Well, hi there, y'all. This is Tuesday, the 6, No, the 18th December. and it's about 4 o'30 in the afternoon. and we get our mail very late. And guess what came today. What came boy present fresh chocolate fish and gumrops and pineapple chunks but we didn't un wrap the pres and all wrapped of father Christmas people. just for candy. we had to get into the We've already eaten well chocolate.
2, you eaten two oneny, Oh, oneny each year. goodness. we got to keep them slowly. We eat. don have the we three packet. Now we've got sugars. Oh,. we've been so spoiled pineapple chance. Its tied for us not to open the other presents, isn't it, Because we give so really. now I have four and babies too. what other presents have you had children. and I have we talking to the microphone now I have a tik tok.
Li that Masha gave you that toe open right away it's wood and it's funny and it has we go place like.
Like Kirofi. No, like on little it's a little thing. but with the name one it doesn't not Made. And she gave me an angel made out of straw.
Go on the tree and then two presents, which we have. of basketball and set this tapes making noise out of stop.
Go now and you heard that I started basketball and it was on the 16th December 16 and the game was five to nine and we were the nun we won the basketball game first time I've ever played and we'll play first Thursday next January Okay here goes Mer Christmas Nna and granddad and Uncle David and Auntie Dorothy and cousinousin Taa and cousinous Tasha and.
ous Stephen Merry Christmas Merrry Christmas back and tell us if you have a Christmas tree and then we want to wish Auntie Elsie and Uncle Reg a Merry Christmas and Uncle Tony and cousin Eileen.
And cousin, Jason and Corey.
And who else do we have to move?
Oh and Melanie forget Melanie and Sly well we won go through all those friends Patrick and James we're wishing them people in Christchurch are mery Christmas might well Now we've been very spoiled because I went around to see Mrs. Izard tonight, didn't I because she called me to say she'd like me to have some Christmas Holly and some greenery for the house and she said to come around and why did she give me?
3 present presents for the little parries, more presents for the little parries and everyone's been very kind to you, haven't they Bay and Ben he's got something for you now.
No, we're going down later and we're going to go to Mrs. Curley.
And to Ruths, now do you want to tell Nana about the Christmas pager?
Well, what were you and the Christmas pageant boy at the church, the Advdvent pageant?
We you what was I were you a shepherd Yall a shepherd Oh, we.
White with.
Is that right, you had it on boy not me Yes it was right, it was a stripy towel Order chicken comes out on the tape by the way.
Well don't do it And.
What did the thing around your head look like, Le?
What was it an Arab sort of hair?
You looked like A heb the A ra, didn't you?
And Rachel kept telling you you might get shot because someone might think you're one of the Ayatollla's boys.
Poor Maitlon, we went into McDonald's afterwards and everybody was staring at you we they Bay.
Well that was Tuesday, it's now Wednesday.
And I've just put the children to bed, and I thought I'd.
tter get this tape finished to get off to you, you probably won't get it by Christmas, but you may get it for the new year.
We've been very busy, we're very settled into the cottage now and perhaps I'll tell you about that first, the Esons are really nice people and you'll have a letter from me about that Mrs. Eson's parents, her name's Susie and there Mr. Mrs. Goodman are arriving in New Zealand I think they leave the States on the 28th of December and doing a tour and I've written to a few people are staying at the James Cox I've written to the Mes to ask them to make themselves known and Ronald and England.
 Wellington because of course they're Jewish people anyway, and I noted down a few little things for them to see and do in New Zealand and one thing and another.
But if you could give them a call, it would be very nice, they were only one night in Christchurch, and I told you in the letter that Mr. Goodman is a retired manufacturer.
I imagine pretty wealthy as well, and Mrs. Goodman is very interested in that apparently so I mentioned some things for them to see in Wellington, the beehive I think it be of interest too here.
.
Anyway, we've sort of been here two or three weeks now I guess and we're settling on very well and we moved in I think the last time I made a tape to you was the first week that we've been here and I was waiting for the telephone and the refrigerator the refrigerator arrived and finally the telephone did on a Thursday it was a week late, they finally got their A's into gear when I rang bell for how many times I called them but.
I finally called them and told them that a government department could do as well and the telephone was almost than half an hour so that obviously hit the right spot.
As you know the telephone number is 231-4192 and the area code is 404 of course, and were in communication with the world at last it's really good to have your own telephone especially that night while we're at the apartment for the month I had to do my telephoneing during the day from work.
Anyway, we have three telephones and cottage which is rather unnecessary, one we can talk calls can come in on but for some reason I can't ring out on and that's the one that I actually got from Bell so I don't know what's wrong with it but seeing as the other two work I haven't done anything about that yet.
Anyway, we've started work around the.
10 acres there is here and the cottage is situated well there's two streets Valley Road is the one that the mansions letterbox is on and there letterbox I guess about to a mile from the house It's a great long driveway down to their letterbox and then we're on on a circle which is directly behind and I guess from our litterbox to theirs would be a quarter of a mile that's quite a height and it's just beautiful I mean it's covered in trees and we were talking to one of the other gardeners the other Saturday there is another gardener a guy that's been here his name is Alexander Ter.
Distinguished for a black guy course you haven't got a clue how old he is because they never age but he can't be all that old because he's got a 14 year old son.
Anyway, Alexander's been here 19 years and he remembers Dev and Jack if you please in the cottage so he's really part of the furniture and he's a bit of a hoot the first weekend that John was out working with him he told John to slow down that he was showing them up he was working too fast and then last weekend I never got into a bit of a controversy into a bit of trouble because I said to John to clear the leaves away you could imagine there's just a ton of leaves it's unbelievable but because the sections so big we don't have to clear them completely we put them onto the areas that I never used you know just into to the bush.
