I've always spent Christmas at home other than the 3 weeks I once spent on a North Sea Oil rig working for a pittance. Therefore, this Christmas was extremely different as it was spent on a sun lashed beach and the clear blue waters of the Abel Tasman National Park in the Northwest corner of New Zealand's South Island. The park is the smallest of NZ's National Parks but its still stunningly beautiful with tiny, secluded bays around each corner complete with golden sands and inviting waters. The entrance to the park is from Marahau, where camped under starry skies!
The stay in Marahau (pronounced Mara-how) was part of a week long trip with friends which also involved a few days at Kaikoura, on the South Islands East coast. Although the trip started back in Wellington on a wet and windy Saturday morning as boarded the Wellington to Picton Ferry which set sail into the rain and mist. The following day, the weather hadn't improved as the whale watching trips out of Kaikoura was cancelled although the albatross trip which I had decided to take was still on!
So, out onto the sea which had 6 to 8 foot swells for 3 hours of fun in a tiny boat with 6 other people, a bucket full of fish livers and only the sea birds for company. Once clear of Kaikoura's tiny harbour, the seas calmed, the boat stopped and the birds flocked, with numerous albatross, shearwaters and petrels sitting within 1foot of the back of the boat.
The following day we went swimming with (dusky) dolphins. Our hopes were dashed slightly when we learnt that the previous trip that morning had been unsuccessful but with minutes of cutting the engines we were given the all clear to jump into the water. Although we were all clad in wetsuits complete with helmets plus flippers, masks and goggles, it was still unbelievably cold. However, within seconds, a pod of dolphins were swimming through our group, within millimetres even. The pod moved on, and so did we, clambering back onto the boat and setting off in pursuit of the dolphins to repeat the experience. This happened about 3 or 4 times before we stripped and dried off. The skipper then positioned the boat so that we could take photos!
Fast forward to Christmas Eve, and Jo and I are sitting freezing cold in a kayak, soaking in the rain wishing lunch would come sooner rather than later! It didn't although the day brightened up and the xmas kayak became more enjoyable!
Friday, 26 December 2008
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Cimbing contrasts
Last week, Jo and I joined a trip organised by the Wellington Alpine Club to Whanganui Bay (pronounced fan-ga-nui) at Lake Taupo. One of New Zealands best rock climbing venues with over a 1000 routes spread out over several crags which overlook Lake Taupo. So stunning vistas and weather meant that there were no excuses.
Drove up Friday night and stayed in Turangi, which is best described as a ghost town the locals visit for food shopping! We found the pub but it shit at ten so we quickly ordered a couple of rounds and hoped that we wouldn't be turfed out before we finished. The backpackers was quite good especially as it had its own climbing wall, and a decent one at that, certainly better than the one in Wellington.
Unfortunately Saturday night was worse than Friday, everything closing at 9pm!
The climbing was good though, the highlights being a leads of Tibia, a three pitch classic involving 'traditional' gritstone chimney techniques as well as some 'out there' bridging and which comes complete with its own Maori skeleton and Ego Trip, a large slab climbed using a thin and unrelenting crack.
The crags are located on Maori land and some of the crags can't be climbed plus you have a to pay a small fee for the privilege of climbing. The venue is stunning though and well worth the trip.
Yesterday, Steve Michin and myself went in search of the mythical Tinui Slabs. Rumour has it that no-one has climbed here in a couple of years and some previous trips never made it to the crag, having become lost in the bush below and given up. We were made of sterner stuff, but only just! It all started well with an easy to follow walk in, but then we entered the bush and wondered what we'd let ourselves in for. Not sure how longer it took, but we eventually found the slabs.
We happened to approach our chosen climb from the top so abseiled in and made our second mistake by not leaving an evacuation rope (our first mistake was to visit Tinui!). It soon became apparent that no-one had climbed here in years although the bolts were surprising new, as all the slab was covered in lichens and dirt which made the climbing all but impossible. So suitably beaten and without any easy ascent, we began to search for alternatives which included abseiling further down to try to find a route out but to no avail and aid climbing one of the harder routes, a process which was halted when distance between the bolts increased and I wasn't able to gain any purchase on the rock to make the necessary moves!
