I biked to the racecourse entrance to the beach and did a walk. Being a holiday there were a bunch of people fishing, kayaking, lying or walking on the sand and going in the water. My video doesn't show them. 😆
For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊
I bought this book months ago and nibbled away at it. It was all very interesting though I think I've retained no particulars. Nice to understand though how some of our weird English spellings have come about and why changing them wouldn't be in any way easy — Why Q Needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them by Danny Bate. 📚
Why does 'W' sounds like 'double U'?
What has the letter 'Q' got to do with monkeys?
Why are the 'C's in circus pronounced differently?
What's the point of the second 'N' in the author's first name, 'Danny'?
And why does 'Q' need to be followed by 'U'?
At the weekend the digger, dump truck and roller take a break and the pūkeko can come out to play — even the babies. 🐦
I didn't care so much for this specific plot but still enjoyed the regular characters and setting — A Midnight Murder by Kate Wells. 📚
Jude Gray is ready to ring in the New Year the proper way – at the local pub, surrounded by friends, neighbours and the usual Malvern mix of good cheer. …
[But] as the clock strikes twelve and fireworks light up the sky, tragedy strikes. One of the Merebrooks is found dead.
National are so speshul! I can't stop laughing.
Green Party person meets with gang: Shocking!
Te Pati Māori person meets with gang: Shocking!
Labour Party person meets with gang: Shocking!
Prime Minister defends National Party person meeting with gang.
Yesterday Whangārei friends picked us up and we drove about 75 minutes to Matakana Market Kitchen Restaurant for lunch with friends who live a little further south.
It was really busy but my pan-fried snapper with Agria fries and salad was the best thing I've eaten in a while. Just perfect.
Free crime books, one day only: Courtesy of Anne Shillolo's newsletter — Stuff Your Kindle & More 📚 😀 🐻:
Stuff Your Kindle: Crime Edition is officially live. This event happens twice a year and only lasts for 24 hours! But most books will still be free tomorrow:)
Visit StuffYourKindleCrime.com today to download FREE Mystery/ Thriller/ Suspense ebooks for a limited time.
(Note: This event isn't just for kindle users. Check out free books from all major retailers.)
Our NZ election is on 07 November 2026 and I've now received my Easy Vote card. 😁
I'm keen to do my bit to try to get rid of the last lot of middle aged blokes who worked as hard as they could to wreck our country.
This 30 minute video from Dr Alex is particularly interesting. For years I struggled with my sleep, though now I generally sleep pretty well most nights — The Most Overlooked Longevity System in Your Body:
Did you know your brain runs its own cleaning cycle every night, and that the quality of your sleep decides how much of that waste actually gets cleared? This drainage network, together with the wider lymphatic system, could be one of the most underrated parts of brain health, dementia prevention and healthy ageing.
Also on my walk today I met a Red and White border collie who wanted all the pats and and a Siberian Husky friend who wanted in on the chat.
What they say about huskies 'talking' is true. 😁 🐶
On today's walk around Marsden Cove I took this photo of a type of swale that's common in the newer subdivisions in this wider area. This part of the country is marshy by nature and we sometimes get torrential downpours. For example, in March 2022:
NIWA meteorologists say the 103 mm of rain [4 inches] from 4am-5am recorded at Maungatapere near Whangārei on Monday 21 March is a new national hourly rainfall record for a low elevation station.
We don't have fire hydrants in NZ so presumably this knee-high version is a kindness to dogs. 😁
The other day I chatted with a further away neighbour and patted her cute little attention-seeking dog Molly. That didn't stop Molly barking furiously as I passed today. 😒
When I neared the river I could see sheep on the other side.
Further along the river a spoonbill was fishing. 🐦
I've decided to stop reading this Project Gutenberg book I am a woman: 📚
"I Am a Woman" by Ann Bannon is a lesbian pulp fiction novel written in 1959. Laura Landon flees her harsh father and college failure to start fresh in New York City's Greenwich Village. Living with vivacious roommate Marcie, Laura discovers unexpected feelings and navigates the underground gay bar scene with new friends Jack and Beebo Brinker.
It was written nearly 70 years ago and I'm finding the old repressions and culture too uncomfortable.
The team eventually solve this thorny mystery, even though some of those interviewed aren't sharing all they know. A good read — Mystery in the New Forest (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 4) by Carol Cole. 📚
Angus was a photographer, Sunday school teacher and chairman of the local gun club. A man everyone agrees had no enemy in the world.
Marsden Cove views from today's walk.
Today after a routine doctor's appointment at Marsden Cove I walked an almost 5 Km loop around the wealthy area, where boats are the order of the day and even private jetties.
This photo at Mariners Haven.
There are many excellent points in this article; here's one — 'Sky glow': Data centres could threaten Mackenzie's dark sky status:
It's not just vacant land waiting to be developed. It's open space, it's natural quiet, it's dark skies, it's mountain and lake views... Mackenzie feels different, because of what's not here.
It's a splendid and unique part of the country, and it should be left alone.
My walk by the river today was very enjoyable, and included a Monarch butterfly.
There were some very intriguing and moving elements in this book, with unusual goings-on. I enjoyed the read — Watch Them Fall (Detective Clare Mackay Book 10) by Marion Todd. 📚
A body is hauled out of St Andrews harbour. This was no accident – DI Clare Mackay and her team have a murder investigation on their hands.
Superintendent Penny Meakin is more focused on a break in at the salubrious home of local property developers.
We watched Tenzing and it was superb. Highly recommend:
based on Nepalese-Indian Sherpa Norgay's 1953 ascent of Mount Everest with New Zealand climber Hillary.
… Principal photography commenced in Nepal …, with filming on location in Kathmandu and the Everest region. Filming wrapped … in New Zealand.
The two hours didn't feel long at all as we accompanied the climbers on their gruelling climb, interspersed with flashbacks from Tenzing's life.