We are all talking about how fast 2018 has disappeared, and how quickly the New Year is appearing, and in the mix has been the discussions on December’s changeable at best, weather.
Certainly some of those farmers growing grain crops are probably very happy and looking forward to a hot & dry January February period now…the rain would have done its magic. There may be thousands of cows out in the paddocks now, but when at least my ancestors arrived, they seized the moment, and worked 6 days on farms that were predominantly grain producing…particularly in North, South and Mid Canterbury. Yes there were cow farms, but not on the scale we see now, owned by conglomerates. It was also saddening to read a few days ago in the Washington Post that many dairy farmers in the US are essentially being driven off their land by the concentration of and buy-outs of small farm holdings, so what appears to be a global movement, is affecting many many ordinary , you could say middle income people…not necessarily for the common good, but rather for an increasingly smaller group of already wealthy people. What does the reported Chinese proverb say…”May you live in interesting times” ..maybe not the best times! Certainly none of us can accurately anticipate what the New Year will bring in terms of ever increasing changes in society, industry and science.
If you are reading this post, you may have noticed our very new mobile/smart phone/tablet compatible format, which we hope meets both Google’s business system requirements and at the same time makes it easy for travellers to seek us out. Early indications just over a handful of days, suggests that our improved web presence is both productive and a welcome one. I believe that Google has indicated that more than 60% of Web searches at least initiated on small hand held devices now.
Many of our guests will be familiar with the Le Petit Hotel formula and part of that, a very important part, is the presence of our beloved Scottish Terrier. We have our serious concerns at the moment about her health and we are pouring in the TLC at the moment….however again from a global perspective, the genetic pool for genuine Scottish Terriers is quite depleted, and worldwide many do not live to grand ages, because of their predisposition to the big C. Rest assured we are giving her our very best .
The period between Xmas and the New Year is a strange one from many aspects..and in particular for “Kiwis”,who like birds of a feather, migrate to other parts of the country trying to catch the long hot Sumner in the right place at the right time. So its appropriate that we should at this point wish every one, including our incoming and departing guests a very happy, safe and even prosperous, New Year.
