Friday, September 28, 2007

From Sea to Sky

"There and back in one day" was over before it had properly begun. I wish I could have stayed longer but it was as well for my bank balance that I didn't!

It was great to see Alexander and Sarah and their friends, and to catch up with their news.

Lunchtime was spent at Lyall Bay in a restaurant that has been converted from the old retro Surf Lifesaving Club rooms .
A little bit of nostalgia for me. When I arrived in NZ at the age of nine in 1965, we stayed at Lyall Bay and I attended the primary school there for a few weeks. Not a particularly pleasant experience at school. Because of my "pommy" accent I was made fun of a lot, and other children found me quite strange, a bit like an alien really, which of course I was. I found the vegemite and lettuce sandwiches not much to my liking, and hated the trips to "the murder house"where the dental nurse there practised her limited skills on me for hours at an end. Those are my main memories, and staying in a funny old wooden house at the top of a hill, that we got to after climbing "hundreds of steps".
Today I had a little wander around Kirkcaldie & Stains and was delighted to find some Villeroy and Boch china. I fell in love with this china in Luxembourg, and I didn't realise that it could be purchased here in NZ. I bought this tiny little green glass dish . It is only three inches wide but very cute.

I managed to squeeze these into my handbag too. My favourite tea from T leaf Tea. Mum and I shall have a special brew tomorrow.

Have a great weekend everyone !

3 comments:

kimberlee said...

it must have been very tough arriving here as a child, I found it hard enough as an adult.

glad you had a good day with you children.

oh that sky!

-kimberlee

Nikki Elisabeth said...

Oh, Maranui is just down the road from us. Looks like you came on the right day with the beautiful blue sky :)

Hope you enjoyed Wellington (well, more than the primary school years anyway)

Nikki

Alexander Wastney said...

Hey mum, thanks for coming up for the day !!!! we all really enjoyed it (=
Hope all your projects are going great. Maranui is the best !!