BROMLEY PICNIC MOVED INDOORS AFTER NOR'WESTER, THERMOS STANDOFF ENSUES
Six adults, four thermoses, one lounge, nobody willing to pour first.
A family picnic in Bromley was shifted from the back lawn to the front lounge on Saturday after the nor'wester picked up around one, taking with it a plate of club sandwiches and, briefly, the mood.
Host Denise Frawley, 61, said she'd checked MetService at 9am and been told the wind was "easing by lunch". By half-past noon the trampoline was against the fence and the pavlova had a layer of Canterbury on it.
"Brought everyone inside. Six of us, four thermoses on the coffee table, nobody saying a word about whose tea we were meant to be drinking. My sister-in-law brought her own. In my house."
Guest Raymond Petrie, of Woolston, confirmed he'd clocked the thermos situation and elected to say nothing. "Denise's is the green one. Marlene's is also green. I had a cup of something. Couldn't tell you whose. Wasn't going to ask."
A MetService spokesperson said the nor'wester had behaved "largely as forecast", which locals dispute on the grounds that it always does and it never has. Denise's lawn, per Denise, is rooted.
Reminds me of a picnic at the pier in '74. Wind came off the hills, took my father's hat to Linwood. One flask between eight of us. Nobody counted sips.
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Reader Letters
★ Garry (Halswell)
Back in my day, we didn't need thermoses for a picnic. We just drank what we had in our flasks, and if someone brought a thermos, we shared it. People today can't even agree on tea. Standards have dropped.
hopeful_hamilton
@Garry (Halswell), thermoses have their place. Just like your flasks, they keep things warm longer. Standards are just evolving I think.
couchgremlin
Lol
★ JoannePetone
Honestly, who has time to argue about tea? Just drink up and enjoy the day. The nor'wester is as Kiwi as pavlova.
★ Margaret_F
Skeptical as always about these forecasts. Gerald used to say they were more of a guess. Reminds me of the 80s when we relied on common sense and garden wisdom. The youth today just stand there, noses in phones.
digital_dan
@Margaret_F, youth may have their phones, but sometimes they remind us to actually check the weather app! Look what happened here.
★ BarryBishopdale
Bloody cyclists would have ruined that picnic too with their disregard for footpaths. If the wind didn’t do it, the council’s lack of maintenance sure would!
★ BarryBishopdale
Picnics, thermoses, what's it all matter? The council's the real issue. They make everything harder, including staying outside. Good luck to Denise dealing with that wind!
★ Trev_Hornby
Four thermoses? That sounds rooted. The only thing more chaotic might be the paperwork to get refunds from a cancelled outdoor event!
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