We eventually found a route up through another gully, although it did require a fair bit of bush bashing, but in the end we were reunited with our rucksacks and more importantly our water, having both harboured thoughts of getting stuck at the bottom!
Steve has vowed to return!
Drove up Friday night and stayed in Turangi, which is best described as a ghost town the locals visit for food shopping! We found the pub but it shit at ten so we quickly ordered a couple of rounds and hoped that we wouldn't be turfed out before we finished. The backpackers was quite good especially as it had its own climbing wall, and a decent one at that, certainly better than the one in Wellington.
Unfortunately Saturday night was worse than Friday, everything closing at 9pm!
The climbing was good though, the highlights being a leads of Tibia, a three pitch classic involving 'traditional' gritstone chimney techniques as well as some 'out there' bridging and which comes complete with its own Maori skeleton and Ego Trip, a large slab climbed using a thin and unrelenting crack.
The crags are located on Maori land and some of the crags can't be climbed plus you have a to pay a small fee for the privilege of climbing. The venue is stunning though and well worth the trip.
Yesterday, Steve Michin and myself went in search of the mythical Tinui Slabs. Rumour has it that no-one has climbed here in a couple of years and some previous trips never made it to the crag, having become lost in the bush below and given up. We were made of sterner stuff, but only just! It all started well with an easy to follow walk in, but then we entered the bush and wondered what we'd let ourselves in for. Not sure how longer it took, but we eventually found the slabs.
We happened to approach our chosen climb from the top so abseiled in and made our second mistake by not leaving an evacuation rope (our first mistake was to visit Tinui!). It soon became apparent that no-one had climbed here in years although the bolts were surprising new, as all the slab was covered in lichens and dirt which made the climbing all but impossible. So suitably beaten and without any easy ascent, we began to search for alternatives which included abseiling further down to try to find a route out but to no avail and aid climbing one of the harder routes, a process which was halted when distance between the bolts increased and I wasn't able to gain any purchase on the rock to make the necessary moves!
We eventually found a route up through another gully, although it did require a fair bit of bush bashing, but in the end we were reunited with our rucksacks and more importantly our water, having both harboured thoughts of getting stuck at the bottom!
Steve has vowed to return!
Friday, 14 November 2008
Christmas shopping!
Spent the day doing christmas shopping so that we can post presents back to family in the UK before the last post deadline! Not going to reveal what we bought but it was definitely a strange experience buying and wrapping presents as well as writing and posting christmas cards!
Tomorrow is the Martinborough Toast, food and wine festival. We are going with a women's only gym, which will be interesting for Ian and I. We recently went to Napier, in the Hawkes Bay region to visit a friend from the UK, whilst another friend drove down from Rotorua. The highlights being the wine tour by bicycle, the free tour of marineland and the saturday night BBQ with lots of free wine courtesy of one of the vineyards we had visited.
Tomorrow is the Martinborough Toast, food and wine festival. We are going with a women's only gym, which will be interesting for Ian and I. We recently went to Napier, in the Hawkes Bay region to visit a friend from the UK, whilst another friend drove down from Rotorua. The highlights being the wine tour by bicycle, the free tour of marineland and the saturday night BBQ with lots of free wine courtesy of one of the vineyards we had visited.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Today I rode my first chute!
And it was amazing. Jo and I visited Mount Ruapehu for some snow love. Saturday was a wash out in more ways than one (poor visibility and weather, Jo not feeling well). However, Sunday dawned bright but unfortunately we didn't! We finally made it to the top of the mountain and worked our way across to some of the out of the way black runs (NZ Black = European Red) on the edge of the resort.
Having made our way across, we were none the wiser about which run to take or even where the runs went! Fortunately a kindly kiwi realised we might be a bit stuck about where to go and offered to lead us down the Organ Chutes! It was without doubt the best piece of boarding riding I've experience and the reason why I took up boarding in the first place; remote runs, fantastic snow and no people, just a mountainside to yourself as you wind your way downwards, creating your own lines, before dropping down into a steep sided gorge, and snaking along. We tried again later in the day but the temperatures had risen turning the snow to slush plus too many people had discovered what we already knew!
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, spent with another Jo and her boyfriend Lance, in the village of Ohakune, riding snow and watching sport (Canterbury beat Hawkes Bay in a thrilling rugby game whilst the silver ferns netball team were showing England how the game should be played). The accommodation was also very cool; a converted railway carriage.
