Another month whizzes by between blogs - I need to ease back on this work stuff so that I can concentrate more on keeping everyone up to date!
Steve and Viv Frodsham invited us around for a Sunday roast back in April - and WOW, was it delicious. Steve has missed his vocation as a top chef - the joint of pork he cooked was delicious and his veg selection was pretty awesome too. I tried my best to do justice with a bread and butter pudding for afters - seemed to go down well with all. That was back on the 25th April. I have been keeping a score of alcohol-free days vs had-a-drink days; it was 52:63 at that point - I'll keep you informed as the year continues. I guess the current ratio is symptomatic of the Kiwi-culture of any gathering is an excuse for a bevvie!
Maria and I also went out the following weekend for a few more bevvies...to the birthday party of someone I've met since arriving here - Christine Prince - she's an ex-work pal of Darren Rudkin - a fellow Pembrokian and 1986 Footballing Blue - it's a small world! We've caught up a few times - including at the end of the Christchurch City2Surf 12km race, where she was hosting her fellow Canterbury Tourism employees to a post event BBQ lunch - and glass of champagne, of course.
Talking of races, I've actually entered the Christchurch half-marathon in 2 weeks. Maria is entered for the 10km distance event on the same day - as is Christine. My preparations had been going well until I ran the Tai Tapu 15km race a couple of weekends ago, only to put myself out of action with a humungous blister - not on the palm of my hand - but on the ball of my right foot! I couldn't walk properly for 3 days and didn't run for 9 days after the event!! By the way, I managed to clock 63mins 9 secs for the 15km - the last 5km in blister-agony!
Maria and I had an enjoyable Parents' Evening at Sarah's school - not least because of the fact that the appointments were booked by ourselves on-line rather than having to deal with a hap-hazard mix of appointments and the ensuing scrums. It was all very civilised - plus Sarah's reports were all very positive!
Sarah herself continues to amaze us with the things she is throwing herself in and out of school. She has recommenced piano lessons after school - much to our pleasure - plus she has chosen basketball and cycling as her school sports options this term. The former results in after school matches on a Friday whilst the latter involves a Wednesday post-school 10km cycle out to Tai Tapu Old Rd for a 12km time trial and the 10km cycle back. I would never have guessed she'd have been doing that if you had asked me 12 months ago!
She also goes to a 4 hour, Saturday morning dance and acrobatics class with one of her school pals. She seems to be really enjoying it.
This weekend was also a Charity weekend where school kids were encouraged to 'fast' for either 20 or 40 hours - by which fasting meant survive on rice and barley sugars! Sarah and friends spent 20 hours camping in a back garden at one of the homes - and yes it was very cold last night! Crazy kids!
Anyway, with Sarah out camping and Chris working, Maria and I decided to go out for dinner last night and went to 2 Fat Indians - a curry house in Merivale. The food was great and mine was accompanied by a pint of Boddingtons "Pub Ale"!
May 9th was Mothers' Day here in NZ. Maria and I marked it by going for a lovely walk up in the Port Hills - without the kids! Chris was sleeping - he'd been working nights, and Sarah was too tired from her dance classes the day before!
I held another i2i course in mid-May - which went well - but could have done with more people on paying more money! I've also started my lecturing at the University of Canterbury - which has also gone well to date. I had 6 hours last week and I have another 6 hours the week after next. Not a huge amount, but a start.
I've also been doing a few hours at NZ Business Mentors - holding the fort whilst the usual Canterbury coordinator has headed off to Europe for a holiday. So that's why I've not been blogging - it's been more than a full time job, with lecture preparation, course marketing and administration, etc..
Mind you, I did find the time to go for a round of golf this morning out at Macleans Island Golf Course. It was a BNI fund-raising event - I represented the Emissaries chapter along with Steve Richens, Pat O'Donoghue and Chris Westeneng. I don't think we won any prizes, but we had a pleasant time - and the rain held off. I think we're due plenty of the wet stuff over the next few days. Still, it's been so dry for so long and we have continued to get unseasonably warm days right up until a week or so ago. Autumn is starting to take a hold and it's noticeably cooler at nights - oh for some central heating and double glazing! I think that that's becoming a priority and may cause us to seek out somewhere different to rent in the medium to longer term. Plus, the novelty of the swimming pool has worn off and I'm getting bored of cleaning out the leaves and constantly needing to buy chlorine to fight off the algae! Remind me never to buy anywhere with a pool - more trouble than they're worth!
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Friday, 23 April 2010
Tree of Beliefs
Wow, 4 weeks since the last blog...I must be getting busy!
During which Utd have exited the Champions' League, thrown away the Premiership and then got themselves back into the race again (Paul Scholes - he scores goals!) and Europe has become a no-fly zone! Plus my HCI laptop died. :-(
Easter weekend saw Maria, Sarah and I venture up to Hanmer Springs in Brendan's campervan for an overnight adventure. We spent the afternoon in the hot springs - which was great.
