Little Brother is Watching Us...

My little bro, Mike, sent me a pic of our house, taken from Google Earth. They must have been doing some work on it since I last looked as we are now in high res!! Scary really - must remember to do my hair when I feed the chooks!

Here's how it looks on Google Earth (it's basically the whole triangular bit - you can even just make out the lines of the vines on the left and the grass tennis court)!

And whilst we have our heads in the clouds, here's a stunning shot taken on 12th June when nearly the entire South Island of New Zealand was covered in snow.

Brrrrrr'thday in the Boonies...

Another year gone!

My second birthday in NZ.

And I'm a misery guts and full of flu.

BUT... after sticking my head under the pillow until midday and feeling decidely sorry for myself I kicked myself up the butt (there's a knack to it!), got togged up and headed for the snowy mountains with Summer.

I quickly checked the Met Service site to make sure I wasn't heading into blizzards and bad driving conditions, heated the car up whilst it was parked in the drive and, once warm, headed towards Lake Lyndon which is about 20 mins drive up the road....

From Highway 73 (soon to be renamed The Great Alpine Highway), which is accessed from pretty much outside our front gate, I took a minute to see if the trip was going to be worthwhile (i.e. visibility). The mountains looked moody and it looked like it was still snowing at the peaks, but knowing I wasn't going to be climbing too far into them I took the decision to go for it...

Looking to the mountains from Highway 73, just a few metres from home....



Between Springfield and Lake Lyndon the road begins to climb.... and it get's slushy and ice/grit warnings appear everywhere... *gulp*


Not quite as much snow as we've encountered on previous drives around the world... how's this for snow at the side of the road - taken in 1998 in Yosemite (California) !

Back to NZ... once Summer and I arrived at Lake Lyndon the sun broke through and it was glorious - I munched on a sausage roll and warmed my hands with a cappo and Summer rushed straight into the lake ..brrrrrrrr!

And what does a m-m-mad 38 year old and her dog do at a snowy lake in the mountains of the South Island of NZ? Makes a snow pup of course !!! (It's the one on the left!!)

Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes and pressies and cards! Did well for an oldie!

Gotta dash - I think the postie just dropped off the committal papers.......

Brrrrrr in the Boonies....

After being cooped up for a few days with the worst flu I've ever had, I felt well enough to venture out of the house, and we took Summer out for a walk round the village. The views alone were enough to warm the cockles of our hearts. We just love the scenery round here, whether it's snow-topped or lush and green, it always makes us smile and we always wish our families and friends were here to share it.

Here's the view that greeted us as we emerged from our gate (which is off to the left hand side - the boundary on the left is ours).

The road above, Waddington Road, is one of the two "main" roads of our township!

Further down Waddington Road... busy eh?

We wandered down the road to the water race for some stick throwing and swimming - Summer not us!!!

We were unable to go out last night for the birthday get-together and we've now cancelled tomorrows lunch at Pegasus Bay, and unfortunately it looks like Woz is about to enter the flu-zone :-( , so we're cancelling my birthday this year, which is great because it means I get to stay 37 for another year!!!!!

Skidoo Buggery....

.. and other random thoughts. That was pretty much the basis for Ross Noble's stand up show that we went along to at the James Hay theatre last weekend. Was a great night out - we frequented our new Japanese eatery and were then entertained by Ross for over 2 hrs - great show! I bet there are lots of people currently trawling Christchurch to find his "shed up a stick" - we know where it is and we're not telling!



My friend Julie, from the library, brought her dog Bonnie up to meet Summer on Sunday. They got along brilliantly which means we are more than happy to look after her at weekends when Julie heads home to Canada for a few weeks in July! It helps us out too because we'll discover if we really want 2 dogs or if Summer is enough!!

The only bad news is that I seem to have caught "man flu" which has knocked me for six. Hopefully I can get rid of it in time for Friday night as we have dinner planned with friends for my birthday and Warren has also booked us into Pegasus Bay on Sunday which I've been dying to go to for months and months!! Some global finger-crossing may help.....

Humble Harvest...

We have now collected all the grapes! We were very selective about what we kept and what we left for the birds. Because the grapes weren't in the best of condition (we suspect they hadn't been pruned back the previous year) we decided we'd only pick the best looking.

Not only that but we didn't go mad buying wine making equipment so we limited it to three 25 litre fermenters.

First we removed the nets and picked all the acceptable bunches. Because we haven't yet identified all 4 varieties we simply decided to do one red and one white! Once picked we had to give them the initial "crush" which we did in the traditional manner!!



