Back again !!!

Our last post was made in December 2005, while we were living in Spain.

A lot has happened since then. As many of you will know, we are now living in Salisbury UK. We moved here in July 2006, as Mary had been offered the post of Principal, at Salisbury School of English. We are renting a small 2 bedroomed unfurnished flat not far from the city centre. At first we lived on the floor as we had no furniture! Now we have more or less furnished it with a mixture of second-hand, and cheapish flat pack furniture. We expect to be in the UK for another 2 years or so, before (probably), returning to NZ.

We went back to NZ for 3 weeks at the end of last year, mainly to catch up with family and friends. On the way back we spent 3 days in Hong Kong.This year we have done quite a bit of traveling. In March we went to Jersey (0ur birthplace), with our son Dominic. Jersey was very pretty, and full of daffodils. We spent time visiting all the places we knew from our childhood. Philip took photos of the houses he had lived in there. Then in April, we spent a few days in Normandy and Brittany. It was great to be back in France again, and to sample good French food and wine (and cider!). Shortly after that we went up to Scotland to visit the family of Roselle's (our younger daughter) boyfriend.

Then in May, the big event was the wedding of our elder daughter Estelle in London. I will try to add some photographs to this blogg. You can also view photographs on : www.roseblade.co.uk.



In addition, we try each weekend to do some sightseeing around here. We have been as far as Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and the coast, as well as visiting as many castles and stately homes as possible. We joined "English Heritage" and the "National Trust" to take advantage all the historical heritage in this country.



Shortly after we arrived, we bought an ancient but reliable Volvo 340 from the school for £150. This took us everywhere (even up to Scotland!). When it failed its MOT (cost to fix £500 ), we had it scrapped, and have now bought a little Renault Clio. After the Volvo it seems quite swish, with power steering and a sun roof. It's probably not very "green", but trains are expensive in the UK, and many places that we visit are off the beaten track a bit.

In mid August we go up to Scotland for the 60th birthday party of a friend from our school days. Then Philip will fly back to NZ for a month, to help his mother who has just hip replacement surgery. in mid September we will be having a joint celebration of our own 60th birthdays, renting a farm cottage in Devon. Later in the year we hope to spend a few days in Italy, after Mary has finished at a conference. Also, money permitting, we hope to get some warmth (sadly lacking this summer in the UK!) in Morocco or somewhere.