Directions

Listen carefully, people.

Hear that?

It is the sound of nails being firmly driven into the coffin of a decent, moral society...

Over the last few days, I have been following the direction our little country has been going - with a lot of concern.

1. Same sex marriages.

Last night a law allowing same sex marriages passes its first reading in parliament.
Marriage in any society I can think of (and I stand willing to be corrected) is between a man and a woman. We already allow civil unions which puts homosexuals and lesbians on an even legal footing with the heterosexuals in our community. So there is absolutely no need to redefine marriage.
I deplore the decisions of our politicians, even more so those responsible for even introducing the bill.

Shame.

2. The legal drinking age.

Today the same politicians voted to keep the legal drinking age at 18.
This decision was made despite the evidence that the lower (18 years) drinking age has caused more grief in our communities than the 20 year age limit ever did.
Oh, I agree with the widely expressed views that the ready availability through corner dairies and the like has contributed, but studies have also shown the effect it has been having on our youth.
Binge drinking, more younger people gaining access to alcohol, higher death rates from drunk driving accidents...

Other arguments are that 18 year olds can vote, marry, fight for their country - and one young politician was seen on the news tonight saying that if they can do this, then surely they are entitled to a quiet beer or a glass of wine at the end of the day.
Alcohol has nothing to do with those activities. Alcohol changes their thinking and behaviour. Young men in particular are still maturing.
I make no apologies for my views - but that isn't what they are doing.
A quiet beer at the end of the day?
The youth are binge drinking, getting smashed, driving on our roads and endangering themselves and others. Those who can legally buy are doing so and providing it to younger people.

The politicians have this one wrong too. You are consigning the youth of our community to a booze driven culture which, if you leave it much longer, you will not be able to change.

Shame.

3. Adoption of children by same sex couples.

Drawn today in the ballot is a bill promoting the adoption of children by same-sex couples.

All our children have the right to be brought up by a father and a mother.

I have no doubts about the genuine desire of these couples but this, like the same sex marriage bill, is an attempt to make same sex relationships acceptable and be formally recognised as equal to heterosexual relationships and families.

No apologies. But they are not.


I deplore this decision by our politicians also, even more so those responsible for even introducing the bill.

Shame.

4. And in the meantime...

The rich thrive and the poor get poorer.
Violence in our communities continues to increase.
The people in earthquake damaged homes wait while the powers that be revel in their beautiful new commercial district plans.
Convicted criminals get light sentences without thought by the courts for the effect they have had on their victims.

And so it goes on...

So... Listen carefully, people.

Hear that?

It is the sound of nails being firmly driven into the coffin of a decent, moral society...

What justice system? I applaud our police.

There's been talk over the years that our justice system is going 'soft'.

And you know, when you read the 'social pages' (the court reports) it is hard to disagree. Our police do a damnably difficult job. Ever since some idiot judge decreed it was acceptable to tell a policeman to "F" off with no consequence, things have gone downhill.

The police have to stand and watch the criminals they arrest smirk and make obscene gestures as they walk out of court, with crimes of violence getting 'home detention' or '40 hours community service'. Fines go unpaid, and amongst youth it is becoming a bit of a bragging sheet to show how much you have in unpaid fines.

As for murder, the taking of another human's life... 

I agree that 'life imprisonment' should be 'life imprisonment', not just "10 years then if you're a good boy (or girl) we'll let you back out."

Not so good for the murder victim, or the victim of the rape / bashing who is scarred for the rest of their life nor, for that matter, their families and loved ones.

Actually, I may have a solution to this... (since we seem incapable of actually fulfilling a real life sentence).

Here's an example... 

Now, firstly, I'm going to base my theory on the biblical definition of a human lifespan - i.e. the "3 score and 10" or 70 years people are supposed to live.

So, let's say a person is murdered at the age of 23. Under current systems the killer may get 'life' and be out on the streets of our community again in say 12 - 15 years.

But what if the criminal / murderer was imprisoned for the remainder of what the dead person MAY have lived, which would make a non-parole period of 47 years in the example given?

That seems like real justice to me.

Most sentences appear to be a slap on the wrist and the result of the politically correct civil libertarians defending the rights of the criminal and not the victims. Okay, I'm not in court, I'm only reading what the media publish for me to read and I don't get to read all the detail behind the case (nor do I necessarily want to!).

But "I was drunk, your honour", "I was on drugs at the time", "I've had a hard life" and "My mummy didn't love me like she was supposed to" does not give the attacker a free 'get-put-of-jail' card. 

