Monday, 13 February 2017

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

     Booking my ticket to New York was very exciting.  Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always wanted to go to New York but it just seemed so far away and out of reach for me.  If ever I wanted a break from parental duties I had to give the ex-husband six months notice to look after our daughter or just abandon my plans altogether.  I was not allowed to spend any money on myself at all as I would be slammed as a bad parent.  Shivon was at an age where staying with her extended family shouldn’t be a problem however I still got slammed as a selfish parent for wanting to go to New York on my own.  Shivon was fifteen.  She was out and about although the horror teen years were well and truly underway.
     I paid for the New York trip with the money that I made working as an extra on ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.  It was a lifelong dream of going to New York.
     Filming ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ as an extra was quite hard core.  The traffic in London wasn’t bad at stupid o’clock in the morning which was a bonus.  The Blackwall tunnel was clear most mornings.  I had to be up at 3am to drive to location and be on set at 5am.  I’d go straight into the hair and makeup department where I’d get ‘dirtied’ up.  I was in period costume which included having a dirty face and stained teeth.  I met a few people while working on ‘Pirates’ including a stuntman called ‘Rocky’, an AD (‘Pinkus’) and Steve (stand in for Geoffrey Rush and others).
     I got picked to do a reaction shot by Rob Marshall.  At that particular moment I was having a ‘something is not quite right freaky feeling’.  I didn’t freeze.  I just did my shocked face as Johnny Depp was whizzing past on a horse and cart and then I carried on mixing with the peasants.
     There was a moment where we were all huddled in a section of the building as there was a torrential downpour.  We were waiting for the downpour to finish when Johnny Depp rode past in his little buggy.  I was drinking my Redbull and eating my snickers when I inadvertently murdered him with my eyes.
     When I was in New York I stayed at a hotel just around the corner from Times Square.  I had my favourite bar ‘Aspen’.  They played some great chilled house music and the bartender who was serving me was telling me how she’d moved to New York to get a job as a stylist.  She described how big her bedroom was (very small) for the expensive rent she pays.  She could see through her tiny window a little bit of the ball dropping at the New Year celebrations.  A friend that I met in New York offered to help with writing my victim impact statement.  His name was Josh and he does a lot of running and goes by the name of ‘Speedy Sasquatch’.
     I was only in New York for three days before it felt like I needed to get a job.  I had been walking all over New York as well as using the subway and ferry.  I went to the Natural History Museum and asked the security guard where the frozen mammoth from the movie ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ was.  From Martin Luther King Jnr Boulevard, stopping by Donald Trump’s building (but wasn’t allowed in as I wasn’t a resident and they are still nervous from 9/11), had a burger in the vault and had a look at the bull on Wall Street.  I also visited Trinity Church and ‘Ground Zero’.
     At that point in time Jenna Johnstone (cousin, Uncle Kevin’s daughter, who I hadn’t seen or spoken to since Russell’s funeral and a brief visit to Wollongong after I visited him) had been in touch.  Uncle Kevin had moved back to New Zealand for a bit but apparently a spot of bother happened at the Civic Centre where Aunt Carole & Peter and Uncle Russell had taken over and no longer had it.  It was nice to be in touch but before too long it turned sour as no one had bothered to tell me that Trounson was out and about.  Aunt Carole & Peter were farmers and moving from a farming environment to an environment where there are people and not sheep, cows or goats - the adjustment didn’t happen.  Plus arguments within the family didn’t help matters any.
     I was standing outside the front of the hotel in New York and ‘Mr Big’ from the television programme ‘Sex and the City’ walked by.  You know you’re in New York when you see ‘Mr Big’.  I’d not long done a programme where I was an extra and Kim Cattrall (‘Sex and the City’ and Jim Broadbent (‘Gangs of New York’) were in it.  The scene I was in I was a secretary mucking about with files walking past Jim Broadbent.  Jim Broadbent’s ‘character’ was holding a bird cage while he was ranting something about publishing a book.  It wasn’t long after ‘John Carter of Mars’ as the ‘JC’ set was still at the studios.  The big house that we were filming in was a stately house at the studios.  I remember jumping in the van to drive back to base, driving past the “John Carter of Mars” set thinking it was a great experience but so cold, my poor feet and my poor head at the end of the day from the incredibly heavy wig.  So to see ‘Mr Big’ walk by in New York I just giggled a bit.  I didn’t attempt to take a photo on my phone.  By the time it’d taken me to get my phone organised ready to take a photo he’d be gone - he was on a mission. 
