Anyone want to buy a hedge?

Well the 'Real' Estate Agent didn't quite turn out as expected bless her.  This was the photograph of our house on the front of the folder ...

Incredible!  Needless to say we won't be engaging her to sell our home - which lies on the other side of the hedge above.

The unbelievable part is that here in New Zealand, we not only have to pay for all the advertising costs, we also end up paying about 5% of the sale price to the Estate Agent.

Back to the drawing board, just a temporary glitch, we've already called someone else ...

On a positive note (I'd so much rather have a cup half full!), we have a gardener coming round on Monday to cut said hedge and the lawn, and take lots of garden refuse to the dump, so it'll all look tidier without Barry having to spend his one day off a week doing it.

Oh, and I have two new Life Coaching clients booked in for next week who are committed to finding ways forward to live extraordinary lives ...

Next step - or a huge leap of faith

So the TENS business, including ten machines, has now left the building - in the capable hands of a midwifery colleague and a local childbirth educator.  They're so enthusiastic about taking it forward, whereas I've not paid it much attention for months, so that's great.

I'm loving the 'letting go' feeling and the decluttering!

I listed a few dresses that I don't want anymore (not much call for them on the canals, and I have to downsize my vast wardrobe!) on 'Trade Me' last week, and sold one for more than the reserve so that's cool!  I re-listed another one, and the one that didn't go I'll keep for now.  It's the first time I've sold anything on there, a site similar to Ebay in UK, and I'm surprised how simple it is - I can see how people could get hooked!

The next step is putting our house on the market.  We have a Real Estate Agent (not a 'pretend' one, lol - that's what they're called here in New Zealand, no use asking me why as I don't know) coming round on Thursday evening to chat about what the options are and look at how much we may get.  Of course, like anything, it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it!  We both believe we have a gorgeous house, with a fabulous large section of land, a slice of country in the town, that would be ideal for a young family.  We have a price in mind, but one never knows if it's realistic or not until it's put to the test.

So it'll be interesting what happens in the coming weeks.  I do love the fact that here in New Zealand you generally aren't in the house when people come to view - they have 'open homes' for half an hour or so, generally at the weekends, and people can just show up and give the agent their name and take a look around the property.  It does mean of course that you have to keep the place tidy which can get tedious.  Remembering the last time we did this with Barry's house in 2008, we recently engaged a lovely lady cleaner who comes once a week and brings flowers from her garden, so that'll make the tidying up easier.  And we're also just about to get a gardener to come and help out, mowing the lawns, trimming the hedge and taking away garden debris.  Bless Barry with only one day off a week, things have begun to slide a little.

Of course the more we get for the house, the better the narrowboat will be, so fingers and toes will be crossed!  'What you give energy to grows and expands' ...

Business sold!

Don't get too excited, it's not Barry's business, we haven't even put that on the market yet lol!

I have sold my Tens business that I set up last year, hiring TENS machines to childbearing women to enhance their labour experience, give pain relief in their labour and a heightened sense of control, and reduce their need for drugs that go through to the baby.  In UK around 25% of women use TENS in labour (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation), but here in NZ no-one used them in Gisborne (apart from an ancient machine with pads that were re-used that stopped working years previously - yuck!)  and after trying to get the maternity unit or any of the self-employed midwives to take it on and buy new machines and pads, I did it myself!  The results and feedback from the women have been worth every second of the time it took to set up, and I'm so happy that the business is going to two lovely Gisborne women who will carry it forward.  Of course I've also got the money I paid out back and some for the set up costs so that's great.

So things are moving forward positively with our plans - watch this space as we progress on our journey back to UK ...

Celebrating my birthday in New Zealand and other 'lasts'!

With less than six months to go now before we fly back to UK 'indefinitely' (assuming all goes to plan!), there will be a number of 'lasts' coming up for us.

As the saying goes, you have to close one door in order for others to open, so we're very pragmatic about these changes.

