys at school spoke about nothing else so it was fantastic for Joshua to be able to talk about the games that he went to - just to be there, to see it all, to soak up the atmosphere was exhilarating! Before heading to the games, we always parked the car in town and wandered along Queens Wharf just taking in all the crazy outfits, the colour, the music, the processions ... it was truly fantastic!

And then of course the Final game between New Zealand and France. As the headlines said "what a game - but ooh la la, it was close!" The All Blacks had displayed some amazing rugby in their earlier games earning their rightful place in the Finals, but unfortunately in the Finals they just never shone (maybe France didn't let them). However, the All Blacks were roared on by the 60,000+ NZ fans at the Stadium and also the 4 million souls scattered throughout NZ and finally ... beat France 8-7. The game play was agony to watch .. but it's a win and we are going to take it!

As you can imagine, the country erupted and I am sure major cities partied all night long. All the frustration and pain wold have been swept away and replaced by nothing but sheer joy and elation that the All Blacks won.

Post-final street parades took place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and even a light drizzle could not keep a crowd of over 100,000 from welcoming the Rugby World Cup champions to Wellington. There was dancing in the street and fans held signs and screamed themselves hoarse as the All Blacks made their way through Wellington.

And in the words of Richie McCaw, our captain of the All Blacks, when holding the trophy "it's such a small little trophy, but what it means is huge".

NZ has had a rough year for many, many reasons. To have this win means SO much. Well done All Blacks - you are our champions of the world!

Some fun, colourful and crazy outfits

With us going to the Stadium for 4 games, we came across some wonderful and colourful outfits ... here are a few to remember ...

Introducing ... the Hoopsters!

This term Joshua joined a Scots College 'Mini-Ball' team coached by their Year 4 teacher, Greg Wright. Mini-Ball is an introductory game to full-on Basketball. It is mixed so the Scots boys get to play other teams in their grade from many schools around Wellington, both boys and girls. We felt it was a good idea to start playing some sport with his class mates.

Joshua has really loved mini-ball. With rugby this season, Joshua 'held' back and did not enjoy the tackling, but because mini-ball is all about getting the ball and then dribbling it down the court and no real body contact, he was really into it! It was refreshing to stand on the side-line and see him enthusiastic and happy about a team game.

Results-wise, it was a mixed season ... some wins, some losses - but at the end of the day Joshua had fun!

End of Season "Crazy Practise"

At the end of every season, the Mustangs always have a fun night called "Crazy Practise" which starts off with a 'fun' game of touch vs the parents. As Manager of the team this year, Mummy was in charge of crazy practise and she decided that it was certainly going to be both crazy and a night to remember!

It started off innocently enough with the usual game of touch (which was a lot of fun actually and made us parents realise how jolly fast some of these 8 and 9 year olds are!) and then progressed to the 'usual' i.e. egg & spoon race, a sack race, a wheelbarrow race, a 3-legged race and then some more 'crazy' fun with some really silly and hysterical games.

The 2 favourites of the night were firstly, Crazy String when every Mustang was given a spray can of crazy string and all were confined to a small section of the pitch and they sprayed each other until their cans were empty. All of the children were 'dripping' in strands of red string. at the end.

And, secondly, the Donut Eating Race which was probably the funniest and the highlight of the evening. All the Mustangs had to kneel on the ground and their arms were tied behind their backs. A plate was placed in front of each of them and I initially told them it was 'fear factor' and they were all going to eat snails but instead I placed a LARGE long cream donut smothered in icing sugar on each plate. On 'GO' they had to bend forward and eat the donut (don't forget their hands were tied behind their backs). Some really got into it and were little piglets and there was cream and icing sugar everywhere!

Crazy Practise took 2 hours and I can assure you that all Mustangs left smiling and were very tired and ... filthy!

Public Speaking Competiton

For the Public Speaking Competition this year all the boys in Year 3 had to choose their own poem, learn it off by heart and say it with emotion and conviction!

I downloaded about 4 poems for Josh to look at and he chose "My Pig won't let me watch TV".

The competition was today and all the boys took turns standing up in front of the Years 1-3 boys and 3 judges. They chose 3 boys to compete in the Final next week. Josh did not get into the finals this year but Mrs Bell says he knew his poem off by heart and delivered it very well indeed. Well done Josh - we know that you do not particularly enjoy Public Speaking but it is just great that you participated so well!

My Pig Won't Let Me Watch TV
- by Ken Nesbitt

My pig won't let me watch TV
Its totally unfair
He watches anything he wants
but doesn't ever share

He sits beside me on the couch
And bosses me around
Changing all the channels
and turning up the sound

I never get to watch cartoons
or anything like that
He's busy watching farming shows
I should have got a cat

I should have got a goldfish
Or a guinea pig, or a goat
Instead .... I've got this pig
Who's always hogging the remote

Hail Stones the size of Marbles!

Early afternoon today the temperatures suddenly plummeted from 12 degrees to 4 degrees in about 30 minutes. Marble-sized hail stones pelted Wellington - it was short, sharp and to the point and within 10 minutes the streets in the central city were completely white. The hail stones were so large, they hurt as they pelted you and it was hard to walk without holding onto something as the uncovered pathways were so slippery. I was relieved when I got back to the car and just sat parked until it was over. The sound of the hailstones and the rattling thunder was phenomenal. What is happening to our weather?

I took this photo from across the street in the city.