Bit of a change from the usual format, I visit my blog less these days of course. I should visit it more now I’ve got rid of my Facebook soapbox, so I […]
Toxic.
Some things you read are so terrible, you think they must be made up, or a conspiracy of some sort. You think, ‘yeah, nah, must be April fools day, because it’s so […]
Eastland Roadie.
This is more of a photographic record than an essay on the merits of Eastland, which is the big Eastern most chunk of the North Island jutting out into the Pacific Ocean. […]
My Book is on Amazon
So, I created an ebook and a paperback version of my book and published it on Amazon. If you were inclined to get a copy, that’s where you’ll find it. I’m sure […]
Reasons To Be Cheerful.
It’s ANZAC Day in New Zealand, which tends to make one reflective, contemplative. When I’m reflecting and contemplating, I tend to go ‘big picture’ quite quickly, extrapolating from a single point. In […]
The Roads Less Travelled
This will be a post with more pictures than words. There’s been a bit of an illness out and about in the world in 2020 putting paid to most people’s travel plans. […]
The Olive Tree
I’m glad I started my blog all those years ago, it was a kind of therapy for me to jot down my views, memories, observations and so on, after the sudden death […]
Sunday Morning. 17.03.2019
It’s 7:30am on a Sunday Morning, Sunday 17th of March 2019 in New Zealand. Two days after an Australian White Supremacist terrorist murdered 49 innocent people in a Christchurch Mosque. Another has died […]
Are We Sitting Comfortably?
It’s 4pm on a sunny Tuesday, January 1st 2019. Amazing to think just a few short years ago, or nearly twenty years in fact, yesterday, we were all concerned about aeroplanes falling out […]
Surprising New Zealand
Let’s talk about New Zealand again! My wife and I love a road trip, we have just finished one around the central South Island, a short 4-day epic. There are images from […]
The Day After Poetry Day
I’m not really a Poet, although I occasionally turn to Poetry when I feel the need, or I might win a T-Shirt. I was advised I should put my random and rare […]
Retail Therapy
The title is ironic, if you really did need therapy for anything in New Zealand; one of the worst things you could do is go shopping. I was watching the television news […]
Eating Out
There’s an awful lot of, mostly awful, advertising on New Zealand television. Much of it the sort of thing you’d see on QVC in other countries. One of the most common phrases […]
Superlatives And Other Things
If I had a dream job, it would be working with words and pictures, improbably as a roving blogger and photographer for Tourism New Zealand. I’m not greedy; they could just pay […]
The Deep South
This should probably go on my photography blog, but there is a bit more explaining to do than on the usual photography post so I’ll wheel out the words blog for this […]
20 Tips For Surviving Driving In New Zealand
It seems an awful lot more people are visiting, or moving to New Zealand these days. Either because of Brexit, or Trump, or cheap airfares and new aeroplanes, which can fly further. […]
The Living Is Easy
We have an iconic New Zealand comic character from the 1970’s called Fred Dagg. We were big fans in my home when I was growing up. Fred Dagg was an archetypal Kiwi […]
Road Trip
This can be a travel post of sorts. Well it’s not even of sorts; it’s a travel post. I went for a drive. I know I don’t write much anymore. Not sure […]
More pictures, less words
I know the wordiness has become less and there is more photography. I actually get more joy from photography than writing. I think this is because I’m better at it, I don’t […]
Taking pictures
I know I usually string words together for the sake of amusement, entertainment, information or occasionally even inspiration, but I haven’t been feeling particularly wordy lately. What I have been doing a […]
Driving south in the North Island
I’ll get straight to the point for once. I said once upon a time that only two towns in New Zealand were worth making a special trip for. Russell and Queenstown. I’d […]
A River runs through it
This is a bit of a travel post. I’m going to talk about a place plenty of people on their New Zealand holidays travel through, but not many travel to. I’d venture […]
2014. A summary
It’s the week before Christmas and all through the house…etc etc. It’s a funny Christmas, this one. I don’t think I’ve ever felt less Christmassy. I think it’s the dramatically disrupted year […]
Our ‘other’ stuff
Look, it’s me again! I’m like a bus, or something. A British bus, not a New Zealand one. The adage in London is that buses don’t appear at all for a while […]
Winner!
