Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone - we made some videos to post on the blog but I can't seem to convert them to a suitable format but as soon as I can I will have them on here - there will be a way!

For now though here are a few photos from Christmas day on Matai Bay in the Bay of Islands in the North of the North Island - our good friends Iain and Lorna shared our sunny day!

NZ Premiere of Lovely Bones

I went along to the premiere of The Lovely Bones the other day - ok, so I didnt actually get in and see the movie but I hung about the red carpet and pretended to be a bit of a paparazzi type fellow who had obviously forgotten his pass to get a good view.

Anyway - here are a selection of photos from the red carpet, I didn't have a clue who most people were but these folks are the most famous ones.

(for those who are curious we have Kimberley Crossman (from the soap opera Shortland St) Peter Jackson (director) Susan Sarandon, Rhys Darby (comedian), Saoirse Ronan (actress) and some dude who was apparently famous but I have no idea who he is.)

School's out for summer!

Hi folks,

Well that's school all over for the year - has it really been a year since we house sat that mental dog? (yes is the answer if you were looking for one)

It's been a real challenge for Katie and I this year (good preparation for married life I hear) - not only getting used to our new surroundings, moving house 6 times, finding jobs, working out visas/finances, and coordinating all of our travels but actually doing our jobs too (and trying to do them well) - My job has been particularly full on being the Head of PE and Sport in a school where no-one else has been able to give me much info about previous years. Along with teaching 370 pupils how to do PE and running 33 sports teams in the school, not to mention having to work more closely with the parents than I am used to - it has been a bit mad.

I have also been out of school on 35 days this year on school fixtures and trips - which is a huge amount of teaching time lost. Yes, it's been a real effort and I know everyone has a tough job but I wasn't really expecting one this year - still, it's character building - although I am unsure as yet as to which character I am building - sometimes it feels like Mickey Mouse or something similar though ;o)

We head off to Auckland on Thursday to see Iain and Lorna - then we all head up to the Bay of Islands for some camping over Christmas, We then all head down to Wellington for the return leg and a bit of a Hogmany shindig.

it means we will be offline for a couple of weeks but we are thinking of you all and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

The end of Movember

It's been a long month - here are some photos of the final night!

Pearl Jam

I was in Auckland last week for the Pearl Jam gig - I had booked tickets months ago so it was great that it had finally arrived. I loved Pearl Jam when I was younger but didn't really know many of their less mainstream songs so for the last three months I have been listening to their greatest hits (which I borrowed from the library and copied to my computer)

On the way to the gig I was running late mainly because I had no clue where I was going and partly due to traffic - thankfully I eventually found the right bus and I got chatting to some young builders from a place called Tawa. They had some spare beers that they shared with me on the bus - good guys!



While in Auckland I was being looked after and entertained by Lorna and Iain in their cool new pad - it was great to see them again and we now only have a couple of weeks before we head up to join them for Christmas. We are heading out camping for Christmas - hopefully the sun will shine and we can have a BBQ on the beach. I am sure there will be photos a plenty.

All Whites game

A bit of catching up required again I'm afraid!

A couple of weeks ago the New Zealand football team had a chance to qualify for the World Cup through the "diddies" qualifying section play-offs. Their game against Bahrain was absolutely terrible but the NZ boys managed to score in the first half and then save a penalty in the second half. 1-0 New Zealand - a right good pumping in the World Cup here we come. (for those who don't know, the only other time NZ qualified they were in Scotland's group with Soviet Union and Brazil - NZ only scored two goals at the finals and both were against.....yep, us! But we did score 5 against them.)

Anyway - enough of the John Motson trip down footballing memory lane - the crowd went wild and it was a great party atmosphere in Wellington (where the game was being played.)

Katie and I went out early doors to get a good spot at the big free screening down at the waterfront but we needn't have bothered as only about 100 folk went down to the screen so we went to a pub instead.

The photo is us with Tim and Helen who I met through school - a lovely couple from Nottingham. None of look that happy but we were all pretty drunk and almost asleep due to the quality of football we had to endure.

video update

Movember continues

fireworx

On the 5th of November we went down to the waterfront for the fireworks - they never fail to please do they?

