Entry 225
Diplomatic action
2/4
It was a much busier day than we've had since we first arrived here in New Zealand. We started at 7:45 with the Governor General of New Zealand. She's a very peculiar woman. Her coffee order was "grey" with honey. I've had white coffee - that is coffee with milk - but grey was new. I learned it wasn't so much a style so much as she pretty much wanted the coffee so bland it was just a splash of coffee added to milk with honey. That was also new. Honey in coffee.
After breakfast, we traveled to "the Beehive." It's the executive wing of the Parliament building, in Wellington. There we were welcomed by the Prime Minister
Our time at Parliament was incredibly brief as we were rush along so that I could open the new Supreme Courthouse.
I met with the justices, all but one being very polite, the other commenting on the "superfluis" role of Monarchy for New Zealand. I could hear my Gran's voice. "Never complain, never explain." So I smiled and kept my mouth shut. I could feel Anne next to me wanting to fight. The problem is, I can understand how remote we must seem, being so far away. Not that I think they should leave the Commonwealth, just that we need to do better.
After the Supreme Court, we traveled to a small village that had been practically wiped from the face of the Earth from a mud slide. The destructive power of nature never fails to amaze me.
We wrapped the day with a state banquet and an official Maori welcome ceremony.
