Whitireia Park

Jamie and Kerry were back at work today and Whisky was going out with his dog walker for the second time, so James and I were footloose and fancy free. When we drove down to the seashore at Island Bay we could see the South Island very clearly after yesterday’s rain. We had a yummy breakfast at Maranui Café in Lyall Bay, the views over the sea were stunning. 
We then decided to go to for a walk to Whitireia Park near Porirua, about forty minutes north west of Wellington. We had such a lovely sunny and windy walk there. The sea was turquoise with long waves sweeping in. There were two wing surfers holding butterfly shaped sails, dashing across the water. Their surf boards were rising right out of the water with only the fins touching the sea. Even more impressive was a kitesurfer who was scudding across the waves and then when the wind caught his parachute he was lifting right up into the air, maybe about 20 metres high. He must be very skilled. Anyway, James and I walked along the coast to a beautiful beach and then made our way up quite a steep grassy track which took us along the edge of the cliffs, and eventually down to the Carved Maori Pou Statue which overlooks the bay. 
Later Kevin and Jenny arrived in Wellington and the six of us went for a celebratory engagement dinner to Kisa in the town centre. The menu was Middle-Eastern tapas and it was absolutely delicious. Jamie and Kerry were so happy and we had a great evening. 

Pizzas at the Empire Cinema

Whisky and I were having a delightful morning cuddle on the couch when we were amazed by an extremely heavy downpour of rain. I mean really heavy; it was drumming on the roof of the house! James and I went to the Spruce Goose for breakfast and got five pink peonies for Kerry at a wee flower shop in Lyall Bay. By the time our newly engaged couple Jamie and Kerry arrived back at lunchtime the sun had come out and we were able to eat lunch in the garden. What a change in the weather! James and I walked to Island Bay later and it was like a summer’s day; I sat on the beach to read my book and James went for a walk along the coast. I was mesmerised by the beauty of the waves. 
Unfortunately James has caught my cold and was feeling a bit rough so he wasn’t hungry for dinner and decided to have an evening at the Airbnb. Jamie was working so that left Kerry and me to have a girls’ dinner together. It was extremely nice to spend some girl time with my son’s fiancée! We had pizzas at the Empire Cinema Café and they were delicious, and we had a lovely chat about the engagement and future wedding plans. At my request Kerry had brought the leftover sandwich from lunch time and I took it back to the ailing James with a couple of slices of my pizza. He was hungrier than he had thought so they were a welcome supper for him! 

Exciting news from Dunedin

This morning we took Whisky for a walk and then had our usual breakfast at the Beach House Café in Island Bay, where we are becoming regulars! We went into town to visit the Wellington War Memorial park which was very impressive, the older monument is currently covered in scaffolding but the new part is very impressive in chunky red stone with New Zealand designs on it. We also had a quick visit to the smart supermarket Moore Wilson’s and had coffee across the street at Café L’Affare. Then we headed back to Jamie and Kerry’s house to spend a very rainy afternoon with Whisky, cuddled up on the couch. We were just about to go out for another walk when the phone rang; it was Jamie and Kerry video calling us from a hot tub at their hotel in Dunedin. Kerry was wearing the most beautiful diamond ring - they are engaged! We did know in advance that Jamie had planned this lovely surprise for Kerry, hence our dog-sitting duties from Monday to Wednesday. Jamie proposed to Kerry on their favourite beach where they went on their first date. How romantic! He even arranged for a friend to slip down to the beach to take photos! They were both so happy, and we are absolutely delighted for them. After our walk with Whisky we went to the Tuesday night pub quiz at the Sprig and Fern where we came second last; we named ourselves “The Bairns” because the bar man we were chatting to comes from Falkirk, he heard the name being called out by the quizmaster and was very pleased! Back at the house we spent lots of time playing with Whisky until we were all tired out! 

