Busytown by Jolisa Gracewood

You know, it's really funny you caught Wellington on such a bad day, we had nothing but sun and warmth for weeks.

(They make you memorise this sentence - in seven languages - as a prerequisite to owning land in the city).

Buy a skirt as well, you big spendthrift! It's only money.

It's not just money, it's foreign exchange. Buying a skirt has never meant more.

... console self by reworking current project's opening scene: "FADE IN Our heroine crawls out of a crashed plane, ukulele case in hand..." Yeah, that'll work.

How about: "Our heroine (who closely resembles Julia Roberts) crawls out of a crashed plane, ukulele case in hand..."

Land into teeth of northerly gale, rediscover religion.

It was probably 5 years ago, but I still remember my "best" worst Wellington landing like it was yesterday.

After a particularly violent sideways shove (the other bumps and rolls were merely sickening), I heard the "whoop whoop" of some sort of alarm from the cockpit. In the 2 or 3 seconds it took for the pilot to silence the alarm (or put the plane back on the correct course), I had probably 10 different and equally horrific ideas as to what the alarm meant.

Do they even have an alarm for "the tail has fallen off your plane", or is it just one of those polite female voices like "pull up"?

Thanks Jolisa!

Oh, and: buy someone you love an instrument for Christmas: DIY music will get us through this economic turbulence.

I'vealways wondered if use in multiple use of colons in a single sentence was punctual sin but, hey!: if an award winning writer on words can use them with aplomb..!: I may as well imitate!

Merry Xmas (where X = appropriate festival) all!

Whitcoulls are selling a CD of the Wellington Int Ukulele Orch, if you can't get to a concert. It's a big hit in our car.

Apropos instruments: I would like to commend Alistair's Music on Cuba St to anyone who wants to see a nice uke selection (or indeed anything else in the string band line).

Obligatory two degrees of separation moment when I see I photo of my cousin (also in the WIUO) in your post...

Merry christmas to you to Jolisa!

Benjamin

You know, it's really funny you caught Wellington on such a bad day, we had nothing but sun and warmth for weeks.

And you brought it back out for me on Sunday - thank you. I like it when Wellingon plays hard to get.

It's not just money, it's foreign exchange Buying a skirt has never meant more.

I bought one for you too, Russell. Act surprised when Santa delivers it.

Our heroine (who closely resembles Julia Roberts)...

OK, there's my Christmas present right there. Thank you!

I've always wondered if use in multiple use of colons in a single sentence was punctual sin but, hey!: if an award winning writer on words can use them with aplomb..!: I may as well imitate!

Ha! Whoops. Ah... it wasn't a mistake, it was typographical Christmas decorations. Yeah! Like fairylights but in print.

::See:?:: ::Mega::festive::!::

Merry Xmas (where X = appropriate festival)

I like it :-)

Deborah, I knew we were sisters under the skin. Which one is your cuzzie again?

And yes, I'll second the recommendation for Alistair's Music. Rainbow of ukuleles on the top shelf just looking for a good home.

Ben, bro, that is the best landing story. Reminds me of flying back to NZ not long after 9/11, and in the middle of the flight, a voice over the intercom started quietly counting down from ten. I thought it was all over ...3...2...1...

And then when we didn't explode in mid-air, I realised the flight attendant was saying "Happy New Year!" I'd totally forgotten what day it was.

Oh and thanks Susan for reminding me: there are now two very fine EPs by the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra in the shops, for your listening pleasure. And an album in the works. Rock on!

Oh and thanks Susan for reminding me: there are now twovery fine EPs by the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra in the shops, for your listening pleasure. And an album in the works. Rock on!

I'll have to look for those, Jolisa. I do like a good ukelele orchestra - and WIUO are very, very good.

Deborah, I knew we were sisters under the skin. Which one is your cuzzie again?

The gorgeous Carmel.

Gorgeous, and talented to boot. She's a doll!

Ben, bro, that is the best landing story.

I hope you'll forgive a brief derail here: Gerard Hensley's Final Approaches , which I've only just gotten round to reading, is not only a fine chronicle of life in the foreign service over several decades in NZ, but is also (as the title might suggest) full of hair-raising landings in rickety planes worldwide.

My personal favourite from the book, from the mid-1960s:

The Polynesian Airlines DC3 needed to stop at Aitutaki, which had a long wartime airstrip built by the Americans, to top up its fuel for the long journey to Samoa. Landing at Aitutaki the plane hit heavily, bounced ten feet into the air, came down heavily again and slid crabwise towards the palm trees.

When it came to a halt just short of the trees there was a profound silence in the cabin. All eyes were on the door to the cockpit. It finally opened and the pilot stood there in shorts and an ancient peaked cap. He surveyed his shaken passengers, said jauntily "First landing of the day is always the worst" and marched down the aisle.

When we arrived in Samoa the aircraft was found to have a cracked main spar and Civil Aviation in New Zealand later closed the route as being too far over blue water for two-engined planes.