Day 49, Level 1: Isolation, Auckland peak-hour driving nonsense, committees and ... Parthenon creativity

Well ... best laid plans ...

Sam and Anna thought they'd have a nice few days away in Gran Canaria (Spain), seeing they could finally travel out of UK and had previously had to cancel several trips due to Covid.

Uh-oh - Spain's crazy Covid situation meant a new isolation rule came into effect over the weekend, while they're over there! This requires all travellers returning to the UK from Spain to self-isolate for 14 days. Gran Canaria may be an island off the coast of Africa, and not rife with Covid but, being part of Spain, they're grouped in.

They've had a great time on the island - and say they felt much safer there than in London.

But isolate they must.Bugger, bad timing. Go figure ... it's all nuts.

Sam and Anna on Gran Canaria

Meanwhile, London-based friends Jill and Peter who are spending a month in their second home in Mallorca (Spain) ... well, they'll be caught out too. The real problem here is that Jill's mum is not well and so, once they return to the UK, they won't be able to see her until after that two week isolation period.

There's no simplicity - only complexity. No matter which way you look at it.

The irony, as I've mentioned in previous posts, is that at this point in time I would/should have been in Spain leading a group of 20 seniors. We'd currently be in Barcelona - the hotbed of Covid! And would have been in Grenada/Alhambra at 41 degrees a few days ago. Yikes. Nope! Phew. Safe.

Drive home ...

I left Omaha around 4pm today after a full working day - productivity in tranquility and without distraction, perfect! It took me 30 mins to get half-way home (normal) - and then 1.5 hours to get the other half (not normal, but not that unusual).

I'd heard on the radio, en route, that there had been a spillage on the Harbour Bridge causing a tailback. It's the only crossing across the city, north to south - so unless you deviate quite far to another road to the west, you have no choice but to persevere.

Patience is always the key in Auckland traffic. It's a virtue and it was definitely required today, although not as much as I thought when I'd heard the initial warnings on the radio. It actually wasn't that much worse that it usually is, except the tailback was longer.

The spillage issue meant the peak-flow lane change system on the bridge couldn't be put into operation. I've always thought it was a nonsense thing, this lane changing shenanigans - okay in its time, back in the early 90s, but it's soldiered on doing nothing but create traffic chaos as far as I can determine. Finally, without that lane change shambles in motion today, I got my chance to see what I had always thought! Keeping the lanes as they are didn't create chaos. Changing them does. So it's a nonsense! Totally redundant. I aim to get it stopped. This must be the underlying reason why I kept delaying my departure from Omaha - so I could see this rare phenomenon of no peak hour lane change!

So I made many observations on my slow journey today, and, as I say, it's almost like I was supposed to witness this situation as I'd written to the transport authorities some time ago suggesting the lane change thing was redundant. Reality is, there is no peak hour in and out of the city these days; the traffic flowing both ways is equally heavy, any time of day, end of story.

The response from the transport agency when I initially wrote in 2017 was one of hopelessly outdated and utterly ignorant reasons (excuses). Exasperating.

The situation is complicated to explain unless you travel over the Auckland Harbour Bridge regularly - something I've been doing for years.

Today, with the lane change nonsense not possible, I got my evidence - how good the traffic flowed! I will write again to the powers that be. With evidence. It will be a complicated email, but hopefully a valuable one that might help Auckland traffic.

I'll do my best to get them to see sense!

SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:

Voluntary/committee work ...

Well, today I worked mostly on Racehorse Owners and Epsom Girls Grammar Old Girls stuff. My involvement and input into both these organisations almost constitutes full-time work (as I may have alluded to before) and I made good inroads today for both as there is lots going on in these realms.

Alas, I didn't make much progress today on my own business - except to pay a couple of bills!!

This is the pattern of things when you're involved with organisations you're passionate about.

Which I've been doing since ... forever ...

Been involved on some committee or organisation in the community or globe in a voluntary capacity since I was about 25. That's 30+ years to date ... and I know I'll be active for as many years into the future as long as I'm alive and active. I love it, it's in my DNA. It's in my family DNA - my great-great-grandmother was the original NZ social worker/community activist (as written in a published account of my family).

Over the years people have encouraged me to get into politics - hell no!

But I've always nudged those in positions of supposed power (or these days, downfall!)

At least, right now, I'm only involved in just TWO organisations. In past years, it's been several, all at once, and that's not easy to manage - especially when working with two kids!!

To be a committee member is one thing, but to be highly involved and active in an organisation is quite another. To sit up half the night sorting stuff without pay for the good of others requires motivation, passion, good management, and purpose way beyond self.

Without those components, you'd lose perspective ... and the plot. Then no one benefits!

Actually, in all honesty, you'd probably never start in the first place, and just focus on self!

Summary:

Some people focus on self and never get anywhere near a committee.

Some people sit on a committee and don't do much (for newbies, it's learning; for long-timers, it's a case of why?)

Some people join a committee and make a difference.

It's fair to say that, when the boys were young, I loved being involved in the school community, especially the art side of things. I was part of a team of creative mums doing makeup for school productions and one of the most memorable was being one of the creative mums who created the Parthenon as a backdrop for a school production when Sam (now 27) was in Year 6 (aged 10).

This was done on four huge canvasses, by a team of talented and arty mums at Victoria Avenue School. My main job was doing all the intricate shading to create the 3D effects. Such good fun - and it didn't actually take us that long. Great team, led by the wonderful Fiona, I recall.

The Parthenon stood as the backdrop on stage for a good year or two, as it served as a relevant backdrop for a few future productions (with historical themes). Also, not sure the mums from the next few years had the artistic fervour and passion that the ones from our year group did!

We still keep in touch, all these years later, all having continued the arty journey. Finding this photo was random and fabulous!

A team of Creative Mums created this circa 2003!