So we don't have to pack them because they've changed the laws here or the local you know rubbish collection service or whatever you got it have decided that this year you have to bag all your leaves usually people just put them out on the side of the road and the big truck comes around and pack them all up but this year they want them all bagged which is a mammoth job it's bad enough breaking them up it's through really quite tiring after a while I got out and did the first weekend game we were here did the leaves.
Out front of here and then John came over later with they've got a big blowing machine that you blow them all across the lawn and get them into big heaps, which is really much much quicker but you still of course have to go around the very edges of fences and so on and so forth that I decided that I would do the tennis court the tennis court by the way just right outside our back door it's much closer to us than it is to them and very handy for us to use and they don't use it so it'll be great and there's a ball machine on it so you can get out there and pllow on your own.
I was going to do the leaves on the tennis court because you know how you can imagine they get all sort of caught around the edges of the tennis court anyway Alexander said oh no no I wasn't to touch the tennis court that he liked to do the tennis court, that was his favorite job because he said if he you runs out of things to do outside they put him inside and he hates being inside he likes to be out so he wanted to do the tennis court so I wasn't allowed to encroach on his area he used to work five days a week but he only works two full days a week now and well Alex and then there's Ruth.
Everybody seems to be called Ruth, she's the maid, the full timemaid she's here every day of the week and she does all the cooking but then there's another maid who I don't know her name I met her yesterday she was there for today day.
tThen they have all kinds of other people come as a man comes in to do the lawns and there's someone to clean the pool and of course they get all kinds of extra maintenance people in.
This evening a guy came around called Neil and he is the real estate, he handles all the Olson's real estate and he will be the guy that gets all our paint and paper or whatever we need to decorate the cottage.
He actually came around because they're having a bit of trouble with the previous tenants you know with getting their bond back they want their I don't know how much they had to pay but they want it all back and you know the place was in a pretty bad state the oven was revoling that took me two full days to get that into any kind of order I just finally sprayed it how many times and then because we were pulling up five layers of flooring from the kitchen floor I just literally poured water all over and let it run away but we removed all the carpets and things and you know he sort of feels that they're not entitled to their full bond.
The bathroom was just green with mold and it doesn't look too bad now that I've scrubbed it down but you know it will eventually as the whole place will be completely redecorated I went through with him this evening he's quite interested in the cottage just to make it clear to him that.
We're really going to restore it. We're not just slapping another coat of paint on the already five coatats of paint that are all over the place. We really want to get on and do it properly. And he was concerned with the flooring. you know, he thought that if it needed replacing that they would you see to that. But I think we've both agreed that I think with sanding. it will very lightly come up, but that'll be the last job we do anyway, so we'll just see him about that when we get to it because we want to finish all the painting first.
And.
Anyway, but otherwise, you know the place is in pretty good shape now we've got all the flooring up from the kitchen and unfortunately we had this problem with the final glue that was under the very last liner that we came to.
The very last liner that we came to had black sort of gunk and we can't get that off the guy from color tile the big you know tarling place here has suggested that we use sort of a paint strip of thinner stuff, but it's highly inflammable John said, you know you'd have to do it on a day when we could have the place wide open and we think probably that it will just sand off and we get a big sander and and do the whole thing so we won't touch that until all paintings finished.
Anyway, so I was telling you yes, Alexander's really funny, he's you know been with the house for so long, I mean, he's been here longer than Elson's have, of course they've been here, owned the house eight years only been in that so He said Mrus Elson does a terrific amount of entertaining and one night she had 800 people.
And entertained them all he said, you know it's really quite incredible I can't just cannot imagine entertaining 800 people anywhere, I guess even in their house it must have been summertime because it's aburgrg house but they would have been in just about every room at that point it's a huge place actually.
 this real estate guy said tonight that he the first thing we should do here is get under the house and put bats underneath the floors because of course being old you know the floorboards have got sort of gaps and it's pretty cold under the house there's quite a bit of room under the house and put bats in the roof so he's going to arrange for us to do that and he said Mrs. Eson needs to put another lot of insulation the mansion it's got an enormously high attic and apparently obviously using a great deal of energy I can't imagine what their power bill must be it would be just something phenomenal.
It's something that sort of staggers us constantly, you know living here and seeing the house that size and the running costs of a house that size, just the cars and things alone for staff, you know all the staff had picked up and delivered and dropped off and we've got use of the station wagon any time and they use that for the maid to the Maid users that threw run little Harry around and John took Harry to a football match the other weekend that they were going to a.
 Co Les or something and they want to meet him down at the ball game.
Don't write them on down there.
That.
 just the general running of the house of the size is incredible John was doing some work in the creek down the front she wanted some trees chop back that were wearing her in the creek the river runs right through the front of the property and he was chopping the trees down the he had these flippers and they weren't too much chop so he said to Alexander isn't there some others and he said oh yeah some brand new ones out in then the gardening shed which is a cute little turret you know this is.
An English sort of castle and so the little gardening cottage is on a quadrangle affair, there's the carriage house and then you've got a great big square area where the boys have got a basketball post up but it's a big quadrangle and then on each corner you've got a little turret and these are the little gardening and chs, you know they're all cute big spirals on them.
Anyway, so Her and Alexander went up to the gardening cottage I mean it takes about half an hour to do anything there because they're up and down the driveway John was cutting some in up and down and had to take a car to do it because it's so so far and.
He was doing something repair on the bridge anyway.
