Settling in our digs

It is our first day in our new house. We were very tired last night but for some reason I couldn’t sleep – I spent quite a while looking on the bed looking our the window of our new home. The street is very quiet both in the day time and night time.

We got here later than expected last night as we decided to catch a different bus to see its route. It goes through a much nicer part of town and although takes a bit longer has a bus stop not far away from the house. So, we think that will be our bus route from now on. We of course had lots of bags and getting on the bus at peak hour was great fun. As we got on I heard two woman saying that we shouldn’t travel at that time of the day with our luggage. Anyway, it shows how people are so different when one man offered to lift my bag the two steps up. We had to wait for ages cos the machine didn’t want to accept Harry’s brand spanking new weekly bus ticket. When it came to my turn the machine spat it out without date stamping it so I got a free bus ride.

Although we had lots of luggage we unpacked quite quickly as there is quite a few winter clothes (and boy did Haz bring lots of socks!!!!) still in our suitcase. A couple of photos of our bedroom with the special things I bought from home.

Yesterday we wandered up towards the markets and went to St Stephens a church that was built in the 1200’s. It was quite small and quaint and had a really nice cafe. We bought a huge baked potato for £3 and coffee wasn’t that bad either. The two guys behind the counter were really friendly. It seems it is quite a go ahead inner city church trying to make a difference with concerts and pilate classes.

Today, we wandered through the park to the supermarket. By road, I think it would be about 30 minutes but through the park it was half the distance. Fresh meat and veg are very expensive here – I would think about 3 times the price. Most other groceries seem comparable in price, though the range of foods seem to be a little less. We packed up our back packs, and both carried plastic bags and got back without it raining too hard. Jayne has freed up lots of space in the kitchen so we packed it all into the fridge, freezer and cupboards. Did a couple of loads of washing, rang up about jobs and then came into town. Looking for a router for internet . Ended up walking about along the wharves and having a nice early dinner outside under umbrellas. (photos of hanging baskets and window boxes are especially for my friends and Mum that like gardens).

While in the pc shop I got a ring to say I have a job interview on Monday. It is with a training organisation associated with the health department over here – doing project admin. Haz also got a call to say that a recruitment agency has a number of service manager jobs for him to consider which he is pleased about cos insurance help desk doesn’t really appeal to him – don’t blame him. Anyway, we may be employed soon – and our holiday ends.
I keep forgetting to mention the traffic lights here. For pedestrians, they are sometimes positioned across the road with the traffic lights and don’t usually make a noise when it is time for us to cross. A lot of inner city crossings have pedestrian lights at eye level on the same side of the road on which you are standing. I stand in a day dream waiting for a green signal to come from the other side and sometimes even miss the lights!! Even though the red man is lit up – it doesn’t mean someone has pushed the button – and so we have stood for quite a while waiting patiently and nothing happened. It all takes a bit of getting used to.

The cutest things I have seen so far – a swan with her four little goslings, a little dog like a scottish terrier standing on a boat nose in the air dressed in a bright red life jacket, and a white cat (little black patch on his neck) and a absolutely black tail like someone has dipped it in paint.

Our last night in the backpackers

Hi everyone.

We had another amusing breakfast story today. I am beginning to think ‘breakfast at backpackers’ could be a good title for a book. Anyway, this couple came in and asked in very bad English and very politely ‘could they have a special diet for his wife’s breakfast’. The lady serving cereal, toast and full english breakfasts looked a bit non plussed and asked what would they like? The husband didn’t know and ended up ringing his daughter who could obviously speak English well. The kitchen hand talked on the cell phone for a while describing what they had and then came back and said ‘she can have weetbix’ – it obviously wasn’t a gluten free diet – I suspect fresh fruit would have gone down a treat.

The shower played up twice in a row, going cold and then completely stopping when Harry was covered in soap and later on when I was half way through washing my hair. A cold trickle flowed through eventually and so we managed. Apparently the loft we were in was recently converted to the rooms and they have had the plumber back two times already cos it hasn’t worked well. I think the plumber will be back a third time!!

