Well good morning y'all, it must be like the 30th of September today and I don't know whether you ever received any blank tapes but this tape I had already recorded on a little bit on the 31st of January I don't know whether I started another one or not but if you ever get any blank tapes that's just a mess up at this end.
Well the rains have come 30th of September, we've had no rain totally at all, you know, and yesterday, Sunday it rained all day solidly and it's raining again today and the forecasters for a few more days of rain it most unusual to get rain consistently like this usually it comes in thunderstorms and stuff, you know, but it's very wet out and the children got all dressed.
This morning actually it's quite cool this morning it's down to about 60 which is a hell of a change from that humidity just oh just over a week ago it was you know still very, very humid and hot and maybe it won't get up to the 90s again after this, I shouldn't think so although there is over 80 problems for later on in the week.
The leaves are starting to form and the trees are starting to turn color, there' still a lot of green around here, of course, but it is they're talking about the leaves starting to fall on the mountains so it's much colder up there.
Here there are a lot of leaves on the ground already, and the sections starting to look messy, you know, it's much prettier when there's a lot more leaves on the ground.
Anyway, so what's been happening, I thought I'd better catch up on this, I've had a lot of communication from Graham and stuff lately which I've had to attend to a few phone calls and so on and so forth.
Nothing disastrous Grahamled the other morning, which is quite a throw just said getday.
Like he was calling from Tower to Wellington, but it's mostly been over the Brian Hazlock that's in John's workroom.
Ms hardly you Oh as you can see it's very early in the morning it' 730 I've been up since about called deoses but I've just not got to fight together yet, by the way it is only the 29th the day you can tell I don't know what day of the week it is.
But anyway what was I saying all about Brian, yeah, he wants to, there was a clause in the contract where he could not open another business anywhere within a million mile radius of Wellington so on and so forth and he wants to buy another business in Wellington, which he called here about a couple of times the other week and John's pivotly happy for him to do that he's buying a.
Gy called Rama Ethan an Indian guy well the hell wants to do it I have no idea but he wants to buy his business and operate both of them and Rama has been operating this business without even being there so there's no reason why he can't do that and he still will continue to run Lempton Key which is where of course John wants to be with all the new buildings Graham said there's 28 buildings going up.
And Lempton Key has always been, I think the best part of town and will remain that way and a lot of that building is going on there so he naturally wants to keep his office open there and so no problem you know Graham's got all sort doubt but although Brian Z down that he'd called and it was all okay with John he just said you were better to be sure and sorry you know so he just put a call through and he hinted that him I'm bet he may well come over for a truck which will be nice.
That was the news from that in we had Pat Lyford here last week who lived at number 12 Crmwell Street you know Joan lived at 16 so it was just a house between them, he's a guy from Blenheham and had gone to school with John and Graham and Ro and everybody and he's in he manufactures Rembrandt suits so they have factories foot out at Ni somewhere and he was over here for the Bob and show which is a big annual event in Atlanta looking for machinery.
Quite offended Beverly I think when they popped in to see her, John picked them up up about five and ran them around while it was still daylight and showed them a bit of Atlanta and then called in briefly to see Beverly because of course he knew Dev and Jack as well well from 25 years ago, you know he remembered them at the school Jack was a teacher at the school and Beverly was still a pupil I guess in the sixth form or something.
And she's a bit older than John and Pat, you know of course Jack was back there as a teacher so he knew them but Beverly said, oh you've come over for designs and they said oh no they come over for machinery, in fact Rembrandt is' an a American company I gather and but they saidOh no, we go to Europe for our designs and she I think was quite offended at that but I mean you know nobody ever said she of course immediately said wellWell you know New Zealand guys have've never been well dresseded and I said to Sunny next door.
 ever has ever said that New Zealand was the trends setter in fashions, but I do believe you know that New Zealand men aren't too badly dressed heavens above you see some real weirdos around here and American fashions aren't all that hot you know and all their best designers go to Europe so I don't know she was just getting a little touchy.
