Tag Archives: friends

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Here comes the sun …

The umbrella drys under blue sky

Making use of a Beatles song title seemed the most appropriate way to herald the arrival of the good weather at Pohara – and hopefully the start of a long hot summer break.

I got the chance to head out around the coast yesterday with a camera and accompanied by my photographic assistant to take a few shots. Although we’ve been to Pohara a couple of times in the past, this is the first time I’ve really had the chance to discover the coast. It really is worth seeing.

As I write this the rest of the team are at the beach swimming, jet skiing, building sand castles and soaking up the sun. Just like when we were kids – except for the jet skiing bit of course.

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Pohara welcomes us with tears

The view from our place to the sea – missing the sea because of the mist and rain

After weeks of glorious weather the day we arrive in Pohara the rain started. Well in truth, the rain started in Nelson and followed us over the Takaka Hill. The hill is a challenging drive in fine weather but with a mix of rain and mist it becomes doubly exciting – particularly as the traffic includes numerous camper vans and cars towing boats. It’s only the raw power of the mighty Falcon ute that means we can keep up a decent pace.

We arrived at “our place” for the next few days with light rain falling. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain I recall that, according to Maori mythology, rain is seen as tears of the gods which is good luck.

Hopefully good luck that brings fewer tears and more sun over the next few days.

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On the road again

Pohara at sunset

For the next week or so we are on the road – heading south for a traditional kiwi Christmas break. A few days with relatives in Nelson and then on to Pohara, a small seaside village  nestled at the base of Golden Bay, at the top of the South Island.

There is a whole mix of friends and relatives descending on Pohara – by my rough count 5 rellies, 12 friends, Jean, me and Poppie. That’s 14 adults, 5 children and one dog. Nothing more to do than relax, eat and drink. It should be a great few days.

In defence of photo albums
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In defence of photo albums

An early casualty of the digital photo revolution was the traditional photo album. During our stay in the UK and Italy last year I took 4,626 photos. Of that vast number exactly none have been printed out.

They are all stored on my iMac, and on two back up drives that sit humming away next to it. If we want to show people the photos we gather around  the television and run a slide show with commentary provided by Jean and I as our guest’s eyes slowly glaze over.

We have lost the tactile fun that is a photo album – and we were reminded of this when my brother and his wife visited last weekend. They had just returned from a trip to Texas and the East Coast of the USA. Upon returning, brother Geoff had taken the memory card from his camera to the local photo printing place and returned with 6×4 glossies. All of which are now in photo albums.

Going through them was a pleasure. All of us huddled around the albums as they were passed around. Fingers pointing at certain shots and describing the situation that went before or after. Turning pages to connect one shot with another. We spent an hour going through them and didn’t realise where the time went.

So here’s the thing. If you’ve got all your photographs sitting on hard drives or CDs of DVDs, go non-digital and print off an album or two. I intend to.

A South Island road trip

Last week I had the chance to head south. To leave Wellington for a couple of days, fly to Christchurch and take a road trip from Christchurch driving west over Porters and Arthur’s Pass to the West Coast. A work colleague and myself were making this trip to attend the opening of the Monteiths boutique brewery in the West Coast township of Greymouth. Yes, we were actually going to attend a piss-up in a brewery. The following day after a couple of meetings we were to retrace our steps, to Christchurch and then to home.

It’s a while since I’ve been to “the coast” – as it’s known – and even longer since I’ve driven the road through the Southern Alps. I had forgotten how spectacular it is – especially at this time of year when the snow is down on the hills and even beside the road in some places.

We departed Christchurch and crossed the Canterbury Plains passing through the towns of Springfield and Sheffield. The weather was overcast and grey and not boding well for our trip. We stopped at Springfield to pay homage to their famous donut which was awarded to the town by the most famous son of that other town called Springfield, Homer Simpson. No seriously, it’s true.

From Springfield we started the climb over Porters Pass, passed through Castle Hill and then travelled along the Waimakariri River basin until we arrived at the small alpine community of Arthur’s Pass. Here we could see that the dark overcast clouds that had followed us from Christchurch were giving way to clear blue sunny skies on the other side of the main divide.

