The Weekender 05/04/2009

So how did it get to April so quickly - and the end of daylight savings. It's great knowing that despite the fact that winter is coming, we get an extra hours sleep! We are now back to GMT+12.

Sport

NZ is not having a great run in the Rugby Seven's being knocked out in the quarters of the Adelaide Sevens by defending champs South Africa.
In Super rugby, the Brumbies finished a terrible tour on a high beating the Cheetahs 40-27, the Sharks showed their class with a 33-17 beating of the Hurricanes, and the Waratahs beat the Stormers 12-6 after they got a try in the final three minutes. The Chiefs - who are the form NZ team at the moment - kept their run alive with a 36-29 win over the Lions, their first hour of rugby was shocking but they put together 20 great mins & that was enough. The Crusaders seem to be doing the hard yards but ground out another win beating the Bulls 16-13, and the Force thrashed the Reds 39-7. That leaves the top eight as Sharks, Chiefs, Waratahs, Bulls, Crusaders, Hurricanes, Highlanders, Brumbies.
In other rugby news, the 'experimental law variations' or ELV's look like to be dropped after England & northern rugby bosses couldn't bring themselves to make rugby more interesting. It's a pity because more & more of the kiwi public just can't be bothered with the huge amount of rugby and how it is increasingly boring. Perhaps it's time to start watching more league.

The NZ Warriors had a tribute match to Sonny Fai (who is missing presumed drown three months ago off an Auckland beach) but were unable to mark the match with a win being beaten 16-22 to South Sydney in the 'kiwi' match up game.

Jo Edwards won the Bowls World Cup indoor women's singles final this week with two stunning shots, in possibly her final game for NZ as she 'takes a break from the game'.

In the second test, as suspected last week, a draw was outcome with Ryder named man-of-the-match after his 201. The third test was all looking great - until we had to bat! India batted first and we had them all out for 379, then with the top order & middle order failing to really do anything, we only made 197, and now India is batting well again and at the end of day three they are 349 for 5.

NZ had their biggest medal haul from the world cycling track champs after securing a gold, silver and bronze medal.

NZ News

The interesting issue of the name of Wanganui has surfaced again, with the NZ Geographic Board deciding to recommend changing the towns name to Whanganui. The "h" in the name is interesting with the town never having the "h" but the river that runs through it always being Whanganui. Mayor Michael Laws has called for a referendum, which in the past has shown that all but the activists want things kept as status quo.

There has been talk of strike action by Air NZ workers leading up to Easter but it has apparently been called off. A company that provides workers for Air NZ has workers complaining that they don't get paid the same as the Air NZ workers.

A neighbourhood-watch type group who are aiming to be the eyes & ears for police in northwest Auckland 'trouble spots' now have transport. John Key has donated a car that he no longer needed to the group.

The Numbers Game

5.2: % increase in violent crime last year, compared with a 12.3% increase in 2007
57: % support for the National government (up 12% from the election). Labour is on 31%
450: Aucklanders went to Great Barrier Island to help pick up rubbish this weekend
1,500: people joined in a mass water fight at Western Springs Auckland to raise money for, and the profile of those who don't have access to clean water
3,000: kids swam, cycled & rode at the Weet-Bix Tryathlon series
5,000: $ paid to an Land Transport NZ worker for being wrongly issued a final warning
5,000: NZers die every year from smoking
36m: $ funding for the North Shore hospital's emergency department

Finance NZ Dollar

GBP 0.3943 (-0.0032)
EUR 0.4340 (+0.0057)
USD 0.5854 (+0.0160)
AUD 0.8182 (-0.0022)

The Weekender NZer of the week

Sydney Smith
THE SCIENTIFIC DETECTIVE
In a media age populated with forensic crime thrillers such as CSI, Roxburgh's Sir Sydney Smith (1883-1969) was the original. A forensics pioneer, he achieved world renown through the application of science to justice. From the edge of an Otago goldfield to the telling edge of a murder weapon, Smith learnt to read the stories of dead men - and in doing so changed the way crime was investigated and solved.
http://www.nzedge.co.nz/heroes/smith.html

Joke of the Weekender

Game Question
The duffer muffed his tee shot into the woods, then hit into a few trees, then proceeded to hit across the fairway into another woods. Finally, after banging away several more times, he proceeded to hit into a sand trap.
All the while, he'd noticed that the club professional had been watching.
"What club should I use now?" he asked the pro.
"I don't know," the pro replied. "What game are you playing?"

Weekender Photos

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