Wilma's NZ trip

Jessye arrived back home from Howqua last Friday, the last day of term for the other two as well. She was prolific with her camera and showed that while there was lots of work and a busy outdoor programme, there was also time for makeup, lots of posing and in Jessye's case, hair-straightening too.

Meanwhile, Wilma was enjoying a week in New Zealand. The first few days were spent in Christchurch staying with Chris and Grant and catching up with Kirsty, Dave and the boys. James and Lachie didn't mind hamming it up for the camera.

The reason for the visit was to play a violin and piano recital with Michael Houstoun on Chris Marshall's concert series. Aunty Diane and Uncle Frank came to the conert as did the Watt clan and friends. One surprise was to see Jeffrey Grice again so soon. When we caught up in Paris recently neither of us thought to mention the upcoming NZ trip because it just didn't seem relevant but by some freaky chance, we were both in Christchurch to perform at the same time.

Next stop was Wellington where Michael and I were repeating the programme in Upper Hutt at a fairly new venue called Expressions. The concert was a fundraiser for the two-year campaign to buy the venue its own piano. We spent the afternoon with friends of Michael's (and I caught up briefly with Jenny) who lived just round the corner from our old house in Pearce St - a very familiar view.

After the concert Michael, Mike and I drove to their place outside Fielding and after breakfast the next morning we took a stroll around the beautiful little piece of paradise they've created there. Their pet very gentle and sweet goats came to say hello.

The music part of the trip was over and now it was on to Auckland for the Epsom Girls' Grammar School 90th Anniversary Reunion. Kasi and Raymond kindly met me at the airport and took me to Barb and Dick's place (where we spent Christmas). That afternoon I enjoyed high tea in Cornwall Park with Bryan Sayer, my former piano teacher at Auckland University along with Janetta Newhook (McStay).

At school the next day Sandra, Rosalind and I met for lunch and a wander around the school with our former music teacher, Elizabeth Salmon (Beverly) who drove all the way up from Waikanae for the occasion. Sandra had done a great job of motivating us all to show up and at the dinner we had a table of 10 ex-orchestra girls including Elizabeth who did an amazing job of conducting two orchestras, two choirs and teaching classroom music as well.

That afternoon Rosalind and I called in on our violin teacher, Heather Smith who was thrilled to have an unexpected double visit then I met up with Dick to see Janetta Newhook who is always an inspiration. She was particularly pleased to reaquaint herself with Dick whom she hadn't seen for nearly 40 years since she used to coach him for chamber music in his university days.

Then it was time for the formal dinner held at Eden Park. I saw a few of my classmates I hadn't seen since the 6th form (35 years ago) and some I'd seen only sporadically since then. One of the more famous EGGS old girls showed up and some of us were cheeky enough to grab a photo opportunity. We gave a spirited rendition of the school song which provided a brief respite from the non-stop yakking. Just in case we hadn't had enough, some of us reconvened the next morning in Parnell for brunch.

Tomorrow the girls and I leave for Hamilton Island for 6 days of R&R which means that Peter will have some R&R at home over Easter too. Rosie, Sophie and I had a fright today when a daydreaming taxi-driver slammed into the back of us as we sat stopped at a red light. Our poor little Honda Jazz got rather badly smashed up at the back but luckily nobody was hurt - a bit of a hassle for Peter to deal with while we're away though. Rosie got a very nice progress report from school and was voted onto her School Representative Council so she seems to have settled in very well during the first term. She has an MRI booked in for May sometime and in June she'll probably have an angiogram, the definitive diagnostic test she had two years ago to confirm the diagnosis. This one will be done to show whether the AVM has gone or not. So far the MRI signs are positive.