Springtime

It is a while since I have had time to look at and add to my blog.
It is Springtime in New Zealand and we are having weather to go with Spring.
We have had the coldest October in 65 years. I t was as cold as the middle of winter. Heaters were once again put on etc.
We are now into November and it is still quite cold and very windy.

The Passchendale Exhibition came out to New Zealand from Belgium. The people of Belgium wanted to thank the New Zealand Soldiers who fought for their freedom in W.W.1. The Exhibition travelled throughout New Zealand, and we went to see it over on the North Shore at the Takapuna Fort, Auckland.
We had been very fortunate last year to be able to visit Passchendale. My Great Uncle William McCready died on the 4th October 1917 in the Battle of Broodsiende Passchendale.
The Exhibition at Takapuna was very good. It was underground in the Tunnels at the Fort.
Looking at the 5.000 crosses placed on the hill at the Fort was very sobering. Those crosses represented the number of New Zealanders who died at Passchendale.

Late October in New Zealand we have Labour Weekend. This year we decided to travel up to Matakana North of Auckland.
We had forgotten how awful the traffic can be on a holiday weekend. We crawled from the Mahurangi turnoff until we reached Warkworth.
When we finally got to Matakana I think we and every other Aucklander were there on that Saturday!!!

We did enjoy ourselves and the weather was so nice for a change. We stopped off at a lovely Vineyard on the way home for a spot of lunch.

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