New Zealand Trip

Part 1-The Outward Journey

This next adventure to the other side of the world began as all long journeys do; with the first step. At 11.00 am on Monday 30^th November we locked our door. We are grateful that our friends, Paul and Mary were the first part of the journey, on a damp morning to the i4 bus. It was a good call to leave at that time in the morning and have plenty of room for our cases and cabin bags.

At Broadmarsh coach station there was time for sandwiches before going to the coach stop. When it did arrive, slightly late, we were told that it had broken down and we were to go on another coach and change at Milton Keynes. We faced with two slight causes for concern. The first one was as to how long we would have to wait at Milton Keynes and the second was the signs on the M1 advising of 1 ½ hours delay after Milton Keynes.

In the event there was no time lost at Milton Keynes. With regard to the second cause for concern the driver opted to keep off the M1. Despite being on roads not designed for the coach we eventually arrived at Heathrow only 30 minutes late.

The transfer to the Premier Inn went quite smoothly. A young man took us through the intricacies of self-check in. Using a code sent to Irene’s mobile phone the machine delivered us two key cards and a room number. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the furnishing. Having got sorted out we went down for a good meal in the restaurant. A good night’s sleep followed and at 5.00 am we were up and making our way to the airport.

Check-in was, like the Premier Inn, also streamlined. Once I had found the correct code from the many supplied it was a simple matter to have boarding passes and case labels printed. There was still a queue for baggage check in. This time our cabin bags were given a seal of approval. This was the first time in our travels that we have sent our luggage to go on ahead to Auckland. This was a bit un-nerving. Going through security was not as bad as I imagined it might have been, given the recent terrorist alerts. One of the security guards asked me if I had any liquids. I said, “No.” and that was that.

Terminal 2 has really hit international quality standards. It is a beautiful, easy to use facility. We had breakfast at ‘Eat’. Mine was croissants and Irene had yoghurt. Soon we were through the gate and walking down the long metal tube to our seats. Having booked a window seat, it did not happen. This was not a great problem.

The flight was long and steady with good food and plenty of movies. It felt quite odd walking to the ‘Transit Hotel’ with just our cabin bags.

It was 5.30 am (local time) when we arrived at the hotel where we were greeted politely and given our room keys. At first sight the room was very much of the ‘Premier Inn’ style. There were clever touches. One wall was a mirror and this gave the impression of being in a larger room. Next to this was a ceiling to floor curtain. However when I opened it I was face with a wall. The room had no windows and was almost sound proof, apart from an inconsiderate couple walking by our door halfway through ‘our' night.

A note on the wall said that shaving kit was available. It was quite a luxury to be able to have a shave at this point in the journey. By 3.00 pm we were ready to get up and go explore the airport. The first stop was ‘breakfast’. This came in the form of donuts and coffee at ‘Dunkin Donuts’.

The one thing that we wanted to do was to visit the butterfly house. This is a great feature of Changi airport. It is a roomy cage on two levels with a waterfall. There are loads of colourful butterflies and moths.

Unfortunately our flight was not until around 1.00 am. This meant a lot of hanging around. We walked to see their Christmas tree scene.

We found a Wi-Fi hotspot where we could use our tablets to send and receive messages. There was also supper time. This, for me, consisted of a sandwich, a donut and iced tea.

Eventually we passed through security and on through another metal tube to our next pair of seats. Once again we were without a window seat. I would have liked to have had a better look at the Martian-like landscape of Australia which I glimpsed from time to time. Compared to the first leg of our flight this 9 hour one was over very soon and we landed at a cloudy Sydney ready to spend 4 hours in the airport. Our first call was ‘Gloria Jeans’. At last we could have decent coffee. Singapore does not do dairy.

At this point we changed to New Zealand Air for the next stage of the journey. This time we had a window seat. Through the window we could see 3000 miles of sea below before we caught sight of the coastland of the country that was going to be home for the next three months.

This time we had to go through immigration procedures. It took so much time to fill out our forms that when we arrived at the luggage carousel our cases were easy to spot.

