About SJPONeill

Retired(ish) and living on the side of a mountain. I love reading and writing, pottering around with DIY in the garden and the kitchen, watching movies and building models from plastic and paper...I have two awesome daughters, two awesome grand-daughters and two awesome big dogs...lots of awesomeness around me...

AS I SEE IT (19 Feb)

Posted on 20 February 2016 by SJPONeill

By Terry O’Neill.

A Smorgasbord (Swedish) suggests sandwich and table, so we have a mixture today.

Regularly I am privileged to propel myself through the waters of the Waitaki Aquatic Centre, one of the district’s most used sporting facilities.

And we are indebted to Adair and David Rush whose foresight and enthusiasm motivated the fund-raising for the complex. With the rise in drowning statistics and reduction in the number of school swimming pools, mainly due to lower funding, this pool is needed more than ever for basic life skills.

At the other end of the learn-to-swim focus it produces high class young swimmers including a number of qualifiers for the national junior age group championships in Auckland later this month.

Swimming demands discipline. Local competitive swimmers train usually from 6.00a.m to 7.30a.m with many from afar breakfasting at the pool before heading for a full school day, and back for a further training later with coach Narcis Gherca. It is interesting to note that North Otago will supply more swimmers to the coming national age group championships in Auckland than South Canterbury and Dunedin!

Is it time to look at establishing a sports complex to replace the Waitaki Recreation Centre in Orwell street? Its beginnings in the 1980s arose at a joint Oamaru Borough/Waitaki County meeting as an exciting compromise to meet community needs and the requirement for Waitaki Girls’ High School to replace its obsolete gymnasium. The Rec’s seen much better days.

Waitaki Boys’ High School and St Kevin’s College have gymnasia used also by community sports teams. The three schools are major contributors to North Otago’s economy and a new complex would certainly be an added attraction for pupils from outside the region as well as for locals. Maybe it will be thrown “into the too hard basket”, but we are the custodians of our future.

North Otago cricket won the Hawke Cup last weekend defeating Buller. Hearty congratualtions!

This trophy is competed for by the 22 minor cricket associations in New Zealand, and is divided into four zones. Each zone plays a round robin tournament and zone winners may challenge the current holder. North Otago first held the trophy in the 2009/2010 season appropriately 100 years after it was donated by Lord Hawke. Last weekend’s win means North Otago must prepare for its first challenge, from Hawkes Bay, in a week’s time.

Rugby League completes the smorgasbord. The competition begins on March 3rd with the Warriors playing West Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium at 9.30p.m. The “leaguies” also have new rules to interpret this season. There’ll be differential penalties for incorrect play of the balls. The old ploy of forming walls to prevent charge downs on field goal attempts will allow referees to penalise for such obstruction. The “shot clock” will be introduced with teams now having 30 seconds for scrums and 30 seconds for dropouts or the offending team has to concede a penalty.Now that’s something that rugby doesn’t have yet.

ENDS

NNNN

Onwards and upwards methinks.

ENDS

A tale of two peppers (Part one)

Posted on 14 February 2016 by SJPONeill

New World Taumarunui had bulk bags of capsicum for $4.98 last week – without really thinking about it – such a good deal, normally they are around $2 each – I grabbed a bag, with a vague vision of pizza toppings…that vague vision morphed into a notion of stuffed peppers and from there into dinner via the recipe here…

It’s pretty simple – possibly too simple…

DSCF9588

Drop 250 grams of mince into a pan- the recipe says beef mince and only 25 grams, but I used pork mince because I had some handy and increased it to 250 grams figuring the ’25’ was a typo…

DSCF9590

Cook until the mince in brown, breaking up any lump, and add a jar of bolognaise sauce – I used a jar of pasta sauce that someone had left here – I would make my own normally – and simmer until the liquid has evaporated off leaving a thick sauce… DSCF9587

Cut three peppers on half lengthways leaving the stalks: they don’t do anything useful but look good…

