Houseplant

I've ordered the odd item of clothing from AliExpress and I'm at least XXXL! In European terms, I normally fit small/medium clothing 😂

I've spent longer thinking about this than any one should (doesn't mean I'm right though!). I only cook wild game two ways now, hot and fast or low and slow. For the latter, the lower and slower the better. Hate to say this, but I get much better results using a dutch oven in an electric oven rather than an electric slow cooker. Don't know why, but everyone I've spoken to agrees. Never add water!

Yes, blue cod are very good to eat. I believe that's how they got their name because they aren't any relation to Atlantic cod, or even close.

Depends on who you ask! They are quite oily and have a distinctive taste. Traditionally, they were considered only good for bait, but the culture is changing. As long as you kill the fish quickly, bleed it and get the guts out ASAP, they are pretty good. That one fish will feed my small family twice.

No, kahawai and a good one at 52cm.

I went fishing 😀

We're just starting to warm up at last!

Cold smoked cheese is another winner. Makes a good Christmas present.

The last government tried something similar here, guess what happened to them? 😂

Nice! I imagine you can cold smoke with that setup. If so, take up trout fishing immediately! A few simple steps and you will have a product that tastes like smoked salmon from the supermarket. Even if you can't cold smoke, hot smoke it well worth a go!

I'm not an expert in healthcare policy, but a well regulated health insurance system is the way forward in my opinion. No fair-minded person would want the horrendous, out-of-control system that is in place in the USA, but we have to be honest and admit that even with the best of intentions, free-at-the-point-of-delivery public healthcare systems are horribly inefficient and don't deliver to patients. Australia has it about right I think, although it is not perfect. I know the term "private-public" is an anathema to some and the NHS is a sacred cow, but something has to change fundamentally.

Thanks for the comments. It was a nice little trip. Definitely going to stay longer next time!

We just did a mini-adventure in Whangaroa Harbour, two hours to the north of us. Whangaroa Harbour is on the east coast and unlike many of the local harbours, it is surrounded by steep cliffs. This provides shelter from the wind and makes for some stunning scenery. We took the boat and stayed in a Department of Conservation (DOC) Hut for one night and was lucky enough to have the place to ourselves. The harbour is loaded with fish. My wife and son had a lot of fun catching snapper and kahawai, a large mackerel-type species on lures while I acted as boatman. The sea surface was literally boiling with fish in the early mornings. The rocks are covered in oysters and you can just help yourself. Needless to say we had fish for lunch and dinner and in my case, breakfast! The only excitement came when an American man turned up at the hut. He was hiking with his wife. She sprained her ankle quite badly and was unable to walk or even weight-bear. With no phone reception, limited clothing and failing light, he was rightfully concerned. We were able to carry her down to the beach and I contacted a water taxi via VHF to get them out. It's a beautiful area and there are no land predators, but make no mistake, the terrain and climate can get you in to trouble very easily.

Surely anyone that is eligible for NHS care can speak English 😂😂😂

It costs quite a lot to see a GP here in New Zealand (despite allegedly having a free-at-the-point-of-service public healthcare system). My wife is a GP. A lot of time wasters still come through the doors, but fewer than if there wasn't a charge. She says that people are more demanding because they are paying for a service which is fair enough. Regardless, we have a massive GP shortage, probably not far behind the UK. Reasons are varied. More obese/diabetic patients, people living longer and increased population size all increase demand. Feminisation of the workforce meaning time out to have children and part time working (my opinion). Part time working in general. No one seems to want to work these days. People just don't want to do the job. It's miserable. It might look like an easy job to patients, but I can assure you it's not. I've been a hospital doctor for 16 years and there is no way I would work in general practice.