Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

I was up in the Maniatoto recently, and we were hoping to do a story on a Bonspiel (outdoor Curling tournament) to be held on the Idaburn Dam. Although the water's been frozen over for much of the winter, the ice has to be thick enough to support a couple of dozen teams over a good day's play.

Because of the delicate conditions required, it's not possible to hold a Bonspiel every year, but organisers were hopeful this time around because of our very cold winter. It was the job of local bonspiel boss Stuart McKnight to check the ice every few days, drilling down to see how thick it was.

Unfortunately a few fine spells, combined with heavy snowfalls (not good for dumping on the ice) meant the planned day had to be called off, and is pretty unlikely to happen this year...