If they won't do it themselves, make these ferals take responsibility for their own behaviour.

We are bringing up another generation of kids who believe they can lay the blame (and responsibility) for their behaviour on someone / something else.

No. Life shouldn't work like that.

Make these criminals pay back what they took away.

Stop pussy-footing around with the politically correctness this country is suffering from these days.

Oh, and about those fines...

The kid doesn't pay the fine? Take the kid's car away. No first-second-third warning.

Or put in place a realistic automatic deduction from the kid's salary / wages / benefit / bank account. They don't get a choice. (And I'm not talking 10 cents a day - make it hurt... $50 a week... take away their booze money.)

Oh all right, I'll be generous... let's give the kid 24 hours to front up at the court with the total fine.

No political correctness. They broke the law - criminals have to learn there is a REAL consequence that falls on them for their behaviour.

Simple.

The courts need to back the boys and girls in blue.

"The inmates are in control of the asylum"

Politicians and their jobs

I'm going to start with a quote from a Facebook page, then my response is below...

"When i voted for National I was not voting for asset sales including the sale of land and water. I was voting against policies being passed in government contrary to public support in a non-democratic way. I seem to have gotten the same. At the moment I, along with many other people, feel very disappointed with the direction of NZ politics...what has happened to democracy? Don't want to vote for either National or Labour."

And my response?

Unfortunately electors now think they are voting for parties and their policies, not voting for people to represent them. This is encouraged by the politicians for obvious reasons and they can then ignore the fact they have been elected to represent the views of their electors/electorates. I once asked an MP to speak out about an issue on my behalf but I was told he could make up his own mind and he would vote on the issue as he saw fit. Really???? 

I'm with you (name of writer deleted). Our parliamentary system has been hijacked and taken away from us. 

(Who was it who said "The inmates are in control of the asylum...")

Your thoughts?

Doctor Who is due back soon

There's lots of discussion on the boards about the new series, the departure of Amy, Rory, how does River become the Doctor's wife, the new companion etc etc etc...

In reality, there's only one thing to do and with the 50th anniversary coming up, it is the right time to do it.

It's simple.

It's logical.

It's important.

It has to happen.

Bring back the Time Lords.

Permanently.

It was done with the Daleks who were supposedly wiped out.
So...
It can be done with The Time Lords

It can be done creatively.

(Are you listening, Mr Moffat?)

Extinct Toys

EXTINCT TOYS

Just to let people know we have finally managed to get our little website up and running.

http://toys.filetap.com
or
http://www.springhills.org.nz/toys.html

"Extinct Toys"  is all about old fashioned wooden toys, with a few modern twists thrown in.
On our web page you will find samples of our work and you are welcome to contact us and order toys.
As we are only just starting up the ideas, we are testing different designs and welcome feedback from our customers about our products, especially ways of improving the toys

For materials we use recycled beech and rimu, some pine and any other old high quality wood we can put to a good use.

All toys use child and food-safe materials for coating:
  • Dulux™ and Resene™ water based paints
  • Ruskin's Danish Oil (child and food safe)
Glues used are PVA and a small amount of ADOS where we are joining different materials.

Our grand-daughter Hannah, her friends and parents test drive our products!

Many of our toys are new ideas and we are still sorting out costs.
We have to take into account the time involved and materials, but we are a small, part-time business so we don't expect our prices for the toys to be huge and increases would only happen when our costs go up.

Please note that we do not currently ship overseas.
Shipping costs very much depend where in NZ we are shipping to. At present we are arranging shipping costs on a per sale basis, but to be honest, picking up your purchases is much preferred! Get in touch with us about queries and we can make arrangements that suit.

If you have good quality timber you no longer need (e.g. old furniture, beds etc) and we can use the wood, we will happily collect and take it off your hands, providing the wood is useable and is in good condition (e.g. no borer)

Please get in touch with us for enquiries, suggestions for toys or ways to improve our products. We will do our best to make custom toys based on our ideas, yours or those of others (with permission, of course) to your specifications.

New Zealand at the Olympics

Just a short comment today, sparked by our 'wonderful' media...

In NZ there is a lot of moaning about our lack of medals at Olympics. Now… one of our swimmers was in a final last night, finishing 7th, and one news commentator described her performance as 'disappointing'!

Grrrrr!!! Give me a strength!!!!