My 53rd birthday was a quiet one, it didn't stop raining here in Gisborne from the moment I woke up until the following morning!  Last year Barry and I had a lovely couple of days in Mahia and the sun shone, but this year he was working from 1000hrs to 1600hrs, so I hadn't planned much.  It was also our third anniversary of our wedding on board Northern Pride on 26th September - we celebrated by me working and Barry playing badminton - not very romantic!

I had lunch with a couple of friends, then visited another one out in the country for a cup of tea, had a sneaky snooze on the sofa for half an hour, Skyped with our grandson, went out for dinner with Barry, then called in unannounced to some friends for a game of darts!  So I still managed to fit some fun things in despite the rain!

Yummy dessert - a birthday treat!

On Saturday, we had a party at home, with a mixture of different groups of friends, as it will most likely be the final time we have a party before selling our beautiful home.

Barry regales some of the guests with his brewing techniques - or something to do with narrowboating I expect!

The bathroom is just about completed (hurrah!  I love it!) and we've been tidying up the outside of the house and garden.  There's a few more little jobs to do, though they won't prevent us putting the house on the market.  It's a timing issue now - will it sell really quickly and we'll need to find somewhere to rent for a while?  Or will it take ages to sell for a price that's acceptable to us?  Exciting aye, not knowing what the universe has in store for us ...

Two of my sisters are coming to NZ on holiday from 18th November to 7th December, so it would be really good to still have the house when they're here - but if someone came along and offered us a good price we wouldn't say no!

I've also recently booked flights to Bali from 19th December to 9th January. I'm meeting my youngest daughter Kimberley there to celebrate her 30th birthday on 4th January - how wonderful to have such an opportunity.  I'll be away from Barry for our 'real' wedding anniversary on 22nd December, and also xmas and New Year - but his children, Jamie and Tom will be in Gisborne, and it'll be lovely for them to spend their last xmas with Barry before he leaves for UK - though they may be celebrating in a tent on the beach if we've sold the house before then!

We're now seriously beginning to visualise how we're going to earn a small income whilst continuously cruising - so long as I don't have to work as a midwife I'll do (almost) anything ...

South Pacific paradise and dreaming of canals?

I recall as a child listening to my parents vinyl LP of the Musical 'The South Pacific' and singing 'I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair' at the top of my voice - I must've been about seven years old, and never thought I'd be able to go to such a magical place! In 2012 I holidayed at the  fun-filled 'Beachcomber Island', one of the Fiji Islands, on my own and had an incredible time, partying the nights away and chilling on the beach and visiting islands such as 'Castaway Island' where the film of the same name was shot with Tom Hanks - unlike the film though there were other islands close by, but it was as magical as it looked on screen.

Anyway, I digress, from 24th to 31st August I was in Samoa with a girlfriend (Barry doesn't do pool chilling holidays!) - what a fabulous place with lovely people.  Yes Tom, I lost count of the number of churches from the airport to 'Aggie Grey's' in Apia once I'd got to 15 I think - I kept falling asleep as it had been an early morning!  It certainly is a very christian country, but it isn't pushed in your face - the people are just lovely and the scenery spectacular.

One of many cocktails

And one of many more churches!

The iconic Aggie Grey's Hotel and Bungalows - awesome place

How you imagine the South Pacific to be - and it is!

I looked at this and though "you must be kidding" - then thought "why not?"

And here's the proof!

Our last two nights were spent here at Savaii Lagoon Resort - absolute paradise!

So now it's back to reality - which is definitely NOT a bad thing!  The bathroom is almost finished, just the walls to paint, and a few other bits and pieces to tidy up.

I've booked the accommodation for 11 nights out of 18 that my two sisters (out of three) will be here from 18th November to 8th December, so that's exciting, and I may be off to Bali in late December to meet my younger daughter there for a 2-3 week holiday for her 30th birthday!

