Stuffed, Drunk and Stupid

What a Christmas! We have been treated to many wonderful things. Christmas dinner was a gastronomic delight, with numerous types of roasted and stuffed birds- turkey, quail, partridge, goose, duck and wood pigeon, not forgetting the pork, with chestnut stuffing, orange stuffing and

all the trimings. All washed down by Cloudy Bay.

On Boxing Day we had a dip in the sea in aid of charity- the rules were that you couldn't wear a wetsuit and had to be totally immersed. So on the count of five, about 30 people (stupid?) and 10 dogs ran like crazy, amid much screaming and wailing, and we were in!!!!

Long walks on the beach, glorious sunshine, very special presents, and a much needed rest have made this a Christmas to remember, thanks to the Swiftshore residents and guests and to the many friends who have contacted us.

Soon we are off to see Sarah and Robert in Tring.

More to follow soon...................................................

Exhausted!

The last 10 days have been so busy that we haven't had time to write anything. So much has happened and the time has whizzed by.
Just over a week ago, Richard hosted a great party for us at his very beautiful home, a former village jail. As well as the excellent company, we were treated to a magnificent homemade buffet
and a tour of the cells!!

Most of our house furniture was collected the same day, which left us with 2 chairs, a bed and a TV- hakuna matata! Home comfort and a ready supply of food and bubbly beverages were supplied by Stuart and Karl until we left the house yesterday. Their hospitality has been, as always, exceptional.
We visited NZ House to collect our visas at the start of the week and also enjoyed meeting Michelle, the boss of the agency who arranged Lynn's Tauranga job, for lunch. What a lovely, bubbly person she is and we highly recommend her to those docs among you who are thinking of looking for a job overseas.
Tom's car set off on its voyage to NZ and our belongings began their voyage the following day. The Furries left for the cattery near Heathrow, amidst much howling and tears ( Megan and Lynn) - thankfully they have settled there ok, with Megan and Domino sharing a "suite" and Pimms and Billy sharing another. Pimms and Billy have apparantly become great friends and now sleep side by side. So.... hakuna matata!.
Yesterday we went to see Tom's parents in Blackpool and it was lovely to also see May, Natalie, Lizzie, both Davids, Emily (whose mince pies went down a treat), Jennifer (whose infectious laugh filled the day!), Chrissie and Carolyn- another very special and memorable send off, with more great food and fun. We set up a laptop and Skype for Tom's parents and Natalie is now teaching them how to use it. Then, late yesterday evening, we travelled to spend Christmas with Lynn's family in Cornwall- we arrived exhausted soon after midnight.
So, its now time to relax and enjoy Christmas! We hope you all have a fab Christmas and a very relaxing time- in particular, hakuna matata!
More to follow soon........................................

Hakuna Matata

It's been a busy week made very tiring by us being less than bundles of health- unfortunately, we haven't been able to do everything we had planned to do.

Grace, Ray and Jane gave us a thoroughly enjoyable day when we visited them in South Wales and saying goodbye to such kind and caring people, whose friendship and support has been second to none, was not easy.

As part of a visit to London, Sarah D. treated us to "The Lion King" at the Lyceum. What a show! and if you haven't seen it yet, you really should. We loved every minute of it- the set and scene changes were stunning, bringing back memories of our time on safari in South Africa last year, the African music and singing were superb, and the characters were great fun.

Two characters in particular stole our hearts, as they have thousands of other children........... the meercat, Timon, and the warthog, Pumbaa.

Their song is Hakuna Matata and it goes like this:
Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing crazy

It means no worries
For the rest of your days
It's our problem free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!................

Hakuna Matata is now our philosophy too! It is a Swahili term and apparantly used as a greeting. The next 2 weeks are even busier but eh?.............no worries!

Busy Times

We have spent time over the last week with our parents, organising Broadband in preparation for Skype and it is good to know that we will all be able to see as well as hear each other when we are in NZ.


We have been both moved and overwhelmed by the number of people who have arranged send off events for us- some are still to happen- and it has been a wonderful opportunity to catch up with people and say farewell. Last night we were treated to a fab evening by the Emergency Medicine trainees and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, with Christmas food, pink champagne, and great conversation!