We found a site to pitch for the night in a nearby Forest Camp and experienced life inside the tin home for the first time. Cosy to say the least - Maria and I snuggled on the fold-down bed and Sarah tucked into the over-head space above us! It was a bit on the cool side too at 3am. But once the sun came up and we had the first cup of tea of the day brewed, we were soon warm again. In fact it was another gloriously sunny warm day.
We decided to venture along the "Waterfall Track" to seek out Dog Stream Waterfall. It was a reasonable climb and Sarah needed some focused motivation (!) at times - but we did make it to the destination eventually.
We returned to Christchurch and the rest of the Easter break was pretty uneventful - albeit very warm.
Sarah was on a 2 week school holiday and the middle weekend saw us host 5 of her new pals for a sleep-over - an oxymoron if ever there was one! They were pretty self-sufficient so at least Maria and I got some sleep that night!
The following evening we headed out to Lincoln "Township" to a small soiree hosted by one of Maria's Solid Energy colleagues - Tony McInally. A fellow Manc, he invited us around to meet some of his "Pommy Pals" - a nice bunch and a pleasant time had by all (apart from Sarah who was tired from the previous day's lack of sleep!).
Maria and I have continued to try and keep up the exercising and we did manage to have a pleasant morning walking/running up the Rapaki Track. It was another beautiful day, with great views from the top of the Port Hills over towards Bank's Peninsula once we had reached the top. The legs took a bit of a pounding on the run back down!
I've had a busy week this week - running a 2 day i2i course on Monday and Tuesday (only a few people in attendance but it went well nonetheless) and a Day 3 event on Friday. I have also had some "Leadership Training" this week for the role that I am picking up in my BNI group starting next month. It was also the first lecture of term at the Asia Pacific Football Academy this weekend - "Tree of Beliefs" - teaching them about positive attitude with stories of people like Steve Cunningham and Cliff Young - they seemed to like them!
The weather has remained un-seasonally warm and very dry - there's a serious drought up in the north of the north island. The first rain of any note finally arrived yesterday - just as I went off to compete in a cross-country relay with the Port Hill Runners....kinda reminded me of the UK! I've been trying to up my running a bit more recently as I have targetted the Christchurch half-marathon on June 6th and set myself a goal of doing it in around 1 hour 35 mins. So need to get some miles in between now and then.
During which Utd have exited the Champions' League, thrown away the Premiership and then got themselves back into the race again (Paul Scholes - he scores goals!) and Europe has become a no-fly zone! Plus my HCI laptop died. :-(
Easter weekend saw Maria, Sarah and I venture up to Hanmer Springs in Brendan's campervan for an overnight adventure. We spent the afternoon in the hot springs - which was great.
We found a site to pitch for the night in a nearby Forest Camp and experienced life inside the tin home for the first time. Cosy to say the least - Maria and I snuggled on the fold-down bed and Sarah tucked into the over-head space above us! It was a bit on the cool side too at 3am. But once the sun came up and we had the first cup of tea of the day brewed, we were soon warm again. In fact it was another gloriously sunny warm day.
We decided to venture along the "Waterfall Track" to seek out Dog Stream Waterfall. It was a reasonable climb and Sarah needed some focused motivation (!) at times - but we did make it to the destination eventually.
We returned to Christchurch and the rest of the Easter break was pretty uneventful - albeit very warm.
Sarah was on a 2 week school holiday and the middle weekend saw us host 5 of her new pals for a sleep-over - an oxymoron if ever there was one! They were pretty self-sufficient so at least Maria and I got some sleep that night!
The following evening we headed out to Lincoln "Township" to a small soiree hosted by one of Maria's Solid Energy colleagues - Tony McInally. A fellow Manc, he invited us around to meet some of his "Pommy Pals" - a nice bunch and a pleasant time had by all (apart from Sarah who was tired from the previous day's lack of sleep!).
Maria and I have continued to try and keep up the exercising and we did manage to have a pleasant morning walking/running up the Rapaki Track. It was another beautiful day, with great views from the top of the Port Hills over towards Bank's Peninsula once we had reached the top. The legs took a bit of a pounding on the run back down!
I've had a busy week this week - running a 2 day i2i course on Monday and Tuesday (only a few people in attendance but it went well nonetheless) and a Day 3 event on Friday. I have also had some "Leadership Training" this week for the role that I am picking up in my BNI group starting next month. It was also the first lecture of term at the Asia Pacific Football Academy this weekend - "Tree of Beliefs" - teaching them about positive attitude with stories of people like Steve Cunningham and Cliff Young - they seemed to like them!