Great fun but blooming sticky! Luckily our huge fatsia japonica flowered at the same time and the local bees were swarming that, and not my legs.



Next, we left the crushed grapes, or "must", to sit for a couple of days and added a campden tablet (stops wild yeasts taking hold.. apparently...).

A few days later we added the yeast and we're using the method whereby we leave, with skins, for another week. In a couple of days we'll press the musts through muslin and probably rack it off a couple of times before we leave it be for a few months, after which we'll either drink it or use it to strip the walls in the spare bedroom.

Dylan Moran in Concert...

Yesterday (Sun 23rd April) we went into Christchurch, to the James Hay theatre, to see Dylan Moran (far right in photo) in concert. He's one of our favourite comedians - we first came across him in Black Books which is hilarious and, if you haven't see it already, is worth seeking out on DVD.

Beforehand we went to a Japanese restaurant opposite the casino which was really good - we'll be back there in May when we're off to see Ross Noble (another stand up comic), also at the James Hay theatre.

And not long until we're off to Brisbane, Australia, for the ColdPlay concert in June!! We've sorted our visas and the hotel is booked - so where the bloody hell are we?

The Sheffield A&P show

OMG, a post from me (Warren :))

For those with confused looks, we did not rush back to Sheffield in the UK to go to its annual Agricultural & Pastoral show. In fact Sheffield in Canterbury NZ bears little resemblance to its UK namesake having a population that can be counted using your fingers and toes, it might have a slightly bigger population than that but not many. Sheffield is our nearest neighbouring village being about 2Km down the road.

Being such a tiny village we had no idea what to expect so were pleasantly surprised to find the large crowds of people, as much as you find large crowds in NZ when away from town. The weather even managed to stop its cold/wet spell and give us some sun.

The show had everything you would expect such as best produce competition, stalls selling arts and crafts type bits and food, farm machinery, show jumping and livestock judging but it is also a chance for the community to get together and celebrate what they do.

It was the first time we had seen Llama and Alpaca close up. They are related to the Camel family, which is very obvious in their face. They are very graceful creatures, probably the long neck that does it, and appear to be very gentle. The funniest sight though is the poodle like cut that is given to many of them in the summer months to stop them overheating.


The demonstration that really let you know you are unfit was the axe men demonstration. This was a bunch of 60+ year old men making small work of huge lumps of wood with very sharp axes. The speed that they hacked through 1ft+ logs of wood was impressive as is the fact they have their feet still attached to their bodies as shown below. When they do the same, 12ft above the ground stood on jigger boards (special precariously balanced planks off wood you attach to the pole and hope they hold), then you really feel you should get more active.



Its great seeing a community get together in this way and it is also when you realise you are becoming part of the community as you recognise people you see in the local town and they recognise you.

Granny B's 75th Birthday!

It was my Granny Broom's 75th birthday back in March!!

You've got to admit, she's looking bloomin' good for 75, hope it runs in the family!

Happy B'day Gran......

There's a rumour...

That my better half will write a post soon..... like I said, it's just a rumour..... *ahem*

Cycling, Creole, Casino, China and Chilling....

That pretty much sums up our weekend!

We spent Saturday wearing Summer out down at the Waimakariri Gorge (5 mins down the road). We loaded up the mountain bikes and sun-cream (28 degs) and set off on a mission to tire out the dog as we planned to leave her in the house all evening.

After much gravel skidding, sinking in sand and general mucking about by and in the river, we headed home and got ready to head into town.

We had decided we would go to the casino. We haven't been there for a while and I was craving a live poker game and wanted to check out the scene before I decided whether to enter the New Zealand Poker Champs being held in Christchurch in April.

Beforehand we ate at a restaurant directly opposite the casino entrance, Zydecos. It's a Cajun/Creole restaurant. The food was fantastic, I suspect it will become a regular stopping off point prior to playing!

Back at the casino, we both sat in on a $4/$8 Texas Holdem Pot Limit game. Pleasantly surprised by the poor playing, and even more pleasantly surprised at the great company, we were asked if we wanted to play in the regular Friday night game, we may just do that.

We both left the table, 2 hours later, up on $$, to the point where we effectively had a free evening out in town.

After we left, it was dark, and time to visit the Chinese Lantern Festival being held in Victoria Square. Very surreal to see the centre of Christchurch decked out in lanterns, the wailing of the Chinese singers (sorry, but it did sound like a cat in pain!) and the smell of MSG in the air! The lanterns were lovely, some extraordinary subjects, the cow, sheep and sheepdog being my favourite! They even baaaaa'd! Unfortunately, whilst I can play a mean game of poker, I'm crap with the camera and only after I'd shot several unsuccessful photo's with the wide angle lens in place, did Woz realise that said lens was blocking half of the flash - hence the big black areas on the photos!

