This gallery contains 7 photos.
As promised (or threatened depending on your point of view) some more shots taken around Wellington’s south coast. These were taken a little further around the road from Lyall Bay driving west – at the point where, in the distance, … Continue reading
Wellingtonians are hardened to winter wind. Wind that anywhere else would be called a gale is referred to as a strong breeze in Wellington. Any wind that doesn’t physically blow you over is a mere zephyr. It takes something exceptional to get the attention of Wellingtonians.
Last night the weather had our full attention. A storm that originated at the South Pole has been sweeping up the country over the last 24 hours. For everywhere other than Wellington it meant snow but for us it meant rain -with accompanying gale force winds up to 140km/h.
At one point 25,000 people were without power partly due to trees being blown over and taking power lines with them. House rooves started to lift and outdoor signage took to the air.
Our place took to shuddering as each gust of wind arrived and the curtains bowed out from the windows as the wind found new ways to sneak into the house. The garden took on the look of a bomb site as leaves and branches and rubbish bins and patio chairs blew around settling far from where we last left them. Both Poppie and Bella simply refused to go outside and everyone decided the best place to be was in bed.
This morning the full extent of the damage became apparent. One of the olive trees we planted about 8 years ago had succumbed to the wind and lay parallel to the ground. We had talked about removing this tree over summer but couldn’t bring ourselves to do the deed – to wield the saw. It’s ironic that mother nature has done it for us.
This gallery contains 15 photos.
For 2 days I hadn’t left the house. I had no meetings and being winter the weather had been bad. As a result, I became a recluse. By the afternoon of the second day I was going stir-crazy. I had to … Continue reading
Yesterday the first cold southerly blast of winter arrived. The temperature dropped from around 15 degrees to 7 degrees. Snow fell in the Southern Alps and on the volcanic plateau in the North Island closing roads and causing general chaos.
And snow fell on the hills around Wellington. When we woke this morning and looked out the window, the view across the harbour included an early season dusting of snow.
Today is a beautiful sunny day but the temperature is hovering under 10 degrees in the shade. Thankfully the wind has gone and things will continue to improve towards the weekend – when winter officially starts.
Snow across the harbour
This gallery contains 41 photos.
Everywhere I look the last 12 months are being reviewed – news, sports, politics – the best of, the worst of – clearly this is the time of year for reflection. Never being one to miss a trend, here’s our … Continue reading
This gallery contains 11 photos.
As a kiwi, Christmas is all about summer, barbecues at the beach, Christmas decorations that make no sense and Turkey roasts eaten on a steamy hot summer’s day. It’s what we know and love. Last year was the first time … Continue reading
I am a rugby fan. I just want to say that up front. I religiously follow the All Blacks, I tune in to as many Super 15 games as I can and I’ve even managed to watch some ITM Cup games despite them being sprayed, seemingly randomly, across the week. Readers of the blog may also remember the lengths we went to last year when we were living in Siena to find a place to watch the All Black games in the Rugby World Cup – live at eight in the morning. I am a rugby fan.
So last week I was fascinated by the announcement of a new All Black sponsor – AIG Insurance – and more importantly the placing of their logo on the sacred black jersey. On the front of the jersey, in the middle, where no logo has ever gone before.
As a marketing guy by trade I had one of those heart versus head moments. The marketer in me understands the value of this sponsorship, the rationale behind it both financially and strategically and admires the ability of the NZRFU to negotiate what seems to be a great deal (rumoured to be worth up to $20m a year for the period of the sponsorship). But the rugby fan in me sees the black jersey with the new sponsors logo on the front, standing out like a target, and decries the end of a tradition of independence, and the notion that the jersey was worth more in it’s own right than emblazoned with a sponsors logo.
Yes, I know that the jersey already has another All Black sponsor’s logo on the front – Adidas – but it’s discrete and, let’s face it, they have a real stake in the jersey because they make it.
It was interesting listening to the current All Blacks talk about the sponsorship and logo. My impression was that they were also torn between the value of the sponsorship and the price in terms of the jersey changes.
But I’ll leave the last word to Dan Carter who summed things up nicely when he said in an interview – no matter what’s on the front of the jersey, it’s not going to make any difference to the way the team plays. And for this rugby fan, that’s what it’s all about.
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Looking back at the photos I took while down south (A South Island road trip) they really didn’t convey the scope of the place. The two panorama shots below seem to do a better job.
This gallery contains 12 photos.
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. … Continue reading
And yesterday the song lyrics were pretty much right. We had strong winds and rain, and the view from our front window was less than idyllic. But it was Sunday, a chance to hunker down and to do nothing much in particular. It was a challenge we were happy to take up.
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Having written about various parts of the world over the last year it’s time to write about our place, Wellington, New Zealand. It’s where I was born and where I have lived since. After every overseas trip or holiday there … Continue reading
It’s Thursday evening and it has started snowing again. Already there is an inch of snow on the ground. If this keeps up overnight who knows what we’ll wake up too. Pictures in the morning.
A couple of weeks ago we had a frost which coated the cars in a good thick layer of ice. As it melted in the late afternoon sun I snapped a shot of the roof of our friends car.
Footnote: My lovely wife says that this is a sad excuse for a story. I’ll try harder next time.
This gallery contains 18 photos.
We were warned for the best part of a week, it was from Russia and it was going to hit Saturday night. Road gritters started gritting the roads mid week and Heathrow cancelled one third of their flights in advance. … Continue reading
The last week has seen the team from Aspley Guise pack up and move to Bromham. That’s a distance of about 30 kilometres but the move involved serious logistics and planning as well as a decent dollop of muscle over the weekend just past.
Adding interest to the move was the impending “big freeze” that was due to hit the UK on Saturday. Thankfully it held off until the move was finished – just. The lads were enjoying a couple of beers just as the first snow started to drift down.
Next morning our new neighbourhood was under 3 inches of snow – what a lovely welcome to Bromham.
La dolce far niente 