Today is our last full day in Feilding and it was largely spent doing more family things. We started our day at the Focal Point cafe in the cinema complex. By complex, I mean 2 cinemas, one that seats 16 people and another that seats 30. I did not take a photo of my eggs today as they looked quite similar to yesterday’s eggs. The cafe was quite busy, because it was in fact the only one open, but as usual the food and the service was first class.
I did have thoughts of getting out for another drone flight, but all reports indicated some pretty awful weather was on its way up from Wellington. We spent the morning at Deb’s brother’s house while various members of the family came and went.
Following a leftovers lunch, one of the best things about Boxing Day, I decided it was time to get some sporting activities happening. It would be un-Australian of me not to!. I asked Jacob (Deb’s youngest nephew) to find a footy. He found a deflated ‘Gilbert’ rugby ball, so it was off to ‘The Warehouse’ which is a predecessor the Australian ‘The Reject Shop’, having been in business in New Zealand since 1992. Unfortunately, they were all out of stock of pumps so I bought a cheap footy so I could demonstrate my poor ‘drop punt’ skills to Jacob. After a good 40 minutes of me kicking the ball to unintended destinations and having Jacob chase the ball down and kick it back, we headed back to the house.
It was then decided that ice cream was required, so we headed to the other open shop in Feilding. This was called ‘I Scream Ice Cream’ and had no less than 40 flavours to choose from. Deb declared that the Kapiti Gingernut is in fact the best ice cream in the world.
Given that it was Boxing Day, I then moved on to a matter of national pride. It was time to play some cricket. I had hoped for a better showing from the Kiwi contingent, but Jacob and I chose to shoulder the whole burden for our respective countries. I think in the end, a fair-minded judge would have called me the winner.
With the sporting activities over, the forecast rain finally came as we ate dinner. By rain, I don’t mean drought breaking rain, just inconvenient drizzle really. One of the great things about the centre of Feilding is that there has been considerable attention to beautifying the central square with flower beds. While this may seem a waste of money to the local rate payers, we really enjoy the extra splash of colour… seen here in front of the Feilding Hotel
So it’s farewell to Feilding as we head south tomorrow, but before we leave … some facts.
The Proliant factory produces almost half of the world’s BSA (bovine serum albumin) a key ingredient in medicines and vaccines.
Famous Feiding residents have included Murray Ball, (the creator of Footrot Flats), Aaron Smith (All Blacks halfback … and …) and the band Evermore.
Until tomorrow
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