Life
Cheerio New Zealand
So after 8 days and nights the party moves onto Australia. We all have fond memories of New Zealand but, as they say, could not eat a whole one. The scenery is breathtaking, the people friendly, the wine and food of a high standard. The negatives are being 13 hours ahead of GMT and a definite [...]
It’s that time of year again
As Yuletide beckons – chaotic last minute shopping, endless gridlocks on Britain’s motorways, television screens full of total rubbish except, of course, for Channel Four which seems to be showing a series of classic Carry On films during the daytime (yesterday they showed Carry On [...]
The wines of Marlborough
New Zealand is something of a freebooters paradise when it comes to wine growing. This is because they do not have the controls of many wine growing countries. In France there is the AC (appellation controlee) and in Italy the DC, the same thing which basically constricts the type of wine you can [...]
It started with a noise
Yesterday I did myself proud, rushing out on a trip to collect my laundry, buy some food and drink – take it all back home – and then go out again to a wholefood store in my neighbourhood on foot, all before 9.30am. On top of that I then bought a DVD online via Amazon and selected ‘free next [...]
Adieu Wellington, hello South Island.
Wellington describes itself as the coolest little capital city in the world and it’s not a bad description. Cool must be the most used word here. Our Weta guide used it in every sentence. It’s certainly little too. You can walk around the city centre in 10 minutes and it’s no bigger [...]
The scourge of modern life
Yesterday afternoon I arrived to stay overnight on the south coast with my 92 year old father in advance of accompanying him on a visit to a consultant at a local hospital today. He seemed on pretty good form despite not being particularly clear in our conversation about who might have visited him [...]
A la Colthard/Q Hotel
As soon as we arrived and the dishy young concierge greeted us wearing a bowery cap, braces and dungarees looking like an extra from The Sting I realised we were in a seriously cool hotel. This was reinforced by the bold modern art exhibited in the foyer. Bob spent a while contemplating this [...]
A la Colthard/Porters Boutique Hotel, Havelock North
I was mightily impressed by this hotel and its restaurant, Malo. The rooms are decorated in tasteful shades of grey and are spacious and it had nice touches like a free washing machine and dishwasher. It’s so much irritating to pay £3 to a hotel laundry for smalls and much fairer to provide [...]
Te Mata wines tour
Wine-making has moved along way forward from a French rustic with ruby cheeks sticking his pudgy fingers into a barrel. These days it’s all about computers, hydraulics and geology and a winery resembles a production factory of silver coloured tanks and pipes. There is the odd surprising [...]