Adventures of Oman

Hi all!

Its about time I posted something on here - Sorry its been a while (since July actually) that I have posted my own message - I've been hibernating - but now that the summer has hit I've been inspired to blog.

I'll start with my fantastic 'surprise' trip home in October! To cut a very long story short, my best bud Joanne Brown ne MacMillan got wed on the 24th of October and I just had to be there if it was possible. I'd cunningly planned with Calvin, her hubby to arrive a week early and turn up on the doorstep to surprise the bride to be - the plan was going well until she found out 24 hours before I was due to land in Glasgow due to an email from the venue confirming the extra person for the meal! She was, thankfully, very touched that I was able to make it home for her wedding and in true Joanne style she turned the surprise on me and arrived at the airport....bridesmaid dress and shoes in hand! So, after a quick 'fitting' in the airport toilets all was good and the following week Miss Macmillan looked absolutely stunning as she became Mrs Broon! The wedding was amazing and it was so fantastic to catch up with so many friends on such a great day.




I am pleased to say that it felt good to be home. I have a restored faith and appreciation for Scotland and its people, not forgetting it was just so important to spend time with friends and family. Seeing the kids, Hannah, Scott, Emma, Emily and Michael was really special - all growing up so fast! Emily was so funny, at 2 and a bit she knew Auntie Katie and Uncle Steph lived in "Zealand" and she even knew exactly where that was - "over the moon" Such a smart wee girl! Hannah and Scott told me all about their sports and school - Hannah even took me to her swimming class and I think she looked like one of the best swimmers there even though she was one of the youngest. And Scott is quite the footballer - looking forward to Uncle Steph coming home for a kick about! Emma is the cutest wee baby - full of mischief! Michael is only just over two but he's so smart and I think he took a shine to me - such a charmer!



Being home in Carradale was another reminder that home is good! Spending lots of time with mum and getting to see and stay at Bayview for the first time since all the renovations were complete was fantastic. I had to remind myself of all the hard work that went in before I left and the work that my family did to get it to this stage is such an achievement. I think we all agree, that the hard work has and is paying off - we have a really beautiful home that we can enjoy for years to come. And, I was pleased that when I stepped through the door it still felt like home. I was a little worried that it wouldn't, but waking up in my old bedroom and padding about a new improved Bayview felt really comforting. Also treated myself to some things that you don't get over here - irn bru, mothers pride, carradale rolls and square sausage - and photographed it for Steph's benefit!


So now its back to windy welly and work (with a renewed supply of clothes for both of us - courtesy of raiding our loft when I was home). I held my first Grasshoppers Tennis Tournament last Sunday and broke the National record for most participants - yay! On a down side I delivered teacher inservice training a few days later and it was a disaster! Reminder to self - practice the games before trying to teach others how to deliver them to a class of pupils!! On the whole the job is going well, its going to be a great job over the summer and I am getting round the country alot which has been good for seeing new things and meeting some really interesting kiwis.



I've also gained a new friend called Harry. He's 8 years old, 16.2hh, liver chestnut and an ex racehorse. I met a lady from NZ Equestrian Federation and mentioned I was looking to start riding and she said needed a bit of help so we agreed that I would ride a couple of times a week. Its lovely to get back in the saddle - bit sore after over a year!!


Anyway, I should probably have done 3 separate posts rather than one massive story so I hope I've not bored you to tears!

The sun is shining, we are beginning to peel off the layers and duvets! Looking forward to a summer in the city and beginning to plan our final Australasian/South Pacific Adventures before making the homeward journey.

Will write again soon and thanks to everyone I managed to catch up with when I was home :-)

K xxx

Molarious

Movember

From what I hear Movember has already hit Scotland - well it is a big deal here and all the guys at my work are doing it for charity so I thought I would join in. The one time in my life I will probably have a good excuse to have a stupid moustache and I may as well do it while most of the people who would find it the funniest aren't around to have a good laugh at my expense.