Oh, and of course, it will be only six months on Wednesday and we will be flying back to UK to stay 'indefinitely' living aboard a narrow boat as yet to be purchased - just a few things to sort out before then like finishing my Holistic Life Coaching client hours (all my assignments bar one handed in now) and coaching other clients, Barry's sponsored UK residency visa successfully obtained, house sold, possessions given away/sold/packed up, cat to a good home (thank you Rivka), cars sold, etc, etc.  Phew!  A bit of paid midwifery work in between at the hospital and up the coast - it may be my last months practicing as a midwife as I do not intend working in such a role in UK (unless we're completely desperate and destitute!).

Good luck to Elli and Mick who have only a few more days before they fly off to their narrowboat adventurer - we'll see you on the cut in 2013!

Tickets to UK booked - there's no changing!

Last week Barry's updated NZ passport arrived - it's so beautifully done, black (of course) with a silver fern on the front and back cover, and each page inside has intricate art work depicting the history of Aotearoa - it almost makes me want to apply for citizenship just to get one of my own!  

In New Zealand, for some unknown reason, you have to get a new passport every five years - hurrah for UK who only make us do that each decade (though the document is terribly boring in comparison)!  Barry only updated his previous one in 2008, the first time we were planning our narrowboat adventure of living aboard the canals for six months.  At that point Tom, his son, was coming with us too.  It's Tom's 22nd birthday today - Happy Birthday Tom!  However it was to be another year before our dream came to fruition, Barry's house and business just wouldn't sell, and by then Tom had all grown up and didn't come with us - here's our first ever blog from 17 April 2009, it feels like a lifetime ago.  

Anyway, I'm getting diverted!  As I previously said, in a June 2012 post, in order to apply for his UK residency visa, Barry needed to have a date of 'arriving'.  So to book the tickets he had to update his passport which still had another 8 months left - oh well, sometimes you have to make sacrifices to get where you want to go.

We'd seen a good deal on Malaysian Airlines for a one way ticket to Heathrow from Auckland for $1,200, so as soon as his passport arrived we went online and booked - we leave Gisborne on 19th March and arrive in Heathrow on 20th March 2013, just in time for my mum's 80th birthday on 24th.

The potential 'hiccup' of the ticket is that we can't change the date of it - that's when we will be going or we'll have to fork out lots more money (it was going to be >$1,000 to have that luxury - I chose to decline).  We're confident that this time our plans won't be delayed - we can't afford for them to be!

So we just have to sell the house, sell Barry's business and complete my Holistic Life Coaching Diploma by that time - no problem, of course it'll all work out, just a bit more of a journey for us before we get back to the waterways of Britain, this time to stay 'indefinitely' ...

One man's trash ...

Today it was 'Second Hand Sunday' in Gisborne and we managed to give away a heap of 'stuff' that I sorted out from under the house yesterday.  The directions say to:

• Put the items out at 0900 and retrieve anything that hasn't gone by 1200hrs
• Put a notice on your letterbox to say you're registered for Second Hand Sunday
• Chat to 'fossickers' as they delve through your give aways (!)

I set the alarm for 0730hrs and Barry and I took boxes of things up to the verge above our house, including glass shelving units, a CD player and speakers, photo frames, a raincoat, a compost bin and lots of other things - the letterbox is down the drive so no notice was put up.  I didn't think to take a photo of 'before' until too late - this was about half an hour after we'd deposited our goods ...

Then by 0845hrs, the scene was ...

Those few items left had also disappeared by 0900hrs, which is when it was supposed to be starting!  We chose not to do any fossicker chatting, though we could hear the conversations from the other side of the hedge - it's quite amusing listening to people discussing your belongings!  This certainly bodes well for the rest of our de-cluttering - and how wonderful to be able to give away things that other people can use - or sell, we don't care!  One man's trash is another man's treasure.

We also saw some slithers of blue sky today for the first time in weeks, we've had relentless rain which is most unusual for the east coast of the New Zealand.  Barry's sister, Jenny, and I, walked to see June, Barry's mum, in the Nursing Home where she's now living bless her.  It was fabulous to get out and have some fresh air and exercise - I can't wait to be on the canals again and able to walk in nature most days and see sights like this one of our river in Gisborne ...