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Spoon the thickened sauce mix into each of the halved peppers and top with cheese – I had grated mozzarella available so used that – I think it would work better and provide an evener topping using slices of cheese…

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Bake at 180 degrees until the cheese is browned – I forgot to take a pic of the peppers as they came out of the oven – these ones have been in the fridge for a day and don’t look as good as when they were fresh baked…

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I served mine up with chunky air-fried kumara and potato wedges…tasted good but the sauce was still quite runny but very strong. I think that it needs more substance to be thicker…my next go-round will be based on this recipe which overcomes these shortcomings and also does it with red wine which cannot be a bad thing…

Happy Endings | The Daily Post

Posted on 11 February 2016 by SJPONeill

Tell us about something you’ve tried to quit. Did you go cold turkey, or for gradual change? Did it stick?

Source: Happy Endings | The Daily Post

Not so much quit as change for this one…generally I go for gradual change: hard hit cold turkey might give an immediate result but all too often the shock effect boomerangs and undoes the original good. Like gyming and other things, the trick is to make the change a habit, something so natural that you think when you don’t do it…

I’ve always eaten relatively healthily but there’s always room for improvement. Around Christmas, I was messenging with Bubble in the US, just chatting and this is where the seed was sown…

Me
Aaahh…nothing quite like coming down to the wafting aroma of fresh bread…

Bubble
Mmm bread
I caved and had some sprouted grain toast. Amazing

Me
Healthy bread is OK…just not that horrible commercial white stuff…
The more lumpy bits the better…

Bubble
That looks amazing.

Me
…should have proper fresh yoghurt up and running…am doing it out of a packet now but want to get a proper culture up and running…

Bubble
I wanted to attempt to make my own coconut yoghurt, apparently you can do it by mixing in probiotics with coconut cream and incubating in the oven!

Me
Great minds!! Was coconut yoghurt (from a packet) that I made last night…very nice taste and texture…like coconut in cooking a lot…

Bubble
So is it dairy free the yogurt?
Don’t get me wrong I love dairy but I realised I was having a lot. Have you seen Cowspiracy? Very interesting

Me
Just had a look at the packet…milk power-based so ‘no’ but same here…looking to reduce not eliminate dairy…soy in a cuppa would be heresy!!!
Plus think I have mastered the bannoffee breakfast drink now and must have milk for that!!
Will have a look for Cowspiracy…
It’s all about healthy choices in food and exercise plus it’s good to make things at home rather than rely on store-bought the whole time, even if it is some extra work and usually not as cheap…as above, you can’t beat waking up to the smell of fresh bread…

Bubble
Sometimes milk is needed (e.g. nice cafe latte) other times vanilla almond milk is great (smoothies, cereal and instant coffee!)

Working on the principle that a change is as good as a holiday, I picked up a litre of almond milk on my next foray into the supermarket. My first impressions were not confidence-inspiring it made the taste of everything way too nutty, even just a dollop in a coffee. Perseverance is the secret of success though and I bought some more on my next resupply – that first one must have just been a dodgy batch because that too-nutty taste didn’t recur…

More on Cowspiracy in a follow-on post but I should say that I’m not a member of the culinary tinfoil hat brigade…the attraction of this change for me was more the culinary challenges that come from reducing, maybe even removing, a major food group, dairy in this case from my diet…Great Goudas, Batman! How will I get by without cheese, ice cream and yoghurt…?

So six weeks into the experiment, I haven’t bought any milk since but needed a (small) bottle of cream for my Pour Some Sugar On Me post and have had a milkshake with lunch at Pihanga twice…so far so good…oh, yes, and I mozzarella’d up an otherwise healthy pizza too…

DSCF9504

To be continued….

Pour Some Sugar on Me | The Daily Post

Posted on 10 February 2016 by SJPONeill

Source: Pour Some Sugar on Me | The Daily Post
What is your favorite sweet thing to eat? Bread pudding? Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies? A smooth and creamy piece of cheesecake? Tell us all about the anticipation and delight of eating your favorite dessert.