As someone who is always happy to laugh at myself though I thought it would be rude if I didn't keep you updated with some daft photos of my progress. Details on how to donate money will appear at some point)

Progress hasn't been that fast and i keep growing all my stubble back in to change my mind about what shape of tache I want but in the next few days i will be posting a photo of my best tache to date (after my next shave.)

In case you didn't know, Movember is all about raising money and awareness for/of prostate cancer and depression in men http://nz.movember.com/about/

trip to auckland

I said you would get more about the trip to Auckland for Lorna's 30th and here it is....

When Katie and I arrived in Auckland I can honestly say that it felt like we were folk from the wee village visiting the big city for our once a year visit. It was busy, loud and exciting and made us realise just how small (compact ;o) Wellington really is. You can be out for dinner in Welly and meet 10 folk you know through work - it felt good to be in Auckland and have the power of anonymity once again. It's amazing how much I have missed that!

Anyway, Katie and I spent the first half of our first day marvelling at the choice of shops, the almost normal fashion sense and mainly at the fact the wind wasn't blowing. We spent the rest of the day and night in the pub with Lorna, Iain, Julie, Paul and anyone else that wanted to join us. Iain and Lorna took us to a bar called the Patriot that catered for all of the British isles and served Tennents on tap. I must say that the long journey hadn't improved the taste much but it was like an old friend paying a visit. (it was still better than the pint of TL in the Clachan though)

We pretty much spent the rest of the weekend having a great old time seeing the sights and staying at Lorna and Iain's "jungle house" - so named cos it really did feel as if it was in a rainforest or something - surrounded by trees and plants. Twas a pretty cool spot - and only 60 seconds from the beach.(which was where it wasn't like a jungle - unless we are talking about a jungle on a tiny remote island where most of the island is a jungle with only a beach separating it from the sea.)

We went out for dinner on the Saturday with Geoff from Iain's work - and his wife Adine - both of whom were really nice. And once again we got drunk and took silly photos which you will now find on flickr.

We also went hunting on the Monday for a karaoke bar - Lorna was keen to give us another rendition of Wired for Sound whereas I was all about some more classic rock with one hand shoved in my pocket. Alas though all the karaoke bars were the type where you hire a private room and Lorna and I really felt that our performances merited an audience so we went for more drinks instead.

All in all, we had a great time in Auckland celebrating not only Lorna's 30th but also new jobs for Iain and Lorna. Iain now has a fantastic job wih the Auckland Blues rugby team and Lorna now has a full time teaching post - well done by the way guys.

I am heading back to Auckland to see their new house in a couple of weeks when I will be in town to see the mighty Pearl Jam. Awesome - cannae wait.

SB.

Macca's birthday

These photos are from our hilarious trip up to Auckland for Macca's birthday. more of the the story to follow.......

Mr. Brown's leap of faith.

I was in Christchurch recently with the kids and we visited a climbing centre. I was stitched up and had to jump off a pretty high log and grab onto a trapeze that when I was up there felt like a mile away. I am not the biggest fan of heights but hey, when a 12 year old lad has just done it you can't really bottle it can you?

Karen this is for your amusement

http://www.catladyfashion.blogspot.com/

if you ever do get bored......

Here's a suggestion - at the top of the page there is a button called "next blog". Next time you almost fall asleep at our chat then push this button and you will be off on a blog adventure through space and time. If you keep clicking the button you will be transported to such essential blogs such as "Cat Lady Fashion" and "Freak of Metal".

There is a comment I could make here about how people will write any old garbage and that people will read any old garbage but I wouldn't want you to think we were talking about our blog..........;o)

The 100th post

Hi everyone,

This - would you believe - is the 100th post! (worth waiting over a month for?)

So in true anniversary style let's take a look back at some of the highlights of our trip so far.............actually - it's a kind of "self drive" anniversary tour where you can look through the archives at your own leisure. ;o)

Suffice it to say that we have done a lot over the last 12 and a bit months - there was the Bed Supper Club in Bangkok, The elephant experience in Chiang Mai, the tour of Sydney, meeting ex-jordanhillers in Australia at random moments, our west coast of Australia camper van road trip, our Koala adventure near melbourne, stalking Stefan Dennis from neighbours, arriving in NZ and all of our house sit adventures with Jack the crazy dog and the cat who liked to get close to the stuffed toy cat.