It was a nice sunny day yesterday but the wind had a bite to it. The weather seems very similar to Wellington – unpredictable – I quite like it that way but it will probably become more stable once we get a bit closer to summer.

We went back to the employment agencies. They decided to not put me forward for a very mundane job but for another which is better paid and a little bit more interesting. Haz goes back today as there is a possibility of getting a temporary job in the motor insurance area. It would be helpful to know all about that here. It will be good to get a temp job while we wait for something more up our line to come up.

We had a lovely walk up the river today. Took a couple of hours – saw some old tug boats and steamers and the SS Great Britain which is in one of the photos – the first steamer to take immigrants etc to NZ and Australia – you will notice they didn’t want to risk not getting somewhere and still had the good reliable sails on board – it would have been cheaper as well I imagine as the winds got up. We saw a lock open for a boat and sat at one end as it filled up and opened at the other.

Outside the youth hostel is a busker. He has been drumming a very monotonous tune on his bongo drum for the last few days (we reckon about 5 or 6 hours at a time). Yesterday, his bongo drum had gone (it was quite sad) and replaced by a cardboard box.
We went to the post office today to get applications for a drivers licence. Haz might be considered for driving jobs but he needs a UK license. The PO was crowded as it seems to do everything eg sell stuff, arrange finance, bureau de change, post letters and parcels – it took us back to the NZPO 20 years ago. Admittedly it was lunch time but Harry stood in a queue of about 20 people to get the applications. I went around and asked the finance man who wasn’t doing anything and he gave us the applications. No, I didn’t walk out and leave Harry in the queue!!! Anyway, what a saga to get a licence. Apparently you have to pay £45 to change your licence to a UK one. We haven’t read all the documentation yet but Anne says you have to post in your NZ with the application and they do not return it. It takes about 14 days and you can’t drive while you don’t have a licence. The only option to keep your NZ licence I think is to actually sit the whole test from scratch. Anne told us also that everytime you change your address you have to get your licence redone and you can’t drive while you wait for it to be renewed. We think we might stick with our international one for a while. The international one is not valid unless we have the NZ one with it.

In the kitchen over dinner we talked to the kiwi couple from Auckland. They have found a flat and are moving in at the end of the week. They are paying £600 a month, and on top of that have power, phone, council tax (rates) etc which makes it about £700. They also have to buy lots of stuff as it only has a bed, table and a chair. Our £400 a month doesn’t seem to bad when compared to others. I had a sudden thought that we could buy bikes and bike to work as it is very flat – reminds me of my Christchurch days. Once we are settled we just might do that as we would also enjoy cycling in the weekends.

Other interesting things that we have found out. 1 July England goes smoke free, you don’t have to wear a cycle helmet though we think we will and it is illegal to talk on a cell phone without using a hands free kit in a car (though that doesn’t seem to stop people though).
That’s it for the day.

Today we bought our laptop. We found a retail park with 3 computer shops. It was good because it was only 20 minutes walk from where we are staying. We wandered back with box under our arm and felt as though it was Christmas. It has been a funny feeling in Bristol so far – a bit like we are ‘disconnected’ not yet part of the city – walking the streets like a tourist but wanting to live and work here like a resident. Having a computer will help because it will be easier for us to find possible jobs, apply for them, update our cvs, search for a car to buy etc. But we have not yet found out how to connect to the internet and to wifi (the wireless hotspots in cafes etc – we never needed to do this at home) and so Harry suggested I write today’s update in word and then transfer it to the blog tomorrow. That is a good idea cos it is cheaper – we have not found any internet cafes in Bristol yet only those associated with the hostels. Anyway, now we are a proud owner of a laptop, black carry bag, lots of programmes and a new hi tech laser mouse which is quite cool to use.
Because I have a bit more time I’ll try and put some more photos in as well to this blog. This is the suspension bridge in Bristol. You can see at low tide the mud flats which aren’t particularly attractive but apparently house all sorts of bird life etc. At high tide there is a small window for boats to go in and out. We walked across the bridge the other day and to Cabot tower a high tower just to the top right of the bridge. That was fun with its spiral staircase. There were people climbing up the rock faces with ropes etc – obviously preparing for their trip to Mt Cook!!

