Oh, it's a mad mad mad mad world. Feeling invigorated today. Happy New Year!
Had a fab weekend partying at the joint 40th birthday do of my most excellent friends Ian & Amanda out in the wilds of Wiltshire. Caught up with guys I hadn't seen for years and met some lovely people too.
Picked up a new, second hand car on Friday and enjoyed driving it. It's got all the wing mirrors, no dents, doesn't appear to leak and all the doors open (and lock!) as they should. Welcome Freddie Focus to the family. Still Ned and I did rue the demise of Larry Laguna who has served us faithfully for 10 years and 80,000 miles. Ned particularly was genuinely grieving the change, being the only car we have had in his lifetime - many happy memories, and some throwing up on long journeys!
So... where have I been for 9 weeks? Well, most of December Ned and I were in New Zealand visiting friends and exploring the North Island - what a beautiful place. Flew into Auckland on 12th then off on a whirlwind adventure: Hahei, Coromandel Peninsular, Rotorua, Taupo, Turangi, back to Auckland for Christmas, then to Russell in the Bay of Islands.
We fished on Lake Rotorua and the Pacific, quad-biked on a mountain, rafted on the Tongariro River, walked to the Huka Falls, swam in thermal pools, built huge sandcastles on white sandy beaches, snorkeled and swam in the ocean, kayaked in the Bay of Plenty, enjoyed Maori experiences, basked in glorious sunshine but also were soaked by driving rain. All good! NZ does resemble all the good of Middle Earth in LOTR and even the worst of Mordor with the volcanic impact in certain spots - beautiful. I cannot recall when we were unable to see a mountain. We met some old friends from the UK and made some new ones. Thanks to Chris & Annie, Mike & Kirsti for their hospitality.
The same applied to our stop over on the way in Singapore - thanks to Jan & Caroline - who showed us around: dragon boat racing, cable cars, beaches, foot massage, local cuisine, downhill luge at Sentosa. Marvellous. We also attended the British Cubs' Football Section Christmas Party with traditional British fare - curry! - and, while waiting to eat, felt a tap on the shoulder and was greeted by old friends - fab surprise - lovely to see Andy & Jayne.
So, life feels good today. Not without it's ups and downs however, some of which I will share in the days ahead. Hope you are surviving and thriving. Thanks for reading x
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