The weather has remained un-seasonally warm and very dry - there's a serious drought up in the north of the north island. The first rain of any note finally arrived yesterday - just as I went off to compete in a cross-country relay with the Port Hill Runners....kinda reminded me of the UK! I've been trying to up my running a bit more recently as I have targetted the Christchurch half-marathon on June 6th and set myself a goal of doing it in around 1 hour 35 mins. So need to get some miles in between now and then.
Monday, 29 March 2010
Autumn Equinox in March?!
Having written off Summer, we were treated to a great week of weather mid-March with temperatures back in the mid-20's! That came to a sharp end however with a 10 degree difference in the space of 24 hrs!
The cicadas are still chirping in Hagley Park and it's still great cycling weather - not much rain - which seems to fall mainly at night at the moment - very well organised by the NZ Met office!
One of the benefits of not having a "9-to-5" is that you can go and sit in Robbies Bar in Riccarton at breakfast time and watch Man Utd beat AC Milan in the Champions League! No beer at that time, of course - just good old English Breakfast tea. Plus an 80's throwback on the jukebox - Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits and Piano Man by Billy Joel to name but a few that had me back there!
However, talking of breakfast beers, I almost did find myself drnking the amber nectar last Sunday morning at the end of the City2Surf 12km race through town. I had been invited to visit the Pratt & Whitney hospitality tent (turncoat?!) at the end of the race - at QE11 stadium - only to find myself being offered a beefburger and Steinlager at 10am. You'll be pleased to hear that I did resist - though this is definitely not normal NZ behaviour to do so! At least Maria did take up the offer of a glass of Bubbly an hour later when she came to pick me up. That offering was from the Canterbury Tourism tent - I'm certainly getting about!
Anyway, should anyone be interested, I completed the race in 49mins and 54secs - 6 seconds inside the time that Coach Guyomar had set for me the previous evening. The previous evening had itself been a very enjoyable occassion as we had been invited around to a pals BBQ - so the 2 bottles of pinot noir and 16oz of beautiful filet steak had obviously been just what I needed as pre-race preparation!!
It was also at this BBQ that I had my first ever taste of "barbequed-beer-chicken" - curtesy of a couple of the aforementioned Pratt & Whitney team.
In addition to the 12km run, Maria and I enjoyed a jog out to Boulder Bay from Taylor's Mistake on one of her Monday's off work. It was a glorious morning down by the sea, running around the cliff tops and finished off with a delicious lunch at Scarborough Fare cafe in Sumner. We also enjoyed an afternoon stroll in the sun around Corsair Bay and Lyttleton on another of Maria's days off.
I was back at Sarah's school a couple of weeks ago - I've volunteered for the PTA - it must have been the wine at the Parent's evening that did it! And needless to say, there was plenty of wine on offer at the PTA AGM - non NZ readers may be starting to see a pattern here associated with any gathering of NZ adults - whether it is a PTA meeting, Parents evening, athletics event, social gathering, etc....! It's not just the pastureland and the West Coast forests that are lush!!
Now that the tourist season is over, Brendan has asked us to re-sell his campervan so I'm in the process of getting it's warrant of fitness (MOT) and Regio (road tax) sorted before we advertise it on Trade Me (Ebay). It'll also need a damn good clean at some point too! So we're taking the last opportunities to get some use before it's gone and are planning a trip to the West Coast over Easter - though the weather forecast is looking as though that might not be the best place to be next weekend. We did take the van up onto the Port Hills last Friday evening to sit and watch the sun go down over the Alps - with a nice bottle of Shiraz and some supper. It was beautiful.
Sarah's school netball team won a schools tournament last week - which she was pretty chuffed about - despite having spent most of the final being barged "off the ball" by a rather physical and large Polynesian opponent. She's also rekindled her piano skills and has started lessons agian, at school. Thanks to Jack and Eve for the fantastic gift of an electric piano when they were over here - it's great to see Sarah enjoying playing all her favourite pieces again as well as adding to her repertoire with new ones. Sarah has also started to bond with a few of her class mates and there have been a few "school dances" that she's been out to on a Friday night! Fortunately no sign of any boys as of yet!!
Chris remains a periferal figure in our lives at the moment, with him continuing to work night shifts at McDonalds, sleeping during the daytime and spending time out with friends on his days/nights off. He has just bought himself another car - this time a Subaru Legacy. I think that the ANZ Bank were stupid enough to lend him the money - at least he was wise enough not to ask me again! He's still paying me back for the last one - so heaven only knows how he will afford to pay for and run this one! We shall see.
It feels a bit like living on a building site at the moment here at Desmond Street. One of our neighbours (No 20) is currently building the biggest house in Christchurch! Actually, it looks like it will be fantastic when it's complete - just hope we get an invite to the house-warming. There's another large place going up across the road plus the council have just moved in today and started digging up the road just outside our place as the start of a street "face-lift". It will all look great when done - but about 12 weeks of chaos is likely to ensue.
