TRY!

'Rippa Rugby' is a game played by small boys and girls to teach the basics of Rugby; passing, running, tackling. This photo was taken at Carisbrook, Dunedin. The team with the green and black tops are the Alexandra under 7 years Rippa team, who travelled down to play the curtain raiser before the All Blacks played France. The team in black here are the Pirates Rugby Club, Dunedin. The photo shows a try being scored beside the posts by one of the boys from Alexandra, in fact one of the many scored by this 'green team'. I was quite proud watching the little guys from my home town having a good win, and it reminded me of those times when our children played on this ground. From memory, we always had day matches, but I may be wrong. With one of my boys I got onto the ground as the water boy, and in with the water bottles I had a Nikon F4 and a couple of rolls of film. The coach was quick to point out to the boys that I would be taking photos of the tries being scored on Carisbrook, so there was a certain amount of desperation to score, resulting in a good win to our team.
Carisbrook has a limited life left, so I was pleased to get this and some other photos.

You talk funny 3

In the above photo, a young man with Cerebral Palsy shows off his walking skills to Bob and Cheryl Buckley. Bob is Council Chairman for Lions District 201, which is all of Australia and Papua. Several children with this disability walked right around the conference. And I came across the following....
Dear Council Chairman Lion Nick Herrold,
Congratulations! The New Zealand Hart Walker Project has been selected as one of three finalists for the International Hero Award in the category of District Service Project. The International Hero Awards were created to recognise the Everyday Heroes who have made a difference in the world by performing miracles through service.
You are invited to join us at the International Hero Awards Banquet on Thursday, July 9th, in the Minneapolis Convention Center Ballroom in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, during the 2009 Lions Club International Convention. At the banquet, all finalists will be recognised and the winner will be announced.
Once again, congratulations on this outstanding achievement!
Kristopher Kempski
Communications Coordinator,
Lions Clubs International.
Well, Nick, it is an awful job, but someone has to do it. I hope you take Alyssa McCarty and her family, and the organiser of the project in New Zealand, Genny Hanning. These are the real Heroes.

You talk funny 2

David Hart was a Medical Engineer from Yorkshire, England.
Some years ago he was approached by a couple with a handicapped child, who asked him to 'invent' a device to support the child in a more upright position.
The result was far beyond that. Eventually, David Hart was able to make a frame in which the child could walk.
The Hart Walker has over 1000 parts, and is infinitely adjustable. Each one costs about $NZ10,000.00.
In Australia and New Zealand, Lions Clubs pay for the Walkers wherever they are required. In many cases, they pay for the fitting as well, and they certainly organise all the six monthly re-measures.
This day at the Scout Hall in Johnsonville was organised by the Johnsonville Lions Club. They do everything from making the lunch, and the modest sign outside saying 'Another Lions Club Project' gives no hint of the drama happening inside.
In the above photo, standing behind Alyssa is Dr. Maureen Murphy, and her husband, Lions International President Al Brandel. Standing beside a STANDING Alyssa is her mother, Donna.

Before he left, Al presented the President of the Johnsonville Lions Club, Stephen Cook, with his banner. During this presentation, Al pointed out that his slogan for his year as International President was "Miracles through Service". He expanded on this, saying "Miracles through service, performed by every day Heroes". And after what we had all just seen, all knew that he was right.

I saw many highlights while in Wellington photographing the Lions Multi district Convention. However, in my view, Al and Alyssa and some of her mates, were the main event.

You talk funny....

She is Alyssa McCarty. She is seven years old. She is bright, and unlike many with Cerebral Palsy, she speaks very well. She comes from Taranaki, in the North Island of New Zealand.

Alyssa is lying on a grey blanket, on the floor of the Johnsonville Scout Hall, on the outskirts of Wellington. She is being measured for adjustments to be made to her Hart Walker. She does this twice a year.

He is Albert Brandel. He is big, and tough. He is a retired Police detective from New York City. He is also the President of Lions International, responsible for 1.3 million volunteers who belong to Lions worldwide.
There is no grey blanket left for Al, he is on the floor.
Al has never done this before.

She says to him...... "You talk funny".
He says.... "You talk funny too" and then starts a long conversation about Kindy, School, home, family, walking.
So why would the World President of Lions International be doing such a thing?

No Exit

It is a short road, about 100 metres long. No one lives on it. In fact, at the end of it is a field with horses. Then I looked again. All the horses seemed to be old, and thin. Maybe the sign is right.

Kirk and Ann-Marie

Generally I ask before I put any one's photo on this blog, but sometimes the message does not get through. This photo was taken in early February.
Kirk is a Holden man. He has a Team Holden jacket, and drives a Holden himself. How did he feel then, when Ann-Marie arrived at the wedding in a 1930's Ford.
I don't think he cared.
When I do photos of the cars for a wedding, I always put the drivers in as well. After all, they got us there, and may as well be recorded along with their wheels.
In the above photo, the bridge just fits as a frame for three cars, (two Fords and one Holden), and the expanded group.
It was getting hotter when we took this photo, but it was the last before we headed to the reception. I must say the older car kept up with the rest.

Break Out

Over the last weekend, I was fortunate to be taking photos at the 125th jubilee of the Lawrence Rugby Club.
This small town has a long history, and it's Rugby Club has been well established and continues to be well run. Every one in the community seems to be involved in some way, and though they have struggled for numbers at times, still manage to field teams in most grades. From the under 7's through to the Golden Oldies, they certainly enjoy their Rugby, and over the last few years it has been showing, with some very good results.
When one gets into the rural heartland of this country, 'time' seems to become less of a problem. When it came to photographing 250 past and present members in one big group, no time for this happening was made until the day. This meant that those who wanted to be in the photo had to be there and be ready. As it was, at about 11.00am it was decided to do the big photo at 2.00pm. The whole town seemed to know this within minutes, and by 2.00pm all who should have been there, were there.
In the above photo, Max, who seems to be the quintessential prop, bursts from the maul with the ball, in what I think is the under 11 years game. Max has the advantage of racing strips in his haircut, which must add to his speed, and he played well throughout. On the Sunday, when all the photos were on display, he seemed quite chuffed that I had 'got him', as he thought that he did not get many runs with the ball. He already shows all the thinking that props demonstrate, as I heard one from the golden oldies game complain about the same thing.
This three day, (or maybe four... I was not there on Monday) party was very well organised by a solid committee lead by Roger Cotton and Willis Paterson. They had a good team, and 125 years of Rugby has taught them that it is the team that makes it work.
Thanks guys, what about 130 years?