May 27, 2021
Today’s walk was a rather nostalgic one for Mal. First, we visited K.S. Thompson Ltd., the picture framing business owned by Mal’s sister, Christine, and brother-in-law, Bill. Along with a number of our friends, we both worked there on a number of occasions when we were at university. So if you are in Auckland and need some framing done. Go no further.
Then we walked by Bill and Christine’s first house in Auckland where Mal lived for a few months when he was starting high school. Bill said it cost him just over thirty thousand dollars when they bought it in the seventies. Recently, it sold for over two million.
We also passed the small apartment where Mal’s grandparents lived when he was small.
Mal spent one summer while he was at university, working at the Laura Ferguson Trust Rehabilitation Center. The center offered accommodation to the severely physically disabled. With a couple of friends, Mal painted and wallpapered the residents’ units. He still remembers its as one of his most satisfying jobs. Unfortunately, the Center closed controversially recently, supposedly due to lack of funding. A petition has started to re-open the facility. We hope it succeeds.
We also managed to summit yet another of Auckland’s volcanos. Mount Saint John (Te Kopuke) is smaller than the other volcanoes that we have climbed but it is one of the most beautiful. There are trees around the top and in the crater and plenty of spots to sit and enjoy the view.
Mal and Lauren 