Day 27, Level 1: Wind, rain, Noel Edmonds & Positivity Radio, induction v gas - and, eventually, a never-ending moon halo!
Okay, I'll get it out of the way quick - today, 5th July, is the Full Moon. It wasn't a very nice day from the get-go. Gloomy and very windy.
At Full Moon peak time (4:44pm to be precise) the weather wasn't good - but, in line with my theory, it was perhaps the best weather window of a poor day.
By 8pm it was pissing down and horribly stormy. At 10pm the rain had abated and wind died down, but no sign of any bright moon in the sky, just a faint glow behind the cloud cover.
After months and months of perfect Full Moon nights, (and generally ideal weather, day after day, all through Covid days), today is a rare and rather sad Full Moon glitch.
But ... it is mid-winter ... and there are blips and glitches with everything!
I worked all day - either on computer doing cerebral stuff, or house-sorting doing physical stuff.
Did a bit of a kitchen cupboard sort out - there are some things that aren't getting used, not required. Gave the new stair rail a fresh coat of lime-wash. Looks good but required a bit of fiddling as different grains and tones of wood. Needs a coat of seal to keep it in tiptop shape. Never knew a stair rail could bring so much joy! But it does.
Took a break at some point and read the Junction - a slickly produced local magazine that profiles local businesses and whatnot. Always full of interesting new info. It got a bit infomercial-ish and advertorial-ish for a while, but is now back to pure info-sharing in a polished way.
Remember Noel Edmonds? UK broadcaster ...
He was a bit of an institution in my 80s London days - BBC Radio 1 DJ, host of Top of the Pops, etc. Then he got even bigger in the 1990s with Noel's House Party. A bit too chaotic and daft for my liking, and I was too busy with nappies - but it was very popular.
Well ... he's now living along the road in nearby Matakana with his wife and son - they arrived in NZ in Sept last year after selling up in the UK and making the big call to come Down Under. They picked this area for their new home and now seem fully settled in, ensconced and enamoured.
That's all very cool. But what's really amazing is that he is funding a completely new radio offering. Called Positivity Radio, it's a community radio initiative with no commercial or news content. Just music and messages for and by locals. Locals can profile their business for free (funded by Noel), and it's kind of a showcase for what's on offer right here right now on your doorstep. Along with words of wisdom and a fully positive tone. No dreary downbeat news, no political drama, no cringeworthy talkback, no ra-ra stuff. Just great music, upbeat messages and clear positive info about what's going on in the locale. It's community radio with a difference.
I tuned in today - brilliant! No ads, no babble, no banter, no competitions, no banal nonsense.
Just the BEST music ever - a really eclectic mix and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it all day as I worked. No getting distracted by Covid cases or murders. No teasers or spoilers. No racism or antagonism. Just great music from all eras, and relevant info I'm interested in.
I've been dreaming of something like this forever. Thanks Noel!
NZ is the guinea-pig for his idea (dreamed up during Covid lockdown) - and so far so very good.
He has the know-how in the radio game, the resources and the energy - I think it's a game-changer.
There are stations for all regions of NZ (100 stations). Whilst most community radio can only be listened to when you're in the actual community, Positivity Radio can be listened to from anywhere in the world. Positivity Matakana is well up and running and I'll continue to tune in - and leave the pfaff and pfiffle behind.
Neighbours Peter and Annette came over for a drink at 4.30pm - earliest I've put wine to my lips for some time - but it was that kind of Sunday! A nice catch up - we sampled the very nice Malbec made by Oleg from Kazakstan which I'd purchased at the market - and they headed off to make it home by 6pm News time.
For dinner I made a concoction based on a recipe I saw last night on Jamie Oliver's show, adding a few twists of my own.
Red onion, apple, shredded kumara, mushrooms and some other bits and bobs. He did his with sausages, I made meatballs.
Served with blanched broccoli, parmesan, balsamic glaze and Kewpie mayo. (Jamie didn't add these bits but they were good additions!)
I have to admit I wasn't quite sure how it was going to turn out, but it was an utterly delicious caramelised, tasty and healthy meal. Shame it was just me enjoying it - but ... there is a portion of leftovers and Brett can have that tomorrow (I'll be back in Auckland but have an evening meeting - racing-related - and we always have lovely nibbles which fill me up).
