Astrosloth by Paul Walsh

Peer review this evening, so S and I are staying overnight in the Air B&B of one of her book club friends. We drove down at a quiet(ish) time on the road, and collected Mr H from school to take him to the orthodontist. He had another appointment mid-afternoon, so he accompanied us to the Woodlands Park Road house before we took him to the next appointment.

There was a builder at the house; he had been doing the demolition of the small bathroom uspairs, and opening up the very inefficient built in wardrobes in the two upstairs rooms. Getting it ready for the construction which is to follow. He had found a waspless wasp nest in the wall of the bathroom.

After leaving Mr H at his second appointment, we came to the B&B and there was time for me to walk to the top of the nearby volcano named by British settlers Big King. Its Maori name is Te Tatua a Riukiuta, which refers to the bringing together of various tribes by the Tohunga Riukiuta by the three scoria cones which once were here, The other two have been quarried away. On my way back down Te Tatua a Riukiuta, I saw a huge quarry off to the south-eastern side which is still very active.

On the side of the footpath beside Shackleton Road at the corner with Mt Eden Road, I saw another Paul Walsh painted utility box, and it is my blip.