Scratching Around

Not as good as New Year

Saturday saw the All Blacks visit Wellington. Taking them on were the French team who went into the match 1-0 up in the series. As it happens I have become good friends with a French guy I work with called Yann and his girlfriend Elodie. The plan was to start the weekend off with a trip to a local bar called Southern Cross which was putting on a ‘Fête de la Musique’ (en francais, don’t you know) to celebrate World Music Day (popular in France). Fantastique! We met up with Yann, Elodie and their french pal Seb. We had a great night drinking, singing and dancing to music from all over the world. Belly dancers were performing when we turned up, then a bit of salsa, onto some jazz (and the best live drummer I have seen) and then a bit of African music. We both had a great time and had started off the weekend in style.

Onto Saturday and the day of the match. A few of our friends (including the french contingent) also had tickets, so to make a day of it we had arranged to meet up with them in an Irish bar and get something to eat before the game. And why not!

A few beers and a bit of nourishment and we were ready for the game. Shame about the weather, but hey ho this is Wellington after all. The game was pretty boring, although the French did score a cracking try in the second half.  The highlights were seeing the Haka performed live in New Zealand (big tick in a box there) and seeing a cockerel released onto the pitch with its feathers painted in the colours of the tricolore. I just admire the effort of the person who smuggled it in, just to get it past security. Obviously, much hilarity followed when one of the stewards tried to catch said cockerel only for the bird to escape the stewards clutches at every lunge.

Who came first? The chicken or the flag!

I cannot fault the Westpac stadium. Shona and I have been there a few times now and have never been disappointed with the view we have had from wherever we are seated in the stadium. Yet again we had a cracking view….All the trys were scored at our end and I would say 75% of the possession was also in the half of the stadium we were sat. However this game will forever be remembered by Shona and I as the game at which we sat in front of Alexis from Texas. Now, who is Alexis from Texas you may be asking? Well as it happens, she is someone who pays $80 to go and see a live All Blacks game and spends the whole time not watching the match but acting out an episode of the OC behind us. At full volume she decided that our half of the crowd was going to be let into her life story.

Alexis from Texas, spent the whole first half chatting up a french guy, saying ‘where I come from, stadiums are 3 times as big as this and always full……I love my boyfriend!!!!!!!’. The second half started and she ditches the French guy and moves onto an Aussie guy. This is where it turns into an episode of the OC….  ‘You have just gotta break down those walls and let someone in to your life’……….’I just don’t know if I can commit my heart to anyone after what happened with my last boyfriend’……….’I will be a virgin, until the day I get married’……..At which point the Aussie guy she was chatting up, made his excuses and left.

After the match we went round a mate’s house and watched ‘Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus’……………It was rubbish.
Yann leaves Wellington on Sunday and I will miss working with him, we share the same easy going nature to life. I hope we can catch up when we are back in Europe.

As recommended by my English Welsh poker chum. The trailer for the best film ever.

View from Grandma's Cottage - Nelson

Our plan was to spend the Queen’s Birthday weekend in the South Island so on Friday we left our house at 8am for the airport in order to catch the 9.15am flight to Picton. This was far too early! Catching a flight in New Zealand does not involve the same hassle as flights in the UK. I didn’t pass through a single x-ray machine or security check. In fact I turned up at the check in desk and was greeted by the check-in girl whose first words were, “We might not be flying to Picton today………..We are probably going to Blenheim”. “Fair enough”, I thought, “whatever you feel like”. As it turns out Picton was experiencing some fog, so the safer bet was to land 20 minutes down the road in Blenheim and get a lift back to Picton.

Half an hour later the inbound flight from Picton arrived and I get the first glimpse of the days flying vessel (to call it a plane would be an insult to the 747, 767, A380 etc… see previous entry). The pilot (who also doubles as the baggage handler by the way) comes into the waiting area and says the following, “So Picton has got a bit of fog so we will wait for a bit and see if it burns off, I will speak to you again in 20 minutes or so”. Nothing perturbing about this you may think, except I was thinking about ringing the police to say that there was a truant in Wellington airport masquerading as a pilot. Puberty wasn’t a distant memory for the captain of the flying hairdryer taking me to the South Island today. 20 minutes later he reappears “right, sorry for the delay, we are going to give it a crack at landing in Picton, see how we get on”.

