Carmina Burana

Last night James and I went to the Royal Concert Hall to see Carmina Burana. We both love this powerful and joyful cantata by Carl Orff, and have seen it perhaps five times over the years, and we enjoyed it as much as ever. 

Earlier we had spent a lovely afternoon at Davie and Chanel’s house where we were also reunited with our Grand-Cat Skye. She is a delightful wee character and soon warmed up to us with the help of a few Dreamies. All cats seem to relish these popular cat treats!  Davie and Chanel were on good form and we had a nice chat. 

When we came home from the Royal Concert Hall we watched the last episode of the epic tv series Vikings, which has entertained us greatly over the last few months. There were 89 episodes in total and, although it was excellent, I don’t think that I’ll be committing myself to such a long set of series any time soon. 

Christmas Cake

Yesterday morning James and I went to South Lanarkshire Eastfield Sports Centre to rejoin it. It turns out that over 60s can purchase the “Activage” membership for the excellent price of £120 per year. This aims at keeping older people (us!) mobile, and includes membership of nine swimming pools and fifteen gyms around South Lanarkshire as well as all of the fitness classes. There are even additional perks like culture mornings when you can learn drumming or crafts, and buy one get one free coffees at various venues. We went for a swim and I remembered straight away why I left to join David Lloyd; the changing area is as dirty as ever, really in a terrible state of disrepair. Mind you, as James pointed out, the David Lloyd changing rooms aren’t that great either these days. Then this morning I went to a yoga class; it was really good and I felt myself stretching all the places that need stretched. 
In other news James and I made our Christmas cake yesterday afternoon. We were like a well-oiled machine, dividing up the tasks between us; I measured out the fruit and creamed the butter and sugar while James sifted the flour and spices and made the egg and treacle mixture. We mixed it all together vigorously and then cooked it for just over four hours on a low heat until a skewer came out clean. It smelled wonderful and looks good too. After it cooled down a bit we took it out of the tin, and now it is wrapped in grease proof paper and has had its first feed of brandy this evening. 
I’m in bed, still out of synch with the UK time. I’m going to bed at a reasonable hour but I still wake up several times during the night. 

November in Scotland

James and I lasted until about 8 p.m. before we both started to fall asleep sitting on the couch. We dragged ourselves upstairs and put ourselves to bed. I slept all night except for waking up every three hours or so; it’s like I was tired enough to sleep in British time but my body clock still thinks that I’m in New Zealand and that it’s day time. Much laundry was done today, mainly by James who had to fix the recurring fault on the washing machine first. The reason that he was able to do the laundry was of course that the suitcases were delivered about lunch time by DHL so we could unpack at last. I thought that the timing of the delivery was quite efficient. I also went out to do a few errands and the late autumn weather feels very damp and cold, hopefully I will soon get acclimatised to November. The cats have been very affectionate and have followed us around the house all day. I had my EK Book Club girls round in the evening, it was great to see them and we were hearing about Susan’s trip to Zambia. Tom and Floof were keen to join in the socialising in the lounge and they were so delightful with my guests that I was very proud of them! They strolled around the lounge graciously allowing themselves to be patted and admired. They even stood in the hall at the end of the evening while the ladies put on their jackets, and then went out of the front door with them to escort them off the premises. 

From Wellington to Cambuslang

On our last morning in New Zealand (Monday) we saw three Tuis watching us from a telephone line and singing loudly. It was as if they were saying goodbye. We had breakfast at Maranui Café in Lyall Bay before packing the last of our stuff. And so our journey homewards commenced, flying from Wellington to Auckland and then Auckland to Singapore. Despite the usual queuing through the airports everything progressed smartly. James and I wore compression socks for the first time and I think that they were effective because my calves didn’t feel tight after the long flights, which they sometimes do. There was quite a lot of air turbulence from time to time as we crossed Australia. I watched a film “Firebrand” about Catherine Parr, which was rubbish because it committed the cardinal sin of changing the facts of history, which I can’t stand. Our transition through the rather lovely Singapore airport went well and I was delighted that we had a row of two seats (without a third) on the next and longest leg from Singapore to Zurich. I was determined to get lots of sleep and I did; I think at least seven hours of the thirteen hour journey. Then the film Coco Avant Chanel was excellent which made up for my earlier film disappointment! When we arrived in London Heathrow this morning (Tuesday) we found out by message and email that our luggage had not made it onto our flight from Zurich in the short forty minute turnaround. We were advised that the luggage wouldn’t arrive in time for our flight to Glasgow so we filled out our details so that it could be delivered to us in due course. Our flight ended up being about an hour late and then had to have two attempts at landing because of fog at Glasgow; the pilot was using the automated landing system but he still didn’t feel that everything was right the first time. Back at home the cats were absolutely astonished to see us! We have had a fantastic holiday but it’s great to be home.  