The other thing they apparently said wasn't that New Zealand I mean American men were so clothes were kind of flashy you know and so I had to explain to her that you know, even Jimmy Wats who was they Brooks brothers conservative like most you know I mean he's a worlddress guy but Bros Brothers is the most dull shop in the whole place I mean they have that prey look and they all wear those cotton shirts all the same and they all wear even their dar dressing gowns are the same I mean it is one conservative store and.
You know in that same Jimmy Wason and the like, you know the X Virginia University kind will come out in golf clothes that would just you make your eyesore that you just about need sunglasses to wear well you'd never see a New Zealand in clothes like that and you know not but that's not fair enough but you only see that here, you don't see that in Europe or anywhere else it's only the Americans that come out in those big loud clothes and when you live here you get used to it and use that.
Yourself and anyway.
So what else has been happening I don't know we've been flat out I have not written my diary for months so I sort of have to just go by what I can remember now because the kids are well back into school we've been having a hell of a lot of problems with the school buses you know I mentioned to you that.
They weren't taking MAta buses this year that the subsidy was just too high for the Education department to handle because the fares had gone up to 50 cents and the only one that gets to be 15 so they've now the city schools have now gone over to national buses which is what all the other schools use anyway that's those yellow oldfashed looking buses that beetle around and it's been no into travel and what isn't so infuriating is that miss Wten.
Head mistress has spent hours on this goddamn thing I mean she's just flat out and you know we would much rather see her teaching our kids reading writing and Redman tech than worrying about goddamn school buses but she has spent what is it we've written a month back into school and she's still begggging around with these buses and the problems I spoke to a Friday about another business again and said that if there was anything I could do Sonny and I had ridden the bus two days to try and see if we could help the drivers and stuff,
You see the problem is one of the problems as there are many almost convinced is that these black drivers just do not know this area and of course those little buses do.
Funny little routes, I mean they go down every down street around and you know it's hard for us to know exactly where they go because they go on such funny little routes.
But anyway they come and of course they get a good driver and the next thing he's off and one thing and another we' marta, I guess if they had somebody off sick they just throw another driver on well the national buses aren't the same you see and of course these guys probably don't earn as much the marr drivers can earn up to 40,000 a year I imagine that's good a lot of overtime these guys wouldn't get the opportunity of so much overtime because although the national buses do an awful lot of caring around they don't.
You know, they're obviously not waiting all day.
Anyway, so they finally, Miss Roten said you know one of the problems Sony had said to her, well I'm just waiting to see a typical day she said we haven't had one yet, you know I mean it's just unbelievable they break down and the drivers don't you know and they get lost for two hours and all this sort of stuff anyway finally our bus seems to have sit alarm and we him' to have a nice driver and he chats away you which is his's at least several which some of them have not been but I think I've told you what.
I't remember what I told you what I hadn't because I hadn't made a take for a while, I've got all your notes there which I must look at right now too and somebody had the problem where the kids came home and were upset because they you know when I take the islands on the bus and the normal of course that's ridiculous the black children if they couldn't take their football view and stuff on the bus just wouldn't be able to do these things because their parents can't run them to school 20 or30 miles so when she finally got hold of the head sheing down at the National bus service he.
Had the guy fired which was just a Ho he's out of a job today but he's not supposed to attack the children on any issue at all, I mean parents can handle let but you don't attack the kids on it they just get upset.
The other thing that I called Miss W about the other day was and I came home every Thursday we get newsletter from the school and it was this thing called Maps in aPE, which is the I think it must be an North side Association of Paranoid Parent Society or something but it's something to do with an North side parents and they were saying I must read this thing and it was about the children being bust.