The second picture is of the Spiegeltent and Caramello enjoying the jazz music in Bath. As you can see the singer was singing to only a few – it was a bit of a pity cos the music was quite good, it was just cold and very wet outside which would have meant a number of people would have preferred to be curled up in bed reading a book – like me.

After we bought our computer today we went to see Jane and met her Mum and Dad. They were obviously checking up to make sure we were o.k. to live at her daughters which was fine because it is the first time she has had lodgers and the first time we have been boarders. We went for a walk around the area and after we have got used to the housing (coronation street is the best example I can think of to describe it) we thought it was an o.k. area to live in. The house is nice – though rather small. I’ll email everyone our contact details when we can get onto the email system. We are going to get internet connected at her place so we can be in regular contact. Everywhere we go we are asked for our permanent address and the postcode. Everyone is very confused when we say we do not yet have one – even the computer shop couldn’t give us a months free access to the virus checker if we didn’t have an address. I didn’t realise how important it was to ‘live somewhere’.

The photo of the stairs (53 steps) is at our last place we are staying at. We had to lug our bags up on our first day here. There are three flights all of similar gradient. Harry is at the top of the stairs contemplating carrying our big bags down tomorrow as we move to the Youth Hostel for the last night before moving to Janes.

Harry is standing by our bed and breakfast in the other photo. All along the stone walls around our bed and breakfast (see photo below) are little purple flowers – which you can’t see cos they are on the other side of the wall. We had them growing in the front of our home in J’ville along the brick wall. Anyway, spring is a good time of year to come as the flowers are all beginning to bud. One of the things we noticed is everyone keeps their wheeli bins out the front of their house (presumably because the houses are all joined there is no outside way to get around to the back of the house)and since the front is quite small they seem to dominate the frontage. A bit of a pity especially the day before rubbish collection. Parts of the city are heavy into recycling which is great and Jane said in her area we even have to recycle food scraps – a bit like I think it was where Sharon stayed in Austria.

After dinner we went for a walk with Ann. Here are just a few photos of the first few sights we saw of Bristol. Everywhere we turn there is a church steeple. We felt quite at home today as we saw a umbrella discarded in a rubbish bin as it had obviously been caught in the wind – wire frame and material in disarray.

This is a building by the main library, or might actually be part of the library. The statues were quite beautiful and covered in a netting to keep the birds out – so they looked lovely and clean compared to some of the others we have seen.

We do so appreciate the emails we are getting from you all. It makes me realise that we are not that far away. Last night when I sent out the email that I had updated my blog I immediately got two emails back one from Mike and another from Janet who were both sitting at work. I replied to Janet once but then ran out of money but I thought 10.00 ish at night might be a good time to email as it is daytime over in NZ and I can distract you all while you are meant to be working!!
Time to go, take care everyone – we are thinking of you heaps.

A wet day in Bath

Anne picked us up and we drove to Bath. Very wet and quite cold - so we didn't really enjoy it much. However, we did wander around a bit and saw some of the cobbled stones and little shops. Went to a concert in a spiegeltent which is an amazing tent with velvet roof and walls, mirrors, wooden beams and posts and lots of glass and glitter. Anne says there is one in christchurch but it is very new to me. Took a few photos but can't download them tonight. We definitely need to get a pc so that might be tomorrows job. Have just had dinner at the YHA and will go home shortly to bed.

A walk around Bristol

Today we moved into our third accommodation in Bristol. We are not enjoying the moving around but what can we expect when we booked over May Bank holiday. We have moved into a bed breakfast - top floor - 3 flights of very steep steps which we will take a photo of and you can imagine Harry lugging the bags up the staircase and the old ladies at the bottom saying 'you have a lot of luggage don't you'.

Anyway the photos are in no particular order and we don't have time to figure out how to order them - our own pc is number one priority = with a car.

Caramello sits on a table waiting for lunch. Lovely home made lasagne, salad and french bread. Harry was fascinated with the waitress - a woman our age with white trousers on. Was she wearing a g-string, or no-string because he could clearly see the tattoo on her right cheek!!

