A quarter of the way through the term

The new school year has started well. It's a 12 week term this time round, but due to the timing of Easter we actually get nearly a week off part-way through week 9 so it's not too bad. It's going to be an interesting year for me as my head of department resigned within the first week. She lives in the Hutt and got a job close to where she lives, saving the big commute in each day... It's a shame for me as we worked really well together in my role as second in department, but I can see that it's a great opportunity for her. I have agreed to take on the Acting HOD role just until the end of the year. The school will advertise for a permanent replacement part-way through the year.

At the end of the first week I headed off to Wanganui to play badminton at the NZ Masters Games. The badminton ran from Saturday to Wednesday, but as the Wednesday was Waitangi Day I only needed 2 days leave from school for my 5 days away. We had a fantastic time. My partner and I managed to pick up the gold medal in the women's 35-45 open doubles, then our team of four from Wellington got the silver medal in the open team event. Next year the tournament is in Dunedin so I might need to defend my medals down there...

I was back at school Thursday and Friday, then Friday evening Will and I headed to Martinborough for the Classic Hits Winery Tour which was held at Alana Estate Vineyard. We camped Friday and Saturday night at the Martinborough Campsite with our friends Elvie and Mike, the same people we did it with last year. The concert was on Saturday and the campsite put on free buses to and from the event. It was a great line-up... First up was Clara van wel, the New Zealand's Got Talent winner. She was pretty awesome, singing several songs which she composed herself. Next up was The Adults, followed by Anika, Boh and Hollie, then lastly, my favourites, Fat Freddy's Drop who are always amazing live. It is always a great night out, the weather was perfect and we enjoyed a nice picnic washed down with some of the vineyard's finest... I like the self-portrait below as I think it catches the chilled out summer vibe of the concert.

It really was a perfect summer's evening and a perfect relaxed venue...

 Fat Freddy's Drop in all their glory...

Week 3 was camp week at school. Early Tuesday morning I was off to to the Abel Tasman National Park on year 11 camp for 4 days. It's the third year in a row I have done this particular camp and I really do love it. The weather was amazing and the girls, as always, were brilliant. Just the odd bit of moaning from a few of them when we hit some of the bigger hills... It really is a gorgeous part of the country, below are a few pics...

I have been experimenting with the panorama function on my iphone camera. Here's a panorama of Anchorage which was where we camped on our second night.

At the moment we have Ana, a Spanish language assistant staying with us, just until the end of the month when she can move into a flat she has found. She arrived from Madrid during week 2. It has been great having her around, she has been making herself useful both inside and outside the house. She has been enjoying helping out with watering the garden each evening.

Speaking of the garden, it has been growing like mad with all the sunshine we have been having. This is definitely the best summer we have ever had in Wellington. The bowl of tomatoes below were all picked today.

Today is Will's birthday. He had a pretty relaxed day, although did have some work he had to get done. We had a nice dinner of home-made pizza followed by Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guinness cake which I baked him as a birthday cake. My birthday is on Wednesday and since the weather looks pretty good we will probably have a BBQ next Saturday to celebrate the both of them.

Last day in Singapore

Due to our evening flight we had nearly a full day in Singapore to enjoy some sights. Our last 'must see' was the Singapore Botanical Garden. We had a lovely long wander, enjoying the sculptures along the way. Will particularly liked 'Lady in a Hammock' below...

 

 

We were just a bit late to fully appreciate the Frangipani walk, although there were several trees still in bloom. It still smelt pretty good though.

 

The highlight for us was the National Orchid Garden which is inside the botanical garden. Mum loves her orchids, so below are plenty of photos for her...

 

 

 

After we had finished at the gardens we caught a taxi to Mustafa's Centre in Little India. This was one of Warren's recommendations, a huge big multi-level shopping centre selling goods at knock-down prices. We ran out of time there a bit, so will definitely be back next time we're in Singapore. From there it was back to Chinatown to collect our bags, then onwards to the airport.

The whole Changi airport experience was once again fantastic. It's just the little touches like bowls of mints at the security screening, customs, information counters etc., charging stations throughout the terminals for all your electrical goods, free wifi everywhere, plus, how many airports have free snooze lounges?!

The flight home was pretty good. My friend Emmaline's parents Chris and Mary had been house-sitting for us during our 4 and a half weeks away and had done a fantastic job. In fact Chris even picked us up from the airport. The garden had been very well watered and looked after, and the chooks were as happy as can be.

Em and Wayne got married the day after we arrived home. They had a lovely relaxed ceremony at their Newlands home. Will and I lasted surprisingly well considering we were both a bit jet-lagged!