Goodbye Pork Pie 3----damn, where's those seats?!

They just keep coming back for more. The students at James Cook High even come when they are not meant to. Take this student for example. He could be out and about, having fun, but no--- he wants to get this job done. I found him sitting very uncomfortably in the back seat. What he wants is to be in the driving seat, taking the completed mini for a spin!
The car looks a mess, to a non-mechanic like me, but there is method behind the work of the students and teachers. The passion they bring is amazing. I wish education could be more like this, but having said that----we would need quite a few changes in how we go about meeting the needs of our kids.
I shall keep you posted, right up until school closes for the year. One thing's for sure--- the students will be there to the last minute.

Britain's Daily Telegraph readers vote New Zealand top holiday spot

At a time when Europe is facing some pretty hard economic times, it was good to see that many in Britain would still like to visit us. The Daily Telegraph poll of 17,000 readers gave NZ the top spot. Those readers saw our coastline, our cuisine and friendly people as being the main draw cards.

 We should remember that when we hear about some more negative experiences from other tourists, like being robbed. We therefore must put those reports in perspective---coming to NZ for a holiday is still and should always be a safe and enjoyable time.

Hopefully the Brits will keep coming and in larger numbers. You never know; some of them may decide to stay. From my observations in the education industry, most of the new arrivals seem to be doing well and are taking full advantage of those aspects that the poll showed. It must be wonderful for them to visit a beach, less than an hour from Central Auckland, in the middle of summer and then find they virtually have the beach to themselves. Maybe tourism will help provide the impetus for NZ to attract more people—something our economy surely needs!