I like dessert and while I am probably to be the first of the group to opt for dessert when dining out, I’m more a savoury than sweet kinda guy…that being said, this prompt could have only one response…a family favourite, our butterscotch pudding…

What really floats my boat with this one is the crunchy caramelised crust that goes so well with cream and, if available, ice cream – if you have to choose between one or t’other, go for the cream…When it is about three-quarters done the caramel flavour will waft across the living area from the kitchen, building anticipating…I normally drop it in the oven just before serving up the mains – the bake time provides just enough time to eat the main, enjoy some good conversation and let the previous course settle before serving it up…

Now, yes, I did make this one specially for this post – none of that “here’s one I prepared earlier” malarkey – and, no, it doesn’t mean that I fell off the dairy-free wagon…just jumped off to quickly check the tyres…

What you need

1 cup of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder (or just use self-raising flour if you lean that way)

60 grams of butter melted, 30 grams of butter

1/2 cup of milk

pinch of salt

1/2 cup of sugar (sounds like a lot but the original recipe demanded a full cup)

2 tablespoons of golden syrup

2 cups of hot water

What you do

Heat the oven to 180 degrees

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar milk and melted butter together.

Pour into a greased pan.

Mix the hot water, golden syrup, and 30 grams of butter together until the syrup and butter have dissolved into the water.

Pour this over the dough in the pan.

Fan bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and crusty on top.

Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for five minutes

Serve with cream and ice cream (vanilla preferred). Now, this being a (probably temporarily) dairy-free home, a couple of minor issues arose. As a part of a related programme, we had, at some time last year, replaced the the white sugar with raw sugar. Shouldn’t make a difference and didn’t but adds to the “it’s healthier” ambience of the dish…

There was also no cow in the fridge…only varieties of not-cow milk…vanilla almond milk volunteered to take the plunge and in it went…also didn’t make a difference to the finished product…a good lesson learned…

This is the most popular dessert in this household and production is only second to the dateless/sauceless version of Dinner Dates that I knock up when attacked by the late night dessert munchies…the recipe will happily feed six people and has been doubled with a good result…It freezes well and the source caramelises even more when reheated…a real winner and now done healthier…

Live to Eat | The Daily Post

Posted on 9 February 2016 by SJPONeill

Some people eat to live, while others live to eat. What about you? How far would you travel for the best meal of your life?

Source: Live to Eat | The Daily Post

I love good food but if I was travelling any distance for it, it would almost definitely be about the company, not the food…even if it was a gratis meal at a top restaurant or a weekend at one of the more exciting food fairs, the company would still be the key…

I had a great breakfast at Kokako when I was in Auckland recently…a brilliant vegetarian combination and only five minutes walk from my hotel…but the company made it…

Their photo…we were too busy eating and chatting to pic…

Walking from Otaki Forks to Field Hut is the furthest I have walked for a meal – and through a blizzard to boot…

field hut 95 1

…but it was still about the company…

field hut 95 2

To consider the question, if you can make good food, you don’t have to travel far for good food; while one might enjoy one’s own company, that only goes so far…I would only go so far simply for a meal…I would go a long way for a meal in good company…

…the venue need not be that flash…

RNZIR Sect Comd Cse 1993 08

…so long as the company compensates…

RNZIR Sect Comd Cse 1993 19

AS I SEE IT (5 FEB)

Posted on 8 February 2016 by SJPONeill

The RWC Qualifying Match between Fiji & Cook Islands, 2014. (Photo: Fiji Ministry of Information / Facebook)

By Terry O’Neill.

The local rugby season kicks off on 2nd April. Leading up to it local clubs will mirror other Heartland clubs and battle to e

nsure full premier squads, an increasingly difficult assignment.

Polynesian players are an integral part of the Heartland scene. Many unions made derogatory comments about North Otago’s inclusion of Pacific Island players but North Otago was simply the forerunner of today’s necessity. A couple of seasons ago former All Black and Mid Canterbury lock Jock Ross told me that some Mid Canterbury clubs only survived in premier ranks because of inclusion of Pacific Island players. Similar to all other Heartland unions.