Wrights Hill Fortress

Jamie and Kerry set off early on Monday morning to Dunedin for a couple of nights. This was for a very special reason of which more tomorrow. James and I were therefore left in charge of Grand-dog Whisky. Jasmine had stayed overnight at the house so she took care of Whisky until we arrived at about 10 a.m. and took him for an outing by car. James had discovered that Wrights Hill Fortress happened to be open on Monday (Labour Day) - one of only four days a year that it is open. So it seemed like an ideal opportunity to visit. These underground tunnels were built during the Second World War as a defence in case New Zealand was invaded. The tunnels link war shelters, gun emplacements and an engine room. The fort never saw action, fell into disrepair and was restored in the 1980s. The pleasant volunteer who sold us our tickets mentioned that dogs are welcome but that they put rat poison in the tunnels so we shouldn’t let him sniff anything. I immediately decided that it would be an excellent idea not to take Whisky down there at all! James happily went by himself and Whisky and I socialised above ground with legions of dog lovers of all ages. I took Whisky up to the Lookout Point, which had amazing views all over Wellington, and James joined us there. In the evening we ate pizzas, took Whisky for another short walk, and relaxed watching television. 

Makara Beach

Jamie was off work on Saturday and Kerry was sleeping between night shifts, so Jamie met us at the Beach House Café in Island Bay for brunch and we had a really good chat. The weather was a bit rainy, so at Jamie’s suggestion we went to the Dr Who exhibition in the town centre, which was great fun. It was a good exhibition with lots of replicas of various monsters, and it was very popular. We did a bit of shopping and then decided to watch a couple of episodes of the new (from earlier this year) series of Dr Who. I haven’t watched Dr Who for ages and I was pleasantly surprised at how good this series is; Ncuti Gatwa is excellent as the doctor. When Kerry got up we ordered in a curry and had a lovely chat. 
This morning (Sunday) Kerry was sleeping after her night shift; James and I had breakfast again with Jamie at the Beach House Café before collecting Whisky from the house and heading for a new beach, Makara Beach, which has a coastal walkway. It was stunning, with sweeping waves and piles of driftwood on the shore. It also had lots of low shrubs with pretty pink daisy-like flowers with yellow middles, known as the New Zealand ice plant. On the way home we had coffee and scones at the friendly Café Aro in the Aro Valley. Of course the best bit of all this was spending time chatting with Jamie, it’s so nice to be with him. Later on we went to the Parrotdog Bar with Jamie, Kerry, Jasmine and Theo. It’s a casual and dog friendly pub with a simple but tasty menu, so Whisky came too, and we had a convivial evening before Kerry went home to get ready for her last night shift. 

Windy Wellington

Today was windy, very windy! James and I walked down to the Beach House Café and I was honestly nearly blown off my feet once or twice! It was sheltered on the decking so we were able to sit outside and look at all of the waves on the water. We then went for another walk at Wellington Harbour; this time the waves were lashing onto the walkway and we got splashed several times; we had coffee at Beach Babylon, where we remembered that Jamie had taken us on our last visit to Wellington. James decided to extend his walk and I retraced my steps to collect the car; I drove along the coast road for what seemed like ages before I caught up with him at Evans Bay, he had walked a long way. 
We spent the evening eating pizza with Jamie & Kerry’s friends; Emma, and James and Sam. They are all doctors and were great company, it was a very friendly and fun evening. Kerry started her first of three night shifts at 10 p.m. so we headed home before she set off. 

