Paekok Apr 20-26

It is now cold i.e. autumn proper, & Erola’s house has no heating apart from the wood-burner, which I am not allowed to light till 4 p.m. So we both stayed in bed Sunday morning, I read a complete book, fortunately I went to the library again last Friday. I think this is one reason Erola spends a lot of her free time in bed, it’s cheap!

Went to a barbecue at Gordon’s apartment in the city (Hilary’s ex, they are legally separated, but it’s all very amicable). All the family went, which was nice, it was sunny, but too cold to stand outside. The flat is lovely, it’s in Thorndon, the ‘posh’ part of downtown, just down the road from the Prime Minister’s residence. It is over 2 exclusive shops, so it is unique, it has high ceilings & elaborate cornices and ceiling roses, quite unusual for NZ, I think it is Victorian. It cost over 500,000NZD 2 years ago, which was expensive at the time, not sure how much profit he’d make now though. He has a mortgage, unlike my sister on her property, & is being affected by high interest rates, their mortgage rate is over 9% so think yourselves lucky!
Went back for coffee to Hilary’s and had a long chat about her thoughts on living in NZ & my experience so far. It is clear to me now that although Kiwis look like Europeans, and talk English, the culture is very different from ours. They also have a very different sense of humour (I think the English are more witty, the humour is more language based rather than slapstick). Kiwis have very little respect for authority, they consider themselves over-governed already apparently, but it is nothing like as bureaucratic as in the UK, a good thing! Huge generalisations of course, but they are pioneering in nature, and will do much more for themselves, it is a ‘can do’ society. I guess there is no veneer of sophistication at all, it’s all very down-to-earth. Just something we Brits have to get used to.
Monday was really the first cold day so far, see photo above for the change! The plan is to get my sister’s old gas heater from her son Adam’s flat next weekend & I can fill up the gas bottle & use that whenever I want to.
I went on the train to Wellington on Wednesday, to visit the Museum of City & Sea. It was such a beautiful day, in contrast to Monday, that I walked along the waterfront for a bit too. Lots of office workers were out, sitting everywhere & anywhere in order to take advantage of what might be one of the last warm days of Autumn. After all, it is nearly the end of ‘October’. The museum, though small, was very interesting, & I spent over 2 hours there, well worth a visit.
A couple of comments re the trains: they are a bit unreliable, the timetable doesn’t seem to have much relevance, BUT, car parking is free at all stations, they are relatively clean and they have a great system of ticketing which I don’t quite believe, all part of the NZ trust thing I suppose. You can buy tickets at the large stations, but otherwise there are conductors on the trains, who watch who gets on at every station & then go down the carriage asking who got on at the last one! It must be possible to travel without paying, particularly in busy times, but of course most people pay up. Also, I guess it would be possible to pay for a shorter journey than you intend to take, since the conductor can’t possibly remember where everyone is going to. The fares are not cheap though, so perhaps they allow for cheating.
The other thing I learnt this week was that brothels are legal in NZ. Gordon met the ‘madam’ of a famous one at a party he went to last week. Must cut out on quite a bit of crime I guess.
Friday was ANZAC day, a public holiday, a bit like Remembrance Sunday, but celebrated by lots more people here, a really big thing, it commemorates the NZ/Aussie action in Gallipolli in the First World War, when thousands died because of a mistake (by the British apparently) who gave them the wrong coordinates and they were simply mown down. Very sad, we watched a couple of films about it on TV, didn’t make the local parade because it was at 8.30! Went for a walk later, see the ‘wood’ photo above, very clever to stack it like that, practically a sculpture, but it will get wet!
In the evening Hilary, Adam & I went to an improvisation show by the ‘Improv Divas’ in BATS Theatre in WLG, which wasn’t very funny unfortunately, part of the Comedy festival taking place here now. Apart from the one American girl comedian, they weren’t quick enough to pick up on each other’s ideas, a bit of a problem! We have booked another show next weekend with 3 lady comedians, not the same ones, so hope it is better. WLG is really buzzy at night though, it’s a great place.

