Catching up on pictures

The pictures got left out in the last few holiday updates. Here are some from New Years Eve.
Eric and Stuart in front of King's Chapel in Cambridge.
Eric pleased about his score at bowling.
Margaret tempting Patrick with yet more sweets! (They are all in withdrawal - oh yes Nick and Karla, have you found the Haribo stash behind the curtain in the guest room?)
Stuart is determined to simulate a Hawaiian holiday even though it is frezzing outside. Plus Karla snapped in the background.
Finally a walk in Thetford Forest on New Years Day.

Back Home

Just a quick post to let people know that we are now back home. Enjoying the sun and good weather and taking ourtime to get over the jet-lag.
The journey was long but incident free. We looked after ourselves better than we did on the way out, watching less tv and getting a bit of sleep. Dubai was as horrible as it was on the way out. Very very busy and overcrowded.
But the planes ere all more or less on time, not much turbulence, good neighbours etc. etc.
We stayed in Auckland last night, that was like being on holiday - sat out on the pavement in the warm sun waiting for a takeaway. We were on the road at 6am this morning and got home by midday.
Bliss to be home. Catching up on all the animals and plant growth.
Picturesto follow.

On our way out

7.48am at Gatwick best Western hotel. Last day in England before we fly out tonight (fingers crossed!). We have been enjoying the luxury of having 6 square metres of floorspace, a BATH!!!, hot water not dependent on turning the gas on and taking the vent cover off, sleeping in a bed that doesn't make you feel seasick because it is windy outside or Eric is shifting about in his sleep.
Very nice ... we like hotels.
Kinda sad to get outta The Beast at the same time. It has served us well and taken us to some whacked out places. The last few days we have been exploring the highways and byways and industrial estates around Stonehenge. The stones themselves were a bit of non-event for me. When we first spotted them from the very busy main road that goes along each side of them, my first thought was "Is that it?" My previous images of them had always involved large open spaces and they seemed a lot larger than they actually were. All the same, big ups to the folk who brought them there 4000 years ago. Apparently some came from a fairly local quarry about 40 miles away and the smaller bluestones that go on top came all the way from Preselli in South Wales. I did not get any spiritual feeling from the place at all - mostly in fact I got a very cold feeling as the wind was strong and very biting. They had some nice sheep grazing in lines. Some were wearing raddles, so it must be mating season. One ram was sniffing a ewes urine which reminded us of Skippy at home.

That was the day when everything went a bit pear shaped. We left Folly Farm and drove west through heavy rain. Found a lovely village called Stocksbridge. Lots of nice art shops, a fantastic butcher's shop that did black pudding and pasties. Also huge trout in a very clear stream that ran along the street. Very tempting to dangle a worm in and catch our tea, but judging by the flyfishing shops it would be the sort of unsporting behaviour that would get us arrested.
On to the Hawk Conservancy Trust for a wet weather look around ... closed. Then onto Amesbury for a swim, couldn't find the Leisure centre as the signposts stopped. Tourist Info told us that there was a pool in Durrington 3 miles away and that it was open. Had an interesting drive round most of Durrington looking for said pool, again the signs took us so far and then stopped. Eventually found it down some back streets attached to Avon Community College. Yes it was open - for 10 minutes then closed to the public so that the kids could use it. The only thing that cheered me up was that all the kids and teachers here are back at school and we are still on holiday!

We ended up having lunch at Pizza Hut because we couldn't be bothered trying to find a pub open. The campsite for the next few weeks was Salisbury Touring Park in a little village called Orcheston. It was adequate; toilet block a bit dark and dirty, didn't fancy the showers, the chem toilet place didn't have a functioning hose and the site itself was a bit squashed for a vehicle of our size. However it did have WiFi, so we could at least go online for a fiver.
In the night, Chantelle and Patrick came down with a bug, good old V&D! I will spare you the gruesome details apart from saying that pineapple puke and liquid squit smells really bad anywhere and when it is in your mobile home you cant get away from it. I saw my job as keeping things normal for Eric and Stuart while letting the 2 sickies sleep it off. We had a hearty breakfast of black-pudding and bacon, went for a successful swim at Salisbury Five Rivers Leisure Centre and went to see "Enchanted" at the Odeon.
Yesterday we packed up, cleaned up and met Grand-dad Cambridge at Fleet Services to drop off all the bedding and stuff we had borrowed for the trip - thanks folks, you kept us all warm for a month! Big thanks to N&K also for the fan heater which kept us all toasty through the coldest weather.
Well thats it for now, we are basically killing time before our flight and seeing what entertainment we can find for a few hours here between being turned out of our room and going to the airport. Our windows give us a view of the end of the runway so we can see all the planes as they head off into the clouds - statrting to get that pre-flight stomach feeling.
Later g's as they say in Kaitaia