For heaven's sake, she was just in a race that has her in the top 8 in the WORLD - and yet we continue to belittle the efforts of our athletes when we don't win every time!
I have a dollar that says we will have an 'inquiry' after the Olympics to find out why we didn't beat everybody else.

Fact: there are more people living in Sydney than live in the whole of NZ!

Next, look at the achievements of our athletes, our All Blacks, netballers, rowers, soccer team in the World cup... and all those other athletes we produce.

You know, we do extremely well! Start to acknowledge them with pride kiwis!!!

Education - where we sit internationally...

From the NZ Teachers Council:

"New Zealand parents should be assured that our education system is high performing", according to Dr Peter Lind, the Director of the Teachers Council.

The latest OECD Report (2012): OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: New Zealand has confirmed this view.

Emeritus Professor Warwick Elley was reported recently as saying, "the reason it should provide us assurance is because the authors of this report are top experts from other OECD countries... Using a set of rich data, they are able to provide an independent, comparative perspective and are ideally placed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the New Zealandeducation system".

This view is confirmed by our rankings on The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It is a worldwide study by the OECD of 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading. New Zealand consistently scores in the top half dozen OECD countries, even though, according to the evidence gathered by the OECD, we spend far less per student than nearly all of the other 34 OECD nations.

 The great majority of our students are repeatedly up with the best in the world. In the latest survey, New Zealand students were ranked fourth in reading literacy, fourth in scientific literacy and seventh in mathematical literacy.

"It is not easy to maintain these rankings andNew Zealand has consistently maintained its overall ranking on these measures since they were first introduced in 2000," said Dr Lind.

Three examples illustrate the significance ofNew Zealand's achievement. Australia has recorded a significant decline since 2000 on all the skills measured. England has slipped from seventh in 2000 to 25th in reading, eighth to 28th in maths and fourth to 16th in science. TheUnited States only rates around the average of all OECD countries.

"This reflects very favourably on the quality ofNew Zealand teachers."

However, it is true that the latest PISA survey still shows a wide dispersion of scores amongNew Zealand students.

"Lifting the performance of those New Zealandstudents that are underachieving must be a priority for our education system, but without allowing the slippage in our overall rankings as has recently occurred in Australia.

"To achieve this requires a strong commitment from the teaching profession and the Government in partnership. There are no silver bullets and a focus on a single variable will not achieve the goal intended. It will require dialogue and detailed consideration of any initiatives proposed," said Dr Lind.

I have nothing to add really... 

We can. We are. We do.

Performance Pay for teachers

I want to post a thought (or 3) on this one. It is a result of a comment made on air (source unknown) where it was suggested that the national standards would be a good way to measure teachers' performance. (Please remember the National Standards were NOT developed with the full involvement of teacher professionals and were NOT trialled to see if they were any good or would even be successful.)

So, here's an hypothetical situation...

Teacher A has 20 11 year old students who have good literacy skills. In fact they all have a reading age of 11 years when they hit his classroom. Let's assume for the sake of this argument the national standards require all these children to be reading at 12 years by the end of the year in which they turn 12. Not unreasonable?
Teacher A works hard and moves all his charges on by that year of growth and all achieve the standard by the end of year.

(Stay with me here...)

Teacher B also has 20 11 year old students, but these children have a poor background in literacy and have reading ages ranging from 7 to 9. Teacher B works just as hard with these children and manages to get them ALL up to an 11 year reading age. Some have improved their literacy scores by the equivalent of 4 years over the 12 months!

However the standard says they should all be reading at 12 years. Teacher B has, therefore, failed.
Performance pay goes to Teacher A as his students have all reached the standard.

I know, it's simplistic, but it is another example of why performance pay needs to be treated with extreme care. I mentioned yesterday the experiences students come into the classroom with - some have wider, more developmental experiences than others. No matter how 'good' a teacher is, you cannot guarantee the same can of baked beans at the end of the process.

Many of the public are not aware that we ALREADY HAVE excellent, robust appraisal systems in place. (The government doesn't want you to know this... spread the word!) Registered Teacher Criteria have been 'upgraded'.

Good teachers are right there in front of your children every day. Ms Parata wants you to believe every teacher a child works with should be remembered, as adults, as a great teacher. They probably already are, but I respected and liked teachers in different ways. Some made learning easier, some 'taught' well, some made contact on a level that can't be easily described, helping me grow and guiding me as I grew, others inspired me in their subjects through their own passion.

