Cilla: A Bit Of Scouse Rough

British tv personality/singer Cilla Black, whose instantly recognisable Liverpool 'Scouse' accent won over generations of fans, died last weekend in Spain of natural causes.
Black (born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on 27 May 1943) broke through in the 1960s as a buck-toothed pop singer in the Merseybeat boom, and went on to become one of the enduring stars of UK tv light entertainment (her name change was the result of the local Mersey Beat newspaper mistakenly calling her by the wrong colour!).
Championed by The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein, she began her singing career in 1963, and her first hits Anyone Who Had a Heart (1964) and You're My World (1964) both reached No.1. Black had eleven Top 10 hits on the UK charts between 1964-1971.

By 1965 she'd become the female symbol of British youth. Her version of Anyone Who Had a Heart was the UK's biggest selling single by a female artist in the '60s. By 1968 at 25, she was a millionaire. A quarter of a century later, she was the highest-paid female entertainer on British tv.
Along with a successful recording career running until the early 1970s, Black hosted her own tv variety show Cilla, between 1968-1976. After a brief time as a comedy actress in the mid-1970s, she became a prominent tv presenter in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2013, Black celebrated 50 years in show business.
Cilla Black was named ITV Personality of the Year in 1987 and Variety Club Showbusiness Personality of 1991. She won a Bafta in 1995, and was appointed OBE in 1997.
She made a career out of what one critic described as 'the phenomenon of ordinariness.' Unashamedly working-class, she would laugh: "I was a bit of fun and a bit of Scouse rough and everybody liked me, I was normal. I could have been the kid next door. And then I turned into the auntie next door. And now I'm the granny next door!"
Cilla Black married her long-time boyfriend and manager, Bobby Willis, in 1969. He died in 1999, and she is survived by their three sons. Cilla was 72.
NZ recently enjoyed the TV mini-drama Cilla, which starred Sheridan Smith in the title role - the real Cilla loved it!

“An Absolute Disaster”

Dear New Zealand Transport Agency, please explain!
NZTA recently trialled a disastrous cycle lane that left motor vehicles on a collision course!
It painted a pair of cycle lanes on Roto-o-rangi Rd near Cambridge, reducing the automobile area to a single lane just three paces wide, and slashing the speed limit to 60kmh to allow cyclists and cars to share the road. Within a DAY, the monitored trial was called off.
Oh, what a surprise!
The area is known for its strong cycling fraternity, but even bike-loving councillors want answers. Mayor Jim Mylchreest: "The trial was an absolute disaster and didn't achieve the results that NZTA was after." Ha, no shit, Sherlock!

Just what the hell are we meant to do with THIS??!!

The 2-1 roading layout removed the three original, white lane markings and replaced them with two lines which formed the cycle lanes and a centre lane only wide enough for a single vehicle.
NZTA road corridor manager Koos Lelieveld admits "…we did drop the ball," but says the council was well aware of the trial and needs to share in the road safety cock-up.
The trialled layout was common in Europe but Roto-o-rangi Rd was quite unsuitable. A similar design (known as Fietsstrook) is used on low-speed Dutch roads, with coloured cycling lanes either side. Motorists can use the cycle lanes when other cars approach from the opposite direction but must allow cyclists the right of way.
Imagine that, in our country of generally piss-poor and aggressive drivers?! Blasting down the centre lane – the ONLY marked lane for cars – and then zigzagging at the usual kiwi over-the-limit speed, in and out of cycling lanes, dodging oncoming cars and slower bikes!!! Yea, riiiiiight!!!

Arahura: Good Riddance

Woof...

This week saw the end of an era, as the oldest Interislander ferry made her final journey across Cook Strait.
Built in 1983, the Arahura has made more than 50,000 crossings and clocked up 5 million kilometres in her 32 years on the water.
Interislander general manager Mark Thompson says the boat's greatest moment came not long after she launched: "Going to the aid of the Russian cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov (in 1986), helping save over 700 people... she's been a fantastic ship for us."
Former crew and staff, people with fond memories of the Arahura - and perhaps rose-tinted glasses - were aboard the final voyage.
I heard a radio announcer last Wednesday bemoan her departure: "Farewell, old friend, you've served us well." Holy hell, what planet was that muppet on??!! Breakdowns, missed sailings, crashes into wharves etc...just read my blog and be reminded!
The "old friend" is the second inter-island ferry to bear the Arahura name. The earlier one, built in 1905, served until the early 1950s and was sunk by the RNZAF as target practice. We can thank our lucky stars that the current Arahura didn't sink too, the way she performed of late! May the navy to put this one out of its misery, and not inflict it on any other buyer sucker!

...woof!

The Arahura's replacement is MS Kaiarahi. Wow, have the bosses at Interislander finally splashed out on a new ship? Nah, get real! Kaiarahi is just the MS Stena Alegra, the dog that was leased from the other side of the world to cover for that other ailing ferry, Aratere...and kept breaking down too.
Now we permanently have one dog to replace another!
And so the Interislander joke continues...

UPDATE: 09 Nov.2015 - Arahura ready for wrecking.