Why I can't learn Maori.

Good evening and HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE. Don't know where you are today but your birthday card was posted to Bicton. Hope you have a super day.

Got all behind yesterday as I phoned Helen in the morning to say Happy Birthday and ended up talking so long I had to take the kids to school. They wanted to talk to their friends (Helen's children) Adam and Katie. Adam went to grammar in Sept so he and Harri compared notes on their new schools. I had set my alarm to phone early but woke up briefly then nodded off again. Hence the late run around. Anyway it was great to speak to them all.

Apart from office work (that report still) I went into Hamilton to talk to some school nurses on their study day yesterday.It was at Frazer High which is a low decile school (ie poor) and the biggest in Hamilton with 1,750 pupils. I expected some grotty run down place (you know like most English schools that have had zero maintenance for the last 15 years) and was amazed at how clean and fresh it all looked. I was told that the school nurses would be in the gymnasium and had in mind something like we had at school. The 'gymnasium' was a full sized sports complex like you would see in a major city - huge. I eventually found the school nurses in Campbell House a building exclusively for career development/advice. The whole place was an eye opener.

Today I went to Te Kuiti again and spent and hour or 2 getting my head around how services are organised there. I had (very nice) coffee and scones with a Maori provider of child health services. Primary Health care ie community services are very disjointed here with heaps of different providers of services in the UK you would just get through the GP. Add to that Maori names like Te Rohe Potae O Rereahu Maniapoto and Te Ngaru O Maniapoto, 2 totally separate organisations and you can see why I get confused! Any way I took the cross country route on the way down and the less pretty route on the way back (less pretty but still very pretty!) to compare mileage. I still cannot fail but be impressed by how beautiful this country is, but then I guess you are sick of hearing that - sorry!

Eric is just spitting blood about a black WPC being paid out 500,000 lbs plus (sorry there is no pounds sign on this computer) for racist treatment. A hole in the leg and life long physical pain is apparently only one tenth as bad as that! And poor boy he has been suffering with his leg lately. He seems to be popping painkillers daily these days.

He is blogging on the other computer I think so I guess you will read there about cows going off tomorrow so I won't repeat. Instead I'll go off to bed to continue with Rebus.

Night night.