Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone. We wish you all the very best for the coming year.

We had a lovely evening, playing cards and dominoes with Reece and Karen. I actually won the dominoes game 'Mexican Train' but badly lost at Uno, which is as usual. I don't think I have ever won a Uno game. The rules for this game vary depending on the interpretation. We call them German, French or English rules and tonight we had another variation - Australian. It is a family tradition to play cards on New Years Eve and we missed all our fellow players who were off celebrating New Year elsewhere. Donna and Darren went to a pub in Bexley - hope they did not get too drunk! Emma and Steve went to a party. Scott, who is now 16, went off to his own party. Aaron, Kylie and Billie celebrated New Year in Holland with firework celebrations that sounded like World War 111.

The firework display in London was fantastic. If you do not live in the UK make sure you take a moment to watch them on TV. They are impressive! I wonder who paid for them?

Happy New Year.

Technology

My computer crashed at the beginning of the week so I paid a man £30 to give advice over the phone in order that I reconfigure the computer. Once started, the instructions were on the computer in front of me but that is how computer technology works - you pay someone to give advice. I had to reload everything back on again via memory sticks (took ages) so now I have an external back up system (somewhere in cyber space). I have more security on the computer so that 'bugs' do not get in and play havoc, which is what I think happened. I now have the laptop working again with even more software on it and it is even better so I am very happy.
I have also bought a new BlackBerry (BlackBerry Bold) which is fantastic, so fast and more to play with and use. For the past few months I have only had a very basic contract which allowed 100 free texts, no free telephone calls and no internet (I thought this is what I should do seeing that I am a pensioner!). Thank goodness I saw reason so now I am on a decent contract again - back to free texts, telephone calls and lots of internet. It costs money of course but pensioner frugalness can only go so far. This also applies to good wine and coffee!

Playgrounds

On Tuesday, Billie and I took Jay and Jespa to what is meant to be a fantastic playground in Danson Park, Bexley, only to find the gates to the playground locked. According to the security man, this was for health and safety reasons. However, there were only a few patches of snow around, and no apparent reason for locking a playground, except meanness on the part of the council.

There were a lot of frustrated parents with children who needed to be outside in the fresh air, and a playground seemed to be an obvious choice, so most people jumped over the gate. Sadly I tried and found myself with one leg on either side of the fence (due to the long coat and big boots hampering me) so thought it best so stay on the outside and watch Jay and Jespa from there. They were very happy and very muddy. I took the above photo looking away from the playground as I looked dodgy enough standing on the outside looking in, without taking photographs as well!

We visited another playground (in Orpington) the previous Thursday. The snow was thick on the ground and no locked gates. Obviously Bromley has a different attitude!

Visit to London

Last Monday the family (Emma, Steve, Jackson, Isabel, Darren, Billie, Jay, Jespa) went into London for the day. Walter and I stayed at home and rested. In fact I spent the day reviving my laptop!

They were very lucky and saw the changing of the guard at the Horse Guards

as well as at Buckingham Palace.

At the end of the day they went up on the London Eye and were lucky to get amazing views, due to the clouds lifting at dusk. They all came back feeling very happy.

Canterbury Cathedral

Last Sunday we went with Darren, Billie, Jay and Jespa to Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral. As it was the Feast of St Stephens there were mostly carols, and we enjoyed the opportunity to listen to, and sing, them again. They did include 'In a bleak Midwinter' which is just about the most depressing hymn around. The visiting choir were the Chancel Singers, and they were very good. As it was 3.15 p.m. it was beginning to get dark, which added to the atmosphere of the church.Canterbury Cathedral is very impressive! The scene of Thomas a Becket's murder and a place of pilgrimage until his tomb was removed during the reformation. There now a shrine in place of his tomb. The tomb and clothes of the Black Prince are also in the church.
Canterbury is a lovely town, full of old buildings and plenty of charm. Even on a cold day in winter there were still loads of tourists around.

Christmas Day Celebrations

A great day celebrating Christmas with family from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The food was terrific of course but being together was even better.

The line up of the boys (Darren, Scott and Steve)!

Steve and Emma relaxing!

Darren is in the background strengthening the chairs before dinner while Reece, Karen and Billie relax with pre dinner drinks. There are no photos of Donna due to the fact that she was suffering from a cold and did not look her best.

A very Merry Christmas to everyone.

Great excitement here - Darren, Billie Joe, Jay and Jespa finally arrived in the UK. Darren and Jespa came by coach and arrived in Dover at 6.30 a.m. It snowed all the way to the UK and the trip through Belgium was particularly hair raising due to poor visability and speeding vehicles.
Billie Joe and Jay flew to Stansted and arrived at 2.15 p.m.
All the cousins were really excited to see each other and have been playing happily together. The adults were pleased to be together and there has been lots of sharing experiences and catching up on news. We had a belated birthday party for Billie Joe, whose birthday took place in Istanbul yesterday.
The weather feels quite warm as it is 2 degrees outside. The snow has melted a little due to the drizzle that has fallen today. However, it has been grey, grey, grey all day.