It doesn't mean they didn't perform because I didn't get a pass in Latin. Maybe the teacher was great - and I was just c**p at Latin?

Tread carefully on performance pay. Yes, we all want great teachers.
But consider this... are they already there?

Here's a thought...

"This a shoot first and ask questions later government." I like that quote.
Here's an idea Ms Parata. Treat our country's professional educationalists as just that - professionals. Actually consult with us BEFORE making decisions that affect the education of all New Zealand's youth. We can contribute more than you want the public to believe.
Then you can make informed decisions based on what's best for education, not what's best for party politics.

Just a thought...

This post is a result of reading the following online link:
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/opinion/political-report-06june2012

Education in New Zealand. A few thoughts.

Can our Prime Minister explain why he supported an increase in class sizes in state schools (where the vast majority of NZ children attend school) when he is on record as saying that he would send his own children to a private school because they have smaller class sizes and are better resourced than state schools?

Also, why are these "well resourced" private schools given additional state funding by our government - money that could be saved without detriment to our state schools?

Unfortunately education in New Zealand has become a political football. We are in the top group of OECD countries for our education system and yet politicians, particularly around election time, keep telling us we are failing our children, our teachers aren't up to the job and, if we will only vote them in, they will fix everything.

Much has also been made of the fact that 1 in 5 children are 'failing' (sorry, I really don't know the source of that statistic - I only know it is quoted just about every day at the moment by just about every politician I hear speaking about our schools)

FACT: We have a very good education system
FACT: No education system will ever get 100% success

This is not because we have poor teachers although the politicians would love to make you think this is the case.
Each student is an individual. They have their own strengths and abilities. They come to school with different backgrounds and skills and experiences. We cannot produce identical cans of baked beans from different raw materials.

We CAN help each student to be the best they can.
We can. We are. We do.

Last thought... I honestly have yet to meet even ONE person who is critical of teachers (you know the comments - good pay, 9 to 3 work hours, awesome holidays) who would actually do the job.
They don't want a bar of it.

"Those who can, teach. Those who can't pretend to be experts in education and try to tell the teachers how to do their job."
Anon

At a politician's whim...

The NZ Government has reversed an appalling decision to increase class sizes as a money saving idea in the latest budget. What bugs me is why we have to kick up such a fuss to get politicians to do the right thing. They should be doing it anyway. This U-turn is not an educational one, sadly. It is a political decision. Our children's futures are being decided based on the ambitions of a group of politicians. (That's my rant for today!)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/7060055/Class-size-U-turn

2012 - and a fresh start!

2012... Okay, a little behind the times... but hey, we're back.
To be honest this is just a placeholder while i get my head around the changes in look, organisation etc here at Blogspot (Blogger).

I'll back soon...

Gee... this account is still going? I was going to set up a new blog but on the off-chance came looking here...

Since my last entry I have traveled to Melbourne - lovely place, very like Christchurch. Only spent about 5 days there, but it was a lovely flight, quick and comfortable, great weather (most of the time) we were there and lots of good memories. The wildlife farm was awesome!

Now, The Welsh Kiwi is on the road again later this year, and so are other members of the family. Later this year we are sampling the delights of a pacific island (another tick on the Bucket list!) This time my daughter and her husband are joining me... They've been before and it was their suggestion to go back.

While winter makes itself comfortable in the deep south of NZ, I'll be relaxing on a warm beach in the middle of the Pacific, sipping on my drink as I watch the sunset through the palms... Or something like that! *grin!* I can't wait!

Catch ups...

The school year has well and truly started, and we are nearly at the end of the third week. I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of relief (supply) teaching work I have been able to pick up, with 4 days a week at a time when I wasn't expecting anything at all, to be honest!

It's not even the time of year for coughs and snuffles, but then, of course, some schools have banked staffing to burn off and teachers do need that CRT release. I have picked up a few other spots as well and have enjoyed a variety of teaching as both secondary and primary schools have called. (Long may it continue!)

Today I was thumbing through the diary, and I was looking at a quiet week next week with no bookings - and then, just this afternoon, I received a request for ten days this term from three schools. Very satisfying! Looks like I will be able to pay the phone and power bills after all... (Just kidding...! They are covered - but I can now also pay the finance bill on the car! LOL)

Elsa is hard at work and her hours seem to get ever longer and longer... I'm actually looking forward to a day off over the weekend - maybe we get get out after some of those blue cod skulking around the coast! 