The next part of the procedure was to show our card and passport at the immigration barrier. There were few people waiting and it should not have taken long. However, there was a small party of Chinese people. Firstly they were using 8 year old documents. Eventually, out of kindness they were accepted. Secondly there was a cultural difference which meant they had a different attitude to queuing. As always the border guard was very friendly. Once again they accepted our answer to their question. This time it was about whether we were carrying fresh food.

To make sure all our baggage was scanned before we could leave and finally a lovely dog sniffed around us.

An excited Zoe greeted us at the barrier and then we were off into the warm New Zealand night arriving at our final destination at 10.30 pm on Thursday 3^rd December.

November Blog

We begin the countdown to the New Zealand trip. The weather has suddenly turned wintry and makes a good excuse for not planning major walks.

There has been a lot of community centre work to do, particularly since I am not going to stand for the post of secretary in the new year. Irene and I have both been busy in the centre. Irene has ironed all the new curtains and I have spent many hours building the new PA system with parallel amplifiers and speakers.

On the first day of the month there was some sunshine so I went for my own walk in the park to record some of the autumn colours.

Beauty Berries

Kit Car

 On my way home I passed a man photographing the car that he had built. He plans to sell it for £5000 and then start a new project.

With the courtesy of Asda mum and I now have new spectacles. The tests were thorough and the prices right.

We found time for a walk along the canal. It was dull with a bit of blue, the wind was beginning to get up, but I was more confident than I had been all summer that we would have no rain.

Black Bryony Berries

 On the following day we were really busy. It took all morning to black-out our meeting room. The speaker, Stuart Dixon, was very knowledgeable concerning the history of garden flowers and we look froward to visiting his garden at Hebb's Farmhouse next summer.

I had an appointment with the the audiologist at the end of the week. This was to check my hearing aids and get supplies before we leave for NZ

On Sunday we made our way to MK. The weather and traffic was kind both ways. First we visited Margaret and Arthur. It was good to see them. They too look forward to an international flight. From there we went to tidy up the graves of Irene's mum and dad at the crematorium.

Next we made our way to Wetherspoons in the city center to meet Tim, Isla, Iona and Izzy. It was good to spend time with them. Back at their house there was an exchange of Christmas presents. We had to open ours especially so that they could see my reaction. Any one else reading this will have to wait until Christmas.

There was a bit of excitement the following week. Storm 'Abigail' struck. The UK now has a list of storm names (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-10/20/met-office-storm-names-barney-steve-wendy/viewgallery/619371). On Tuesday night we had two storm black outs. At the time I had my tablet computer on which meant that we had some way of seeing. Just as we located the torch the power came on to be followed by a further storm blackout. In the morning there were bits of twigs and a few branches down, but there seemed to be little other damage. It did upset our viewing of a programme we watched later on 'My Shows'.

During the week I visited the Doctor. He had a student and it fell to her to ask me why I had called in. To which I replied, "to waste his time and tell him that I was going on holiday". I continued by saying that I need authorisation for four month supply of medicine and that I would like to know the results of my recent blood test. His report was that I have a chlorestoral level of 3.5 (which is brilliant) and that my liver and kidney functions are at 100%. The blood pressure check was very normal.

Irene also had a similar meeting with her doctor. Her appointment took a little longer than mine. However, we should not complain as we can still see a doctor at short notice.

Apart from the sub-zero temperatures (for the first time this year) we had a very pleasant evening with Jan and Lawrence. We had pre-ordered Chinese food from the local take-away. Irene and I had ours with Thai sauce and with Thai rice. Irene declared it to be the best take-away we have had in a long time. Afterwards we played a 30s railway game. It involved a map of Great Britain and the object was to travel from an agreed point on the south coast and take tracks to an agreed point on the south coast. There were way points to go through and other points could be added at the throw of a '6'. Although the board and all the writing was tiny the game played well. The other problem was that the yellow cards told you to go to a destination that was defined by it peculiarity. In those days Northampton was known for its shoe making industry and Sheffield for its steel.

