A Bit Of A Flap

My Dear Princess Normal and Dear Fellows,

Now that Family Xmas is over, it is time for Er Indoors and I to celebrate with our own traditional Christmas. Part One was "The Godfather" last night. Part Two is a singing tv show that Er Indoors used to LOVE and sing along with. She always associates it with Xmas (it used to air this time of year) but sadly it was cancelled a couple of years ago. However, I am such a thoughtful, lovely, wonderful husband (also modest and good-looking) I downloaded an entire season of it from 2011 so she can re-watch it. I reckon she will have forgotten who won it by now (spoiler alert - it was this lot).

Also, I have been saving the Princess's Xmas gifts until today! I didn't take them to Papamoa with me because the Princess warned me I shouldn't open them around children. Me and Er Indoors had a lovely surprise unwrapping them today. But I have NO IDEA what she means about children! It was all yummy treats and snacks! Oh, and this lovely cushion (see extras).

So it was a lovely festive morning today. Then I went out to get Xmas dinner ingredients. This is because Er Indoors didn't really get to have an Xmas dinner she enjoyed (she doesn't like ham and turkey makes her boke). So off I went to get lamb & chicken. I'll roast them up for the next couple of days and she will get to have the Xmas dinner she is used to.

But then something strange happened. On my way home with breakfast bagels, I heard a little "eep" from the base of a tree.

It was a little tui chick. "Eep eep" he said, and flapped his wings, but he was too little and fluffy to fly.

He let me approach him, but although he looked like he was trying to move, he was only moving slowly. It was therefore pretty easy for me to stuff the bagels into my jacket pockets and hustle him into the empty bagel bag.

Fortunately, I was near home by this time. Er Indoors shooed the cats away and I put the little guy on a table. I was worried the lads would be all, "Yay! Thanks dad! Best Christmas Present ever!!!" but thanks to the efforts of Er Indoors, they remained in the dark as to our new guest.

Baby Tui was not helpful in this regard. By now he was getting pretty feisty and tried to flap his way out of the bag a couple of times. Meanwhile, I called the SPCA and they recommended I take him to the zoo, where they have a unit for birds.

So I ordered an Uber which arrived in a minute. A Cambodian driver took me out there and we both agreed that I am a wonderful human being for saving a baby bird (also modest and good-looking).

The bird unit was great. A vet took me through and checked out my little fuzzy pal. She agreed that he looked under-nourished, but other than that was unharmed. She reckoned he had low blood-sugar and a bit of nectar would perk him right up. She dumped him into a cage with another VERY ACTIVE tui, who was shouting his head off.

"We always rear them in pairs," she said. "That way they can learn how to be tuis from each other. When he's big enough we'll release him back into the wild."

Then she let me check out the other rescue tuis in the room. They really are beautiful birds. They look a little like a blackbird, but their feathers have that blue/green sheen that magpies do. And they look like they are wearing little white bow-ties at their necks.

I caught another Uber home. "Hello! It is me again!" said the Cambodian. We had another nice chat on the way home, about his Chinese wife and his holidays with her in Asia. "The Chinese always sound so ANGRY," he told me. "You're never sure if they are yelling at you or offering you another helping of chicken."

That all happened before noon today. Now where were we? Oh yes. CHRISTMAS.

S.