Tribute to Shafter (The MONK)

The MONK
Shafter puts the case for a Down Down on a fellow hasher at the Tafatafa Beach run.

Hash Farewell- The Monk – “Shafter”

The Apia Hash has lost one of it’s “Characters”, a person who moves outside the square, one who embraces life, shakes it and touches those within the circle.
Please refer to:
http://www.apiahash.blogspot.com
I spent time on Saturday being a goffer, building a crypt/grave in the Samoan style. First you dig the grave, thankfully we were able to get a backhoe in the day before, then lay a concrete footing around the edge, brick concrete blocks to ground level and fill the blocks with cement and cement the floor (with drain holes) and then make 4 removable slabs for the roof. As goffer I screened the shell grit in a drum with screen wire to get a fine sand to use as brickies loam, mixed and poured cement, held the tent down in the rain squalls and kept the GM supplied with diet coke.
I was looking forward to kneeling in front of The Monk (for my naming ceremony) who always looked so good in his rendition of Dame Edna with a smoke flare burning, OH!!! the gumboots (as long as you didn’t have to drink from them), the gloves, the purple cape and the evil Bats Blood brew. He carried it off so well !!!!
The funeral service on Monday was from 10am to final burial around 3pm. Then it was back to the Yacht Club for the Hash run and circle. Unfortunately I was sick, missed the run but not the down down for being thoughtful in bringing the diet coke on Saturday. Such is life, any excuse for a mug of Vailima, even those who turned up late in relatively new runners where drinking Vailima through straws from their footware.

Not much news
It has been a rainy weekend with evening storms up the mountain, I have been tinkering with the TV antenna and have improved the reception somewhat. Local channels are VBTV, 1 and 3, Chinese CCTV, Morman BYU, and 2 is religious. News on 1 and 3 have an English edition after the main Samoan news. International news is from NZ and is repeated over breakfast. There is also pay satellite available with a large upfront cost of buying the dish.
I got to the fish market very early last week and bought two Red Snapper that were baked in lime and wrapped in alfoil on the BBQ ( Two very YUM meals). So we are not starving and the banana/lime run to the local fruit veg market is becoming a habit after breakfast.

Our water situation sees our tank filled on the weekends when the tower tanks fill at the uni, so far we have had no new leaks to confront in the poly piping.

Thanks to those who leave comments on the blog we look forward to them.
R&F

Back from AUS 12 NOV 08

Back from Aus. 12NOV08

We are both back from a short stay in Aus ( with overflowing suitcases). The garden plants have shot up with the occasional storm rain. The diesel power plant has had some issues while we were away as the hydro generator has been offline due to lack of rain. This has caused the diesels to run excessive hours with two generators going offline. So we are enjoying power rationing on Upolo Island. We have been lucky and only seem to have interruptions overnight, other parts of Apia have day interruptions. These last a few hours and new parts have been flown in to repair the power station. This may add some stimulus to the building of a new facility that has been planned for some years.
While I was away F ran out of water in the tank and had to get a tanker in for a refill. I have found the leak after some digging and put on a temporary patch with a clamp and some garden hose. Other maintenance issues have been attended to including new lock sets for the 4 screen doors with locks sourced in Aus. Our art group will have some new brushes and oil paints. Also in progress is a BBQ bench on our verandah for our baby Weber.
I have removed the glass louvers and side mechanisms from the kitchen windows ready for painting. Actually got the first coat on this afternoon. When the white trim is finished we will have a very smart looking kitchen.

HASH
Last Monday’s run was near Apia Park Stadium, there were some problems with the run like the tide was “in” and although a valiant effort was made to piggy-back the girls across the flooded causeway the rest of us except one male who will remain nameless (Snake) ran the rest of the run with soggy boots. When accused of this misdemeanor he dunked both boots into the ice tub holding the keg, at least his feet were chilly while ours were hot and smelly. The keg had leaked into the ice filled esky and was not salvageable, so we sent for another. My contribution was two down downs, one for missing 3 runs and another for missing a protest march for the imprisonment of a Samoan national in the US for travelling with a US passport with which he was issued.

Cooking
The Weber is no longer a virgin as tonight I cooked chicken legs in pineapple juice accompanied by stir fried frozen vegetables. Actually it was pretty good.

Plumbing
The plumber turned up this afternoon and we dug out the split pipe and while cutting it out, the next T joint gave way (no glue in the joint) so we fixed both problems. A lot of the plumbing (white polly piping with little or no glue in the joints) can survive with local water pressure, but when confronted by an electric pump at higher pressure either leak or blow off. So by just fixing leaking valves I have upped the pressure on the system and leaks have started to appear or got worse.
Social Scene
I made it to the Ladies Morning Tea at Paddles on Tuesday. There was a very large cruise ship in, the “Amsterdam” with lots of palangi (white) tourists in town. I avoided Macas and rushed the shopping for a sanga at home. Tomorrow is art group and I can dispense some new brushes and oils.

R&F

Pics - Fuipisia Falls, back of house, swing at Sa'moana Resort.