On that, there is some talk that they want to abandon the 5050 ratios in the schools in the city schools that want to abandon that, you see, and I thought, oh, we're not going to bring the black kids up to school here.
 this was a big letter on the Atlanta Journal, which is the evening paper which we don't get anyway and to the editor the editor and the school wanted us and this association thing to write letters to the editor saying you know what we felt well I really I wasn't sure what I felt because I didn't quite understand the whole thing, so I called her Friday and said, you know where did the school stand on it because I wanted to support the school and I figured that I had missed out on these sort of earlier years of all this and I had quite a long talk to her.
She said, you know what's so frustrating is that the South have suffered from what she calls bad media for years about how bad the schools are and dirty day, you know on and on and that if anything at a good happens nobody of the rights set up, they just give them a hard time about everything and she was quite proud of that article, which I think I might have sent you recently at least checks and was mentioned which when you consider how many schools there are in the state of Georgia areas there were that that was a pretty good thing a pretty good.
Because after all, being the city school is always.
An incredible disadvantage and of course with the number of black children that go to the city schools and the shortage of money, you know these schools outside of the city have endless sources of income from just generous parents and help print and so on and so forth but when you're busing kids 30 miles those parents not because they're neglectful they just cannot be at the school all the time doing things well I had completely misread this thing and what they want to do she was telling me is.
The 5050 ratio but she said they't mean that they won't be sending the black children to school here that means they want to change the ratio from 80 to 20 or maybe 70 to 30 she said you know whatever and because the black people claim that the schools in the North side area are the best and that they have the best teachers and the best facilities and so on and so forth which of course as really the I call group and she came over and we had to chat about with is very likely true that it's only because of course that the parents.
You look a little harder on it.
Have a little more money, I'm sure to come along. but anyway, so if that ratio should change, of course, we do children that we do have in the school, parents will take them out and there'll be more white flight as they call it here.
 now either go to private schools or they move outside of the city boundaries, which of course instantly means that there is probably exactly opposite the ratioia of black children at the school, you know, the change from 10% of black to 90 of white, which is the other way around in the city, but of course Jackson the maximum that they can have in black children is 5050 which sits fine now I don't mind the children going to black children, but I certainly would feel uncomfortable if there were only 10% of white children and 90%.
bl and then you have a ridiculous situation where they're busing a whole community to another school out another area and so you end up busing black kids to black schools in white areas which obviously is ridiculous gains absolutely nothing so I have been constructing a letter to the newspaper about you know how much we have to gain from one another's cultures I mean it's very difficult to make any statement without sounding totally racial and which is what it is of course that.
It's just pointless having more than  thft0 in the schools and of course the teachers would live too because in the black teachers like this school because of course it does you know Jackson is the best school in the area and it's quite a thing to be a teacher at that school I'm sure, certainly a lot nicer than some of the other schools and what they need of course, the only way to overcome us as everybody here says is to have integrated communities not integrated schools that does nothing but integrated communities which is.
Long way off.
Maybe never. I mean, you know, nobody wants. I mean, we don't feel as racial as some that one can meet here. I mean, you can be talking to a perfectly s person who will suddenly turn around and say something absolutely horrid about legss. but you know, there's no way that you want to go by a house in the middle of a black area and feel comfortable there and left saying as for you know, that's only a very wealthy ones that have sort of got out of this and will move into an area like this. that don't a funny thing. Rachel has a friend called Beth Star.
And her mother was at soccer with on Saturday and she had three black kids on me where they go, whether or I thought go wish she had those from, she introduced me to them and they're all been Rachel make one love and stuff throw them go to Jackson she said,Oh these are our new neighbors and she said, we're wrong for here because she saidBe has had no one who a to play with from the whole neighborhood and these kids of her age and she said, they're from Haiti.
And they haven't lived in Haiti for a while, I, but anyway, they've been all over the place, but the fathers are very, very.
Professional surgeon of some kind and the mother is also they're both very highly educated people and of course they're just a delight.
