Auckland and the Sky Tower

We spent a day in the city of Auckland, walking around in the sunshine, browsing through the shops, re-telling stories over cups of freshly brewed coffee and home baked Fejoia & Ginger muffins - oh, it's a hard life! It was 23 degrees outside yet it's supposed to be autumn, we were walking around in T-shirts and enjoying the sun...

We also went to the Sky Tower, a magnificient structure which is the tallest in the southern hemisphere and a striking feature of the Auckland skyline. Here are a few photos of the Sky Tower from a distance and also looking up from below. Josh loved standing against the tall panes of glass to look out over Auckland spread out far below. Looking down through glass panels in the floor at the traffic, the buses and lorries look quite small, as do the tops of the skyscrapers!!

Visitors

We have had visitors to come and stay with us during April. Manda's Mum (aka Anne/Nanna) and Aunt Julia arrived in Auckland a couple of weeks ago, followed by Manda's brother Matt, who arrived from Thailand on Monday 2nd April.
It's been fun sh0wing them all around our local area. They have already been off travelling around the central region of the North Island and are due to be driving up North to the Bay of Islands for 3-4 days.

More puppy photos

The first photo is of Buster lying down by the breakfast bar stools in the kitchen.

The second photo is of a very tired Buster taking a rest inbetween dashing around the entire house at a hundred miles per hour! He's lying down in the study having placed himself with a prime view through the doorway of the living room, so he can jump up and intercept any boys that happen to be walking by...

Buster & Josh

Here's a lovely photo of Josh with Buster - his new little friend. It's lovely having a puppy around the house, everyone is helping to train him and he's a fast learner. More photos to follow...







Dave and Buster having fun, he's certainly a little wriggly bundle (and so is the puppy!).

Buster is very fluffy and cute, he loves lots of cuddles and is always pleased to see us. He's gorgeous...

Sorry !!!!! A Blog By Josh Capstick

We are all sorry that we haven't been able to write to all of you we have all been busy !!!! So an update of our life in New Zealand. In two weeks we are getting a golden labradoodle puppy and we are calling him Buster , he has a fleece coat and looks more like a labrador than a poodle but has curly and messy fur, he is so adorable !!! We have got many toys and stuff for him like a bed and a blanket, a food bowl and a water bowl and squeaky toys and a ball. A little about our house, we have bought new bookcases and CD racks so we have unpacked quite a lot and we have nearly got rid of all our BOXES !!!!! The weather has been quite different this week because we had a big storm and the wind was very loud, about 120kms per hour, there was a lot of rain for 3 days. My school is really fun, i have my one on one lessons with my drama teacher on monday and wednesday, i have my group drama lessons on tuesday and on thursday, every morning apart from wednesday we have a 20 mins drama lesson which is fun we play games and stuff. In art is fun but can be boring but the best part is we are aloud our I-Pods in class. In english we have spelling tests every friday which i do kinda good on !!! In maths we are doing rubbish algebra, in science we are do chemistry !!! in history we are researching about a song by billy joel called "We didn't start the fire" which is fun !!! i can't remember what we are doing in geography !!!! i hope you are all missing us becacuse we are missing you !!!!!!! lots of love josh xxxxxxx

New School Uniforms - Wednesday 7th February

Ben will be going to Orewa College on Wednesday 7th February to enroll and choose the subjects he hopes to study in Sixth Form. Everyone has to study English, Maths and Science, his preferences are; History, Classical Studies (Ancient History), Media Studies, New Zealand Studies, Drama & Theatre Arts, Information & Communication Management and Social Studies (Sociology). We'll get him to write a blog post to let you know which options/subject he chooses to study and what Orewa College life is like being in the Sixth Form there, in comparison to John Hampden Grammar School.

Both boys are quite pleased that they get to wear T-shirt, shorts and sandals for their school uniforms, it's all quite relaxed over here, so no ties, long sleeved shirts or blazers!!