Katherine Mansfield

I had a rather mixed day yesterday. In the morning we decided to walk along the coast, from Island Bay round to Lyall Bay. It was a really beautiful walk; the sea was the most amazing shade of dark blue and there were sandy bays, rocks and islands to look at. It was only 6 km to the Spruce Goose at the airport end of Lyall Bay, where we stopped for coffee. This is where things took a bit of a downturn for me. I have a cold, always annoying, but I started to feel really nauseous and I wasn’t hungry for a cake, a bad sign for me! James was happy to walk back along the coast while I hung about the café watching the planes take off from the airport and surfers catching the waves in the bay. James collected me by car and we returned to the apartment where I went for a sleep while James took our lovely Whisky for a walk. However when I woke up later I still felt really unwell and sorry for myself, so reluctantly I messaged Kerry to say that I would stay in bed in the evening and James would come round alone. I was so sad about missing time with Jamie and Kerry but I think that it was a good call because after getting myself ready for bed I slept from about 8 p.m. right through to the morning! 
The good news is that I awoke much refreshed this morning and James and I walked round to the Beach House Café at Island Bay for breakfast. It was a windy day and the sea was covered in white capped waves, with spray being whipped off them by the wind. But it was sheltered enough on the café terrace to sit outside and watch the ferries go past in the distance. I love it there. 
James and I then drove to Katherine Mansfield’s house in Thorndon, which used to be a Victorian residential area of Wellington but has been partially bisected by the motorway. Katherine was born here in 1888 and lived in the house until she was five years old, when the family moved to the countryside suburb of Karori for a while. Although she left New Zealand when she was in her teens and did not return apart from a brief visit when she was nineteen, many of her stories reflect her childhood experiences, and the first short story that I read by her was “The Prelude” based on her family’s move to the countryside when she was a small girl. I loved that atmospheric story, which I felt captured an episode of family life really well, and I went on to read much more of her writing. Her life was uncompromising and exciting and was tragically cut short by tuberculosis when she was only thirty-four. Needless to say I had a wonderful time looking around the house and James won a lot of brownie points for coming with me even though he has hardly heard of Katherine Mansfield. He did once read “The Daughters of the late Colonel” on my recommendation, but he didn’t enjoy it, I think that it’s excellent but was perhaps not the best one to recommend because it’s very downbeat. 
We moved the car to the harbour front and went for a pleasant walk and a coffee, then later we went to the Sprig and Fern with Jamie and Kerry and Whisky, where we got delicious Greek food from the van outside and ate it with the drinks from the bar. 

Fish and Chips on Princess Beach

We woke to another beautiful sunny morning, and walked to the Beach House Café at Island Bay where we sat outside for breakfast. The setting and the breakfast were both superb. We had fantastic views across the blue sea towards the South Island where we could see mountains in the distance, one of which was still snow-capped. We watched the stately progress of several inter island ferries crossing in both directions. Then we went for a shopping trip into the city. James needed sandals and Jamie had recommended Teva sandals, a pair of which James duly purchased and found to be very comfortable. Jamie had also recommended that I buy a t shirt from Macpac which has cooling technology, and anyone who knows me will know that I have an unfortunate tendency to overheat! We found said t shirts and I bought a nice pale blue one. We then had a pleasant walk around part of the harbour, which we recognised from last year, and a restoring cup of tea. 
Jamie and Kerry collected us in their car at tea time; they had picked up fish suppers and took us to Princess Bay. We set up camp on the sandy beach and ate our delicious dinner, which tasted even better in the fresh air. It was a perfect Spring evening and as we watched the sun set over the hills, Jamie lit his portable fire pit which gave out a surprising amount of heat. We had a lovely chat and a great evening. 

Whisky’s Highland Coo

On Monday Jamie and Kerry were at work so in the morning James, Whisky and I went for brunch at the wee Empire Cinema in Island Bay, then strolled down to the beach. We had lots of stops so that Whisky wouldn’t get over-tired because he is still just a puppy. When we got back to the house he was very excited and kept running around, bringing his toys to show us, and running in and out of the back door, then he had a nap on James’ lap for a while. Whisky’s newest toy is a Highland Cow sent to him by his cousin, our grand-cat Skye, all the way from Scotland! Skye had even signed a card welcoming Whisky to the family - her signature was a paw print in blue paint, which apparently caused a bit of mess at Casa Anderson Uddingston! It was so thoughtful of Davie and Chanel, and Whisky, Jamie and Kerry were thrilled. 

At about 3 p.m. it was time for James and I to move to our Airbnb just down the road in Derwent Street, so Whisky went into his crate for a proper rest. We are very happy with our little apartment which has a small garden to sit out in. We know that we are very welcome at Jamie and Kerry’s, and we will be staying with them again at the end of our holiday, however they both work full time and James and I thought that since we will be in Wellington for a fortnight, it would be nice for them to come home to a quiet house after a long day at work. By the time we unpacked and went to the supermarket it was almost time to start preparing Jamie and Kerry’s dinner; not that it needed much preparation since we had a simple Greek theme with chicken for James and Jamie and fried tofu for Kerry and me, wee potato gratins, pitta bread, olives, tsatsiki and hummus. We had a convivial evening while Whisky napped in the car after his puppy training class. 

