| Since it is the holidays I thought it would be nice to have a chat to one of the teachers. I phoned Philip to ask if I could have a chat with him. Did I say chat�? Philip is not known for small chats. He tends to go more for elongated monologues. I hoped to be away before dinner time. Fingers crossed� We bring you... The Philip Interview When I arrived it was blazing hot and he was sitting on the deck dressed proudly in his Manchester United shirt, which was a present from some of his students. He offered me a tall glass of freezing cold iced water. "Sooo�," I said once the formalities were over. "What do you do with yourself during the holidays?" "Not a lot," he replied. "I've hardly seen anyone over the holidays. I'm not sure if they're all away or avoiding me so I've not done much." 'Why not?" I asked surprised, and wondered if it was my imagination or if there were violins dutifully playing in the background. After all, weren't the holidays what all teachers look forward to??? "What about lots of shopping?" "Hardly!" he replied shortly. Then I remembered Philip wasn't exactly known for his spending abilities. Rumour has it that moths fly out when he opens his wallet. "Soooo�," I tried again. "Tell me what you've been doing so far then." I took a mouthful of freezing cold iced water. 'What is there to do on your own that doesn't get boring after a while?" he asked wistfully. I pondered but didn't have an answer. "I'm not sure," I said eventually. "The movies are more fun when you have someone to talk about it with afterwards. And I refuse to go out for a meal on my own � I'm not at the Mr Bean stage yet!!" he said emphatically. I decided silence was the best thing here and took a sip of chilly iced water. The fact that they both cost money also meant that they didn't have a lot going for them in Philip's book. But at least I seemed to have got things moving because he carried on. "I go tramping in the Waitakere Ranges a couple of times a week. It's great! Just the three of us; my echo, my shadow and me. Away from the hustle and bustle � very relaxing!" enthused Philip. "Any particular tracks?" I asked hopefully. "Oh, any of them. I like some of the ones out of Huia and I did the Montana Trail. That was nice but the timing was off. It said about 4 hours and I was coming to the end in 3 so I added the Anderson Track and Waitakere Tramline Walk and made it a nice round 4 hours 25 minutes exactly." And 25 minutes is a nice round figure?? I decided to say nothing and had another mouthful of iced water. Rather than spend the afternoon chatting about tramping I suggested we discuss his other holiday activities. Quiet. "And what else do you do�?" I prompted. I got a blank, empty look in return as he slumped back in his chair. "Housework�?" ventured Philip. "Apart from housework." I got another blank look. "You must have done something else," I prompted, noting the ice had melted as I took a sip of water. "Well I've done a wee bit of emergency babysitting but I'd do more. Really its so I can play with the kid's Christmas toys but I don't tell them that," Philip smiled. "I've promised not to show the kids how to wipe files from computers and I can make a pretty mean peanut butter and honey sandwich!" Philip started looking a little more animated. Apparently he is known for some weird sandwich fillings. "I get something to occupy me and they get a break from the kids." "But wouldn't emergency babysitting be expensive?" I mused. "If they want to give me something that's fine but it's not compulsory. Then as an afterthought, "I charge big bucks for grotty kids though!" I must admit I was speechless. It isn't like Philip to not actually charge for something. I took at mouthful of tepid water while I gathered my composure. To keep things moving I asked what he was planning to do with 2003. "Apart from missing the kids?" he asked. "Apart from that," I replied. "Actually I thought that's why you were taking time off � to get away from the kids?" "Well� true� some of them drive me crazy," he admitted. "But I miss them when they're not there. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I shrugged. "I'm definitely going to miss the Friday morning teas." Now that sounded very much like Philip! Philip and food go together like, well like bread and butter� eggs and bacon� I'm sure you get the drift. "And what are you going to do to keep your mind off Friday morning teas?" I asked as I sipped my lukewarm water. "I've decided to go into Real Estate with Glovers." "Great, so will we see you auctioning houses soon?" "Nope," said Philip. "Glovers use the Jenman system and don't do auctions. "Oh! Perhaps we will see you at a few open homes instead then?" "Nope," replied Philip fervently. "They don't do those either." He leaned forward, adding, "And if you want to know why, check out the website." My curiosity was aroused as I wrote it down, www.jenman.com.au I could see that Philip was getting on a roll and could go on for hours� and hours� so I decided to draw the interview to a close before he got too carried away. Finishing off the warm water in my tall glass I wished him all the best with his holidays and new job and quickly made my escape. |
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| Loosely translated... 'Stand tall, live life' |
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| Note the brilliant Man United shirt... |