Jack is back at university, with a more satisfying placement in his flat with a larger room, and the prospect of a year's academic study looming... heheh! Sarah and Rob are starting to think more of the wedding and Jen is feeling her way into her new job.

Sorry, I haven't yet won the Lottery, but I will keep buying tickets! I look forward to winning enough to travel first class back to the UK in the next year or two (yeah, right...!)

Drop me a line or a comment through the blog if you feel so inclined. Keep in touch!

Thoughts...

Well, it all seems a bit of a blur, really! Kind of hard to believe that it all happened! The jet lag is (slowly) fading although the sleep patterns will take a while to settle yet (not that I had great sleep patterns in the first place!)

However, it did happen, and one certain thing is that I WILL go back!

As this will be my last Welsh Kiwi blog entry, I want to thank all those who took me under their wings during my stay, and who spent so much time organising my trip.

Julie & David, Anne & Pat,  Sandra & Alun, and Glenda & Mike in particular, as they hosted me in their homes, took me round their home areas (and beyond), giving up their own time to make sure I met family, and saw my parents' "home" as much as possible, and gave added value to the trip as they introduced me to other parts of life in Britain.

Thanks to Alun and Sandra for their patience as I tracked down a slice of history through the castle ruins I visited; to Julie & David for that wonderful trip to Paris; Marilyn and Len for the dinner in Cardigan - a lovely way to meet people.

There were lots of others involved in small ways - Mavis and Edna for their knowledge of the families immediately spring to mind, and Ceris for your help with the artwork - but if I haven't mentioned you by name, please don't be offended.

My appreciation of the trip will never fade. Thank you!

I'll be back!

Keep in touch via email! It's wonderful knowing you now!

...And do let us know if you are coming out to New Zealand - there's a bedroom here at our home for you too!

Home again!

The flight to Dubai was easy, and I had the company of a very amiable passenger in the seat next to mine. The arrangements that had been made for my stopover went very smoothly and a short time after arrival I found myself comfortably ensconced in the Pearl Residence. 

Arabian Adventures had a lovely contact person arranged for visitors (Dounia) who was quick to listen to her clients' needs, and signed me up for the Sundowner Safari (otherwise known as the 'Dune Dinner Safari'). This involved being picked up in mid-afternoon by a wonderful driver (Kalid) in a very comfortable 4 wheel drive and I joined 5 others who had signed up. 

An hour out of Dubai, we joined the convoy of about 39 other vehicles (I had been mentally picturing about 6 vehicles, not 40!) and drove out into what I consider REAL desert - sand, sand and more sand! Here we drove over and round and up and down sand dunes to a meeting point for photos and a drink, then on to the camel farm for the next break. All great fun - although they had asked me to sign an indemnity form because of my back troubles. However, it wasn't a problem...

The next stop was seemingly in the middle of nowhere to watch a lovely sunset as the sun disappeared behind the dunes (hence the name of the safari) and then on to a bedouin camp setup. Here we had an opportunity to ride camels, drink Arabic coffee (I'm not a coffee drinker, but those who were said it was very good!), and we sat under bedouin tents eating a lovely meal, watching a belly dancer and drinking wine. Some of those on the safari tried the 'hubbly bubbly' pipes (apple flavoured tobacco?) and then it was away and back to town. (if you are going to visit Dubai, I seriously recommend this evening!)

Dubai has construction happening seemingly everywhere! Kalid did say they were building, amongst other things, a theme park that will eventually be bigger than even Disney World!

A wake up call at 5:45 the following morning had me stumbling round to find the shower, then I was whisked off by bus back to the airport for the long haul to Sydney, and then finally back to Christchurch, where Kevin and Andrew met me...

A short stay later and it was away on the final flight home, where my family met me and a short time after that I was sitting back comfortably in my own home, wondering where on Earth the last 5 weeks had gone!

To Mum and Dad

I will come back.

Hwyl fawr.

Last blog from the UK

This will be my last online entry from the UK, and don't know if I will be able to access on the way back, but I will try. We take the train to Heathrow tomorrow (easier than driving) and I fly to Dubai where I stay until Tuesday (local time). The remainder of the journey will take me through Sydney, and then on to Christchurch, before flying the final leg home later that evening.

Had a quiet day today with just a walk in to town for some bubble wrap for the last few items in the packing, and tomorrow morning sees me trying to squeeze everything into the suitcase and under the luggage limit at the same time! (Miracles I perform at once... The impossible takes me a little longer.)

It has been a marvelous adventure (as Aunty Mavis called it) and Wales was the heart of it all.

