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| The moon through the trees. |
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| The night sky from our front doot. |
Weather report first, of course. The month began with a
continuation of the Indian summer we experienced in September. It was
comfortable to go swimming – the sea still at around 18 degrees – and I managed
swims of at least 500 metres 5 times a week.
The month was busy with catching up with friends: Wendy and
Nicholas from Glasgow, Margaret and Heather visiting from Rugby, a long video
call with Kim and Dave up in the Borders and of course the local catch ups with
friends I hadn’t seen over the summer. A chamber choir concert – a colleague
and other acquaintances – was a different experience in Castel church. A few
days of supply teaching at the local state school, after my unexpected full-time
stint at Beechwood came to an end and of course continuing to get the garden
under control before the winter.
I have also started hosting ladies’ breakfasts again for
friends and acquaintances from church. I have
been astonished at how popular they are…It’s always fun, giving me the opportunity
too to bake and is a joy and encouragement to gather together.
But, apart from swimming, the Rugby World Cup dominated the
month. I put significant matches in the calendar but managed to see most of the
matches, especially after the pool stage was completed. I had one delightful
encounter when on supply. A nine year old boy came up to me, peering at my earrings
proudly sporting the All Black logo of the silver fern (I wore them constantly
throughout the tournament).
“Are those NEW ZEALAND rugby team earrings?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied, unprepared for what was to come next.
“That’s BAD. I support South Africa.”
“I’m very sorry,” I whispered back. “And congratulations for
yesterday.” The South African rugby team had just won a quarter-final the day before.
He grinned. I’ve known him for a couple of years now, and he’s still one of my
favourite children in the school.
The final result – New Zealand versus South Africa – was disappointing,
especially when a wonderful All Blacks try was disallowed on a very minor technical
issue. Several weeks later, match officials admitted privately that they had
been wrong… but anyway. The All Blacks, despite being one man down – a red card
which, again, might not have been upgraded from a yellow card had the referee
on field been allowed to make his own decisions – lost by only one point. They had
played bravely with only 14 men for most of the match.
There was no doubt in my mind which was the better team but,
to be fair, the South Africans needed to win, so desperate were they for their
country’s national pride. The All Blacks, as always, were the epitome of good
and gracious losers. What an inspirational team ethic they have, standing head
and shoulders above the others.
It was somewhat of an anti-climax when it all finished… but
the Christmas movies were about to start…