Sa this dying, the mother was telling me that when they first bought the house, Of course, the neighbourhood was up in arms about at their cars. Of course, they were said, right. And she said this house ain't no dropping in the bucket. She said this house was $200000. And theyd just say, you all take getting this old rid that had been selling it had head on a mark up for ages and couldn't sell it. And finally, when she sold it for them, of course she was leaving and in care. But the neighbours were up. But, of course, the neighbors have all been absolutely delighted as to, you know, the standing of these people.
Nice they have full time learn and help I mean they're wealthy people and perfectly nice as well and they apparently there's been a little bit of a tune of feeling in there but and of course all I thought were blacks well like American blacks at first but of course they are Well I a get my notes so that I can cover what I needed to off your letterss and tapes first because there've been two tapes this is take one which there isn't little answer on them type two which was more.
Shehety about Germany E being himself so all staff with side one.
Well the first thing I had down here was competition day and I wonder what Mi that was thinking of nightland immediately that I was thinking of the competition one has to make a tape recording with Bar the bird by God that bird can make the record sometimes you obviously used to it and sometimes continue chatting on through and you don't realize that there is serious competition between you and the.
Anyway.
I've got something about front not back which I don't understand and I' got pureish of what was et ce that you mentioned were coming in the castle and I had mentioned things like pounds of butter and ice cream and so so forth if I was joing but it did sound exciting and we shall open the par when it arrived as we did when Jones arrived recently which was with their presence and then pet life had it and more presents for the kids from Joan when he arrived which was a great opportunity and we were able to send something back for Joan as well on, which was real nice.
Of course, men don't trouble with the whole of his stuff so you normally always taking some things back phenomenon.
Yes, so we look forward to the castle arriving and I will arrive immediately when it does. Carter very will, I think, too. I really do. I don't know. I hadn't been the elections of really but the Kiford doing all kinds of stuff at scale to the tech clippings and.
Righters class, I don't have to read an antibiography.
About a biography that a president and older president Rachelel has reading one on Abraham Lincoln, what she's really enjoying and she's read another one about his son T in the White House and how he ran through the White House with Gates and God knows what and went right up until where his father was assassinated but.
She was enjoying that. but but miss first, you know, honestly, that class is just to her. you know, that's the special class. and the kids in there are bright. and it's really quite funny. they have.
They do things. you know and they're doing this.
 theyre also obviously doing a lot of sort of American politics and stuff this particularization.
And this fe, who is so sivn and Dr made Mary constantly and she just loves her children and she says things say I live comparing my children I love each child and all think she's quite married you know anyway she sister with children why you I've been discussing communism they you know big on commonism.
Trying everybody to be absolutely well, obviously, against it. she says, well, children.
What kind of gardenment do we have in this country? And one of the kids apartment said, well, as far as we have a good garden. And in the whole I say, we have a good garden't she thinks that's just so funny. You know, it's her topic of the day. she thinks that they are so brilliant to think.
 like that she she gets them wrong than almost. I mean, she you know, I don't really care she's needed to leaders but she does get results and she really stimulates those kids support beyond the reasonable rational really, but she.
ItHas him, as I said, very bright kids in the classes last Saturday, I met a lady and Mrs.
Save.
From obvious extraction. And she is well Beth Steins mothers ta. she is a brilliant woman herself, and she has just taken her kids out of what they call Montessori schools here I guess you heard of Montesseri schools. she said and I said, oh where they had Montesro finished was that the end of the label or what and she's oh, they could have continued to go here but it was too small and I sit a letter that was a funny comment. Most people are complaining about the size of the glasses. She said, well Joel.
her oldest son who was in right class and in the special class withmospherrus as well, she said there was only eight children between the age of eight and 11 and his group where she said that's just not enough you know he wasn't been to see the royal and she's very much against father schools and I was interested to hear that, she said that Westminster the headdmaster at Westminster is in Newborn you know Christian and he's just a pain in the name and of course the Jews don't like that nobody does I mean.
 went to the opening of the stadium at Westminster isn't get soon as started talk I knew he had a ba' type voice and the next thing he told us that he had gained, he had seen the lines at Westminster and I thought my God you know if you'd said I really went to math and did real well and length or something that he started all that Jesus and all that night was furious and this of gets to them too know very much so that she also felt that there just was not a cross section.