Paekok Apr13-19

Hilary came for dinner on Sunday so we could plan our holiday in South Island in May. I was hoping to meet up with my friend Viji, who is coming to Queenstown in May, but unfortunately Hilary couldn’t get the leave at quite the right time, so we will miss each other. We are flying to Christchurch, & then driving via Lake Tekapo to Queenstown, then to Te Anau so we can go to Milford Sound, where Hilary has never been. Apparently it is beautiful if you manage to see it, the weather is often bad so you can’t! I cooked roast chicken but it took much longer than I expected, Erola hasn’t got a fan oven & I forget how much that quickens things up, must make sure to specify one!
Had my hair cut in Raumati Beach on Monday, at a hairdresser recommended by Erola, cost $48 for a cut & blow dry, so that at least is much cheaper than UK. Also, you don’t tip over here, not even in restaurants, so that makes it cheaper too. I am going to have it coloured once we’re back from the holiday, last time it cost $85 so I suppose it will be similar. Worth doing when I’m here!
Erola pulled a muscle in her back on Tuesday, & came home from work early. Unfortunately she had a benign tumour in her back a couple of years ago which meant she had to have spinal surgery and of course is worried now if she does anything connected with her back. However, she has just had a follow-up MRI scan and there were no problems, so I think she is really OK.

I had to go to Porirua Wed, which is almost as far as Tawa, where Hilary lives, so I went there for the evening, because I wanted to look at lighting and at storage areas. I have decided to store the car, filled with all my other bits & pieces, so I have to find somewhere suitable. There is lots of self-storage around, but they don’t all have facilities for cars inside, which is what I want.
Finally heard from Wayne, the builder, who is now saying that I can’t really put off the build until November, it will have to be Sept/Oct start if I want to avoid any price rise. It is ironic that house prices are falling, at the same time as building costs are increasing. I think October will probably be OK, but I really do need to know the timeline. I have no idea how long the period is between laying foundation & the point at which I have to make final decisions re lighting, position of electrical sockets etc. That is when I really need to be back.
On Saturday it was of course the coldest & wettest day of the year so far, when we had to store the cord of wood which was delivered at 9.30. It was hailing when I went to collect my nephew Adam from the station, definitely not a good day to be doing such a task. Erola was fortunately well enough to stand in the storage area underneath the house & do the stacking, while Adam & I carried the wood from in front of the garage, through it, & then out the back of it & below. We got soaked & cold & I’m now aching all over, remind me not to do this again!
There was a spectacular sunset in the evening, there often are here, but they disappear so fast it is hard to run down to the beach & get a photo in time, but see above.

We went to a local amateur theatre production of Roger Hall’s ‘Middle-Age Spread’ which wasn’t very good, unfortunately the 2 lead players were very wooden. It was a different kind of theatre trip for me, in that the audience sat at tables and you could bring your own drinks, not uncommon here apparently and a nice way to do things.

Paekok April 6-12

Spent Sunday morning trying to remove various bits & pieces from Hilary’s PC. Decided that a possible career is training to fix home PCs, such a lot of people seem to have problems. Will investigate courses available here, & definitely back at home if I haven’t managed to find anything. This would be something I could do as many hours or as few as I wanted to, in both countries actually!
Got home to find that Erola hadn’t done anything on Saturday night, later she told me she cried because she is missing her son so much. She is a single mother of long-standing, her son is half Maori, she left his Dad as soon as she discovered that his family wanted to take him & bring him up. It is very common to have a large family group where the children are ‘communal’, Erola did not want this for her son. Consequently he became her focus for 20 years, & I gather this is where all her money has gone. He is now a professional hip-hop/tap dancer, very successfully, now in Australia but about to go on tour in a troupe called ‘Raw Metal’ to multiple countries. She has a flight booked to go & see him in Sydney in October, but it looks like he will be in Western Australia at the time! I’ve told her that sons seem to be very bad at keeping in touch, my own is an example, but she is upset that he doesn’t phone or e-mail very often.
Had my first example of Kiwi rudeness on Monday, which I had heard about but hadn’t encountered. Phoned Wayne to find out what was happening re the house plans, discovered that the detail hasn’t been started yet because my house is in a wind zone off the scale, which means extra strengthening in the roof is required plus other stuff & he has yet to discover what the cost will be. Also the earthworks guy is concerned that he may have to excavate ‘blue rock’ to flatten my section, & will require special machinery to do that! Oh well, nobody said this was easy! Over the weekend, because it has turned much colder, decided that a fire in the lounge is a necessity. We had proposed a heat-pump in the open-plan family/dining/kitchen area, but it won’t heat the lounge, which is separate. Went to a place in Paraparam where the lady only wanted to sell me a wood-burner, though they advertised gas fires, & then gave me a lecture, very rudely, on how her grandparents had been pioneers & had to chase chickens if they wanted to eat, so why was I such a wimp that I wanted a) a heat pump, which wouldn’t work in a power cut, & b) a second form of heating too when it didn’t get cold in NZ! Not the way to sell anything! Fortunately I then found a lovely (English!) couple running another place who were only too pleased to help, & in fact I have almost decided on a very expensive through wall fire which will heat both areas I hope, & then I only need a very small heat pump for the bedrooms.
I decided on Thursday that it made sense, if possible, to delay the start of the build until I can get back next Jan i.e. I leave as planned on July 19, or earlier if there is any chance of a contract back at Avis starting July. Contacted Wayne & he said an Oct/Nov start would be OK, in fact I think he’d much prefer it, because it takes the pressure off. This would still be OK, because, provided everything is absolutely clear in the plans, it will only be up till at most the roof by the time I get back. Have decided that this is the way to go. Contacted Denise & Aileen re possible work back at Avis, if not available then I hope I can get a job in Emma’s call centre maybe, I’m sure I’ll find something for the 6 months to help with the finances.
Erola went to the same play as we did on Saturday, courtesy of her friend Judith, a dance teacher, who came for dinner before they went off. Erola has a ‘bar’ on her phone to prevent calls other than to Wellington, which is unfortunate. It is my grand-daughter Elisha’s birthday today (12th) but I used my mobile instead at great expense.

