Pegasus Post: November 16, 2023

4 Thursday November 16 2023
A Vet ConferenCe
& CAMBoDIA
Recently Steve, our eldest son Connor
and I had the opportunity to attend the
Singapore vet conference and then travel to
Cambodia to catch up with a vet friend and
experience the cuisine, culture and unique
sites of Siem Reap.
Kulen
elephants
BEARY GOOD JOB: Whānau Āwhina Plunket chief executive Fiona
Kingsford and Plunket Bear paid a special visit to BestStart Wainoni Rd to
personally thank the centre and whānau for their support.
Kindy tops annual
fundraising appeal
Singapore vet conference
I’d never experienced Singapore before and
it was quite unbelievable in many ways.
Very clean and tidy, well organised with
high rise appartments and commercial
buildings covering the landscape. Loads of
upmarket boutique stores, so much choice
with food, just an easy place to live I’d
imagine.
The conference was fun. Most entertaining
were the medicine lectures with David
Church and his wife Jill Maddison.
A power couple that just know it all.
I was so impressed I introduced myself as
a die hard fan over the years (I listen to
their vet podcasts) and purchased their
text “Clinical Reasoning”. I also enjoyed
the Dentistry, Oncology, Surgical and
Behavioural lectures. Lots of take home
points to put into action at MMH vets.
Highlights of Singapore had to be the
Botanical gardens,
cocktails in the
rooftop pool,
clothes shopping
for Connor and
discovering
a Chilean
Chardonnay…..
and the “Jewel”.
WOW.
Next stop Siem
Reap. We were
The Jewel in
Singapore airport
Singapore at night
the first ever flight
to arrive in to the
brand new airport
built by the Chinese. Lots of important
officials shaking our hands, drapping us in
scarves and taking photos. Quite Surreal.
Siem Reap was
nothing like i’d
imagined. So
much hustle
and bustle on
the dirt roads
with motorbikes
jammed full of
families and Tuk
Tuks weaving
in and out. Rice
fields were dotted
all over, and it was
really colourful,
with bright
houses, clothing
and road side stalls. Cambodians are
Angkor Wat Temples
generally a smiley, friendly, helpful people.
I fell in love with them.
Ta Prohm
temple
where
Indiana
Jones
was
filmed
The Apopo rats
They made our
holiday so much
better as they were
our tour guides
when we visited the
Kulen Elephants,
the Angkor Wat
temples, a city food
tour and the Apopo
rats that detect the
hidden landmines
(fabulous clever
little creatures).
There was so much
to learn about the
culture, their politics, arranged marriages
and the wars they have lived through.
My Friend has a vet practice, so we visited
and got some glimpses of what its like to
treat all animals in a 3rd World country,
with virtually
no diagnostic
equipment
in clinic and a
sparce amount of
drugs. Saw some
unforgettable
cases. We also
fell in love with
the cuisine,
exquisite tastes,
presentation and
Steve blood sampling
at Trish’s clinic
price of food.
Saw many
street animals,
packs of dogs
and lone cats, moving free range through
the city, like to gather at intersections. All
looked happy, well fed and healthy. Didn’t
approach me which was probably a good
thing as I would have needed to befriend
them…….Rabies risk intensified! The cows
grazing where ever they pleased also
looked content and well cared for.
Was great fun for Steve and I travelling with
Connor and attending a vet conference
together. We all have our different interest
areas and we love discussing lectures, cases
and devising future plans. I think another
family holiday to Asia is in order one day,
with all 3 sons in tow ( maybe partners too).
I just want to wish all MMH readers a safe,
healthy, sunny Christmas and summer
holidays, enjoying special fun times with
family and friends. See you again in 2024
where I will be writing in The Star.
Dr Michele McMaster
SLIMING TEACHERS, a wheel-a-thon
and selling cupcakes were just some of
the fun activities children at BestStart
Wainoni Rd got involved in for the annual
Plunket fundraising appeal this year.
The centre was the biggest contributor to
the appeal this year, raising $2124.
Whānau Āwhina Plunket chief executive
Fiona Kingsford paid a visit to the centre
to personally thank children and their
families and the wider community.
She was “grateful” and “humbled”
by the efforts from families for the
fundraiser.
“We know a lot of whānau are doing it
tough this year, with the increased cost of
living across Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Being a charity, Whānau Āwhina
Plunket could not do what we do without
the amazing support from organisations
like BestStart.”
Said BestStart Wainoni Rd centre
manager Jessica Johnston: “We’ve always
known we have a wonderful community
here at BestStart Wainoni Rd, but
the generosity of our whānau and the
enthusiasm of our team this year has
absolutely blown me away.”
This year BestStart centres raised a total
of more than $49,000.
Open 7 days Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place ph: 338 2534
e. reception@mcmasterandheap.co.nz www.mcmasterheap.co.nz
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