We spent another pleasant time with our friends Paul and Mary on Sunday afternoon. We looked at each others wedding albums and then exchanged Christmas presents.

Monday 23rd November was our last ever morning cafe. It was quite something. We were given cards and hugs and a present of Tea for Two, which we shall have when we get back from holiday.

The speaker at our 'Haven Eagles' meeting was Dr John Dornan. He was very entertaining as he told us about his many adventures abroad and locally.

On Friday we led our last dance for three months. We were given a good send off.

Then there were two days of packing with a visit from Joni and Fiona.

Paul and Mary collected us on a wet Monday morning and took us to the i4 where our journey began. The rest of the day and the next three months will be on 'We Are Kiwis Again 'http://wearekiwisnow.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/china-again-and-home.html

October Blog

This is a month when I took fewer photos than I have done for many a month. For one thing, there has been little opportunity to fit in with the rare glimpses of sunshine this October.

The first set of photos comes from our ‘Haven Eagles’ trip on the new Nottingham tram. It was a generally sunny moment as our group got on board. It is a gentle ride from the park and ride to Nottingham. Judging by the number of cars parked it looked like it was achieving the objective of reducing the numbers of vehicles in the city. At the QMC (Hospital) a couple got on and sat opposite us. The man did not seem really happy so we got talking. It seems that a few weeks ago when they were on holiday in Greece he suddenly lost his sight. Today he was returning home from the hospital with his sight fully restored.

The tram took us into the ‘Market Square’ and stopped outside the ‘Joseph Else’ pub. I found out that Joseph else was responsible for the two lions that sit each side of the Council building.

In the pub we found tables and sat to have our beverages. Then some of the group went into the market to appreciate the garden ornaments on sale.

On Saturday we had one of our few walks. This was one of our least successful. There were no blackberries and a dog disturbed us and we went no further in the direction we had been heading.

On Tuesday we set off to Brighton with the objective of helping Joe and Julia pack up ready for their move to Devon. We spent three nights in the Travelodge which was 10 minutes’ walk away from their flat. The lights outside our room at the hotel were so bright that we were unable to sleep. We asked to be moved and got a better view over Preston Park. Unfortunately the toilet was blocked, which they partially succeeded in unblocking. Then we discovered that the duvet cover did not cover the king sizes duvet. We did some manipulating to stop the duvet being in contact with our bodies. When we left we said something to the receptionist. She was very sympathetic, but I did not think that any change was going to be made any time soon. 

During our two days we worked long hours in the flat doing packing and cleaning. We hope that we have made a useful contribution to their move.

I took only two photos. The first was of bubble wrap delivered in a cardboard box and wrapped in bubble wrap. The second was of a vehicle parked on the street. It says on the side 'no job too small'.I personally thought any job would have been ‘too big’.

On the Saturday that we got back we managed a brief walk around the park. But, no photographs.

The next day, after church,we went to our friends, David and Carol’s new home in Ilkeston. Carol had prepared a splendid dinner. They have a spacious house and it is right next to the new railway station that is being built.

The 25^th was Irene’s birthday. Joni and Fiona kindly invited us to dinner. This was an excellent meal, as always. After dinner we enjoyed a couple of board games.

The day of the long awaited visit to Manchester came. After much deliberation I made the decision to go by car. If we had not done so the time in Manchester would have been very much shorter.

 We reached the Travelodge by coming off the M6 and heading north towards the city. The hotel was convenient for the city. There was a free, private car park and a bus stop on the road into the centre.

The first afternoon we used to go in to the city and walk around the gallery. There was a good range of old masters and more contemporary pictures. Many took our eye. 






We continued to explore the city and passed the gallery showing the same pictures painted by Bob Dylan as the ones we saw in Nottingham. Here we found that the man himself was in town. 

Then we got to the city’s Anglican Cathedral. It was getting late and we only had a brief look around. It was not the most exciting one that we have visited.