The tiles are all up in the bathroom now, and Barry has finished putting the skirting board on - almost there now!  Just the bath to paint (well, we're getting a professional in to do that!), the heated towel rail to be put in, the new windows to be inserted and the walls and ceiling to be painted!  Hopefully it'll all be completed by the end of August.  

Barry's sent away for his new passport and as soon as we get that back I'll book our tickets to England for mid March 2013 - that will be fantastic to have a date!

In the past few weeks I've resigned from the 'Maternity Quality and Safety Project Coordinator' role - I had already planned what I wanted to be doing before we returned to UK, and that was just an extra 'hat to wear' that tipped me over the balance - it's ridiculous to be a Holistic Life Coach and have no 'life'!  I'm finishing a few things as part of the project, and will support the next person, but my priority is my Life Coaching Diploma (for which I have three more assignments to complete by September ...), and getting our house ready to put on the market by the end of September - oh and of course my holiday in Samoa, two weeks working back at Te Puia at the end of October, and showing two of my three sisters the beautiful country of New Zealand when they come for three weeks in the middle of November!

Awesome, our plans are taking shape nicely.

A long way away from eating the dog ...

That may seem to be a rather strange waterways blog title!  I shall explain ...

Last week Barry and I went to see a New Zealand comedian and television personality called Te Radar. He was in Gisborne on his travelling show 'Eating the Dog', which won Best Local Show at the NZ Comedy Festival in 2009, and Best Show at the 2009 NZ Comedy Guild Awards.  What a top notch kiwi bloke he turned out to be!  We had a great evening learning more about New Zealand history, and the story from the title of the show brought much amusement. Thomas Brunner was a 19th-century surveyor who set out from Nelson, along with a number of companions and his beloved dog, to discover more of the South Island.  They travelled a huge distance on foot, over an extended period of time, and were eventually so famished and desperate they had no choice but to eat the dog to survive.  Te Radar is a brilliant story teller, with the upshot of the tale being when you ask someone how they are, they can say "Not so bad, I haven't eaten the dog yet"!  One review of the show states "It is a celebration of the awkward and interesting anecdotes of history that make us who we are: “rogues, morons and scoundrels… pooh-poohing the idea of danger.”

Te Radar was such an unpretentious and friendly person, mingling with the audience and selling raffle tickets, it was well worth every cent - and the delicious food platters and wine were a bonus!

Sandra and Te Radar (not the best photo, I think there was a finger print on my iPhone lens and the flash makes us look a little washed out!  Methinks it's time Barry got his camera out again ...)

A light hearted evening to brighten the wet weather we're still experiencing most days here in Gisborne. Roll on the spring - maybe it's just getting us acclimatised to returning to England next year?

Our bathroom is still not finished, after three months, but the tiling is almost there so possibly by the end of next month we'll have completed it.  It's challenging when Barry works six days a week in the shop, but we're making progress slowly.  The drains were completely blocked by roots from the hedge at the top of the drive, so we've had holes dug three metres deep in the pavement on the road we live in (we live on a hill) and also on our drive, as the council clear the pipes - now we just have to wait and see if we'll be paying for the repairs or no, we didn't dare ask!

Sadly, Barry's mum has been very poorly, and has been in hospital for the past two months.  Tomorrow she is going into a Rest Home - not a pleasant thought when she was doing so well for her age and still playing golf and line dancing in April.  All the more reason to 'seize the day' and focus on achieving our dream ...

My Life Coaching is going well, and I'm completing assignments for my Diploma that need to be handed in at my final weekend of the course early in September.  One of the assignments is an Online Coaching Survey, and I need a minimum of 50 responses.  I  have 18 so far from my Facebook page - so if you can spare me a few minutes, please click on the link and let me know what you would want from online coaching.  

Barry hasn't yet applied to renew his passport that runs out next year, and we've not booked our tickets yet, despite intentions to do so, maybe it's the miserable weather that's not motivating us?  I'm going to Samoa on 24th August for a week - yaay,  sunshine!  A reward for completing my assignments - or at least that's the plan!

Rain, rain, go away ...