Luckily I managed a couple of decent shots!!

Spent Sunday in the garden mowing, pruning, weeding and generally chilling out.

What a great weekend!

Helen Gets Published....

Finally, a break.

Next week my first column appears in the local paper! "A Brit in the Boonies" will be a fortnightly column appearing in the Malvern News, a very small local paper, with a 4500 circulation, but it's a start!! I have also had interest from a national paper who are too wussy to give a newbie a go and want to see how it is received locally first!

What is the column about? Here's a taster.....

Why is it, that despite the plethora of information available, thousands arrive in NZ daily believing it to be the land that time forgot, a land of milk and honey? Where houses are ten a penny, it’s warm all year round, there’s no crime, the roads are safe and it’s “just like Britain in the 50’s”?

I think someone forgot to update the “What to Expect on Arrival” leaflet handed out to the passengers of the Charlotte Jane.

And just what is it that makes a pale-faced I.T geek from Slough think he is Farmer Barleymow and can easily make the transition from terrace house with postage stamp garden to a 10 acre lifestyle block on the Canterbury plains? And exactly what lifestyle do you get from a lifestyle property?

The Brit in the Boonies, a new fortnightly column, reveals how immigrants see NZ and how NZ sees immigrants. Follow an immigrant’s observation on everyday life, their cock-ups and successes, misunderstandings and steep learning curves. From housing to hoons and jam to jandals, even the mundane can be a hurdle for a Brit in the Boonies!

My two year Journalism and Feature Writing course with the London School of Journalism ends in July and by then I hope to have a couple of columns on the go. I may even get around to finishing the two books I have started!

Watch out Bryson, here I come!

Hotting Up in the Garden

With temps in the 30's, and a few days of rain, the garden is rocketing! Despite our very late plantings, the corn that Mia planted is above my head and the tomatoes are finally going red.

Warren and I spent Sunday putting up the nets on the vineyard. This prevents the annoying habit that birds have of pecking a hole in each grape. We intend to make wine this year, if we enjoy it we'll keep the vineyard, if we don't we'll dig it up and do something more useful with the land! Brutal eh!

Putting nets on vines is pretty easy really - we used a hoe and broom handle and eased the nets over! Voila! No divorce either!

The Moorfield's Christmas Vacation

I am sure that family and friends back home have already had the 3 hour slide show with bonus 1 hour photo sesh with Mike, but for those more fortunate here's a few piccies of their stay!! We miss them madly and hope they'll be back soon.

A quick drive up the road is Castle Hill, right next to Flock Hill (where Narnia was filmed). You can no longer get to the plains where the filming took place.

We visited the West Coast, stopping off at Shantytown and Arthurs Pass on the way. Accommodation was 2 chalets at the Top Ten Holiday Park in Greymouth. We threw buckets of prawns on the barbie that evening, before a walk on the beach during sunset.

The next day we headed further up the West Coast to Punakaiki, which is also known as Pancake Rocks.

The whale-watching was wet! But we saw whales, and lots of albatross. Unfortunately the sea claimed some victims and lets just say Warren, Ellie and myself DIDN'T have the need for sick bags! And don't go blaming the crayfish, Mike! Talking of crayfish, we had a superb meal out in Kaikoura at the White Morph, which is renowned for its seafood and, of course, it's fantastic name! Mike and I shared an amazing crayfish and seafood platter, and, unfortunately for their parents, the girls have now acquired a taste for crayfish and salmon - sorry folks!

Mike, Mia and the kids took an amazing helicopter trip around Mount Cook - Mia was so taken by it she cried and the kids thought it was fantastic - what an experience! I'm hoping Mike can give me some photo's and I'll post them here! Hint, hint! They went on the same flight as Warren and I did almost a year ago, but not the same pilot.

We just had to take them to Akaroa for the scenery, and the fish and chips! They are simply the BEST fish and chips we've ever tasted - I'm drooling just thinking about them. No trip to New Zealand at Christmas would be complete without seeing the amazing pohutukawa tree, which blooms bright red during the festive season - it's aptly called the New Zealand Christmas Tree. We found a gorgeous example on the beach at Akaroa.

Often, Christmas is associated with miracles, and we all witnessed one - MIKE COOKING... but not only that... COOKING VEGETABLES!

At this rate we might even get him to bare all and get in the spa! Or is that pushing it??

So, what else did we get up to?

We did some "edukayshunnel" stuff - the museum and the Antarctic centre...

We ate "out" a lot....