Last Saturday, Maria and I went to her boss' 50th birthday party held at the local Christchurch Boys High School. It was a fun night, including - of course - a free bar and enough food to feed the 8th Army. Bizarrely, the fire alarm went off at one stage (due to some cooker smoke in the kitchen), which was duly ignored by 99% of the party goers (mainly due to its inaudability above the live entertainment) then switched off by the caretaker only to result in the local fire service turning up and being seriously upset that "the band had played on"! "She'll be Right".... Also, I've never witnessed a 50 year old being presented a rifle and live ammo for his birthday gift from his pals before - had me on edge for the rest of the evening!!
So next weekend I believe we put the clocks forward, or is it backwards....? I'm getting confused! Answers on a postcard please.
The cicadas are still chirping in Hagley Park and it's still great cycling weather - not much rain - which seems to fall mainly at night at the moment - very well organised by the NZ Met office!
One of the benefits of not having a "9-to-5" is that you can go and sit in Robbies Bar in Riccarton at breakfast time and watch Man Utd beat AC Milan in the Champions League! No beer at that time, of course - just good old English Breakfast tea. Plus an 80's throwback on the jukebox - Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits and Piano Man by Billy Joel to name but a few that had me back there!
However, talking of breakfast beers, I almost did find myself drnking the amber nectar last Sunday morning at the end of the City2Surf 12km race through town. I had been invited to visit the Pratt & Whitney hospitality tent (turncoat?!) at the end of the race - at QE11 stadium - only to find myself being offered a beefburger and Steinlager at 10am. You'll be pleased to hear that I did resist - though this is definitely not normal NZ behaviour to do so! At least Maria did take up the offer of a glass of Bubbly an hour later when she came to pick me up. That offering was from the Canterbury Tourism tent - I'm certainly getting about!
Anyway, should anyone be interested, I completed the race in 49mins and 54secs - 6 seconds inside the time that Coach Guyomar had set for me the previous evening. The previous evening had itself been a very enjoyable occassion as we had been invited around to a pals BBQ - so the 2 bottles of pinot noir and 16oz of beautiful filet steak had obviously been just what I needed as pre-race preparation!!
It was also at this BBQ that I had my first ever taste of "barbequed-beer-chicken" - curtesy of a couple of the aforementioned Pratt & Whitney team.
In addition to the 12km run, Maria and I enjoyed a jog out to Boulder Bay from Taylor's Mistake on one of her Monday's off work. It was a glorious morning down by the sea, running around the cliff tops and finished off with a delicious lunch at Scarborough Fare cafe in Sumner. We also enjoyed an afternoon stroll in the sun around Corsair Bay and Lyttleton on another of Maria's days off.
I was back at Sarah's school a couple of weeks ago - I've volunteered for the PTA - it must have been the wine at the Parent's evening that did it! And needless to say, there was plenty of wine on offer at the PTA AGM - non NZ readers may be starting to see a pattern here associated with any gathering of NZ adults - whether it is a PTA meeting, Parents evening, athletics event, social gathering, etc....! It's not just the pastureland and the West Coast forests that are lush!!
Now that the tourist season is over, Brendan has asked us to re-sell his campervan so I'm in the process of getting it's warrant of fitness (MOT) and Regio (road tax) sorted before we advertise it on Trade Me (Ebay). It'll also need a damn good clean at some point too! So we're taking the last opportunities to get some use before it's gone and are planning a trip to the West Coast over Easter - though the weather forecast is looking as though that might not be the best place to be next weekend. We did take the van up onto the Port Hills last Friday evening to sit and watch the sun go down over the Alps - with a nice bottle of Shiraz and some supper. It was beautiful.
Sarah's school netball team won a schools tournament last week - which she was pretty chuffed about - despite having spent most of the final being barged "off the ball" by a rather physical and large Polynesian opponent. She's also rekindled her piano skills and has started lessons agian, at school. Thanks to Jack and Eve for the fantastic gift of an electric piano when they were over here - it's great to see Sarah enjoying playing all her favourite pieces again as well as adding to her repertoire with new ones. Sarah has also started to bond with a few of her class mates and there have been a few "school dances" that she's been out to on a Friday night! Fortunately no sign of any boys as of yet!!
Chris remains a periferal figure in our lives at the moment, with him continuing to work night shifts at McDonalds, sleeping during the daytime and spending time out with friends on his days/nights off. He has just bought himself another car - this time a Subaru Legacy. I think that the ANZ Bank were stupid enough to lend him the money - at least he was wise enough not to ask me again! He's still paying me back for the last one - so heaven only knows how he will afford to pay for and run this one! We shall see.