So we've had the shortest day and we're now looking forward to spring, but in the meantime the heavens keep opening - I hear it's the same in England so it doesn't feel quite so bad!  It's so damp here at the moment, we've had washing on the line for days and the garden looks like a quagmire! 

However, on a rare break in the weather whilst walking up the hill where we live on Sunday, I spotted this gorgeous rainbow heading into 'Poverty Bay', which is the Pakeha name for Gisborne after Captain Cook failed to replenish his supplies when he and his crew landed here in the late eighteen century. 

I've now set up a Facebook page for my 'Holistic Life Coaching' business, which is part of my work for the Diploma as I need to survey people on what they would want from 'online coaching' - do take a look and 'like' the page - the survey will be posted in the next couple of weeks and I need at least 50 replies so fingers crossed.  They say that 'what you give energy to grows and expands' so I'm giving as much energy as I can to my life coaching, whilst juggling all sorts of other balls as we continue to work towards our goal of returning to the waterways.

The drain situation is ongoing, it was unblocked but work still needs to be done - ivy roots have invaded the pipes!  The bathroom is slowly getting finished and the tiler should be coming in the next week or two.  We've not booked our flights yet or applied for Barry's passport, but they're on the 'to do' list again this month ...

I wonder if it's the cold, damp and dark weather that stops us from moving forward as much as we plan to?  Roll on lighter brighter days ...

The best laid plans and a Happy Matariki (Maori New Year)...

There's one thing you can be sure of when you manage a project - there will be variances from the original plan!  Having finally managed to brainstorm all the jobs we'll need to accomplish prior to returning to the canals in 2013, including those things you do to make your house more saleable, yesterday we discovered a blocked drain from the kitchen sink (and horror of horrors, dishwasher!). The plumber hasn't yet discovered where the blockage is from, but we're suspecting it could be a rather large bill and not one we've budgeted for.

However, that's just money and 'stuff' that has to be done.  What's much worse now is that Barry's mum is poorly (more so than ever before), and in hospital, almost certainly she had a stroke on Sunday morning, and all we can do is take it a day at a time as to what the future holds for her.  Just two months ago she bought herself a brand new car (she felt sorry for Barry when I was working away and he was travelling the ten minutes to work by bike, so gave him her 'old' car, bless her!), was playing golf, and going to line dancing each week - at an incredible 88 years of age.  Her mother lived until she was 103, so she'll be most disappointed if she doesn't manage the same or a similar achievement.  Last December she travelled by herself to Australia, to visit her youngest son and daughter, so to now see her so unwell is heartbreaking.

It's also been unseasonably cold here in Gisborne, which doesn't help matters, but the shortest day is tomorrow and it's also Matariki here in New Zealand, which is the Maori New Year and the name of a group of stars known as Pleiades star cluster or 'The Seven Sisters'.  It seems logical that we should be looking at a New Year when the nights are long and winter is well and truly upon us - the same time of year that it is celebrated in the northern hemisphere.

So we get to consider New Year's resolutions twice in this beautiful country.  Mine will be around trusting the universe that all that's happening is as it's meant to be, that I be mindful of how easily I can become passionate about midwifery work to the detriment of other, more important things in my life (i.e. people such myself and Barry!), and to not be afraid of the challenges and changes which we'll be facing over the next year as we begin the enormous changes necessary to move from one hemisphere to the other.

We are greatly inspired by so many lovely people who contacted us when we were enjoying the canals aboard Northern Pride in 2009 and 2010, and have completed or almost completed the journey before us as a long-term prospect - Tom and Jan from narrowboat Waiouru who have had to overcome so many hurdles on their road to the cut from Australia last year, Paul and Elaine from NB The Manly Ferry (aka Narrowboat Caxton) who got to England this year from Manly (who we had the pleasure of visiting there twice) and of course Elly and Mick from NB 'yet to be determined', who sadly I read are also experiencing the challenge of a sick mum as they are almost ready to travel to the UK - our hearts and hope are with you.

Happy New Year!