Tui in Greytown

I had a really good night’s sleep in our little cabin but woke at 6 a.m. absolutely wide awake. We’re not quite on NZ time yet and keep feeling tired in the middle of the day. There was a Tui perched on a branch beside the living area when we were having coffee, it was so beautiful with its blue and brown plumage and its tuft of feathers at its throat which looked like a pom pom. In the morning we went for a walk around Greytown and had brunch. Whisky continued to attract many admirers, everyone just loves him, and he’s a very loving boy. Greytown has lots of independent clothes and gift shops and we did a bit of browsing before setting off back across the mountains to Wellington. Whisky was exhausted after his couple of hours walking around Greytown and was soon fast asleep in the car, snuggled into Kerry’s lap. We had a relaxing sunny Sunday afternoon back at Jamie and Kerry’s house followed by a barbecue which was fantastic, especially Kerry’s delicious potato salad. 

Everybody loves Whisky

We woke much refreshed and after a breakfast of yummy pastries from Jamie and Kerry’s local bakery we drove to Martinborough over the mountains, stopping briefly at the Remutaka Crossing Lookout. The area around Martinborough is full of vineyards and is very pretty. We had coffee at a wee deli in Featherston before heading to our first winery; Nga Waka Vineyard. The people there were very friendly and Whisky was made to feel very welcome; he met a couple of other dogs in whom he was very interested, and was much admired by other customers. After James, Jamie and Kerry had enjoyed their wine tasting I took over the driving and we headed to our second winery, the popular Poppies, which we visited last year. This time, after the wine tasting, we had lunch of two amazing platters, one omnivore and one vegetarian. Poppy herself came out to admire Whisky, and he attracted a great deal of female attention. On we went to Greytown where we checked into our accommodation for the night; Plum Tree Studios. Jamie is very good at booking accommodation and he outdid himself again; we had two gorgeous little cabins with a separate living area and washrooms. We settled in before going out for dinner to The Runholder an absolutely beautiful, spacious restaurant set on the Te Kairanga and Martinborough vineyards. The food was amazing and the setting was spectacular. 

Journey to New Zealand

James very kindly upgraded our flights from Zurich to Hong Kong to Premier Economy and it made all the difference; the seats reclined quite a lot and there were footrests which rose up as the seat reclined. Did that mean I got plenty of sleep? Well I’m not sure, because even though I was very comfortable I was quite wakeful perhaps because we had a hearty dinner just before we tried to sleep. We arrived in Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok airport just as the sun was setting. The next part of our journey from Hong Kong to Auckland also went smoothly and we tried to get as much sleep as possible although the plane was quite hot and stuffy. We arrived at about midday New Zealand time. Jamie was waiting for us at Auckland Airport and it was wonderful to see him. He took us to the Air New Zealand lounge which was very cool and comfortable and we caught up on news for a couple of very pleasant hours before our last of our five flights; from Auckland to Wellington. Soon we arrived in Jamie and Kerry’s beautiful home in Berhampore, where we were reunited with lovely Kerry. We also met our grand-dog Whisky for the first time! He is a liver spotted five month old Dalmatian puppy; he’s very cute and Jamie and Kerry are absolutely besotted with him. Kerry made us a delicious supper of pasta and by the time we had finished that, James and I were like zombies and Jamie and Kerry sent us off to bed, where we fell asleep instantly. 

Setting off to New Zealand

I had an interview yesterday morning for the Children’s Panel. Ally W is already a panel member and she told me about what it involves, and that sparked my interest. I found out more about it, went to an information evening and duly applied. The interview went well, although I inevitably felt that I could have explained a few things better, and they will let me know if I’ve been successful in November. When I left the Council Offices in Almada Street I felt light-hearted. I had spent quite a bit of time preparing for my interview so now I felt free as a bird. 