Having made our way across, we were none the wiser about which run to take or even where the runs went! Fortunately a kindly kiwi realised we might be a bit stuck about where to go and offered to lead us down the Organ Chutes! It was without doubt the best piece of boarding riding I've experience and the reason why I took up boarding in the first place; remote runs, fantastic snow and no people, just a mountainside to yourself as you wind your way downwards, creating your own lines, before dropping down into a steep sided gorge, and snaking along. We tried again later in the day but the temperatures had risen turning the snow to slush plus too many people had discovered what we already knew!
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, spent with another Jo and her boyfriend Lance, in the village of Ohakune, riding snow and watching sport (Canterbury beat Hawkes Bay in a thrilling rugby game whilst the silver ferns netball team were showing England how the game should be played). The accommodation was also very cool; a converted railway carriage.
Great moments in pop!
Last Friday, Jo & I and some friends went to what can only be described as a 'Great Moment in Pop!' (with thanks to Mark and Lard).
The opening AND closing night of the Amateur Transplants world tour! The who....... exactly. A quick search of Youtube will provide you with an answer but if you cast your memory back a year or so, they 'released' a song called the London Underground' which did the emails rounds. A catchy little number!
Anyway, they were in Wellington for a conference (they are both still doctors!) and it would appear that the NHS doesn't pay for flights around the world for its consultants to attend such conferences, so they packed out the medical school lecture theatre. The show itself was excellent, with many of the songs being short, medical related and of an adult theme. The songs are also by and large their own versions of more famous songs, e.g. James' Sit Down had been turned into OCD! Personally it just reinforces my view that doctors have twisted minds.
Incidentally, there are no plans repeat their world tour, ever...............
The opening AND closing night of the Amateur Transplants world tour! The who....... exactly. A quick search of Youtube will provide you with an answer but if you cast your memory back a year or so, they 'released' a song called the London Underground' which did the emails rounds. A catchy little number!
Anyway, they were in Wellington for a conference (they are both still doctors!) and it would appear that the NHS doesn't pay for flights around the world for its consultants to attend such conferences, so they packed out the medical school lecture theatre. The show itself was excellent, with many of the songs being short, medical related and of an adult theme. The songs are also by and large their own versions of more famous songs, e.g. James' Sit Down had been turned into OCD! Personally it just reinforces my view that doctors have twisted minds.
Incidentally, there are no plans repeat their world tour, ever...............
Sunday, 5 October 2008
First Impressions
I've been in Wellington for just over two weeks now. Whilst I wouldn't say that I know the city inside out, despite its relatively small size, I do feel that I'm gaining a feel for it. The main 'feature' of Wellington, for me anyway, is its bohemian atmosphere. Whilst the appearance of many of its citizens isn't especially unique, the scale is. I've never seen as many people in one place dressed as 'alternatively' as Wellingtonians. The same for body art, i.e. tattoos and piercing. Maybe its the small size of Wellington and the compactness of the city centre which focuses the look but Wellington, or maybe New Zealand, definitely has a style to it.
Some of the buildings in Wellington help to amplify this bohemian appearance. A lot of the buildings in New Zealand are constructed from wood, and houses are commonly referred to as washboard villas. But some of the city centre buildings have a faded look, almost as if they belong to a town in the Australian outback or American Midwest. These contrast sharply with the gleaming skyscrapers of Lambton Quay and the financial district. But the two sit comfortably side by side.
Jo and I went to see a film about sharks last week (www.sharkwater.com) which was excellent as well as being emotive and informative and is definitely worth seeking out. Otherwise, been fairly quiet for us both as Jo had a week of night shifts although I have been to the climbing wall and found a local lacrosse team.
We did go away this weekend with four friends from the UK to River Valley Lodge on the Rangitikei River (www.rivervalley.co.nz). A fantastic location set deep in the heart of the valley. They also offer white water rafting trips on the adjacent river which was fantastic!
Some of the buildings in Wellington help to amplify this bohemian appearance. A lot of the buildings in New Zealand are constructed from wood, and houses are commonly referred to as washboard villas. But some of the city centre buildings have a faded look, almost as if they belong to a town in the Australian outback or American Midwest. These contrast sharply with the gleaming skyscrapers of Lambton Quay and the financial district. But the two sit comfortably side by side.