Well, well, well... what can I say? New Zealand really has quite an effect on some people!!

Wow, great memories.

Next to visit is my Mum and Dad, who have booked their flights and arrive early Dec and leave end December 2006!

Can't wait!

Empty House...

It's all so quiet.. ssshhhh... sssshhhh

The family left at the weekend and we returned to a very quiet home. In a way it was nice to get back to "normal", but in more ways it's sad that our family are back over the other side of the world. I'm sure they'll be back! And my parents have just confirmed they are coming over for a month for Xmas 2006!!

We all had a fab time, despite the weather, and managed to pack in loads of trips between gardening! The first week or so the weather wasn't kind, not cold, just a bit wet and overcast (bit of a bugger when you live in the shadow of mountains yet can't actually see them!).

The travellers recovered and then set to work on the garden, helping us to weed and to dig up spuds and plant new herbs and veggies. Cait and Mia dug up the four existing spud beds and we are still, four weeks on, living off the fruits of their labour! Mike and Woz tooled up and went to work with saws and dead branches! I tackled the vineyard and Ellie and I tended the new herbs and veggies and weeded various beds around the garden!

Mia and Cait get to grips with the potato plot...




Mike gets destructive in the orchard...



Processing the fruits of our labour...



Wanted - child labour for grape harvesting!


LOADS more to follow... watch this space!!

In Their Own Words.....

On the eve before their departure from NZ back to a cold and snowy UK, I asked the girls for their thoughts on NZ and what they had seen and done. Here is what they said, in their own words....

Ellie (age 9)

The roads are very quiet in the country and in the UK it would be busy.

Going up on the mountain in the helicopter was very exciting, and the snow landing was weird because it was summer!! We saw Mount Cook, massive!

The people are very friendly and when you are in your car they wave and I think they are very proud of their country.

The whales aren’t something you see everyday in Worthing, and we saw Kiwi’s and it is the only place in the world where you can see them.

I loved the trams in Christchurch. We had a really funny driver who was taking the mickey. We went to the museum in Christchurch and I learned more about the Egyptians. I learned most of it from the book Aunty Helen is writing.

We had teppanyaki at a Japanese restaurant where the chef cooked it straight in front of us. Cool!!

I tried new foods, I tried crayfish, prawns, cream soda (I love it!), broad beans and raw peas in their pods from Aunty Helen’s garden.

We used the gardens special places to play farms, especially in the vineyard and orchard (where we kept our horses). I helped in the garden by watering the plants and digging up potatoes, I helped Aunty Helen weed the new herb garden.

I didn’t like being ball-girl because I wanted to play tennis, I was better at tennis than Caitlin.

I loved Peter and Susan in Narnia. We sat in the VIP seats and had our dinner delivered to our seat – we had pizza and drinks. Aunty Helen and Uncle Warren live near where they filmed Narnia and there was a special exhibition of photographs in the local village. Some of the local people were used in the film.

Summer is gentle, like our dog Frosty. It’s nice to have a dog here in New Zealand to keep us company because we miss our dog. I got a little bit homesick, but Aunty Helen said this is normal.

I want to come back because I will miss Helen, Warren and Summer.

Caitlin (age 6)

It’s stunning (her words, not mine!). It’s very fun especially the Antarctic Centre and the jet boats and the helicopter ride which was very exciting. I wasn’t scared. It was very high up.

I think it is funny that the people are called Kiwis. I think Kiwi birds are cute and friendly and funny beaks. I was very brave in the dark Kiwi house.

I loved Science Alive in Christchurch. The best bit was Glow in the Dark Golf!!!! We also went to Aunty Helen’s library in New Brighton, it was fun because there was loads of things to do.

I learned to eat with chopsticks at a Japanese restaurant. I was the best! I have tried lots of new foods, and I now love salmon, raw peas in the pods (Aunty Helen grows them), choc milkshake ice-cream and broad beans.

I learned to do the poi’s and the New Zealand 12 days of Christmas song (a Pukeko in a Ponga Tree).

I liked helping in the garden and digging up potatoes.

I was good at being ball-girl in the tennis court – better than Ellie. I met Rebecca and Luke and they taught us a game on the trampoline called “Crack Egg”, it’s fun! I can now do a double seat drop on the trampoline, I played on the trampoline almost every day.

We went to see Narnia, I love Lucy and Aslan but I didn’t like the pizza we ate in our seat that the lady bought to us. I didn’t like the White Witch because she was bad. We saw the fur coats from the film at a gallery in the village, I love Lucy’s coat.

I love, love, love Summer the dog. I will miss them all. TIMMY!!! (Caitlin’s new word!). Warren taught her that!

