Friday/Rāmere
Bill had found that his South African mate Nick Mallett was in the country, so he invited him to the 2nd day of the cricket as I was happy to do my own thing. I chose to go to Geek Retreat with my game.
I played my level one and level two Let's Go Eels games with two young people (sisters) - Bailey, 7 and Taylor, 12. They are each in the top 20 in the world for their age group playing Pokemon, and are going to the World Champs in September.
What they said about the games:
Taylor: "I think the book and the understanding of the games that went with it helped Bailey with her reading as she struggles a lot. The Māori words that were included helped her with pronunciation. I think it helped her with reading English words. When I read the book with Bailey she was enjoying learning lots of new and interesting facts."
Bailey (Squish): "I liked learning about the taniwha. I liked it that the taniwha can turn into different animals. I really like the story of Lets Go EeIs and learning about facts and interesting things."
And what Richard, the owner of Geek Retreat said: "I observed the girls while playing your game. Squish was very engaged and for a long time. She will up and leave if she is not engaged. She was with you for an hour and a half. Not once did she disengage. They are intelligent girls and Squish especially tells you like it is, without hesitation. They were enjoying themselves."
Meanwhile at the cricket on the second day:
"Rory Burns celebrated a maiden Test century as he defied Australia's bowlers for an entire day to hand England the advantage on day two of the Ashes at Edgbaston. Burns rebuffed the tourists for six and a half hours and faced 282 balls for his unbeaten 125, an old-fashioned opener's innings boasting the flinty resolve England have been crying out for."
The I caught up with Nick and Bill after the cricket at Birmingham's flash train station. So sorry not to catch up with Janie too. A brief catch up but so great.