Jo and I went to see a film about sharks last week (www.sharkwater.com) which was excellent as well as being emotive and informative and is definitely worth seeking out. Otherwise, been fairly quiet for us both as Jo had a week of night shifts although I have been to the climbing wall and found a local lacrosse team.
We did go away this weekend with four friends from the UK to River Valley Lodge on the Rangitikei River (www.rivervalley.co.nz). A fantastic location set deep in the heart of the valley. They also offer white water rafting trips on the adjacent river which was fantastic!
Friday, 19 September 2008
Its been a funny old day
Some of you will remember an old British Comedy from the 1980s (and probably still being aired) called Open All Hours, starring Ronnie Barker. At the end of each show he would stand on the door step of his shop and mutter the line "Its been a funny old day" before packing up the shop.
Yesterday was a funny old day for me. I wandered into Wellington and was walking down one of the main streets when I came across two imperial stormtroopers! Initially I fearing a return of the empire or of Sauron but with a more advanced army this time but the gaggle of birds clamouring for photos suggested that this was no invasion! Fortunately it was two 'actors' promoting a new video game I think, or at least that's what i thought he said from under his helmet. I'll probably go outside in the morning and find bounty hunters sat on my door step and the millennium falcon blasting out of the city airport!
Continuing my journey, I was asked if I wanted to take part in a Cuban fusions salsa dance lesson, for free and with a beautiful lady dancer. Well, do bears.......... It was good fun but hard work but I really enjoyed the half hour session.
The day ended in a local bar with some of Jo's work colleagues and partners, where we were jostled a few times by a pack of smurfs! I'm beginning to think that NZ is a retirement home for cartoon and film characters!
The day I arrived, the weather was fantastic, clear blue skies, unlike those I have recently experienced back home in Manchester. As we approached Wellington, I could see the Southern Alps (the mountains of South Island and back drop to a trilogy of well known stories), which were all snow covered. I read somewhere that New Zealand is also known as the Land of the Long White Cloud, and although this originally referred to North Island only, the snow topped peaks immediately brought this to mind.
Prior to arriving in New Zealand, I had a couple of fantastic weekends in the UK; firstly with one of my closest friends, Dominic Gill, who has just returned from a 2 and half year cycling trip by himself on a tandem from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Tierre Del Fuego in Patagonia. Dom is an aspiring film maker who basically offered lifts to people on his way south, filming a documentary on the way and raising money for charity (www.takeaseat.org). Unfortunately the weather was awful and all the local fields and some of roads around his sisters house in Wooler were flooded. The road home was even blocked by a landslide.
The final weekend was spent at Whitesands Bay in Pembrokeshire at Paul and Jen Bromleys wedding. There was a ceremony on the beach with a fantastic BBQ afterwards followed by surfing! Fortunately the weather was good as we were all camping.
Yesterday was a funny old day for me. I wandered into Wellington and was walking down one of the main streets when I came across two imperial stormtroopers! Initially I fearing a return of the empire or of Sauron but with a more advanced army this time but the gaggle of birds clamouring for photos suggested that this was no invasion! Fortunately it was two 'actors' promoting a new video game I think, or at least that's what i thought he said from under his helmet. I'll probably go outside in the morning and find bounty hunters sat on my door step and the millennium falcon blasting out of the city airport!
Continuing my journey, I was asked if I wanted to take part in a Cuban fusions salsa dance lesson, for free and with a beautiful lady dancer. Well, do bears.......... It was good fun but hard work but I really enjoyed the half hour session.
The day ended in a local bar with some of Jo's work colleagues and partners, where we were jostled a few times by a pack of smurfs! I'm beginning to think that NZ is a retirement home for cartoon and film characters!
The day I arrived, the weather was fantastic, clear blue skies, unlike those I have recently experienced back home in Manchester. As we approached Wellington, I could see the Southern Alps (the mountains of South Island and back drop to a trilogy of well known stories), which were all snow covered. I read somewhere that New Zealand is also known as the Land of the Long White Cloud, and although this originally referred to North Island only, the snow topped peaks immediately brought this to mind.