Heading Sarth

Blog update Wed 7th January

I am writing this from a small campsite north of Salisbury. We are within earshot of an army firing range and before it went dark we could hear a series of explosions. It might go on for several days as our visit probably coincides with a 48 hour NATO exercise. Most of our plans today have gone awry so I would not be surprised.
Anyway here is the news from the last few days for those who are following progress closely.

We left Cambs on Thurs January 2nd, starting the day with a dawn walk at Wicken Fen with Nick and the dogs. Stuart came along and it was bitterly cold. The Fen has expanded over the years and we went round a part that I had never visited before. Lots of thrushes and a few new ducks and waders for the checklist: shoveller, knot plus the first sparrowhawk of the trip. They seem to be less common than they were. Buzzards are everywhere and so are kestrels. House sparrow numbers are well down. Why is that then?

We left Stretham having said our goodbyes to Margaret and Ian and headed down the M11 to Sussex. There was a bad crash that held us up for an hour but we made it to Barbara and Bob’s house by sunset. They fed us well with winter stew and dumplings ….yum-yum. Even Patrick asked for more. The boys met Emily and James again and they all seemed to get on well.

That night we stayed at Sumner’s Pond just down the road. A carp fishery apparently, but no-one was fishing in the morning. Good toilets and amenities, no complaints at all. We even went on a morning trot to the shop for bread and milk. Then on to Netley near Southampton. We went via Portsmouth and the front at Southsea. Had a pleasant lunch at Mozzarella Joes café on the front. Very good fish and chips. Biting cold wind coming in off the Solent along with a hovercraft and a couple of cross channel ferries. We visited the D-Day museum in the afternoon. Very moving descriptions of the invasion and local effects of the war. Also the Overland Tapestry that was commissioned as an English version of the Bayeux Tapestry.

The campsite at Netley was next to a busy road and in a large featureless field. Toilet block under construction so showers were in the main house and toilets were in a Portacabin with very little room. Not too impressive.
We went off to see Great Grand-dad Ronald the next day (Friday). We went out to a pub on the River Test for lunch and the boys had a good chat about life in New Zealand.
On Saturday morning we arranged to meet Chantelle’s Uncle Richard at Marwell Zoo at 10am. At 9.30 we found that the van was bogged down on the grass. We had parked on a grass field having not parked as advised on an area of hardstanding as it seemed to be part of the roadway around the site. Chantelle went in search of the owner for help and was told that we would have to wait until her husband returned from work at some time in the future. Well, we could have waited like helpless people or we could have used some newly acquired Kiwi ingenuity and helped ourselves. I saw a pile of road material nearby and put a few loads under the back wheels. The owner rushed over saying that we couldn’t do that because we would ruin the grass. I replied that we had already done that – picture a long skid mark with a huge double rut in it! I asked her when hubby would be back and she said his ship had to dock then he would be back as soon as he could. She flustered off and I looked at the bucketful of tarmac. I dutifully put it back on the heap. There were already 3 buckets under the wheels and it seemed a shame not to see if they would work. Chantelle drove slowly in reverse and we all gave a shunt from the front and out The Beast reversed. We left a note apologising for the state of the grass and resolved to find a new site for that night!

