[Ag-eq] resend of: My Annual Day Out

[Jewel]

January 13 2015:  My annual trip:  "Bin there!  done that!"
For the last several years, now that my sister, Deslie, . has sold her beach cottage at FortRose at 
the mouth of the
Mataura River, I venture beyond the gates of the BlanchRanch only once a year:  a situation with 
which I am very content.
Today was the day for that trip which included a journey to FortRose to collect a packet of frozen 
whitebait for Deslie
that was being held for her by her erstwhile neighbours and a wander along the beach for Guideon and 
me followed by lunch
at Sterling Tides, the FortRose restaurant, then on to South Invercargill for my annual haircut, and 
finally, before
returning to Gore, an afternoon's  visit to Kirstan, my best friend in Winton.
Deslie said that she would pick us:  G and me up at 9am, and as she lives in Alexandra, a distance 
of 150km give or take a
km or 3 from Gore, this meant an early start for her and her Bostons, Capri and Jorja.
I said to myself that I would be up and about at around 8am.  I did not bother to set an alarm, 
relying instead on my own
internal one:  "Oh, unreliable brain waves!"  for when I awoke it was 8:45 so out of bed I sprang: 
a lightning sprint
around the house, and an equally l s out to Peter Rabbit to tether him out for the day.
Deslie, if anything, arrived a little earlier than she had said.  I showed her the new sheds and 
took her to the barn to
see Peter.  She was surprised at what soft fur a rabbit has.  She thought that it would be harsher 
to the touch.  For those
who have never had the pleasure of handling a rabbit, their fur is identical to that of a cat!
After exchanging belated Christmas gifts:  a variety of intriguing food items along with several 
jars of homemade jam for
me, and a portable barbecue called a "Cool Grill" for D Guideon jumped into the rear compartment of 
the Kia Soul, while I
jumped into the passenger seat of the same vehicle, and off we went.
First stop:  FortRose about an hour's drive away.
The day was a little windy and, considerably cooler than it has been with one or two skiffs of light 
drizzle which were
gone, scarcely before one had realised that one had come!
Deslie deposited Guideon and me on the beach where I found that the sea breeze, as sea breezes tend 
to be, was, decidedly,
chilly, but, fortunately, Deslie had a polar-fleece jacket in the car, and I was very glad that she 
had.
I set off along the beach, while Guideon gave the "hurry up" to the resident seagull population and, 
generally, had a ball.
 In my wanderings, I came across an entire bull kelp plant.  There must have been some pretty heavy 
weather at sea as the
plant had been ripped, in its entirety, from the rocks or seabed.  I suppose that stretched out, it 
would have been,
easily,  4 metres long with lots of branches.  If I had had a knife with me, I would have cut it up 
so that I could have
brought it home for my garden.
On my return along the beach, my feet struck several pieces of driftwood which were just the right 
size for carrying and
then I found a plastic bottle which joined my armful of driftwood.
When Deslie picked us up, she was prepared, no doubt with a pained look on her face, a pained look 
that, I must confess
didn't bother me a great deal, to put the driftwood in the back with Guideon, but she did query the 
necessity of putting a
useless old plastic bottle into her car.  However, I explained that I was, merely, doing my small 
bit to clean up the world's watery rubbish dump, otherwise known as its oceans, and who knew, that 
bottle which I had removed from the beach could have been the very bottle that floated out to sea 
and did deadly harm to a Loggerhead, Leatherback or Green turtle:  "David Attenborough, TAKE  NOTE!! 
if you are reading this: AS IF!!" so into the car it went.
I have the greatest admiration for people who start up businesses in small communities.  Restaurants 
are very expensive to
set up in the first place and then providing the passing parade with food that will tempt them to 
return as well as
recommending that their friends and relations go there too is another unavoidable cost.  Restaurants 
have a very high
failure rate, but Sterling Tides has been open for business for about, I would guess, 10 years, so 
it must bring in enough
custom to make it viable, though, I suspect, JUST.
FortRose is at the end, or the beginning, depending on whether you are travelling north or south, of 
the Southern Scenic
Highway, but is so close to Invercargill City that most southernbound motorists would give it a miss 
and drive on to the
'gill, and for motorists going north, they have just left Invercargill or its environs so are not 
going to stop again for a
bit.
For a restaurant of its fragile nature, it offered a, surprisingly, comprehensive menu, even for 
lunch!
There was fried blue cod with a side salad,
baked ham and vegetables,
bacon and egg pie,
vegetarian muffins,
and more.
I don't know what Deslie ordered but mine was the b&e pie and a vegetarian muffin and coffee.
When my order arrived, it was obvious that, really and truly, the muffin was a little de trop; 
however, always being up
for a challenge, displaying, I thought,  the epitome of stickability,  I struggled through, and 
enjoyed, both
Next stop:  the "Just Wait Your Turn" hair dresser in Invercargill.
I did not have to wait long before my name was called, and, after indicating that I had to be 
collected, I took my place in
the barber's chair.
"How do you want it done?" asked the shearer.  "Short back and sides--Eton Crop!" I replied and, I 
was taken at
my word.  I emerged 10 minutes later with the few hairs left on my scalp being no more than a 
quarter of an inch long!  You
get the picture!  Perhaps I exaggerate a little, but only a little!  If things go as I hope, there 
may be a photo of the
new me to go with this file.
The operator had asked me why I wanted it so short, and I said that I only came to Invercargill once 
a year, and I made a
trip to the hairdresser one of my prime reasons.
In the course of conversation, I revealed yet another thing that rocked the barber and this came 
about by my saying that I
washed my hair, of which, dear friends and readers, I have a hell of a lot and which, it has been 
commented how healthy it
looks, with SOAP:  no shampoo, no conditioner, just good old bath soap.  "SOAP!  the hairdresser, 
almost, screamed.  I had
been a hairdresser for, was it 14 or 40 years?  I'm not sure:  and I have never heard of anyone 
using soap!"  "Well! now
you have!" I said.
I have been, steadfastly, tiptoeing around the gender of the hairdresser, whom, I confess, I took, 
from the voice,  to be a,
shall we say, a lady of quite a few summers, but later on when talking to Deslie I personalised this 
individual by saying * she, and then, to my astonishment, * she turned out to b a * he, but, 
according to D, a rather limp-wristed one!
Winton next port of call!
5 minutes from Kirstan's home is a butcher where, last year, I got, for Guideon and 2K, a large bag 
of minced mutton and
beef which had been frozen and then sawn up into 500g blocks, so we stopped to get a repeat and 2kg 
of fatty bacon for me;
however, dog, cat and Jewel were all out of luck!  NOTHING on all counts!
Deslie dropped me off at Kirstan's and then took the Bostons to a local dog park for a run around, 
while, back in the jungle, and anything less like a jungle when it is Kirstan's * jungle would be 
hard to find!  she is the epitome, goodness, second time I have been able to fit that word into this 
report:  of neatness with a place for everything and everything being in its place! Guideon and 
Selby, her guide dog had a good old play!  well, Guideon thought it was good!  I don't know that the 
staid old lady would have agreed!
Kirstan gave me the remains of a bag of kibble that she had bought for Selby, but it turned out to 
be just not quite what she wanted, so rather than throw it out, she said that I was welcome to it if 
I wanted it, which, never looking a gift horse in the mouth, I did!
After 2 hours or so, it was time to leave as Deslie still had a long way to go before her day had 
come to an end.
That was, substantially, our day, and a very enjoyable one it was.
When Deslie got back to Alexandra, a check of the speedo revealed that she had driven a total of 
505km  and was just about worn out.