Cycling at Days Bay

Our last full day in New Zealand and what a great day it has been! We had a leisurely morning including breakfast at Island Bay before meeting Jamie at Queen’s Wharf. We took an Uber from Island Bay and Jamie cycled from Burwah Street. We caught the wee ferry over to Days Bay, a pleasant half an hour on the water with great views all around Wellington Harbour. We collected the bikes that Jamie had hired for us and set off to cycle on the cycle track along the front of Eastbourne and along the Great Harbour Way to Pencarrow Upper Lighthouse. Excitingly, Jamie had hired electric bikes, something that I have never tried before. For some reason I have always felt that I should ride a purely leg powered bike or not at all, but after today I have totally changed my mind. The electric bike just gives you a wee boost, you still pedal and it feels just like a normal bike, but when there is a slope it sort of kicks in imperceptibly and you can cycle more easily. Heather and Ewan have recommended them to us so it was a fantastic opportunity to try them out. There are three powers, eco, normal and maximum; I used eco for most of the way and it was enough to make it all feel more relaxing, and yet still active. The cycle itself was fantastic, 22 km in total, out to the lighthouse and back. The path curved round several sandy bays, with volcanic rocks sticking out of the water. From the furthest point we could see Island Bay away in the distance. We treated ourselves to ice creams when we were waiting for the boat on the way back. 
Later we took Whisky for a walk and had pizza with Jamie and watched a film “Coda” which was excellent. When Kerry came home from work we had a wee chat and then it was time to say goodbye to her. It has been lovely to spend time with her especially at this exciting time in her and Jamie’s lives. Jamie then gave us a lift back to Island Bay and we said our farewells. It was very difficult to say goodbye, I will miss him so much. However I know that he is very happy with Kerry in New Zealand. 

Fantails at Korokoro

After breakfast we went for a walk at the dog friendly beach at Island Bay with Jamie and Whisky. (Kerry is working long shifts today and tomorrow.) Then after a coffee at Burwah Street we had lunch at a new (to us) Seashore Cabaret café in Lower Hutt which is delightful, overlooking the sea and with similar vibes to the Maranui Café in Lyall Bay.
Jamie took us for a walk along the nearby beautiful Korokoro Valley. The path through leafy forested valley reminded me just a little bit of Chatelherault Country Park, because of the trees and the river, but it is much more exotic, with Podocarpus conifers and Kohekohe trees, tree ferns and bushes with pink or yellow flowers. The Korokoro Stream supplies its water. This forest is special as most others in the area have been cut down for land development; it has probably survived because the river is a water supply for the area. 
Needless to say I soon overheated, and headed back down the valley while James and Jamie continued on to the higher dam. I felt very peaceful sitting on a bench listening to the woodland noises. Two fantails came down from the foliage to visit me, they were very cute; the fantail is favourite New Zealand bird.  
Later we went for dinner with Jamie to an Asian fusion restaurant called Koji; it was absolutely excellent and the flavours were delicious and very unusual. We had a lovely chat. Back at Burwah Street we were reunited with Whisky dog and James and Jamie had a wee dram before James and I walked back to our tiny Airbnb in Island Bay. 

Back to Wellington

We had a very early start today to catch our 07.45 plane from Fiji back to Wellington. We were able to check in at the hotel, so only had our luggage to drop off at the airport. The journey went very smoothly and I managed to get a couple of hours sleep on the plane, at least I think I did, it’s always quite hard to tell. We retrieved our other suitcase from Jamie and Kerry’s, and after being greeted by an exuberant and welcoming Whisky dog, Jamie gave James and I a lift to our new and very tiny wooden Airbnb on the hill high behind Island Bay. Although it is very small (tiny houses are a popular eco friendly option in NZ) it is nice and clean with everything we could need, and it has gorgeous views over Island Bay. We walked down to the Beach House Café for coffee and cake on the terrace, and then James went for a walk while I went down to sit on the beach in the sunshine. Although it didn’t seem all that windy, the wind was whipping up the sand and it was getting into my ears and hair, so I retreated back to the Airbnb and sat on a beanbag on the decking and read my book. Update on Tom - he has been to the vet and has been given antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. It turns out that the claw is still there, under a large burst abscess. I can only assume that Tom has been fighting another cat nearby who is inflicting these recent injuries on him. Then when Davie was taking him back home, Tom urinated copiously on his car, so Davie has had to clean and disinfect the seat! This is above and beyond the call of duty!
Jamie picked up James and me by car and took us to Burwah Street where we had a curry and watched a film “The Hit Man” which was very amusing. I got some lovely cuddles from my Grand-dog Whisky.