Last Day in Croydon

The day dawned reasonably fine again today for our little jaunt to Lingfield, Surrey where I wanted to visit the Craft Barn, a very good craft shop that I have visited before and bought things on line from. Spent a profitable half hour browsing there before finalising some purchases.
Carol had done some googling for somewhere to have lunch and we went to a little pub called The Old House at Home, just down the road from Lingfield. It was an old place and had just been taken over by a new leaseholder. The food was good - had a beefburger that was huge.
We drove back to Croydon and had a cup of tea before dropping Suzanne to the train station so she could go and stay with her friend for the night before we head up to Manchester. She has had a fun time at the Vicarage watching the foxes devouring the left over food and the squirrel chasing all over the lawn trying to find the food it had buried. There was a robin hopping around, some crows nesting in the tree and the ever present pigeons cooing all the time!



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Lunch in London

Suzanne and I went into London today to have lunch at Fifteen London. Fifteen is the restaurant set up by Jamie Oliver Foundation as a training restaurant for young people who want to develop a career in the food industry.
We took the train into Victoria then got the underground to Bloomsbury where I wanted to go to a stamp shop. Found some nice stamps and some cheap ink pads. Then we walked down towards Oxford Circus, looking at shops along the way. Took the underground to Old Street then walked along the road a bit till we found it.
Lunch was superb - had an entree of mozzarella and tomato salsa followed by a ragout for Suzanne and gnocchi for me. This was accompanied by wines selected by the sommelier (and very good choices they were too). We finished with desserts - sticky ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream for me and a chocolate brownie for Suzanne. We had port to finish off the meal.
After lunch, we staggered down to Regent St and visited several shops then back to Victoria to get then train back to East Croydon where we were picked up by David and Carol.
Lovely day out!



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Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was a special day - it was David's farewell service at St George's, Shirley, so it was great to be there to share in the events of the day.

A large number of people came to the service at which there was a presentation made to David and Carol by the parish. After the service, drinks and nibbles with a special cake made by one of the ladies in the parish. It had a special candle on it which, when lit, sent out a column of sparks which seemed to go on and on! Challenging to try to cut the cake while it was erupting!

The rest of the day was spent mainly eating and resting! Easter eggs and chocolates in abundance!



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Arrived in London

The flight from Hong Kong left on time. Because it was quite cloudy, there was not much of a view from the window. I had new seating companions - Tash and Roger who were returning to the UK after doing some business in Hong Kong. He is a designer for a shoe design company and she was working with him. They were very good company and chatted away quite a bit.

The food was very good and very plentiful! We were served lunch about an hour out from Hong Kong, then a few hours later, snacks of sandwiches, cakes, scones and hot cross buns and a couple of hours before landing, another meal was served. I couldn't eat another full meal and just snacked on the cold chicken that was the entree.

I watched a couple of movies - The Descendents and The Muppet Movie which I thought was not as good as the original one. Started watching The Actor but got bored with it after half an hour! Listened a bit to my iPod as there were no decent books to listen to on the audio system on the plane.

We crossed over China and I guess Mongolia - vast expanses of desert - very brown and hilly with very few settlements to be seen. As we crossed over Russia and Europe it was cloudy and nothing could be seen.

We arrived at Heathrow about 15 minutes early and did not have to circle for too long! Suzanne and I braced ourselves for a very long wait at Immigration, but, to our surprise, there was not a long queue for the foreign nationals entry when we got there (after trekking what seemed like miles!) and there were three desks operating. So we got through there in about 5 minutes. By the time we reached the luggage carousel, the bags were on the belt and when we eventually realised that someone had started taking off the priority luggage, we claimed our bags and walked out through customs.

David and Carol were waiting for us and were greeted enthusiastically! Suz bought a top up for her phone, but I was not able to get a sim card that had pre-loaded data plan. We were in the car and heading to Croydon within about 45 minutes of landing. Very pleased!

It took about and hour to get to the vicarage where Tom was waiting. He had come down from Newcastle for the weekend. Had a very welcome sup of tea then went down to Tesco to get a few groceries and try to get a sim card there - but they didn't have any with data plans either, so will try somewhere else when we get a chance.

By the time we got back it was about 7pm and we had a meal that Carol and Tom had prepared earlier. After another cup of tea, it was time for bed. We managed to stay up till nearly 10 so bed was a very welcome sight after 36 hours of travelling!!

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Hong Kong

Well, we arrived in Hong Kong safely and ahead of schedule even though we left Auckland a little late.

The flight was very good - hardly any bumping and good food as usual with Air New Zealand. However, I was so tired by the time dinner came around that I ate the entree and the dessert and was asleep by the time the mains came out. Didn't need it anyway!!!

We managed to get a bit of sleep through the night.




This is the sunrise, about an hour out from Hong Kong. It was very cloudy coming into the city and the cloud is still hanging around. Not too hot in the terminal - thank goodness.

Got into the Thai Airways lounge and had a shower which was very refreshing.

Suzanne and I are now just waiting for the boarding call in about half an hour. 13 hours flying time and we will be in London! Long day!

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On the way!

Arrived in Auckland after the first leg of the long journey to the UK. David, Galye, Eilidh and Roger were there at the airport in Christchurch to say farewell!
The flight from Christchurch left about 10 past 8 this evening and we arrived in Auckland about 9.15pm. Good flight but a little bumpy just as we were getting closer to Auckland.
Off the plane quickly as we were sitting in the front row seats. Quick transfer to the international terminal as the bus arrived just as we came out the door. Straight through immigration with electronic passports and no waiting at security, although I did have to go through twice as I forgot that my phone was in my pocket!!
Arrived at the Koru lounge after buying some new headphones in duty free and checked in. The lady asked if I had a guest - Suzanne was a bit miffed!!!
Settled down for a wait of about another hour before boarding. The rugby is on and can see it in the distance - the Reds are playing the Brumbies.



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Getting ready for a trip

Sitting in the garden enjoying the sunshine for perhaps the last day before Suzanne and I embark on a very quick trip to the UK.

Daylight saving finished last night so it was lighter this morning when we woke up, but it will be dark earlier this evening.




The grapes are ripening up nicely and will have to make the most of them this week as they will be finished by the time we get back at the end of April.

The family are coming round for lunch and an easter egg hunt today as we will be away for Easter. Lots of eggs to find in the garden - hope they haven't all melted in the sun!!

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