I'm a little bit behind

Weeks ago we all went to the British High Commission for a "Save the Children" fundraising day. The high commission is in Karori and being that it was a beautifully sunny day we thought we'd walk on up there and see what they had for sale and just enjoy a few of the afternoon festivities. Once we arrived I realized that probably my exercise clothes and baseball cap were not the best attire for the occasion, but live and learn. If I recall correctly Dugald was also in a baseball cap, but he took the picture and I can't remember with 100% accuracy. As it were we had a lovely Devonshire Tea on the back patio before watching some dancers from the girls' ballet studio perform an excerpt from The Wizard of Oz. 

Just last Sunday the girls had their recital and they all were adorable. Josie was a mouse, Katie was a cornstalk and Meggie was a girl in the Lullaby League. I snapped a few quick pics before the show began and I'll post them soon.

The girls also wrapped up their Spanish lessons for the term - they take from the lovely Cristina, she is the Spanish ambassador's wife. They've really made progress and for their last lesson they sang to me and Ellie "The Little Drummer Boy",  in Spanish.



Yesterday Dugald and I attended Jack Howard's funeral at the cathedral. It was packed, they estimated the crowd to be at 700 which is a huge turn-out. It was such an amazing, honoring service and tribute to his life. Jack has a bit of Maori in his lineage so his iwi (tribe) participated in the service as well. There were also paratroopers from his regiment who had flown over from England to be a part of the day. The service started with some Maori women entering the cathedral in front of the coffin and wailing. It was profoundly moving. I've read about the same sort of thing in the Bible, but there is something about actually experiencing it in the midst of your grief that gives voice to how you feel inside. It's a freedom of expression that's a bit foreign to our more "stiff upper lip" culture. Jack's coffin was also draped in the British flag and covered with a Maori feathered cloak, and he was carried in by his fellow paras. Once placed in the front of the cathedral his belt and beret were also placed on the coffin. The service followed  and those who spoke did so eloquently. There were also volleys fired, last post and reveille all of which brought tears to my eyes.

Here is a link to one of the news stories - I am including this one because it shows a bit of our nephew Hamish Howard's tribute from all the boys. There are also links to the right when you link to the video to show some of the other tributes from the day. Click here to view. Here is another link with a slightly different report.