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.