     After my cigarette I went back into the hotel to grab my jacket and I was off exploring New York.  In Times Square you can sit and have a coffee while watching the Naked Cowboy or do a spot of people watching while sitting at one of the outdoor cafes.  It’s also very easy to be amazed by the height of the buildings.  After the first few days the compelling feeling to look up slowly subsides.  I was overwhelmed by signs and all kinds of advertising up on the big screens.  There were tourists that had their names on a giant screen with messages to each other.  It was a tourist favourite to see their name in lights. I took photos of a couple of signs, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ billboard was up as well as a sign saying ‘By George we did it, Leadership, pass it on’ and also ‘Winning is no piece of cake’.
     I ventured off and spoke to another barman who was impressed that I’d been an extra on ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.  It was also impressive to him that I had been selected to do a reaction shot with Rob Marshall and him saying “Well done.”  He was also impressed that I’d literally walked the whole place from Martin Luther King Jnr area all the way to catching the Staten Island ferry.  Sometimes it’s very easy to forget that the majority of people that work in the hospitality industry (especially in New York) have desires to be or get famous whether it’s acting or singing etc.
     Walking toward the financial area and down towards Wall Street, the vibe of New York changes to one of sombreness.  It’s very quiet and subdued.  I visited the famous burger bar where lunch is served in a vault.  I literally forced myself to eat the whole burger, it was ginormous.  I really did feel like I would explode afterwards and I had to drag myself up the stairs and out the exit. The famous Vault is opposite the famous Wall Street building where the tourists surround the bull, climb all over it and take many many selfies.
     Heading towards ‘Ground Zero’ and where the Twin Towers used to stand, a random shouty person shouts out “7 buildings, this is murder, there were 7 buildings.”  Addressing the conspiracy surrounding the building ‘7’ which seemed to explode by itself suggesting that it was sabotage rather than it came down due to the explosion of the Twin Towers.  That year they were going to open the memorial site to the victims’ families.  They call it ‘sacred ground’.  Many people were taking photos of the memorial site however I couldn’t and wouldn’t as it is a site where mass murder happened and ‘sacred ground’, just like the Maori’s called Aramoana ‘sacred’.
     Walking closer to the memorial site, the overwhelming sense of grief hit me and my legs buckled somewhat slightly.  It is very easy to envision the mass panic and the tremendous sense of loss, confusion and anger.  In New York you are not very far away from someone that has been affected or indirectly affected by 9/11.
     Shortly after my visit to ‘Ground Zero’, I walked down to Trinity Church, the Church that still stands.  It’s squeezed in between high rises.  In Trinity Church there are seven saints.  It got me thinking about the whole ‘7’ thing so I googled to see what this whole ‘7’ thing is about, ‘77’ seems to be always attached to terrorist activity.
     The number ‘7’ (Wikipedia, 2017) can be seen as a lucky number and seems to be attached to all things great and wonderful.  In numerology it means the seeker, the thinker, the searcher of Truth and apparently always trying to understand the underlying, hidden truths.
     Einstein for example displayed intelligence like that of a dreamer, an intellectual explorer of the obscure and many intellectuals have a fascination with the metaphysical.
     The age old question “Why are we here?”, “What is life about?” is essential to the ‘7’s life experience and unless the answers are found will not stop looking for them until death.
     The ‘77’ apparently means that the essence is especially adept with mental processes; it has the mind of a scientific investigator.  The downside of the ‘77’ and the ‘7’ is it’s also attached to global catastrophes and acts of extremism/terrorism.
     The number ‘8’ (Wikipedia, 2017) is apparently the great karmic equaliser.  A force that just as easily creates as it destroys.  Its closest relative is ‘1’ and both numbers are powerful, have strong leadership skills, are unquestionably masculine and will not shy away from confrontation.
     ‘88’ has a scientific approach but is also introspective and comfortable with spiritual matters.  In China, ‘88’ symbolises fortune and good luck (Wikipedia, 2017), however in extremism the Neo-Nazi’s use the ‘88’ as an abbreviation for the Nazi salute Heil Hitler.  The letter H is 8th in the alphabet, whereby ‘88’ becomes ‘HH’.  In the movie ‘Back to the Future’, 88 is the speed that the DeLorean must attain in order to travel in time.
