Oxford Day Trip

As spring had sprung in the UK we thought the first May Bank holiday would be a good opportunity to do a day trip to the university town of Oxford.

I had spent a weekend there in 2002 but Grigoria had never been to the rowing mad town and the home of Harry Potter’s Dinning hall (Christchurch College) so it seemed like a perfect choice.

Despite all the good intentions of getting up early in the end we arrived in Oxford just in time for lunch. After a small walk around, mainly trying to find our way, we arrived at the Turf Tavern (http://www.robofdoom.co.uk/turf/). The Turf has been around, in one form or another, since the 14th century and its quirky ambiance together with the large beer garden at the back has made this one of the most popular Oxford establishments.After the Turf our next destination was Christ Church College (www.chch.ox.ac.uk).

Even if you haven’t been before the college looks strangely familiar. Just add a bit of magic and you get most of the Howgart’s locations! What is probably a bit less known is that Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, was a Maths lecturer here when he met Alice (the Dean’s daughter) and Alice in Wonderland was born.
Once in Oxford it is impossible to avoid the rowing. Even today when the weather was not particularly nice the river was littered with boats of all shapes and forms, ranging
from the amateur punter to the experienced university crews.

Grigoria and I could not help but chuckle however when we saw a group of drenched rowers carrying their boat whilst the cox was apologising for not seeing the pole (the scull had a huge dent at the back!).

After a couple of hours of wondering around Oxford Grigoria made sure that our footsteps brought us right in front G&D’s
an ice cream paradise! The choices we had to make were tough but in the end it was a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce for Grigoria and a waffle with Banarama ice cream and chocolate sauce for me!

Our last stop in Oxford was the Carfax tower. The tower was part of St Martin’s church which was demolished at the end of the 19th century. The tower houses a set of bells that ring to commemorate significant occasions and its 360˚ views have made it a popular tourist destination.

MIB Site Visit

One day after restarting back at Anshen Dyer, they sent me up to Manchester to complete some minor site checks, not only that but I was intrigued at how further the construction had progressed in six months.

Well here it is, about 90% complete but still looking very sharp, I guess not bad for three years of my career spent working on it!

PS. Further images are bound to come.....

London Calling...

As I write this it is my last day at home in New Zealand before boarding several flights tomorrow bound for London.

It has been an interesting and painful experience for the past 18months with regards to first deciding to head home, then actually packing everything up, moving back and finally trying to adjust to the New Zealand life, all without Grigoria.

I know it’s been very hard on Grigoria and also my family who now have to adjust to me not being around again.
Maybe this time around it will be a bit easier with the use of Skype http://www.skype.com/ and a webcam so we can all actually see each other a bit more regularly.

That message goes out to all / any readers, all you have to do is get yourself a webcam and we’ll be able to chat for free.

So……what does London hold this time then? Well hopefully a good hot summer and time spent with good friends. It won’t belong until my parents arrive for another Europe / UK trip next May.

Until then………

Family Time

As I may not see some of my family until later next year, today my parents point on a lunch so we could all catch up and hear about each others lives since Christmas. Thanks Mum & Dad!

Obviously my Brother & family and Sister & family aren’t too far away but it was a good opportunity to hear about one of my Aunty Penny & Uncle Eddies time in Melbourne for the Commonwealth games.

Luckily the sun broke through the rainy clouds for long enough to allow the little ones to get outside, especially my nephew Cameron who took the opportunity to chase our sheep around the paddock to see if he could catch one!

To sum it up, we had a good time and I’ll look forward to seeing everyone again next year when we come back down under to discover the treats of the South Island.

Keep in touch and follow our future blogs……….

Introducing Little Jamie

Today I left Auckland headed down to Wellington to sort out my belongings and spend time with my family.

First on the agenda was to meet the latest addition to the family, my little nephew Jamie who is now five weeks old.
At first glance I thought the little guy looked just his Dad, Paul but I’m sure as he grows and changes he’ll probably look a bit more like both parents.

No doubt the next time I see him he would have grown a lot or possibly he could have his pilots licence.....