Meri Kirihimete!

[rspears]

Got a message from Bill Richardson's Transportation World that led off with "Meri Kirihimete", so to bring some of that really, really deep south Christmas Spirit, I'm passing it on!!

[johnboy]

I had a quiet chuckle to myself on this...

To those of you who have absolutely no idea of what Roger's talking about, it's a New Zealand Maori te reo language for the Politically Correct Brigade.
When Captain James Cook arrived in NZ the Maori were a 'stone age' people ie they had not yet discovered how to use metals.
The Europeans (primarily from the UK, but also many Danish, Dalmatians, and other European countries...much like America,) colonised NZ in the 1800s, and English became the primary language.
After a couple of centuries passed the Maori (there is no plural for the proper noun, 1 Maori, ten Maori,) decided that they should have their own language back. Like the Welsh language in the UK and the Gaelic in Ireland.
Trouble was they all found that their stone age (or iron age for the Welsh and Irish,) languages had no words for many of the words that are in common usage today.
Stainless steel, glass, glasses, (the kind you wear,) computer, braille, tv, camera, car, truck, bus ,train...and so on ad infinitum.
So they made them up.
And Kirihimete is a made up word for Christmas.

I can't be bothered with it.

I must be an even bigger curmudgeon than Uncle Bob.

[rspears]

jb,
I remember well the two of us walking up to the desk at the museum in Invercargill, the receptionist telling you that they only allowed entry by appointment and you immediately replying, "Oh I was hoping to show the place to my mate who's here from Kansas, and we're only passing through...." She called over to the manager, telling us that we could go through, but they couldn't provide a guide for a formal tour. SCORE!! Best way to see a bunch of cars & trucks is to wander around at your own pace and not be bothered with the drivel!
I knew the greeting was Maori but had no idea about the language "growing" to cover terms they wanted words for. Cool stuff! Thanks

[johnboy]

I too well remember that museum. And the hospitality shown us by staff in letting us wander through.
Good southern Kiwi attitude.
And the trucks! Crikey I was impressed!
But it brought home to me how bloody old I'm getting. The old Internationals, Bedfords, Austins, Commers, Fords...
And here they are in a museum. There would have been twenty or more of those trucks that I would have driven at some stage in my working life.
The Austin K series was the worst. If you couldn't double de-clutch or reverse by mirror you couldn't drive those beasts. Mission Impossible.

Perhaps I should be there in the museum too?