You can't celebrate the future (Keith Richards)

Rovers' return (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 11 part 2)

Wozza and Fanfa, Disneyland 2017

So, here we are. Finally. In the present tense.

You find me and Jacky in Maungaturoto, a tiny little settlement north of Auckland - 'a real New Zealand town' of about 800 people.

Happily, we are remodelling our early twentieth century bungalow. I pootle off to work each day in Rapid Roy, my company supplied car, to lead the Westmount Kaipara campus. Jacky will start work at Whangarei hospital in due course.

I'm really enjoying both new threads in my new life.

The school is new - only about ten years old. It runs from Year 3 to Year 13 with 220 students and 30 staff. The philosophy of education is new, with a huge accent on self directed learning. It's a worldwide private school - built for Brethren families, and run in NZ from a central location in Auckland - it's one school but with 14 NZ campuses (of which Kaipara is the biggest).  

It's a friendly, vibrant, exciting, challenging place to work! A great place for me to regain my senior management skills. I'm rusty but getting there, bit by bit each day. The loads of experience I have gathered from all the places you've read about in these blog posts feels valuable again.

The house is old - originally built as a farm cottage, it was substantially added to after the second world war. One family has owned it for around fifty years. It has been a wrench for them to give it up and I can understand why. 

The bones of the house are fantastic. It reminds me of Ma's house that I loved so much as a child. One bedroom (that we've converted to a dining room) is spookily the same in look and feel.

Thirty children have been raised over the years in the house. It feels warm, cosy and well loved. 

We are lucky to have custody of it for a while. 

Oh, and more importantly, Grace (SWMBO's horse) seems to be well settled in her new home as well.

Contrary to what my Woodford House friends think, I sense we will be here for a long time. There is much to do in both the school and the house to make it feel like ours. 

I am busy and feeling appreciated. I am happy.

Love and peace - Wozza