Josh will be going to the Corelli Academy of Performing Arts on Wednesday 7th February. He will be studying a full academic curriculum of IGCSE subjects in addition to; voice production, theatre skills, improvisation and mime, characterisation & accents, musical theatre physical training and building a classical repertoire. He will enjoy the one-to-one acting technique coaching with opportunities to join in lunchtime and evening performances each week. He's very excited at this amazing opportunity and we look forward to hearing about it from him. We'll get him to write a blog post to let you know how he's getting on.

Summer Holidays Ending Soon

Dan and Ben have been enjoying the occasional game of tennis during the summer holidays ... but that will be coming to an end soon. Plus, no more boring lying around for Josh, waiting for the tennis match to finish so that they can all head off for the beach, which is where Josh would prefer to be any day. He must have been a dolphin in a previous life, as he just can't seem to stay away from the water, plus he has a rather devilish sense of fun - splashing anyone who comes within a few metres of him! Finally the kids will be going back to school in New Zealand on 7th and 8th February. It will be a nasty shock to their systems having to get up before 11am !! Embarrasing photos of the two younger boys in school uniforms to follow ...

Dan loves Kat very much

A photo of Dan with a drawing of Kat that he spent ages on the other night. He misses Kat a lot but is hoping that either she will be able to fly over to visit us this summer, or that he might be able to do any small jobs around the neighbourhood during the summer to earn some cash for another ticket back to the UK in June, once Kat has finished her GCSE's.

New House at 17 Matija Place, Orewa, Auckland

We have spent the last week unpacking boxes and making our new house feel more like our home. The boys are settling in well and enjoying having their own rooms again, at last.

The top photo is the front of our house, taken from further up the driveway (Manda's new car parked outside the garage which is currently housing loads of boxes and Dan's car). The next photo is Manda and Dave's bedroom, which also has an ensuite shower room (ooh luxury!). Dan's bedroom is next - couldn't fit it all in the photo but there's room for a chest of drawers and a desk for him to sit at. Ben in his new room, he'd only just got up - bless! Josh has spent hours cutting out favourite pictures from magazines to decorate one of his walls, mind you he's still got several boxes to sort out, but he says that he can do those later (sound familiar?).

It is lovely to have a 'nearly new' home which doesn't need any work doing to it. We've got so many boxes to sort through it's going to take months before we are completely straight, but here are some photos to show you where we are living. Soon we may even venture out and about with the camera and take some photos of the neighbourhood and our new town! Hope you enjoy the photos.

New Garden at 17 Matija Place

This is the patio area where we dine outside under the shade of a custom built transparent arch and a parasol when the sun becomes hotter! The hot tub was included and this weekend we managed to follow the confusing instructions as to measuring the right quantities of various chemicals to add to the water so that it is safe to use... Josh was the first one in and he enjoyed his 'spa' experience very much.

Monday 29th January 2007

Well, we've finally moved into our new home, contracts became legal and binding on Settlement Day, Friday 19th January 2007. The first photo is of our lounge, at the front of the house, it is an open plan arrangement leading through to a dining area. The dark wood dining table was one of the chattels included in the sale along with 8 dining chairs. The next photo is of the family room, which is approximately 30 ft long, it has a wood burning stove at one end plus the previous owners left us 3 years supply of fire wood. The kitchen has plenty of cupboards and is the hub of the home, overlooking the patio area. We were lucky that they also left us the three breakfast bar stools; one each for Dan, Ben & Josh. Plus they left a stainless steel dishwasher and a Fisher & Paykel oven and hob.

Manda's New Year Message

Hello all you dedicated people, reading these blog spot updates! We've had a bit of a problem with technology and haven't been able to upload the funny photos of us all wearing the blonde wig on New Year's Eve! Shame, but I'm sure that we'll be able to sort it out over the next few days or so.

We've been spending quite a bit of time indoors over the past few days, as it has been cloudy, windy and raining a lot!! But today is very warm and sunny again, so we've headed up north to Orewa to use the internet cafe, so that I could add a bit more to this blogspot. If any of you fancy adding any comments or feel like sending an email, any communication would be gratefully received!! Thank you to everyone who has sent text messages or emails, it's lovely to keep in touch and find out what's happening in your lives over there in the UK. Bye for now and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007.