For the new Omaha kitchen Brett wanted gas, and I wanted induction - so we settled for a combo of both. Induction x4 and gas x2. It's been really interesting to experiment with induction (new for me) and get back in the flow with gas (had it in UK and loved it). At home we have ceramic, which is actually a very good controllable option. But induction and gas better.
I've now cooked lots of meals on the new hob. I prefer the hands-on hob cooking rather than bunging something in the oven. Having both induction and gas has proved to be invaluable.
Induction is great for boiling, heating etc - anything that is more liquid based - cooking veges, soups, pasta, rice, stews etc. Straight forward stuff that you can put on timer and leave to it.
But gas is so much better for hands-on cooking where you need to tend to the food the whole time and adjust temperature - sizzling meatballs or bacon, tossing a stirfry, that sort of thing.
Induction is great, but not quite so controllable as gas. I do like the fine-tuning gas offers.
So the combo is perfect. Love it.
Late night listening to Emmylou Harris - love her. There's something about her distinctive voice that hooks me in, and she's kind of timeless. Love her and Mark Knopfler as a combo. Even better than induction/gas! They do some great duets.
Last night I listened to Lucinda Williams. Soul searching country songs at their very best.
Two fantastic female country singer/songwriters. Have seen them both a couple of times. Awesome.
We're going to see Tami Neilson in September. She a Canadian-born, NZ-based country and soul singer/songwriter. Won loads of awards, has a big voice and wonderful presence. 50s/60s vibe meets Amy Winehouse. She collaborates with other great NZ artists and it's powerhouse music.
FULL MOON ADDENDUM UPDATE - posted at 12.30am!
Was heading for bed and thought I'd check the Full Moon situation as of 12:20am - not a breath of wind, bright moon shining, no wind, wispy clouds floating by - it turned into the perfect Full Moon night after all. The golden orb just arrived a little later than it should have!
The Moon had the most amazing rainbow glow around it, like an oil slick halo, presumably created by the wispy clouds wafting past it. Took some photos but they don't really capture the beauty of it. Have posted a video here as well as a pic - but the camera just can't pull in those colours.
It was like a never-ending rainbow halo around the moon. With Jupiter shining very brightly just below the Moon to the south-east. Quite a stunning sight to be honest - I don't recall seeing an "oil slick moon halo" before but I may have - I do a lot of moon-gazing and see it in all sorts of guises.
That oil slick thing was very fleeting - by 12.25, just 5 minutes later, there were no clouds at all in the sky, and no more rainbow effect. Just the moon shining brightly with Jupiter shining brightly below it.
Boy I timed it perfectly for unique viewing!
Such a calm and lovely night now - despite predictions that it will storm all night. Thanks Full Moon, you did work your wonders after all!
Only most people will be asleep and not know this.
And I'm off to sleep now!
SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:
Covid stats ...
Yesterday I mentioned stats for Kazakhstan and NZ. And mentioned that Kazakhstan was headed back towards lockdown (thanks to chatting to the friendly Kazak winemaker at the market yesterday).
Now I see it's confirmed - 2 weeks lockdown from today 5th July. It's the first country to go back into full lockdown. Eeek.
I also talked yesterday about the wonders of Georgia but forgot to give stats. Here they are ...
Along with Kaz & NZ stats again, for comparison purposes.
We're pretty much aligned with Georgia in terms of population vs Covid cases.
And same with Kaz - until things went horribly wrong.
Georgia population 3.7m
1st April - 117 cases and 0 deaths
20th May - 721 cases and 12 deaths (state of emergency ended 23rd May)
15th June - 879 cases and 14 deaths
4th July - 948 cases and 15 deaths
NZ population 4.8m
1st April - 708 cases, 1 death
7th April - 1160 cases, 1 death
7th May - 1489 cases, 21 deaths
9th June - 1,504 cases, 22 deaths (when we went to Level 1 - and a month later than Kazakhstan).
4th July - 1,530 cases and 22 deaths (a month later)
Kazakhstan population 18.1m
12th May - 5,279 cases and 32 deaths (went to Level 1 scenario on this date).
15th June - 14,809 cases and 81 deaths (a month later)
As at 1 July - 41,000 cases and 188 deaths. (Yikes - a BIG spike!)
And now back into lockdown.
Apparently 1,644 new cases in the last day - 1,072 showing no symptoms.
Let's make sure we don't have another lockdown in NZ! Being 100% sensible is a no-brainer!
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