Wales vs New Zealand Nov 08

This weekend I watched Wales play New Zealand (rugby union) at the Millenium stadium in Cardiff part as the Invesco Perpetual Series. It was brilliant despite the final score Wales 9 - New Zealand 29, this game was the 20th successive defeat to the All Blacks. Currently they are ranked world no. 1 and Wales 6th in the IRB world ranking. Apart from England there is nobody I would rather go to see Wales try and beat.

Penalty conversions were scored first by Steven Jones for Wales and then Conversions from Dan Carter and tries from Ma'a Nonu and then Jerome Kaino for the All Blacks sealed the victory. I'll admit I didnt believe we would really beat them going into the match, I believed it was possible but unlikely because we are so used to New Zealand dominating. Same is widely thought by fans and players and Warren Gatland knows it, hopefully the first half performance this time will go some way towards future self belief.


I loved the build up with pyrotechnics, singing, Joe Calzaghe bringing on the match ball and the ceremonial goat, of course. There were 74,000 people and the atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic. Im sure the Haka stand off at the start will be remembered by everyone and will be talked about as much as the great heart shown by Wales in the first half and the All blacks expertise in the second. Watch the stand off in the video above, the history is that at last meeting in Cardiff the All Blacks refused to perform the Haka on the pitch before Land of Our Fathers was sung. Because Wales wouldn't allow the Haka to be the last thing before play began (giving the opposition a psychological advantage on home turf) the All Blacks did the Haka in their dressing room only.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

And the second box contained

Second parcel this one from Malaysia contained a Vanda orchid seedling also from ebay, specifically a hybrid called Robert's Delight. Vanda orchids originate from the Himalayas and the name of the species comes from the Sanskrit name Vanda tessellata. It came in a tiny 1.5 inch basket with coconut hair and thankfully some very healthy looking roots and I don't think I will move it to a basket until next spring. This is my first Vanda so fingers crossed it survives until the weather warms up. I'm expecting both of these exotics to go into some sort of shock as its freezing here and not what they've been used to. Below is the vanda arranged suspended over a a glass so the roots can hang freely in a humid atmosphere, this is my temporary solution until I get a basket with wire suspension.

Excitement through the post

I came home to find 2 parcels waiting on the doorstep. One had a stamp with an elephant from Thailand and the other one had a stamp featuring a green winged pigeon, equally exotic from Malaysia. I had been busy on ebay last week and so knew exactly what awaited me, I couldn't believe they arrived so quick. (combined expenditure under a tenner) I managed to get inside the flat and tidy up a bit before actually getting started on ripping open the parcels. More plants for my windowsills.

Number one parcel picked to open first was the box from Thailand. It contained a hybrid Adenium seedling, lost a few leaves in transit but generally it faired very well for such a long journey. Also popularly known as the Desert Rose this plant is a native of East Africa but is propagated in Thailand in huge quantities. Currently looks like this but will one day look like these stunners. Best site I found for Adenium info http://www.tropicanursery.com

Flor de maio

My Flor de maio or Christmas Cactus is now blooming. These plants originally come from the Organ Mountains which are North of Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. They are epiphytes and forest dwellers, naturally occuring at elevations of 1500 metres above sea level surviving where they can by clinging onto trees. The genus and species of these white or pink or red flowering cactus is Schlumbergera bridgesii. Named for Frederick Schlumbergera who was a Belgian horticulturalist of the 1900s.

In order for flower buds to form the plant must have 12 hours of uninterupted darkness each night after summer has finished. So no artificial light after it naturally gets dark, placing a thick plastic bag over the plant each night can work wonders. Then with a good water supply the cactus can stay in flower until Spring time comes round again. In it's natural Brazilian habitat my little christmas cactus would have been pollinated by hummingbirds.