Paekok Mar 30-Apr 5

Went to Vicki’s again Sun evening, for another film of the Maharaji talking, interesting but not really for me at this point I think. No meal there this time, so we entertained Ingrid & Dave to Erola’s special sausage curry, sounds awful but is very good, followed by the remains of the lemon ginger cake she made at Easter. Entertaining here is certainly much more informal & seems to be very last minute, not what I’m used to at all.
Picked up the car (see above) which passed the inspection, discovered that the salesman has a half-Maori wife & their child is in a ‘total immersion’ primary school i.e. Maori language only, but they speak English at home. So you can see this may be the shape of things to come. Though apparently as yet there are no Intermediate schools which are Maori only, I believe this is age 9-12 approx.
Drove into the city to get some cheap duvet sets from a temporary outlet centre. There is not much traffic at all in the centre, not like any other capital city I have ever visited! It is very windy today but very sunny & bright, so walked along the beach again.
Took my rental car back Wednesday, was concerned because the windscreen had been chipped when I drove up the highway thru Mackay’s Crossing, the re-surfacing of which is a very sore point hereabouts, it has taken 2 goes & it’s still not right, while causing utter chaos. No problem with getting half my money back, given I was no longer renting long term. & no excess charged either thank goodness. It was another very bright day, but for the first time since I arrived really quite cold at night, below 10 & of course no heating! We are ordering a ‘cord’ of wood for Saturday week, for the wood-burner, which is the only form of heating here. There is a gas fire which I can use during the day, because then I can pay for it myself by just getting the bottle re-filled when necessary.
April 3 is my grandson Charlie’s birthday, so sent him an e-card & tried to phone home, but had to be content with text to Emma since they were all out with my ex. Have sent a card & cheque by post, but don’t expect it got there in time, the post does not seem very reliable. It was an absolutely beautiful day, bright blue skies & I could see South Is really clearly. Went for a walk up the Coastal Path to a beach half-way between here & Raumati, I will pay for it on Saturday I think!
Friday I joined the local library since I am doing a lot of reading. Discovered that the books are generally in much poorer condition than in the UK, I guess it’s money again. Also the fiction was only classified by author, which I am not used to, so it made finding something a little more difficult. Went to the local re-cycling centre, Kiwis generally are not very good about this, whatever they say, and as in the UK local authorities differ widely. Only newspapers are collected here in Kapiti Coast, all plastic, tins, bottles etc have to be done by the individual, which I guess makes them less careful. Also, they have to PAY to dump stuff at the local dump! Unfortunately this means that some people dump stuff by the re-cycling bins instead, not very friendly.
Saturday was a busy day, went to the Sustainable Home & Garden Show in Paraparam, got some info about solar heating & also about storing rainwater in a tank underneath the house, garage or deck, which is then used for the wasing machine & to flush the loos, may pursue this! Have to decide immediately, cos believe detailed house plans should be available Monday, and I’ll have to make any necessary changes then.
In the evening, went with Hilary & her friend VM (Verena Mary) to see Roger Hall’s play ‘Who wants to be 100?’ which was very funny but also rather sad. Hilary used to work as an administrator in a retirement home & she said that a lot of it was very true to life. I really do not want to end up in one! Stayed the night with Hilary, we finished off a bottle of wine & reminisced about our childhood in Exeter, she has a much better memory than me.