After crossing Arthur’s Pass we started the descent towards the coast in glorious sunshine, passing through Otira where we stopped for a toasted sandwich and a cup of tea (sorry DB we were there but you weren’t). We then travelled alongside the Taramakau River until we hit the Tasman Sea halfway between Greymouth and Hokitika.

The West Coast gets a fair bit of stick for its weather – it rains a lot – but during our visit all we saw was sunshine and blue skies. On the return trip the next day, we stopped many times to take photos (a big thank you to my travelling companion for his patience) and for a world-famous, award-winning pie from the Sheffield Pie Shop.

But my lasting memory of the trip will always be the grandeur of the scenery. Note to self – must see more of the South Island soon.

A little more about Wellington

There’s a saying – “you can’t beat Wellington on a good day”. But sadly at this time of year those good days are few and far between.

Today, after rain for the last 3 days, it was a good day. I was driving back from the city around Oriental Bay, one of the more affluent parts of the city, and the temptation to stop and take some photos was too strong.

Oriental Bay is only 5 minutes drive from the city centre and is a favorite spot for Wellingtonians – everyone from families walking dogs through to lunchtime joggers.

Until a few years ago the beach was just rocks and boulders but the city council decided to re-sand the beach, building break waters at either end of the bay to keep the sand from washing away. For the most part it worked with only an annual top up of sand and some re-distribution from one end of the beach to the other being needed.

In summer the beach is packed with locals making the most of this inner city asset.

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A taste of Italy

Every time Jean and I feel homesick for Italy we make the pilgrimage to MariLuca Ristoro. It is owned and run by a friend, Guiseppie, and stepping through the door feels like stepping back to Italy. It’s all warmth and friendliness and excellent Italian food, all in the heart of Wellington.

Bellisssimo.

Note: photos are courtesy of MariLuca Ristoro

An Echo of Tuscany

Every so often, as we sit here in the middle of Wellington’s winter, there is an echo of our time in Italy. Over the weekend we hung a picture on the wall. It was painted by our friend and talented artist Daniele, the partner of Olga our guardian angel in Tuscany.

Dani and Olga gave us the painting when we left Italy last year. It is a watercolor of Tuscany which, for us, summed up the beauty and simplicity of the region. Jean managed to get the painting all the way home undamaged and has had it framed. Last weekend it took pride of place on our wall.

Every time we look at it we think of friends and lazy afternoons sitting in the sun, talking, drinking (a little) and living la dolce vita.

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It’s all about looking out for each other

Daisy the dog had a rough night last week. Part of her heart condition means that sometime she can’t pump enough blood around her system and without enough blood to her brain she faints.

This isn’t a pleasant thing and when she faints we always wonder if she will recover and be her old self. So far she has.

Before we moved back into our home she was fainting regularly but the return to familiar surroundings and routines has meant this had become a thing of the past – until last Wednesday night. She fainted twice and we were up until 3am making sure she was comfortable, relaxed, sleeping and, most importantly, still breathing.

And that’s where looking out for each other comes in.

Poppie is Daisy’s partner in crime when barking at the gate or begging for food but not the rest of the time. That changes when Daisy is unwell and then, somehow, Poppie knows.

Like last Thursday morning when Daisy was recovering. Poppie is the one on the right.

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Freedom!

A few days ago the girls completed their quarantine in Levin and were released with a clean bill of health. We are currently staying with friends and the girls have settled in quickly.

Welcome to Woburn

There are two villages close to Aspley Guise. One is Woburn Sands which boasts a population of around 2,000 people. The other is the much smaller village of Woburn which has, as its close neigbour, the Duke of Bedford’s estate and home, Woburn Abbey.

Of the two villages Woburn seems the more historically significant. According to our friends at Wikipedia:

“Woburn was first recorded as a hamlet in 969 and is found in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is best known as the location of Woburn Abbey (a stately home), founded by Cistercian monks in 1145 and bequeathed to the first Earl of Bedford in 1538 after the dissolution of the monasteries, and Woburn Safari Park.

