Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

It has been a varied week. Claire has been enjoying the first week of her inter-semester holiday, Nicky has had a busy week at work, and I have had a significant week at college. It was exam week for me - practical and theory. I passed the practical but won't know about the theory for awhile yet. It was also our last formal week in college, so we had a shared lunch with a few speeches and presentations, which was quite emotional for some of us. Now I have assignments to do over the next few weeks, and the second part of my weekend course. Once all the work is in and marked, if I have passed I can apply for my final assessment. If I pass that, I get my qualification. On Tuesday it was also Nicky's last evening at Maori. A meal and skits (in Maori) had been organised for the families of the students, so Claire and I went along and enjoyed excellent food and the entertainment. Nicky has enrolled again for next term. The weather has changed as the week has come to an end - it has r...

We have had a few moments of excitement this week, and some improvement in the weather. On Tuesday evening while Nicky was at Maori, we had a call from her work saying that she wasn't to go into the library in Ranui on Wednesday until lunchtime. The library was to be closed because of the swine 'flu. It transpired that Ranui Primary School had been closed because of a couple of suspected cases in the children. The expectation was that the library might be closed for some days, but this turned out not to be case and it opened as planned on Wednesday lunchtime. However, the quarantine of the Ranui Primary school children doesn't seem to have kept them at home, as they have been tuning up at the library only to be sent home again! On Wednesday Claire did her last exam, so to celebrate she and I went to the cinema (both at student rates) to see the current Star Trek film as it comes to the end of its run. Today, in celebration of our 24th wedding anniversary tomorrow, we went t...

It has been a more normal week this week, so there is not a great deal to report. Nicky has been at work as usual, but borrower numbers have be lower. This is probably a combination of weather, which has been cold and wet at times, and various bugs going round. In Nicky's Maori class, 8 people were away sick, and two more left during the evening! It has been exam week number 1 for Claire, sitting three papers during the week. Next week she sits her final paper and then has three and a half weeks off before semester two begins. The exams have gone OK so far; I think she felt best about the history paper - no surprises there. College is the main focus of my days at the moment as the workload increases as the end approaches. We only have one more week of formal tuition, then the last scheduled week which is theory and practical assessments. Then we have 4 weeks to complete at least 6 more assignments (there are some we haven't been given yet from the options course). Then we wait ...

We have had a more eventful time this week, along with lovely autumn weather. We have had almost 5 days of cloudless skies. It has been great to enjoy the sun during the days, but the clear nights have made the mornings cold, so much so we had to de-ice the car on Wednesday. This was the first time we have done this since moving to NZ. The week started with a public holiday due to the Queen having another birthday. In celebration, she sent us one of her citizens from the UK - Jo Millikan - who lived across the road from us in Loughborough. We collected her from the Backpakers Hostel in town on Monday morning, and headed out west to Bethalls beach for a stroll and a picnic. We didn't spend long on the beach (though I did have time for a paddle) because the wind made it very much like Skegness - bracing. We headed off to the Waitakere Ranges visitor centre and had our picnic there - inside, out of the wind, and with a great view. Back home, Claire and Jo got instantly back into their...

NZ still seems a bit of an exotic land to me, and here is one of the reasons why. I can turn round from the desk in my office and this is the view: the palm tree always makes me smile.

Well, it has been another regular sort of week. Claire has been having final lectures as she comes to the end of her first semester at University. Next week she is on study leave, and then in the next two weeks she has exams. My course is continuing at a pace. I have been in college this weekend doing my optional course; on-site chair massage. This is a four day course so I have another weekend to attend in a month. It has been interesting and I have met a whole range of new people. Nicky and I went and had a wallow in the hot pools last night, and then this evening we have been up to Stanmore Bay. Paul and Jenny returned from the UK a couple of days ago, so we had a family get together to hear their news and see their pictures. The main news of the week has been from work for Nicky. Secret Shopping is quite big here to monitor customer service. Apparently, a secret shopper "tested" 42 members of the library staff recently but only one of them scored 10 out of 10 - yes, you g...

It has been another quiet week. Moving into autumn here doesn't seem to be as manic as it was in the UK. We always felt that the pace picked up as the schools went back in September, and then after the October break it was a fast and furious rush into Christmas. We don't have that here with there being no major mid-winter national holiday. Admittedly, Claire's first semester is drawing to a close and my course only has 5 or 6 weeks to the conclusion of formal teaching (and I still feel like I have only just started!!), but the pace of life still feels more gentle than I associate with this change in weather. Speaking of which, it has certainly changed this week. A significant drop in temperature has encouraged us to break out the heaters and get on with using them. We are having some cool, almost crisp mornings, but if the sun comes out the lounge still gets well warmed by mid morning. The major event of the week was Nicky meeting the Prime Minister, John Key (lucky lad). I...