Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

We started this week with a public holiday with it being Labour Day. The weather wasn't fantastic, but it didn't stop us having a late breakfast. We went to Pt Erin Park to have a walk and to try and find a view of the Harbour Bridge which we had seen in a film recently. We enjoyed the walk and found the view: The rest of the day was filled with Scrabbling and watching the tellybox. On Wednesday Nicky had an audiology appointment to have her hearing aids adjusted, so we had a quick trip over to the Botany office which was fun (we usually go to the Epsom one). Work has been very busy for Nicky at the library, and I have had quite a bit of Mac work too. Much laundry, ironing and cooking has been undertaken, with the weather gradually getting better and warmer. Friday was a properly warm day - the south side of the house was much warmer than it has been. Yesterday was gorgeous. Nicky was at a church cleaning working bee in the morning. In the afternoon she we...

It has felt like a busy week, one way or another. Nicky has been very busy at work, what with the near permanent state of being short staffed, and the community role which the library plays which is way beyond just the lending of books. I have had quite a bit of Mac work, with telephone support at the beginning of the week and then on-site work at the end. This later commitment stuffed up my new laundry regime as I wasn't here on Thursday and Friday to keep running outside when it started to rain. This meant we ended up doing four loads of washing on Saturday as it was also a nice day, just leaving a small amount of whites in the basket. I also spent a significant chunk of the early part of the week typing out recipes from a pie book by a Kiwi chef who has a good reputation. The book was due back at the library this week and apparently there are 54 other borrowers waiting for it. Oh the burden of being married to someone who can find out these things! I was interrupted by...

It isn't that this week has been busy in the conventional sense, but that a number of things which are not part of our usual routine have happened. First thing on Tuesday morning we went off to Epson to get Nicky's hearing aids fitted. It took about an hour to go through getting them set up and explaining how to use them and maintain them, and what Nicky might expect in getting used to them. I then took Nicky onto work. As I think anyone who uses hearing aids would agree, the world seems quite a different place at first. Nicky has been very good at persevering with her aids and she is starting to get used to them, but they are not a "fix all" solution. They do look very neat though. In the afternoon I nipped into town on the train (after leaving the car outside the library for Nicky) to have a tour of the organ at the Town Hall. I had mentioned to Nicky when we went for a free concert there a few weeks ago that I wouldn't mind a look round, and tours wer...

With having changed the clocks last weekend we have been enjoying lighter evenings this week, but the corresponding darker mornings haven't been as much fun. Nicky has had another busy week at work. The school holidays always change the mix of people using the library and lead to a different range of incidents. I had a couple of jobs at the beginning of the week, but the remainder has been quiet. Nicky was at prison prayer group meeting on Monday, and was hosting the Wednesday evening life group as the usual hosts were away. I popped over to see Claire on Friday to deliver some post and pick up my drive, and went out for a drink in the evening. The sunshine and showers weather pattern has continued this week, making laundry a more taxing affair. On the days when we have had sun and a good breeze, it hasn't taken too long to dry, even if it has been refreshed by the odd shower. Our weekend has been dominated by the Heritage Festival. Yesterday we went to the Botany...

We have had a pretty good week. Nicky has been busy at work without being utterly stressed. I have had Mac work on four of the five working days, though three of the jobs were only small ones. The weather has been mixed, with some rain and some sun, some warm bits and some chilly bits, but it has settled for the weekend and today has been more like summer than spring, even though summer doesn't officially start for another two months. We started watching The Story of England on Monday, which first caught our interest with being filmed in Kibworth, a village south of Leicester where I had a number of customers. Even though quite a lot of the history isn't new to us, seeing it through the history of once place looks interesting, so we will see how it develops. On Wednesday we had the first national earthquake practice, at 9.26am. We all had to drop, duck and hold, ie: get under a sturdy table to protect yourself from falling things. Even though I was at home alone, and ...

Here we are again dear reader, back to the normal single post this week. It has been more of a normal week too. Things have quietened down for Nicky at work, and I have had just a couple of Mac jobs. Lilly (our lovely little green VW Polo) had is 6-month service and WoF (Warrant of Fitness  ≈  MoT) on Monday. We only needed a new number plate light bulb for the warrant, and they didn't ring me about anything on the service, so I am hoping the bill (which I haven't had yet) which be much smaller than last time. On Tuesday I started the very exciting process of applying for NZ citizenship. The first step was to get some passport photos. This was much more fun that fiddling with a photo booth in Tescos. I went down to the New Lynn Post Shop (the NZ Post website having indicated that they have the equipment), and discovered they use a real camera! They have one of the teller stations set up just for taking passport photos. A curtain dropped down from the ceiling and a ...

It is a bonus week dear reader. In addition to the usual weekly post (see below), you are being treated to this extra succulent morsel as we have now been here five years. So, I thought it was time for a bit of reflection. The move from the UK to NZ has been more difficult than I think I expected, but I am not sure what I expected. I think the area which has been the most difficult is the cultural difference between the two countries. Having visited NZ in 1998 and enjoyed my stay, I didn't expect there to be a problem. Kiwi's speak a reasonably understandable form of English, and drive on the correct side of the road. On the whole the social and cultural mores reflect those of England (not surprising really). The devil, as they say, is in the detail, and it was not until I started living here and we were getting our lives organised that those differences started to become apparent to me. The differences are ones more of nuance, emphasis and perspective, as opposed to anyt...