 |
| Two of my staunchest supporters. My mother and daughter. |
 |
| Charissa and I |
 |
| Alan and I |
 |
| Ponies Peanut and Possum |
 |
| Pigs, Ming, Bumpy & Wilbur. Goats Cindy, Nelson, Herb & Macey. |
 |
| Getting mugged |
As it has been sometime since I last placed an update, I thought it about time I did. The past few months have been both relaxing and stressful at the same time. I spent 7 weeks housesitting for my friend and former manager Sue at her home just outside of Hamilton. Sue spent 7 weeks in Europe and I not only looked after her house but her private "zoo" as well. Sue is a real animal lover and takes in animals which have been abused and gives them a better life. On her 2 acre property she has 3 cats, 2 ponies, 4 goats and 3 pigs. Over the 7 weeks I got to know all their different personalities. None of them is backwards when food is involved and stepping into the paddock with food was sometimes akin to being mugged. Any treats hidden in my pockets were quickly discovered and their mission was to not rest until everything had been devoured. Sue is now home and I'm back living with Charissa until I resume my walk.
While living at Sue's place I had the use of her car. My own car is still with my daughter and her partner. About a month ago Charissa and I were returning from a funeral in Charissa's car. I was driving and while waiting to make a right hand turn we heard a squeal of brakes. This was followed by an almighty bang and we were shunted from behind and pushed 50 metres down the road. The other (uninsured) driver had been reaching down to get his smokes from a bag on the floor and hadn't seen that we had stopped. Both cars were written off. Although I escaped uninjured Charissa has been suffering from severe whiplash ever since. She is slowly coming right but is still in a lot of discomfort. After the accident we initially used Sues car to get around in. Since she returned I have been using a mates van. The good news is that with the insurance money Charissa has now purchased a new car which we will collect from Auckland tomorrow.
Some weeks ago my 86 year old mother who is in a rest home in the UK was taken to hospital with heart problems. I am pleased to say that she has recovered from that and is now back in the rest home. She suffered a stroke two years ago and since then has been unable to talk or swallow and is fed by a tube in her tummy. Not being in a financial position to travel back to the UK very often it is difficult to decide when is the right time to visit.
I have been unable to secure any consistent work but have been able to get some casual work through an agency. I have only been getting about one day a week. The work has been varied nad has involved driving, labouring and gardening. Most weekends I have also been selling postcards, toys and books at street markets, fairs and swapmeets. So I am able at least to buy groceries without dipping into my walk fund.
My friend Alan who walked with me for 3 days from Dunedin stayed with us for a couple of nights this week prior to returning to Argentina. It's thanks to his efforts that the design of this blog has been refreshed. What do you think?
I am still planning to resume the walk in early September. Thinking at this stage is for Charissa and I to travel by train to Wellington, Christchurch, Greymouth and back to Christchurch from where Charissa will fly home and I will restart my walk from where I left off 34 km south of Timaru.
I will place another post before I resume the walk.