     If numbers apparently mean so much – does this mean ‘3’ really is the ‘magic’ number?  The number ‘3’ is of good fortune.  The Pythagoreans (Wikipedia, 2016) who originated in the 6th Century were considerably influenced by mathematics and mysticism and also exercised a marked influence on Aristotle and Plato, through them, all western philosophy taught that the number ‘3’ was the first true number.
     In astrology and Tarot, Gemini is the third astrological sign of the Zodiac.  It’s the number of Jupiter, lucky for Sagittarius and is the number of the Empress who stands for creation and growth.  It’s also connected to the Holy Trinity (The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost) in Christianity.
     The number ‘47’ (2016) is quite the character and has its own conspiracy just like building ‘7’ thing when the World Trade Centre attacks happened.  There is such a thing as ‘47 Society’ where they are dedicated to exploring the phenomenon that is 47.  Saying that it appears ‘randomly’ and if it appears anywhere in your life or in the world there are varying interpretations as to what constitutes a bona fide ‘47 sighting’.  Apparently many suspect that the coincidental nature of the 47 carries some mystical, metaphysical and/or scientific significance.  One of the writers for ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ inserted the cosmic fascination of the number 47 into the series and since then, nearly every ‘Star Trek’ episode includes some mention of ‘47’.
     I was working as an extra on ‘Dark Shadows’ (Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer etc) when the Norway attacks happened and I’d not long found out about Trounson having undercover officers at a wedding while I was working on ‘Pirates on the Caribbean’.  I told one of the runners that it’s all connected to the current criminal justice system and the death penalty issue.  It is an issue that will never be addressed by the UN and the UN will never agree to the death penalty although they have foresight to put ‘offender friendly’ policies on the agenda.
     I asked Steve if he knew any good lawyers and he replied “No.”  I told him a little bit about my life and he said “Make a good movie though.”  At the time I was rather taken aback as making a movie other than the current movie that I was being an extra in was all the movies I was making not ... my initial reaction was “it’s real, right now, my life, not a movie.”
     However, at that particular time Johnny Depp and Sir Peter Jackson were making a movie about a prisoner who was on death row for a murder that he apparently didn’t commit and the accused had released a book called ‘Life after Death’.
     ‘Dark Shadows’ was okay.  We were at the studios first and then on location which is where I met Glenn (who apparently has connections with Abbey Road Studios) who apparently is friendly with Tim Burton.  He is a fellow New Zealander and when I asked Glenn how long he had been in the UK he replied like he was serving a sentence.  We chatted about things such as ‘restorative justice, rehab and reintegration’ which are the new ‘offender friendly’ UN policies.
     I got picked to attempt an American accent on ‘Dark Shadows’.  The best I got was “Eckskoooz me, canna borra a cuppa shoogar” in my best redneck accent.  I can’t do accents; in the acting world you get linguistic lessons for that.
     Anders Behring Breivik (Wikipedia, 2016) murdered 77 people in Norway.  He had written a manifesto and on the front page of the document there was a large Red Cross of St. George, a symbol of the medieval Knights Templar and the date of 2083.  Going by the name of Andrew Berwick, he styled himself as an heir to the medieval crusades and wants to drive all Muslims from Europe by 2083, the 400th anniversary of the Battle of Vienna, when an Ottoman Turk army was defeated by a Christian army.  He allegedly says he spent nine years planning the terrorist attacks, including three years to write the document and spent a small fortune in the process.
     At the same time the UN had an agenda of ‘offender friendly and transgender’.  It basically means that it allows the perpetrator to be more evil because the Parole Boards, government officials etc think they can ‘cure’ the perpetrator and somehow think they’ll get magic beans or some kind of ‘reward’ if the perpetrator doesn’t reoffend (like on a commission basis).  In turn it creates a ‘softly softly’ approach where they class murderers, rapists, abusers (the worst offenders) as ‘victims’ which ultimately leads to offenders reoffending.  All the while serial offenders are removed from the study group as its bad for statistics.  Just like the Ofsted reports when the school asks the parents of the naughty kids to keep them home for the day and make sure the brainy ones are in class on the particular day when Ofsted visits.  They get funding for results that fool the public.
     Hence the rights of the victim are completely removed.  If the victim doesn’t agree with such things as ‘restorative justice’ where it’s put on the victim to forgive the perpetrator and if the victim doesn’t forgive the perpetrator the victim is made to feel like they’ve committed some big crime and indeed made to feel like a criminal.
