Petrol & Heat

By -
The major news this week is the rise in petrol prices. We knew it was coming and now it has worked its way to the pump prices. Yesterday when I filled up it cost $70. A month ago it was costing $53. That's a rise of over 30%. I don't know what is happening to UK petrol prices but I don't expect they will be coming down. Petrol is still cheaper here than in the UK, and we only fill up about once a week, but it really makes my $105 monthly rail pass look exceedingly good value.

Work has been much the same for us all this week, with Claire doing another Sunday and Nicky now having started her permanent hours. This has meant no evening work which has been good, but she it still on emergency staffing Tues/Wed/Sun, and we expect her to be working most Sunday's for the foreseeable future.

I organised a "works outing" for Friday evening to see the new Indiana Jones film in Newmarket. Six of us plus two other-halves went and had an enjoyable time. The film wasn't fantastic but it was OK, and it was good to do something together. Talia, my boss, is planning something more for next month.

Our most exciting piece of news this week is that I bought a 2.4KW column heater (oil filled) yesterday that was on offer in a big DiY store. This has been greeted with favourable comments by those who like warm toes. It is capable of heating the lounge and dinning area quite quickly and then can be turned down to maintain the temperature. Nicky and I can now use the smaller one in the office or our bedroom (Claire has a small one from England almost screwed to the floor in her room, though she has allowed us to borrow it occasionally). The downside is going to be the impact on the electricity bill. Hey ho.

I have subscribed to some Radio 4 podcasts and have now started some regular listening via my iPod. As a result, my understanding of what is happening in the rest of the world is starting to improve. I listen to Broadcasting House on a Sunday morning, but a week behind the UK transmission, because I like the way it adds to my Sunday breakfast.

The weather has be drier and milder this week, and very pleasant in the sun when it has been out - but it won't last. It never does in Auckland!

Bye for now,

Rick

Comments

Martin said…
Heyup. I don't know what the conversion rate is, but I guess if I told you that diesel here is £1.25ish a litre, you'll have some sense of where things are going here. I', seriously thinking of downsizing to something capable of more than 43mpg, which is about all I can wring out of the Multipla these days.

Oh, and it's raining big time here, just in time for the exam season. Keep up the good work blogging-wise!

Take care,
Martin

p.s. Cricket: England continue to dismay and amaze in equal measure. In the second Test at Old Trafford they allowed the Kiwis to build a good first innings, then scratched around for a mediocre first innings, and then went mental, bowling the Kiwis out for 114, needing around 290 to win, and trotted them off quite easily. NZ cricket isn't up to the standards of it's rugby team...
May 28, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Challenging week

By -
Image
 It has been a challenging week. At the beginning of the week Nicky was still getting worse, so she arranged an appointment with the GP on Tuesday afternoon. The GP confirmed that Nicky had bronchitis and sinusitis, but that her chest sounded clear. With the infection being viral, there was no medication that could be prescribed, but some additional painkillers were in order to manage the symptoms and assist with the pain caused by congestion, coughing and vomiting. As the week progressed Nicky started to improve slowly. The periods of incessant coughing and coughing induced vomiting started to subside yesterday. She was able get a little more sleep and keep a little more food down. The washing machine has been very busy with regular changes of PJ’s, dressing gowns and bedding. Some of the laundry has been dried outside but the winter weather has deteriorated over the last couple of days. While Nicky has been unwell she has cancelled all her commitments. I have been running errands...
Read more

Tea and Tissues

By -
Image
 We have had a quiet week at home, doing jigsaws and listening to Harry Potter. Nicky seemed to be getting better at the beginning of the week but it was short lived. As the week has drawn to a close she has actually started getting brighter and felt like doing some things round the house. Nicky got dressed for the first time this week on Friday to go to the hospital for a blood test, and we did a little shopping on the way home. Yesterday she made a couple of lemon cakes and delivered one to Eleanor for her birthday. Nicky found the few minutes walk there and back exhausting. Meanwhile, I gradually got worse through the week until Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday I ploughed through a whole box of 240 tissues, and most of a packet of throat lozenges. Paracetamol helped with the general aches and temperature fluctuations. This weekend is the first time I have done my morning exercises in over a week, and I even managed a short amble this morning in the lovely (almost spiring-like) ...
Read more

Easter

By -
Image
 Steve continued his convalescing with us at the beginning of the week, and continued to improve each day. He decided to start the journey home on Tuesday by driving to Te Kuiti. As Monday was going to be his last evening with us he provided another take-away dinner from the Spice Guru, which we enjoyed as much as the previous one. Steve and I were a little early collecting it, so while we were waiting I was having a look at the buildings at the bottom end of Victoria Avenue and spotted this: I think Whanganui rivals Napier for the quality of its Art Deco architecture. Before Steve left on Tuesday morning, he and Nicky went to the Splash Centre to have a wallow in the thermal pool. This had been recommended by Nicky’s physio when she had seen her on Monday. Nicky had a short swim too and they both enjoyed their time. We were very pleased that Steve felt sufficiently recovered to start his journey home, as it was not good seeing him in as much pain, as when he first arrived. It was ...
Read more