I didn’t take Dorothy Butler’s advice. Instead, I dragged out those early chapters of my first novel for kids, sat down and finished it off. Pack Up, Pick Up and Off is dedicated to the memories of Hugh and Alyson Taylor. The character of George, the small brother of Charlie, the narrator, is very much my brother Hugh when he was little. The book tells a simple, straightforward story of a nice family in a not-very-nice place. There are elements in the tale that come from my years at rural Waiwhare. Lowest of the low in the rural social pecking order is the rabbiter. It’s a job that doesn’t exist these days. Charlie Thomson’s father is the new rabbiter in the district. It is the first day at their new school for Charlie and his younger brother and sister:

We waited for the school bus that first day. Out at the gate and in plenty of time. In fact Mum had sent us off with a good ten minutes in hand. ‘Make sure you stand by the mail-box,’ she said. ‘That’s where they said for you to wait.’

We waited. And the bus went right past. Like anyone waiting for a bus, anywhere, we sort of pricked ourselves up at its approach and stood, expectant, bags in hand, on the grass and gravel edge of the road. It came; a cloud of dust mushrooming, fanning out behind. It didn’t slow and it didn’t stop and we were eaten into the dust. We trudged back to the house.

‘It didn’t stop, Mum.’

‘Nonsense,’ she said, and then realised our being there proved we weren’t liars. ‘Well then, you couldn’t have been standing by the box.’

‘We were, Mum,’ said Carey.

‘We were,’ echoed George.

She brushed a wisp of hair from her forehead and looked, for just a moment, lost. ‘Well, your father’s got the car so there’s no joy there. Wait out on the road. Someone might pass by.’

‘On the road, Mum!’ said Carey. ‘We’d wait all day. No cars go past here. Not often, anyway.’

‘Yeah,’ said George.

‘Your father’ll be back for his lunch about twelve. I’ll phone the school and tell Mr Hughes you’ll start this afternoon. I don’t think he’d mind once I tell him what’s happened. Anyway, by the looks of you it’ll take me ’til then to hose the dust off.’

I looked at the other two and then said, ‘It’s okay. Mum, we’ll walk.’

‘Walk!’ said Carey.