Author: migrant

Back on the Saturday morning sport routine now that the sun has finally come out. Joe and the lads were able to get out and get some willow on leather-some better than others.

Good conditions and a tidy spell of bowling from Joe, 0-3 off 3 overs. As I was looking side on from the scorers chair , and soI did not get an impression of accuracy, but flight looks better and batsmen certainly not hitting him all over. Time still to work on bowling, and more so batting. Joe will be in the cauldron of cricket camp in January. We go away to Hawkes Bay, with the better and more reliable weather where he plays for his club against other teams. Upto 6 games in 4 days, dependant on form of course. Could be interesting, and I expect there will be more scoring or such like for me. I am no longer coach, due to leave to north, and so all other tasks within my remit.

This blog is a hot news item. The Ashes contest has just started, and given our global poition it is alot more convenient to watch it this time around. However, the opening day is just about to finish with a bad day at he office for England. It reminds me of the day 1 of the series in 1994, when I sat through a long day at the GABBA, surrounded by increasingly pissed and happy Aussies. The first day dominance is reminiscent.
As the is lots of tv watching to go, and I am due to attend the 4th Test , lets hope things move on up from here.

So back here in the NZ groove. Family life continues, and even work has restarted!

So what was good about the UK?

• The weather, much to many Kiwis ignorance. It was unseaonally mild in the autumn, but made it delightful. Beautiful trees and skies.
• Museums. Having not been inside them for while of ever, the likes of the V&A and Tate are great.
• London sights. Being effeectively a tourist was a great experience, especially the evening I walked along the Thames on the south bank past Lambeth Palace, St Ts, and the Palace of Westminister. On other days walking past the Houses of P, and watching the tv broadcasters do ther thing on the green. Cool.
• Friends. Seeing people and being treated so well.
• Quiz nights done the pub and occasionally being allowed “off the bench”. (You are only as good as your last answer). Training to get the gut off.
• Driving on a motorway
• Being the the sun and not being burnt instantly
• Sadly, for such a style guru-M&S.
• Ireland
• Being able to drink bitter( but not in combination with curry on a Friday night)

So what was not so good?

• Congestion, London in a car on the wrong day, or on a motorway when everyone else is.
• NHS bureacracy. The paper pushing obsessives whio think a collection of paper, and being asked for the same thing more than once helps. This is all linked in with the obsession with avoiding risk, but by using procedures that do not, but give the veneeer of “doing something”.
• Fear of Johnny Foreigner. Or is it simply fear of “Janek”. Everyone seems to have a “problem with the Poles” story, even those who in other circumstances would present themselves as liberal minded and protector of the weak. Polish appears to mean Eastern European. Everyone moans, though forgets it is those same people serving them in all the pubs they go into. This whole thing is not helped by the tone and marketing of gutter middle class newspapers.

Not much else. Great place even though everyone will tel you the place is going to the dogs. Though admittedly, Brentford are.

to all those who helped make my stay in UK a good one. I was welcomed everywhere, and helped and accommodated. Just a shame that in reality time was short and I could not spend more time or see people more often.

See you next year anyway.

Back now at the southern ranch. Finally over the lag, and back to the same time and energy as everyone else.
So what is different? Hmm. Some things are just the same-it’s windy…too windy for this time of year. Summer is apparently just around the corner.
Some things are the same-I’m a locum looking for work, but some on the horizon and no CRB to go through in order to be eligible.
Another thing about Wellington, it still has a planetarium, which Joe and Isaac recently visited and loved, and told me I must go and visit it also. So much for the place being “backward”. Not turning your planetarium into a celebrity projection centre appears forward thinking to me.
On the right day, not too many so far, the view from the deck is still great.

A big high pressure system sits over the UK currently and is giving fine crisp weather.
This morning I was up and out early to catch the Tube, and the air was crisp and the skies clear. The cars in the street were all frosted. An old experience returns. Yesterday evening walking back through Walpole Park, it was another classic autumnal experience. The skies clear with a lower orange tinge as the sun was going down, with vapour trails across the western skies, with alternating colours. The moon had risen and was low in sky, just above the tree line, looking clear with the craters visible. The trees are varied in colour now, with leaves collecting on the floor;beautiful.
Last night was reminder of NZ. Clear skies means cold nights. I slept in two t-shirts and had my pyjamas tucked inside my socks!

In my time back here some things have not been so good. Some things though should be admired. Radio for one. The quality and diversity of radio is fantastic and only seems to be so obvious when you have been somewhere else. The BBC comes in for regular criticism but the variety of music and other tastes catered for is great.
Pete Tong for the “official start to the weekend”, Terry in the mornings, The Archers, wall to wall sport and discussion on Five Live; so much and good stuff.
Commercial radio has something to offer also, with niche stations found by accident when travelling to Classic FM with its efforts.
This in contrast to back down very south, where commercial radio is amazingly bland and one dimensional with the very limited play list, save for Radioactive, in our local experience.

After catching Front Row on Radio 4 the other evening I just had to follow their advice and see the Twilight exhibition at the V&A, a collection of images from international photographers http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/photography/twilight/index.html. So I visited yesterday. The theme of twilight, was a reference to the special properties of the light, and the special feeling it invokes. Some of the photographers did their work using the natural surroundings, others staged and manipulated to produce the twilight feel artificially. I obviously liked some more than others, check out the link for yourself.
After that, I walked through Hyde Park on my way to see Big Al, and the sky was perfect, twilight, clear skies, with planes landing in the west a Heathrow, vapour trails set off in the setting sunlight, and calm walking through the park in a tree tunnel, but with the noise of the traffic not far away, and the bright lights of the road and buildings just visible. Beautiful man!(do you think I might get a slot on Front Row?)

For all the unseasonal weather, overly warm and all that, today as I wandered in Battersea park to see the leaves falling. Change is a coming. It looked a significant sight I guess because it is the first time I have seen it in four years. Autumn and leaves falling off trees does not happen in the same way in NZ.

A while since last put cyber pen to paper, must be working too hard.
Working in Moseley on Friday and today, so in Alcester for the weekend. How better to start than with a trip to the “Holly”, with real ale choice and a musical duo with much talent. A fine guitarist and another who played bass, clarinet and flute-though not all at the same time. Out ’til late watching KC experiment with his alcoholic taste, including putting ice in that famous Irish cider!
Up late next day but afternoon golf-only 9 holes as we are not good enough to play more. Had killer form on the range before hand-going for miles and perfectly straight. However, when it came to palying on the course I could not connect with the ball until the 6th, then fine. However, it meant KC beat me!
Fine home cooked curry in the evening and just managed to stay up to watch MOTD, thought the quality of games did not warrant the effort.
After chat with man upstairs on Sunday and witnessing the draw for the 200 club it was off down the pub for that traditional sitting in front of the telly afternoon with pints of lager to watch wall to wall football on Sky.
Then not unexpectedly…..early to bed.