Monday, May 5, 2014

Eiderdown

Last night I watched a TV program about the Eider ducks.  I confess that I didn’t know their association with the name of the Eiderdown quilt.  It showed indigenous people in the arctic harvesting the down from the Eider duck’s nest and using it to make padded jackets and quilts.
The word eiderdown is not in common use these days and more common is the quilt or Doona.  Oldies would probably use eiderdown to describe a doona. Info on Eider Ducks


Another bit of information I picked up from TV last night is that New Zealand has a diesel fuel tax; not on the price of the diesel, but on the number of kilometres driven by owners of diesel fuelled cars, utility vehicles and small trucks.  It is incumbent on the owners of such vehicles to pay regularly for the kilometres driven.   Must be difficult to police?

In Australia, diesel fuel is always more expensive than petrol, and diesel vehicles cost more to purchase.  The extra fuel economy is, in my opinion, cancelled out by the price of the fuel and the vehicle.

2 comments:

Elizabeth Bartley said...

Hi! My name is Liz Bartley, I have stumbled across your blog looking for Dorothy Treasure. Please excuse me if this is a bit forward but I am desperately looking for referees. I taught Pre Primary at Mt Hawthorn Primary School under Dorothy in 2005. I haven't been teaching for a few years while raising our four children so am looking for referees from the past. If you feel it appropriate could you please pass on my email and ask if she would contact me? Many thanks, liz at bartleys dot net

Kev said...

Liz,

done!

Kevin