Thursday, May 27, 2010

Annual Westcoast trip with scouts

Thursday, May 27, 2010 0
oldbearnews editorLol - it is time again for our annual Westcoast trip away with some of our Scouts. I haven't told this yet to many - but on the trip we sleep mostly indoors (don't fancy the soaking wet and freezing cold outdoors) and I always play a wake-up call-tune on my Lapp top.
Basically the first four sound clips are the same every year (incl a very noisy Reville) followed by 2 or 3 selected sound tracks of special songs. Last years main song was from Eva Cassidy (how can I stop from singing) www.youtube -- How can I keep from singing - which I also used for a theme for a scouts own, *grins* h o w e v e r the year before that, we were based in Hokitika and sadly a virus was brought on camp that laid almost the entire tour party low the day before we were due to come home. Seeing that everyone was expelling fluids at both ends (simultaneously) we decided to play it cool and stay an extra day/night, much to the delight of the kids who had a day of school!! Anyhow - I decided to reset the alarm music to a later time for the next day and everyone went to sleep - O N L Y my mistake was - I clean forgot my "normal" weekly wakeup call setting for going to work - which was played an hour earlier then the intended wakeup call -

First up - lead song --- yep from the very nice South African chick band - Clout ---- SAVE ME!! Which was the most fitting song, E V E R (totally unintentionally) played on a camp -- EVER.
The first few lines go like this

Save me
take me away to the moonlight
the people around me don't feel right <---- as in being sick
what are we doing here.
Come on and save me
let's get away from the action <------ as in everyone is spewing in buckets
you are the only attraction
take me away from here. <----- as in - I wanna go home - right now

The party's on and one by one . . . . . . .


By this line being played - I managed to scramble out of bed and kill the music - to late - I had everyone in stitches, laughing away!!!! Thus another legend was being born on camp!! Lets hope this years camp goes much smoother - I'm kinda starting to run out of appropriate songs to select . . . .





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Flooding in Christchurch

This in from an news paper article oldbearnews editoryesterday - it kinda explains NZ weather systems!
Suffice to say we don't get long periods of WARM sunny summer weather neither. I am told that the wild life at willowbank wildlife reserve (just up the road from us) is having a ball - in particular these otters.

Once in a while, like this week, New Zealand becomes home to a family that just does not want to leave.

The family in question is an unwelcome brood of spiralling low pressure systems spreading gloom and misery.

During the past few days the country has been targeted by a large and deepening area of low pressure, the likes of which we have not seen across the South Island since July 2008.

Rain bands, stalled warm and cold fronts and small, spinning depression centres within this bigger feature have brought heavy rain and are about to serve up high winds and even snow to low levels. Weather systems in New Zealand generally race across from west to east, bringing the rapidly changing pattern we all know and grudgingly accept as normal. But occasionally, as we are experiencing this week, the brakes go on.

What happens is determined by things higher in the atmosphere. Strong winds at altitudes of between 6000m and 10,000m steer surface low and high pressure systems, which then determine the weather at ground level.

The complex trough of low pressure bothering us this week is unfortunately stuck underneath a large upper-level trough, which means nothing is moving fast. The general trend is for the storm system to slowly shift out to the east of the South Island, but computer models indicate it will not be until the end of the weekend.

What makes forecasting even more difficult in this situation is that each small depression centre within the main system is not only spinning itself, but is rotating around the other centres, like a whirlpool or a troupe of ballet dancers pirouetting around each other. With no strong winds above to move them on, they keep spinning and heading back towards the country.

One thing is for sure: nothing is going anywhere in a hurry.

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Flooding in Christchurch

oldbearnews editorhmmm here is an "official" The press flyover of the worst hit region! Love the way some people "wash " their cars. What is not shown is the loss of lives from the farms - sheep and cattle ^^






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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Flooding in Christchurch

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 0
hmmmmm - I knew it - must be a scout camp coming up :P - it's raining a g a i n . . .. .

