The Island Bay Kids

A quiet, relaxing morning for me, as Elspeth had an 8.15am meeting with the electrician and I didn’t want to be hanging around there. After breakfast I took a nice long and leisurely walk around some of the lagoons, and as the weather was warm and pleasant I spent an hour or so looking at the birds on and near the water. They were there in their many hundreds, with numerous species present.

I was due at old friends Rosemary and Laurie Petherick’s place for around midday, a nice easy walk from my lodgings a mere 100m or so away. (Elspeth’s place is a similar distance in the opposite direction). Soon after, other Island Bay Kids Janet Ritchie and Peter and Joan Wyness arrived. Dear Murray McIvor had somehow thought that it was a 3pm start, so after a revving-up phone call from me, he turned up shortly after. Elspeth, who isn’t a former IB pupil but is a very good friend of the Pethericks and me, arrived after she’d sorted out the electricals for her house extension.

Rosemary and Laurie are always fantastic hosts and their fantastic house with its incredible views over the estuary and out to sea helped to make it a memorable occasion. There was, of course, a huge amount of talking and laughter. It’s so good to catch up with old friends and share memories of people and places from when we were growing up. We left after 6pm, by which time our hosts must have been totally exhausted.

Shortly after, when Elspeth and I had got ourselves organised, we took ourselves off for a long walk around some of the lagoons then along my very favourite Waikanae Beach. We got back to Elspeth’s shortly after 8pm, just as it was getting dark. Oh, the joys of daylight saving!Read more