Our team of 5 million should feel let down, I certainly am.
***
Do you remember Easter happening this year?
Chances are that you don't because it fell in the middle of lockdown, and with little warning of shops closing, only the most prepared and organised people would have actually had Easter stocks ready to go.
Remember even the Prime Minister had to get involved telling kids that the Easter Bunny may not visit because of lockdown!
Once lockdown did finish though, the big retail stores had excess stock to get rid of, and were selling these at ridiculous prices.
So I did actually end up with one Easter egg from my son, and surprisingly it has almost been finished!
This is unusual for me, as I'm normally still slowly getting through them as we approach the following year's Easter. It's not that I don't like chocolate; it's that I like it too much!
But with this year being the way it has, I have gone to the sweet faves more often. Thank goodness for the virtual walking challenges!
Speaking of sweet treats, this story would be the type of thing dreams are made of, when residents of a Swiss town got a shock when it started snowing chocolate.
The Lindt & Spruengli Company has confirmed local reports in Olten that there was a minor defect in the cooling ventilation for the roasted "cocoa nibs" line, which led to it "snowing cocoa"!
The nibs, fragments of crushed cocoa beans, are the basis of chocolate. Combined with strong winds, the powder spread around the vicinity of the factory, leaving a fine cocoa dusting.
The ventilation system has now been repaired, to the despair of residents!
***
There are many people in our community who deserve recognition, and each year Kiwibank hold its New Zealander Of The Year awards, which includes the Local Hero category.
Once again this year, I am privileged to be on the judging committee for these awards, and it is honestly one of the most special things to be involved with.
The Kiwibank Local Hero Award - Te Pou Toko o te Tau - recognises everyday people doing extraordinary things in our local communities over the past year.
This award acknowledges the enormous contribution, sacrifice and commitment of Kiwis who have selflessly worked to make Rotorua a better place.
The impact can be across any field or have displayed courage in overcoming personal adversity.
Nominations close at the end of this weekend, so hurry along to nzawards.org.nz/nominate/ to tell us who deserves the recognition.
I look forward to reading through all those nominations.
Paul Hickey is the host of the locally based 9am-3pm show on The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM. Follow on Facebook The Hits Rotorua and on Twitter @paulhickeynz.