At risk of going on a bit – I will anyway! Just skip this paragraph if you are irritated by my soapbox rantings, but hey – what is a blog if not a soap box? This little episode sums up something fundamental I have noticed in a lot of English people that you don’t get so much in our new home. In England everything has to be done by “The Expert” in whatever field you can imagine. People are discouraged from sorting things out themselves. In some cases this is understandable – if I have a heart attack I would rather be treated by a heart specialist than a dentist or a tree surgeon. When the car breaks down we phone the AA or the RAC. When the bog breaks we get in a plumber. When our hamster dies we get the Hamster bereavement service in and the Hamster Funeral director. Far fetched? I am pushing the point and those who know me will know that I am not the most practical minded of people. I have noticed that when we have hit hitches on this trip I have attempted to sort them out myself before calling in the experts. I was deeply impressed on a trip in a remote part of Spain with Ruth and Rory by the way that they fixed their radiator with a bit of roadside wire when the radiator hose split. There was no AA round there and even if there was they weren’t members. Going back to the episode that sparked this off – two final points. One: we should have listened and parked on the hard-standing in the first place, so sorry for spoiling your grass. Two: are people more or less important than the grass? Perhaps it should be a field or a turf farm instead of a camp-site? End of rant.

Where were we? Oh yes, meeting Uncle Richard. Which we did at the zoo. And had a rare old time looking at all the animals. I hadn’t heard of half of them but there were some fine specimens. As far as zoos go it was well laid out with natural looking cages. Kind of sad to see a mountain leopard in a rocky cage staring longingly at the red panda up a tree in the next enclosure. We had watched a programme about them the night before. The TV crew had spent 8 weeks in remote Pakistani mountains trying to find one in its summer habitat. It took us 1 minute to spot it in its enclosure. Sorry, nearly got into another rant about zoos ….
Eric and Stuart went off to stay with Great Uncle to talk planes for the night. Chantelle Patrick and I went off for a quiet night on a new campsite near Crawley.

That brings us nearly up to date so I will stop there. Eric is busting to have a go, probably to check out the price of laser sights on TradeMe.

Happy New Year

Happy 2008 to all our readers!
The pictures and posts have got away from us/me a little as the tour continues.
We left Lumb the day after Boxing Day to spend 2 nights in Lancaster. It had proved difficult to find a campsite anywhere near the city that was able to take us, and we couldnt think of anyone who had a drive big enough to fit the van, so we ended up at Hollgates in Silverdale. It was pricey at nearly #40 a night, but the site was well placed in the limestone woodlands witha view down to Morecambe bay. Even better for the boys was the reception complex which held a large indoor swimming pool, along with a spa pool, steam and sauna room. That made up for the extra cost as we swam every day we were there. The weather was truly awful with howling gales and driving rain. The van rocked so much that it was hard to sleep.
Stuart went to stay with his old school friend Matty. We were all treated to a little party in the Cathedral library by Fran, Barbara and Sheila. Thanks ladies, it was a really nice gesture.
We spent a bit of time in Lancaster city centre on Friday - not pleasant- very busy and shops full of useless tat! The boys needed a dose of cheap crap though. Then onto the Greggy to meet up with Alastair and Roger. Didn't get a pic of you Roger! Good to catch up on all the news of lancaster and Scotland.
We returned to Lumb on saturday for a family party. I met up with all my siblings for the first time in maybe 4 years. There was not enough time to really catch up. It felt a bit like we had all met up at the same bus station before our paths whipped us all apart again. Not that I am comparing Mum and Dads house to a bus station - he adds hurriedly. Still even a brief meeting was better than nothing. The boys got to meet their cousins again. There was a bit of hierarchy settling as Patrick discovered that he is the youngest cousin and could not throw his weight around in the manner he is used to with his older brothers. Stuart seemed impressed by the musical abilities of his cousins. I certainly was impressed by Tom's songs. Check out his webpage: http://www.myspace.com/theshybairns
It was good too see all my sibs and nephews and neices and in-laws.
On Sunday I went for an excellent walk at dawn (8am!) up to wheathead again and over the tops along paths that I used to tread when i was living there 20 years ago. The woods were taller, some farmers are looking after their walls and some have fallen down any more. The grass was bitten pretty short with lots of sheep grazing.
We took off back to Cambs after taking our leave of Mum and Dad.
Now it is New Years Day and we are in Stretham. We had a plaesant party last night at Nick and Karlas. I took the boys into Cambridge for the day. Eric had been very desperate to go on a train. I had hoped to go to the Botanic Gardens but it was closed as was the Fitzwilliam Museum and the public Library. We had to make do by eating danish Pastries at the Copper Kettle. Went bowling in Ely and then back for the party. Tres fun ... 2007 all over ......