     Of course Breivik’s face was plastered all over the front pages.  The world became fascinated with a terrorist/masochist and the reasons why he did it.  It was an attack on the symbol of the cross.  Just like Hitler used the swastika and committed atrocities such as the Holocaust, Breivik used the symbol of the cross to commit mass murder.  It was also an attack on religion as the London Christmas tree is a gift from Norway and gets ‘gifted’ to London every year.  The victims of the Norway attacks were hysterical as one can imagine and even more so when they heard the maximum penalty for such slaughter was only 21 years. 
     A massacre is no different to murder in that it is still murder.  The criminal justice system is geared up to protect the worst offenders and don’t take the victim into consideration at all. During the Norway massacre trial one of the attendees set themselves on fire in protest.  A random shoe even went flying across the court room.  In one of the scenes from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ (where I told Steve a little bit about my life), it involved chucking a random shoe as well as plastic vegetables across a court room at a Judge (that was Johnny Depp in disguise).
     After ‘Pirates’ had finished a reporter from The Sun newspaper called Gordon Smart asked readers what they would like to ask Alice Cooper as he was going to interview him.  My question was the first to be answered and it was something to do with Lady Gaga.  It was funny because not so long prior to the interview there was a bunch of extras who were to play the part as groupies for Alice Cooper in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.
     Being an extra working in the TV/Film industry I found that you have actors that portray real life characters, villains and victims but at the same time they exploit, mock and abuse those real life victims.
     The Norway massacre was racist no matter how much they protested that he wasn’t a Neo-Nazi.  He saluted in court using a Neo-Nazi salute and committed the worst crime in Norway since WWII.
     The aftermath of such violent events leaves people’s brains pretty vacant.  They are unsure how to react, what to say or what to do so remain silent.  I remember when I walked back into class with tears streaming down my face after being asked by my guidance counsellor if I was okay, I remember the silence well.
     The main focus is very much always on the perpetrator never the victim (or very rarely).  The Norway attacks, the trial, media coverage and differing opinions seemed to go on and on and on and on and within a short space of time the attacks even got its own Broadway show.  A Broadway show based on the massacre and about how they deal with death in the world of performing arts.  Of course the books followed.  It was very fast in comparison with release of the Aramoana massacre movie ‘Out of the Blue’.  It came out years later however people still found it offensive due to using the word ‘fuck’.  These days if an atrocity happens there are books and movies within the space of months not years.
     Breivik was to take full advantage of the Human Rights ‘system’ and the criminal justice system within its full capacity; it is geared up in order to protect the rights of the offenders.
     The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe (Wikipedia, 2017).  Any person who feels his or her rights have been violated under the Convention by a state party can take the case to court.  Of course when you’ve been incarcerated the Human Rights is supposed to work for you so therefore Breivik is within his rights to complain that his human rights have been ‘violated’ due to his isolation in jail.
     On the day of the attacks Breivik distributed his manifesto ‘2083: A European Declaration of Independence’.  In it he lays out a worldview encompassing opposition to Islam and blaming feminism for creating a European ‘cultural suicide’.  Breivik maintained that the atrocities were motivated in order to market his manifesto.
     Throughout the media coverage very little of what the victims said made the news.  It was focused on Breivik’s manifesto that he sent out before he committed the atrocities.
     At the time of the court trial he was appointed a forensic psychiatrist who declared Breivik as having paranoid schizophrenia (not that it makes much difference to the lenient sentence of just 21 years).  However a second opinion a week before the trial concluded he was not psychotic and was diagnosed as having narcissistic personality disorder (let’s face it most famous people have that condition).
     The very lenient Norwegian criminal justice system handed Breivik a 21 year sentence.  A form of preventative detention that required a minimum of 10 years incarceration and the possibility of extension/s for as long as he is deemed to be a danger to society.  Breivik requested the death penalty knowing full well he wouldn’t get it thus exploiting the criminal justice system.
     There were no warnings, no preventative measures in place when the attack happened.  There was nothing stopping him from driving right up to a building that housed the Ministry of Justice and the Prime Minister’s office.
     After the explosion, the people that survived and everyone else were unaware that Breivik was on his way to Utoya where he would go on a shooting spree murdering teenagers who were there for summer camp.
