Tui whom it may concern

I am grateful to my fan for nudging me to restart my blogging. As you can see, dear friend, rumours of my demise were greatly exaggerated. The fact is, I have just returned from a six-week visit to my New Zealand family, hence the punning title of this piece. I got back last Friday and I am pleased to say my head and my intestines have finally caught up with the rest of me. So, watch this space, the OS is back and ready to create more breathless prose. PS The tui is one of the few native New Zealand birds that is widespread and easy to see. It is blackbird sized and has a repertoire of calls and noises reminiscent of Spike Jones and his City Slickers at their most manic.