To end the day we found a pub called ‘The Lost Dene’. This was on Deansgate. The River Dene disappeared as Manchester was being built. The deal was two mains for £10.00 and two sweets for £5.00. It was good basic food, washed down with 2 halves of ‘Hobgoblin’.

By now it was getting into rush hour. We found seats on the crowded bus back. Not being sure where to get off we asked the driver. He passed the stop and dropped us off at the door of the ‘Travelodge’.

Manchester Ship Canal

Media City 

The next day was the big day when we set off to find the main point of the visit; a trip to the Lowry. The 50 bus took us to the terminus in Salford at a place known as ‘Salford Quays’. This was a very much modernised place on the Manchester Ship Canal. Here was ‘Media City’ with the BBC studios sandwiched between the ITV studios. The girl at the inquiry desk told us that it was rare for large boats to come up from Liverpool and go under the lift bridge. I told her that when I went on the canal in the 60s it was very smelly. She seemed surprised at this. On a display upstairs there was a comment to the effect that the ‘Canal used to be smelly with beautiful ships on it but now it is beautiful with no ships on it.’

Towers at one end of the lift bridge

The Lowry

The Lowry gallery was a strange building which I did not think would have pleased the artist. However, it was informative and a good chance to view Lowry’s originals more closely.

We stopped off in the city. Here we found a ‘Greggs’ for lunch. Then we went in search of tourist information. The library was just the place. It was an amazing place. It was a graceful building and very huge. It was very busy with modern internet features inside.

Using the map provided in the city library we made our way to the ‘Peoples Museum’. This specialised in renovating the banners of various trade unions and mapping the rise of democracy in the UK. 

At the 'Peoples Museum, we were told that we should visit ‘John Rylands Library’. Surprisingly, it was not some small bookshop style place. It was a cathedral far grander than many we had seen. There was a magnificent display of books, but the last thing we found was the oldest piece of John's gospel mounted in a sheet of glass. Then we were ordered out. I would not have liked to have spent the night there.

Back to the pub we went and again enjoyed the bargain price meal before catching the 50 back. The crush was worse and it was now raining. We had to fight our way through the wet passengers to the exit.

In the morning the rain/drizzle continued as we made our way, on foot, to the Whitworth gallery. This building was built as a gift to the city, but in 1968 was passed on the University. It is magnificent Victorian architecture at the front with a very modern extension on the back. The main theme was the use of fabric as art. There were some stunning examples. One artist had the strange inspiration to turn the ‘Wikipedia’ entry on the ‘Magna Carta’ into a gallery length piece of embroidery.

Recycled bags

There was still a little time left which we used in the ‘Manchester Museum’. This place was really busy with parents using the very family friendly place on a wet morning in the school holidays.

I found Manchester to be a very friendly place.

Our journey home took us very slowly through a busy Stockport and then we were on the open road over the High Peaks and down into the ‘Derbyshire Dales’. We had a nice lunch in the café in Ashford-in-the Water. The final leg of the journey took us into Sainsbury’s in Matlock to get our needed supplies (apples and milk).

It was back to normal on Thursday. Almost; we had another treat. A group called ‘Super food’ were cooking dinner in the community centre. They use donated food and cook it as a community meal. It was a three course meal with choices. It cost £2.50 adult and £1.00 child. It was delicious.

Friday was quite a normal day which ended with Irene and I running the community centre sequence dance.

Halloween Saturday ended the week by being especially busy. After doing domestic stuff we went off to celebrate Jennifer Woolley's first birthday. It was well attended by family and friends.

Then, having dropped our next door Jenny off we went off to an event at the church. By coincidence the speakers were a couple from Manchester. They spoke about networking to redeem our communities.

We left early to dash over to Paul and Mary at Borrowash to help him connect his laptop to his TV. Paul much enjoyed this and we much enjoyed the meal prepared by Mary.

Returning home we were treated us to a display of fireworks, but fortunately the 'Trick-Or-Treaters' were just leaving our street. Just to make sure I put my 'No Trick or Treats' sign on the door and we had a peaceful end to the day.