Getting to grips with self-employment and Barry’s visa application …

Every year it seems that time moves by more quickly – we're already almost half way though 2012 and it doesn’t seem that long since the New Year!  In just over a week it’ll be the shortest day and longest night here in the Southern Hemisphere – which is good news for us as it means our days will then become longer - possibly not so good for those of you reading from the Northern hemisphere, where you seem to have sadly lost your summer weather once again.

Last time I wrote I'd recently taken on my new role as project coordinator for the maternity quality and safety programme in Gisborne, and it's been full-on for the past 6 weeks..  I know that if I continue in this role until we return to England, it's definitely going to be one that that takes up a considerable proportion of my time.

My concern here, as I know is an issue for many people, is around maintaining a good work/life balance and not allowing one aspect to ‘take over’ in my passion to fulfil my obligations to the maternity services here by taking on the role.  The plan had been to concentrate more on my Life Coaching this year, whilst getting our house ready to sell and de-cluttering our enormous array of ‘stuff’ that we have both managed to acquire.  The Life Coaching is still incredibly important to me, as it's how I intend to earn a modest income when we return to UK, and I shall make time to complete my diploma and see lots of lovely clients for my case study hours as well as those who continue on a maintenance basis - and fit in some fun things too, like going to Samoa for a week in August and two of my sisters coming for a three week holiday in November!  So it's not all work and no play ...

On another positive side, the project post is on a contractual basis, so I’m paid an hourly rate, which was the only way I could work it in with my other commitments (as is my locum midwifery post at Te Puia Springs), so I’m having to get to grips with the concept of self-employment for the first time in my life – it’s certainly different to someone just paying you a salary, having deducted whatever needs to be taken out and then you can spend your money however you wish!  Now I’m learning how to invoice, whether or not I need to be GST registered (similar to VAT in UK), what receipts I have to keep and what spending I have to keep account of, a log book for my car journeys and a monthly ‘cash book’ that I must keep to give to the accountant at the end of the year, if not before.  It feels like keeping accounts is a part time job in itself!

Last week I finally managed to overcome my (irrational?) fear of visiting an accountant – taking the easy option and going to Barry’s longstanding firm, and bless him he came with me to give in his end of year books so I had his hand to hold!  Now I just have to do the paperwork for last year’s income I earned that wasn’t taxed, from being a midwifery mentor, hiring TENS machines, renting our house out as a holiday home, and Life Coaching.

The great thing is that when we come back onto the British canal system in 2013, I'll be so au fait with self employment that I won’t be in the least fazed by then working out how to do my accounting in another country – or at least that’s the plan!

Barry's downloaded the visa application for his UK residency, and he’ll be working on completing that and probably visiting the Embassy in Wellington in the next few months. He was stumped on the first question “What date do you arrive in the UK?”!!!  So it looks like we’ll need to bite the bullet and book our tickets well in advance, before we even put the house on the market, and then we'll have a date to work our ‘project plan’ on – seeing the vision and working backwards to break it all down into manageable steps and prevent it all feeling so overwhelming.

In the meantime, here's a few photos Barry took while we were there in March:

Swanning about on The River severn, Worcester

Sandra (with a bit of M & S shopping!) and her mum and dad

An unusual lock paddle pulley system at Maunsel Lock, on the Bridgewater  and Taunton Canal

We're hoping to book tickets to arrive towards the end of March 2013, before my mum’s 80^th birthday on 24th, so we have a nine-month gestation period to grow our dream baby!

Watch this space …

What is this life, if, full of care ...

Apologies everyone, since we've returned from our break in UK our lives have been crazily busy and I haven't managed to make time to post a blog.  Barry's still working hard at 'ezimade' six days a week, and although he's dabbled in editing his photos from England he's not yet quite managed to post any - I'm sure he will one day ...

