A bits and pieces week.

 Before we left Thornton, Eddie did his heavy truck medical that he has had to do since his heart attack back in 2015 or 16. (Not sure now). The doctor said that it was ridiculous and he shouldn't have to do it according to the regulations. She put a note on the medical to that effect and on Friday Eddie got an email to say that he didn't have to do it anymore, but thank you for complying. He was very pleased and it will save us is $50 or so a year. Big thanks to Dr. Johnson at the Edgecumbe Medical Centre.

I held a fantail in my hand on Saturday. Someone had left the door open at the Ranch house and I found it in the lounge, when I went up to do the washing. I tried to persuade it to fly out the door, but it wouldn’t go. It was fluttering up against the window and I was able to hold it gently in my hand and take it to the door. It felt so fragile and soft. It flew off with a lot of chirruping as it went. No doubt it was pleased to be outdoors again.

The awning that rolls up above the lounge slide out has shredded really badly. Eddie took it off  moand we are going to took it to a canvas maker in Greytown this week. We replaced the one above the bedroom slide out when we were in Matamata. Funny how they wore out differently. They were both original when we bought the van. I think the wind here has finally finished off the one above the lounge slide out.

Eddie also took off the handle beside the door we use to hold on to when we are going in and out. It was going rusty and not looking very nice. He rubbed it down, took off the rust and repainted it. It looks much nicer now.

Fell Locomotive museum

We went to the Featherston Museum on Saturday morning and then to the Fell Locomotive museum next door. Really interesting history around this area. 

There was an army camp in WW1 and in WW2 a Japanese Prisoner of War camp was here. A lot of the Japanese soldiers were shot. Originally they said it was a riot, but later it came out that it wasn't. Some of the prisoners were shot in the back. I am still not sure what it was all about, but a blot on our history all the same. There is a rest area just out of Featherston that is a memorial to the men who were shot. One of the New Zealand guards had a brother who had been beheaded at a Japanese prisoner of war camp. He did a lot of shooting on the day. I think he must have been in a very deep grief. 

The Fell railway was invented by a man called John Barroclough Fell. The track has 3 rails. The one in the middle allows the engine to grip when they are going up hill. Not many of the systems were set up in the world and the  museum at Featherston is the only one in the world. The train ran from Ocober 1878 until October 1955. In November 1978, a walking and biking route was opened. It is 17 ks long and goes from Featherston to Kaitoke.

The inside cover of the book we got from the museum.

The wagon in the back ground is the brake van that traveled at the back of the train. 

There are scale models of the track. This is the area known as Siberia.

Races

It was supposed to be stormy again by lunch time on Saturday, but it was nice until nearly 6 o'clock. I got all the washing dry. And then it thundered and poured for about an hour. It was windy too as it only can be in Wairarapa. 

The fair organizers at Martinborough would have been happy with the weather. A camper said they came from Hastings today. Somewhere around Ekatahuna the weather was really awful and they were beginning to think they should stop until it passed. 

We have had a few more customers in for the races on Waitangi Day. The powered sites were all booked up.

On the lawn by the ranch house there is a kahikatea stump in the grass near the ranch house. It's quite big and not really easy to miss. One day, during the week a lady drove over it and got her sump stuck on the stump. There was a lot of mirth, but they got her off. Eddie put a rope on her back bumper and pulled with the dodge, while 6 men pushed at the other end and she popped off. She was moving slowly and texting at the same time. Mmmmm.

Monday and Tuesday were really hot with 30 - 32 degrees. 

One of the jockeys wanted to come to the races by his cessna aircraft and land on the back straight. He was given a very definite no. He did it in Gore and now thinks he can do it anywhere. There were 2 of them and they missed their first race as they had to land in Masterton and then come down here. I don't suppose the owners and trainers were very pleased with them.

We went over and watched the second race, the 3 headed T shirt race for the children and a pony club race. The 3 headed T shirt race was very funny. The kids were in huge T shirts with 3 head holes and 2 armholes. The child in the middle often got left behind. The girl who won the pony race was very excited. Her horse took off like the others were standing still. She was pumping the air with her fist as she crossed the finish line.

We had an impromptu bbq that night with Matt his wife Rae, some campers and some other committee men who had been working around the course today. We didn't eat until 9pm, so we went to bed with very full tummies.

It is very dry here now. The hills are very brown as are the paddocks as shown in the picture below. It's a bit dark, as the mornings are beginning to draw in a bit now. Soon it will be too dark for morning walks. I don't enjoy them in the dark.