Kiwiagogoland

8.45am... Got a call from the windscreen company. The stock item windscreen, that needed to be measured up - has come in broken, so it won't be fitted now until next Wednesday.

2pm... The mobile rang again "I'll be there in 20 mins", declared the man at the other end. He was and he was busy cleaning and polishing the glass as I arrived with the keys.... Just a shame about the 95mm x 4mm gouge across the middle of the screen! Rescheduled for Friday this week.

3.30pm... Man called again to say will he will be there to fit another windscreen at home, just after 5pm tonight.

6pm... Man arrives and finally fits windscreen. He should have finished his shift at 5pm, but fair play to him, he came out and completed my window, finally finishing at 7pm.

This weekend is a busy one. Not only is Nicki working her first weekend, but she also finds herself on night call for the first time. Normally both events are separate, but with Christmas coming she has the short straw, but at least it gets it over and done with. Talking of Christmas, this weekend is my work Christmas meal. We are both invited to the Rossendale Restaurant and Winery for what promises to be a pleasant evening.

Next weekend is Georgia's Birthday weekend, so we are hoping to organise something special for that. It also sees us all invited to our first ever "Block Party". It's being organised by George (our 'neighbor' from over the road) and is an opportunity to meet the new neighbours. The girls have to take a plate, the gents a bottle, whilst the kids have to take their "togs" to enjoy some Spa time. Sounds like fun to me :)

Much is being made of last weekends rugby results and many feel the the impressive displays are due to controversies surrounding the pre match Haka, which apparently made all the difference.

The Rugby League World Cup win, New Zealands first, was made all the more sweet, due to the fact that we beat the Aussies on their own soil in the final to take the trophy. It was the biggest upset in years and NZ had lost heavily in the same match weeks prior during the group stages. The Kangaroos had advanced arm in arm towards the Kiwis during the Haka, coming within touching distance, in a show of defiance.

Meanwhile, in Rugby Union, the Welsh thought they had come up with a cunning plan to un-nerve the All Blacks. The tradition is that the players will not turn away until after the opposition players move to take up their positions. However, the Welsh coach (a former AB) knew this and told his captain to stand his ground. The inevitable and seemingly controversial standoff ensued, finishing only after the referee had to man handle to captains away, some 2 and a half minutes later.

The British press, who for some reason see the Haka as merely pre-match entertainment, are now likening the All Black embellishments to that of a tribal war dance...... erm, that's EXACTLY what it is! Sure, Kapa o Pango (which was composed for the New Zealand Rugby Union a couple of years ago) lacks momentum and is longer than the original Haka, Te Rauparaha's, but the meaning is the same - its a challenge to the opposition.

This all leads to Kiwi's claiming that there is now a lack of respect for their culture, but the Haka's overuse by all sports teams (it was used at the Olympics) is being identified as the cause of the new disrespect. Basically the novelty and entertainment value for opposing teams (and their supporters) is wearing thin. If the practice of the Haka is not moderated, there is likely to be increasing disrespect. And, as the editorial in this weeks New Zealand Herald says, The Haka is too important to risk that.

Anyway, neither response was enough to stand in the way of either Kiwi team, as the AB's now look set for a Grand Slam, the only team in their way? ...... England!

When I took out my car insurance, I was really surprised to hear that the windscreen excess was nil. You can make as many claims as required and it has no affect on your policy or NCB. This week, I think I've discovered why.

I found a small chip in the black band of the window under the wiper, but I was safe in the knowledge that a quick call to Smith & Smith (who are part of the same group as Auto Windscreens) would fix the problem. The guy came out and tried to fix it but during the process of drilling a hole for the resin, transformed it from a 10C chip to a $2 chip (1p to 2quid). He wasn't happy, but we agreed to suck it and see. Despite this, he decided to take a measurement of the glass anyway, just in case (his book didn't have the sizes for an 08 Fiesta, despite telling me it was a stock item prior to starting the work).

At this point he attempted to lift the rubbers using a screwdriver and wondered why the edge of the screen chipped, creating a crack across the windscreen. He fobbed it off with a comment about not being happy with it anyway, but proceeded to get his proper "rubber lifting tool" from out of the van to complete the process.

He is due out on Thursday (7 days after the event) to fit a new windscreen.....

 Yesterday afternoon was time for our first full-on Sunday roast since moving to Rolleston. We decided to be adventerous and go for it on the barbeque. So roast beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and pepper sauce all made their way to the outside "oven". It worked well, expecially the Yorkshires!

For pudding, it was the turn of the kids. BBQ'd banana and chocolate fritters and pineapple. Abi made the most of the excess chocolate as you will see in the family album.

 We decided to take a trip out to Diamond Harbour this afternoon. I would have pictures, but I managed to forget my camera, so you can take a look at our route instead. You can find the location directly at Google Maps The cliff track was just that, a track. It provided some great views across the harbour to Lyttelton, but it was not for the feint hearted! Back onto stable land, we made to the only cafe/shop we could find for some lunch, before taking the road back through to Governors Bay and home.

On the hunt for free entertainment this weekend, we decided to take a look at the first ever public Diwali celebrations in Christchurch. Held in the square, there were about 200 people present. The food on offer, although overpriced was good, but that's about all that can be said for it. Still, the kids enjoyed the trip out and the highlight of the day was when Nicki saw us on the live webam, which can be found at Cathedral Cam (its not on the BNZ building anymore).

