Introduction
Thursday, February 26th, 2009Starting a Blog is no simple task for this old-ish chap.
Apart from the technical hurdles to overcome (eg how to add a ‘post’; how to import a picture or other image; what type-face to use; etc etc) there are the more disturbing philosophical issues to be faced: why do you want to write this? Who do you think would want to read it? Are you capable of writing anything interesting? What is interesting to you may bore the pants of other readers etc etc.
So for the sake of satisfying the casual enquirer, and also to keep myself on track, here is the background to this Endeavour
Profile:
I am the 77 year old father of 3 children: girl, girl, boy, 2 years between the first 2 and then a 6 year gap to the boy- an unexpected pleasure!
My wife was a Chinese/Malaysian, which means that she was Chinese, but a citizen of Malaysia (until she came to live in NZ) I say was, because 10 years ago she died in an accident involving an out-of-control car while we were out for a walk.
My two girls each had 3 children; my son had eight – blessing me with a total of 14 grandchildren
I have to say, because I am biased, that our children were blessed by inheriting the good features of the parents, while the weaknesses appear to have been suppressed!
Equally, the grandchildren have always given us cause for much delight. While she was alive, my wife, (the grandchildren’s ‘poh-poh’) poured a huge amount of energy and time into their upbringing.
We have been, and still are, a close-knit family with a lot of love, time and respect for one another.
Not long after I lost my wife, my son Robert suggested that I build on a small section in the same small sub-division, close to his own home (which he had just built)
So for the last 4 years or so I have been more or less sharing my life with Robert, Rachael and their 8 children. I should mention that Rachael Home-schools her tribe, so I see more of the children than had they been at school
Last October Robert decided to take a year off work, and the family embarked on a 12 month ‘pilgrimage’ starting in Singapore and traveling overland to eventually arrive in the UK. (You can keep track of their experiences by visiting their blog on http://blogs.bootsnall.com/kiwifamily/
I actually joined them for 5 weeks at the start of their journey – it was an opportunity to re-visit my Malaysian/Chinese in-laws and further cement the bonds we have with them.
After a week in Bangkok with Rob and Rachael and tribe, I returned to Auckland and left them to continue their travels: north to Chiang Mai and beyond.
The original plan was that I would re-join them when they arrived in the UK, but I found myself envying their experiences in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. I mentioned to friends that I wouldn’t mind being with them right now, and the answer I invariably got was, “why not”.
Why not indeed, so after making sure that my added presence was not going to be a burden, the die was cast. On the 5th March I set off again to rejoin the group in Hong Kong .
There is more to it than that, but this is quite sufficient for the time being.
kiwijoe