Prior to arriving in New Zealand, I had a couple of fantastic weekends in the UK; firstly with one of my closest friends, Dominic Gill, who has just returned from a 2 and half year cycling trip by himself on a tandem from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Tierre Del Fuego in Patagonia. Dom is an aspiring film maker who basically offered lifts to people on his way south, filming a documentary on the way and raising money for charity (www.takeaseat.org). Unfortunately the weather was awful and all the local fields and some of roads around his sisters house in Wooler were flooded. The road home was even blocked by a landslide.
The final weekend was spent at Whitesands Bay in Pembrokeshire at Paul and Jen Bromleys wedding. There was a ceremony on the beach with a fantastic BBQ afterwards followed by surfing! Fortunately the weather was good as we were all camping.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
last minute things
Why do we always put things off until the last minute? I have been meaning to 'do' several small jobs for two years but always thought "I'll do them later". So, now here I am staring the gun of time in the face as I race against it to get organised. finish the jobs and enjoy my last few days in the UK. I had hoped to spend the time climbing but I haven't done all the job yet and spent last night writing yet another 'to do' list. It doesn't help when certain large financial institution which claims to 'listen' mess things up at the last minute causing further unwanted stress. I've also had to deal with a fruity mobile phone provider because they can't organise a party in a pub, so to speak.
Fortunately, in a rather perverse way, its been raining, hard and constantly so climbing is out!
The last minute jobs beckon, as does the packing..........................
Fortunately, in a rather perverse way, its been raining, hard and constantly so climbing is out!
The last minute jobs beckon, as does the packing..........................
Monday, 25 August 2008
Insomnia
1 am on the Bank Holiday and I can't sleep. I pretty much struggle to sleep the night before work. Whether its thought of work the next morning or the consumption of beer combined with a lack of activity I'm not sure but I've had this problem for about 6 years. It could also be stress related to the impending move, which is now less than 3 weeks away.
Jo has now been there a week and started work on Monday but I haven't had chance to speak with her to see how it all went. She is also trying to find a flat for to rent. Apparently there are a shortage of one bedroom, furnished flats in Wellington.
I have another road trip this week, well train trip really, to Southampton. Last week was spent in Great Yarmouth and Cambridge, with a detour to Stamford and a final chance to see the woks! Piggy had managed to make a dash for it but was swiftly recaptured and returned to the makeshift run. Not a bad week as I also managed to find a Basking Shark off the Lincolnshire coast as well as add a couple of birds to my British list.
Now, if I could only get some sleep...................
Jo has now been there a week and started work on Monday but I haven't had chance to speak with her to see how it all went. She is also trying to find a flat for to rent. Apparently there are a shortage of one bedroom, furnished flats in Wellington.
I have another road trip this week, well train trip really, to Southampton. Last week was spent in Great Yarmouth and Cambridge, with a detour to Stamford and a final chance to see the woks! Piggy had managed to make a dash for it but was swiftly recaptured and returned to the makeshift run. Not a bad week as I also managed to find a Basking Shark off the Lincolnshire coast as well as add a couple of birds to my British list.
Now, if I could only get some sleep...................
Friday, 15 August 2008
Bye Bye
Jo left today. As did Piggy and Panda (the guinea pigs). Unfortunately I wasn't around for the handover of the woks, as they are affectionately known, but i did drop off Jo at the airport. We had to take about several kgs of clothes, toiletries and books out of her two bags before they would let the bags onto the plane.
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Sore heads!
It was the leaving party last night! About 70 friends and family gathered at Ashton cricket club to wish us well. Thank you coming. Hopefully we'll catch up with the rest of you who couldn't make it before we leave. There was even a competition to see who could turn up fashionably late. Nick, Jean and Lizbob thought they had won it with their appearance at 10 pm, however, Rob Clark, an old lacrosse friend turned up at 11.30pm!! He had to back in London for 10am.
Thanks are also due to Joan and Ian (Jo parents), Alan and Linda (my parents) and Ian Heginbotham for being the DJ.
The post party party took place at the home of my parental units (thanks Ross, still using this) and ended at about 5.30 when woolly and Vicky Raymer crashed on the sofa after discussing the intricacies of the drinking game 'I have never'. Vicky, who went to Loughboro, played the game in a slightly different way to the rest of the population so I can only surmise that Loughboro have their own special rules. Makes you wonder what else they have their own special rules for? Anyone reading this who has played university sport in the UK will appreciate where I'm coming from.
