All posts filed under: Life in General

Snowman in June

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Minnie and I had a delightful 10 minutes (seriously couldn’t do any longer with no wellies and no gloves) making a snowman – her first ever. The snow is perfect, really sticky.  So sticky in fact that once we had got in, cleaned up and got into dry clothes I realised my wedding ring must be somewhere in the snowman! Don’t worry any of you who know I wear my great Grandma’s engagement ring, that is currently being valued at a jewelers for our new contents insurance, phew.  However this means until the snow melts and I can get out there to dissect the snowman I have nothing on my ring finger – very disconcerting! We’re trapped in the house for the afternoon now – have no idea how I’m going to keep us all sane until dinner time – please Jackson have a REALLY long lunchtime nap…

God save our gracious queen

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So I have never been that into the Royal family, in fact a few years ago I would have argued about getting rid of them (probably more to wind up my Grandad than actual conviction).  In more recent years I have conceded that they make a lot of money for us, so they are worth keeping purely on a financial basis.  How nice for them, they are financially viable! Then in the last 12 months I have fallen in love with Wills and Harry and their lovely ladies (Harry having many more than Wills) and have felt really quite positive about our Royal future. Now, having lived in a Commonwealth country for just over two months, I am positively brimming with pride for our Windsor contingency. Twice over the Bank Holiday weekend (yes that’s right they have a Bank Holiday for the Queens’ birthday – every year!!) I have commented on how much more enthusiastic Kiwis are about our Queen than we Brits, “We don’t have a bank holiday every year for her birthday and …

Wallowing

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We watched a film last night, “Last Chance Harvey” – melancholy but very watchable thanks to the wonderful Emma Thompson and intriguing Dustin Hoffman.  I’m not going to explain the film’s story, other than it’s about two lonely people meeting and creating hope and happiness in each other. Towards the end of the story, in the bit where it looks the worst just before the happy ending, Emma Thompson’s character explains why she is scared of embarking on a relationship with the man, “..because I am comfortable with disappointment”.  A fairly sad statement no. I’ve been thinking about it ever since and it does resonate with me.  I have had my fair share of disappointment during my life.  I say fair share and I mean it, not too much, not too little, just enough to say that I am like most people.  I do think it’s not the disappointments themselves that mould us, but rather how we deal with them.  And in that I am still learning…and failing. Anyways the question here is, am I …

Ten Things I Miss About England

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I thought it was a good time to do one of these lists.  I will probably revise in 6-12 months time.  And this list will not be including my wonderful family and friends – they are a given in missing the homeland. In no particular order, other than what springs up first when I think of home: Candy King Clothes shops (you know who you are Jack Wills, Sweaty Betty and GAP) Georgian architecture Sarcasm (it’s too negative for the Kiwis) British TV – I have no idea how I am going to cope during Strictly season! The lack of earthquakes Gastropubs, Indian take-aways and 60 Hope Street Heatwaves (this will definitely not be on the list in six months time) Marmite that costs less than £10 Yorkshire, Cumbria and Bath

Swerved Disappointment

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So just to update on the house buying situation – it would seem we did get the house!  Shan’t bore you with the back and forth details we have just been through for the last two weeks, but essentially it resulted in us paying a deposit (yes that’s really required over here) for a lovely house in Christchurch.  Please God don’t let an earthquake hurt it. Or us for that matter! Anyways I’m very excited and am now off to look for sofas….

Gold on the streets

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My sister is going to be so proud of me when she reads this one. This morning I was on my usual quest “to get fresh air” with the children and had Jackson in a back pack and Minnie in the pushchair.  As I was walking along I could see walking towards us, a lady probably in her seventies smiling, no beaming at us.  So I stopped.  Yes that’s right Bud I stopped to talk to an old person in the street. I am so glad I did.  Turns out she was gorgeous.  A doctor who had never married but had spent twenty years of her life working in hospitals in South Africa.  She owned a house out there and was going back for a year.  This angel also owned a house in Kent and Christchurch and best of all, she thought my children were lovely (first way to my heart). We swapped names (Mary is hers) which led into a long conversation about the Scottish, Welsh and English.  Mary said that the Scots (from …

House buying sucks

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How do you prepare yourself for disappointment, without just bringing forward the feeling of disappointment? Gareth and I are still trying to buy a house in Christchurch.  After a huge search across the city, we settled on a lovely house on a pretty street in a not so desirable area of town (due to liquifaction not crime rates). In New Zealand there is quite a formal procedure to put in your offer, you have to sign a contract that awards you two weeks to get all your ducks in line for a definite sale.  Once you get to that point there is no going back. HOWEVER if in that two week period your building inspection flags up a bundle of problems with the house, then everything stays not so definite.  Oddly the issues on this house aren’t earthquake related and are more to do with the age of house.  Maybe New Zealand isn’t so different to the UK.  Tomorrow is the 14th day so decisions must be made and I fear we are going back …