More Party photos and Happy New Year's Day

Manda nicked a blonde wig from Josh, after he sneaked it away from Madonna! We laughed and posed for photos, until a dvd of 80's music was put on the TV, then we sang loudly along with Freddie Mercury to Queen songs and danced the night away! It was great fun! We made lots of new friends, a couple of Pauline and Jason's neighbours called Anne and Bill invited us to their house on New Year's Day for a lunch party/afternoon get together, which nearly everyone in the street had been invited to! We had baked some fresh banana and chocolate chip muffins which we took along with us. We had loads to eat and drink sitting outside on their deck under a large awning which protected us all from the occasional downpour and the hot sun. We staggered home at the end of a very enjoyable afternoon.

Sunday 31st December

On sunday we were all invited to our friends New year's eve party. It was 80's night ! We arrived at 8:40 and we stayed till 1:30 am. This is a photo of our friends Jason dressed as John Travolta and his wife Pauline dressed as Cyndi Lauper. It was so much fun, we danced and sang to old 80's songs! This is also a picture of Josh Dressed as a punk rocker after he had alot of coke !!!

Saturday 30th January

We went to the beach today, it was sunny when we set off but was decidedly cloudy when we arrived! Josh and Ben built a sandcastle, with a moat and drawbridge. Josh filled the moat with sea water and they decorated the sandcastle with shells. The sun came out and it was time to splash around in the sea. We had a great time and this is a photo of their sandcastle. We went into town in the morning to find some accessories to complete our outfits for the New Year's Eve Party, Dave will be going as Shakin' Stevens, Manda will be going as Pamela Ewing from Dallas, Ben will be going as Roy Orbison and Josh will be going as a punk rocker!

Friday 29th January 2006

Manda and Josh standing by Dave's new car on the driveway of our rental property in Torbay. We had been to the beach to throw a Christmas ball/toy with a long tail. We spent a few hours spinning it around and launching it into the sky for each other to try and catch...great fun!

We've been invited to a New Year's Eve party by Pauline, a nice person we met at BB's which is a coffee shop in the centre of Browns Bay. She emigrated to NZ from Scotland a few years ago and is full of lots of advice and information! We'll post up photos of us at the party, which is themed 1980's famous people. Only 2 days to think up a costume arrgh!

Dan's New Car

Well the time has finally arrived ... Dan passed his driving test in the UK on 20 November, so he figured he may as well actually have a car to drive! We found a Toyota Sprinter at the car dealership that Reg & Sue have bought their cars from over the past couple of years. The photos are of the new proud owner showing off his latest toy! Unfortunately, Dan has had to be very patient, because his driving licence is in the UK (having arrived a couple of weeks after we left) and he is not allowed to drive in NZ without having his driving licence available at all times whilst driving. So...when he gets back from his jaunt over the New Year visiting his girlfriend Kathleen and her family in Medmenham, we're sure he'll be helping out with the taxi service!! Until he runs out of petrol....oh well.

Capsticks' Christmas Day

Well it's finally arrived, we woke up this morning with blue skies, sunshine streaming in through the windows and parrots squawking in the bush out the back!

After the boys opened their stocking pressies we all decided to go to the beach, first time any of us has gone to the beach on Christmas Day! Josh had fun on his body board in the small waves, the tide was out so the ocean was quite shallow just by the beach. We all sat there for a while soaking up the sunshine, then Manda went back to the house to check on the Turkey and start cooking the veggies etc. We had a lovely lunch, although the house was boiling hot with having the oven on for 3 hours. Now we know why everyone else here cooks on the bbq, OUTSIDE, so that the house stays cool!!! We'll know for next year!

We all opened our presents after lunch and then a game of Monopoly was played, whilst a DVD was watched. All in all a relaxing day. Oh yeah, Daniel wiped out everybody at Monopoly, he's obviously an entrepeneur already!!