Christmas celebrations

Various images from Xmas day.
A day spent doing the usual xmas day stuff: church, presents, eating and drinking, talking and watching tv.
Alex and Elisha joined us for dinner. Very tasty beef and chicken with all the trimmings.
Main TV was Dr Who. Have to say that mainstream free to air tv has deteriorated to the point that there is very little worth watching. Good job we got lots of DVDs and vids as well.

Christmas in Lancashire

Two posts of pictures coming up. Here are the first ones. Grandma had made a lovely crib on the windowsill and the boys moved baby Jesus in on Christmas Eve. You also have the dog Tara being stroked by Eric. Tara is a lot calmer than either Zephyr and Burt. She was a bit freaked out when we all arrived but has gradually come out of her shell.
The other 2 pictures are nothing 2 do with xmas but everything to do with Lumb. We went for a walk up to Wheathead with Granddad and the dog on Xmas afternoon. The weather cleared up after morning fog and the sun came out. I used to spend a lot of time at Wheathead when I lived with Mum and Dad. There used to be Little Owls on the stone walls. Things change ... many more people are living in the farm houses and the footpath I used to walk down seems to have gone. In its place barbed wire and fences. I walked it anyway for old times sake. There are more footpaths in this area than in any other part of the UK I have been to. Does it matter if one path goes? What about 10 paths? Who shut the path down? Lots of questions but perhaps no answers.
The other pic is of a new development that is going to change the skyline for the next few decades. A big wind farm is going up on the moors between Rochdale and Waterfoot. I used to tramp those hills in days gone by (starting to sound like an old man!). They are pretty empty places, very few people use them. A few walkers, some trail bikers and the few farmers who run sheep up there at very low densities. As you can see from the pic the wind farm is going to change the view big time. Lots of local opposition to it. Some from the Bernard Ingham(?) camp in Hebden Bridge who oppose all wind farms and who are paid for by the nuclear industry, so no conflict of interests there! There has been opposition from David Bellamy to this particular development. I have always been pro-windfarm up until now. Having seen the first turbine go up I am uncertain whether or not I agree with the siting of these 30 turbines. They will massively change a view I am fond of. On the other hand the hills have always been sites of industrial activity. Huge turbines would be an in your face reminder of the need to conserve energy. And I would rather have turbines than nuclear.

North Yorkshire

From Lincolnshire we headed up to the North Yorkshire coast to experience some bracing pre-Christmas weather. We had expected it to take ages as the papers were predicting mayhem as everyone finished work and headed off.
As it happened we made very good progress and were installed at Middlewood Farm in Robin Hoods Bay by 2pm. The site had views towards the sea and certainly got a good breeze. Very pretty. Good enough site, with heated wash-blocks and a kids play area. Marked walk down to the beach through the fields. My only gripe about this place (and Orchard Park for that matter) is their habit of playing very loud local radio in the wash blocks. Not quite sure what the reasoning is here - is it that people cannot cope with silence or maybe people don't like to listen to each other's bodily functions. I myself would rather have the occasional interruption of the latter and then have the peace of the former so that I can read the paper whilst I get away from the pressure cooker atmosphere of The Van!
We went down to Robin Hood's Bay beach on the first afternoon and it was cold. No birds of any note on the sea which was a surprise. I have been keeping track of what is around and may even write the whole list up here at some point. Was hoping for a gannet out at sea, or a kittiwake or maybe a chough on the cliffs. Saw a possible raven fly over but the only sea birds were black headed gulls.
We retreated to a pub right on the edge of the sea and it was hot chocolates all round (plus a pint of Theakston's Best Bitter for me mmmmmm!!)
On the next day whatever that was ... Wednesday? no Thursday ... no it was Saturday because everyone was out Xmas shopping and we headed for Whitby. Last time I went there was for a summer holiday as an 8 year old kid. I remember fishing for crabs off the pier and walking to Robin Hood's Bay along the cliff top in the fog as the horn boomed out every few minutes.
We had a look round the town and went for another hot chocolate at a quaint little cafe called Sherlocks. We established that the Captain Cook museum was closed for the winter which was a bit of a shame. It would have been appropriate to have visited the museum of one of the first NZ emigrants. Instead we went up to the abbey and had lunch in their car park. That is one of the advantages of the van; you can stop in any carpark or roadside layby and get a brew on, have a little nap and chill out before going off again.
Eric, Stuart and I elected to walk down to the pier for a fish. It was very picturesque and also quite cold. Saw a couple of male eider ducks close up which was a bonus. Eric did not catch any crabs but we all enjoyed the walk.
Writing this from the warmth of the family seat in Lumb on Christmas eve. Updates on Christmas to follow. Seasonal greetings to all the readers of this blog. Have a peaceful day tomorrow.

