The Shopping Trolley... Dad Attached!

Well... All shopping needs are provided for at the
Hornby Pak'N Save...
It's a bit of a dilemma shopping with a wheel chair...
But I found this attachable trolley that solved the problem.
All it needed was some 'man' power... And that was me!
I felt I needed a license though...
 

My Dad thoroughly enjoyed himself.
Usually my brother does Dad's grocery shopping online...
So a visit to the supermarket to browse  the aisles
was quite a treat.
We got a taxi there and back and the drivers are marvellous...
They help Dad while I organise the wheel chair...
They carry the shopping inside when we get home.
I was ready for a cup of tea when we got home!
But the cupboards and fridge are stocked again.

My Friend Caroline... Up On Cashmere Hills...

I'm staying with my friend Caroline...
We have known each other for about 25 years.
Lots has changed since then...
Children grown up... Caroline's husband died...
She has dogs and a cat...

She lives up a very steep road...


On the top of the Cashmere Hills...

She has a wonderful view over the city.
This photo was taken the day I arrived...
Dark, thundery and about to rain.

It obscured the view for a while...
But I love watching the continuing changes during the day...

And at night... The city sparkles..

She has a beautiful garden... It's a real haven from the
earthquake destruction.
There are steps and paths all round the garden...

 
All created on the side of the hill.


Divine roses...


Beautiful colours...

 
Fragrant perfumes...

  
 This stunning pink...


Roses everywhere...White and red...

 
Some such delicate colours...


Just a riot of colour and luxurious growth...


I think there is a micro climate on the hills...
Everything grows so well.


Even the Iris's...


And the Protea's...


The vege garden produces all sorts...
We have been shopping for more plants...
Tomatoes, Courgettes, Broccoli...


And at the bottom of the garden...
The hens.
We eat ultra fresh eggs every day...
What a place to come and stay!

More... Interesting People

More Interresting people... To think about and consider
how they have used their gifts and talents...


 
This youngsters plans were formed when he was 14 years old.
His father who had no patience for listening 
or understanding the kid's problems,
wanted him to be a police officer like he was and his mother
wanted a trade school. He did neither.
Money was a problem in their household since one of the
highlights of his youth was when the family purchased a refrigerator.
Both of his parents were very strict. "Back then it was a very different
world, if we did something wrong or disobeyed our parents,
the rod was never spared." 
He became...

Arnold Schwarzenegger...

This self-taught high school dropout, considered "lazy, slow and dreamy"
flunked the entrance examinations in the 
Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich at 16.
He failed to reach the required standard in several subjects, but obtained exceptional
grades in physics and mathematics.
He strongly objected to rote learning.
He became...

Albert Einstein...

Born of a wealthy ranchero and his cook,
brought up by the Jesuits, the young Democratic lawyer
fighting the Batista dictatorship mafia is... 

Fidel Castro... 



 
Farrokh Bulsara was a buck-toothed Parsi born in Zanzibar
who grew up there and in India until his mid-teens.
In 2006, Time Asia named him one of the
 most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years.
He is...

Freddy Mercury of Queen 






This young pioneer who was hated and considered
a cockroach by his classmates is...

Vladimir Putin...





 Complications his mother suffered during labor 
forced her obstetricians to
use a pair of forceps during his birth; misuse of these 
accidentially severed a nerve
and caused paralysis in parts of his face. As a result, 
the lower left side of his face
is paralyzed. He bounced between foster homes 
while his parents endured
a troubled marriage in Hell's Kitchen, New York.
He grew up to be...
n
Sylvester Stallone... 





This high school student was judged by his teachers as "turbulent,
quarrelsome, disobedient and unteachable." 
He is... 
 
Charles De Gaulle...






 This cutie was born one of 12 children in Locust Ridge, Tennessee,
in the Great Smoky Mountains. She began performing as a child and was
encouraged to go where her heart took her...
She became...
  b
Dolly Parton...





This happy hippy couple is...

Bill and Hillary Clinton... 




 
This student shouting in anger against social
reforms increasing the choices in education is...

Nicolas Sarkozy... French President... 




 
A very shy unpopular kid regarded as a loner by many and who was
occassionally bullied by classmates for being a "mamma's boy"
was brought up very poor in mostly black neighbourhoods and housing
projects. During his junior year he began to stand out among his classmates, because he styled his hair with rose oil and Vaseline.
His first real job was as a truck driver for the Crown Electric company.
In time he became...

Elvis Presley...

Interesting People...

These people are amazing... Some of them you will know all about...
Others not.
Reading about them I found them challenging...
They disregarded other peoples judgements...
And lived up to and valued their gifts and talents...
Some considered good... Others not.
Is it birth... Genes... Family and cultural influences...
The debate continues...
A challenge to each of us.



 This beautiful heiress from a wealthy family named the Vlachs of Albania
was Agnes Boiagium... 
But she became...

 
Mother Theresa

This youngster had a turbulent childhood and despite artistic talent,his school reports were damning.

"Certainly on the road to failure... hopeless...

rather a clown in class... wasting other pupils' time."

His aunt bought him volumes of short stories, and his uncle, a dairyman, bought him a mouth organ 

and engaged him in solving crossword puzzles...

He is...

John Lennon... Of The Beatles. 

This stupid schoolboy considered "stupid, restless, inquisitive, 

asking too many questions and a slow learner"...

Is...

  

Thomas Edison...

inventor of the incandescent light bulb and many other inventions. 

This studious Xhosa prince who is of royal African lineage

spent years in  prison...

He is...

Nelson Mandela... 

 

This student was always partying and laughing. 

He had a hard time with driving laws. 

In 1975, he was arrested for speeding

and driving  without a license and in 1989, 

he was arrested for suspicion of 

driving drunk, but the charges were later reduced. 

This mug shot was taken after he was arrested

in Albuquerque in 1977 for running a stop sign 

and driving without a license.

He is...

 

Bill Gates 

This proud captain of paratroupers in Veneuzula, 

particularly skilled in anti guerrilla warfare is...

Hugo Chavez




This fine young officer and secular socalist who overthrew the
corrupt King Idris in 1954 is... 


Muammar Gaddafi... 



 
This black student from Honolulu, who was destined to become
a social worker is...

Barak Obama... 



 
The favourite son of his father, darling of his sisters and his
schoolmates, the son of an imperial inspector of schools is
Vladimir Oulianoff who became...

Vladimir Llyid Lenin...



 
This lawyer from an aristocratic British family, who was in fact Indian
and fought for his country's independence
using pacifism is...

Mohandas Ghandi...




This revolutionary who was a fighter against the dictatorship
of the Pahlavis in Iran then returned from exile became... 
 
Ayotolla Ruhollah Khomeini... Iranian Leader 




This defrocked seminarian, past bank robber and police informant
is... Joseph Djougashvili... Who became...

Joseph Stalin... 



There's lot more... 
This was sent to me in an email...
I thought you might find them as fascinating as me...
More tomorrow!