Beyond COVID-19 NZ

So today, 30th June, is Sam's birthday (27). In London Covid is running rampant. But here it's taking a bit of a back seat as electioneering and political shenanigans start setting in, Covid is, of course, ever-present in one form or another - borders, testing, returning Kiwis, quarantine hotels, potential Tasman bubbles (hmm, not!) ... reality is, it will never go away, not in our lifetime, methinks. I should be in Dubai right now, en route to Spain/Portugal, leading a group of 20 senior travellers, having flown out yesterday. But to be honest, being at home is perfectly fine! I don't think I've ever had so much home-time - and being able to spread it between two homes is rather good! Not being able to travel overseas made me reflect ... since my first overseas trip in 1977 when I was 15, I think I've only had one year where I didn't travel internationally. And this year, 2020, will be another. Not bad for someone who has lived most of their life in an isolated

A nice bright morning at Omaha. I did a bit of work and then gave the floors a good going over (with my new $39 vacuum cleaner). It works a treat - just like a Dyson only way cheaper! Seriously, it's brilliant and gets 5* from me. It made an intolerable job rather tolerable! Headed back to Auckland. The further south I got the worse the weather became. At the Johnstone Tunnels, it was gloomy as I entered. When I exited out the other end, it was pouring down and I needed my windscreen wipers on full bore! Those tunnels are not very long, so it was a bit of a shock and surprise. It poured all the way making for awful driving conditions. The temperature dropped a full 7 degrees C between leaving Omaha and getting to Auckland. Hopped off the motorway to go to a meeting en route - our ex-Omaha neighbour, Michelle Beach, has started up a small business to help small businesses get visible on Social Media. Her business is called BSeen. Michelle and I have caught up a few times recently. W