Just want to take this opportunity to say a big 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' to all our family and friends around the world. We love you all and can't wait to see anyone who fancies coming out to New Zealand to visit us.

Christmas Preparations 2006

We spent the last couple of days realising that we hadn't actually bought each other any Christmas pressies yet! So we've been rushing around the shops at our local town in Browns Bay, although there aren't that many shops there. BB's is a great coffee bar where we stop for light refreshment before the next onslaught of shopping begins! We were told by our friend Susie that the best shopping mall in Auckland is at St Luke's, so on Saturday we ventured to western Auckland and found a very large and modern shopping centre (a bit like Watford or Reading) and managed to find everything we wanted there, whew! Glad that's over for another year! We also found a fresh Christmas Tree, bought lights, tinsel and baubles so it's starting to feel a bit more like Christmas.

So then it was on to FoodTown, our local supermarket to buy all the food (and drink!) including; Turkey, stuffing, Yorkshire Puds, veggies etc, alas, no sprouts available 'cos they're only in season in August. Mental note to self, buy sprouts next winter and freeze them to use next summer for Christmas. (mmmm sounds strange!) We managed to buy a Christmas Plum Pudding, crackers ... feeling festive now ... the range of cheeses and pates is brilliant! yum!

Job Interviews - Tuesday 19th December

The first interview I went to was at a large firm of solicitors in the City. A very modern, chic building with lots of friendly people. It's located on Princes Wharf, right beside the harbour, the staff canteen (which is more like a modern coffee bar) has floor to ceiling windows all along one wall with doors out to a balcony, with glass panels so that you can see breathtaking views of the harbour and the ocean beyond. The interview went very well, I first met with the Practice Manager, called Dennis, we chatted for about half an hour, Dennis then asked the Senior Partner, Warren, to come and meet me, as I would be working directly for Warren it was good to talk the position through with him. He has had a legal secretary/PA working for him for about 12 years but she has retired, so he's looking for a replacement. The work is mainly within the Corporate sector, however he deals with Commercial Conveyancing occasionally. I was then introduced to one of the support staff, a legal exec who worked for a few years as a legal secretary before she became an exec. It would seem that work experience and a general build-up of knowledge is all that is required to become a legal executive in New Zealand, it is not compulsory that the staff pass exams or gain qualifications, although they can attend evening classes at Auckland University to gain these if they so wish.

Warren, the senior partner suggested that I might like to work for them for a few months to see if I like the work and feel comfortable with it, as it is difficult to know without actually 'having a go'. Seems like a good company to work for, however the commute would take about 1 hour each morning. The salary would be lower to start with, as I have no experience within this sector, they would review my salary after a few months. If I had to drive in I would also have to pay for parking, which would be very costly within the City, the main thing I need to consider is doing so much travelling every day.

My second interview was this morning. It was at a smaller practice in Takapuna, which is a large town on the North Shore (at the bottom of the East Coast bays), north of Auckland City and took me just under 20 minutes to drive there from Long Bay where we are renting at the moment. The practice is located in what was previously a large detached house. It was spacious and modern, with lots of free on street parking along the road. Always a plus point. I met with the Office Manager, Helen and also one of the Legal Execs, Leanne. They were both very relaxed and friendly. They told me all about the practice, 3 partners, 4 legal execs, accounts and support staff. The job would be a legal secretary supporting 2 execs and 1 partner, the main focus would be working on mortgage offers for their largest client, it would involve a lot of maths, so a completely new sector for me to consider! They told me that they have a high volume of phone calls and sometimes they have 80 settlements on one day to deal with!! They assured me they were a friendly bunch, they all stop work for morning tea, to catch up on the latest gossip! They are taken out by the partners twice a year, summer evening out and a Christmas Meal. They have family days (bbq etc) and a social club which organised other outings. The Office Manager, Helen, asked me whether this job would be of interest to me.

So lots to think about, I have also applied for a couple of other positions. So I'll keep you posted!