I was more interested in Gideon sitting at the table beside us with his three friends. The waitress in white pants delivered two cottage pies - he started eating one and I wondered why his girl friend didn't start hers - had she been bought up to be polite and wait until everyone got their food - noooooo... when Gideon finished his first cottage pie he ate the second. He obviously had high energy levels as he looked fit.

We had a nice walk along the Avon and through the bush to the suspension bridge. Very high up and built and designed by this guy Brunel - finished in 1864 just after he died. Half way along the cliff is a 'cave' which we walked down some very narrow steps too through the rock face. Quite fascinating. The tide on the Avon drops 12 metres and the boats.

Anyway, meal times have bought us some amusement and horror. The first at YHA saw a young man abuse the kitchen staff for five minutes because there were no sausages. Just when we thought we might go to reception to get them some back up he decided to go down to reception to complain. It was quite awful to see. At our new bed and breakfast we watched a group of four young men ask for a full english breakfast toast, egg, sausage, bacon, baked beans etc etc. When it arrived one of them said he was a vegetarian!! and he wanted just eggs on toast - which he subsequently returned complaining they weren't cooked enough. Here we are good old kiwis simply grateful there is a breakfast in clean surroundings!!

The pictures below are of this seasons clothes - I mentioned that I did not think that they would be any good in Wellington winds - and dig the colours. I must admit there are a few other colours around and some really nice fashions but this reminded me of Stepford wives. the sheep below are for my sister Cheryl - she lives on a sheep farm in Eketehuna and I thought that Marty and her could make some similar ones for her garden. the toilet seat - I am not usually fascinated by toilet seats but I could not quite figure out the purpose of this one so thought others might have an idea.

we met up with Anne in the evening and wandered around looking for a pub to eat a latish dinner - 7.30 ish. they seem to stop serving meals on a Saturday night after 6.00 which us kiwis found quite amusing - we settled for fish and chips in a little takeaway which was fine.

We moved to the Youth Hostel today

Today we walked our bags across the cobbled stones and down by the floating harbour to the Youth Hostel - a far nicer place to stay. We are disappointed it is only for one night and when we come back in 3 days time we will be in dormitories. I am not surprised that it is booked well in advance. The place is spacious with a lot of lounges and chairs and we have room in our room to open our suitcases while we stand on the floor. Harry got quite excited with the space we have!! We went for a walk around the area and didn't see much that took our fancy except an electronic gadget that told us it is 204016 kms to the moon and as the earth rotated etc it became 204024. It was quite interesting to watch it change as it was quite quick.

We saw the first railway station built and designed by a guy called Brunel who is quite well known here. He was around in the 1800's and built the first station where trains could come and people could congregate and which had a domed roof - most other stations are apparently modelled on this one eg Paddington in London. It didn't look particularly fascinating but perhaps we were just a bit tired. We can't download our pictures on this pc so will try and again tomorrow night. The fashions this summer take us back to the 70's - dresses that drop from the shoulders (great in Wellington winds) and oranges and browns seem to be the main colours. So, when we load the photos you can see what you will be wearing next summer!!

Harry has sorted out the number plates on cars - there are a series of letter codes which indicate the year it was registered so that you can tell what year it was made. In 2000 the code was X and in 2001 the code was Y - so it must have started a number of years ago with the letter A and there doesn't seem to be Z. After that they either used 02 or 52 for cars made in 2002 etc. No wonder we were confused. We will be buying a car soon and the Toyota man is looking at a Nissan or Hyundai as they seem to be going for around £1000 and of course are small and economical. With the price of petrol at around 96p per litre (about $2.80 a litre in NZ terms - or something like that) we have decided that the travel around UK will be slow but cheaper.

Tomorrow, once we have moved our bags once again, we might go on a boat trip to see the canal and up to the suspension bridge which is also designed by this guy Brunel. He also designed the first passenger steamship which took immigrants to Australia and New Zealand in the 1800's - a clever guy.