They couldn't find these clippers and Alexanderander said oh don't know he said everybody that comes here takes something away and so Mrs. Elson said, I'll go down and post some more, you know, so John goes and buys more more clippers or you know big huge clippers and things and anyway you discovered that there's a tractor on the property which hasn't been used for a while and' just sort of sunk into the ground, but that's going to be really got because you know it's really a very long way from the house to here and.
So he's got the tractor going now and it's got a big you know leaf basket on the back of it so that'll be really good and we want to get the compost heat going and get Ruth to save all their cuttings so I haven't got a waste master here so it's quite easy to save the vegetable clippings we want to start a vegetable garden in the spring.
And.
But John has spent most of the last weekend and the weekend before doing leads, that's the big thing at the moment and he's been up on their roof doing the guttering he the roofs on a bad state needs quite a lot of work done on.
A fewew lakes here and there.
And.
Anyhow they enter there.
Oh of course the house holds very, very busy at the moment the E since we're fairly long hours and you know both extremely busy but both the boys are home from Harvard at the moment and I don't know where the Westminster is quite finisheded yet but anyway Harvard has and two boys are home and little Harry's at Jack school Westminster so he's here all the time anyway that the two other boys are home and John said it's really quite funny they've got three Mercedes in the carriage house, one convertible which obviously they use in the summer and one just sort of ordinary one and one big saloon one which I guess is for the whole family to go out of.
But the convertible hasn't been used in a while, but minute the boys arrive home they're off round the town shooting around on the convertible the weather here still nice enough to have the roof down. We've had our roof down. It's been cool, but the days have been just beautiful, I mean, day after day of beautiful sunshine and.
C sort of weather it's really very nice.
Anyhow, I met one of the boys the other day, John, I think met both of them the one I met was Ogalois, he's the el I thing.
Anyway.
What else did I have to tell you about them?
Oh yeah that's right well of course they're brainte busy with Hanukah it started on the 15th and so I was making short bread, I finally cleaned out the oven part I'd only cleaned the top of the stove so we could eat and then finally got round to doing the oven and then I decided to try and see if I could do any baking because there's not only no window there's no thermostat there very little on the oven at all the thermostat doesn't work properly.
And to see if I could make some shortb to give to people for Christmas. Anyway, I managed to sort it out after the first batch I had it under control. And I've made some really good shortb. Everyone seems to be thrilled with it. But I sent some over to to the mansion. And I said, just from the happy hannre and from the cottage kitchen., Muus Es's just been delighted about it, she must have told me twice how great it was. And she told John twice, and she told she told John she wants me to teach her how to make it. and we were laughing we thought you know, one day when she's whing through the kitchen, we might catch her. But I'm sure she never does anything in the kitchen. The maid does all the cooking.
And but they seem to be pretty fuzzy with the boys's home.
Things at work of John's office have changed changing considerably they've had great rations. you remember that there was a guy called Jack White who's the boss of the laboratory Well he is the Pentecostal a religious nutcase and he finally, you know things were getting real bad It got to the point where John had to wear an earphone to listen to the radio because he couldn't listen to a commercial station they won't listen to that and they were listening to all these tapes of these mos and God knows whatever so that was bad enough.
News and I know that the girls even in the office next door whenca I've been having all this treatment done and they say was John brought up with you know he just drives them crazy this religious stuff and of course he's got three from the church working for him now you know they started to take over the place anyway it all came to a hit the week before last he finally you know.
He didn't really want out, but he was just making life so miserable for everybody that obviously had to come to an in so Roy Johnson and Don the other part I just sort of put it to him and he claimed he was going by Christmas once he found out he kind' of turned oh well if that's the way you feel Im off you know and he was taking all the religious nuts with him on the funny thing was that only leaves John if he takes the other three that leaves John and one other guy.
That aren't part of the church and the funny thing was that he didn't even ask John of this other guy to go with him, but of course John, that was pretty obvious seeing as Roy as the sponsor anyway, but oh they've been having some fun on trying to work out the financial details, but finally it was agreed that he would go right before Christmas although he had 90 days which will run through March.
AndYes it all came to Roys apparently being kept as cool, he's been pretty upset about it all the other Friday night I and John went and had a drink and he was feeling a little you low about the whole thing.
But finally, you know, they came to arrangements and agreements and legal things and then yesterday.
Jack was to sign the papers and he was going to Roy would pay up you whatever he owes them to get out.
And Jack said, I've changed my mind I'm staying the 90 days because he intends to take these three religious nuts with them and sit up in business overnight and pay all their salaries and you know start off first of the year kind of thing well it's almost impossible So he's now obviously changed his mind and going to stay with it because of course while he stays with it the salaries he'll be paid at least and it would give him more time I mean he was being a bit silly really saying he was leaving right then and there anyway, however, at that point Roy got mad because although he's got every legal right to stay on, he had said he was going and he's just hedging around and you really brassing Roy off and Roy was ready to go and he started being.
So of imm, you know he.
Talking to dentists and telling them that.
When they're complaining if the work's late or anything he's saying, oh yes well it's all the other partners fault and that it won't happen when he's got his la thinking that these dentists are going go with him, you know he's making it quite clear that he's leaving and that he expects them to bring their accounts to him and what's happening is that when the dentists are finding out that this is happening the next thing they're ringing Roy and John gets called in at this point because Roy's sort of only got John talking a doctor about the matter and you find out that the dentist ring out and say what the hell's going on Roy you know and of course naturally that all stick together so he hasn't got much hope really.
Any he accounts Will him, as much as he's trying to.
