Water on ..... 2

It's not that I stand poised waiting for someone to make a mistake when photographing Fire men and women when at competitions. It's just that sometimes things don't go to the plan. The idea in the above photo is to connect both hoses to the hydraulic lifter between the feet of the fireman on the right. The man on the pump, out of sight, has put too much water in the smaller hose, before it could be connected. Though both guys pictured got soaked, the mistake cost very little time. Once both hoses are connected, the lifter is dropped into the tank, behind the right hand fireman's feet, and the pump then extracts water from the tank. I have been told that it is possible to cycle the water in the pump continuously, using only the water from the tank to put on the fire. These guys can lay and connect three hoses, extract the water and knock down a target in about 35 seconds. They are quick.

Hello Cousin ..... 2

The Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade mascot, and wags, arrived safely at Queenstown for the United Fire Brigades National competitions recently. In the above photo, the mascot was handcuffed to Donkey, so neither could get lost. That's the theory. In this photo one of the wags has retrieved both from a young woman who had the audacity to run off with the pair. She was unceremoniously tackled and mascots retrieved. But if you look closely, another threat looms in the shape of a very fit looking member of the Queenstown Fire Brigade. Despite a good tackle, the mascots stayed in the possession of the wag. However the mascots were injured in some way, and were taken to a nearby ambulance, which did a circuit with lights flashing and siren wailing. I have not had an update of the condition of the pair.
This incident, and a few others like it, were light relief in what was quite an intense contest over two days at Queenstown. Parts of seconds separated the teams as they put into practice months of training to get faster, more accurate, and more efficient. The fastest time does not always win, as penalties are dished out for not doing the 'run' exactly as the instructions say. Favourites Kaitangata incured time penalties on the first four of their events, and this put them in a position of being too far back to get close at the end. They had some amazing times though.
Though many of the trophies were taken by many different teams, the overall winner was the team from Carterton. This team was good to watch as they did everything in an unhurried fashion, and I believe they incured only one time penalty during the two days. Close second was a very slick team from Silverdale.
After two days photographing this contest, I feel very confident that our Volunteers are among the best, and I have every confidence they would do the right thing if asked. Don't try to put it out yourself, ring 111.

Locals win....

The Dunstan Golf Club at Clyde has a long history of golf and good parties. We used to live over the road from the club rooms, so we know about the parties. Anyway, over the last weekend, the Club hosted the 14th Dunstan Ladies Classic. Though the course is not a full size, the players seem to flow though it well, and everyone has a great time.
In the above photo, the two winners are each side of the Club's President. And this was a bit different, in that in all the years I have been taking photos at this tournament, I can not remember two ladies on the organising committee winning. Many have been in the places, but I am sure no organiser has won it. These two were not only on the organising team, but also played the best golf.
I did not stay long at the party, but I bet it went on.......

Hello Cousin...

Humour is alive and well in this part of the country. These two wags, reputedly from the Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade, have walked into the prize giving party with their team mascot, and walked right up to the official who most looks like their mascot. A whole conversation then took place about various relations etc.
The 'theft' of mascots and signs between the teams is rife, so if you look carefully, you can see that the mascot is handcuffed to one of the wags, so neither can get lost.

And the winners were.......

The above photo is of the victorious Kaitangata team showing all the trophies they won over the weekend at the Otago Southland Fire Brigade competitions. I am unsure how many events were run altogether, but the team with the highest total points wins the contest. This team has competed in Australia and in many other similar contests around the South Island. They are practising now for the New Zealand National event, which this year will be in Queenstown.
We wish them all the best.

Water on

Over the weekend, I took many action photos at the Otago Southland Fire Brigades competitions. Very well hosted by the Mosgiel Volunteer Fire Brigade, this annual event attracts teams of Fire men and women from all over the two provinces, and sometimes from further afield. All of them are volunteers, in other words they get paid not a cent for turning up to many emergencies. And they train, practice and work at doing set tasks for the competitions. All of these tasks are related to what happens at a real fire. Over this weekend there is real competition, with only seconds between the teams. Time penalties are applied if it is not done exactly right, and one small error can shift a team down several places.
In the above photo, too much water pressure has been let out before the coupling has been attached. Some water must be coming out, as the hydrant has to be proved to be working, but if there is to much, it becomes very hard to put the coupling on. In this case, the man with the hose was powerful enough to force the coupling on, thus having the advantage of a fair bit of water already in the hose before the next step.
I can tell you that the other teams studied this and other photos very carefully, to see if they could see how it was done.
I think this is the 14th time I have covered this event. However, each one I learn a bit more , and when I have it right, they change the events so I have to learn them all over again. Being in the right place at the right time does not happen by accident, at least not in this job.
The event was won by the enthusiastic team from Kaitangata, with Mossburn a close second. Both teams have father and son members, so it is real family sport.

Lost treasures

I am no judge of art. I just know what I like.
My neighbour, Alan, showed me this painting some time ago. It is of Central Otago, probably in the Luggate area, or maybe over the other side of the river. I suspect the higher of the two peaks is Mt. Maude.
It has been painted by one "E.Griffin", or at least that is what is written on the bottom corner. There is no date or any other clues.
I was sure that it would be easy to find said E. Griffin. Just google it, and something would come up. I was sure that if someone had the talent to paint such a bright and cheerful picture, google would mention them.
Not a chance. There seem to be lots of artists in New Zealand with that surname, but none with the "E" bit.
What to do?
I know, I will email some of these Griffin artists, and see if they know.
I did that. None of them knew any thing about an E. Griffin, but all promised to keep working on it. I think they may even be interested.
If you recognise this painting, or know of someone with the "E.Griffin" bit, let me know.