I know, I know, there was another post on here for a while, I took it down. Varied reasons, none of which matter all that much. I will be putting more stuff […]
An interview
I was asked to do an interview by one of those expat blog sites. There are a few of them where people who like to spend their time living overseas can go […]
Misconceptions
Misconceptions often, or even usually, arise out of ignorance and I must confess to my own ignorance. I have no idea at all what people from Asia or the Sub-continent think of […]
Dawn and Dusk
I wrote recently how I was of the opinion that despite the adage, a picture was not in fact worth a thousand words because I felt you generally needed so many […]
Home away from home
Did you know that despite having the perfect platform in this blog, I hardly ever make any strong points about anything important to anyone but me? I don’t even do that very […]
Keep it under your hat.
Did you know I almost always wear a hat? This story is not about hats but in my house there is a thing known as the Panama hat cycle. I wear hats […]
The Fencers
I’m not a poet, I don’t write poetry, well hardly ever. It’s outside my comfort zone so I don’t go there, much. However this is quite a cool little story about a […]
A list of things to do
You’ll have noticed I’m not putting much on here anymore. I’m not sure why not, but it may have something to do with the fact that I’m back home in New Zealand […]
Somewhere else
This is a tale that goes nowhere, what’s the point then you may wonder, why does there have to be one? I might respond. It’s kind of like an open discussion, designed […]
People are awesome!
Who knew we loved Lions so much? We knew we loved Polar bears of course, but now we really love Lions, we don’t love Melissa Bachman much even though she helped us […]
A word to the unwise
I spoke to someone the other day who is going for a big adventure overseas. Traveling they said. They’d not been far from home before and were having an epic adventure out […]
The nature of New Zealanders
So here’s a thing. well two things. This is about us, not our nature, but our nature. I’m also going to put a couple of images of the incredible New Zealand scenery […]
Our name is still on the boat!
Well that was pretty devastating. You know what I’m talking about. If you are a kiwi you do. So many New Zealanders got up, stayed in, stayed home, didn’t get to where […]
An open letter to Emirates Team New Zealand, from Team New Zealand.
Manukau Heads lighthouse G’day Deano and the crew. This is from us back home. You’ll be having some strategy meeting. Knocking around a few ideas. Hell, you might even be asleep. Us […]
Going for a drive
I’ve been back in New Zealand for just over a month now. For three weeks of that month I went for a bit of a drive, just to have a look around, […]
The trip home
The 2nd of July 2013. 8:30 am on the 2nd of July, my dear friend Dawn, my colleague, the person who does what used to be my day job in another part […]
The Extinction of the Falcon
As you probably know, I’m off back to New Zealand in a month or so. When I say a month or so I mean I set off a month today. At the […]
Going home
Momentous day today, it’s worth a note. Friday 17th of May 2013. Sounds non-descript, a day like many other days in mid-May. However, it’s my own May Day, nothing to do with […]
Wisdom
I’m not sure how long this post will stay up for, but it needs to be said. It’s not part of my usual repetoire, but it’s something I need to say and […]
New Zealanders at War
NZ Memorial to the lost in the battle of the Somme. I was in the New Zealand Army for a while and take quite an interest in NZ military history. There are […]
The truth about Dragons
This post is primarily intended as an educational resource for young people but clearly the information contained here is useful for adults as well. I think it’s time to unveil my greatest […]
East Cape, revisited
This post is special. It’s about an amazing part of New Zealand. I wanted to get some proper images up of the location this story is about. It’s an incredible area and […]
Waitangi Day
The 6th of February is Waitangi Day in New Zealand. Also known as New Zealand day. It’s sort of our little version of the American 4th of July but with an awful […]
On what’s written on things
I had a momentous day recently. One of those days that only comes around every few years if you are me. I had spent a few days doing what is one of […]
I’m on the phone!
I’ve got one of those smart phone things. Not a silly one which the people who really want an iPhone have, but a proper iPhone and not just any iPhone but the […]
A spot of lunch
Are we sitting comfortably? I want to tell you a story about a lunch. Fresh homemade bread, some thick slices of cold ‘off the bone’ Ham, a bit of chutney, a Kit-Kat […]
Sandysview 