So that's going to make a terrific difference to John because right now the funny thing is Royce John occasionally goesson does work for Roy he has a lot of properties around the place and John's been going and doing that work well he does it and Roy in work time and apparently Jack's been moaning about this that John's quite often got the afternoon at Roy's house and so on and it turns out that Jack contributes $60 a week to John's salary hell that doesn't take much time to absorb you know that I mean an hour in the morning each day would pretty well knock there.
You knowRoy has just given a up brush off with him having so much to say, but once Jack's gone.
John will be in a much better and stronger position as far as you know employment goes, well not that he's not a strong position with Roy but he'll probably get a lot more money out of it right now you know his salary isn't very much of course.
What's been happening has been that Jack has been dragging out copia salaries he dragged out $66000 last year and hasn't got a crack over over it because most of it goes to the church and not sinking anything back in consequently there isn't sufficient money to even give like the staff a bonus instead of waiting to lend of the year which is everyone here has 31st of December as the end of the financial year instead of waiting to lend and then the three partners dividing up the profits and giving the staff a bonus and the normal procedure, he's been dragging out so much that theyre really sort of desitute they've got huge gold accounts in New York.
Whats your course it?
You know got to be paid and with the price of gold the way is, the accounts suddenly got up to sort of $20,000 and you know Jack just hasn't got the cash to pay his share.
Anyway.
Along with all these religious, hoot's going everyone can't wait to really see the back of them think be big changes and Roy.
Has apparently been sort of quizzing John about my coming to work for him. And so it looks like I could be in for a new job. you know, it's fine with Bob. but Bob was just.
 you know when you were here is that vague, you know he's usually spaced out and although he's off drugs right now completely so he tells me took an exc from PM today and claimed that was the hardest thing he'd had in on hour but unfortunately he's involved with that sort of those sort of people it and I think he'll had trouble really pulling out of the whole scene completely they were one of his friends was doing it with them I think they're sort of going cold turkey or whatever but.
He's you know trying not to be involved with that sort of thing but he just never seems to be able to get his act quite together and you know it's fine I mean he's paying me a wage and that's the main thing right now I'm not you know I don't really feel like I have anything too much so we'll see I probably still do his delivery is when if and'm when I go and wait for Roy but the thing about going to Ros that.
He will get me a visa. You say, I'll put that to him and he'll.
Have more have more show of getting a work visa myself through Ru than anybody else. And I think now that we've.
San Roy that we're prepared to work, you know he seems quite favourable towards us, he owns my car after all.
that he will you know, be of more help to me and you know, so I'm quite looking forward to the possibilities next year in that line.
Anyway, he's even invited me to their Christmas party. I had to laughs Melda she's the receptionist to stop as she answers all the phone calls and puts them through on that. she said to me all that the good doctor had specifically invited Mr Waters to the Christmas party and it's tomorrow.
At a place called the public house in Roswell. And I just thought the name alone would put all the religious nuts off going. I think that you could feel fairly certain even inviting them that they wouldn't go. So it's at 1230 tomorrowrow. And they've got no appointments in the afternoon. So it's from 1230 till. So we're all quite looking forward to that and.
Anyway, what else have I got, oh yeah and we've decided to go to St. Louis that's why I'm sort of keen to get this tape made tonight because I may not have much time for the rest of the week everything seems to be closing in on me I've been pretty busy and getting sort of Christmas stuff all organized and make the short bread and goodness knows what and with the church pageant and different things the kids have had it's pretty busy but on my car radios been playing up so I've been twice about that and finally I got so mad you know it was $300 this radio and you can pick up a radio car radio here for.
100 bucks you know the much, much cheaper than that but they claimed the Honda one was real good but one day when I went in because it wasn't working properly another guy there called Tom came out and he said you know what's the matter I carrying on and I said oh you know300 bucks with the radio and's bad news as far as I'm concerned he said where's your care it and I said I haven't got a ca it I thought I was getting one but I haven't got one he said, oh you've been overcharged So that blew the G so I knew then that I had been overcharged $50 so he said oh you should have had a ca.
 300 you know I thought 300 is just ridiculous for a radio, especially one that doesn't go on Ethem so anyway I've been beckering around finally when I took to Tommy again the other day he said that Ed Davis who's the boss Vos the Honda people that I could have $50 back or else pay 18 and they would take this one out and put a ca seat and when I got real hot about that I wasn't going to spend another penny would spend 8000 bucks on that car and I'm not spending another cracker and.
So I went and had a couple of quotes done, you know on getting a radio and everything put in and the whole works installation and everything. And I can get a really good radio cassette for under 200 bucks. So I called Ed Davis today. The manager and before I even a my mouth He said, oh he was droppingping Magno you're all over the place and saying, oh, I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you I've been in a say I was meeting dirty he said, are you still having trouble with that sto. I said I certainly am for $300. It's the worst radio I've ever heard. and he.
Oh, well he said all I want is for you to be happy. All I want is for you to be happy. He said, what is it that you would like. And I said, well you know, what are you offering? And he said, well, you can you know, have a radio replacement of $50 or is it, you know, I'll put a caset for you. I said, well, look, I've had quotes they were a lot less than $300 Oh I said, you're I the last business. You need to tell that. he said.
Well, we're on side too and I was telling you about my radio and this guy was saying how he knows but.
And no charge he wouldn't contemplate charging me another penny and everything else and he just wants my absolute utter happiness and I said well you know there's only two days before we go away now and I just you know time's closing and and I just can't fit it in before Christmas oh anytime anytime call him and he will make arrangements and I must admit that the service they give you is pretty incredible when I called up the first time the radio just wasn't going properly and I called up and he said no don't just come down he said I would rather you came at a specific time and we can be ready for you he made it two o'clock one day.
