The birthday boy It was Dad’s 6Xth birthday, so we all went to my sister Lee’s place for a barbecue birthday dinner last night. And we’re not talking your coals under wire mesh disposable Tescos BBQ kind of thing. This was the kind of barbecue of serious barbecuers. Birthday New Zealand style I hadn’t been [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
Mrs Brown (Victoria Kelly) and her lovely daughter Popped in to visit Victoria and Ashley, and meet their daughter, Sasha. We had a lovely afternoon at their house, which had once belonged to Joe, and so we spent many delightful afternoons sitting out the back in the sun, drinking lovely beverages and chatting. Jake demonstrates [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
Jake hunts for treasure at Conch Records Saturday was shopping day for a couple of reasons: first, it’s my Dad’s birthday and we had been unable to find anything really suitable as a gift until that point (and had been running around doing a lot of other things too), and also because it was the [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
Jake explains his hat of many badges One of the things I was most looking forward to in coming to New Zealand was a party that had been arranged three months in advance by my friend Joe. The idea was to get a bunch of people I wanted to meet up with while over here [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
Mum took Jake and I to Auckland’s new Buddhist temple. It’s somewhere she takes a lot of visitors, who want something local and fascinating to go see as tourists. It’s quite an amazing place: really incredibly serene, and yet close to the overblown, banal Botany town centre, and deep in new development suburbia. Buddhism is [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
The ‘grown-ups’ team beating Jake at pool Got to hook up with my youngest sister-in-law this evening. Kelly is living in Auckland at the moment after long stretches in Wanganui and Christchurch. It was really good to see her and catch up. I took Jake with me, and we had Burger Fuel in Ponsonby, then [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
My Grandmother, laughing at one of my brilliant jokes, no doubt My grandmother, Ellen (Nellie) Dubber will be 92 next month. She lives in a retirement village that reminds me quite strongly of one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in. Similar decor, piped music and soft furnishings. It was great to be able [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
I’m going to wear this rock around my neck It’s been three months since my 40th birthday, and the presents keep on coming. My parents have organised a gift from them and my sisters. It’s another original New Zealand artwork, and this time it’s not going to be something to permanently engrave into my skin, [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Personal, Travel
A jazz concert, off in the distance Mark Robinson, host of It’s A Jazz Thing, a radio show on George FM I used to host for about 6 years, managed to secure me a couple of tickets to Ravi Coltrane at the Auckland Town Hall. I met up with Mark there, along with pretty much [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Travel
The traditional double-scoop chocolate-dipped icecream Some things are worth travelling for. And some things you get nostalgic for even though they’re actually pretty dreadful. Some foodstuffs that Jake and I have consumed since arriving back in New Zealand: Kumara; service station Big Ben steak-and-cheese pie; McDonalds KiwiBurger (yes, I’m the worst vegetarian in the world); [...]
Categories: New Zealand,Travel
Tagged: New Zealand, Travel
