Before leaving Napier we visited the Art Deco shop (previously the old Fire Station) to buy postcards and stamps. We were looking forward to meeting Rex and Annette, long standing friends of Mark and Julie, who we had met twice in New Zealand and once at Bankwood.
It was raining on and off during our drive to Morrinsville, near Hamilton. The Sat Nav (a very recent purchase of Mark and Julie's) proved to be excellent, taking us through some stunning countryside before arriving at our destination mid afternoon in the rain.
Rex and Annette's farmhouse is situated at the top of a small hill with amazing views from every room. After a brief catch up we all got ready to join in the annual Christmas Party of the local Singing Group, hosted by a Dutch couple, Mike and Maria.
Although it was absolutely pouring with rain everyone was celebrating the change in the weather as most of the guests were local farmers. We soon realised we were the youngest couple there (50s) followed by Rex and Annette (60s), many were in their late 70s and early 80s.
Everyone brought a plate of food and their own drinks. The room was set up with the chairs in a large circle and it didn't take long before everyone was drinking, chatting and preparing for the evening's entertainment. Hank played accordion while Pete was on the harmonica playing golden oldies like 'Que Sera Sera', 'Daisy Daisy give me your answer do' and many more. Everyone participated enthusiastically with each doing a turn including some excellent sketches by our hosts. In fact this local singing group regularly entertains at the local old people's homes.
There was no hiding place for the couple from the UK and we did our best leading the group with "Wild Colonial Boy" and "Jerusalem". It turns out that Henry's training at Agric nights while at Newcastle came in handy after all!
An excellent buffet supper followed by more singing. What a great evening, everyone young at heart. It was way past my bedtime when we said goodnight to our hosts