Feb is looking Fab....

 We don't have parties at Toad Hall. We have gatherings...and if you were lucky enough to be here on Saturday night, you had the opportunity to join the 

Games Night Gathering. 

The weather was wet! All around the motu, nothing but rain. 

With everyone in the house feeling a little locked-in, we made the call to have a shared meal and get the games happening in the front room. 

A jig-saw got set up - which is still going.

Table tennis is always a hit (see what I did there!)

We re-arranged the couches and made a safe-zone around the dart board. Disclaimers were signed.

Gareth made a platter of crumbed fish and various guests added to the table with dishes to share. It was a grand feast. A fun night of good food and great company. 

I love my job!

The next gathering is this coming Friday for Absolute Bowie Tribute.  We'll gather for a shared meal before heading to The Cabana for a night of David Bowie. 

Gareth and I will be doing rock-scissors-paper to decide who will serve breakfast the next day. 

(I refer again to the stamina and flexibility of my first post!)

And more planning is to be done as February is the social season. We have Waitangi Day and the Art Deco Festival coming up!

While events in the hostel are fun, they don't happen by magic. Time, logistics and support from others all come together to make for a successful night that almost looks spontaneous. Add planning and hosting skills to your list of 'Qualities required to run Toad Hall Accommodation'.

Waitangi Day

Waitangi Day is celebrated annually on February 6 to commemorate the signing of the 

Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document.

For the benefit of our overseas readers, in short, the purpose of the Treaty was to enable the British settlers and the Maori people to live together in New Zealand under a common law. 

As we grow as a nation and try to find the balance between the cultures that call Aotearoa-New Zealand home, we continue to fall back on this Treaty.

My take on Waitangi Day...it marks the day we formed a multi-cultural nation.

I am a first generation born New Zealander, from Welsh immigrants.  Gareth is seventh generation from Scottish decent. While our politicians will debate the wrongs and make policy to get the future balance between the multiple cultures living here in paradise, at Toadies, we'll spark up the bar b q and treat the many cultures within our house to a good ol' fashioned Kiwi barbeque.

This is one of the reasons we love our work and life-style. The world walks through our doors every day. With various nations in the house we have many opportunities to talk about our differing cultures, way of life, what makes us different and what we have in common.

I pinch myself that I am lucky enough to (still) have this business and enjoy hosting the world.

The Art Deco Festival

Without a doubt this is Napier's biggest festival. 

Born from the re-build after the 1931 earthquake. Napier takes time to reflect. The devastation. The re-build, purposefully focused on the art deco architecture which was in vogue at the time.

There are practical reasons for rebuilding in this style. The buildings were low and basic with symmetrical ornamentations adorning them. Easy and quick to re-build.

Some of our buildings have elaborate designs - like the ceiling of the ASB bank - it's worth a look.

Everyone gets dressed up in 1930's style. The glamour is spectacular! Along with flapper dresses and boater hats you'll see chimney sweeps and depression dinner guests clanking their tin cups. 

In the 13 festivals we have been at Toad Hall, we have never attended a ticketed event - there is too much fun to be had in the streets!

Our events are shaping up - Friday night PJ gathering. We'll relax in our silk PJ's while waiting for our arrivals. 

Saturday night will be a grand opening for The Garrison with all the Peaky Blinder characters. At some point, we'll wander down to Market Street and dance in the street.

In addition to all of this going on, our wine makers arrive this month. 

Energy levels

OK...hands up if you can socialize till 3am and still make it to work, smiling, at 7am? Keep your hand up if you can do 2 nights in a row...3? Anyone still got their hand up? Me neither.

Turning on the charm, thinking clearly enough to give directions and staying awake so the cookies don't burn...it's a challenge some days.

Socializing till the wee small hours is not the only thing to drain our energy. We work hard. Actually, it's not so much hard...it's long. Lot's of easy tasks. One after the other, after the other, after the other...

Two, no three things are required to be able to Remain Calm & Carry On.

1. Support each other - sometimes it's simply about who has the right frame of mind to face a guest and who needs to go hang washing on the line -  alone. 
2. Eat well - good, fresh, nutritious food. Luckily we all enjoy cooking.
3. I can't remember....it has taken me approximately 3 lines of typing to forget. 

Funny story 

I have been very tired and encountered an unreasonable guest. 

Yup - some guests are actually unreasonable. Inconsiderate. Idiots even.  

When it comes to guests I don't love them all.

The particular chap in this story had booked a bed in a four bed dorm room. He thought he was entitled to party all night getting back to the dorm room at 5am - quite drunk.

The three girls in the dorm, sleeping, until he turned on the light and started singing, did not think he was entitled to disturb them. They told him so. Then they rang me. 

The short story, and it's not much shorter than the long version, is that his bag got thrown out the window. The dorm is on the 2nd story. The girls cheered. 

I looked at the pack on the floor beside his shoes. He looked at the pack on the floor beside his shoes.

I looked at the open window. He looked at the open window.

Our eyes locked.

Me: You have 10 seconds to get out of my house

Unreasonable chap: You wouldn't

Me: Try me - 5 seconds

Staring

And then, his pack went first, miraculously clearing the fire escape rail. As he ran for the door I grabbed his shoes and threw them out too.

He cursed me all the way out of the building. Bless him!

There are better ways to handle situations, such as these, that don't result in a guests bag being thrown out the window. Seriously, that could have gone terribly wrong. I still can't remember what #3 was supposed to be...and as I write, the laundry and the baking still need to be done along with 6 rooms of guests to arrive. And February hasn't started yet!

So the recipe I'm sharing with you this week is energy packed. Mueslie slice. by Kerri Williams (nee Gowler).

Easy to make and tasty to eat, this slice works well on our breakfast table and is a great snack any time of the day.

Enjoy!

And take care of yourselves.