After a celebratory lunch of potato scones I did admin, tidying, double-checked the contents of my case, and posted some letters. Flora came up onto the bed so that I could pat her as I went to sleep, I’m sure that both cats knew that we are going away because of the big cases being packed. 

This morning we said goodbye to the cats; Tom made himself scarce after he had his breakfast, no doubt wary in case we intended to take him with us, and Flora accompanied us to the steps outside the front door, did a poo in the flowerbed and watched us leave. I will miss them very much. We are now on the plane about to set off on the first leg of our journey, London to Heathrow on BA. James is doing his sudoku and I’m going to continue reading A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel. 

Blog editing complete

Today I finished the blog editing / proof reading project which I started in March - it has taken me much longer than I thought! I felt a great sense of satisfaction because it has been a lot of work and now my blog can be printed. Just one copy, for my descendants. I have also packed my case for our holiday to New Zealand to see Jamie. We will be setting off on Wednesday morning and I’m getting very excited. In the afternoon I popped over to have a pleasant coffee with Heather in Lenzie. It was a beautiful day with very bright blue skies. 
And in the evening we had a lovely video call with Ally and Cat, who are just back from a long weekend in Prague as part of their project to visit every country in Europe before they turn thirty-one in the spring! This weekend Andrew was with them and they had a great time. 

Birthday shopping and Alex Salmond

Today was a very rainy day but strangely interspersed with blue skies and sunshine. When one of the very heavy bouts of rain came on in the morning, Floof came shooting in through the cat flap; she must have been very nearby because she was hardly wet at all. Then both cats went over to the French windows and stared at the rain in amazement and some alarm. 
Alison T came round for coffee in the morning and it was great to see her. And after lunch we met up with Davie & Chanel at the Outdoor Experience to buy presents for their birthdays, which are both this month while we will be in NZ. Both presents had a hill-walking theme, because Davie and Chanel are going to walk the West Highland Way next week. We had a cup of tea with them and a good chat. Later in the afternoon we heard that Alex Salmond has died at the age of sixty nine. Not very old at all. I remember seeing him outside the Eden Court in Inverness in the late 1980s, not long before he became leader of the SNP for the first time. He was a striking figure, full of the joys, and was enjoying being the centre of attention. 

The River Café Café

James and I went to the recently opened “River Café Café” this morning, a pleasant walk from our Hammersmith Premier Inn. The River Café have opened this bright wee café just across from the restaurant; it has both indoor and outdoor seating and we both enjoyed our breakfasts. Then we walked along the river to Hammersmith Bridge which is being extensively refurbished. It’s still open to pedestrians though so we crossed over and back again. The area is anttractive along beside the river. James set off for the airport to head home, and I set off to Euston Station by underground. My journey went smoothly and I was soon on the train speeding north, however James was not so lucky. Despite arriving at the airport in plenty of time, the queue for security was the longest that he had ever seen, and he ended up missing his flight. He had to rebook for the 4.15 p.m. flight and I actually arrived home about fifteen minutes before him! 

Juno and the Paycock

I had a good sleep in the Hammersmith Premier Inn and headed to Soho for brunch with Gordon in a wee Australian café called Scarlett Green. I was very excited to see Juno and the Paycock at the nearby Gielgud Theatre, and it didn’t disappoint! Mark Rylance was excellent as lazy fantastist “Captain” Jack Boyle, and although the story was tragic in many ways, it had funny moments and a note of hope for the mother and daughter who found strength in each other. J. Smith-Cameron was just as good as the matriarch and the rest of the cast were strong too. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Gordon and I then made our way to the Royal Albert Hall where we met up with James who had flown to London at lunch time. We had dinner at Café Verdi which was very pleasant, and then the boys went to their David Gilmour concert. It’s just as well that I was there because it turned out that one of the concert attendees ID had to match that of the person who booked the tickets, I suppose to make it more difficult to resell the tickets. So Gordon and I had to go over to the box office, who quickly authorised Gordon to go in. I then consulted Google maps and took a bus from right outside the Royal Albert Hall to Hammersmith Bus Station, and walked five minutes to the Premier Inn. I was pleased with my navigation. 

