Tony Hillyard Was Here

It was nice to have Tony Hillyard visiting for a few days. I enjoyed backing him at his Bunker performance. It was good to be playing mandolin again and it was my debut at playing upright bass in public.

Tiddly Winks Championship

I was trying for a record fourth win at this years hotly contested Tiddly Winks Championship at The Bunker. My hopes were dashed when i screwed up my subtle tiddly control muscles by playing fooseball between rounds and i was eliminated in the quarter final. Never mind, i'll know better next year. :-).

Liane Turns 50

One of Trude's best mates, Liane, had a great party for her 50th. Liane's sister made an amazing chocolate cake for the occasion.

Degas to Dali

Our friends Larry and Karon from Waimati North came down to visit for the weekend and we all spent Sunday afternoon at the Auckland Art Gallery to see the visiting exhibition "Degas to Dali". It was my first time to see original works by Degas, Monet, Matisse, and Dali amongst many others. It is an exhibition well worth seeing if you get the chance. I was especially smitten by a simple line drawing from Matisse (shown at right).

In the evening we had dinner at Corelli's while enjoying the music of "Sandpaper Tango", then headed up to The Bunker for an evening of blues from the Tauranga band "Kokomo".

Lunch in Whangaparoa

Trude and i had lunch with Liane and Jane at Jane's lovely place in Whangaparoa.
Driving up there brought back a lot of memories for us as this area was our first impression of New Zealand when we moved aboard Vela Dare at Gulf Harbor Marina back in 1994.
It was a lovely afternoon of friends, food, wine, sunshine, music and the great view across the Hauraki Gulf.