So, as you can imagine there were a few sore heads this morning amongst the chaos and debris! Vicky Badger was up bright and early though. She is also heading out to NZ and is on the same flight schedule as Jo but leaves a day later! Not sure why these two didn't discuss this prior to booking tickets. Jo and Vicky were at medical school together and she is going to be working in the Hawkes Bay region of North Island. Jo is also annoyed that she can only take one suitcase of 20kgs whereas I can take two of 23kgs due to the fact that I'm travelling through the USA whereas Jo is travelling through Dubai. So at the moment she has two and bit suitcases worth of clothes to whittle down!!
No doubt another sore head awaits.
We also have a full week of dining out!!
The other good news is that my friend Dom Gill has finished his epic journey from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Tierre del Fuego on a tandem picking up strangers along the way. We quickly rang him and he sounded great and hopefully I'll see him before I head out. Fantastic, as its been over two years since I last saw him.
Thanks are also due to Joan and Ian (Jo parents), Alan and Linda (my parents) and Ian Heginbotham for being the DJ.
The post party party took place at the home of my parental units (thanks Ross, still using this) and ended at about 5.30 when woolly and Vicky Raymer crashed on the sofa after discussing the intricacies of the drinking game 'I have never'. Vicky, who went to Loughboro, played the game in a slightly different way to the rest of the population so I can only surmise that Loughboro have their own special rules. Makes you wonder what else they have their own special rules for? Anyone reading this who has played university sport in the UK will appreciate where I'm coming from.
So, as you can imagine there were a few sore heads this morning amongst the chaos and debris! Vicky Badger was up bright and early though. She is also heading out to NZ and is on the same flight schedule as Jo but leaves a day later! Not sure why these two didn't discuss this prior to booking tickets. Jo and Vicky were at medical school together and she is going to be working in the Hawkes Bay region of North Island. Jo is also annoyed that she can only take one suitcase of 20kgs whereas I can take two of 23kgs due to the fact that I'm travelling through the USA whereas Jo is travelling through Dubai. So at the moment she has two and bit suitcases worth of clothes to whittle down!!
No doubt another sore head awaits.
We also have a full week of dining out!!
The other good news is that my friend Dom Gill has finished his epic journey from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Tierre del Fuego on a tandem picking up strangers along the way. We quickly rang him and he sounded great and hopefully I'll see him before I head out. Fantastic, as its been over two years since I last saw him.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Meet the parents
We moved out of our house last week, Friday lunchtime think and the tenant was in by Friday tea time. The door mat wasn't even cold!
So we have moved me with my parents. So far so good, no argument (had to watch the spelling there but more on that later) although my dad has tried to exert his authority by making sure he tells us what to do and how things should be done like not leaving the wash house open, closing windows and asking who's food we are eating (I bought our own food last week although we are sharing some bits and pieces such as vegetables).
Digressing slightly, there was an article on the BBC website about how a university professor thinks that schools and universities should ignore certain spelling mistakes, his arguement (!) was that the way students are spelling the words in question (argument is one of them) its doesn't make much difference so why bother. Well..................
Personally its a slippery slope. Saying that, I was having a conversation about grammar the other day with a friend in the pub (where else). Basically my grammar is rubbish and he suggested I read a book called "Eats, shoots and leaves" i think.
So what else is new? The guinea pigs have finally had a taste of grass. Panda seemed to enjoy it as she munched away but Piggy seemed less keen and soon jumped back into the hutch.
We also went to the second Heginbotham wedding of the year at which I was filming yet again, so I now have two wedding videos to edit - joy!
Jo leaves in 7 days!!
So we have moved me with my parents. So far so good, no argument (had to watch the spelling there but more on that later) although my dad has tried to exert his authority by making sure he tells us what to do and how things should be done like not leaving the wash house open, closing windows and asking who's food we are eating (I bought our own food last week although we are sharing some bits and pieces such as vegetables).
Digressing slightly, there was an article on the BBC website about how a university professor thinks that schools and universities should ignore certain spelling mistakes, his arguement (!) was that the way students are spelling the words in question (argument is one of them) its doesn't make much difference so why bother. Well..................