Anywhoooo - yesterday in the 12 hours to 6 pm we had more rain falling in our town then the previous 5 months total!! No wonder we have flooding in Christchurch and other parts of the south island. So we sure broke the drought - in a urm well wet manner!! Things aren't to great! Normally any weather system moves through (or over our island) at three days - four tops - but this one has hung around and it looks like it will hang round for another 4 days. I cut and paste a news item here, seems the Army is being mobilized . . . . . ^^

On the other hand the farmers almost loving this weather and urm - the SKI field staff are dancing with joy with all this free snow falling in the mountains.
There is a silver lining in every cloud - although RIGHT now I wish I could see said lining ^^


He did what I would have done - try and make waves!! NOT your traditional way to wash your car - urm - inside and outside. On the other hand - what a fun ride - ok - WHERE is my rubber duckie???







Seems farmers can still move around - funny thing is I have seen one of these things once loose tractions and starting to float - urm swim - urm - ok slowly sink!! they turn upside down . .







from our news services ------>

LATEST: State Highway One has reopened south of Oamaru but the road north of the town remains blocked by floodwaters. The army has been called in to help North Otago residents stranded by flooding. Soldiers and two Unimogs would today attempt to access areas cut off by heavy rain. Two Iroquois helicopters were also on standby as steady rain continued to fall, and snow forecast to hit low lying areas.

Heavy rain isolated Oamaru yesterday and an evacuation assembly point was set up in Kakanui, 11km away. State Highway 1 south of Oamaru reopened today for the second time shortly before midday but SH1 north of Oamaru and SH83 remained closed, Waitaki Civil Defence spokesman Richard Mabon said.``We still advise the public to avoid non-urgent travel as many roads across the district remain impassable,'' he said. Many kindergartens and schools were closed today and school bus services had been cancelled.

Mr Mabon said the council was advising people on rural water supplies to conserve water but were not advising them to boil water at this time. Timaru District Council acting public information manager Philip Howe said the area was lashed by heavy rain overnight and several roads in the Levels, Arowhenua, Milford/Clandeboye, Rosewill and Washdyke areas had been closed. Unnecessary travel should be avoided and all schools in Temuka and Pleasant Point were closed, he said.

More rain was forecast for the area today but river levels had peaked and were now stable. Mr Howe said unfiltered water would enter the Te Moana water supply from 1pm and residents should boil their water. Other rural water supplies may be discoloured but were safe to drink, he said. An Environment Canterbuy spokesman said the area was ``over the worst of it'' and most rivers had peaked late last night or early this morning.

``We've just really got to keep an eye on what the intensity of the rainfalls are going to be for the rest of the day,'' he said. Wellington emergency services were kept busy late last night as flooding swept cars down roads and put residents on evacuation alert. Water flowed on to properties in the northern suburb of Tawa, as well as in Porirua's Titahi Bay, forcing Civil Defence to prepare to evacuate houses from 9pm.

Several roads around Titahi Bay were closed as surface flooding sent cars floating down them. ``There were a couple of places where cars were bobbing around,'' police central communications Inspector Mark Oliver told NZPA early this morning. ``You're talking about a fair amount of water to float a car. Although it may not necessarily be the depth, it may be how fast it's flowing, because if it's where the water has breached the river banks then it generally does that in a fair rush.'' However, roads reopened and evacuations were avoided as the heavy rain subsided.

It seemed to come on very quickly then die down very quickly,'' Mr Oliver said. House evacuations that were going to go ahead never did in the end, so that was good, and by about midnight we heard the last of any major issues. I'm sure there are areas of surface flooding out there, but nothing that's causing any issues for us.'' Mr Oliver said he was not sure if any houses had been damaged by flooding. There were a couple of properties that certainly had water flowing into them, but I'm not sure if anything breached into houseoldbearnews editors.''