In the meantime, I was offered the opportunity of leading a local maternity project to coordinate locally the national 'Maternity Quality and Safety Programme'.  Having voluntarily relinquished my previous senior post and decided I didn't want to take on such a responsibility again I was a little taken aback as our plans for returning to UK in March 2013 certainly didn't include such a big challenge - but when opportunities come our way I've learnt that it's best not to turn them down.  Anyway, long story short, I started as Project Coordinator on 1 May - so now I have that job (on a contractual basis as it's the only way I can 'fit it in', I just have to get my head around being 'self employed'!), a twelve month locum contract at a small birthing unit over an hour 'up the coast', a casual pool contract as a midwife in the unit, my TENS unit hire business, occasional cover for local self employed midwives and continue with my 'Diploma in Holistic Life Coaching' with LCA Auckland.  It is certainly testing my ability to maintain a work/life balance!

I spent the last two weeks of April at Ngati Porou Hauora - Te Puia Springs Hospital, giving the midwife who usually works up there a break.  Although it's not busy, there needs to be a midwife available 24/7 for births and providing antenatal and postnatal care to women.  It's a very sparsely populated area so  it can take over an hour just to drive to see a woman - but it's the most incredible place to live, with lovely people and truly magical without all the pressures of 'normal' life, where you really do have time to smell the roses and 'stand and stare'.  I took the time to chill walking along the beach at Tokomaru Bay and enjoy the occasional coffee ...

... and driving was never a hardship - it's not like the stress of driving somewhere busy, at every turn there is a scene to take your breath away, and Mount Hikurangi was definitely one of the highlights - the first land to see the sun shine each day ...

"Hikurangi is the sacred mountain of Ngāti Porou, and was said to be the first piece of land to emerge when Māui fished up the North Island. According to tradition, Māui’s canoe, Nukutaimemeha, remains stranded on the mountain peak."  

(The encyclopaedia of New Zealand)

Returning to Gisborne on 30 April, I had to 'hit the ground running' in my new role for the past three weeks, and I'm very aware that it's going to be a challenge to get everything sorted with the house to get it ready to sell in just four months time - we're half way through upgrading the bathroom, but with Barry only having one day off a week it's taking a lot longer than we anticipated!  And of course he needs to start applying for his visa in the near future - it's going to be an interesting few months, but we have a dream and we WILL be returning to UK to live it ...

There and back in a flash - now the countdown really begins!

Twenty days in England spending precious time with my family just weren't enough, but we certainly made the most of every moment and Barry even managed to fit in a couple more river and canal fixes in our last week there ...

Barry photographing the cathedral on a much brighter day in Worcester than our trip along here aboard Northern Pride in 2009

Barry captures Maunsel Lock on The Bridgewater and Taunton Canal

Our last weekend in the country was spent with 33 members of the extended Walsh family at Northmoor House near Dulverton in Devon, and on the way we spotted a sign for a canal centre - actually I suspect Barry had already been aware it was around and had just been waiting to find directions!  It was such an idyllic spot; Maunsel Lock is on the 14.5 mile long Bridgewater and Taunton canal, completed in 1827 to link the River Tone at Taunton to the River Parrett south of Bridgewater.

After a wonderful weekend with hot and sunny weather (the great grandchildren were even in a paddling pool!), we arrived back in Gisborne last Friday after a long flight and then a drive from Auckland over a couple of days as the Waioeka Gorge had opened on the Thursday, but only during daytime hours.  Since returning to 'sunny' Gisborne, it hasn't stopped raining!  And to think that there's a drought in England, there's definitely something not right about this ...

So now the countdown to our return to the waterways is really on, so much to do to get the house ready to sell and de-clutter our possessions, as well as the application process for Barry's residency visa - exciting times!!

Unsurprisingly, Barry took many photos while we were away, but I'm not sure when he'll find the time to post any - watch this space, he may surprise me!

Barry's canal fixes

After a great night out on Friday at The George Hotel in Lichfield, Barry managed to achieve his canal fix over the weekend, though it was touch and go for a while!  We were meeting up with Andy, aka Captain Ahab, who'd informed us he was somewhere between Tipton and Oldbury.