The surveyor inspected the house today and hopefully the sale will progress smoothly. We continue to pack, sort and discard things but there still seems a lot to do in the time we have left in the UK. Three weeks from now we will be on our way to NZ.

So much will happen next week- more farewells, including a trip to South Wales, 2 parties, a surprise event on Wednesday, haircuts and highlights (Lynn not Tom!!!) and a mass removal of furniture from the house at the end of the week.

Sunday Lunch

Today we were invited to a yummy Sunday lunch with Jo, Demas, Elsa and Charlie. Rosemary, Andrew and Frank joined us along with 2 Coffey juniors, Ceilan and Nevin (both the image of Frank). Enduring friendships like these are very special indeed and we know they will survive our move to the other side of the planet. We will be seeing Rosemary and Andrew again soon, in Tauranga, during their visit to NZ and we are looking forward to showing them Lot 5 Minden Road.


A busy week lies ahead- cat poo samples to be collected (any suggestions about how to achieve this will be gratefully accepted!) and sent to the lab for analysis as part of the Furry immigration process, more sorting and packing, a car boot sale and another farewell dinner with friends and colleagues.

Countdown

It is now less than a month before we leave the UK. So much has happened in the 2 weeks since we arrived back from our holiday- one house sold (phew!), farewell meals, Xmas shopping and much packing and sorting. There is a lot more to be done but we know it will all fall into place as the days go by.
Liv and Pete called to say goodbye today and we enjoyed cream cakes and tea- it was lovely to see them and we very much hope they will make it to NZ for a visit soon.

There are a lot of people still to say goodbye to, laptops to be set up with Skype in order to keep in touch and see as well as talk to people, and Furries to be prepared for their long journey.

Lot 5 Minden Road

We have been back in the UK for almost a week and time is passing very quickly towards our move to NZ on 28 December. The cold, wet days have had us yearning for the warmth and sunshine we enjoyed on our holiday.

The location of our rental home in Tauranga, and the view, are both wonderful and we were able to explore the surrounding area during our week there. We came across one and a quarter acres of land for sale, Lot 5 Minden Road, with stunning 360 degrees of the Kamai Mountains, Tauranga Harbour, Mount Maunganui and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Guess what? We are in the process of buying it and we will build a house there during the coming year!

More to follow soon...................................................

A Few Thoughts

Three weeks of fun, new and exciting experiences, confirming our decision to move to New Zealand is absolutely right, and meeting so many lovely people from around the world- we feel privileged and would like to share some thoughts and champagne moments with you.

The hotel in Bangkok left a "thought" in our room each day we were there and we hope they inspire you, as they did us:
12.11.07 "Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail" (Navajo Song)

13.11.07 "There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream- whatever that dream might be" (Pearl Buck 1892-1973)

14.11.07 "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" (Theodore Roosevelt 1858-1919)

We each have our champagne moments, some of them shared ones, and here are just a few:
The sheer beauty of Bora Bora- we will never forget it.
Swimming with sharks and stingrays.
New Zealand.
The view from our rental house in Te Puna.
Italy in Whitianga, and especially Giorgio's home-made cheese!
The dignity of the Thai people, exemplified by Sak.
The Wai, the Thai greeting.
Hong Kong at night, viewed from the water.

We arrived back in the UK to rain, snow and cold and were collected from Heathrow by Karl. The Furries purred a great deal when we arrived home and say they have been very loved and cared for by Rachael.

It is less than 6 weeks before we leave for NZ again, and there is a lot to do in that time! We will keep you up to date and also add some photos to our blogs over the next few days. Please keep adding your comments, which we enjoy reading.

More to follow soon............................................................

A Brilliant Last Day

Hong Kong has exhausted us! We have walked miles, experienced the city from the Star Ferry, a junkboat tour of the harbour at night including the laser show, a bus to The Peak, and from the MTR metro. The city is staggering for its size, the height of the buildings, the magnificent views, the sheer variety of cuisines, the friendly people, and the unbelievable cleanliness (no graffiti anywhere).
We have had a wonderful time with Gaynor and Atholl, and their lovely friends Holly, Michael and baby William. Gaynor, you are an expert tour guide and we couldn't have asked for a better finale than the Thai/Malaysian meal tonight, outdoors at a table on a serious slope (how many times did the beer nearly slide off the edge?)..........what a meal!!
So we are now heading back to the hotel to pack. It's an early start tomorrow and we have been warned that we may freeze when we reach the UK. It was a comfortable 25C today in HK with clear blue skies.
We have many lasting memories of three fun packed weeks and feel lucky to have experienced so much in such a short time.
We also have some thoughts to share with you all, to follow soon.............