It feels a bit like living on a building site at the moment here at Desmond Street. One of our neighbours (No 20) is currently building the biggest house in Christchurch! Actually, it looks like it will be fantastic when it's complete - just hope we get an invite to the house-warming. There's another large place going up across the road plus the council have just moved in today and started digging up the road just outside our place as the start of a street "face-lift". It will all look great when done - but about 12 weeks of chaos is likely to ensue.
Last Saturday, Maria and I went to her boss' 50th birthday party held at the local Christchurch Boys High School. It was a fun night, including - of course - a free bar and enough food to feed the 8th Army. Bizarrely, the fire alarm went off at one stage (due to some cooker smoke in the kitchen), which was duly ignored by 99% of the party goers (mainly due to its inaudability above the live entertainment) then switched off by the caretaker only to result in the local fire service turning up and being seriously upset that "the band had played on"! "She'll be Right".... Also, I've never witnessed a 50 year old being presented a rifle and live ammo for his birthday gift from his pals before - had me on edge for the rest of the evening!!
So next weekend I believe we put the clocks forward, or is it backwards....? I'm getting confused! Answers on a postcard please.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
The house now seems very quiet!
Summer really arrived with some vengance week commencing 22nd Feb - temperatures were in the high 20's all week and the "grand-folks" had to resort to sitting indoors out of the heat - the sun can be quite vicious in this part of the world!
Sarah enjoyed school camp with her new chums - not sure how much sleep they all got during the outing but she didn't make it in to school first day back! Whilst Sarah was away, Maria and I took Ted and Sheila over to Akaroa for the day and managed to get them onto the Akaroa Jet Boat experience! Great day out. Akaroa is a great place.
Andy Thewlis and family called in for a 'BBQ and lashings of red-wine' evening - it was great to catch up after 25 years! Much talk about the pros and cons of emigrating to NZ - but surprisingly little mention of football - which was a shame as I don't often get the chance of winding up a City fan.
And so Ted and Sheila's time was up on the 26th and they headed back to the UK - closely followed by Jack and Eve on the 28th. In between time, we had a meal out at 'Cooking by Gas Light' on Worcester St - which was FAB. Also has a double-header house-warming party-day as Matt and Lou held an open home as well as Steve and Viv Frodsham. Wow - such a social life!
And then it all went a bit quiet......we move Chris back into his bedroom - now that JAck and Eve had vacated....and the TV room became a TV room again noe that Ted and Sheila had moved out. And I had an office again!
I've been busy marketing my Open Courses and so have been attending lots of BNI breakfast meetings - it's almost been like having to get up for a regular job! I have actually managed to get some interest...which makes the hard work worth while.
Went to a parents evening at Sarah school last week. It was like no parents evening I've ever been to before! It wasn't to meet the teachers...but to meet other parents...so there was wine and nibbles on offer...it was very civilised, in fact! Have volunteered for PTA duties as a result....obviously too much Sauv Blanc consumed!
Went up to Wellington last weekend for a night out with Mike Guyomar - he's emigrating to Brisbane (now we've arrived here in NZ!). We got to go to the Wellington Phoenix vs Newcastle play-off match - which was good fun. Usual issue with being in Mike's company - non-stop alcohol consumption from start to finish!
This week it feels like autumn has arrived. Cool nights are back - Maria is looking to get the winter duvet back on the bed. Not so many people wearing shorts and T-shirts around town. I think we've seen the last usage of the pool this season!
Sarah enjoyed school camp with her new chums - not sure how much sleep they all got during the outing but she didn't make it in to school first day back! Whilst Sarah was away, Maria and I took Ted and Sheila over to Akaroa for the day and managed to get them onto the Akaroa Jet Boat experience! Great day out. Akaroa is a great place.
Andy Thewlis and family called in for a 'BBQ and lashings of red-wine' evening - it was great to catch up after 25 years! Much talk about the pros and cons of emigrating to NZ - but surprisingly little mention of football - which was a shame as I don't often get the chance of winding up a City fan.
And so Ted and Sheila's time was up on the 26th and they headed back to the UK - closely followed by Jack and Eve on the 28th. In between time, we had a meal out at 'Cooking by Gas Light' on Worcester St - which was FAB. Also has a double-header house-warming party-day as Matt and Lou held an open home as well as Steve and Viv Frodsham. Wow - such a social life!
And then it all went a bit quiet......we move Chris back into his bedroom - now that JAck and Eve had vacated....and the TV room became a TV room again noe that Ted and Sheila had moved out. And I had an office again!
I've been busy marketing my Open Courses and so have been attending lots of BNI breakfast meetings - it's almost been like having to get up for a regular job! I have actually managed to get some interest...which makes the hard work worth while.