Canterbury, Otago and the Bay of Plenty were also on alert overnight as the wet weather continued to affect many parts of the country. Whakatane police said the heavy rain that had been forecast in the eastern Bay of Plenty, where flooding yesterday forced a family to evacuate, had caused no major problems overnight.



Be good and don't forget your gumies if your playing out in the rain!!!

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Monday, May 24, 2010

On a rainy day in Christchurch a bear is 'sposed to do - what????

Monday, May 24, 2010 2
oldbearnews editor car in rain
It rained so hard for a while that there was this mist on top of the car!!
I grabbed my camera and stuffed round with some time / aperture settings. I am quite pleased with this shot!!




OK - so it rains from time to time - except today we had a heavy weather warning for the whole country - with some parts expecting up to 250 or 300mml of rain inside 24 hours - now thats a lot.
So what is a old bear supposed to do on his day of and being more or less confined to the inside??
HOME alone too ( I have to point out ^^ )
He sews - took me most of the day - but I finally got most of the badges sewn on my scout blanket, newest additions are seen in this picture!! Who can recognize their traded badges??


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Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Italien Job

Saturday, May 22, 2010 0
oldbearnews editorHmmmm - You know how it is - your part of THE family, you meet some one, you greet someone - and you do a little business, sly on the side, make friends ^^

Urm - enough of the sordid details -
today - the very secret hush hush group has gone out on a very secret location to hatch a new plan that involves a large bottle of urm Kiwi Vodka - no less then 8 glasses, a coffin, a jar for collecting dough, and urm - yeah other stuff. Suffice to say - a very enjoyable meal was somewhat interrupted by a lively discussion on who to fine how by much.
Lets see if I can cut through the fog and list the events . . .

Brush - gold coin for not wearing the appropriate garment, plus for not informing the Broom of his expected presence to give an account of himself, ergo - 2 gold coins. (actually - although one could make the case that the failure to inform the Broom is asking for a bigger fine . . . )

Broom and Sir G.H. - gold coin each for not turning up

uhu - Mr Schick - urm - to much to list - suffice to say he owes 6 little gold coins already - and the way Mr Schick is having close shaves - it could be heaps more . . . . ^^

Ladle / Trowel & Stitch - urm - for keeping your noses clean and staying out of trouble - urm - yeah - you know ^^ your contribution will be appreciated


The topic of discussion was the repatriation of a certain spy in a certain country and what to do with the booty - urm bounty - urm - kiwi liqueur - urm - wait - ohhhh thats secret - doh

Lil ol Smilie - we miss you







Have fun :D

Wasn't me

Ladle

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Friday, May 14, 2010

Indian Summer in NZ

Friday, May 14, 2010 0

We are having what can only be described as a absolutely gorgeous Indian Summer. Folks if this is what global warming will do to my local climate - bring it on!! Anywooo I have been going through town and country and snapped some lovely autumn pics of our very Godzone place right here down under.
I hope you enjoy the variety and composition of Father Natures color scheme as much as I did when I took these pics!! One should stop and thank the creator for having such a wonderful rich palette to work with. The bulk of the photos are on my facebook page and in total I snapped just over 300!!





Such rich tapestry!! I am very much reminded of Eva Cassidy's song - "How can I keep from singing"
hmmmm or Louis Armstrong's version of "What a wonderful world"







Love the contrast, and vibrancy of these colours!!



















In Hagley Park, Christchurch with the Avon river meandering along. This is ONE tree - displaying plenty of colour!!








Thank goodness I had my telephoto lens with me - a quick change - snap, snap -- and I had to drive on!








Can't wait till 90% of the leaves are on the ground! I will need the right lighting conditions and of course convince Mamabear to be a hot little number, walking on the path!!







Most amazing - here we are in may and these are the famous Cherry trees lining Harper Ave in Christchurch - in autumn time - the amazing thing is at last August I snapped them being in full spring bloom - eg white blossoms. And you know - urm we are only some 2.5 months away from seeing them again in full spring glory. I should drop in last springs pictures in here to let you compare!!!















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