We're Bursting .....

.... with excitement!

It's Thursday 1st December and the next few weeks are going to be SO exciting.

Tomorrow I shall be driving up to the new house (dosed up with painkillers as I have hurt my back) to feed the chooks and to drop off a few bits and pieces that we don't want the removals mob to handle. Warren will be driving up after work to meet me there .... it's OURS!! Still hasn't sunk in, even as I sit here surrounded by packing boxes and bare walls!

I shall miss New Brighton. We are so glad we didn't heed those that told us to steer clear of the area. Granted, it has it's bad areas, but then NZ is like that - some grotty houses in even the nicest of areas. Certainly more of a community feel here - eclectic is a good description. It's had a bad rap for decades, ever since the arrival of "malls" into NZ society, which meant people didn't have to come out to New Brighton at the weekends to shop as the malls now opened up at weekends too.

New Brighton is currently one of the fastest moving property areas in Christchurch as more and more people see its potential, there are more and more houses being renovated, more 30-somethings and professionals moving in to the area and the Mall here is currently undergoing refurbishment (opens next week). Then there are plans to beauty the seafront and finally the expensive apartments on the coast are being moved into ... you can smell the change in the fresh coastal air.

There's got to be a down-side, right? Yep, for those who are sensitive to such things there is a larger % of Maori living in the area. And yes, it's definitely not as "monied" as other areas of Christchurch - so if you're looking for a predominately white, "ladies who lunch" type area, steer clear. If, however, you want a laid back, don't care what you wear, beach lifestyle and will take full advantage of the location, then New Brighton is for you.

And that concludes the broadcast from the New Brighton Residents Fan Club..... Waddington here we come.....

Where on earth is Waddington....

Good question! Even some of the Kiwi's I work with don't know where we are moving to. Here's a map that gives you a better idea of where we will be in relation to Christchurch.

Whew, what a scorcher...

This week really was a scorcher in our house!! We were high on the news from last Wednesday that we'd sold the house and our purchase was complete, the next day we heard that Woz had secured a three year contract from the UK and can now work from home, then on Friday he received a nice payrise from his NZ employer and an equally nice Xmas bonus! We were on fire......

.... literally... last Friday night we had to call out the fire brigade as our chimney caught fire. The smoke alarm in the upstairs bedroom went off (halfway through South Park movie - how inconsiderate!) and we cursed and Woz rushed upstairs to rip out the battery... only to find the bedroom full of smoke! I dialled 111 and within 5 mins the fire brigade was rushing up the drive (ok, sauntering up the drive ). After standing in our gardyen with "oooh's" and "aaaah's" as they watched the orange glow emanating from our chimney, they finally decided that they ought to get a ladder and a hose....

The chimney was soaked (washed the windows too, yay!), and they proceeded to have a look at the house and decor . Have to say, one of them was quite hunky so I immediately delayed their departure with a house and garden tour .

So, all in all, a week to remember!! And this weekend we were finally able to relax, in a house that we've left nice and messy after being sick and tired of keeping it spick and span for house viewings, and on the deck in the hot, hot sun.

House Update....

It's official - the house is ours! Contracts have been signed, deposits paid and we move in on 3rd December - 2 days before my brother and his family arrive in NZ!!

We're (read that as I'M) avidly reading up on chooks (that's Kiwi for chickens) as the owners are leaving their three hens (Penelope, Priscilla and Prudence!). They are Plymouth Barr Rocks (sp?)(see, I'm learning!!!). Time will tell..... it's eggs or roasted chook!!

More ramblings on my day off...

I finished the previous blog entry thinking "whew, we HAVE been busy", and then realised I had missed out MORE goings on in the Leggatt household!

We went to see the Black Eyed Peas in October!! They were in concert at the Westpac centre. We really enjoyed it, but the acoustics could have been better! At one stage I had to lean over and ask the (rather young) girls next to me if I was deaf or if the sound was a bit muffled - thank god they agreed it was muffled!!

We have now booked to see Coldplay (Twisted Logic tour) in Brisbane (Oz!) next June - can't wait!! A long weekend in Brisbane...

And finally... we have put in an offer on another house!! I think I take after my grandparents and will be challenging their house-moving world record! The house is inland, near the mountains. Our house is currently on the market. Strangely we are not too fussed whether we move or not. Both houses are great. The one we are currently trying to buy does have more land, which is what we wanted, so fingers crossed that we may be in for Xmas!

Here's a photo of it:



Separate from the house is this tower! Great mountain views from up there, we'll fight over who gets that for their hobby room!!