That still which is interesting because these people haven't do that.
And this kids in class were virtual who and I watching the soccer was her little boy playing the remote on and they were running to mother a.
And she said and Rachel and Joel seemed to be getting along2 years old, they were over the corner of the soccerfield on the other side of the field and she supposed they seem to have struck up quite a rap so there they are chatting away well it turns out that Jod and Rachel are on in turning duty and this classroom they breeding chickens this time so I guess whether the chicken together go the jewel shortly and they just gett say yeah I'll said to Rachel afterwards but that's very nice that you know Joe's such an nice friend and prisoner she's not really interested in those.
She said,Oh's just such a kind boy and he wear glasses and she said he dropped out of soccer last year and he just said that he was going to give something up and he felt like it was soccer because he just, you know he's not obviously is you a more an intellectual giant soccer wasn't behind hand but she said, what Joel can do well, Joel just slides through, but she said, what Joel can't do Joel seems to make a real in the and she said, he can read.
Just like Luke at his reading is fantastic. I said to Rich later. as Jo a reader. She said, oh, he's just fantastic. He can just read anything. They read it very well. But his mother said to me that Joel and mathematics or another thing again. Jo thinks that three and three or somewhere once said on old might5. You know, I had to laugh. He always lives wonderful that all I at his notes. Co. anyway, but she was a very nice person. I had nice chapter of her own much seems to have struck her.
By a relationship with Jo, which is nice for her to have a bit of moral friend.
Anyway, for was I back to your list of things. Louis Grzaard. Yes, well he is a he. I hadn't heard from him yet I wasn't seeing Patsy every day he every time again she's got somebody new work me and she has to tell them just where I for who my father is and what an a socialist it is and how her and then get on so well.
And then I think I mentioned to you about the murders of the Black stone town.
 you know there's all these little boys been going missing was like 10, I think that only found sex all murder. so I weren't can assume that the others have been too.
AndThings are very, bad down there so as that' consume they' form big kinds of you know parents, things, the terribly sad thing about these children going missing was at first, obviously now if one goess missing or hell its lay back at first, you know, I guess it's the same in New Zealand if a kid goes missing theyre sh to have run away from home, but you know I don't believe that any kid under sort of 12 has well, that even if a head run away should not be search for it.
Other than through the missing Pesons Bureau and there was all day of day just saying there's only a couple of people work in that department I mean it's not the whole police force, but of course now theres such a her cry about that that you know any time that those missing from enough and now the whole bloody country is out looking for them but at first they were just being looked forward through the missing Pearson's Bureau where when they found that so many were being mood well obviously they started to realize because the blacks a little like the noise, you know they end up there aren somebody's place and just spent the night.
I stay on I know this sort of stuff, but now there's a bit more to.
Anyway.
But speaking of criminals, I went to see this merchandise recently with Sun, and that's one of those big wholesale out.
That a.
And sunnyny and I have just been talking about you know one's privacy everything and down me if I hit the whole on radio and then don one my fingerprint of the what really that he hated post you've got all your stuff and if you on those house out places. I mean you work and get a pair pill and you have to write down all these code numbers and then you have to wait in a about line to get the stuff and oh it's just a pain in the and course when you finally get the pastry just to to take your fingerprint you I sort of throwing your arms up there and saying here.
Toge it, but you know you've been through that beforehand and you just don't feel out doing that, so I have to have my fingerprints taken at service merchandise.
, the garden sounds lovely at home and you know I know you're enjoying the new house Jones says it's absolutely beautiful and that Ru be throw about no so she went around and told me that right away.
And.
And well, it sounds like Stephen had a nasty accident at his time.