‘Give it a crack are we!!!!!’….. ‘With my life are we!!!!!’…..‘hey ho, what the hell let’s give it crack!!!’

Well anyway, I am ashamed to admit this but I actually quite enjoyed the experience of flying of the Cook Strait in this Cessna Caravan 675. This country is certainly a beautiful place and from 5000 feet you get to see it from a very different perspective. Shona swears she saw dolphins from the plane but I know they were just waves. As it turned out the fog hadn’t cleared so our landing in Picton involved 30 minutes of circling round the Marlborough Sounds. This area, which I am sure anyone else who has been will tell you, is some of the most peaceful, calming and serene landscape you will come across and which made the landing all that more enjoyable.

Day 1. – Picton to Nelson – Staying at Grandma’s Cottage, Harris Hill

We picked up a hire car from Picton and began our journey to Nelson on the North Coast of the South Island. You are probably getting bored of me saying this, but I loved the drive and the landscape. The journey starts in wine country, moves on to some mildly twisting roads and then moves onto steep inclines and in deep forest before flattening out again as you greet the Abel Tasman as you arrive in Nelson.

Our accommodation for the evening was at Grandma’s cottage on Harris Hill. I cannot recommend this highly enough. It is, as  the name suggests it would be, a cottage on a hill. However, take a look at the website http://www.harrishillcottages.co.nz/grandmas.html - the views are spectacular and the hosts gave us a lovely warm welcome. All this for less than £55.00 per night for the 2 of us. How much would you expect to be charged in the UK for something like this on a bank holiday weekend?

Nelson is a quiet town. I can’t pass an opinion on it as I really didn’t spend much time going round it because I fell asleep almost as soon as we arrived at the cottage.

Day 2 Nelson to Kaikoura - Staying at the Fairways

As navigator Shona had found an imaginative way of driving from Neslon to Kaikoura. The long way! We drove through the mountains so it was well worth it. On our journey the previous day we had both said to each other “isn’t it funny that the Mountains always appear to be in the distance”, but not today. We drove South West from Nelson, getting close to Westport on the West Coast before crossing the Lewis Pass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Pass) towards Hanmer Springs and then on to Kaikoura. All in all, a six hour trip, but some great scenery along the way, despite the fact I was getting cramp from the automatic car that Shona had cleverly ordered. Even stranger was that the hand brake was in fact a pedal (and therefore no need for the hand….), and the automatic gear stick was attached to the steering wheel.

The one thing I noticed on our long journey was the discovery that no one lives on the South Island…. I drove for three hours flat between settlements, passing about 6 cars on the way. I did develop my own special wave which I’ll share with you if you ever come to visit. Shona said it was very special.

Eventually we arrived in Kaikoura. Kaikoura is on the East coast of the South Island. It is the place to go for whale/dolphin/seal watching/swimming/kayaking. We had booked ourselves on to a seal kayaking adventure trip for day 3.

Lewis Pass

In the evening we went out for a meal in town. We were staying a couple of miles out of town and as we both fancied an alcoholic beverage we decided to book a taxi to travel into town. As it turned out this was the only taxi operating in the whole of Kaikoura. After our meal, when it came to ordering our taxi back, we had to battle with competing couples all wanting the same taxi. Good fun!

That night we had the mother of all storms which meant that our planned seal trip for the next morning was cancelled. Disappointing as this was the only activity we had planned for the weekend.

I found Kaikoura odd. I can’t put my finger on it, it was just odd. It was like no one who was out in the town (village?) actually lived there. Everyone was moving on.

Day 3 – Kaikoura to Blenheim

So on to Blenheim. The road north from Kaikoura takes you alongside the ocean and there are plenty of opportunities to see the seals from the side of the road. The previous night’s storm had not fully cleared and driving conditions were not great. So when the next big part of the storm brewed we found our way, accidentally, to a gem of a place called ‘The Store’ (http://www.kiwiwise.co.nz/restaurant/the-store). A table by the fire to watch the storm and a cracking breakfast (best yet) was our reward. If you happen to be in the area, I fully recommend it.

The White Witch

The storm cleared so we eventually made our way to Blenheim (passing more stunning countryside, yawn!). Arriving fairly early we (I) decided to climb Mount Vernon which looks over the town and the Marlborough wine growing region. Despite the constant nagging, moaning and requests to turn round before we reached the top from Shona, we made it to the peak after a couple of hours. Well worth it too. We now felt that we had earned our supper (and breakfast!). On the way down we braved a blizzard that arrived in an instant, and then quickly moved off to sea. It does show how quickly the weather can change here.