Personally its a slippery slope. Saying that, I was having a conversation about grammar the other day with a friend in the pub (where else). Basically my grammar is rubbish and he suggested I read a book called "Eats, shoots and leaves" i think.
So what else is new? The guinea pigs have finally had a taste of grass. Panda seemed to enjoy it as she munched away but Piggy seemed less keen and soon jumped back into the hutch.
We also went to the second Heginbotham wedding of the year at which I was filming yet again, so I now have two wedding videos to edit - joy!
Jo leaves in 7 days!!
Thursday, 31 July 2008
The almost last supper
Well, not quite, but last night was the last night in our little house. We didn't even have a meal together, Jo having eaten at work, I ended up with Fish and Chips!
So we pretty much have one last car load to take to my parents and then we close the door and hand over the keys. The electrical inspection takes place today as well, so hoping that no problems are encountered.
We had another scare when the invoice came for the transfer of equity (Jo's name has been added to the house title deeds) and it was £360 higher than what we had been quoted for. The solicitor advised that it was related to the drawing down of funds, i.e. the mortgage and that I would need to speak to the bank. This took four days and left us both extremely unimpressed.
It turns out that the solicitor, in his wisdom and without consultation, decided we wanted the mortgage 'drawing down' immediately and thus arranged this which meant that we were going to incur early redemption fees and interest charges which accounted for the extra money. All sorted now!
So a busy day ahead, plus I have to go to a wedding rehearsal tonight. The wedding is tomorrow, which I'm filming, and we have Jo's brothers birthday and a family photograph to fit in somehow.
So we pretty much have one last car load to take to my parents and then we close the door and hand over the keys. The electrical inspection takes place today as well, so hoping that no problems are encountered.
We had another scare when the invoice came for the transfer of equity (Jo's name has been added to the house title deeds) and it was £360 higher than what we had been quoted for. The solicitor advised that it was related to the drawing down of funds, i.e. the mortgage and that I would need to speak to the bank. This took four days and left us both extremely unimpressed.
It turns out that the solicitor, in his wisdom and without consultation, decided we wanted the mortgage 'drawing down' immediately and thus arranged this which meant that we were going to incur early redemption fees and interest charges which accounted for the extra money. All sorted now!
So a busy day ahead, plus I have to go to a wedding rehearsal tonight. The wedding is tomorrow, which I'm filming, and we have Jo's brothers birthday and a family photograph to fit in somehow.
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Two weeks and counting!
The first blog!
In case you are wondering, Jo (my girlfriend) and I are about to move to Wellington, New Zealand. Why? A new life I guess, different weather, different view!
So, we vacate out house in less than two weeks. The cars are up for sale, the plane tickets have been bought and we are slowing starting to pack our bags whilst we clear our junk from the house we have occupied for four years. The irony with with is that we have spent the last two year slowly improving it, the vast majority occurring in the last 6 to 12 months, including new furniture, and its not even us that's going to benefit from it!
Also, Panda and Piggy, our Guinea Pig family leave us next weekend. They were a condition of Jo moving in!! Had we stayed in the UK i think more Guinea Pigs and Rabbits would have joined us! Anyway, they are moving to a new home with Jo's sister Kath who has a much bigger garden with grass. We only have small back yard with paving stones. Great for containing them but I'm sure the grass will be exciting. I wonder what they will make of the grass as they've never seen or run amongst it before. No doubt there will be a stream of churs and whistles.
In case you are wondering, Jo (my girlfriend) and I are about to move to Wellington, New Zealand. Why? A new life I guess, different weather, different view!
So, we vacate out house in less than two weeks. The cars are up for sale, the plane tickets have been bought and we are slowing starting to pack our bags whilst we clear our junk from the house we have occupied for four years. The irony with with is that we have spent the last two year slowly improving it, the vast majority occurring in the last 6 to 12 months, including new furniture, and its not even us that's going to benefit from it!
Also, Panda and Piggy, our Guinea Pig family leave us next weekend. They were a condition of Jo moving in!! Had we stayed in the UK i think more Guinea Pigs and Rabbits would have joined us! Anyway, they are moving to a new home with Jo's sister Kath who has a much bigger garden with grass. We only have small back yard with paving stones. Great for containing them but I'm sure the grass will be exciting. I wonder what they will make of the grass as they've never seen or run amongst it before. No doubt there will be a stream of churs and whistles.
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