Hong Kong Again

We arrived back in Hong Kong this evening and within 40 minutes of reaching the hotel we headed off for a gastronomic delight with Gaynor and Atholl. As they were recently in Bangkok too, it was fun to share our experiences particularly about the nightlife and the tuk tuks.
Tomorrow involves seeing the sights together with a night time harbour cruise to see the light show, of Guiness Book of Records fame.
These final few days are flying by and we will soon be back in the UK- please warn us if we need snow chains for the car, or similar protection against the cold weather, as we have been extremely warm for the past weeks. We are looking forward to adding some photos to the blogs when we return, as we didn't master how to do it during the holiday.
More to follow.............but not much more........

A Tuk Tuk in Bangkok

Thanks to our good friend and host Phil, and to a gracious Thai gentleman called Sak (our chauffeur arranged by Phil), our 2 days in Bangkok have been memorable indeed. We didnt meet Sak til the morning after our arrival, so arrived at our hotel in a Tuk Tuk looking rather windswept among the limos and chauffeurs.

We have eaten Thai food (very expensive at US$4 for 4 people!), enjoyed the unbelievable shopping, ridden the skytrain and underground, visited Kandhanaburi and one of the war memorial cemetries, and the Bridge over the River Kwae.

How humbling to know that everyone who lost their lives (115,000 people) building the Burma-Siam railway died without a shot being fired, from starvation, disease and mistreatment. Moving indeed and an inspiration to watch the film again and reflect on the history.

Our hotel has the world's highest outdoor grill bar and at 59 floors high it is a bit of a leg wobbler! We haven't spent much time there- a rapidly gulped glass of (expensive) vino!
We also had a taster of Bangkok's famous night life and we will tell you more when we see you.
Back to HK tomorrow and more time with Gaynor.
More to follow.................................

Hong Kong Without a Suitcase

We reached HK this morning after yet another great flight with Air New Zealand, only to find we had a suitcase missing. What a wonderful excuse for shopping we can hear you all say! Whose suitcase? Initially Tom was excited about buying new things until it became clear that shopaholic Lynn's case was the missing one. Before the shops had even opened the case had been found and delivered to the hotel.....very sad!
Leaving NZ yesterday was sad.
So now we are off to meet Gaynor and Atholl for lunch. Not the champagne lunch you may have read about in the comments, as sadly that was yesterday. The skyscrapers in HK have to be seen to be believed. This evening we fly to Bangkok for 3 nights which is very exciting.
More to follow soon...........................

A Sunny Day in Tauranga

Two days of clear blue skies and lovely warm weather. Wonderful, and it's only spring here, with Xmas preparations in full swing. We haven't climbed the mount yet!

Tomorrow we are visiting Whitianga and the Italian friends we met earlier this year, then on Sunday it's off to HongKong then on to Bangkok before we return home.
More to follow soon.............................

The Chilli Red Mini

The day in Auckland yesterday was miserable at first, with torrential rain. It got better though! It continued to rain but the interview was over by mid morning (outcome awaited) and we bought a Chilli Red Mini Cooper Convertible which is automatic and gorgeous (Lynn's baby).
We have met our neighbours Joop, Annet and Tim and have been made very welcome by them. Everyone is extremely friendly here and we feel very at home- we are now able to pronounce Tauranga properly.... Towrronga! get practicing all you visitors.
The Pacific surf is exhilarating and there are so many people in the sea at the moment.
More to follow.............................................

Bonfire night in Auckland

Forget organised bonfire parties. Every driveway and garden and street corner has fireworks, with a couple thrown under the car for good measure.
Tauranga A&E is fab- relaxed and friendly with a great atmosphere and very welcoming. We have explored retail therapy in tauranga and it is good. We are still mesmerised by the ever changing view from our house, depending on the time of day, sunshine and the height of the clouds. Sometimes the clouds are below us, so our heads are definitely not in them!
Mount Maunganui Golf Club is very good and the membership is reasonably cheap so NZ golfers watch out!!
Exploring buying a Mini Cabriolet tomorrow...........very chic.............very fun...........not good for hairstyles.
Thanks for your comments which we have really enjoyed reading.
More to follow after tomorrow's interview.............................