The saga of Heathrow Airport

Heathrow Airport is apparently mostly up and running but they are still trying to clear the backlog of planes still sitting on the tarmac. They are also not letting any planes land that were due in yesterday because of the congestion. So Darren is still comfortably settled in his hotel in Frankfurt. Singapore Airlines are hoping to organise a coach to take anyone back to London that want to travel by road. They still have to fly to Heathrow to collect passengers waiting there so people can wait and travel back on the plane but when? Billie rang us from Istanbul to say she may be on a flight to Stansted but we have heard nothing since. She got up really early this morning to get back on the plane to Heathrow but of course it did not take off.
What a pain!

Donna and I went for a walk in the woods. So beautiful and crispy white.

Reece and Karen are here also. This is their little van which they have been sleeping in as they travel the UK and Europe. They had to start using hotels once they got to Holland, way back in November, due to the extreme cold. The van is a Renault Express (the Greeen Goblin) and has a click clack bed, plus stove, sink and cupboards. A very compact camper van.

Christmas Brightness

Lots of brightness in the room with our Christmas lights in the conservatory and on the mantelpiece, which is just as well as we are certainly spending a lot of time inside. We have had lots of help from our purchases at Shona's Christmas Shop.

In the bleak midwinter

'In the bleak midwinter, frost and wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak mid winter, long ago'.
Words by Christina G. Rossetti 1830-1894, Music Gustov Holst 1874-1934

This hymn comes to mind right now! There is greyness, darkness and the ground is very hard, or at least under the layer of snow it is very hard.
Before the snow, when all was grey, dark and cold. After the snow, when all is white and very cold.

My poor bike all covered in snow.
Clearing the paths the hard way but salt helps considerably.

We have had a lovely family pre Christmas day, minus Darren, Billie, Jay and Jespa who could not land at Heathrow this morning due to the inefficiency of Heathrow Airport! Why is it that one of the largest international airports in the world goes to pieces when it is faced with snow! Darren and Jespa are in Frankfurt (Singapore Airlines) and Billie and Jay are in Istanbul (Malaysian Airlines) awaiting the all clear to get back on their planes to come to Heathrow. Both airlines have treated their passengers well, with accommodation and free local trips thrown in.

We are hoping all will be well tomorrow.

Winter

The good news for me is that I did not get a cold, it was all in my imagination. I still have the hot water bottle against my back as I write this blog, in order to keep my warm, but I have dispensed with the blanket! I went for a half hour walk in the woods this morning, and spent much of the time trying to stay upright. The snow has frozen and the paths are covered in ice. It looks very beautiful.

I don't how the moles can be so active at this time of year. As well as the 15 molehills in the front lawn there are about 10 in the back garden. When I walked on the grass at the front I could feel the tunnels undernearth the surface. I have only just reseeded the lawn so am not impressed.
I have lots of leeks and cabbages in the back garden so intend to make soup tonight. By the time I had pulled the leeks out of the frozen ground my hands were also frozen. There is also a fog (freezing) which does give the garden a mysterious feeling to it. Walter has gone to the nursery where our motorhome is stored. Our BMW is also there, and won't go because the battery is flat. Walter has called the AA so hope he does not have too long to wait, although he is rugged up. Oh for some NZ sunshine.

At home

I am lying on the couch covered in a rug and hot water bottle. I think I am getting a cold! Welcome home!

A great flight back on the airbus and the added bonus was the plane arrived here with all its engines.

The first shock was Heathrow - dirty floor, a long wait at Border Control and an even longer wait for our luggage to come off the plane. We waited 10 minutes in the bitter cold for the hopper bus to take us to the hotel. When it arrived it was full of people and luggage and the driver was angry so he drove at a reckless speed around corners and slammed his brakes on whenever he had to stop. The foyer of the Premier was full of people waiting to go to the airport. Then I had the worst cup of coffee ever, it was all flat milk and very little coffee. I felt very depressed!

Thank goodness life improved after that. The room was great, shower even better and the bed very comfortable. The melatonin tablet worked a treat and I slept soundly all night. And of course everything looks so much better in the morning. The full breakfast was very good and certainly one of the best I have experienced. Then Donna arrived to collect us and we had a surprisingly easy trip back on the M25.

The snow still lay thickly on the ground around here, and I should have taken a photo of our back garden but thought I would do so today. Typically, it started to melt and today it is nearly all gone. So no photo. There are still piles of it in carparks though.

It is great to be back with Donna and Emma and the children and we are looking forward to seeing Aaron and Kylie and children next week. Then Darren and Billie arrive with their two, plus Karen and Rhys so it will be all go. Looking forward to it.

Orchard Road

Today we took the super efficient MRT (Metropolitan Rapid Transport) to Orchard Road. We started at the ION shopping centre which is luxury plus, especially the toilets, and then went across to CK Tangs, which is a department store that we remember when we lived here. Great to have some familiarity so we did some Christmas shopping. We bought a small speaker, with tremendous sound, for my computer and Ipod. It also has a wifi dongle so that I can use the speaker without connecting it to the computer. This is my Christmas present and I am really pleased with it, even though I could have bought it from Amazon in the UK for £20 less than I paid for it here. CK Tangs always was an expensive shop!
Orchard Road and the shops are full of Christmas decorations and unusual Christmas trees. After NZ's Christmas understatement (there were few decorations and very little Christmas muzac) Singapore's has gone completely overboard. No doubt it is good for business and we saw plenty of buying happening today.