Last week well I got there at about 10 past two and he was standing at the door and I said hi you know and he saidMs. orderss yes and then he calls over two electrical radio guys and they were waiting too and I must have get these guys waiting at the door and they're all standing there with theyre little boxes and goodness knows what and they leapt into the car and you know started working on it right away and he you know had literally had them standing there waiting for me which is pretty good because there's nothing worse than going to a place especially when you're.
complaining and you've just got something brand new So I guess that if I make an appointment in the new year which I think I'll leave it till then now I just can't be bother with everything's got so hectic here. I think I've sent you some clippppings about the shopping Well God it's 10 times worse now it's really just ridiculous last Friday I was doing my deliveries for Bob and that is the worst day of traffic that I've ever ever had and whole of our time here I guess I was sort of unlike that I happen to have to go that I struck four roadworks.
I literally blew up in front of me and I almost got caught in a very thick cloud of smoke.
I didn't know what the hell happened to to because the smoke was so thick but even looking in the rivers mirror I was just so far down the freeway I couldn't see see if it had come out of the cloud of smoke here and I was on the road, oh god oh dad, it was just awful I you feel so tired you know driving in that traffic for so many hours.
Anyway.
The children are going off to sleep, so I've just giving them the message.
Anyway, I was saying about driving on the traffic. Yeah, this traffic was particular, though it was real bad.
Anyway, what else did I have to tell you about oh yes, Mr is just so sweet. you know I was working for her had done you know, she's the lady with the box and goodness knows what and she hates cock toes she just hates getting caught in the kitchen and she loves the house but she just wishes she could avoid the kitchen totally anyway, she called me the other day and just said, would I come around and get some Christmas holly and of course I get around there and she's got off these presents for us and that which was you know we really don't know that well and she said she has a farm down and Griffin Georgia which is about an hour away and she wants me to take the children down one weekend and march there's lovely fishing in the pond and we can go down and stay on her farm which is very s.
But she had presents for us and we walked around the garden for about three quarters of an hour shetting and cutting holy and she's really into plants and things and she was naming all these plants that I didn't have a clue of and she insisted that I took some English holy and there that in the other thing to hang around the place she said, well you know, it is a bit like taking cold to newcast but it was rather sweet but it was from her garden.
Anyway.
She her husband you know, was very ill and they were going to remove his colon but they flew him to she went to Boston with them to get a specialist opinion there and they have decided not to operate I don't quite know what that means whether he's got cancer or not but they have decided not to operate and he is now back at work.
Yeah.
So you know and she seemed pretty happy anyhow and that was Mrism and then Mara had left gifts the other day the kids met and we came home and there was gifts on the steps from Marcisha and there was little two to open now and two to keep for Christmas one two little decorations of pe ever reaching on a we clock for meatland because everybody gets mad on decorations here you know they all give them as presents there and they got real cute on the tree the tree doesn't not too bad considering we had nothing when we first put that it seems to be fairly cluttered good stuff now.
Gosh, we had a fire here yesterday morning at 4 am a woman and an 18 month old baby and somebody else in the house were burn from Christmas tree lights, apparently Mr to been on and I think they were over a central heating being to something they were all killed.
Anyway, well I was, oh, we had terrible air accident here too, just as we.
It was just a local plane and there was seven people on board killed, five of whom worked for a design company, architectural design they do, you know shopping plazas and things like that, and five of them, apparently the two bosses, which included you the two bosses were brilliant.
Designers and the other three were like their top staff too and the company only had 20 people, it's just really rocked the local yos, they lived they worked I in the offices just down on power theory, not far from here.
The other thing too that I just discovered is you probably don't know him, but there's a guy called Asaac Hayes that theres a big stabbb black guy I can remember isn't.
Playbo magazine or Cleo or whatever one time but he made the record called Shaft well he just lives down on which place theory just around the corner from here.
Anyway.
What else was there?
Anyway, we wasnt.
Oh we're just thrilled with the car it really is super and Crane Daley have finally come to light too, they want this Subar Ru bag and you know that's once again sort deing on they called outdoware and he called them and they called him and then us and just that me other nothing else was developed at this point.
So I guess it'll go on into the new year now but they obviously were having one little spit before Christmas to try and get it sew up before the 301s but nothing so far has happened and the Thursday tomorrow I doubt that much will happen this week.
U.
What else Oh I don't know whether I told you with been roll the skating at jelly beans and mother got back on the skates I took the kids too rum.
Take the kids to the early morning on the Saturday session, which is the tiny top that's the kids up to 11, but the mothers and fathers are allowed to skate because most of the kids obviously are learning and so on. Anyway, Malon hadn't skated before eachhead and she was pretty good straight off, but Maland really did drill well, he went on the sides for a while. And by the time we finished he was really going pretty well that it's a real fun place. It's a disco one and boy all flashing lights and goodness knows once star as like O Elcutta except for the flashing lights. So it's quite herey.
And I really took the children to take them to the tiny to session more for my own safety than theirs because the 14 year old speed skaters wasn't around me more than like a handle but it's amazing how quickly it comes back to you it's really just like riding a bicycle and you just sort of get back into the hang of it and I thoroughly enjoyed it it's really good and we're very near jelly beanss, it was an ice skatingrink.
It was closed last season but last winter this year they' reopened and it's under a roller skating roller skating now and the guy that's running it looks just like Warrenwick Ruy you know he's about the same height and looks a bit like and he said to me where was I from and so on and so forth and he said oh you know he'd been down to New Zealand for the roll skating championships in Christchurch a year or so bad.
So he knew all about New Zealand.
We haven't heard a great deal, I haven't had your about these earex and I haven't had any clappings yet, which I did expect because Marcia called me to say she had a card from you that said that you know that she.