Yes, it's been a busy old time and I feel that it's actually been ten years not 1 - which is a great thing. Time goes by so quickly blah blah blah but Katie and I certainly do try to fill our time - maybe when we are 50 we will have a lie in and do nothing but until then it's onwards and upwards.

We really miss you all lots and we do think about you all an awful lot (even more so since Katie visited you all), we also now have photos up on the wall (finally) of everyone back home - we've had empty photo frames on the wall for a while - we ordered photos but they went missing in the post but we have them now and it's great to see everyone back home. If you have any favourite photos of yourself or Scotland then please feel free to post them to us or email them to us and they might make "the wall".

Ok, I will go for now but the very impending next couple of posts will be 1) Katie's trip back home 2) Steph's efforts at growing a moustache for Movember. 3) Wellington firework's extravaganza

Watch this space. (please) ;o)

our new hoose

http://www.nz.open2view.com/Property/206358

Check out our ridiculously nice new home.............we're not showing off, it's only for three months and we are paying for it! It'll be nice while it lasts though, especially with our summer around the corner.

;o)

365 days - are you kidding?

Well folks, can you actually believe it's been 365 days exactly since we left sunny Glasgow behind and headed for Thailand, Australia and then onto New Zealand?

Nope, nor can we - and I really think that working has made at least the last 8 of those months disappear way too fast. Flippin' work!

Anyway, in case anyone is really losing sleep with worry about whether we will ever return or not - we'd like to put your mind at rest and say that we are definitely still only visiting NZ and not settling.

To prove this we are moving out of our great flat this weekend and moving house for 3 months to another flat elsewhere in Wellington (pictures to follow). I think we are trying to move as often as possible so that we don't feel settled (or so we get the best deals possible!) And it is definitely working ;o) We have actually lived in 6 different houses in Wellington since arriving in December 08. Couple of drifters that we are!

This is also as good a time as any to say that even though we are having a great time over here and it is everything we wanted it to be - we both miss home lots and we think about our friends and family every single day. We can't wait to see you all again and I (Steph) for one really miss the streets of Glasgow (crazy I know). Thanks to you all for keeping in touch and helping us out here and there when things go wrong back home that we can't fix it from here. Thanks for all the birthday and Christmas gifts that you have sent - they have all been very much appreciated.

Lastly, an apology (not always a strong finish to a blog entry I know but bare with me here) - sorry for not being in touch with everyone more regularly via the telephone and emails etc. it doesn't mean we are not thinking about home - it's just that with 6 house moves and various crazy holidays we sometimes don't have the energy to write lots of emails or stay up late to call home.

All the best everyone, Slainte Mhath

Steph and Katie.

Steph kicks the karate world in the chops

On Saturday I attended my first karate grading and it was my first chance to get a coloured belt - blue was the next level up that I was aiming for.

It started at 9am (on a Saturday!!!) and the white belts were up first (that was myself and 4 others) At the grading everyone from the club goes along so there about a hundred other members watching including really senior students (black belts etc) who circle the outside of the floor to observe and encourage the participants.

For our grading we had to go onto the floor and work our backsides off doing all sorts of moves and combinations (and a million press ups)- it was really hard work. I made a ton of mistakes and thought I had done really badly.

After our part finished the white belts left the floor and we basically just sat and watched everyone else go through their gradings (the blue and yellow belts, then the green and brown belts) . Some of the stuff they had to do was incredible - they were exhausted - especially the brown belts (who are one step away from black)

So, once everyone was done we all knelt down on the floor (in order of seniority so we were at the back) and the Shihan (master) called out all the white belts. He congratulated us on our effort and then he handed three people a blue belt - i was gutted because there were only three blue belts on the table so I thought I wasn't going to get one.

