Life gets Complicated

Life is getting complicated

I guess we have reached the stage in life that sees our friends and relations experiencing difficulties, one way or another.   That of course impinges on our own equanimity.  
In the last little while we have had Robin Burt, our dear friend in Invercargill, reaching terminal stages of her cancer, with her life fast running out.  Here we are stuck in Motueka, and unable to give her a last squeeze and kiss, except by proxy through Phil her husband.  Robin is one of our oldest friends, being a young second year teacher at Clifden school when we first met her.  She started the wise trend of wearing a trouser suit when teaching her infant class.  Stretching up to write on the blackboard, provided too much entertainment for the young fry seated on the mat in front of her she decided. Her previous principal in Te Anau had decreed that trousers were not to be worn. This was in the days of fashionable miniskirts of course.
Robin was sort of adopted by us, when we found out that her busy parents had not had time to teach her all the very useful old nursery rhymes. They ran a successful Cake Shop-Bakery in the Octagon in Dunedin.  Betty and I had great fun in introducing Robin to the charms of Mother Goose, and Lavender’s Blue etc.  When Phil Burt loomed on the scene with his dog Friday, we were lucky enough to be invited to the wedding.  Indeed Phil came to teach as third teacher at Clifden School for a while.  A very cosy arrangement!  
Robin and Phil had their 3 children in reasonably short order.  Katherine was born on Betty’s birthday – another bond was forged with us. Jamie and Janet followed.
We have remained good friends ever since, even holidaying together overseas – a real test of friendship!  Robin kept us amused on our touristy parts of our journeys with her propensity for shopping.  When touring and ancient cathedral, or some other monument, Robin could always be located at the museum shop.  Her most precious purchase on our European trip was her Harrods Shopping bag.
One of the links that bound us was our interest in stage work around Tuatapere’s Waiau Community Theatre.  Indeed, that is where Robin and Phil made their match. The side dressing rooms at rehearsal time were a useful trysting place. Robin appeared in the chorus line of the Mikado whilst Phil played the Mikado himself.  I was Ko Ko the “Lord High Executioner”.  It was a splendid production.  We had great pleasure in tin-canning them when they moved into a little cottage near the Golf Course at Clifden.  Phil had meantime moved to teach at Waiau District High School – later to be Waiau College – and now known as Tuatapere Community College. Phil took the family up to North Canterbury for a spell – teaching at Culverden DHS and living at Hanmer Springs. Of course he had to rename Culverden as “Culverdump”. Oh Philllll…..!!!!!! said Robin. They came back in time to teach at Waiau College in F.1-2 area.  It was quite a “home-coming” in many ways.
Later Phil and Robin moved to Invercargill, after spending a time in one or two rental properties, they had bought the old Medical Consulting Rooms after Dr Danie Gouws left for greener pastures in Ontario, Canada.  They made a cosy home out of a sprawling set of rooms which had originally been the local maternity Home, and held court there for some time.  The Invercargill move was made in stages, but eventually they bought their home in Pomona Street, and Phil took on Intermediate School teaching at “Nosedale” as he persisted in calling it.  Robin eventually found her niche in coaching with Kip McGrath after school, whilst holding down a variety of relief and part-time work elsewhere in the city.  They have some lovely warm friends around town, and are well-supported in this difficult time.  We love you, Robin.