The Weekend that Was

Last weekend was spent away in the caravan at a rally, and the weather was wet, wet, wet, with just a few fine spells in the mix.  But the ground was sodden, my shoes were covered in mud, guess I should buy myself a pair of gumboots, otherwise known as Wellington boots for those who don't know what I’m talking about.    No wind though, so that was a blessing.  We didn't go too far, just up the coast to Foxton Beach.  Gemma came along too, of course.  No dogs are allowed in this camp, I'm not sure if cats are welcome but we took her anyway.  And she never ventured outside at all, after all, cats don't like getting their feet wet, do they?

With all the mud, grass and leaves traipsed into the caravan I had to get the vacuum cleaner out – there is always cat hair on the floor as well.  Here she is hiding in a cubby hole beside the bed while I was busy, she really doesn’t like this noisy machine.

Have you finished yet?

So what did we get up to over our time away?  Two other vans and us decided to arrive a day early, just because, and we spent the first evening together socialising in our caravan.  For dinner the hubbies drove down to the local fish and chip shop for our delicious paper wrapped meals – eating fish and chips straight from the paper is really the way to go for casual dining!  With tomatoe sauce for those who want it, and bread and butter, it was all very tasty.

 

Thursday night fish and chips

The other club members arrived on Friday, so there was plenty of time for a good catch up.  Then on Saturday afternoon we went for an outing to Mavtech.  This local museum showcases  the history and development of cinema and recorded sound in New Zealand, and is housed in Foxton’s historic Coronation Hall. The theatre upstairs showcases vintage films, and the film chosen for our group was “This is New Zealand”, a film made in 1969 for the Tokyo World Expo, showing scenes of our country and highlights of life in New Zealand.  This was followed by a trio of cartoons featuring Daffy Duck and friends, a real blast from the past.  There was plenty to see in the museum downstairs, a great variety of old fashioned radios that most of us could relate to from our childhood years, many in wonderful wooden cabinets. Mavtech’s displays features vintage audio visual technology from film, radio, camera, TV and sound.  Early New Zealand records and music too, there was such a lot to check out.

From the film This is New Zealand

Here we are on the stairs to the theatre

We had a Movie and Popcorn night on Saturday night.  The film was Ram starring our very own Kiwi actor Sam Neil.  Set is Australia, it told the story of two warring brothers who had half of the family farm each, but hadn't spoken to each other for years.  Their aim was to breed  prize winning merino sheep and beat the other in competitions .  A devastating virus caused all the sheep in the area to be slaughtered, or so they should have been – the plot certainly thickened.  Many thanks for the tasty popcorn, Sue, much appreciated.

Yummy popcorn, we haven't had any of that for ages

With so much going on I didn't get to spend much time on my handcrafts.  Just a few rows of knitting, and a small amount of work on my apron stitchery.  It was a great weekend away with our caravan friends, and luckily Robin wasn't required this time  to tow out any vans stuck in the mud.  Not that he would have minded, he quite enjoys this sort of thing.

Gemma is keeping an eye on us from the top of the sofa