The all-important necessary visas for Pacific Island players are not easily obtained and often are only for a set time. In some cases Pacific Islanders arrive on student visas to attend school, and play rugby, and others can apply for work visas under a skills’ shortage category or there is the specific purpose or event category, a rugby visa, for one year that may be renewed.

The North Otago Rugby Union does not actively recruit Tongans who generally arrive because of family or friends here. NORFU CEO Colin Jackson said the Union tended to go to Europe, USA or Canada for recruitment and over the past eight years more than 70 players have been under this scheme in North Otago.

Putting aside claims from some white rugby supremacists, without Polynesians there would be no premier rugby locally because of our small population base. Polynesians’ natural talents see many promoted to the top of the North Otago rugby tree to fill the gap created by the lack of other skilled young local players.

But it’s not one way traffic. Over the last two northern seasons local players, Jeremiah Shields, Keegan Anderson, Kayne Middleton, Thomas Shields and Jared Whitburn, all spent a rugby season overseas. It’s not only a rugby experience they benefit from, it’s a life-enhancing experience too.

In addition local rugby clubs Athletic, Kurow, Excelsior, Maheno and Valley have made direct contact with overseas rugby unions and clubs and obtained players.

It’s a conundrum how Immigration NZ treats Pacific Islanders. For instance, French, Italian or Argentinian players may live here for a year or eighteen months without any problem while most Pacific Island players work visas entitle them to be here for only six months and they’ve got to head home if they have no other suitable employment skills to offer in New Zealand.

Clubs and minor unions don’t seem to receive much support from the New Zealand Rugby Football Union. When will NZRU boffins realise that to ignore the deterioration of New Zealand’s rugby base will not augur well for those higher up the rugby food chain? And in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji how long will they be able to retain their World Cup status?

ENDS

Time | The Daily Post

Posted on 7 February 2016 by SJPONeill

This week, think about time and portray it photographically. Perhaps you have a fascination with clocks. Or maybe contemplating time takes you somewhere else completely.

Source: Time | The Daily Post

My first thought on reading the title was “…time is fleeting…madness takes control…” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s all-time classic track, Time Warp…yes, I know the second phrase is “…madness takes its toll…” but I like my version better…

My second was the temporal irony of the Star Wars saga…the second time I saw Star Wars (the first I was just too blown away for any coherent thought) I just wanted it to go on and on and never end…the first (and ever subsequent) time I saw The Phantom Menace, I just wanted the pain to stop, for it to be over now, now, now…

I can talk about time, I can write about time, but photo time…? Hmmm…

Bed time

Time for a cold one…

Play time…

Breakfast time

The passage of time…

AS I SEE IT (29J)

Posted on 4 February 2016 by SJPONeill

bowls

By Terry O’Neill

Bowls North Otago successfully completed its women’s pentangular tournament last weekend involving Senior women and Development women from the five Centres south of Christchurch: South Canterbury, North Otago, Central Otago, South Otago and Southland.

Teams played singles, pairs, triples and fours on two greens in Oamaru in over 100 games superbly organised by Brian Papps and umpires, Bruce Kelly and Graham Thorn, and with cooperation from the other four centres. The senior womens section operated smoothly.

And the “But” . . . Unfortunately Southland and South Canterbury, neglected to provide essential details of their development womens teams, and listed names only with not an iota of information about team composition and skips. As the tournament began on the Saturday morning, umpires had the additional stress of seeking this information. Hopefully a robust message educated those centres on their basic responsibilities.

This scenario may be indicative of a sports administration trend in which even more is expected to be done by the responsible, declining few. It’s an unfettered malaise that has evolved over the four decades I have been associated with bowls and other sports .