Went to a parents evening at Sarah school last week. It was like no parents evening I've ever been to before! It wasn't to meet the teachers...but to meet other parents...so there was wine and nibbles on offer...it was very civilised, in fact! Have volunteered for PTA duties as a result....obviously too much Sauv Blanc consumed!
Went up to Wellington last weekend for a night out with Mike Guyomar - he's emigrating to Brisbane (now we've arrived here in NZ!). We got to go to the Wellington Phoenix vs Newcastle play-off match - which was good fun. Usual issue with being in Mike's company - non-stop alcohol consumption from start to finish!
This week it feels like autumn has arrived. Cool nights are back - Maria is looking to get the winter duvet back on the bed. Not so many people wearing shorts and T-shirts around town. I think we've seen the last usage of the pool this season!
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Summer Returns to Christchurch
Everyone has been mentioning how bad the Summer has been this year - I've not really noticed apart from the few dys of rain that have come in now and then - but that's par for the course where I'm from. But this weekend has suddenly kicked back in with some scorching Summer heat. We've spent today lazing around the house with Ted and Sheila - who even ventured into the pool at one stage! 
We also had a trip over to Hagley Park mid afternoon to take in the "Lazy Sunday" live music in the Botanical Gardens. Some great blues/jazz guitaring to accompany an excellent chanteusse.
Jack and Eve are on tour at the moment. They headed northwards last Tuesday to Kaikoura and then onto Nelson and the Abel Tasman. I think they had a few damp days heading up there but the past few days around AT will have been fantastic weather for them. I think that they are heading to Hanmer on route back to here - possibly arriving tomorrow.
Ted and Sheila enjoyed their own tour around the south of the South Island last week. They stayed at Dunedin, headed to Te Anau, did the Milford Sound experience and then had a couple of nights in Queenstown before witnessing the spectacular Mackenzie Country on their journey back to Christchurch. They didn't bother with the bungy!
I held my first i2i Open Course last Thursday and Friday. It went very well - I received some good feedback and have now scheduled my next 2 events - in March and April. The lectures at the Football academy are also going well and I've also been offered some lecturing work at the University of Canterbury - it's starting to get busy!
Sarah has settled in well at the Girls High School - despite her initial insistence that she would not like it!
Seem to have heard that one before somewhere? She is off to school camp tomorrow so she's busy getting all her stuff together - and pestering me to go and find her a torch.
Last weekend we were treated to the NZ Coast to Coast Race staging it's cycle-to-kayak transition at the bottom of our garden (almost) - due to bad weather conditions in the mountains causing Plan B to be enacted.
It was great to see the chaos ensuing on the banks of the Avon as tired cyclists searched frantically for their launches - and then headed off towards Sumner. Maria and I also cycled out to the finish to see some of the athletes completing on the beach - giving me lots of inspiration for my own attempt at the challenge sometime in the next year or three!
Best get some training done.
We also had a trip over to Hagley Park mid afternoon to take in the "Lazy Sunday" live music in the Botanical Gardens. Some great blues/jazz guitaring to accompany an excellent chanteusse.
Jack and Eve are on tour at the moment. They headed northwards last Tuesday to Kaikoura and then onto Nelson and the Abel Tasman. I think they had a few damp days heading up there but the past few days around AT will have been fantastic weather for them. I think that they are heading to Hanmer on route back to here - possibly arriving tomorrow.
Ted and Sheila enjoyed their own tour around the south of the South Island last week. They stayed at Dunedin, headed to Te Anau, did the Milford Sound experience and then had a couple of nights in Queenstown before witnessing the spectacular Mackenzie Country on their journey back to Christchurch. They didn't bother with the bungy!
I held my first i2i Open Course last Thursday and Friday. It went very well - I received some good feedback and have now scheduled my next 2 events - in March and April. The lectures at the Football academy are also going well and I've also been offered some lecturing work at the University of Canterbury - it's starting to get busy!
Sarah has settled in well at the Girls High School - despite her initial insistence that she would not like it!
Seem to have heard that one before somewhere? She is off to school camp tomorrow so she's busy getting all her stuff together - and pestering me to go and find her a torch.Last weekend we were treated to the NZ Coast to Coast Race staging it's cycle-to-kayak transition at the bottom of our garden (almost) - due to bad weather conditions in the mountains causing Plan B to be enacted.
It was great to see the chaos ensuing on the banks of the Avon as tired cyclists searched frantically for their launches - and then headed off towards Sumner. Maria and I also cycled out to the finish to see some of the athletes completing on the beach - giving me lots of inspiration for my own attempt at the challenge sometime in the next year or three!
Best get some training done.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
One Year On
I've just noticed that it's 1 year to the day that I started this blog - so Happy Birthday!