There are a couple of little jobs going that we might also apply for to see us through until we find something a bit more up our alley. I must admit working doesn't really appeal just at the moment - we both seem to feel quite tired. If anyone is coming over from NZ (ie Jill and Graham, Jim and Margot) would you mind buying us some horse radish and garlic from the supermarket and we we'll pay you when you get here (or shout you a coffee instead - though I have given up on coffee until I can get to the coffee shops recommended by Frannie a long time resident of Bristol) - the shops here have a wide range of health products but not horse radish and garlic which is a pity because it is good for warding off colds and bugs.

It is another nice day and we might go for a walk along the river. Thanks for keeping in touch everyone.

Denise and Harry

Our Second Day in Bristol

Hi everyone

We feel as though we haven't seen a lot of Bristol yet. This morning we slept in - the first time we have woken up after 6.00 since we arrived. I am back to my usual pattern of 9.00 wake ups and think that I might be converting Harry to later mornings. Anyway, by the time we breakfasted on Special K, fruit and our free cups of tea it was about 11.00 and ready to start job hunting. Harry went on to the internet to find out lots about the vehicle inspection practices here and I went and enrolled with an agency across the road. There seem to be about 6 or so on the same road so it is a job hunters mecca. Anyway, there might be some temporary work with the Royal Bank of Scotland. To get a job, we need a permanent address and to get a permanent address we need a job. There is a ring about that and it reminds me of my favourite song 'All my life in circles' which may not be my favourite song anymore. Anyway, after a number of confused expressions on our faces and 'how can we do that' type questions we managed to get a waiver from that since we have just arrived in the UK.

Tomorrow we are going to a couple more agencies and also to get our National insurance number which you need to apply for before you get a job.

The recruitment agency was impressed that we had a letter from the bank saying we were good savers and spenders, a letter from our employers to say when we worked there, a bank account and a cv. So, all of you who have mentioned you might be coming over to work it was good advice that we got from others about being prepared with all the paper work.

We also started looking for a flat. Most flats seem really expensive to the unemployed and want someone who is employed. However, we rang someone who is interested in renting out a room in her house. She seemed really nice (Jane is her name) but we were a little bit concerned that we needed to go through a few rough areas to get to the house. The house itself is small but has a nice outside area for sunning ourselves and cooking barbeques. We met her Mum also who does not live far away. Anyway, Jane has just rung to say she would be interested in having us and so we will talk about it tonight and get back to her tomorrow. It's quite a big decision but we have no where else to go and flats by ourselves are more expensive by heaps. So, I am not sure if there is much decision at all. Besides the bank recommendation it was helpful to have photos of our house so that she could see that we looked after property o.k. The funny this is that because we are lodging, and won't have any businesses (eg electricity or phone) sending us mail we might not be able to move our cell phone off a prepaid onto a plan which is much cheaper. It also means we won't get a credit rating which means our credit card limit will stay small. (again another hint if you get HSBC account in NZ they automatically set you up with a credit card - otherwise it is impossible to get one in the UK).

We also learn't to navigate the bus system. Not that hard but it was £2.10 each way, double the price of travelling from London for a 30 minute bus trip. We also discovered after much waiting that the bus picked us up on the same side of the road to take us back into town. We were waiting on the other side of the road for a while!!

We had a pub meal - 2 meals for £5.95 at about 3.00 since breakfast was so late. The pub does a Sunday night curry with wine for a similar price so we might give it a go. We could cook here but the kitchen is always so busy and very hot and I think we feel a little bit lazy and on holiday. We are eating lots of fruit - yes there are pineapples and kiwifruit as well as the standard apples and bananas - yeh!!

Haz has a cold and so we are going to have a quick fruit salad for tea and then go to bed. After tomorrow job hunting stops for three days because it is May bank holiday and I think we will become tourists and see some of the sites. You should have seen Harry's eyes light up when he saw there was an aerospace museum and a big air show in July just outside Bristol. I guess I will be able to go just this once as there is a brass band/singing show at the end!!

Love to you all - we miss home already but keeping busy and thinking about jobs and flats helps. Take care and keep those emails coming.

Denise and Harry

Hi everyone

It is nice to hear that many of you are enjoying our blog. We are sitting in the Bristol backpackers and learning how to load in pictures. This is the one of Caramello in the aeroplane. You can see that he is still seaching for his friend on the map. As you can see we haven't quite worked out how to put the photos near the text yet, but we will sometime.

