Autumn visitors.............both actual and planning for the future.

August 1st. We have got some visitors next week. Annie and Graham travelling from Whangamata as they need the bigger stores to match their shopping list.  Tauranga's big stores are much bigger than theirs so they hike down here when they have special requests. Good to catch up with them and may take a trip up later in the year to hear all about their upcoming Vietnam and Cambodia trip.  Meanwhile the Ashes gets underway and remains exciting with every twist and turn. Just got to work out how to get Smith out and stop him dominating the crease every time he bats!!!!! Then there is Woburn and the Women's golf. After the last blog I heard from Cathy Harris who is covering the golf for the Times. It was good to catch up with her news.

Next up will be Kate Wilson and her daughter. Kate used to provide cerebral papers for the Ashford Heads when I was at the Beaver and remains a consultant to KCC I think. They have been to Japan and are now doing New Zealand, calling in on us for breakfast.

Kate and Beth beside their  beast of a wagon. Great  to catch up with them and hear of their Japanese trip. They are off to Hobbiton now for a tour then Rotorua and Taupo before making their way down to Wellington and onto the South Island. Finally ending up in Sydney and Perth, Australia, campavanning north of Perth before flying home middle of September. That is another great trip and one for the bucket list.

 Then Dave and Vrons are coming and we are doing lunch out. We went to a local tavern which is another good find for lunch and visitors. Just heard from Simon and Tamara and they are booked to come over end of January for a week so that is exciting news.

Lynn had her stitches out which was a painful experience but has healed well.

Finally Win is calling in for a cuppa tea on Friday. Weather has gone back to winter but not as bad as the UK that lost its power on Friday and is due to be hit by storms over the weekend. It is the middle of AUGUST!!!!!! The magnolias are out but with only flowers and no leaves. Win says this is how it is.

August 13th. Still in "April showers" weather so mostly inside activities like the Gym and Cinema. Went to see Emma Thompson in Late Night. Really enjoyed the film which has catapulted Mindy Kaling,  (who wrote the script- co directed the film and acted her socks off ,) into the headlights of film production. A great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Lynn and I were the only people in Screen 2 at The Crossing!!!!! It is such a great facility to have on your doorstep.

Other headline news is I have caught up with Gerry Watkins. I have noted that she never answered any of the invites to Ealing or England get togethers so decided to catch up with her through her work placement. Well to cut a long story short, her friend Alex ( another physio) was physio to the NZ Women's Cricket team at some stage. Gerry and Alex have been talking about visiting New Zealand so Alex can catch up with some of the team........... who live in Tauranga!!!!!!! I will be chatting to Gerry on Sunday so will tell you more later. We both finished with England in 1994 after the World Cup and I don't think I have seen her since then.

Whatsapp chatted with Marshie and caught up on their trip to Deborah and Sean in France.  They had a great time but the weather chaos in the channel meant their home journey took twelve and a half hours instead of four and a half.

Sue and Rick are coming up tomorrow for an MRI scan at the Grace Hospital just around the corner. Dave and Vrons  are also coming for coffee, as is the man to clean the oven!!!!! Life is a hectic whirlwind, at the moment! The oven is gleaming

 as are those who do lunch together. L to R. Dave, Vrons and Lynn, Me, Sue and Rick.

Lunch at our latest find........... easy parking, nice staff, reasonable choice and average price. Rick had his MRI scan and will know the results in a few days. Good times doing lunch with friends.

Friday. Just had a text from Sue saying the results of Rick's MRI scan shows no return of his tumour. Fantastic news for them but also for all of us who have been a part of this whole journey. Spoke to Sally M and she was going to the Opera. Her house is  on the market with different agents so fingers crossed. Not an easy time with Brexit uncertainty.

17th August. We thought we had hit the jackpot last week by finding a ham joint that is not smoked. Apparently in NZ if its called Ham it is smoked, as is all of the bacon. At the Aussie butchers we found we could order unsmoked bacon and buy a piece of ham to cook ourselves called Pickled Pork! We cooked this joint and Lynn was in seventh heaven to eat "proper " ham!!!!!! Just when you think things cannot get better, I decided to make a cornish pasty for lunch because you cannot buy them at the supermarkets. Nor can you buy pork pies!!!!!! So with the help of Google we visited the Farmers market on Saturday to find a Yorkshire lady with a new stall selling home made pork pies............... and a pasty van selling cornish pasties. OMG so very happy. Can order pork pies for Christmas now.

Lynn buying coffee....

The Fuse Drumming group with sticks and buckets.... apparently it is sweeping the country as the next craze. Really?

A thoroughly worthwhile trip out and  the pasty comparison lunch was a raging success. Spoke to Gerry last night and also Lynette the night before. Whatsapp has been great for keeping in touch with folks at home. Sport continues to engage us with a great second Test match and the All Blacks thrashing the Aussies!!!! Bring on Headingly and the Rugby World Cup.

August 21st. Hair cut day and booked flights to Adelaide  next January. My cousin Jacquie and husband Roy come to Adelaide every year, for six weeks, to escape the English winter.  Below is our accommodation in Adelaide, which is close to the Tram Line going down to Jacquie and Roy's accommodation. (Introductory picture to this blog)

When we got their dates we found an Airbnb and booked that and then today we booked our flights........... leaving Auckland 28th Jan and returning Feb 4th in time for Sue and David's trip that next weekend. There are no direct flights so have to have one stop in Melbourne.......... but not for long.

Friday 22nd August. Great cricket day for us Poms!!!! Just realised that when we are in Adelaide, Cathy Harris will be there too so have e mailed her to see if we can organise a coffee catch up while we are there. That would be good. Last time we met was at the women's cricket at Canterbury, probably 2015,. 

