Well, I have done it.
I have watched all three of The Hobbit movies on DVD. I laughed, I cried, I got sweaty palms
sometimes, but I did it.
I thought it was quite a good story (it must be 15 years
since I read the book) although it seemed to drag out sometimes, possibly
because I was watching the extended version.
The final battle dragged out for so long that it became tedious, but overall,
I enjoyed my nine hours of viewing.
The three movies were 1) An Unexpected Journey, 2) The
Desolation of Smaug, and 3) The Battle of the Five Armies.
Waikeria Men’s Prison has been the focus of a prisoner riot
the last few days. Waikeria is a large
rural area south of Hamilton, with multiple ‘prisons’ for various category
prisoners.
The men involved say they were “protesting inhumane
conditions,” and they are probably right.
I have heard that prisoner treatment is not always as good as it could
(or should) be, and the building involved here has been classed as unfit for
use but was still being used while another facility was erected.
However, the men have been using very violent tactics to get
their message through. Nearly the whole
of their unit has been burnt down and dangerous threats were being made to
staff, but I see on the News just now that the remaining 16 men have thankfully
handed themselves over to the authorities.
We have had some heavy showers here today, with a lot of
thunder crashing around over lunchtime. When
the sun peeps through the clouds all the steam rises off the house roofs and we
open all the windows to try and catch the smallest bit of breeze to make the
humidity more pleasant.
As I am about to post this we have had another mighty crash
of thunder followed by the call of a pheasant and the raucous squawk of a blue
heron. I guess birds are no more fond of
thunderstorms than the rest of us!
Have a great day 😊
Margaret.