Anyway, I guess it's all bit now.
Anyway, parel coming, oh yes, you know, you've had our what would sent Pael there too and I've mentioned to you in a letter how Sony and I spent the whole day on that.
Wellman's business trying to get but.
Well the stuff the thing and I hope my dad doesn't mind my sin makes two things, but having st that hold I don't know the waist and they havingt heard the trouble everything I just did off shoot let's just get this whole thing away and you know, get on with it.
Since I've already div of visa and all that, you know and be would be coming onru, so you know, I'm sorry if it's costing well, it's costing more than one to spend probably but you know in the long run.
You know it's not all that much more it's the first part that was the mangar you mentioned I've got written down here parsnips and carrots oh and you mentioned somebody giving them to you I think because we just love parsnps and carrots parnis are very rare here and very very expensive yout see them all that often.
We I' got 20 degrees,20 degrees is what about 40, 70. that's pretty warm you know it' I got the heating on today and it's just well it's down to 60.
Anyway, and Di had going to the doctor with opinions so send on I and a half a dozen p could do with them.
.
Anyway, you so I've got jewels and photos and I don't know what else I heard all was done so long ago and you know, you worked don notes and then you can't think what the answer about.
Our tears drift us left home my go, well, you know, maybe it is for the best don I, you know?
Great enjoyed the vi of st on the tape that dadd sent and.
She's coming along wheel wash she practices all the time and on Friday night she didn't have a music stand, which of course the first couple of lessons and stuff didn't really need one, but she said to me,Oh, I'm thought she was calling a submarine too and that road from submarine she gets on the bus it's subtherland.
 or something but we call a subm always she said, oh she's got a music stand from last year that she's saying and she wants$5 for it and I said okay well let's go have a look at it well it was blame you and they $12 we a folding once so Rachel bought it would own money that she earns you know from Mrrs debt trip across the road and she was sure but and her first she was that it was in such good condition that she ever for $6 if she wants to maybe a year from now obviously they take it.
 I don' what will say, she's working and I had to laugh sunny over just a mysterics because Matthew's learning the.
And you know we have to, the teacher told them unless they were tapping their foot they were playing the viol on, you know they have to tap to the beat to four on half nights, coordinate nights and all that stuff and they only learning ptza car at the moment once they have mastered Ptza car they are finally allowed to put the bell in their hand but she sits there with thisruddy music stand out and on her chair that I bought from krs for$ five dollars and.
She taps the footbook Senator just a historic whilst playing scrub over the other night, and she definitely funny that they tap their foot they can tap the foot to when they you know,
Strainens it just just a ho I mean, you know, when they finally, they get it together get it and keep the foot tapping constantly and flip the musicer come to the tap rather than tap some of the music.
Yeah but it's so fun.
Anyway, then I think, gosh, she has to be more aid tota, but I just can't think right now what it was, I'll not just get this one going what see?
B number, my gen lives here and anyway, so.
I'll go through I might finish this now except because I've got a meeting at school at 10 o'clock and I must get on the bus and I'll play them through before the moral man comes and add to them anyway the next tape was mostly about Joan and Ed as I said and that it sounds like you all had a great time together and because Jane are funny I mean we haven't hardly correspondent this year and then all of a sudden get back at prison I write back and she back and made a tape to her which she would have got I ripped out just after she got home from Christchurch and then of course packed life at.
B gets and we see a whole lot of stuff back from Mel me so's really been quite funny, but something you mentioned I your there that you hit the air and the pay for the Mo now, you should have sell it for $200 by the side of things.
Anyway we had a business with the done test and if the rest of the family and of course Rachelach and Ma them were not tested at the time so you know if.
You would like them tested there be no problem I can just get the pediatric here to you know they've had blood tests and they due to have I won't bother getting there, they admit to have annual checkups here and you can't go to camp and stuff unless you've had one more than a year well they have them just before you came last year to go to school which thing.