I don’t have much to say about Blenheim – hopefully I’ll see it in the summer when it’s open. In the winter there is one word that can sum this place up…..empty.

Day 4 Return to Wellington

Day four saw us return to Wellington in our flying baked bean can. We left Picton on a beautiful, sunny (although cold) and still day. However, 22 kilometres later and arriving in Wellington we were greeted with the usual gale force winds which made for an exciting landing. Wellington just wouldn’t be Wellington without the wind. There is a reason for its reputation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend and I really want to move to the South Island now!

Got back home to find all the petrol had been siphoned from my car! Happy days!

Looks stressful doesn't it?

That's not a plane, it's a hair dryer

Back from an excellent trip in the South Island. Report to follow!

So it has been a while since I have updated this site. There are two reasons for this. The first is I have been busy at work and getting back into the mundane structure of working life, and the second is that I am just lazy. I will try and get you up to speed with what has been happening in Windy Wellington.

A lampost and some sea

Last night was the semi-final of the super 14. For those that don’t know, the Super 14 is the southern hemisphere version of the Heineken Cup involving 14 rugby union franchises from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The local franchise are known as The Hurricanes (get it, Windy Wellington….Hurricanes - it is all straight forward when you think about it). Anyway the Hurricanes made it to the semi finals and were pitted against another Kiwi team, ‘The Chiefs’. My chosen venue for watching the game was a pub called the Back Benchers which is located in front of Parliament, from which once a week the local Parliament Channel TV station broadcast a political chat show. It also happens to be two doors down from where Shona works, which makes it her ideal Friday night drinking pub.

The game was very tight, with two closely matched teams not giving an inch to each other. The Hurricanes had the slight edge in the opening exchanges and scored the first try to take an early lead. Then came the turning point; Jeremy Thrush, the Hurricanes man mountain of a lock, got injured and had to temporarily leave the pitch. Almost seconds later the Hurricanes had a player sin binned and the Chiefs took advantage of their numerical advantage and scored a try to bring the game level before half time. The drama was fantastic; it wasn’t long before the camera went to touchline to show Thrush, itching to get back on the pitch. I will remember the game because of the company I was with. Myself and a Welsh guy, who has just moved over here, were both supporting The Hurricanes and had been joined at our table by a retired engineer and his wife, who were visiting Wellington from The Coromandel and both of whom were supporting the Chiefs. As it turns out they were the now the King and Queen of the Watch Strap industry in New Zealand. He had a cracking sense of humour and the banter was flowing for most of the game. The Chiefs won the game 14 – 10. Now if you are thinking I may have written that whole paragraph just to get the joke in about thrush, you would be 100% correct.

In other news, we received our second set of visitors from England. Jo Chapman, who went to school with Shona, came to stay with us for a couple of nights on her tour of the southern hemisphere. Craig, her travelling companion, also joined us. For their first night with us we decided to go to an Indian restaurant on Cuba Street. Our waiter turned out to be a great character. Here is how our first conversation went……

Waiter: Alright English. You ready to order?

Paul: Yes Thanks….

Waiter: So you are English….What vindaloo do you want?

Paul: (Racist) Don’t want a Vindaloo actually!

Waiter: Alright, which Balti do you want?

Paul: (Racist) I don’t want a Balti actually!!!!

Waiter: Alright, which Rogan Josh do you want?

Paul: Well actually, I do want a Rogan Josh, Lamb Please.

Waiter: How hot, mild, medium, Hot, Kiwi Hot or English Hot.

Paul: English Hot please!

Waiter: You don’t want English hot sir, you want kiwi hot!

Waiter looks at Shona.

Waiter: And what would you like?

Shona: Do you do Korai Chicken..(not on menu)

Waiter: How Hot do you want that? Hot like me hot or hot like you hot?

Paul: (is he taking the preverbial?)

Waiter: Drinks? What lager would you like sir?

Paul: (Racist!)

Waiter: A Large one Sir?

Paul: (Fatist!) Yes.

The large one as it turned out, was 2 cans of Kingfisher instead of just the one.