I've just been looking back over the blogs and I've got to say that I am absolutely amazed at what we have packed in to this last year - but then, I've not had work getting in the way!!
I really do think that everyone should be given the chance of having a year off to go and do everything they've ever wanted to do. It's such great fun! It's just so sad that it's taken me so long to get on and do all of these things.
Will I still feel the same in another 12 months when all the redundancy money has been spent and I'm having to work to pay for my entertainment?......you bet I will!
I've just been looking back over the blogs and I've got to say that I am absolutely amazed at what we have packed in to this last year - but then, I've not had work getting in the way!!
I really do think that everyone should be given the chance of having a year off to go and do everything they've ever wanted to do. It's such great fun! It's just so sad that it's taken me so long to get on and do all of these things.
Will I still feel the same in another 12 months when all the redundancy money has been spent and I'm having to work to pay for my entertainment?......you bet I will!
Saturday, 6 February 2010
No room at the Inn!
Sorry for the delay in update....it's been a hectic month!
Maria and I were straight back into busy-busy working once our Tasman holiday ended.
Whilst we were away, Chris had off-loaded his car to the local breaker's yard - realising a $730 loss on a $800 "investment" after 4 weeks of ownership!
Brendan, Steffi and Olivia popped back into Christchurch for an evening before heading off to Akaroa and the Banks Peninsula for a couple of nights and then we had Jack and Evelyn arrive. We celebrated their first night in NZ - and what we thought was Brendan, Steffi and Olivia's last night in NZ - by hosting a BBQ - also inviting Matt and Lou around. It was a lovely evening.
To our surpise, Brendan, Steffi and Olivia were still around at breakfast the following morning! They had been unable to board their 6am flight due to not having the correct visa for a 10 hour stop-over in Sydney - and there was not customs staff to process one for them. So they were to have an extra day here in Godzone.
It took a few days for Jack and Eve to fully acclimatise and recover from their jet-lag. The weather was not particularly great for their first few days, but at least it wasn't too much of a climate shock for them. Maria and I had a busy week working - I actually held my first all day course - or at least a Day 1 from my 2-day i2i course. My audience were 7 of my BNI group who had been keen to experience what it was I actually did! They all seemed reasonably impressed with the experience - at least no-one cancelled coming to the 2nd Day (see later!).
We had arranged to head off to Wanaka for the last week of the school Summer holidays - staying at our landlady's (Nicky) skiing chalet - with Jack and Eve. Chris had managed to get some time off his work this time around - though not the whole week! - so he joined us for a couple of days of fun.
We spent the first night in Tekapo - staying at "The Chalet" - where we had stayed 3 years ago on our first trip. It's positioned on the lake edge and has fantastic views across the water and of the surrounding mountains. The weather was beautiful and the sun cast some fantastic shadows and different colours across the slopes as it set - whilst we sat chilling on the verandah. We then sat star-gazing as the night sky seemed to become alive and you could almost touch the Milky Way!
The following morning we headed up to the Mount John observatory to take in the great views across MacKenzie Country then departed south towards Wanaka - with the obligatory photo stop at the Mount Cook viewing point. The peaks were a bit overcast today - but we were to get some clear shots when we called in again on the return journey north later in the week. 
We had a fantastic week in and around Wanaka.
Maria, the kids and I had a go at quadbiking up near Cardrona - which was great fun and very amusing when Chris got stuck in a swamp and had to be towed out!
Of course, no trip to Cardrona is complete without calling in to the Cardrona Hotel for lunch. 
We enjoyed a trip over to Queenstown and a gentle steam across the lake on the Earnslaw to Walters Peak and back. AJ Hackett's Karawau Bridge bungee site was re-visited once more - but this time I resisted the temptation! I guess it didn't seem as appealing without having the pleasure of seeing Mike Guyomar putting himself through the mental torture of preparing to jump just ahead of me!
Further nautical adventures were to include Sarah and I taking a catermaran out onto Lake Wanaka for a very enjoyable sail
Maria, Sarah and I taking the River Clutha Jet Boat experience along NZ's biggest river (by volume flow); plus Sarah taking her water-hating grand-father onto Lake Wanaka aboard a very dangerous and life-threatening pedelo.
Sarah and I also visited Puzzlingworld whilst Jack and Maria went off cycling towards Lake Hawea.
The next day, we were all to head over to Lake Hawea for an afternoon's lazing on the beach and a picnic. 
It is a beautiful place. But then, so are most places around and about!
The local beach at Lake Wanaka - heading towards Peninsula Bay - saw a visit from us most evenings - for a late dip in the water or an open-air dinner.
At the end of the week, Jack and Eve headed off further south in the campervan - Milford Sound was their ultimate destination - and we headed back to Christchurch.