To Julie & David, Anne & Pat and Sandra & Alun: without you this trip simply couldn't have been as wonderful as it has been.
You have made me feel very welcome, and you have been fantastic hosts, giving me a wonderful introduction to my extended family, showing me around, and bringing me 'home'.
As I have said before, I feel something has been completed inside - and you can take the credit for that!

Thank you.
Everyone has been very patient with an, at times, utterly bewildered Kiwi, and I still feel I am wandering around with my eyes wide open like a kid eying up the presents under the tree on Christmas morning, even after nearly six weeks.

To the family I was privileged to meet, to those I have talked to by phone because we couldn't meet, and to those I have yet to meet - thank you for making me welcome. I look forward to keeping in touch!

This time tomorrow I will be high in the skies and heading away. I have mixed feelings about that. Part of me wants to stay and keep going. Part of me wants to be back at home with my family I am missing terribly, but being home means the adventure is over, so I want it to continue, but home is calling, but...
Do you see my problem...?

* sigh! *

I guess the only solution is to find an opportunity to travel to the UK again! Next time Elsa will come with me and I can show her the places I have seen - and we can explore further... Scotland, North Wales, Ireland...

I will have to sign off - if I can't make a blog entry on the journey home, I will certainly put an entry in when I do get home (and get over the jet lag!)

Take care all, and thank you for reading.


The Welsh Kiwi

Baker Street

We set out this morning with the intention of visiting 221b Baker Street where the Sherlock Holmes museum is situated. Also we had the British Museum in mind, but in the end we were sidetracked by things Sherlockian, so to speak!

After riding the train to Liverpool Street station, then the underground to Baker Street station, we entered the building to find a very 'touristy' but fascinating set up. The rooms had been designed and furnished very much according to the books and stories, and there was even an actor dressed as Dr Watson to greet us. They had figures from some of the stories set up including a figure of Moriarty. Even the girls serving in the shop were in a costume reminiscent of the period.

There was a beautiful edition of the complete Holmes stories, but it was too expensive and heavy for my overloaded suitcase! We popped into the Beatles shop almost next door, then walked out past Madame Tussaud's waxworks (but didn't go in).

A quick discussion ensued and we decided on another trip on the tube designed to take us all the way to the Sherlock Holmes pub for a light lunch, but then, at my suggestion, Julie and I alighted at Westminster instead, right alongside the Houses of Parliament and 'Big Ben'. We walked over Westminster Bridge, and back, then round to have a look at Westminster Abbey, and the smaller St Margaret's Church alongside.

We caught a London black cab to finish the trip to the Holmes pub (my stomach clock had gone off a while back, and the wind was bitter despite the warmth from the sun). We had a lovely roast beef sandwich and I sampled a pint of Sherlock Holmes Ale, before we walked a bit further round to Trafalgar Square.

By now we had agreed to miss the British Museum for today rather than try to cram it into a less than adequate time to do it proper justice... and put it on the 'list of things to do next time when I come here with Elsa'.

We decided on an early return home and took the underground to Liverpool Street station and then home to Shenfield. The list of things to do has some excellent sites for the next trip... the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, a full tour of Westminster Abbey, the London Dungeons...

Indian takeaway for tea, tonight, I am told! Tomorrow I regrettably have to start the sorting and packing process for leaving on Sunday... :o(

A quiet day in Brentwood

To be honest, I didn't feel like doing much today! I walked into Brentwood to get a few things posted, and then declined an offer for more local sightseeing this afternoon. I sat down with a good book, a glass of coca cola, and snoozed a bit!

Mixed feelings at the moment. The end of the trip is close, and I'm torn between really looking forward to getting home and regretting that going home means this trip is over. There are only two days left here in Brentwood, one of which we will use for a trip to London to catch up on one or two other things I didn't get done, and the other will be a lazy day to sort, pack, and figure out what fits in the suitcase and what doesn't!

Part of me just wants a TARDIS to zap me back home without hassle, part of me wants those 2 days to extend out another couple of weeks.

However, on Sunday (UK time) I go to Heathrow and fly to Dubai - another new experience. I fly from there after a day or so giving me a chance to look around, and then I'm back in NZ late next week.

I feel like I have been eating for five weeks... My hosts all through this time (and the various pubs and cafes I have been visiting as I traveled) have all provided me with excellent food! As Julie put it today, it is kind of like an extended Christmas dinner!

Time to join weight watchers!