     In his manifesto he refers to his ‘assigned mentor’ as ‘Lionheart’ and described himself as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of the right-wing English Defence League and had apparently attended a meeting with the ‘Knights Templar Europe’.  He named Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and the Prince of Wales amongst others as ‘traitors’ and even mentioned Top Gear.  He believed that those who allowed the spread of Islam in Europe merit the death penalty.  He also compared himself to Nelson Mandela.
     With regards to Top Gear he cited an article by Jeremy Clarkson about the flag of St. George stating “This is the only country in the world where the national flag is deemed offensive.”
     Europe itself has seen an influx of migrants and the introduction of Islamic State terrorists that will devour anything and everything that is not hard line Islam.  They believe the western culture is perverse.  When terrorists blow something up they claim responsibility whereas the west in order to hide scandals - will create another scandal to hide a scandal, laugh it off, call it banter and pretend nothing happened.  The technique they use to this day has avoided some of the world’s biggest paedophiles from being arrested.   
     According to Wikipedia (2016) the Templars were closely tied to the Crusades.  When the Holy Land was lost support for the order faded.  There was a rumour about the Templar’s’ secret initiation ceremony that created distrust and King Philip IV of France – deeply in debt to the order – took advantage of the situation to gain control over them.  The abrupt reduction in power of a significant group in European society gave rise to speculation, legend, and legacy through the ages.  The re-use of their name for later organisations has kept the name ‘Templar’ alive to the modern day.
     Since at least the 18th century, Freemasonry has incorporated the symbols and rituals of several medieval military orders in a number of Masonic bodies.  Most notably in the ‘Red Cross of Constantine’, derived from the Military Constantinan Order, the ‘Order of Malta’, derived from the Knights Hospitaller, and the ‘Order of the Temple’ derived from the Knights Templar, the latter two featuring prominently in the York Rite.
     One theory on the origins of Freemasonry claims direct descent from the historical Knights Templar through its final fourteenth-century members, who took refuge in Scotland and aided Robert the Bruce in his victory at Bannockburn.
     The Knights Templar had become associated with legends concerning secrets and mysteries handed down from ancient times.  Modern movies such as ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘National Treasure’, and ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ as well as video games such as ‘Assassin’s Creed’ add further mystery.
     The association of the Holy Grail with the Templar’s has precedents even in 12th century fiction.  There is research to suggest that the Templar Knights from overseas can be credited for the Battle of Bannockburn.  The King of France ordered the arrest of any Templars in his country in 1307 – seven years before the battle of Bannockburn and the Pope Clement later ordered all European Monarchs to do the same.
     The ‘Gilbert’ on the World Cup Rugby ball that Richie McCaw gave to me reminds me of the Johnstone clan and Gilbert Johnstone, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and the battle of Bannockburn.
     Meanwhile, in Scotland at that particular point in time, someone placed a single poppy in the hand of a statue of the war memorial and they were soon to have a referendum for independence.  Follow the signs, a bit like ‘follow the ball’ and/or following the yellow brick road.
     Shivon and I did that, chasing signs, while visiting the soccer (Football) World Cup in London.  We walked around the stadium at the World Cup Trophy Tour and participated in chasing the coca cola sign that was being beamed from the light machine.  For lunch, we had Shrek – it was pie and mushy peas.
     When I met Richie McCaw I was on a break from filming ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.  I was to meet him for lunch at a hotel in Kensington.  I drove to Kensington as there was a train strike.  I couldn’t drink as I was driving and the car park at the hotel in Kensington was daunting in my MX5.  He’d said that he’d been out running and wondered what they were filming - he was referring to ‘Pirates’ that I had just been an extra on.  I was standing outside in the cold in full ‘wench’ gear when they did the bridge scene.
     The Rugby World Cup in 2011 was the seventh Rugby World Cup and held in New Zealand not long after Christchurch earthquake.  The final game was really clash of the titans where the All Blacks performed their terrifying intimidating Haka and the French team formed into an arrow.  New Zealand defeated France by 1 point and the score was 8-7.  The Rugby World Cup ran from 9 September to 23 October and it was around the same time that James McAvoy (Reporter, 2013) had said that ‘it was just like Scotland won the World Cup’.
     The Captain of the All Blacks (Richie McCaw) was a nice enough guy.  He grew up in New Zealand and was a bit of a tussock jumper.  Upon meeting him the question arose “What are their chances of winning?”  I touched his arm and got an enormous zap of electricity, startled him a bit.  Had a photo taken at the end of lunch and he gave me a ball that he’d autographed.  Afterwards I took the ball to the photography studios and had a photo taken with it.  I was dressed in a black satin sheet with black heels and was holding Richie McCaw’s ball in place with my finger.  It is a very memorable photo and it is very unique.  The static electricity from the ‘zap’ felt like more than just a bolt of static electricity, it was more like a ginormous boot.  The kind of jolt that I felt when I was less than a year old and still remember.
