Another Cousin!

(I've got heaps of them).

No, not the Hobbit - the other guy.

Ken Hunt, and his wife Selina, came to see us yesterday. I've never met him before, I think, but he would be a 4th (?) cousins - our grandfathers were brothers.

Ken is an artist (http://kenhunt.org/) and so is his daughter Renee (http://reneehunt.org/) They live at Paraparaumu Beach, near Wellington.

I think that we both learnt some stuff and he had some great stories, the best of which was about the Lord of the Rings which he did some work for.

Ever wondered how they made the Hobbits look small while Gandalf etc were big? Apparently, there were two identical sets, one bigger, one smaller. They filmed the 'little' people in the big set and the 'big' people in the little set. The films were then blended together.

Ken was commissioned to paint portraits of Peter Jackson and his wife, done up as Bilbo Baggins and Belladonna Took. He had to show Peter without a beard, give him Hobbit ears and do two identical portraits, one bigger than the other, to hang on the wall inside the Hobbit's houses in the first movie.

He didn't enjoy the works because there was no inspiration involved, they had to be done as ordered and done twice. They were in the background in the movie and he thought that no-one would recognise who they were really of.

However, when Peter Jackson went up to recieve his award at the Academy Awards, there was a huge blow-up of the portrait behind the stage. Ken said that they were watching the awards on TV. His wife laughed but he cringed when he saw his work up there.

Great story!

I do like this game, never know who we're going to see next and the less in the mood I am, the more interesting the visitors are.

Who's next? Cheers

They Came Back!

Last Sunday, we had a barbecue at On Yer Bike for all the families who've been through Nuturing the Future parenting courses in the last 6 months, also combined with people from Sue & Mike's church group - about 200 in all, in the pouring rain!

That didn't seem to worry any of the kids though - thank goodness for Michael's big shed. Everyone got to visit the village, got fed, (except for me!), and had a ride on the Haglund, thanks to Michael.

Everything went smoothly, largely thanks to Warren and his team who were there all day cooking a whole pig, 6 chickens etc. A lot of the food was donated by New World Supermarket, which was great of them. Thanks.

Everybody went home by 7pm, which was also good.

cheers

Room 7,Murchison Area School

Dear Waiuta Model Village People,

Thank you for letting us look at the Model Village and thank you for letting us look at the shantytown at your place. I liked how you were nice to us and let us look for the wedding party.

From
Cassandra

Dear Waiuta Model Village People,

Thank you for letting us see your model village. I like looking at your lake. It was very exciting.

I got all mixed up when I was counting the red houses.

Were you tricking us with the people in the pool because I couldn't find all the people at all? It was funny when I saw the man on the toilet. I like that model.

Thank you very much again.

From,
Bevalyn

Dear Waiuta Model Village People,

When we came to see the model village I saw the rocks with the writing on them. I saw insects on them as well. Some of them were spiders and some of them were grasshoppers. We were still on our way to Shantytown. I fell asleep on the bus on the way to Shantytown. I was impressed with your effort. Did it take a long time?

Can you write back please?

From,
Abby


Hello Murchison People!

Thanks for your letters, I really liked them. Thanks too, for coming to see the village. I'm glad you liked it. I've been building it for nearly 20 years now.

There used to some models of kids in the swimming pool, but they've gone. I think somebody must have pinched them!

Speaking of the wedding party, I copied that picture from an old photograph. There were 2 old ladies here one day, they were laughing and pointing when I walked up to them. They said that they were two of the girls in the photo, 60 years ago!

If you ever come back to the Coast, you should go and visit the real Waiuta. The town is not there anymore, but it's still a magic place, (and it's free!)

Thanks again. It was nice to see you and I'm not surprised that Abby fell asleep on the bus. It was a long day for you all.

Enjoy your holidays.

cheers

Glentunnel School

So, 26 kids from Glentunnel School in Canterbury came to visit - in the rain, but they said that the weather was worse where they came from. I didn't take any pics, because i'm an idiot.

Their teacher said he used to teach at Totara Flat, West Coast, and knew Ena Griffin there well. Ena grew up in Waiuta (nee. Beckwith) and she was my wife's aunty. New Zealand really is a village!

From here, the kids were going on to stay the night in Reefton, and then going to Waiuta the following day. Hope the weather was kind to them. Waiuta is a magic place but it's not fun in the rain up in the hills.

cheers