Anyway, on to the next night….. we had a lovely time. The Vino did flow but unfortunately the Wellington weather didn’t behave itself and they didn’t get to see the Harbour and the rest of this city at its best. However I did manage to drag them to my favourite Irish bar to hear a singer whom it appears I am the only one who appreciates his talents. There is no accounting for taste is there? All together now…. “In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty”…… Their final night ended in a Chinese Restaurant I have had my eye on for some time, it has always looked busy from the outside but we must have caught it on an off night because there were only three other tables booked in the restaurant. I asked the waiter if the chef did prawn crackers because they weren’t on the menu. He looked at me and without missing a beat, said “not when it is this busy mate”…….. So never then.

Over the last month New Zealand has hosted its own comedy festival. We have been to see a couple of shows. First we went to see Steve Coogan, which was sadly a bit of a poor show. We both came out thinking that it was a bit tired and that we have heard all of these jokes before. However, our second trip out was to see Ed Byrne at the Opera House. The Venue was great and a bit unexpectedly the show was very well put together, something that we both enjoyed very much. We had tickets to see Mark Watson, but unfortunately it was cancelled. This was the gig we had been looking forward to the most.

Empire Cinema

However, what I really wanted to tell you about is my new favourite place in Wellington. It is probably well known to anyone who lives here or has in the past, but I had to tell you because it is a real gem of a place. The Empire Cinema, located in Island Bay. Obviously this is a Cinema but one which is completely different to any I have been to before. There are only a couple of screens and each one holds between 50 and 70 people. The best part is that if Shona and I go together we get our own comfy sofa. You can buy beer and wine and take it in with you and feel like you are in your own front room watching a film on the biggest flat screen you could hope to buy. I love it…

We are now very much in winter and we have been battered with 140 kmh winds for the past 2 days. The new picture on the site was taken yesterday during one of the storms. The local ferry operator which operates between the two islands suspended all ferries yesterday because of a 40m swell in the Cook Strait. It was very spectacular to watch.

Next week we are off to the South Island for a four day trip. I can’t wait, apart from the fact we are travelling over in a 20 seater plane - I hope the wind dies down a bit beforehand!!!

Paul.

Winter is not so bad is it? View from our house last weekend?

Last week saw our first earthquake experience, a rather pathetic 4.1 on the richter scale. Wasn’t so sure if it was an earth quake or someone rather large jumping up and down on the floor above me, but another New Zealand experience to get a tick. (4.1 is more than enough for me by the way).

Autumn in Wellington is bizarre, the weather can’t make its mind up. This morning when I left for work I fished the big winter coat out of the wardrobe as it was baltic. It started to rain about 10am, by lunch time I went for a walk and the sun was shining I had to take the coat and jumper off. Apparently it all depends on which way the wind is blowing. A southerly, brings the cold weather from the south pole (obviously) and will make it cold here, but if you get a northerly it is short sleeves and sunnies.

I like this quote from the sideline slogger’s blog regarding the IPL, my sentiments exactly.

Twenty-four tablets of No-Doz cost about $8 at the chemist - I will need to invest as it gets to crunch time in the Indian Premier League because at present I haven’t managed to stay awake for an entire match.

Clearly it is not all my fault with 10.30pm and 3am starts, and lisping Lalit Modi’s magnificent new innovation of 450 seconds of gibbering nonsense and advertisements masquerading as a “strategy break” all helping induce sleep.

These farcical interludes, which have even been enforced in reduced-overs games, are not quite as annoying as the new name for a six, the DLF Maximum. They’re not called that at Beige HQ, they’re called PFO Maximums where the P stands for Please and the O stands for Off.

We have just got back from an amazing chinese restaurant. The food was on a par with The Fountain in Newmarket. Apart from the great food and the wonderful company Shona always provides, I will always remember this evening because we shared the restaurant with a meeting of The New Zealand Institute For The Blind. A wonderful collection of guide dogs were in the restaurant, black labs, golden retrievers and an alsation.

Now, I’m not trying to make this into a quirky story, but Shona was so impressed with the food at the restaurant, that as we were leaving she nodded at the table of blind people and said to me ‘they know a good thing when they see it!’

I honestly couldn’t make it up.

Missing you all,

Paul.

I’d hate to let you all know this, but Paul is in bed before midnight on his birthday (despite his previous post). A big happy birthday to him… a year til it really counts…. but a big thank you from me for making our trip so very entertaining. Lots of love, Shona.