 I would probably forward the clubs to her and she may already have had them by now which they have not turned out but the president done which course was fantastic, oh what excitement as soon as we saw her he was this par couldn't have had more security, Ca labels andsured and postage and goodness nice well.
We just got so excited and to see chocolate fish that occasionally went bananas and pineapple chunks, we haven't touched the pineapple chunk yet and they have only had two chocolate fish because we've had rather a lot of fu and candy and stuff around because people have been giving up just for Christmas but we're going to save them until we haven't really got anything else around.
See theyre so special but I was, you know I know the postageer was a lot, but I thought you know I worked out about $4 I think that was all the stamps that was done up perhaps there was more when I left in Z but you know I know$4 is a lot but it's a hell of a lot better than not getting the parcel and I sort of felt that it was well worth it because it seemed a pretty heavy parcel really with all those glucose barley sugars and whatever else is that we have not opened yet it seemed quite a heavy parcel and you as I say, well we're4 but I guess you paid insurance as well and all that sort of thing and my placement tonight specifically said I got a letter from.
Today from the hospital and my dad had addressed it to number nine on a circle and he said to me that he was my regular postman and that he would know the os was 69, but I must make sure my friends all know what our address was because he said up there anybody else on they may not know and they wouldn't know where to put her.
So and he checked with me that I had got the parcel, which is the first time any postmans ever asked me, you know, whether we'd got it in quite please.
That he was taking great care of my mail, any other mailers being redirected now through the post office from Rus.
And.
On John's working tonight, I' really had a patient on 530 and needs to venture about 10 in the morning, so he called him back to work.
So I've not time we'll see home. he'll probably it have that to get better while Roy's gone off to the omni to watch the basketball when he apparently is going back himself later on. She always's a really nice guy. since he's been working on my teeth. I've got to know fell a lot bit. he' doing most of talking. course I've got my mouth wide over, but he's awfully sweet. and you know, very sort of thoughtful and.
Really genuine sort of an American. Oh god I knew I had something really hilarious to tell you, I got an invitation to a party And guess who his party it was, but Patsys, you remember the travel agent Well that was Patsy and Charles her husband's name's Charles you know I don't know whether when you were here she would talk about him but she she absolutely heard him worked you know at all and she we went to this party it was a really super party too and coincidentally I couldn't believe it I was talking to the guy and I looked out and I said to the guy girl there's somebody I know and he said so what knows well I didn't even know.
And it was Deie that lives in the cottage behind Beverly.
Strangely enough a year ago, Dei had given me the address of a girl about import wheels or something, the name of business and about getting cars in Europe and things and she'd given me this name in case I wanted it and I was going through my address book just a couple of nights before we went to the party and I found this and I thought oh I won't want that now you know and I drew it away and I suddenly went through my mind that that name seemed familiar and I sort of looked I'd trying it in the rubbish and I looked through and I couldn't sort of find it again so I just went on and left it in the.
As I saw Deie at the party had all tweaked together that it was Patsy that was on that name and it was the same person anyhow push she's not a pound lighter than when youla Thorra and she looked quite quite attractive though the other night she had't last on she had a lovely home, she's got a grand piano she plays the piano and we had fun with the piano that Didi and a girlfriend played sort of duets and everybody sang and it was really good but very large party I guess there wasn't well Pe Begg was about 50 feet I suppose50 or 6.
Pasy was in their element, but she's as mad as a head I told her that you were in hospital you know, and she you know she was rough sad to hear that, she said that she told everybody at the party how she just adored this guy from New Zealand he really ruffled offend, said she really, you know this guy was really something and she told everybody that he was a socialist until the last hour, the 11th hour finally,
Cl that he was a conservative and she went to a stics and she was telling everybody at the party about there so anyhow you know she's constantly in a hilarious frame of mind and she said she's never at home you know and she said she's off to Egypt shortly she said well the luck I've been heaven lately I'll be on the same plane as the shower she's what else did she said that was she said I'm having a house sale she's selling everything in the house she's bored to snorts with it and I said well Patsy you know what is telling everything called she said oh I just feel like a change I said you know of like most people change the hairstyle she said yeah, slightly more.
So that's all anyway, this husband of his that doesn't wear, he's very keen on well I don't know trains or something John said, I guess he plays them during the day when he's at home but she took last Friday off with something I guess today before the party.
And she said that was enough one day at home was enough for her because she's been trying to encourage him to come down and run her business, but she said here had this one day or and she sat down for an hour and watched a soap opera and there was a woman died for over an hour from taking sugar pills and would some guy with a gun under of here or something or other and she said that was enough that was enough she couldn't stand anymore she was only too pleased to get back to it she said that's what her husband in the maid all day, she said they have a great life to give them in the ma anyway but it was an excellent party and met some really super people on the one couple and but have invited us.
New Year's Eve party of their house and another girl who we met at the party too whose name is Anne and she's Scottish and anyhow I said to this guy or you're going have bag partss at midnight I hope and he said, oh bag parts at midnight oh yes sure yes he's determined that he's going organize bag parts at midnight for Anne as well as us and he said oh well you can come and heaven all come all the way to America to celebrate a very British and Scottish New Year's Eve.
But.
Anyway, the other thing about Patsy was that she was in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, and she met an elderly couple that she apparently knows. And I forgot to get their name. I should have done that. They was stupid of me. but she asked she was chatting way to them. And they said they'd just been up to see the New England fall And she said, oh, she'd just booked a couple from New Zealand on a tour to the New England fall and sure enough, same to. same bass. they knew you, I said, well, they knew the people were the, did they, So you wouldn't believe that at such a small world.
