Fancy meeting Richard Pendleberry from Peterculter in New Zealand

EMAIL FROM JIM HARDIE IN NEW ZEALAND

j.f.hardie1@btinternet.com

Greetings from a sodden Christchurch, where, it’s fair to say, any drought is now broken, as it has rained nonstop for nearly three days !

Amazing to think how small the world is having run into  Richard Pendleberry from PETERCULTER at a service station on Xmas day in Christchurch where a voice says, "My God, It’s Jim Hardie!"

I was stunned to see it was Richard, who has been working on various golf courses for about eight years all over New Zealand !

That's Richard on the right in the

picture with me on the left

He has worked on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Kinloch and is currently working on the re-build/ integration of Royal Auckland and the Grange complex, which, when finished, will be a very attractive 27-hole complex

Second photo, below, shows a waterlogged Christchurch Golf Club 18th green. This was from the last downpour a week or so ago. Goodness knows what it will currently look like, but if the streets in some parts of Christchurch are any indicator, the course will not be great!

Such is life at times in a New Zealand summer. It  can go from boiling hot to monsoon rain pretty quickly, and the extremes are amazing

Yesterday, Napier in the North Island was the hottest at 33 deg, while Invercargill in the South Island had a high of 11 deg 

Whilst the 33 deg is more preferable, one takes comfort that even 11 deg would be better than the current dismal Aberdeen climate

Hope your readers and your good self are fit and well

Jim Hardie