Tuesday, 29 August 2006

The birds & the bees


Our garden is becoming a haven for a variety of birds & Derek managed to get a beautiful shot of a little Wax eye bird cavorting in the one of our Rhododendron bushes.
These lovely little birds are about half the size of a sparrow & are usually found in a group. The other bird is a Tui, which is a New Zealand native & he sits up in the trees singing away for hours on end. We wake up to the sound of our friend most mornings.The plumage is an iridescent black and turquoise green & looks beautiful in the sunlight.

Monday, 21 August 2006

The end of an era................

We went away for the weekend in our caravan for the last time. The weather started off ok but torrential rain fell on Saturday night keeping most of us awake. We held the AGM of the caravan club and followed it with dinner at the local cospomolitian club and most of the men were glued to the TV for the final of the three nations rugby test in Auckland. The All Blacks won again beating Australia although it was a tough game and many were holding their breaths for long periods during the game.
Sunday dawned a lot brighter and Derek and I had the job of packing up the caravan and its contents. We then reluctantly left it behind in Otaki ready for sale.
Well, we won't be using it again while in the UK so, one door shuts and another one opens..........
7 weeks to go.

Monday, 14 August 2006

Going back in time

Somebody is trying to tell me something.
Yesterday morning I received an email from Juleen an old girlfriend that I nursed with nearly forty years ago. She had been reading our website and was catching up. Moving to Australia some 30 years ago we have only met up a couple of times since. There were four of us friends who used to hang around together and the others I last saw at a reunion about 20 years ago, although they live reasonably close. Last night Derek and I went out to dinner, and guess what? We met up with Sandy and Linda the other two of the foursome. All in one day! I hope to catch up again for a coffee with Sandy and Linda before we leave New Zealand in, would you believe 6 weeks? Just shows that christmas cards sometimes are not enough, although keeping the door open.
The same evening Derek bumped into an old workmate of 20 years. Perhaps these things are telling us something, but we are not interpeting them right.

Thursday, 10 August 2006

The countdown begins

Well the days are counting down fast. We are packing up our home in New Zealand for the big move onto our floating home for the next few years.
The dream is finally coming to fruition, we leave Wellington on 6th October and arrive in the UK on the 14th October.
We fly from Wellington to Honolulu via Sydney for a couple of days relaxation and then on to Vancouver in Canada for a train trip through the Rockies to Calgary before flying onto London. Our boat is currently on the River Wey at Godalming and we intend to bring it closer to London for Christmas.

We are looking somewhere around Berkamstead at this stage.