The Weekender 15/03/2009

It was 10 years ago on Friday that myself & a friend started our 'big OE', five months travelling around USA, & Europe finishing with the Trans-Manchurian. The only reason you might be interested in that bit of news is that it was some point after I got back (having missed 5 months of NZ sport & news) that I started up The Weekender.

Sport

Brumbies 21-11 Waratahs, Blues 46-12 Cheetahs, Stormers 56-18 Lions, Crusaders 23-23 Force, the Reds upset the Sharks 25-13 and the Chiefs had a close 10-14 win over the Highlanders.
Richie McCaw was injured last weekend and expected to be out for five weeks.

The NZ women are doing well in the Cricket World Cup, beating South Africa by 199 runs. They got 250 for 5 and then rolled SA for just 51.
As for the men, the Black Caps have been doing terribly against India. Well the batters have been doing great, but the bowlers haven't. In the fourth ODI NZ reached 270 for 5 in a rain affected match in Hamilton, and India reached their Duckworth-Lewis 201 without loss - a 10 wicket win. Before that was the third ODI where India scored a mammoth 392 for four. NZ's reply of 344 would normally be something to be proud of. Unfortunately Tim Southee got a century - from bowling. He was smacked for over 10 an over for his 10 overs, and was dropped for the following games.
Daniel Vettori was on family leave for the third ODI as he & his wife Mary welcomed a baby boy into the world.
So that was all yesterday and if I had've been interested in predicting sports I would have ignored the Black Caps and watched the White Ferns - how wrong I was. The White Ferns had their first defeat, being beaten by England by 31 runs. As for the Black Caps they finally came good in the final ODI bowling India out for 149 and reaching the target easily for an eight wicket win, thanks for a 63 from Ryder and a 57 not out from Guptill. India still won the series 3-1.

Brendon Hartley has taken a great step to becoming the first Kiwi for 20 years to drive for Formula One after being named as the third driver for Italian team Scuderia Toro-Rosso.

Steve Price joined an elite group of 10 other players who have played 300 NRL games and did it in style helping the Warriors to a 26-18 win over the Paramatta Eels for the first round of the new NRL season.

NZ News

Summer seems to have come to an abrupt end, and the South Island was told to expect snow to 600m in some unseasonably cold weather.

A Hamilton man received a $1350 fine after trying to get out of a ticket. The police stopped him for a traffic infringement and as he was in breach of his learner licence conditions he dialed 111 with false details of a "accident scene" near by. Well other officers & ambulance staff attended and the young man was taken to the police station, at which point another police officer tried calling back their mystery 111 caller - and heard the mobile phone ring nearby.

There has been a shake up at the ACC with a number of board members being sacked as National attempt to sort out the mess.
The biggest government move this week was when Prime Minister John Key announced that the honours system that Labour introduced has been dropped and titles of Dames and Knights has been reintroduced. Everyone who received one of the previous honours are allowed to accept or decline the new titles. To be honest, no one really knew anything about Labours honour system, and I doubt anyone used the ridiculous number of letters after their name. The original honours are far more visible & recognised around NZ & the world.

There was a memorial service for Sonny Fai the former Warriors player who is missing presumed drowned after disappearing from Bethells Beach near Auckland in January.

The Numbers Game

2: c/L drop in petrol and diesel. Diesel is now back below $1/L
23.7: % drop in car imports through the Ports of Auckland over the past six months
137: km/h was what the police clocked on a car near Taupiri, when they pulled the car over they found the driver was a 13 year old boy and the father was asleep in the passenger seat
144: th world golf ranking for Danny Lee, up from 562nd a month ago
200,000: $ robbery from an Armourguard security van in Manukau
13.5m: $ paid by tax payers for chiropractor care, up 50% from five years ago
4.5: $b (US) estimated for Graeme Hart according to Forbes - he is now the richest man in Australasia (ahead of Rupert Murdoch, James Packer, & Richard Branson, Donald Trump, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg & Steve Jobs!)

Finance NZ Dollar
GBP 0.3745 (+0.0179)
EUR 0.4055 (+0.0074)
USD 0.5245 (+0.0213)
AUD 0.7968 (+0.0111)

The Weekender NZer of the week

Robert Burchfield
DICTIONARY DON
Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "the greatest living lexicographer", Dr Robert Burchfield is regarded as the pre-eminent lexicographer and linguistic scholar of our age. As editor of the Oxford English Dictionary and responsible for its revision, Burchfield has played a crucial role in the study of the sources and development of the English language.
http://www.nzedge.co.nz/heroes/burchfield.html

Joke of the Weekender

Collect Call
My mother was away all weekend at a business conference.
During a break, she decided to call home collect. My six-year-old brother picked up the phone and heard a stranger's voice say, "We have a Betty on the line. Will you accept the charges?"
Frantic, he dropped the receiver and came charging outside screaming, "Dad! They've got Mom! And they want money!"

Weekender Photos

Check out my photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/dunwich42

Darren Harrison: darren@harrison.gen.nz
The Weekender: mailed weekly (Sunday nightish)
Website: www.dunwich.co.nz/weekender/
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