Outstanding Result A travel log supreme Thanks to an intrepid traveller and detail recorder

Dear lois We have been absorbed with the splendid story you have recorded during the Rugby World Cup which together with the photos have taken us to places we dream of.We also enjoyed your short TV appearance which our Alister also commented on. WE hope the TV fee was appropriate. Our thanks for taking us with you during your travels. It has enlighten our days and together with the rugby result has given us all pleasure

Last post from the UK

Tomorrow I head off on my journey to return to Auckland. I am leaving John and Nikki's tomorrow (Remembrance Day) and going by train to London and then on to a hotel close to Heathrow Airport. I fly out of Heathrow the next day and hopefully will be back in Auckland on Wednesday morning. The last couple of days here have been very relaxing. In my earlier blog I said we were off to Tatton. Just as we were leaving the house it started to rain and then continued to bucket down so that our visit to Tatton was a drive through rather than a walk. There were lots of deer close to the road so I captured a picture or two of them. Yesterday was a 'his and hers' haircut for John and Nikki so I went along for a ride to Timperley and wandered through a nice park while John and Nikki had their haircuts. Last night Simon and Clare came for dinner. It was good to catch up with them and Nikki had cooked a lovely first course and Clare brought the desert. Both dishes pretty good. I have enjoyed every part of this trip and I hope my viewers have enjoyed following along. Last night there was a glorious sunset at Wyngate Road. Should have heralded a lovely day today but alas it is raining

Catching up with old friends

Today at Wyngate Road started with a relaxing morning. John plays golf on a Wednesday afternoon so he was getting his chores done before he went off. The cleaners arrived mid morning so Nikki and I moved ourselves from room to room so the cleaners could get on with the job. Just after 12:30 Lorraine and Barbara (Annette's friends) picked me up and we went off for a long lunch and catch up. We went to the Altrincham market which has been revived to become one of England's leading markets. The general market is only open two days a week but the original indoor section of the market has been revamped into a a very nice eatery with lots of choices. Kind of like a mall food court but bit more upmarket. On the way to the market Barbara had to go back to the car to pick up her mobile so Lorraine and I just went on ahead. We were so busy talking and had to retrace our steps to find that Barbara had already arrived at the market. Chose our food and wine and settled down for a long lunch. When it started to get dark outside 4:45 pm I suggested they had better get home to their menfolk as no doubt they were expecting someone to put some food on the table for dinner. It was lovely afternoon catching up on each others journeys. Back to Wyngate Road and as there was nothing on TV we watch a film called "The Girl with the Pearl earing" about Vermeer the dutch artist. Beautiful photography and well worth seeing. Not much else to report on yesterdays activities. I see I have some links to the All Blacks return to New Zealand sounds like it was great fun and both the All Blacks and New Zealanders did each other proud.

Hale after all the hype

Monday morning saw most of the group heading out to Heathrow for their journey home. However the most of the UK was blanketed in fog so the folk flying out of Heathrow might well have had a delay. I got my away across London in a taxi to Euston. It took almost an hour by taxi so I was glad I gave myself plenty of time to get there. Found the right train and the right seat and settled down for a nice train ride to Manchester. I have never seen the UK blanketed in fog and it pretty much was the case all the way to Manchester. Apparently the fog does descend on the Country this tine of the year. With just two stops before Stockport we seem to arrive in no time and was I was off the train found John waiting on the platform. It was good to come home to Wyngate Road and catch up with Nikki. Had a relaxing lunch and afternoon just catching up and then after dinner had to watch the highlights of the RWCup final which was great. Interesting to hear the English commentators take on the game. Overall they thought the right team won but the general opinion of those commentators was that Australia was on the wrong side of some of the decisions. There is a couple of good items in the paper today. