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Dad and Mum still look after themselves , but - - at 90 + and 80 + respectively - - it 's getting harder and harder . They bring excellent teachers out from Europe and elsewhere , and the week 's highlight was a concert given by a talented young recorder virtuoso from Venezuela ( who was also one of the tutors ) . Sometimes when Polly was away Anna moved in with Nikki , and by all accounts they got on really well together ( at least for the first week or so ) . Afterwards another friend drove us both to his homestead at Akaroa , an hour or so distant , where we arrived in the wee small hours and spent the next day . And we've had one or two scary , adrenalin-pumping experiences as well - - but of these , the less said the better . We frequented the local coffee bars regularly and discovered that the best Martini joint in town was well within staggering distance , much to Ian 's delight . Ian 's been playing too , including two concerts with the orchestra ( plus out of town performances in Rotorua ) , a jazz trio gig or two , the clarinet quartet ( more often a trio or even duet ) that meets weekly ( in principle ) at our house , and an occasional practice with the Hamilton Big Band . Just a 10-stack player for his jazz CD 's . When we returned from Calgary our hens were gone ( apparently the tenants ' dog developed a taste for them ) . Recently , in November , she came back home for a couple of weeks ' holiday after the university year had ended , and was unexpectedly able to get a transfer to the Hamilton branch of the retail outlet in which she works . Sometimes Nikki 's parents ca n't really understand what the distinction is between " going out " and not " going out " - - and Nikki tells us we're in good company ; her friends ca n't understand either . But she 's having a great time in Sydney ; the beach ' n barbecue lifestyle really suits her . And today , here , it 's high summer : Ian is sitting in the garden , man and his laptop , with birds chattering in the trees in front and a sheep gently complaining in the paddock behind , a sleepy-eyed cockerel , jet-lagged or otherwise time-challenged , in the distance . As part of her course she had to do two weeks ' work experience in a tourism-related position , for which she chose the Budget car rental company . We left her in Calgary at the beginning of January , living in Jo 's basement where we had been staying on and off for the previous six months . Australian 's most famous composer , Grainger invented some amazing musical instruments , like huge vacuum-cleaner-powered recorders on which the holes could be gradually uncovered by unwinding great rolls of diagonally-oriented paper , like a giant printing press . no women ( once the Dykes had gone past ) - - well , no real women , anyway - - and precious few in the good-humoured crowd either . Turns out that the tenants ' daughter renamed all our sheep ...