Presenting ...

This was the weekend of 'THE CONFERENCE' and 'THE PRESENTATION'.

One of the elements of Desiree's Research Fellowship was placement ('hosting', they call it) at the Stout Research Centre at Victoria University. She was part of the Scottish and Irish Studies Programme.

And they were hosts this year of a conference - Ireland and the Irish Antipodes: One World or Worlds Apart?

Part of the deal with the Centre was that Desiree would present a paper at the Conference. So she was given the final slot in one of the streams - on Sunday, just before the closing comments.

Consequently, the past couple of weeks has been fairly focussed for her. She put together a couple of versions of her 'story' - what she has been researching, and what she has found. She also found an interesting selection of images to use.

It all came together well, which then brought us to the Conference itself. We both went to the Opening, which was an interesting dissertation by Sir Tipene O'Regan - a gifted orator, who is aging and lost his train of thought a couple of times, but is experienced enough to recover. Fluent, circuitous and thought-provoking. This was followed by a reception hosted by the Irish Embassy from Canberra.

Desiree attended the Friday sessions, and then she came out to the Club, where were joined by the First Secretary from the Embassy. Orla Tunney was substituting for the Ambassador, who had family commitments to attend. A pleasant relaxing evening.

We both went to the Saturday and Sunday sessions, and Desiree went to the Dinner at the Victoria University Marae. Interestingly, we chose to attend different streams, reflecting our respective interests. I went to the papers delivered by the 'geneologists', Desiree to those delivered by the 'academics'.

Which brought us to Sunday, and Desiree was on tenterhooks, but having to wait until the final slot, at 1.30pm.

Let me put you out of your misery - Desiree's presentation went well, and was well received.

You can see what I mean at www.huttirish.org.nz/desiree.html.

As a matter of interest, the presentation includes a photo of her grandmother, who also gets a mention. Desiree was wearing the locket seen in the photo, but it now has this same photo as the insert. So Rose was along to make sure Desiree didn't malign her! And to lend support, of course.

Can you believe it?

You have to wonder what planet people are on sometimes.

I have always been under the impression that children are very largely shaped by their parents. In other words, children are the products, not solely, but very largely of the way their parents brought them up - the values they taught them, the behaviours they modelled, the cultural values they transmitted, the language the used, and so on.

Apparently I'm wrong. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last time, but this time I'm surprised at how wrong I am.

You see a lawyer (obviously a far more clever and better-informed person than me) says "These parents are unfortunate to have children with bad attitudes. It is not the fault of these mothers and it makes no sense for them to be punished."

He gave voice this stunning revelation in the course of a recent court case in Napier District Court.

It involved three "mothers to be charged with failing to ensure [their children] attended classes." The lawyer's inspired defense is that "it is not the parents' fault, but the children's attitude that is the problem."

I wait to hear how this turkey thinks they came by this 'attitude'.

If you want to get hold of this clearly creative and innovative thinker, you can find him at Napier Law, who have premises at Ocean Boulevard 131 Emerson St Napier, phone +64 6-835 7519.

Many Happy Returns

Birthdays are a time to reflect - on life, the universe and everything!
Which, of course, got me to thinking, as Desiree celebrated another anniversary of her 31st birthday, just who she shared the auspicious date with.
It is an eclectic mix! To wit:

1367: Sigismund, German Emperor/king of Hungary/Bohemia
1476: Paul IV, [Giampietro Caraffa], inquisition/Pope (1555-59)
1867: Luigi Pirandello, Italy, writer (6 Characters-Nobel 1934)
1886: Joe Cox, cricketer (S African pace bowler in 1913-14 series v England)
1892: Edward H Carr, England, historian (History of Soviet Russia)
1902: John Dillinger, US bank robber (public enemy #1)
1902: Richard Rodgers, composer (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
1909: Eric Ambler, London, suspense writer (Epitaph for a Spy)
1914: Charles Urbanus, Dutch baseball player
1926: Mel Brooks, NYC, comedian/actor/director (Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs)
1933: Pat Morita, Berkeley CA, actor (Happy Days, Karate Kid)
1943: Bobby Harrison, England, rock drummer (Procol Harum-Conquistador)
1945: Dave Knights, London, rock bassist (Procol Harum-Conquistador)

And then, of course, I had to find out what else of note (apart from Desiree's birth) HAPPENED on said date:

1461: Edward IV crowned king of England
1762: 1st reported counterfeiting attempt (Boston)
1762: Russian tsarina Catharina II grabs power
1770: Quakers open a school for blacks in Philadelphia
1820: Tomato is proven non-poisonous
1838: Britain's Queen Victoria crowned in Westminster Abbey
1859: 1st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England)
1902: US buys concession to build Panama canal from French for $40 million
1914: Austria invades Siberia (WW I)
1917: Potato entrepreneurs begins in Amsterdam
1917: Raggedy Ann doll invented
1919: Treaty of Versailles ending WW I signed in France
1934: Hitler flies to Essen (Night of Long Knives)
1941: German troops occupy Galicia Poland
1958: Brazil becomes world soccer champ in Sweden
1964: Organization for Afo-American Unity forms in NY by Malcolm X
1967: Israel annexes East Jerusalem
1967: George Harrison is fined for speeding
1968: Daniel Ellsberg indicted for leaking Pentagon Papers

I've absolutely no idea if there is any message in any of this! Probably not. Or, maybe, I won't know until next year, on this same date! Very Zen!

Whose bed is it anyway?

This morning was cold. Charlotte had promised to call early, so Desiree had got up to talk to her.
Unfortunately, Charlotte needed to go to bed, rather than talk to her mother. So Desiree went back to bed.
Where she was joined by our ever present footpad - Goldie.
She's so important she even has her own web-page.

Life's a Fridge

I happened to stop and look at fridge the other day. Not, you understand because our fridge is particularly unusual or different or even inherently interesting.
In fact it's probably more accurate to say I looked at what covers our Fridge. Whoever invented fridge magnets has a lot to answer for.
Some of what obscures our fridge is surreal, some helpful, some purely decorative, some strident propaganda, and some creative. Some I have no idea about.

What season is it anyhow?

It is mid-June at present - well past Autumn, but a long way from Spring. But somehow our garden doesn't seem to be able to tell the difference.
We have 2 flowering cherry trees. One at the end of garden and the other beside the deck. This latter tree is being trained to grow over the deck and provide some shade.
Interestingly, the one at the end of the garden lost its leaves quite some weeks ago. The one beside the deck is only now losing it's leaves, and littering the deck in doing so.

However, at the other end of the garden, the other tree already has a couple of very small blossom flowers!

Coincidence or sheer good luck?

The DominionPost was dominated by two large spreads on Saturday. They both featured imprisonment, but from opposite sides.
The first was the cover story and concerned the verdict from the David Bain murder trial - a long-running saga. That verdict saw Bain found Not Guilty, and, as the DomPost screamed, 'Free at Last'. After all, it is 15 years since he was originally found Guilty and imprisoned.

As an aside, David is my 2nd cousin once removed. His place in my family tree can be seen in our Family History website.
The second was a photo story about the round up or muster of wild horses in the Kaimanawa Ranges, and their imprisonment and, for some, eventual execution.

I'm still not sure if this was mere coincidence or a deliberate arrangement. If it was deliberate, I'm not sure what the purpose was. But I was struck by the serendipitous juxtaposition of two stories dealing with imprisonment.