Tag: New Zealand

St Patrick’s Day

Saturday, 17 March is

St Patrick’s Day

 

It belongs to all of us. So let us celebrate together

Whether you are from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, USA, Canada, South America, China, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, The Middle East or Russia. C’mon in, the craic is mighty!!!

You can’t get much further away from Ireland but Sydney’s St Patrick’s Day Flash Mob certainly know how to mark the occasion.

And what would St Patrick’s Day be without a wee taste of East Belfast and Van Morrison playing Star of The County Down with the Chieftains, including the enigmatic late Derek Bell on piano.

For all my friends in Norwich – The Saw Doctors. Turn it up loud and pogo. Can there be a better way to end a Party? Apologies to the great bard, Robbie Burns, but Auld Lang Sang isn’t half as much fun.

HAPPY PADDY’S DAY EVERYONE

Eddie Jones, prepare to have your arse kicked

You have embarrassed my Australian and English cousins but come Saturday evening, when we have won the Six Nations, the Triple Crown and a Grand Slam, …….. we will forgive you.

 

 

World Thinking Day

World Thinking Day is celebrated annually on 22 February by all those in Girl Guiding. It is a day when they think about Girl Guides and Girl Scouts throughout the world, the meaning of Guiding, and its global impact.

My daughter, Louise Kendal-Riches, has been a member of Guiding since 1987. She later went on to become a leader in Manchester, Calgary in Canada and Christchurch in New Zealand. Louise also led a multi-national team to train Guide Leaders in Thailand.

How did Louise end up in New Zealand?   An earthquake occurred in Christchurch on 22 February 2011, World Thinking Day. It caused widespread damage across Christchurch and killed 185 people. Louise is a Civil Engineer and has been working on the rebuilding of Christchurch since then.

For Louise 22 February is a day to both celebrate Girl Guiding and also commemorate those who lost their lives in the Christchurch Earthquake.

 

In 2013 Girl Guiding New Zealand challenged girls to come up with suggestions on how to recruit Guide leaders. Louise’s girls came up with an idea to organise a flash mob. Their idea was selected and turned into a 30 second advert which was broadcast nationally on New Zealand Television. The two minute video below tells the story of what they did.

One & Other was a 2009 public art project by Antony Gormley in which 2,400 members of the public occupied the usually vacant fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square, for an hour each for 100 days. Of the 35,000 applicants, Louise won a place. She choose to promote Girl Guiding. See an extract of her time on the plinth at the link below.

Louise on Plinth