Update 10

Howdy all - Nature watch this time around comes complete with some
photies. We've had dramatic weather since the last update - two fine days
(the day I took the pics - Saturday, and today), the rest all wet and
cold. The snow on the mountain has doubled since Saturday with a bitterly
cold day yesterday. We've had solid fires for days now (Jacky is a wuss
with the cold as you all know and home all day with her sore shoulder and
with the fire stoked to the max). The other nature watch pic is of one
border to our place that is in bush with a river running through it - very
tranquil and a good place to relax and chill out. I jumped the fence and
did an explore on Saturday. If there's room I'll add a photo of the sheep
pens - Jacky and I drenched the sheep easy peesy with the race - last time
I jerry built a pen by holding some trellis and the sheep bolted over the
top of me (yeah - funny) so this was all a breeze in comparison.

Of late I've found myself missing England - just thought you'd like to
know. To borrow a phrase from About A Boy - this is 'The Warren Show' and
I don't often let you know how I'm feeling so here goes: I did really love
it there and I'm missing all sorts of things. People - Christine and the
rest of the kirkhams, my teacher friends, the football and the football
culture, the guardian, Fopp, the trains, jam sandwiches, the size, London,
the Houses, the weather (dark at 4pm is great!),
Leigh-on-sea, the BBC, Sainsbury's, radio 2, the food, the walks, the pub
lunches, the access to history...I could dribble on for a while longer but
you get the drift I'm sure. In essence I felt very much at home in the UK
but I'm not sure why this should hit me so badly now - we've been in NZ
for 17 months now. I did watch the Bill Bryson DVD - notes from a small
island again and that doesn't help - nor does obsessively watching About A
Boy, but there you go. The trouble is that those of you in the UK will be
going - what? Is he nuts.. it's paradise in NZ. But Keegan, Adam, Samantha
and Jade will, I think, agree with me that our experiences in the UK
indicated that NZ is very cut off - insulated as it is from the rest of
the world (the Finn's expression - tyranny of distance is apt), and small
in its outlook and feel. To me it feels like everybody knows everybody
else (especially in the education world). My melancholy mood at the moment
tips this into the 'this is a bad thing box'.

The European football season is pretty much done and dusted - Liverpool
and Arsenal fans (ie and Kirkhams and me) will be looking forward to
August. Rochdale continue to astound me - what a season. I'm not only
teaching a class this year (and loving it) but I'm coaching the boys'
soccer team as well - first game this Saturday against Hawera High School
- will keep you posted!!

Currently grooving to some Hard Fi and the Smiths and Tom's remix (good
company huh Tom).

Take care y'all - love and peace - W