     Being a New Zealander it is expected of you to know who all the All Blacks are and by an unspoken law all New Zealanders have to be All Black fans.  Apparently they get treated like royalty in New Zealand.  The other export is Sir Peter Jackson and ‘Lord of the Rings’.  It is also very difficult to discuss racism when there are ‘All Black’ and ‘All White’ teams.
     You can never say anything bad about the All Blacks and at the time there was nothing bad to say about them.  He asked me what I did and I told him that I was an extra.   “You’re an extra, you get treated like shit don’t you” he observed.  I’d won the ‘meet and greet lunch’ in a competition so it could’ve been anyone that caught up with the All Black captain before the World Cup.  It reminded me slightly of those going to meet up with the captain of the South African team to report back on their chances of winning (like in the movie ‘Invictus’).  Apparently the All Blacks had their food poisoned just before they played South Africa as depicted in the movie.  It would’ve presumably been the last ever world cup that Mandela witnessed. 
     When I met Richie McCaw I didn’t go into too much detail about my past.  He spoke about owning property in Wanaka and the pros and cons of farm life.  Farming is more of a lifestyle choice rather than a lucrative business these days.  We talked about the earthquake prior to the big Christchurch earthquake and how he nearly flew off the couch.
     I loved entering competitions and seeing new things.  I really liked my job being self employed, selling on eBay as well as being an extra.
     I was working as an extra on Danny Boyle’s movie called ‘Trance’ (starring James McAvoy) prior to the Rugby World Cup.  We were filming at 1 Whitehall Place.  There was a youngish picture of Winston Churchill in the foyer.  When we were in the ‘green room’ waiting to be called for filming when I was joking that I was going to nick the cutlery - it was swiftly removed shortly after I’d mentioned it.
     Whitehall Place (2016) stands on land originally given to the Royal family of Scotland by the English Crown in 800ad becoming the official residences of the Kings of Scotland when residing in England.  Though these palaces were destroyed by the great fire of London the area continued to be known as Scotland Yard.  In time the head quarters for the Metropolitan Police Service adopted the name and this association has made ‘Scotland Yard’ world famous.
     The building became a London landmark, serving as home to foreign embassies, the Ministry of Defence and the secret services during the Second World War.  There we were running out of it with fake smoke billowing out of the front doors - like someone had committed a robbery.  They cornered off the whole street when filming because the scene we were doing involved us extras running out of the building in panic and out on to the street where there was an altercation with a car and.... someone just nicked a painting!  CUT!
     We were joking about New Zealand and the Rugby in between takes and just off the cuff whilst talking to Danny Boyle I said “Not this time Danny I have touched him with my luck” (referring to Richie McCaw).
     The damage caused by the Christchurch earthquake forced the relocation of a number of cup matches, including the quarter finals.  The grounds were so devastated that they had a charity match at Twickenham where the Crusaders vs. The Sharks played and the proceeds went towards the Earthquake appeal.  Twickenham isn’t the easiest of stadiums to get to.  I was sat in front of a couple of guys in fancy dress; one of them had a black gollywog wig and a branded sport shirt with ‘Lusty’ on the back.
     After the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup, John Key (Prime Minister of New Zealand, at the time) became infamous for being the first to invent a three-way handshake.  He must’ve been awfully excited with all the excitement about the excitement.
     There’s been a longstanding rift between France and New Zealand ever since the day that the French blew up the Greenpeace boat The Rainbow Warrior.
     It was also around the same time of Sir Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ premiere in New Zealand.  They had a promotional plane bearing ‘Lord of the Rings’ artwork that flew over the capital.  ‘Hobbits’ had taken over the country.  Even the in flight message was done by ‘Hobbits’.  The ‘hobbits’ flew in custom designed ‘hobbit’ planes.  It was nothing like the South African World Cup plane with a message underneath it  - like out of the movie ‘Invictus’.  Sir Peter Jackson apparently had a lot of problems with livestock and so many animals died while making the movie.  At the premiere in New Zealand they had PETA protestors with signs saying ‘3 horses died for this movie’.


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