Dinner with Ally

I got comfortably settled in my reserved seat on the 10.38 Tain from Glasgow Central to London Euston this morning. However the train did not set off. Instead there was an announcement that very sadly someone got hit by a train this morning at Preston, which meant that all of the Avanti trains on the west line were delayed indefinitely. We were advised to take a train to Edinburgh and then a LNER train to London Kings Cross. So that’s what I did, and caught the 1 p.m. train at Waverley. One of the other passengers had told me that the LNER trains are nicer than Avanti trains, and this did seem to be the case. It helped that the train wasn’t too busy, and soon I was being treated to sea views as we journeyed down the east coast past Berwick upon Tweed. However there was a further delay; the train stopped because of an unspecified fault just north of Darlington. Luckily it was fixed fairly quickly and we arrived in London just after 6 p.m. 

I no longer had time to go to my Premier Inn in Hammersmith to drop off my rucksack, so I decided put it on my back to walk the forty minutes to St Paul’s to stretch my legs after the long train journey. I arrived in good time at the Ivy Asia and met Ally at the bar. It was very busy considering it’s a Tuesday, I saw several people being turned away. Our meal was absolutely delicious and we had the best table in the restaurant, a wee curved booth at the window with a view of St Paul’s Cathedral. I had a lovely mocktail to start with called Rose of the Orient, made with lychee, rose, raspberry and orange blossom soda. It was bliss. Ally’s cocktail was called the Ohara, made with Ketel One vodka, strawberry, hibiscus, yuzu, elderflower, soda and Prosecco. I think it’s named after the town in Japan rather than the Irish surname! We also had a great chat about anything and everything and it was a splendid evening. In the way to the underground station, Ally showed me a pond which had a perfect reflection of St Paul’s Cathedral in it. 

Peaky Blinders Ballet

I have been having a social time this week; a coffee with Linda P on Wednesday, and lunch with Christine and Gerry and James on Thursday. It’s the first time that we have seen Gerry since he had a stroke, and it was reassuring to see him looking well. It’s probably due to his high level of fitness that the stroke wasn’t even worse. However he has serious issues with his eyesight which he hopes will improve over the next few months. We had a really nice chat. I have also been doing useful stuff like getting the car serviced and some boring admin. 

We went to see the Peaky Blinders ballet this afternoon which I booked impulsively a while ago, because James and I both enjoyed the television series. In fact there is an upcoming film of Peaky Blinders. It was at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh. We took the train through and we had a light lunch in the Costa in Blackwell’s bookshop beforehand. Morag was also going to the ballet with her friend Nicola, and we met up for a coffee in the theatre café beforehand. I have only been to a very few ballets over the years, so I am no expert, but I thought that this one was very good. The dancing and the music were both excellent - they used Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and other music similar to that of the television series. And who could resist their wee razor lined flat caps! James said that he enjoyed it, although ballet isn’t really his thing (or mine, although I enjoy the spectacle of a ballet more than he does.) Morag does know a lot about ballet and she thought that it was great. Back home on the train we went and Davie and Chanel came round for dinner, we had a good chat and a lot of laughter. 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Tom was battering on the cat flap in the morning yesterday because he had lost his red collar, probably in a fight with another cat! I picked up a smart new blue collar for him from Pets at Home in Hamilton, as well as more magnets which open the cat flap. James put a magnet on the new collar but when we went upstairs to put it on him, Tom was hiding under the bed! I reckon that he heard us talking about him (of course he knows his name) and then heard us both coming up the stairs, and thought that we were up to no good, for example intending to put him in the cat carrier. We waited for him to come downstairs later and put the collar on him then. I had also bought a new collar for Floof because her old blue one was quite frayed. She is now wearing a pale pink collar with a pretty bow! It looks very sweet. 
James and I were doing some errands in town this afternoon and decided to go to the cinema. After checking the listings we went to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the Everyman Cinema, a sequel to the original from 1988, which we both enjoyed. It was good fun, not as edgy and novel as the original but still very funny in places, and Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton had both reprised their roles. So had the excellent Catherine O’Hara, who is a fine comic actress.