The first two days after returning from NZ went o.k. a bit jet lagged I managed to crawl out of bed and get to work on time and achieve quite a bit so it was all good. We did manage to see Les Miserables and although I couldn't fault the performance I think I would have preferred a story that lifted my spirits given the events of the last few weeks. Then I started to feel a bit unwell (at 3.45 on Wednesday I got a sore throat while sitting at my computer writing a paper) and have spent four days in bed feeling very sorry for myself. I have been generous Harry is now beginning to feel that sore throat coming on. However, it wasn't a bad time to be sick because Le Tour de France and the golf open at St Andrews were on - I got hooked on the cycling. Saturday it was another air show and I left Harry to drive off down the motorway at 7.00 on a Saturday morning while I continued my snooze in bed. No doubt there will be more aeroplane photos (2000 over the last two weeks isn't quite enough is it?) but I was glad I decided on a slower start to the day. 11.00 I opened my eyes, had breakfast and then went for a long walk around Redland - a suburb not far from here. Previously we had only cycled or driven through it and it isn't quite the same because you don't have time to look into gardens, over school gates, through hedges to see people playing cricket and bowls and so on. I found a nice park which I sat in for a while watching children and their parents buying treats from the ice cream van and then walking back to the play area. I felt better than I had done in days.
The week has had some highlights ... Sharon and Aaron moved into their new home in Mount Vic, and Mike and Rebecca got engaged in Sydney. No photos of the new home, but here is one of Rebecca being swept off her feet in the North Sydney park. I felt excited (quite tearful actually) and couldn't resist showing some of my workmates how 'they do things in the southern hemisphere'. I'll update the photos when I get more. Mum is also doing well which is great to hear - it would be nice to be a bit closer but I am sending her lots of letters so she knows we are thinking of her heaps.
On Sunday afternoon we took a drive to Painswick Rococo garden. It was built around 1730 by Charles Hyett who decided to take his asthma to the country in the hope of getting better. He named his house 'Buenos Ayres' - not sure if he had been to Argentina - but I think he might have as it seems that even now this city has little air pollution from spring to autumn because it is on the flat and away from the mountains. But winter is a different story - and I guess Mr Hyett knowing the English climatic conditions probably stayed inside during winter so it didn't matter. Unfortunately the name of the house didn't help much and Charles didn't have enough time to finish his garden but his son Benjamin did. Since then it has had long periods of 'natural growth' which led to an overgrown jungle and if it wasnt for a painting of the garden in 1748 by Thomas Robins the original layout and planting would have been lost with the weeds. In 1970 or so Garden Historians began to restore the garden to its glamorous past where frivolous garden parties were held - ie the Rococo period. We enjoyed wandering around the garden - lots of lavendars, holly hocks, thistles, water lillies, sunflowers, veges, apple and pear trees and flowers I couldn't name. What's more we enjoyed the second wander around when I discovered during our picnic I had left my camera case somewhere along the way.
And just a little story I read about this week. In Christchurch six little kune kune piglets were born to proud parents Hercules and Minnie. For some reason which I am not sure of I quite like kune kunes - probably because they are rare, fat and have a cute smile. Did you know they can be toilet trained – so when we get back to NZ perhaps I could have two as pets.
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