Our next photo is of the deck chairs in Kensington Park. I forgot to tell you about those yesterday. They are lots of them dotted around the park and you have to pay to sit on them. I guess it was a good idea for many of those who live around London in flats and don't have lots of outdoor furniture but to us kiwis it was quite funny and a bit sad. We were amazed to see that they were actually used.

Harry certainly had a lovely time in the park. Jet lag is still making us feel tired and as he slept comfortably in the sun (it was about 20+) I wandered around. The bird was so funny (last photo). He swam into the pond with his head lower than his body and his head got totally dunked. He then went and sat under the fountain drenching himself to the amusement of everyone around. He must have felt hot.

We are also getting used to new cell phones and enjoying texting some of you at home. When the text arrives at 2.00 in the morning I am afraid I just ignore it - at least it doesn't keep beeping like some of your phones!! Harry has worked out that our phones can "cohabit" - this means his phone can get into my contact list - can a girl ever have any secrets?????

Our bus trip to Bristol was long. We walked to Paddington Station to save the £2 tube fare - it took ages. The footpaths are so uneven and my suitcase wheels kept getting caught. We borrowed it from Mum so I don't think she will recognise it when she gets it back. We had some lovely people come and offer to help us down all the stairs at Paddington and Victoria stations, which was really nice of them. I was expecting the bus trip to be a bit like ours in NZ - picking people up at each town and taking forever. Instead we did not stop anywhere - 2 hours 30 mins on the M4 and grass, trees, lambs and horses is all we saw and of course trucks and more trucks and more trucks. It was a little bit like the Foxton Straits.

We are so over backpackers - and it is only night 4. They seem to have lots of stairs and narrow passageways and very small bedrooms where only one of us can stand up at a time when our bags are on the floor. Anyway, this one is quite pleasant with more utensils in the kitchen, a bit more order in the fridge (doesn't smell of mouldy food). The Milan and Liverpool game is on at the moment and there are obviously supporters on both sides here. Someone just got a goal!! can you hear the noise?

We wandered around the inland port and I can see why people think Bristol is like Wellington - there are no hills, but the character has similarities with the water and the shopping etc. We had a delightful cornish pastie for afternoon tea and then went and sat in the sun looking for jobs and places to live. We will start looking for an apartment tomorrow - and we are considering sharing a flat or boarding as it is quite expensive.

That's the day - off to bed.

Our last day in London

It is so great to get everyone's comments and emails. Thank you so much. Harry and I are both enjoying doing our blogs - quite an interesting experience writing it. When we are in Bristol we are going to have to sit down and learn how to load some photos in. We have quite a few already!!!

One of the good things about being here for a while is that we don't have a sense of urgency about seeing everything. So even though we walked heaps today we stopped for cups of teas, our picnic lunch of mandarins and muesli bars, and a sleep in the sun, and knew that we would be back another time to see all the other things we have missed.

Today, we woke up early 5.30 - most unlike me but I blame the jetlag and hope to return to normal soon. After breakfast (we supplemented the cornflakes with banana and yoghurt today) we went for a walk around Kensington Gardens, through the palace and through Hyde Park. Kensington palace was interesting - there were no hallways - one room, led to another to another and the bedrooms were like a big thoroughfare. Some of it was quite austere - and some massively ornate. Saw some great photos of Princess Diana. I have decided I need to look at the royal family tree as there seem to be so many kings and queens I haven't really ever heard of before. The apartment that Princess Margaret lived in didn't seem to have a kitchen or a bathroom - only big rooms. Lord Snowdon was quite a good photographer which I didn't realise.

We wandered through Hyde Park, dabbled our feet in the freezing cold water of Princess Diana's memorial fountain. I got told off by a guard for walking on the fountain when you weren't meant too. It is quite a cleverly designed fountain - and one I think that the Princess would approve of.
We couldn't go into the Princess Diana children's playground, as only adults accompanied by children are allowed to. There is a 30 minute timeslot before 9.30 where unaccompanied adults are allowed in. I can see why, but it is a bit sad.