I do appreciate the lovely wide footpaths in Orchard Road as I can remember the narrow and uneven footpaths along the road and the very wide open monsoon drains. I also remember the excitement of the Hilton being built, with its swimming pool on the top floor. It was the tallest building then. Plus the new shopping centre which I hated taking Aaron to, because I was sure he would fall through the gaps in the railings on each floor. Health and safety was not a great concern to the government in the 1970's.

I have not mentioned that Orchard Road, plus the other upmarket shopping centres, have all the designer label shops, at top prices. It is quite overwhelming. There must be people around who have lots of money!

We are now off to find a new curry restaurant and then off to the airport tomorrow for the last leg of our trip. So it will be back to the UK and a night in the Premier Inn at Heathrow.

Singapore Again

Today we got up early as the the Melatonin did not work and our body clocks told us we were still in NZ. We then decided to visit the Marina Bay Sands Hotel complex, which meant going up to the observation deck. This was against my better judgement but it turned out to be ok.

It is Singapore’s largest hotel, with over 2,500 rooms, housed in the three towers which soar 55 levels above the bay. The observation deck is 200 metres above the ground. The lift up did not whoosh up, leaving our stomachs on the ground. In fact it was very smooth – a good start. It took me a while to go near the edge which had a clear perspex wall but I managed after a while and was rewarded with an impressive view. Walter was very brave!

There is a very long swimming pool up there, a garden, plus restaurants and bars but only guests can access most of them. Interestingly there were wedding photos being taken beside the pool, or at least we think the couple were bride and groom as they could have been models for an advertisement. They looked a little out of place amongst the swimmers!

The lobby downstairs is enormous and there appeared to be staff everywhere. The front doors were opened by girls and there was a quartet playing music. All very over the top but we loved it.
Attached to the hotel is a shopping complex, a casino, theatres and a museum. Everything is very pricey of course. The hotel opened in June 2010 and there is still work in progress around the hotel and shopping centre. Of course it is all built on reclaimed land. When we lived here there was only open sea.

We had lunch beside this pool of water, which was part of a canel where you took take very short boat rides.

Tonight we went back to a curry restaurant that we found two months ago only to find it, and all the shops in the building as well as the shops in the next building empty. Demolition is obviously about to take place. Typical!

Leaving NZ

We are now in Singapore, the land of super efficiency!

We left Nelson in brilliant sunshine, although I do believe they are now getting some much needed rain. The road to Blenhem was extremely twisty but as usual beautiful. We stopped to look at the giant Totara tree and went for a short walk in the Totara forest. These trees are impressively tall and straight.

After coffee, which was not up to the usual standard, we proceeded around the coast of Malborough to Christchurch. Along the coast there were hundreds of seals basking in the sunshine so we had a couple of stops to look at them, from a distance of course, as the male seals can be very aggressive and I did not fancy a fight. We stayed at the Sudima Hotel by the airport, and managed to get a room on the ground floor which had a view of a lovely garden.

We left the next morning, again in brilliant sunshine which made us feel extra sad about leaving NZ. It is a beautiful country, the food is fantastic and the people are very friendly. We will miss the coffee and huge ice creams but not some of the mad drivers in the South Island.

Leaving NZ means saying goodbye to my family so hope it won’t be too long before we can see them again.

The last leg

We leave here tomorrow morning to travel the six or more hours to Christchurch, via the coast of Malborough. More twisty roads! So our holiday in NZ is nearly finished and with great sadness we say goodbye to everyone here, and the beautiful sunshine.

We have been walking around the airport each day with Neville and Margaret, a total of 7 kms, so we are very fit and must keep this up when we return to the UK, providing that we are not snowed in of course. I walked so fast that I had difficulty taking photos of the aeroplanes taking off or landing!
I am including a photo of Neville and Chris’s hamburger shop which is called Racey Burgers. Walter and I helped make some of the meat patties for the hamburgers, and worked very co-operatively together I might add. Unfortunately the shop was closed when we took the photo so have included a separate photo of Neville and Chris. Their hamburgers are delicious! Margaret has just reported to me that her recycling bin is full of wine bottles! There must be a mystery drinker in the house or perhaps the neighbours have been leaving their bottles in Margaret’s bin. Margaret is adament that she did not drink the wine.

Walter is off to bowls again today, which is the fourth time since we arrived. He has really become enthusiastic about the game. I hope he does not get sunburnt as it is a hot day.

Mapua

A few days ago we travelled to Mapua, which is a sea side town not far from Nelson. It had lots of interesting shops plus a marvellous cafe that overlooked the river. We sat on the sun deck and ate seafood chowder, which had a tomato base. We then went across the road and ate huge fresh fruit yoghurt ice creams. Bliss!