Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

The beginning of the week was marked by both of us feeling very tired after our sleeping routine being affected by watching the wedding. This didn’t stop Nicky watching again on Monday evening however. We had watched the BBC coverage live on TVNZ1 and recorded the ITV coverage transmitted by TVNZ3 and Nicky enjoyed the different perspectives. After a late breakfast on Monday morning Nicky went over to see Kanchan who she used to work with. In the afternoon we combined business and pleasure with a trip to see Clem and Pat, and some work for me on the peninsula and in Browns Bay on the way home. We had changed the bed and done some of the washing as it looked like, and transpired to be, a largely wet week. Nicky’s working week has been busy, and has improved as her sleeping has improved. I have been busier though that is partially because I have spent twice as much time travelling to and from jobs as I have actually spent time doing the jobs because of dealing with issues which ...

It was quite a wedding wasn’t it? TV coverage started here at 5pm with some scene-setting programmes, and went on to 1pm this morning with live coverage of the wedding and procession round Windsor. We thought it all went very well (and not just because of the wine that we were drinking), and were very pleased at how good the weather was. Nicky is just watching edited highlights again as I write. It was all done very well and with some excellent touches and departures from the norm. But it wasn’t the only excitement we have had this week. It has been the Auckland Writers Festival this week/weekend, and I have been to four sessions both today and yesterday. Nicky didn’t go with working yesterday and being very tired today what with a number of poor night’s sleep and a late night after watching The Wedding. I enjoyed the majority of what I saw at the festival, and as ever, the atmosphere was very convivial. I noted a couple of amusing soundbites: Alan Taylor, the founder of the “...

The weather is still warmer than would be expected for this time of year (we had a high of 23ºC for a little while today), but just to get us into the mood for what’s coming we had some fog on Thursday morning. Nicky has had issues with getting to work this week, partially caused by a number of poor night’s sleep and partially by a train derailment at Britomart on Wednesday. Delays and fewer trains were still the best the service could provide on Friday, and buses have been replacing trains over the weekend. For those who don’t know, Britomart is currently the end of the line in the CBD. All train services start and finish there, so the derailment has affected all of the Auckland rail network. Thursday was an interesting work day for Nicky as she had ben seconded to New Lynn library for the day. Having worked there for awhile in the past she knew where most things were, but inevitably there had been changes that she had to deal with during her working day. All the same, she enjoye...

We have been enjoying a week of mainly sunny, warm and dry autumnal weather this week - cool mornings and evenings with very pleasant afternoons. We started the week with Nicky’s day off and a trip to Dilworth Hearing to get a replacement hearing aid for the one Nicky lost on the way to the bus stop a couple of weeks ago. Melissa the audiologist paired the new one up and we also installed an app on my phone to communicate with them, which over a short distance might help us locate them if one gets lost again. The insurance company have been brilliant again - the replacement and its fitting hasn’t cost us anything, even though it’s only little over a year ago that Nicky had to have a complete new pair of hearing aids after loosing one of her originals while we were on holiday. We had a little rain in the afternoon and Nicky did some baking and ironing. We had the evening at church for a DVD presentation on the Five Languages of Love, which we both found quite interesting. The r...

Wednesday was ANZAC Day, and I had offered to take Nicky and Mary to the dawn service at the museum. Nicky had been before and had major problems parking, hence my offer, though if I could have found somewhere to park I would have gone with them. As it was I couldn’t so I dropped them and found a spot way down Parnell Road. While they were at the service I had a wander up and down the road and cup of coffee and date scone. The service was good but both Mary and Nicky found standing, and at times being on uneven ground, difficult. We all met up again just before 7am and after dropping Mary at home enjoyed a good cooked breakfast. Late morning we had a phone call from Pat inviting us and Stella up to them for afternoon tea. Nicky set to baking savoury muffins and a feijoa cake, but due interruptions and things taking longer than expected the cake didn’t make it to Whangaparaoa. Afternoon tea turned out to be lasagne and salad which was a bit of a surprise but very good. It was the f...

Nicky has had a very hectic week, for a number of different reasons. The library has been somewhere between very busy and manic, due to the school holidays, but she was only there for two days. She took some annual leave to attend this years Beyond NZ conference. This occupied Thursday evening, all day Friday, and Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon was quilting, followed by interesting baking of upside down apple and caramel cakes. Monday she spent a long time at the op shop buying some clothes (almost a complete new wardrobe by my standards but I appreciate that my standards are quite low). Thursday was a visit to Doris to get her hair done, mowing, and taking storm damaged flora down to the dump (they call them transit stations here, much moire elegant). She has also had a few nights of broken sleep which has been quite taxing. However, the additions to her wardrobe are good, and she enjoyed the conference. My week has been much quieter with just one on-site job, though I spen...

As I sit down to write this week’s post the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony is just starting. Our TV viewing has been dominated by the Games, and The Crown series 1 on DVD. We have greatly enjoyed both, for quite different reasons. The Women’s Rugby 7’s final was a little tense but came out with the right result in the end. The other major event of the week has been the storm that hit Auckland on Tuesday night. It didn’t have a name because it wasn’t a tropical cyclone, but unlike the two cyclones that we only caught the edge of over the summer, we got the full force of this. Unfortunately I was out on Tuesday evening working. The weather was fine when I left home, but coming back a couple of hours later was quite a different story; street lights and traffic lights were out, trees and debris were blocking parts of the roads, and the heavy rain made visibility difficult. When I got home we had no power so it was out with the candles and off to bed. Most Auckland homes suffered ...