Can I just warn any lurkers out there...........

Good luck with your bedding, absent - I know wicker linen baskets are not allowed!

anno You only do the Standegde Tunnel once
If I am completely honest I will have to confess that mrA steered the boat with the help of a pilot, while I lurked below, doing my knitting.
Which brings us nicely back to the OP
(Lurking, not knitting)

Please tell me why wicker baskets aren't allowed, G, or I'll spend the day worrying about it inventing daft reasons.

wot Bags sed.

It would depend on the material, surely? I know wood products have to be inspected, but they aren't banned.

Bags New Zealand is very protective of its unique ecosystem and is very fierce about importing natural products that could also bring disease that is not indigenous to the islands. I don't know specifically about wicker baskets but I shall hit the website that is the equivalent of our DEFRA site to check everything.

Well I have a certificate from taking only one flying lesson and one for going up in one of Mr Branson's balloons but I don't think they are of any use for anything other than putting under the glass I have just put on a spider to take it outside.

My daughter asked about her wicker baskets - she had some lovely ones for storage too. Anything that might have picked up spores -walking boots, bicycle and car tyres, gardening tools - must be declared and will be steam-cleaned at your expenses.
New Zealand is 1,000 miles from anywhere else and they have been able to keep their rare indigenous species safe by strict border controls. Possums are being eradicated as they do so much damage to trees and to ground-nesting birds.
You can take in food, but you have to declare it. Birds' nest soup seems to be a no-no!
It must be nice to have such a new country and be able to start more or less from scratch.

But they can still take in the cats that have been partially responsible for the extinction of native species of ground-dwelling birds.

Well I bet it wasn't the moa Annodomini

Nah, it was those Maoris again. Turkey dinner every day for a century and then ooops! all those two legged dinners seem to have wandered off somewhere
(no doubt that the europeans would have done the same if there had been any left...)
Thing about going into NZ or OZ is you have to declare on the form - then you will not get fined e.g. is my straw hat/footwear/jar of marmite OK?
Trouble is one can be a bi groggy after such a long flight.
Possums are a complete and utter disaster as they are like carnivorous squirrels eating nestlings, eggs, buds etc etc. There are tens of millions of the cuddly little b****s there. The Australians are welcome to round em up and have em back.

I'm a wee bit discombobulated by the suggestions that people who do not post regularly on the forum are somehow less deserving of winning a competition prize. Not including the 'my Gransnet', there are seven headings in the banner at the top of the page. Is it not possible that many people use the information on this site without feeling the need to post on the forum, which is only one part of Gransnet? What about the people whose hobby is entering competitions? I haven't actually counted the number of 'regular' posters but are we suggesting that these people are more deserving of a prize than anyone else?

Nope.

I agree baubles and said much the same thing yesterday. That's very sour grapes. [screwed-up face emoticon]

Agree!

I agree too, having thought about this since I posted on the subject. As well as those who use the other parts of the site, there must be a large number who just read the threads on the forum without feeling any need or wish to post themselves.

I'm not so sure about those whose hobby is entering competitions. If that's their sole purpose for joining Gransnet then I do feel it's a bit unfair, to be honest.

It's not sour grapes on my own behalf though! I've only ever entered one competition in all the time I've been here. Can't remember what that was for. Probably the chocs that that soop got.

I read somewhere (quite a while ago now) that there are people who spend practically the whole day on the net, seeking out competitions to enter.

Agree with your last sentence Ana

I just wanted to mention that I got the top mark in Derbyshire when I sat an 'exam' on the Gospels! I was about 8 and I've still got the certificate! [really smug]

I was always top in the sunday school exams!

They were taken very seriously too.

I won books.

I have no objection to anyone joining for any legitimate reason, including entering competitions. People who join just to wind others up or push their business are a different matter.

But do the ones whose hobby is doing competitions have degrees and other certification status that give them an unfair advantage? I think we should be told.

What a load of workie tickets you all are

glass that reminds me of a friend who was browsing in Fortnum & Mason, somewhat agog at the selection of poultry and game. When approached by the hatted and aproned chap behind the counter who asked if he could help, she felt unable to say that she was only looking, so blurted out "I'll have one of those wurkey tinglets, please" The chap raised a questioning eyebrow, she realised that something was wrong, so said "Oh, go on then, make it 2"

love it!!!