Blame may rest at the feet of professionalism whereby the national bodies tend more to be concerned with promotion of those exclusives at the top of the food chain. In too many cases the roles of governance and management are clouded. Let’s hark back to the days of the late Arthur Familton who, as North Otago secretary, ran bowls with a very firm hand although some might agree his “firm” might have been be a tad lenient. Governance is the aspect of the committee which decides policy, and management involves those appointed to apply that policy to their sport. The two have become integrated to the detriment of sport. Only time hopefully, and a change in attitudes will ensure a more favourable response to the tasks demanded of administrators.

Can you imagine dealing with a multitude of bowls results on scorecards attributed to Tom, Sandy, Jude, Margie, and the like? These do not identify the players to anyone outside the intimacy of the green so it would be appreciated if full names of skips and players are always recorded.

Meanwhile it’s time to celebrate local sport. The North Otago Sports Bodies annual Sportsperson of the Year function is early March at the Opera House. Once again over fifty individuals have been nominated by their respective sports over a wide range of codes ranging from equestrian horse cutting through to trap shooting, motorcross and downhill mountain biking. Coaches are acknowleged too with Narcis Gherca (swimming), Owen Gould (Rowing), Ray Boswell (trap shooting and hockey),and Hamish McMurdo (cricket/rugby refereeing).

The traditional award for Administrator of the Year may be now be covered by the Services to Sport award. Sports administration is often a thankless task.

Let’s salute these behind-the-scenes sports people who make things happen. Without their fastidious care, knowledge, humour and leadership, sports could not function.

ENDS

AS I SEE IT(22 /1)

Posted on 3 February 2016 by SJPONeill

liniment

By Terry O’Neill.

There are those who claim that to grow, one must change often.If this is true, the International Rugby Board would appear to have become almost rabid, when compared with its approach to changes in the past.Change for the sake of change has little chance of being accepted and when looking at rule changes to the game one might well ask,why?

Whether it has been the drop in temperature at the beginning of this week or whether the build up of super rugby stories has been some motivation, I feel that the 2016 rugby season is approaching, or maybe its just a throwback to the whiff of liniment used prolifically in my time.Today liniment would have been looked upon as an performance enhancing additive, although it could have quite an impact on tender parts of the anatomy!

The 2016 rugby season will bring law changes although not necessarily across the board. Why introduce law changes at the first class level before club level is a bit of a mystery to me but rugby fans will have to get used to the fact that the beloved “ruck” will no longer be in the rugby vocabulary, replaced by “breakdown”.Hands will not be allowed by the tackler thus negating the skills of Richie McCaw and David Pocock.Get used to the idea that there will be two referees on the paddock and that penalty tries will be worth eight points,a try worth six points and a penalty is reduced to two points.

The new “breakdown” will form as soon as just one attacking player is over the ball on the ground.The old “gate” is gone and as long as players come from their side of the ball they may enter at any angle.At the breakdown it is proposed that the offside line will be a metre back from the hindmost foot of the hindmost player. It is expected that this will encourage defending teams to contest the breakdown more often instead of just creating picket fence defensive lines. It is envisaged that the “lead” referee will look after the breakdown and the second whistle blower will scrutinise the offside line.

The proposed laws have been trialled in domestic competitions in Australia, South Africa and Wales.In Australia it was noticeable that kicks at goal were reduced and there was a lot more kicking for touch but a lot more tries were scored,although on the negative side there were more yellow cards issued as the value of penalties had been reduced.

With the local club rugby set down to kick off on April 2^nd, the Saturday after Easter, the North Otago Rugby Union is waiting for information from the NZRU as to which,when and if the law changes will be invoked.

It appears that the Citizens Shield and other competitions will utilise only the change in points for tries and penalties.One problem that will arise with the two referee suggestion is that with four referees,two assistant referees(line umpires) and the two on field referees, required for each game it may mean that lower grades could suffer.

For those looking further afield the Heartland competition will start a week later on the 22^nd August with the finals set down for 29^th October after Labour weekend.

Childhood Revisited | The Daily Post

Posted on 25 January 2016 by SJPONeill

What is your earliest memory? Describe it in detail, and tell us why you think that experience was the one to stick with you.

Source: Childhood Revisited | The Daily Post

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