September Photos

Just a few more photos ... because

Also didn't mention that the pod looking thing that Joseph and Maddy are sitting in in the previous post is a simulator at the Science Museum, they went into it and I thought it would be a nice little ride (not being one for such things myself) and when the door shut and it started up - well it was more a rollercoster on wheels ... yikes I had to stop looking as I could only imagine what was happening inside by the look of outside :) After going to get a coffee and finding they did not have skim milk for my latte I wondered back and what seemed like a very long time it stopped - they both got out a bit wobbly but smiling, loved it. On the coffee thing, I am getting very used to spending around 2 pound on a coffee, seems reasonable to me now and especially now that the exchange rate is so much better for us it is only around 4.50NZ, not the original $6.

After the supermarket yesterday I still think that we are pretty much the same in costs, but I think have lost the ability to calculate any more which is great thing - when you wonder around and see things for 1 pound you think great, not now what would that be in NZ if I tripled it. Milk and bread are very noticeable with the cheapest bread being around 90p, cheese is prob cheaper in NZ still and totally away from that PETROL - we think in NZ it is expensive, here is anything from 1.20-1.30pound so try that times 2 1/2 per litre, around NZ3.50 per litre and going up.

Friday is a teacher only day (did I say that earlier) and we are going to hang around home, probably head to Cardiff for a big craft expo and also go and look at the new John Lewis which has opened there - apparently the biggest one, its a great store. http://www.johnlewiscardiff.com/en-gb/ check out the Joseph Joseph kitchenware if you can find it there - awsome stuff and definately going to get some.

Anyway photos, again self explanatory. The one of the great glass pod of the London Eye - a sign on the door saying not to lean on it - now who needs a sign to tell them that after seeing it is only closed by what is essentially a large latch ...

A September weekend in London

We came back last night from a great weekend in London, left Newport on Saturday morning and from there we headed straight to the Musuem of Natural History - what an amazing place, so much to see and do and of course the building is just the place to house it all. The day was really hot so a shame to spend it inside but too much to do. From there we went to the Science Museum, which we felt was not as impressive but still wonderful to see - heaps to do and you can loose yourself for hours in both.

Moving on from there had pre-booked tickets to Madam Tussauds, which is a great idea to do as not only cheaper (and combined with the London Eye) but also you get to bypass the lines and go in. Maddy unfortunately was not feeling great and this being her "must do" thing in London would not admit to being unwell despite looking very white and not even wanting ice cream to try and cool her down, so with her perserverance we went in and after about 20 minutes inside she picked up thankfully and her stomach settled. We had a great time in there and because of the missed bits at the beginning we went through it all a second time, which actually was a great thing to do as it was about 5.30pm by then and the place was relatively quiet from earlier. Maddy and Joseph had a blast and enjoyed it so much. Lots of photos above all of which I am sure you can recognise. Joseph and the amazing pose and sparkles - you know the one is awsome.

From there we headed to the Premier Inn (great places by the way) in Hampstead on the tube after stopping at Kings Cross Station for some dinner - heaps of choices there, great place to stay and not far from the centre. Had a good night and got up early to decide on breakfast, normally we wouldn't bother eating in but they have a great deal where for 7.50 you can eat all you want and what made it worth it was that the kids eat all they want for free, now I don't eat breakfast so it was just How and the kids eating, and it was actually about the best they could have had - everything from cooked, cereals, fruit, yoghurts, muffins and more ... and I got to have my coffee as they said to just go ahead and have coffee only :)

Enough of breakfast, from there we headed straight to the London Eye - after a quick 4D movie which almost put me off getting on (its damn high and they kept talking about it), we headed over to it - queues not too bad this time, well I did get on as did we all and it was actually really fantastic, took heaps of photos and made it around the whole thing quite happily. Maddy was more keen to look down and keep reminding everyone how high we were and "we're right at the top now, wow its high" kind of stuff ... me and Joseph were kind of yeah OK leave us alone we're here aren't we. But it was great I have to say.

We left that (only about 1/2 ride) and walked over to Trafalgar Square where to go to the National Gallery, stopped to watch some of a concert going on then headed into the gallery. This time went to a quite a few rooms we had not seen the first time, including Rembrandt and a few others - still amazing art to see. Next door into the Portrait Gallery, art of everyone from tudors to those still with us, we are now very cultured and nonchalant about the next Picasso or Monet we will see ... look out Italy and Paris - more art.

We then headed onto the tube to Regent Street which had been closed off to traffic for a carnival that was going on, appeared to be just closing the street off and a lot of people and a few carnival things going on - but huge screens placed down the centre of the street playing the concert we had just seen in Trafalgar Square - good atmosphere. Stopped into Hamleys where Maddy chose some clothes from Build-a-Bear she had wanted to get. Had a look around and then headed back to Paddington for the train back to Newport - missed it by about 3 minutes thanks to the lady in M&S food where I was finally getting some lunch and she messed up the change and had to get her supervisor to sort it out. Got the next one an hour later!

The kids went off to school this morning tired but happy, this Friday is a teacher training day or teaching only day, not sure what it is called here so they have the day off - long weekend but probably stay closer to home as we are away the weekend after in Fishguard (Wales) and then Montpellier, then Italy so need some quieter times and to save up the dollars to spend wisely in Europe.