Another busy week - including the 2nd day of my 2-day course - and then it was the turn of Ted and Sheila to arrive. Jack and Eve returned too, after a weeks touring the Fjords and a revit to Tekapo to take part in a star-gazing experience at the observatory.
So this weekend we've had a houseful. We enjoyed an evening of classical music in Hagley Park on Friday and then Matt and Lou invited us around for a BBQ at their new house yesterday. Yesterday, I delivered my first lecture to the boys at the Asia Pacific Football Academy - which went very well. There may be hope for me yet!
Maria and I were straight back into busy-busy working once our Tasman holiday ended.
Whilst we were away, Chris had off-loaded his car to the local breaker's yard - realising a $730 loss on a $800 "investment" after 4 weeks of ownership!
Brendan, Steffi and Olivia popped back into Christchurch for an evening before heading off to Akaroa and the Banks Peninsula for a couple of nights and then we had Jack and Evelyn arrive. We celebrated their first night in NZ - and what we thought was Brendan, Steffi and Olivia's last night in NZ - by hosting a BBQ - also inviting Matt and Lou around. It was a lovely evening.
To our surpise, Brendan, Steffi and Olivia were still around at breakfast the following morning! They had been unable to board their 6am flight due to not having the correct visa for a 10 hour stop-over in Sydney - and there was not customs staff to process one for them. So they were to have an extra day here in Godzone.
It took a few days for Jack and Eve to fully acclimatise and recover from their jet-lag. The weather was not particularly great for their first few days, but at least it wasn't too much of a climate shock for them. Maria and I had a busy week working - I actually held my first all day course - or at least a Day 1 from my 2-day i2i course. My audience were 7 of my BNI group who had been keen to experience what it was I actually did! They all seemed reasonably impressed with the experience - at least no-one cancelled coming to the 2nd Day (see later!).
We had arranged to head off to Wanaka for the last week of the school Summer holidays - staying at our landlady's (Nicky) skiing chalet - with Jack and Eve. Chris had managed to get some time off his work this time around - though not the whole week! - so he joined us for a couple of days of fun.
We spent the first night in Tekapo - staying at "The Chalet" - where we had stayed 3 years ago on our first trip. It's positioned on the lake edge and has fantastic views across the water and of the surrounding mountains. The weather was beautiful and the sun cast some fantastic shadows and different colours across the slopes as it set - whilst we sat chilling on the verandah. We then sat star-gazing as the night sky seemed to become alive and you could almost touch the Milky Way!
The following morning we headed up to the Mount John observatory to take in the great views across MacKenzie Country then departed south towards Wanaka - with the obligatory photo stop at the Mount Cook viewing point. The peaks were a bit overcast today - but we were to get some clear shots when we called in again on the return journey north later in the week. 
We had a fantastic week in and around Wanaka.
Maria, the kids and I had a go at quadbiking up near Cardrona - which was great fun and very amusing when Chris got stuck in a swamp and had to be towed out!
Of course, no trip to Cardrona is complete without calling in to the Cardrona Hotel for lunch. 
We enjoyed a trip over to Queenstown and a gentle steam across the lake on the Earnslaw to Walters Peak and back. AJ Hackett's Karawau Bridge bungee site was re-visited once more - but this time I resisted the temptation! I guess it didn't seem as appealing without having the pleasure of seeing Mike Guyomar putting himself through the mental torture of preparing to jump just ahead of me!
Further nautical adventures were to include Sarah and I taking a catermaran out onto Lake Wanaka for a very enjoyable sail
Maria, Sarah and I taking the River Clutha Jet Boat experience along NZ's biggest river (by volume flow); plus Sarah taking her water-hating grand-father onto Lake Wanaka aboard a very dangerous and life-threatening pedelo.
Sarah and I also visited Puzzlingworld whilst Jack and Maria went off cycling towards Lake Hawea.
The next day, we were all to head over to Lake Hawea for an afternoon's lazing on the beach and a picnic. 
It is a beautiful place. But then, so are most places around and about!The local beach at Lake Wanaka - heading towards Peninsula Bay - saw a visit from us most evenings - for a late dip in the water or an open-air dinner.
At the end of the week, Jack and Eve headed off further south in the campervan - Milford Sound was their ultimate destination - and we headed back to Christchurch.
Another busy week - including the 2nd day of my 2-day course - and then it was the turn of Ted and Sheila to arrive. Jack and Eve returned too, after a weeks touring the Fjords and a revit to Tekapo to take part in a star-gazing experience at the observatory.
So this weekend we've had a houseful. We enjoyed an evening of classical music in Hagley Park on Friday and then Matt and Lou invited us around for a BBQ at their new house yesterday. Yesterday, I delivered my first lecture to the boys at the Asia Pacific Football Academy - which went very well. There may be hope for me yet!
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