Woburn has been burned down and rebuilt three times. A mediaeval chimney fire spread due to the prevalence of thatched roofs and closely built houses. Then, during the English Civil War, the Cavaliers burned down much of the village and in 1724 a third fire destroyed much of the town, which was re-built in the Georgian style that remains today.”

I posted photos of Woburn Abbey in April last year soon after we arrived in the UK. But I have never spent much time in the village of Woburn itself.

Today I set out to remedy that and in sunny (but freezing) conditions I spent an hour or so wandering around the village photographing the buildings, the features and the little things that appealed to me. After an hour, the cold meant I had lost feeling in my hands and operating the camera became impossible. This was remedied by a visit to the warm and friendly “Longs Inn” for a quick pint.

Woburn and the nearby Abbey are major tourist attractions, particularly during the summer – funny that. For us, Woburn’s main attraction is the aforementioned Longs Inn – a traditional old pub established in 1649 which has become our favourite local watering hole. With its inviting fire, low ceiling and endless supply of Adnam’s ale, spending time within its cosy confines is easy.

A weekend in Ipswich
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A weekend in Ipswich

Last weekend we went to Ipswich. It meant a drive of about an hour and a half across England to the eastern coast – well almost the coast as Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell.

Friends Sue and Ali are kiwis living and working in Ipswich. They came and stayed at Aspley Guise over Christmas and invited all the Aspley Guisers over for dinner and to stay the night.

They have a penthouse apartment on the Ipswich waterfront. Like many towns located on the water, the area around the port has undergone a rebirth in the last few years with new apartment blocks being built and the original waterfront buildings being renovated. There is a feeling of Auckland when you walk along the Ipswich waterfront. Leisure craft are moored alongside and a plethora of cafes and bars exist near the water.

On Saturday night Sue cooked a fine meal which, accompanied by a couple, a few, some, quite a lot of wine and beer, meant Sunday morning was a slow start. A walk along the waterfront was the ideal way to blow away the lingering hangovers.

It’s been a week of birthdays
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It’s been a week of birthdays

The past week has seen two celebrations at Aspley Guise. Gill had a birthday and, quite rightly, became queen for a day, and dear old Daisy the dog had a birthday – her 15th.

Gill’s birthday involved champagne, a fantastic meal out at The Birch restaurant, presents from all over the world and a good old-fashioned hangover the next day.

Daisy’s birthday involved a cake with candles, doggie treats, presents from all the doggie shops we know of and a hangover the next day due to a late night when the whole team were visiting friends in Ispwich.

Daisy received a new winter coat from Jean and I which, unlike her current one, doesn’t need to removed by it pulling over her head (she bites anyone who tries to take off her current coat) and a new basket for her to sleep in from Gill, Andre, Josh and Jordan.

In dog years Daisy is, depending on the formula used, either 90 and 105. Not a bad effort for an old lady and she continues to battle on despite  her heart condition, poor vision and lack of hearing. The heart specialist in Italy described her as “il cane di miracolo” and she continues to defy the odds and lead a happy and relatively healthy life. The difference between now and a couple of years ago is that her pace of life is much slower.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

And now we turn 200
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And now we turn 200

This is our 200th toscanakiwi post. When we started the blog it was to keep friends and family informed about our little adventure in Italy. But reading back over some of the last 200 entries I now realise it is also a collection of memories for Jean and I. It might be old age or just the passing of time but little things get forgotten and one adventure gets confused with another in our minds – but the blog is always there with the real story.

In September 2011, post number 100 was sent from our cottage in Tuscany. At that stage around 4,800 visitors had read the blog since it’s launch. As of today that figure has increased to 11,541.

A huge thank you to all our lovely readers. Your feedback is always welcome and knowing that our adventures are providing a little interest and entertainment is all that we can ask for.

Ciao

Graeme and Jean

Making themselves at home
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Making themselves at home

It’s easy to tell if the girls are feeling at home. The more couch they take up, the happier they are. Now we just need to figure out where the humans sit.