Well going to add the photos now, there are alot and not in any particular order but you will get the idea I am sure :)

Levi Roots

this is joe posting

last weekend we went to the abergavenny food festival

during the food festival I got to see Levi Roots for the people that dont know he is a cook and became famous because of Dragons Den and he won with regae regae sauce which is really nice and it sells more than tomato sauce in the uk .It was cool seeing him and i got a photo with him as you can see.The video you just watched or are about to watch was the song he sung on dragons den that helped him win the show

i might post another time soon

Day 2 Photos of festival

Abergavenny Food Festival

Well the weekend was spent mostly at the food festival, the weather was fantastic for the event and lots to do and see and eat .... Check out the first batch of photos, will add some more later taken on the second day. Josephs highlight was .... I will let him tell you about that one later but he has just left for school. The kids went to a cooking academy and baked some Welsh Pancakes, which basically are just another name for Pikelets, or drop scones as they are also called here. Also got to paint up their own cotton aprons with fabric paint. Check out the website over time as well as Maddy ended up in a couple of official photos that they said could be on the website or next years advertising, one cooking and a group shot of all that group (Sundays group where Joseph did not go in) and individually and also with a huge ball of candyfloss. They cooked fish cakes on Sunday, not sure Maddy was so keen to eat those though. http://www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com/

Most of the activities and kids things were in the castle, which I will add some photos later (need batteries for the camera) - this is a ruin of a castle.

This weekend we are heading to London for 2 days, going on Saturday morning and coming back on Sunday evening, last visit before we leave so make the most of it and see as much as possible. Want to go back to the museum and gallery, as well as science museum, madam tussauds etc.

But back to the festival, there were a lot of TV and book chefs around on both days, if you have read 'The Man who Ate the World' he was there and How got his autographs as has the book (I gave it to him for Xmas), also Great British Menu chefs and other TV ones, two of who we went to a talk Shaun Hill and Stephen Terry - first who owns a local restaurant and appeared so far twice on GBM (winning last year) and the other from TV but now owns the Walnut Tree restaurant here. http://thewalnuttreeinn.com/ and http://www.thehardwick.co.uk/ you probably won't be bothered looking but good for remembering.

So now to some photos, above are a mix from around the first day.

Hi Mum

Hi Mum, just a quick note to say hi, love you and miss you - hope your day was OK, as you can see we have been doing heaps and seeing heaps.

hi nana from maddy and joseph

Ooh Lah Lah - Onion Plaiting

With just under a month until we head to France, Prue got into the cultural immersion when Jan our neighbour asked her to have a go at creating onion plaits from the bumper harvest that she and Grenville have grown.

Despite no previous experience Prue decided, why not!

Not quite like plaiting Maddy's hair, but following the same principle Prue gave it a go. After starting with the smaller shallots, she eventually graduated to the large white onions which now hang in all there glory to starve of the cold of the winter months.

Enjoy the photos of this fun activity.

But the jobs not done yet, after a weekend at the Abergavenny Food Festival the ladies will be back to finish the job on Monday.

Only 63 more to go!

Merci

Dw i'n byw yn Wales

We do live near some much bigger towns like Monmouth, Abergavenny, Cwmbran (biggest area and where we go to supermarket), Newport (main city). Caerleon where Joseph and Maddy go to school is about 20 minutes away by car, they catch the bus, this is a smaller village but has a very good school and if part of Newport, from there we can also get to Cwmbran (a triangle from here) on the A4 roads. Newport is the main railway station and city, not a popular place to be I have heard. We are also very close to Cardiff, Bristol and Bath - Cardiff being about a 1/2 train journey from Cwmbran, Bath and Bristol about an hour so easy day trips in and out. The first 4 photos are in Monmouth, the first being Maddy in the main street and the rest by the Monnow Bridge - the entrance into and out of the town, when first here 5 or so years ago this was still used and we drove through it, but now it appears to be closed off to traffic.

The last photo is of one of the many roundabouts we drive through to get places (12 or so to get to Cwmbran alone), seriously in front of the police car that small forest is the middle of the roundabout and the photo shows a third of it, they are round, small forests in the middle of the road and do not have any lane markings and you just take you luck on getting off at the right place (although extremely well signposted and signalled before you get to them), now not all are like this probably about 1/2 for our journey some are smaller and what we would recognise back in NZ as a large roundabout (for Tawa people the Welsh would laugh out loud at our roundabouts we complain about). The first few times driving through them was a nighmare, now I have to say I just don't think about it.

I can't believe we have been here for so long already, we have been booking some cheapy flights and holidays so looking forward to that - although not being a keen flyer not sure about these cheapy airlines but .... Looking forward to going to Italy to spend the week with Alberto and Alice, the kids have a mid-term break of a week so going then. Did I mention that Joseph has been put into Year 10 - meaning that he is preparing for GCSE's. And I wouldn't have mentioned that Maddy had a Welsh test yesterday and got 19/20 for it - only missed one because she spelt number 11 in Welsh incorrectly had the word just not correct spelling (a bit harsh I say).

Here is 1-20

un, dau, tri, pedwar, pump, chwech, saith, wyth, naw, deg, unarddeg, deuddeg, un deg tri, un deg pedwar, un deg pump, un deg chwech, un deg saith, un deg wyth, un deg naw, dau ddeg

(for those non-Welsh speaking at home the title above is "I live in Wales"

Joseph is definately enjoying school too and enjoying heading off into the village at lunchtime - this won't continue in Tawa I am sure.

This afternoon I have been invited next door to the neighbours as Jan has asked me if I would like to go over and French plait the onion crops with her - I have never done it before and said that if it was like French plaiting hair I would be OK but love to give it a go. They have a wonderful large garden and harvested a huge amount so should be a great time, looking forward to trying anyway.

All for now, will do more later.