 This was one of those times that you heard the storm coming before it got here. Not because of any thunder or anthing, but because of the noise of the hail bouncing off the tin roof's as it made its way up the road! The stones were upto 10mm in diameter - the large one pictured was 9mm - and its certainly the largest hail I've seen. Needless to say, the kids thought it was awesome, eh!

 We took advantage of a charity day today, to get down onto the Avon for some punting. Abi was at a friends house, so the four of us took a walk through the botanical gardens to the Antigua Boat Sheds, for a 20 minute trip up river. I have to say it was very relaxing and great to get on the water during such a warm day. I've changed the way we get pictures to the blog, so clicking on the image will take you to the gallery to see the rest of the days pics. The ones of us can be found on the family link if you have it ;)

Those of you who avidly read the blog will notice that Georgia has a tidy room (see Rolly House) and you will also have noticed that she has not texted recently (because she has lost her phone).

Anyway, don't tell anyone....but I've found it......under her bed ;)
Shhhh! Don't tell her ;)

 A gloriously sunny day gave way to bitterly cold winds on a night that would have benefitted from the heat of a bonfire. Nicki and I completed our stints with the PTA and I think its safe to say we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, even if we were in need of a warm coffee and hotdog by the end of our allotted times. Georgia disappeard for a time with some school friends and the fireworks, set to music were well worth the $5 family entrance fee. Some hand held pictures of the fireworks themseves can be found in the Fireworks Night Album. It also raised a fantastic amount for the school as they had a stall next to the other fair ground rides (think carnival or large village fete) and were allowed to use council land to turn into a carpark at $2 a shot.

 At last the long awaited pictures of the house at Rolleston (that we have just moved into) make it into the Family Gallery section. It really is nice to live here. 4 Bedrooms (to keep our promise to the kids), plenty of space and an all important northerly aspect for solar heating and light. Its very modern and clean, having been built in January of 2007. The pictures show pretty much every room. The showers are big enough for 2 and according to Nicki the bath is wonderful as its deep enough to sink into, after a full days work.

PS to avoid confusion the number I texted to people is not a new mobile - its the landline number!

We now have a broadband connection at the new house. As soon as I have sorted out a few more boxes, I can get on with my list of internet based jobs. However, we now all have better access to email and messaging. This of course also means we have a landline number. I've sent out the number via text to a few people, but if you would like to give us a ring, then drop me an email for the details.

Nothing unusual there you may think, but its causing a bit of a stir with the locals as its nearly summer here! Some snow flurries for us in Rolleston this morning, but a few areas around and about have a thin blanket covering. Temperatures are set to drop to -2C tonight, but that will give us clear sunny days over the weekend. This is good news for us as it keeps us warm indoors. Solar heating through double glazed windows is very efficient here and an hours sunshine will heat the house for the rest of the day. You can keep up to date with local variations of weather at NZ Weather

With Christmas and Birthdays coming up, a number of you have enquired about banking for the kids. They now all have pocket money accounts, but you should be aware that they will incur a $20 service fee for international money credits. Times that by 3 and its $60 from any money you send out.

My suggestion would be to transfer it into either Nicki's or my account so that only one transaction fee is incurred this end. We can then transfer it across electronically for free. Whether you get charged a fee by your bank, depends on which bank you use!.

An better alternative would be to use a service like Western Union Money Transfer. Whether you decide to send it one lump or 3 depends on you, as all the transaction fees are incurred by the sender.

Cheques....if you send a cheque in Sterling, the kids will be charged an international transfer fee. If you send it in NZ Dollars, there would be no transaction fee this end, but your bank may charge you for this service.

Today is bonfire night and we have a community fireworks display to go to on Saturday. Already the local school has us working on the PTA stall and car parking.

There is a total lack of fireworks being let off on the run up to the day, primarily due to restrictions on sale. Only very few places actually sell fireworks, and they can only do so for 3 days. The system works really well and so far seems to ensure everyone goes to organised displays. I was wondering if we would get the odd rogue home display today, but with high winds and rain forecast, it may be more of a wash out. Still, its looking good for the weekend!

I know, I know, I promised photos. As well as being really busy at work, its been incredibly busy with the move to Rolleston and cleaning out the house at Lincoln, so some things have been put on the back burner, sorry about that.

I mentioned the phone has been connected. If only broadband was as simple! I am trying to setup a package through work, but the customer service of the company is appaling and the packages have changed from the info I was given to base my initial decision on. They now only bundle with phone services too and having just connected to Telecom it means I need to look elsewhere. This also limits my options with other providers, due to the Telecom account. I do hope to have something in by the weekend though.

Boxes .....bloody things are everywhere. The furniture was great and it looked like we got a lot done on day 1, but the boxes seem to be taking ages to unpack - well 2 days anyway, so far ;) The lounge (media room) is done, but the rest is still subject to boxes - lol.

Plugs .... We were advised to cut them off before leaving and I'm so glad I didn't! As a result we are not too bad at the moment as I have used 4 and 8 block extensions from the UK with NZ adapters for main plug, so we are getting round that. Having changed 22 100 watt light bulbs around the house for 13 watt energy efficient ones, changing 50 or so plugs doesn't rank high on the list yet ;)

TV's.....1 half works - the LCD has sound and vision to terrestrial channels. It can pick up the freeview but with no sound and picture. The other 3 CRT TV's for the kids room's have pictures but do not have sound - so they are only good for the DVD's and games consoles atm.

Speak to you all soon