Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

We woke quite early (yet again!) on the Sunday morning at the Holiday Inn Richmond (Vancouver Airport), so were in the restaurant for breakfast shortly after it opened at 6.30. Nicky had an omelette and I had Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon, while watching the last 20 laps of the Monaco Grand Prix. We packed our backpacks ready for our trip to Salt Spring Island and deposited our suitcases with hotel reception. The hotel shuttle bus took us back to the airport where we caught the Skytrain to the Bridgeport bus station and got on a 620 to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. This got us to the terminal quite early so we had time to enjoy the Quayside Market and have a cup of tea. The three hour ferry trip took in stops at three other islands before getting to Salt Spring. It was a large boat (by our standards) and gave us a very comfortable ride (warm inside and bracing outside) and we enjoyed having a bite to eat at the on-board café, which primary had a range of 6 cooked breakfasts. C...

The flight to Orlando, even thought it was only 10 hours, seemed very long. We had a delayed departure from Frankfurt due to an issue with the generator on one of the engines, but after that it was plain flying. We got through US Customs and Immigration in just under an hour, and all the officials seemed very interested to see our NZ passports. As we left the airport to get a shuttle to the hotel, we were greeted with hot late afternoon sun and humidity. It was like a very sticky summer's day in Auckland. When we got to the Lowes Royal Pacific Resort, we discovered that the hotel is a resort in itself (bit obvious from the name really) as well as being one of the three hotels on the Universal theme park site. Nicky went straight off to bed but I needed to unwind for awhile and have something to eat. I had a bit of a wander round the hotel and ended up in Jack's bar where I had a very nice pint of draft beer which was not dissimilar from Newcastle Brown and a portion (not s...

In addition to the post of events on a day-by-day basis, I thought I would do something with a more narrative tone about the experience as a whole.  The visit had a number of elements, expectations and implications. We wanted to see family and friends again, we wanted to see England again (especially Loughborough), and we wanted to do some thing's which can only be done in England. There were also some unexpected treats and we take away with us some very good memories. We began our visit in the south of England with Nicky's family, making an entrance in the baptism service of Mary Hanlon in Andover. Nearly everybody was there so it was great to see so many people all at once as soon as we arrived. Over he next couple of days we got to spend more concentrated time with family members and friends. Our visit ended in the south too, with a party hosted by Felicity in Farnborough and again attended by all the direct family. This too was a very happy event and we got to spen...

The glorious sunny weather of the weekend continued into the Monday, even though it was a Bank (Public) Holiday. After a leisurely breakfast with Felicity and Reg and posting the blog, Nicky and I got our things together and headed up to London for lunch with David, Zoé, Amelia and Cas in West Norwood. It was quite a drive for us, and I wouldn't have made it (especially through the Wandsworth one-way system) without Nicky's navigational assistance. The traffic was quite heavy, the roads narrow, and the route relatively complex. Every moaning Aucklander should be made to drive it every 5 years to make them realise just how lucky they are, and how bad the traffic in Auckland isn't.  Lunch of pork with onions and salad prepared by David was excellent, and Amelia was a real sweetie. It was good to be able to chat with David and Zoé, something I don't think we have had the chance to do for years. When Cas woke up his energy added to the mix, as we sat in the sun replete...

Well, dear reader, it is Monday morning here in the UK, and the sun is still shining, despite the fact that is is a Bank Holiday. In fact, the sun has been shining since we got here (coincidence??). It is not as warm as NZ, but very welcome non the less. Our trip over was long but smooth, 37 hours elapsed time door to door. Claire provided us with a taxi service to Auckland Airport and we said our goodbye's at the security gate (so that she knew we had actually gone and weren't just hiding). With having brand spanking new Kiwi passports we were able to use the electronic systems to scan the passports and have our photos taken. Great fun. After being thorough searched we wandered through the departure lounge in search of cups of tea. While drinking our tea our Cathay Pacific plane arrived, and as it approach the gate is was "washed" by two fire trucks. We are yet to establish why it was singled out for this treatment. We boarded on time and headed for Hong Kong, wa...

It is a sunny Thursday afternoon in Auckland as I write this dear reader. I thought I would post something now just in case I am not able to on Sunday evening, as I know some of you have regular habits based on the fact that I normally post on a Sunday evening, NZ time. We expect to be in Farnborough this Sunday evening, and I don't know what our internet access will be like. The week so far, with the exception of this morning's rain, has been sunny and warm with a pleasant breeze. Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous with clouds only appearing on the distant horizon. Lunches have been taken on the Ratigan, with only a pair of shorts being required. Why are we leaving this weather behind I ask myself? I have spent most of my time doing the final things to prepare for our trip, and helping Stella, Katie and Tim settle into our home. Barry fixed the dishwasher door for us on Tuesday afternoon in record-breaking time (about half an hour) which he was very pleased about. ...

The autumn rain made its presence felt for the beginning of the week, but sunshine interleaved with showers from Thursday onwards, following major thunder and lightening on Wednesday evening. Work kept me busy on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening. In between times I performed my usual duties and continued getting things ready for our trip to the UK. Nicky has been at work even though she is still not completely well. She is improving little by little but wasn't up to prison prayer group on Monday night. On Tuesday afternoon we had an excursion to Mt Roskill for her mammogram.  Thursday was a public holiday for ANZAC day, and we went over to help Stella with packing up, prior to departing from Duart Avenue on Friday. This all went pretty well, and Stella, Katie and Tim are now with us and preparing themselves for their new roles as our house sitters. Saturday was a day for errands - collecting Claire's IKEA chair from Jancis and Nicky's new eternity rin...