Amazingly though the Shihan said that sometimes students show enough to justify putting them another grade up and I was awarded a yellow belt along with another student.

I now have a Gi (uniform) and yellow belt and a whole new set of things I have to learn - I'm really enjoying it though and wish had stuck at it when I was younger (my first experience was primary school would you believe! I also did some karate with some fellas from the co-op in shettleston and I studied a self defense module in the USA.)

I would highly recommend it to anyone that has ever thought they would like to give it a go - it's a real challenge getting your body to learn new movements but really rewarding.

;o)

Steph

our last days in Moana Road

We will update you with all the news soon (including a "can you believe it's been 12 months since we left" entry - but for now all we will say is that we are having to leave Moana Rd (Moana means sea/ocean by the way).

Here's a photo I took last week of the view from our decking during a full moon.



Farewell to Moana Road but hello to Washington Ave, Brooklyn.

Franz Josef

Hi, as promised here is the final instalment in the "When Clare met New Zealand" series of stories.

Well, after all our other hilarity in the South island (and once again, a zillion kilometres) we packed up and headed to Franz Josef. Now, Franz Josef, i have since found out, is one of the most dangerous places to live in new zealand - not because of crime or the glacier, but because of it's location directly on a major fault line. Earthquake central.

It's funny, we had been back 4 weeks and in the paper it was talking about earthquakes and how dangerous it is in Franz Josef (potentially - like if the big one happened) and it showed a photo of the main street and you can actually see a bulge under the road. Unfortunately for the people in Franz Josef (as if life wasn;t difficult enough) they decided to build the petrol station right on top of the bulge in the street. Mental.

Anyway, we had no earthquakes whilst down there thankfully but we did sign up to do the Glacier climb which was amazing.

Here's a wee bit about the glacier itself:

" From its origins high in the Southern Alps, the Franz Josef Glacier descends deep into the lush rainforest of Westland’s National Park, from a height of 2700m above sea level to only 240m in as little as 11 km, making it the worlds steepest and fastest flowing commercially guided glacier.

It is the rugged gradient of the Franz Josef Glacier that ensures our clients enjoy the most dramatic glacier scenery available to the general public anywhere in the world."

You basically leave early in the morning and do a one hour hike to the foot of the glacier - you then climb up the face in groups of about 10 with a guide. You then make your way pretty far up through the ice tunnels and stuff, stopping for lunch before descending.

It was really strange to be on such a big lump of ice that is apparently always moving but you can't feel it moving and it generally goes too slow to perceive.

If you ever get the chance to go on a glacier and wield an ice axe, I would highly recommend it and so would the people in the photo below........

Quake

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2809604/Wellington-rocked-by-powerful-quake

Certainly not a nice way to be woken up - a very strange sensation. All part of the experience though!

kateandsteph

If you ever get bored of our blog here's a similarly named one

http://www.kateandsteph.blogspot.com/

A song for people back home.

A song I have been practicing on the guitar - quite a few mistakes and ropey strumming (no plectrum and nylon strings) so more practice required but thought I would share it mistakes and all. I know this isn't X factor and if it was I would not be expecting to win it anyway. Hope you like it.

I'm sure my brother or Dad (or both) will be able to confirm for me that this is actually a Scottish song - everywhere I look this song has been covered by Irish folk bands and I think everyone is under the impression that it is Irish - but I believe it is Scottish. I hope I am right.

Mike part 2

Mike the darned monkey seems to have went down quite well so here are the rest of the pics from his visit:

Mike and I bike in to school.



Mike and I deal with some parents over a coffee – Mike encourages me to bluntly state that their child isn’t in the first 11 because they are not good enough. It doesn’t work as we expected.



Mike makes some new friends (this is actually the West Watson House Lion that I have kidnapped - I am in Averill House but our house always comes last and WW come first. I left a ransom note with the Staff member who runs WW asking for more House points for Averill. Even though he has seen this photo he still doesn't realise I have the lion - d'uh!)




Mike gets a lesson on Headstands



That's all from Mike for now but maybe he will get to visit again at some point. ;o)