Robin Hood Country

Some more pics of our trip. We went to a pleasant site just outside Tuxford called Orchard Park. It was on the site of an old orchard and must be lovely during the Autumn when the trees are fruiting. There was an adventureplayground to keep the boys happy and WiFi to keep C and I happy. Also see pics of van life - watching telly and the spacious interior.
I have been trying to get the boys interested in chess. I have a chess club at school and believe (along with a lot of other people) that it is a good game for kids to play to learn transferable life skills. If your opening and preparation is not up to scratch, then you will lose. If you move without considering the consequences, then you will lose pieces. You have to probe your enemy for weaknesses and use strategy to win. And lots more.
Anyway, the boys have been reluctant to embrace the beautiful game up until now. The enforced boredom of being in a van for 17 hours a day has helped. Patrick does not like to lose so he will only play himself while he learns the moves. Stuart and Eric are occasionally up for a game and I took a pic while play was going.

We visited the Great Oak at Sherwood Forest on a grey day. Pleasant walking through the rides and some amazing trees.

Leicestershire

The England tour continued as we travelled to Hill Top Caravan Site near the village of Thrussington just north of Leicester.
What to say about this place that is complimentary? Well there was a hook up and water and a level carpark and an electric gate and somewhere to dump the toilet. We had no contact with the owners and all management was done by signs - no entry to the interesting looking ponds over a small fence - no entry to the house. A sign told us to put our money in a box if no-one saw us. Now perhaps the owners were busy or had the flu, but we did see a bloke on a tractor on the first morning and a load of shooting people were dropped off next to our van just after we arrived, but no-one came to say hello. A tad impersonal ...
It was freezing as well on an exposed hilltop (maybe that accounted for the name?). We walked down to the local village for some exercise and local flavour. There was a general shop that is only open on Friday mornings, and a beauty shop. The pub apparently did not have a kids licence and was just about to close so we walked back to the van ande holed up for the night.
Tuesday dawned milder and we headed into Leicester to check out the Space Museum. It was in an amazing bubble building 3 storeys high and had lots to interest us. The boys were taken by the Dr Who exhibition. I liked all the interactive games especially the one that simulated orbitting planets.
On Wednesday we carried on North just up to Tuxford in Notts. On the way we went to the Newark Air Museum which was interesting to the family plane-spotters. Eric found a sit in flight simulator. There were some good bits on social history from WWII when the area had numerous airfields. One display board had a sequence of letters from a squadron to the mother of an airman who was lost in action. He did eventually turn up - it was not explained how. The Language of the letters was very RAF - wordy and bureaucratic.
Our home for the next 2 days was Orchard Park. The owner was much more friendly than the last lot, showing us round the site and giving us maps of the local area.
More on what we got up to here next time.

Cambridge

We spent the w/e in Stretham. Visited Jimmy's Farm outside Ipswich on Saturday on our way back. It features on a tv programme that had just started in NZ. We went in the shop which had lots of yummy food. Did not see the man himself, but bought some bacon and sausages. The bacon was very fatty and strong and melted in your mouth. The sausages were very meaty and tasty. Essex pigs ... very rare apparently.

On Sunday the boys and I went into Cambridge to meet Walter. He took them off for a tour with some of his friends leaving me with 3 hours to look around. The place was heaving with Xmas shoppers. The market was in full swing and has gone upmarket. Got some lovely bread and organic sprouts. Onto the Fitzwilliam to look at their art. We dont see much of Picasso and Matisse in Kaitaia. My favourite was a village scene by Peter Bruegel. It was great walking slowly along the backs looking at all the architecture. It is a very carefully laid out place - manicured. I did not really appreciate it all when I was a student there.

We all stayed at Nick and Karla's house on Sunday night. They have 2 dogs who were a big hit with the boys. Horace and Burt.