Tauranga

We reached Tauranga 24 hours ago and after a dash from Auckland we managed to pick up the keys for the house we are renting, 21 Dawn View Place, Te Puna. It was advertised as "Love a spectacular view?" and what a spectacular view it has, across the bay towards Mount Maunganui with the hills in the background. The Furries will love the gardens which has many trees and fab plants and shrubs. The area is beautiful and the weather is typical of a very good UK summer (it's late spring here).
We have explored the area today and have seen from the outside some of the for sale properties we have looked at on the internet before our travels- some of them are truly stunning.
We have no doubt at all that we have made the right decision to move to NZ, though we haven't yet mastered the accent!
More to follow soon...................we have a very busy week to come, with a trip back to Auckland for an interview, a visit to Tauranga Hospital to meet new colleagues, lots more relaxing and soaking up the view, and if we feel energetic we may even "climb" Mount Maunganui!

Tahiti

Tahiti and traffic jams- like us, you would probably think No! Well, gridlock it is- so much traffic in Papeete, the main town, that we could have walked there quicker. The great bit was the bus, or rather truck, with air conditioning (no windows), an emergency exit ( gate at the back) and seating for 42 (sideways benches). Personal space nil but great fun.

Overall a relaxing day, without spending much during the retail therapy- there are flowers everywhere, of all colours, sizes and varieties. Where do they put them all?- apart from in their

hair, behind their ears and round their necks?

It's been a wonderful experience, including tropical rain while we were sunbathing.
NZ tomorrow......................................

Tahiti

We have just arrived in Tahiti after almost 4 days in Bora Bora, which were unforgettable. Yes! we survived the sharks and the stingrays- swimming with them was incredible and exhilarating and something we will never forget. Retail therapy tomorrow and more relaxing in the sun. What a life! Then it's on to NZ and Tauranga on Friday, to get the keys for our new home there.
Thanks to everyone who has posted comments for us- we have really enjoyed reading them.

Bora Bora

We arrived here 24 hours ago after great journeys with Air New Zealand and Air Tahiti Nui.

Nothing we have read or seen about Bora Bora truly captures the paradise that it is. The colours defy description- azure, emerald, torquoise and the deepest warmest blues are our poor attempts at defining the colours.

We watched the sunrise at 05.15 this morning then went snorkelling to the Coral Garden before breakfast at 08.30. Tomorrow we are going swimming with rays and sharks so we are hoping they are vegetarians! It's very hot here so we are off back into the sea.
More to follow soon..............

The adventure begins tomorrow

This time tomorrow we will be high above the Atlantic, en route to LA then Tahiti and Bora Bora. We haven't packed yet so tomorrow morning will be a bit frenetic.

Our dear friend Karl is chauffeuring us to Heathrow and Rachael will be "Furry sitting" while we are away. Billy is currently asleep on Rachael's bed so it will be nice and warm for her by tomorrow night!When the UK clocks go back an hour at the weekend, and it's dark at teatime, we will be snorkelling in the sunshine.

More to follow soon....................................

Introducing The Furries

For those of you who haven't met The Furries, here they are, clockwise from top left:
Domino and Megan (sisters), Billy and Pimms.

AOTEAROA or "The Land of the Long White Cloud"

On Friday 26 October 2007, two middle aged youngsters will set off on a 3 week round the world trip. Yes! that's us..... Lynn and Tom.

Our trip will take us to Bora Bora, Tahiti, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Bangkok- all part of the much bigger picture of a lifestyle change. At the end of December 2007 we (including the Furries) are moving to Tauranga, New Zealand to live and work by the Pacific Ocean.Tauranga is on the east coast of North Island, about 2 hours from Auckland, in the Western Bay of Plenty. It is also reasonably close to Cloudy Bay, as the wine connoisseurs amongst you will know.

Exciting times lie ahead so, if you watch this space, we will enjoy sharing them with you!

PS This is not our yacht unfortunately...........................but who knows?..........one day perhaps?