Yeah, so that was old petsy because she's a scream and a half.
Anyhow.
So that was that anyway, B and Jack, theyve been great you know they linked us the real Arab heatre for my people who's rushing around getting organised for Christmas.
Anyway, I decided I couldn't decide what to get Ruth An and jump for Christmas so we finally thought that' been niceed by one of Jack's paintings and he had the show you know which we didn't buy anything there, but we had wanted to but we just felt it wasn't a convenient time.
For one or two reasons.
And so I called Beverly to see if there was any paintings left of the smallest of the small to buy for Ruth An and Jim, she said there was a few, so I went around the other week.
 that one night last week and to see that there was only I think two of what he saw us for about 35, 40 bucks and the risk of fling and I anyway and he didn't really have much left and of course being so gross to Christmas, I didn't think he'd be doing any more painting.
Painting so he had pulled one out well, I didn't know this at the time, but he had about sex line up there and I knew immediately the one I liked and I said oh I just love that one, Jack I've seen that before and he said oh I just pulled that out because you know I had so few to show you I've had it for a long time and he said, oh you can have that one I said look I didn't come around here for a deal because I really didn't I wanted to just buy one you straight on and he said, oh look I've had it so long you painted it in 1978 he said you can have that one and it was a.
It reminded me of Nava Scre, although it wasn't Nava Scotho, it was little wharf.
Thing a fair with a boat up on a dry dock thing a little fishing boat type thing whether a wee jetty and not a jetty but little boat houses, you know that they put the boats into store and it was real cute now night that. So he gave me that one and then he gave me 20% off the other one and.
I said, well that's not fair either, I don't want to have 20% of it, but it was a 50 painting so I really was quite grateful grateful to have 20% of it.
And.
That was Kansas of the wheatatfields and Kansas much just gorgeous is we just absolutely love it so I ended up getting two paintings for $40 which is a real good deal so I'm taking the boat one to rev and gym I thought they might enjoy that loving and so far and land' be nice to doing something dough and we're keeping the wheatfields for ourselves because it's such a nice painting know we liked it so much.
AndBut one day when I was around there a few weeks ago, one Saturday was quite funny that this exchange student was there and Beverly was in her usual test she was supposed to be over at Bob E Woods next door, they were having a cocktail party which we had been invited to I think I might have told you this but didn't go and you theyd back to it was for good daughter the first daughters getting married and it was to meet the husband and that so I just duck over and meet and me about six or14 or some ridiculous high.
AndBut we didn't go to party but Beverly was pouring. I couldn't imagine what she was pouring, but she said just pouring the punch, which was obviously non alcoholcohoic. Anyhow, she was trying to get ready, but there was a man coming round to pick up a painting and be a lawyer happened. And this girl we exchange from New Zealand and I were in the kitchen. she said, you know, if I got upstairs and get the shower you'll arrive. I just not And we said, well you know, we'll wait for him. And she said, oh, he just looked like Robert Redford And we said, wellll wait for you'd get going up to the shower he came. And he did just look like Robert Redford. You, he talked over 700 bucks for one of Jack's paintings. It was a big one. It was a mission in Camille California, which we had seen.
She was a very nice painting, but you know, he coughed up 700 blacks about bittting an island.
So he really is doing extremely well now and I'm taking Ruthan and Ja a copy of the American Art the magazine that Jeff has just featured on with one of and there was a photograph of one of his paintings which he autographed for me, so you know I think we'll probably quite enjoy that.
And.
We spoke to Ruth An andjo on Monday night, they both seem well and the funny thing is the Thursday after Christmas two days after Christmas there coming down to Birmingham Malabana so they may well be through here but even so I mean it's a long way for us to go out there but we really just could not have them here for Christmas right now we just you know couldn't handle it so you know it'll be nice to get up there and enjoy it with them and they said they maybe pushed for time that particular.
Tp anyway they may not be able to stay but they thought they may have time spend night we're going to talk about it when we get up there we're leaving on Saturday morning first thing if we can and it'll take 10 hours so we won't get better or late Saturday night probably.
If we get away, early Saturday morning.
That it's sort of.
You know, getting tough to tidy up everything here and out, it's really busy at where everybody wants everything done the last minute as usual.
And most people aren't working on Monday, which I imagine will be the same at home.
I finally had a tape from Roa last week and brought up with a bit of news there.
An interesting.
Development worth them.
A letter from Joan apparently old Gudy ended up getting 100,000 out of Swar's estate.
I guess he's pretty happy, but I'm out of that Lizakiko very excited about the whole thing.
And you went to home. No the story isn't it.
Well, finally got the little Perries to sleep, they've had late nights every single night there seems to be so much on for them to do the night before last we decided to go out and had look at some Christmas lights, you know how everybody decorates everything here and we went right downtown and had a look at rich's Christmas tree which is I can't remember how many feet high it was they had up in the pa that it takes 45 gallons of water.
To keep it you alive it's on top of the building and you can drive down the street it's one of those buildings where oh like on Put and Hunter Street in Sydney from David Jones it's got a walkway across, you know and they've got it on there so you can drive down the street and it's right ahead of you and all the windows on the walkway have been done like stained glass windows and it really is very beautiful.
So they quite enjoyed that that was a late night for them and of course every single night they're so excited with all these presents squeezing them and looking at them and counting they count them up every a few minutes to see how many they've got.
But now that they're asleep, I can sort of tell you what we've gotten them for Christmas and that is that we a soccer ball for they own a basketball for age, of course.
In some clothes I got to Rachel gorgeous sort of hot pink corduroy skirt and one of the latest blouses which has lyrics though I got myself one too, can't believe it with that to lyrics again it's all done again.