On Monday we started North to Leicestershire. Got about 15 miles before we hit the first traffic jam (actually it was the only one - but it did take us an hour to travel about 1 mile.

We will update about what happened when we got there tomorrow.

East Anglia ... in Winter

Let loose in East Anglia

Look out folks the Bryans are now roaming the country. Watch out for "The Beast" as they have named their campervan. If you look carefully you can see Eric in the upper window. We spent a few days at a lovely campsite in Hollesley called Run Cottage. Very clean site in a wooded area next to a woodland. A little egret was a regular visitor to the pond.

We were going to spend a day at my old stomping ground of Minsmere, but decided that the boys would probably moan the whole time and turn it into a miserable experience. So we went to Orford instead and enjoyed a tour of the 12th Century castle. It cost about 12quid for us all to get in and we were given little phone to walk round with. If you typed in numbers off signs on the wall, it would talk to you pointing out significant features. Much better than having to read lots of text and we saw things that we would otherwise have missed. My favourite feature were the toilets - basically long-drops from second storey all the way down to the ground. It must have got a bit wiffey round the base in the summer!
The next day we had a "free" day walking along the local beach from Shingle Street to a gun emplacement. It was quite cold and I was the only one who enjoyed the experience. See if you work out the sequence of 3 photos from the body language.

Now we are back in the warmth and civilisation of Stretham.
Blogger won't let me upload the pics at the mo so they will follow later.

Back2uk!

Sitting in Stretham in bright winter sunshine writing this. Freezing cold outside but clear. Couldn't ask for better weather on our first day.
Journey was more of a 'mare than I was expecting or remembering! Mind you, it was only the expected stuff, based on it being so long. Not like the plane crashed or anything bad. There was quite a lot of turbulence which became trying for Chantelle. For me the lack of sleep was worst, I catnapped for a few hours on the Melbourne to Dubai stretch, but there was not a lot of room. Rest of time watched loads of tv - the inflight entertainment was good enough for 24 hours - easy even for my weird tastes. Kept the boys busy too, endless films and Simpsons cartoons - that and lots of food. What more could 8,11 and 12 year old boys ask for?
We were delayed for a couple of hours on the tarmac at Dubai and it looked like we might have had to get off at one point,so Chan and I were mighty relieved when the plane took off. Taxied up to the runway just as Uncle Richard flew in on a Quatar flight. The views on the first part of that flight were stupendous. Not entirely sure of the countries we were flying over so will be going back on Google earth to check. Some interesting geological features including the pic shown which looks like a meteorite crater.
I shall post some pictures up and maybe do another update later. We are being put up in royal fashion in Stretham by Ian and Margaret. Chantelle and I stayed with Nick and Carla last night in their beautiful house. I swear I was asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

December happenings

Here are a few pictures of our happenings at the end of Term 4. Eric is looking smart before he went off to the Sally Army volunteers dinner at the Taipa Resort last Sunday. Eric helps after school in the shop shining shoes mostly. He and Chantelle had an enjoyable meal.
Stuart is combining his love of making things with his love of Dr Who by making a large scale 2-D Tardis. He also has his sonic screwdriver in his hand. He bought this with his birthday money.
Patrick is picking the peach crop. We doubled last year's crop, taking a total of 2 ripe fruit from the tree.
The pig has been visiting us from the wilderness next door. It is getting tamer and we may end up turning it into bacon one day.
Talking of which, the pan contains sheep offal from Sally and 2 of her lambs that were slaughtered last Saturday. That was a 6 hour epic that would take a page to do justice ... another time as we are quite busy tonight. Suffice it to say that as I had never dealt to a ram lamb before, I was intrigued to see what their specialised offal tasted like. There were 2 lambs and there are 4 pieces in the pan. Chantelle and the boys were not keen. I wouldn't make a big effort to eat them again - they did not taste like chicken. Spongy and soft .... nuff said. See some of you soon. Rest of you l8r.

Darling Shania

Our darling Shania has been gradually getting more and more fragile as the weeks have worn on. Her little back leg was in a really bad way, no amount of treatment seemed to be helping. She was limping so much her leg was starting to become deformed.
Dispited this she still managed to come over every morning and evening to see what was in the bucket, and have her fair share.
She was lovely.
Shania was put to sleep on Saturday the 24th of Novemeber 2007.