Without either an A to Z or a GPS, just a road name and a large AA Road Map, it was rather challenging.  I was just about to give up, saying I'd had enough and we'd have to stop somewhere to buy an A to Z, when we spotted Andy at the side of the road - hurrah!  He'd said he was on Dudley Road West, but in fact it turned out to be Dudley Road East - we'd been travelling round and round in circles looking for the west of the east road (!) and been on the way to Sedgely, wherever that is, before turning round!

Barry fills up with a cooked breakfast before the canal clean-up

Hurrah!  Finally we found the Captain!

Barry was a bit late for the canal clean-up that was in full swing, but he did manage to pull out a few plastic bags and other random bits and pieces.  Following the work party, he and Captain Ahab and Jeff found their way back to Wand'ring Bark and took a short trip to the pub to celebrate St Patrick's Day, had an overnight stay and then a cruise back to the Marina - Barry would have been in his element.

Collecting him from Whitchurch Rail Station on a sunny Sunday evening, we stopped off at Grindley Brook for a bit of a waterway walkabout ...

Grindley Brook, a few minutes drive from where my daughter Lisa lives

Tomorrow Barry's catching a train back to Birmingham to meet up with some more friends, Fred and Sara from Sheffield, and Lisa and I will drive back to Ombersley with our adorable grandson.

Barry's hand and our grandson's hand etched to compare 56 years, versus 2 years of age!

Only eight days of our trip left, we knew it would fly by and it certainly is, but we're having a fabulous time and it's so uplifting to spend time with my family - and we know that when we return to New Zealand we'll be on the countdown to coming back to live in 12 months time when we won't have to rush around so much either on the canals, or with family and friends.

We made it back to the motherland for mother's day...

Well here we are once again in England - Barry made the flight to Auckland last Tuesday night, thank goodness.  

It’s been 16 months since we were here, so it’s fabulous to be seeing my family again.  So far we’ve stayed with my parents in Ombersley (no photos yet Dijon!), been to Brighton to stay with Kim and Joe, had a brief visit to my sister in Southampton and then back to Ombersley.  

A couple of hours in Kuala Lumpar airport - with a humid jungle walk in the background

Within a day or two of arriving, Barry had managed to visit the Droitwich Canal, where we had a walk around the basin – we’re looking forward to travelling on this newly opened (in 2011) waterway when we return in 2013 – Barry took a few photos on his camera, so we’ll upload those when we’re back in New Zealand as he doesn’t have his card reader or laptop here.

Barry caught up with a friend in Brighton for a few drinks on Saturday afternoon.  Well when I say a few I may be understating the facts!  He suggested they'd managed to drink about 8 pints of Guinness in the space of a few hours, he really is incorrigible …

Despite that over indulgence, he obediently found his way back to Kim's on time, in the early evening, and we went out with Kim and Joe and a friend of theirs, Joanne, to a night-club in Brighton called ‘Cassablanca’s’ – there was an excellent band on and the girls boogied to the beat while the boys talked boy things and drank beer (I'm so thankful I'm a girl, I think we have so much more fun!).

Joe and Barry, Sandra, Kim and Joanne off in a taxi for a big night out

On Wednesday we managed to squeeze in another canal fix for Barry, this time to Stourpourt as I craved some good old British fish 'n chips and curry sauce - yum!  We were just in time to assist a boat through the locks after lunch ...

Stourport locks heading onto the river Severn - and above the foot bridge where a boy fell off his bike and sadly died - now covered with ugly scaffolding

We’re now at Lisa’s and have met our grandson for the first time – hurrah!  At last!  He's the sweetest little boy you could ever wish to meet and adores his Grandad Kiwi - he's had many more cuddles than Grandma Kiwi who's maybe just so much more scary.  We're off again this evening to Lichfield for my sister Kath's partner's 55th birthday party and another live band to dance to, then tomorrow, I'm handing Barry over to Captain Ahab for a weekend of canal cleaning around Tipton and Oldbury, then a night on Wand'ring Bark - he will be in seventh heaven bless him.  

I'll be driving back to Malpas, in Cheshire, again to spend Mother's Day with Lisa - her first one ever so it'll be very special.