Open House at Folks for Me

It’s far easier for everyone to come to one place rather than you trying to run around and see each person/family individually. Folks came up with this great idea that we would invite family and family friends to theirs on one day and then easier on me. Mam sent out invites and we really had no idea (apart form a few people) who where going to turn up. The invite said from 1pm onwards. We’d spent the morning getting ready, putting food out, cooking food and warming food up. We stopped and all had a glass in hand relaxing and then bang on 1pm as if cued, the heavens opened and it poured down. Typical bloomin British summer weather!!

Treehouse Restaurant

As a family we always go out for dinner on your birthday. Mam had chosen to go to the Treehouse Restaurant which is part of Alnwick Gardens. The restaurant is actually above ground and built in the trees!!! Makes me think of Peter Pan. My mam’s sister Jann and our good family friend Lindsay, joined Mam, Dad and I. The meal was lovely and so was the atmosphere, although it was a little quite and we did get everyone looking at us when we launched into Happy Birthday rather loudly – me being loud, no idea what you’re talking about. I’d like to go back there one day.

Mam’s Birthday

The day after I arrived was my Mam’s birthday – you’d think I’d planned to come home for her birthday!!! She was just thrilled for me to be home. That was meant to be my birthday gift to her. But I couldn’t give her no presents, I’d bought some wooden plate stands to match the coasters which I’d brought back from NZ for her last time. Mam got a new mobile and an ipod from Dad. This is far to much technology, so we went for the day and was nice to see the Northumberland countryside.

Flights Home

I left New Zealand on Tuesday 5th August for 2.5 weeks holiday to the UK and in total took 5 flights. My route took about 2 days and had me flying Christchurch – Auckland, Auckland – Sydney, Sydney – Bangkok, Bangkok – Dubai and then finally Dubai – Newcastle. Phew. I didn’t count down the hours, just the flights. Longest flight was 9.5 hours from Sydney to Bangkok, you forget how bloomin massive Oz is.

I was greated in Newcastle by Mam and Dad. It was great to see them. Hugs all round. As dad went and paid for the car park ticket, I said to Mam “can we go out side please, it’s hot in here”, thinking that the terminal was hot, but on Newcastle was HOT. It was a totally barmy 21oC and I wasn’t coping very well. Now NZ was about 8oC when I left !!!

Great to be home.

ACC Leaving Lunch with the girls from work

Paua House

Rach and I decided to be cultured and we went to the local museum, the Canterbury Museum. We’d seen advertised an exhibition that we thought looked interesting. A couple down in Bluff (a tiny township, the main jumping-off point for Stewart Island), who have passed away a few years ago, had a rather unique house, and their family donated the contents of the house to the museum. I thought that they had actually donated the house and that had been transported to the museum – well that’s what Beamish Museum does. What the museum had done was to recreate the house and then they moved the contents of the lounge and hall into the built house. It all started years ago when Fred collected and polished Paua shells. Now Myrtle being a woman got annoyed as they where starting to cover the floor and hovering was becoming difficult, so she asked Fred to move them. So he put them on the wall. Over the period of a few years, all the walls in the lounge were covered by polished paua shells. They became celebs in their own right and opened up their house to the general public and even had coach loads of people through. Over about 37 years, 1 million visitors had looked at the paua shells. It was really unusual and I wish I’d had my camera with me.

From the Museum Website: Fred & Myrtle’s Paua Shell House at Canterbury Museum
Hear the extraordinary story of an ordinary Kiwi couple in a short film, explaining the kiwiana phenomenon and how a Bluff couple with an unusual living room came to be New Zealand icons. Then, step through the front door and into the famous paua shell lounge of Fred and Myrtle Flutey.

Christchurch Gondola

The weekend before I left Christchurch, Rach, Stu and I acted as tourists and went up the Christchurch Gondola. It sounds like it’s in the city centre but it isn’t!!! It’s in the east of the city and within the Port Hills. The guide book describes it as the best vantage point to view Christchurch, the Canterbury Plains and Lyttelton Harbour (over the other side of the hill). The gondolas are small, 4 people sized which go from the car park up to the viewing building. The ride up was great with amazing views, you could even make out the snow covered Southern Alps in the far distance. The weather has been rainy and we certainly picked the best day to go. Once at the top, there is the normal tourist shop with exactly the same stuff in as the last tourist shop but you still have to look!! There was also something called The Time Tunnel. As this was free, it’d be rude not to. So we got into our little fair ground ride carriage and experienced the history and geological evolution of the Canterbury region.

I walked around the observation deck and took lots of photos. The scenery is amazing and these photos just don’t do it justice.

WOW – Car’s done 1,000km

I can’t believe it my little car has done 1,000km (about 620miles). That’s just from pottering about too. Haven’t done any major distance in the wee car, but think it’s got a lot more kms left in it. It’s totally awesome now that the heater has been fixed :o))