Memorial to Tanya Burr, killed 15 September 2002

Christmas Evening Family Get-together

at Russell & Jenna's House - 2001

There are some times when it is wise to get dressed for the occasion (i.e. Christmas Day) and others when it is not. These photos trace to the latter - but unfortunately there was a camera present!

Tanya arrived at our home about 9:30pm on Christmas Eve. This was her first drive down from Rotorua - and when she got to the Desert Road and found it closed (due to a major fatal accident), she panicked as she didn't know what the alternative (National Park) route was. She phoned me from her cellphone and we got things sorted eventually. She also had Phoebe's two surplus kittens with her, and it was to be my job to find homes for them - preferably here. 

Anyway the tired little trio eventually arrived and were soon sorted - except that the plan had been to go shopping for Christmas Day food (she liked to cook - when it suited her) once she got here. Unfortunately the supermarkets proved to have closed at about 7pm, and all that was left by the time we went shopping was the Gull service station down the road. Luckily it was quite well endowed with groceries and we got all we needed.

Tanya was the 'chief cook' and I was the 'bottle washer' on Christmas morning. Her two cousins and one uncle were coming here for the mid-day meal, and so Tanya was preparing the fancy dinner and assorted other things. All that time working in restaurants etc. was put to good use.

In the late afternoon, we were to adjourn to Russell and Jenna's new home for dinner - which was to be a barbecue. This was not exactly a dress-up affair, and so we didn't. Tanya didn't even take a jersey, so in these photos is wearing one of Jenna's.

So in the course of the late afternoon-early evening, we roamed around the adjoining farmland, fended off the local bulls (at least those of us used to dealing with cattle did - the rest just got nervous), played with Jess the Labrador dog who was playing in a farm dam (and anything else on the farmland that took her fancy), and generally a good time was had by all.

I think the upper two photos were taken just after the farm excursion and just before the barbecue - and we were very much dressed to suit the prevailing rural conditions!

Tanya was such a key part of our 2001 Christmas that not having her present for the 2002 Christmas made the whole thing hardly worth bothering with. After a small sad group here for mid-day dinner, we visited her grave and then went to spend the late afternoon in Dannevirke with Anita and family. As we drove away from the cemetery in Tanya's car, the hatchback door's dashboard  light came on and wouldn't go out. The hatchback hadn't been up for two days and was securely shut. I ended up having to open it and close it again, before the light would go out. We decided that it was Tanya saying she was pleased that we were on our way to visit Anita and family - as we have done so many Christmas Day afternoons before.....

.... Or it could merely have been because the Integra had been mildly rear-ended two days before Christmas - and had suddenly chosen that moment to have an electrical fault. The 'superstitious' version sounds preferable to the commonsense one - and it has never happened since.

Tanya teasing Kieran and Kieran responding accordingly. David in the foreground responding to the camera.

Things settling down again for a few moments

Tanya tolerating being photographed - for a change - by Jenna's brother.