Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

Well I wasn't sure that I was going to get the blog written and posted tonight, as just I was dishing up the soup for tea (french onion) the power went out. We have candles, matches and torches in known places so we were quickly able to provide light, and the soup was still hot so that was OK. The power came back on a couple of hours later, but Nicky and I had already gone to bed, though Claire was still up. However, I decided that should rise so that you, dear reader, do not miss out, and so that I could have a shower. It has not been an exciting week. Work has been much the same, but Nicky has been suffering from quite a bad cold. She hasn't taken any time off work, but it has made her feel rotten. The first thing she wanted when the power came back was the vapouriser putting on! I am still working my way through the 44 Scotland Street books and enjoying them very much. We had a very good evening last night (Sat) - Paul and Jenny came over for diner. So more scintillating con

The main event this week has been getting to work without getting soaked to the skin. It has been a very wet week, with some torrential downpours on occasion. According to the BBC weather forecast, it might stop raining this coming week. Other than that work has been much the same for all of us. Nicky has done a Waitangi Treaty course on the last two Wednesday afternoons which she has found very interesting, and has disseminated pertinent factoids to Claire and I over dinner. Saturday was fun packed for Claire and I. We went to an open day at Massey University in Albany. Claire has been considering applying there due to the sluggish nature of the response to her application from Auckland University, and I have to say we were both very impressed. The course has a good structure, the staff were interesting and slightly eccentric, and the campus is new with what I can only describe as interesting and cosy architecture. Getting there would mean Claire using the car, but there is plenty of

Munted, a kiwi word as far as I am aware, is a word I hear regularly at work, and is the first kiwi word I have really taken to. It means broken, and said with what I think of as a rather endearing Yorkshire accent, I think it conveys the meaning very well. It has been a busy week for us all with our various work commitments so we have done no socialising during the week*, but we have had today together which has been really good. The weather has not been as good as the BBC forecast, but we had a good amount of warm sunshine so we drove over to Piha on the west coast for a walk along the beach. It has been another very wet week so the sun has been very welcome. It also means I can post some new pictures, which I know I haven't done for awhile. * there was one exception to this - Nicky collected Mary Drillion on Tuesday and went over to see Ruth Duffus who is looking even more frail than she did when she was in hospital. With not having NZ televison we are not up to speed with what

Well, even though it is only just over a week since Emily and Shona left, it feels like a lot longer. We very much enjoyed having them to stay. There were a couple of other things related to their visit which I forgot to mention last week. When we were coming back through Auckland from Hungry Creek and I was pointing out the sights, for the first time Auckland felt like a place where I am living as opposed to a place that I am visiting. Then at the airport, for the first time that I can remember in many years, I didn't feel like getting on a 'plane and flying off somewhere. Perhaps my feet aren't as itchy as they used to be, or perhaps the thought of travelling again so soon after getting here requires too much effort. I don't know, but it was an interesting feeling. Work has again been busy for all of us with Claire doing three extra shifts at Whitcoulls, Nicky doing her regular hours and some emergency cover, and me doing a couple of evenings too. Our household and th