A bit sad about the cutty sark on fire - they are pretty sure it is arson.

We saw squirrels - so tame that they were sitting on laps eating whatever they were given. There is a bird similar to a pukeko here - it doesn't have webbed feet but has a white crest on its head, rather than red. It is making its nest now in the water which is a bit surprising considering the time of the year - there are ducklings already swimming along happily.

The best part of the day was when we saw Michelle. She had changed her phone number, and we were having trouble getting in contact. We met at Paddington Station and it was lovely to catch up. She is working for a recruitment agency. She was saying how she got off the tube one night and bumped into Simon who was visiting a pub nearby - it was obviously meant to be.

Well, that is Harry and my news for the day. We are feeling quite tired after all that walking - I got a bit burnt - the good weather continues - similar to what we left in NZ.

We're in London

Well we arrived in London - very tired after a long trip. The flight went o.k. Saw some good movies. If you like the one's that I like you should look for The Painted Veil and the Freedom Writers at the cinema. Fascinating and thought provoking. Miss Potter was a bit disappointing.
We didn't get much sleep at all but the food wasn't too bad. We learnt how to raid the kitchen between meals and went for the shapes and shortbread.

We had an interesting time in LA. Got off the plane and stood for 60 odd minutes in a queue waiting to be fingerprinted and our retina's taken. After that we sat for 15 minutes in a small room and went back on the plane. Air New Zealand circulated water, biscuits and apples to keep their tired customers from wilting. The customs form asked us if we had been convicted for moral turpitude - we hadn't been convicted for anything so answered 'no'. Those standing in the queue didn't know what it meant either so I can show my ignorance to you all!! If you get to a dictionary before I do or know what it is it would be good to know. Sharon, Michael, Becks and Aaron gave me a little soft toy at the airport. We have decided to call him Caramello after the chocolate cos he is lots of different browns. Harry suggested Triple Deck but that name didn't appeal. Anyway, we took photos of him on the airplane and in the LA transit lounge and will post them as soon as we get to an internet cafe where we can download photos. He is very special already and walked around London today with us.

Today, we went and got our bank accounts. It was easy after setting them up in Wellington. No problems and they even ordered us a credit card. We then went to the medical insurance place and found it is hugely expensive to insure us - like £200 a month!!! Cell phones have also been bought and I insisted on a Nokia. I've sent Michael and Sharon a text to check it works in NZ and also Michelle hoping that we can see her before we leave.

Our back packers is clean, but small rooms and the kitchen has pots but no plates or cutlery. We met a guy who lives there and works there also and noticed that he cooked in the pots, using one fork that has crooked prongs. To get to our room you have to go up some stairs, down some stairs across an outside area that has been roofed, up some stairs and along a corridor. Breakfast was cornflakes, UHF milk, white toast and nutella or raspberry jam. we have bought some bananas and yoghurt for tomorrows breakfast as well. For tea we have had filled bread rolls so we don't have to cook. We have also bought our own cups so we can have a cup of tea.

We have noticed the incredible number of accents in our first day. Met our first New Zealander who recognised our accent and works on the underground. Also got a bit confused with the roads, as the lights don't make a noise when we are allowed to cross and we are day dreaming and sight seeing so often miss the lights.

We are staying in Westminster. Had a lovely walk along the canals, seen heaps of canal boats, and walked through little Venice. Very pretty area - expensive to live - lots of trees and pleasant to walk around.

Thank you for all your replies to our blog. It is a new experience but we will enjoy keeping in touch this way.

Last day in Wellington

I am in Wellington for the last day. I am sitting on the couch with Michael setting up my blog! Today we are going to watch the rugby with nanna and then come home to Michael and Bex's for afternoon tea. Sharon is busy studying and it is a great sunny day. Probably the last I will get in New Zealand for a long time!

I am feeling a little sad about leaving but generally very excited about my up and coming adventure. Be sure to check back to this blog when you can as I will be updating it regularly. It is much better than sending out mass emails! Please leave me comments too! I will look forward to hearing from all of you :-)

Stay safe and well wherever you are!