Sunday 25th August. Cathy made contact and we should be able to meet up in Adelaide which will be great. Also good to catch up with Jacquie and Roy during that week. New Zealand has just announced that it is bringing in a Visa for visitors from October 1st. Here is the link for those of you planning to travel sometime in the future. I presume it is in light of the terror attacks in Christchurch that they want more info on people coming into the country. Not a bad idea.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/nzeta?utm_source  

The Ashes series remains exciting and desperately disappointing in equal measure. Hope tonight we can bat on and tie the series......... we stay up until lunchtime ( uk ), which is midnight for us and then get the low down the next day.  Fingers x we can keep in the game!

OMG. What a day of test cricket. Cannot believe what we have just witnessed. Stokes for the second time produces an unbelievable innings to win the match. The other good news is that we have found a "proper" Chinese restaurant with Asian fusion food. It has only taken us 10 months to fill in some of the food gaps we miss from the UK.  Caught up with Eileen and Dave R last night who are preparing to be grandparents for the first time. Baby due early October so good wishes to all.

Lynn txt Richard on Sunday and he was on his way to an Air Show. We of course Googled airshows and found that he was heading for Little Gransden in Cambridgeshire. Indeed when he picked up the text on arrival he had just driven through Potton!  It has always been a bug bare of Lynn that because I learnt to drive on Little Gransden Airfield with my best friend's boyfriend, (Dick Brain was his name!), I am useless at indicating on roundabouts as the airfield didn't have any!  My three point turns are awesome though as the runway was quite wide!!!!

The sun is out and it feels a bit spring like with some warmth in the sun. Going to the cinema today to see  Blinded by the Light.  The film is set in Luton and is about an Asian boy growing up in the late 80's. He is trying to fight against the traditions of a Pakistani family and finds the music of Bruce Springsteen the vehicle of choice! I really enjoyed the film and the music but made me remember those times and how hard it was for migrants to fit in to a completely different culture. Also loved the shots taken above the M1 on Dunstable Downs, where we were taken as kids to run around and fly our kites. Happy days.  A worthwhile watch.

August 29th.  Eileen sent a photo through after sifting through some old albums. For those of you who never knew me with dark hair, prepare for the shock. The occasion,........ we had just won a cricket match and I had taken a hat trick of wickets....... hence the ball being held aloft and my colleagues pointing and laughing. Both actions were merited as I had celebrated the wickets of three ten year old boys.......  the team Eileen's husband coached and who we had just beaten!!!!!!

Back row:  Maggie, Barbs, Alison Wimble, Eileen, Carol, Brenda Wimble and Janice.

Front row: Lynn, Woody, Myself and Karen. 

The picture makes me smile. Good times!!!! Eileen's Dad used to umpire and said it was the most exercise he had all week, with the number of times he had to outstretch both arms to indicate wide balls to the scorer!

September and SPRING!!!! Things are warming up a treat. The heat pump isn't turned on until late evening so all is well. There is an international film festival on in Tauranga at the moment so we went to a film yesterday about Tracy Edwards, the round the world Yachtswoman and her all female crew, in the Round the World Challenge of 1989! What an inspiring film for those women to overcome the prejudices of that time. The cinema was half full but a lot of people clapped at the end which was amazing.The film is called Maiden which was the name of the boat.

Caught up with Jan Steele/ Ashley in french France last night so good to hear her news. She is in the final fling of her divorce and seems to have life mapped out so all is good. She had been in Romania with James and new born grand daughter. Unfortunately she got bitten by James' dog when she tried to separate a dog fight. Looked nasty on the screen and made the pictures of Lynn's rose bush incident appear somewhat insignificant!. 

Booked IT guy yesterday to set up our Spark account so we can see the Rugby World Cup. To assist your understanding it would be like Vodaphone getting the contract to show all of the Rugby games in the UK and to see them on a big TV, you need the Vodaphone Rugby app ( at a cost) downloaded to your i phone/pad and then a chrome cast device to stream the match to your TV ! Not easy for an elderley woman to set up herself.......... hence the IT specialist. All done so we are well set.

Picked these yesterday to form our citrus fruit drink. Tree still has loads left and new ones coming all the time. Another dull day so another trip to the cinema to see the film about Dan Carter, the All Black Rugby player. He comes from the South Island so the scenery was stunning and a great advert for New Zealand.

Pete came to mow today and also treat our lawn for prickles. When we moved in last year it had not been treated so if you walked on the grass in bare feet you got this ............... didn't you Flick?!!!!!!OUCH. A massive 56 litres of prickle weed spray has been applied today and all  prickles should be eradicated by November. 

Thursday 12th September. Lovely day out at Dave and Vrons who had Peter and Suzanne Barker staying over. Stayed most of the day with scrumptious meal in the evening. Seen here L to R Dave, Sue, Peter, me and Vrons.

Friday 13th. Off to the cinema to see another International Film called the Whistler which is set in La Gomera, our favourite Canary Island. When we travelled with Barbs to La Gomera she was put on on a tight leash during our inner island tour as the island is known for the locals communicating/buying and trading with each other across the hills and valleys......  through whistling. Barbs, who is famously known for her spontaneous  bouts of whistling, ( including ...."High on a hill was a lonely goatherd ..........Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo ") was banned from any whistling in case the lonely goat herd came back on the bus with us!!!!!! We will let you know about the film before the blog goes out tomorrow.

The film, advertised as one of "enormous fun," by Time Out magazine had seven shot dead, one policeman garroted, one detective hit by a car and not a lot of scenery in La Gomera! It lasted 98 mins, had been to Cannes Film Festival and we were both clueless about the plot at the end. It is not one we will be recommending to friends!

It has been Maori language week and every programme, including the weather, has had Maori sub titles. This is the only one I have learnt ..... in a week ..........so goodbye. 

Kia ora