We started with dinner at our local pub on Friday night - people started arriving at 5.00 pm and throughout the evening family and friends arrived in relays, ate dinner and left at various times. Saturday morning continued the pattern with more arrivals and people leaving to attend to various party related tasks. We had three sittings for breakfast (homemade waffles, hard boiled eggs and muffins), three sittings for lunch (soup, cheese, bread) and then it was time to get the shed decorated, make the punch and get changed for the party.
The party started at 3.00 in daylight and finished at 10.00 in the dark. It only finished then because we were all soooo cold! We had set the tables up in the first part of the growing house, thinking the plastic walls and a heater would be enough but it wasn't! As you can see from the photos, everyone collected their warm coats from the cars and huddled around the heater. But even so, I think most people enjoyed the evening. The food, provided by the lovely ladies from the local school was plentiful and good. The entertainment, masterminded by Sarah was, well, entertaining! And everyone joined in the 60s theme and wore minis or flower child outfits. Lots of wigs and long hair! Terry looked great in his beatles wig. And he was duly sworn in as a New Zealand citizen at a ceremony after dinner, surrounded by his friends and family, just as he had hoped. His granddaughters presented him with those two essential symbols of kiwi manhood - a black singlet and gumboots.
Then he cut the cake which Sarah and I had iced.
The next morning was another family breakfast held in relays - to eat up the leftovers. And they all departed as many had 6 hrs to drive home. Only Nadeeka and the two boys are still here with us and they will stay until Thursday.
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