Ngarimu, entrance to the Marae

I am teaching my students the Marae, the meeting place of the Maori people. Earlier this year, I spent an evening there, and later I went with my sister. I learnt quite a bit of protocol to teach my students.

This is the first entrance, where visitors wait until they are invited to enter the grounds. There is a Powhiri. The visitors sing a karanga, telling the hosts they come in peace. The women will enter first, to show indeed they come in peace.

Ngarimu and Marae

Here is Ngarimu, the Heritage & Resource Manager of NGATI WHATUA O ORAKEI CORPORATE LTD extending his hospitality to my sister Elizabeth and brother in-law Kallang to his marae.

You can't see how small this play house is as I didn't take the photo of the Marae beside it. This play house once belonged to a rich little girl. She gave it to the people when their Marae was burnt.

Marae: Play house

This little house aroused my curiousity. I asked my friend Ngarimu as it looked like a Marae and yet it is so little.

You cannot really see how little this Marae is except you can see my sister Elizabeth's head. In fact it was a play house of some little girl. When the Marae of the Ngati Whatua o Orakei people was burnt down, a rich man gave his daughter's play house to the tribe as their Marae. It is now located next to the Marae.

Ngarimu told me about this replica and I am so privileged when he told me this story. The little girl was very lucky to have such a special play house, and Ka Pai to her for being so generous.

They used the little building as their Marae until they built their present one.

Macro MondayBeschorneria yuccoides (Mexican False Red Yucca)

http://sundaystills.wordpress.com/

A lovely Yucca flower in Western Springs Park in Auckland.

Sunday Stills: The letter "C"

Sunday Stills,the next challenge: The Letter “C”
Posted in Sunday Stills, the next challenge with tags Sunday Stills Challenge on October 11, 2009 by Ed

So whatever you can find that begins with the letter C, either a thing or a situation will do. This should keep ya busy for the week..:-))

http://sundaystills.wordpress.com

I am a teacher of English for second language, and with little children, I use stories and often adapt them to their level.

The Three Little Pigs:

The first little pig built his house of straw.

Little pig, little pig, Let me come in.

No! No! No! Not by the hair of my chinny chinny chin chin,

Then I will blow your house in.

The wolf blew like a cyclone.

The house of straw became a heap of dried grass.



Little pig, little pig, Let me come in.

No! No! No! Not by the hair of my chinny chinny chin chin,

Then I will burn your house down.

The house of sticks became charred.


Little pig, little pig, Let me come in.

No! No! No! Not by the hair of my chinny chinny chin chin,

Then I will climb down from your chimney and eat you up.

The little pigs had a copper cauldron of boiling water.

Then big bad wolf fell into the cauldron.


My kids love this story, especially when I come to the "No! No! No! Not by the hair of my chinny chinny chin chin," You see, my married name is CHIN, and the children think it is very funny to have a surname like Chin.

Nipped off in the bud.

During the last two weeks in New Zealand, there was a flurry of news that affected everyone here. It even made news in Europe. Little two year old Aisling Symes went missing in wet and unseasonably cold weather in Waitakere City of West Auckland.

Despite police and volunteers searching, she was found only seven days later. Yesterday was her funeral. I watched on TV and as her mother carried out her white coffin, my mind went back twenty years ago. I was that mother, seeing her baby's coffin being put into the hearse.

All deaths are sad, because they are separation from loved ones. But the death of Aisling as a child is even sadder. Her parents released a dove into the air. As it fluttered away, the young mother watched, and watched, until its pure white plumes disappeared.

It was Angela Symes' goodbye to her baby girl.

I post this photo of the apple buds on my apple tree. The apple that Aisling would grown into had been nipped off in the bud, the same way my son Andrew had been that November 22 1989 morning. Angela and me, we belong to this club, the club of bereaved mums. Entry requisite, I hope you don't have. Though my fellow blogger Queenmother mamaw and Linda were members before me.

Friday shootout: Sunrise/sunset

On Waitangi Day, our National day in February, I spent the night before at the Orakei marae. I woke up early at Bastion point which juts out to the sea and saw this wonderful sun rise. Festival revellers had pitched their tents.







Sunset At Mt Albert Volcano.




http://mytownshootout.blogspot.com/

October 16 - Sunrise / Sunsets - By Sherri (http://sherripatterson.blogspot.com/)

This extinct volcano, Mt Albert in Auckland is very popular for sunrise services at Easter. I took this at Sunset in Spring. I haven't got up there to shoot a sunrise photo because I don't wake up early enough. The wind is very strong there and I don't go up the moutnain in the morning.