Not enough glue Your Honour

I have come to the conclusion that some airlines should simply NOT be let out with aircraft. They are just a jolly liability.

A certain flight each week arrives late with monotonous regularity. The staff of the said airline always tell us that they put the “about to fall apart” machinery on this route. Announcements made on a regular basis about “Engineering Difficulties” appear to verify this.

Today we received a fax to say that the inbound flight wasn’t arriving, and hence there would be no outbound. We all just looked at each other and shrugged. I guess that poor Boeing had to be laid to rest eventually. Mutterings such as “Wonder which wing fell off this time?” and “Bet he didn’t drop his landing gear” were to be heard, as they are heard at least twice weekly.
My comment “Don’t bother with the rivets, pass the sellotape,” met with nods of agreement. My colleague who makes model aircraft as a hobby is threatening to send the engineering department his CV.

Back to the chalkface

Today we get a new manager at work. Phew. It has been a rough few months without an additional person to look after the second shop. When I took the job, I was only supposed to supervise both shops twice a week, but for at least 8 weeks I have been in charge of both for 5 days. It has been so frustrating, as it is physically difficult to do everything in a 4 hour shift. Due to aviation security, there is no “short cut” between shops, so you walk round a good bit of the airport to get from A – B. I have some great staff, but we have also been at least 2 people short every day, so we’ve been run ragged. The Assistant Manager has done well to hold things together, but he has worked a minimum 10 hour day for the last few months too. So, a big welcome to the new Chief.
Two lots of jewellery arrived over the weekend, from Otaki (the lady dropped them off) and Christchurch. I continue to be amazed how “the store is always full”. I have written four newsletters about our fundraising adventures, and re reading them always brings a smile. It was such a crazy idea, but it worked. I suppose it proves the point that you should always embrace “off the wall” and see where it takes you.

God Save the Queen

Greetings from 41 degrees below (latitude, not celcius). Today is the Queen's birthday - Liz the Second’s birthday. The fact that it ISN'T her Real Birthday, or even her Official Birthday doesn't matter a jot. It is just a good old excuse for us to have a long weekend and dig the garden, visit relatives or watch terrible films on TV. I hope she appreciates the effort made on her behalf by her Southerly subjects. It’s the day to sit in traffic queues and pay surcharges on our latte. But the dear lady is worth it, even if she has never done either on our behalf. I wonder if the Queen has ever had a latte? If anyone out there can authoritatively answer that question, I’d be pleased to pass on the answer. My mum and Queenie are the same age. My mum I suspect is whackier and can make a better Yorkshire Pudding, but she would look daft in a tiara.

We seriously blobbed yesterday, watching the first three videos of “War and Peace” at one sitting. I was 10 when I first saw this series, and I fell hopelessly in love with Anthony Hopkins as Pierre. I think this dramatisation sparked my early obsession with things Russian. It would be 19 years before I visited Russia and the interest has never waned. The BBC has a lot to answer for.

I thoroughly appreciated today, as it is the first public holiday since December 1st that I have had off; I’ve worked all 7 so far. We went out to our local French café, tried unsuccessfully to find a kitchen cupboard company and then came home, me to cook up a storm and The Husband to demolish various parts of the shrubbery. Both activities were observed from the sofa and armchair by the cats. They’re not daft our two, having perfected the art of kipping to Doctorate level.
My second huge blanket for a Ukrainian orphanage is almost finished (it will keep a child warm, not the building). I am now starting on The Antipodean Quilt. Ask me in 5 years how it is going…..