Christmas and New Year

Wow what a lovely time of year this is! Christmas day was our usual over indulgence of fun and delight!




The boys got radio controlled cars and helicopters which they found entertaining.



We took Grandma back up North to Mangonui for the New Year


As usual her garden is great and the front yard view in Summer is a Buzz

And just down the hill is Coopers Beach lined with Pohutukawa.

New Years eve was spent with friends seeing the New Year in at Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands. Our campsite looked out over the entrance to the Kerikeri Inlet and the Bay. Kiwis call in the night along with the Morepork. Spectacular views to wake up to.



New Years day was spent out on the Bay where we saw an Albatross, and Penguin swimming along and dolphins leaping for joy!



Thanks to Al and Jenny - what an auspicious way to start a year!

Year starts to wind up

Things are getting along very quickly lately - "Each day just goes so fast, I turn around it's past You don't get time to hang a sign on me, Love me while you can .." Grandma has seen a fair few - she turned 86 the other day. We went down to the local china town and had a meal with with her grandsons in attendance (along with Lauren, Gill, Christine and myself).What do you give
someone who has everything except more love.







With 2008 coming to an end Lauren hits the big milestone - end of School! The decision is made - Lauren is off to Otago University next year having got into the Halls of Residence of choice and been selected for the Physical Education papers - 200 accepted applicants out of 1300. PE and Health Psychology with other social science subjects. But first she attended her last Sports Prize Giving and came home with certificates, medals and a cup - and this is the year she cut back on
sport!


Tomorrow is the last day of school.

The days are getting warmer and the park is looking great! Beautiful running weather - although this year I suffered the frustration of having to let the half marathon go after catching some sort of 'hundred day cough' that did my training in. Still there is next year! Maybe if was a bird flu from the one going overhead.

About 150 years ago John Logan Campbell planted olive trees in the park hoping to start a olive oil industry - but the climate was not warm enough for the old type of trees to fruit. But we have some beautiful old groves in the park. Modern grafted olives fruit well now in NZ. The other good thing about warmer weather is that inside activities can move outdoors to add to the fun!



We have been invaded by Swans this year - great fleets of them have appeared in the house - mainly Crown Lynn originals - birds of peace to carry bouquets on the wedding part tables - strangers wandering into the house look concerned!



The touch of spring brings forth strange behaviours and beautiful flowers - long may it last!

Spring September 2008

Spring is starting to show through here in Auckland after a" long long lonely winter" to quote George Harrison. Spring days always remind me of my eldest daughters birth - which was on the the 1st day of spring. "Without your love, winter would hold no spring".
We had friends Steve and Chrissie over for lunch on Sunday and it was so warm we sat in the courtyard and had lunch at the big table with beautiful New Zealand wine, Earl Grey tea and Lavassa coffee and all the good the stuff that goes with it. Steve came over so I could update his web site for his Shepherd Huts. www.shepherdhut.co.nz He was bit worried about updating the site because he is struggling to keep up with demand (unsurprisingly).

What is it about people that we like to change our appearance? It seems that fashion is driven from a inner need to reinvent the way we present ourselves to the world. Its a funny thing that by changing the drapery we can change how we feel about ourselves for a short burst. We are certainly a social animal getting senses of identity from the reflection of others. This has been formalised for us all in the last few weeks.
I have to admit I felt a bit like Bush wearing a cowboy outfit - but I think i have a much better first lady.


As mentioned we also whizzed off down to Wellington to check out Victoria University and its halls of residence for Lauren next year. We stayed with Gillie's brother Mark who has amazing views from his place out over Wellington Harbour. Wellington sits snuggled at the base of small hills surrounding a beautiful harbour.



Checking out the university and the halls of residences involved much walking up hill and down dales - which made for a wearying day. A good lunch with Amelia at one of Wellington's numerous arty cafe's made the day even more exciting and gave me a chance to sit down and savour the life style.
Wellington has a real art town feel to it with a wonderful promenade at Oriental Bay where they even can make old concrete walls look interesting!


We went to the National Museum Te Papa and saw the Rita Angus exhibition. What an amazing artist! A person with a great sense of vision both in her art and her politics. Another one of those driven human beings trying to reconcile their inner vision to a conservative society. While the art is stunning I was left exhausted by the sheer body of work and intensity of experience. Blew me away that she lived in Mangonui in the 1950's and as an old resident of that community I could see familiar maunga and seascape in her works.
Now we are left with the point of decision - Wellington or Dunedin, Victoria or Otago? Either way the parents will been keen to visit South in the coming years.
Oh by the way we have confirmed the wedding date - Waitangi Day 2009 6th of February!!

Down South (Again)

July turns out to be another full-on month. Last weekend we went down to Dunedin nearly at the bottom of the South Island. We went down to check out the Halls of Residence for Lauren who is deciding where to apply for university next year.
Once again we flew over the Southern Alps which this time of year are snow capped. The view from the air was clear but sadly it was the last bit of sunshine we saw all weekend.
Gillie and I stayed at her nephews place and dog sat their dog called Maxwell Smart who took an immediate liking to Gillie.

Lauren stayed with her friend Alice who is already resident at the University of Dunedin, Otago. We did the dutiful parent thing and had a great time looking around the university. Dunedin was colonised by the Scots in the 1840s and a lot of the buildings are stone with a great Victorian style. The university itself was very impressive and the halls of residence looked like a summer camp. Dunedin also has a stunning railway station which has to be seen to believed. It is next to a train museum (bliss for some of us or should I say one of us).
A short way out of Dunedin is Lanarch Castle which was build in the 1890's. While it is meant to have great views out to sea the day we went it was shrouded in a thick mist. This made it very spooky and the place does have a history of haunting by Lanarch's third wife. Larnarch himself went mad and shot himself in the houses of Parliament.
The castle was abandoned a couple of times in its history until a young couple bought the property in 1967 and set about rediscovering its secrets. While we were not allowed to photograph inside the building the property has extensive grounds including an Alice in Wonderland garden. Apparently a lot of wonderful things were discovered as they uncovered buried treasures in the undergrowth.

The whole time we were in Otago the temp never got above 6 degrees and we were constantly rained or sleeted on But the buildings were fantastic and the people great and we are now keen to head back down in the warmer seasons.
This August we will head down to Wellington to check out Victoria University. Hope the weather is better by then!