And I got her first pair of time, so she'll be pretty excited about them.
And.
And then it was difficult to know what to get meat them I'm just going to check what they are as Yes, I believe they are And anyway he was always talking about Brian and how he's got a rhhinestone jacket so I decided I'd run his mother and found out whether he had came from but of course it was one of those very special things thats very old now he probably came out about the time that the record did and she said her husband picked up one time he was in New York on business so I finally went out and bought his denim suit and I have just completed sewing 400 rhhinestones onto the jacket all.
Really looks cute, I put a star on the back and that's these pretty coloured rhhinestones all over it so he will be on Christmas Day the rhhinestone cowboy.
And.
Otherwise they've got I bought all sorts of little bits and pieces, we got Christopher, the little you know Rus of a boy, a radio, it's a coat bottle, it looks absolutely just like a coat bottle but it's a radio, it's really quite cute.
And well, what else?
I think something that really astos me is Maitland's accent is changing so much more quickly than Rachel's and the other night you notice that sort of when he's really having a conversation with you, the other night he had been in trouble on the bus apparently and Rachel said, Oh Matt had to sit up with the bus driver so I said okay what's the story because they're not supposed to play up on the bus but those kids mate said Philip noise on the bus that's unbelievable?
SoWe wanted to hear what his explanation was and he said he started the, his voice, the accent business has slowed down, you and he said,Well, you know Alex and we said yes, we know Alex.
He said, well, he said, Alex pushed me, pushed me.
And so I pushed Alex and then Alex pushed me and I thought, this good I said, well thiss could gone for quite a while, ma so did the best try to intervene and ask you to sit with a mu, but it was Alex pushed me this.
And it's just the slowdown of the push and it was when they were getting on the burst and, oh, really, it just cracks me up.
And I've noticed that he speaks just like H shields, was and I were looking at her Christmas tree the other night and going through all the goods and all the decorations and where they'd come from and so on.
Hugh came down and had just finished reading a book and wanted to tell us all about it andm glad I went off for about half an hour Benlin I was sort of on one foot them the other while he explained the details of the life of Frank, Benjamin Franklin or whatever.
And Nitlon just sounds just so like you now, of course he's been here all his life and a bit older.
What else do I have to tell you oh yeah this party went to at Pats's last Saturday night we had Gillly to babysit and she was telling us that Elot's becoming really naughty she's really hard to handle and you know Ruths just leaving her with Gilly more and more and more at the weekend and of course Gillly doesn on babysitting but she's pretty busy at school you know she's at love it which is a private school and she's an I guess she's 14 so.
 equivalentquivalent to just going to college at home.
She has a lot of homework, she likes to babysit and be able to do her homework but was Elliot it's just such a handful that she's getting nothing done and I don't think it's been a weekend since we left Ruth that that kid has not been either on the day here and all was going it's just aal and really it's just very upsetseing and I went around there one night last week and Naviot was still had just gone to bed she was still awake and Ruth Earl would you like me to get her out and I said, oh if she didn't mind saying she wasn't asleep.
She brought Elliot down and Elliot sort of looked at me and she just about leapt out of Ruthy's arms and jumped at me. Well, I held her for about half an hour while we talked and she just kissedd and cuddleled me and hugged me and pulled my hair and just went mad and I went put it down to have a look at them and she just leapt up back into my arms. She wouldn't let me put it down and Ruthy said she'd been having a hell of of time keeping her away from the Christmas tree on the lights and everything. she said, look come I'll show you. So we went to the lounge and she said she just go.
 at it and tries to pull the whole damn thing over. So we go into the lounge and I put Elliot on the floor and Elliott took one look at the lights, turned straight back and jumped back into my arm. she wasn't in the least but interested in the tree. and of course every time I leave she just scream the heat off It's just ghastly you know we just have to sort of throw into Ruy's arms and depart and you can hear her screaming when you're down the path so she hasn't forgotten me that's really very sad you know with must and it's just the theatre you know Ruy wrote this letter that she sent out it's called the stocking staer then you letter for Christmas and she she you know being an.
And everything she's sort of written up like a newspaper column and this cartoon imagine and the cartoon goes that baby is having you lessons in sayingMama and Papa, all she says is bye bye, she relates to her mother as bar bye and you know.
It's sort of funny. ha ha. But I don't, I just can't find it funny. And they're making this cartoon up and laughinging about it. And, you know, as John said, he doesn't reckon that even their friends think but it's much sharp, even though they all have maids and goodness knows what, you know, that child just gets absolutely no.
From day to day, attention at all. It's really pathetic. You ring right up on the phone, and she's screaming at El at the top of her voice. You know, to get out here or there, It's really very sad. Well, I I don't think I told you, I hadn't actually met to get back on to the  Olss. I hadn't met Mr. Olen or Norra John, actually. And then the said day before last day.
I was looking for John on the section. just about me to comeas to find anybody here. And I was walking down the driveway and up in one of the Mercedes and who's in the front. But Mr. Murs. And so Susie introduced me to whom, I was beginning to think that he was how he use because we hadn't seen hard no hear of him. I thought he must live an hibernation. but I guess he is just an extremely boy man. And he's a very, very nice looking gentleman and you know, a real sort of fine looking fellow and extremely nice indeed. So I finally did get to meet the elusive.
Mr. Eson.
Oh and before this tape runs out I want to wish you a very, very happy birthday mum and an early happy birthday for dad, I hope you have a really happy time and I just hope so much that dad I'll be home for Christmas the better I got from them today was written on the Saturday which I figure it must be about the April of the month.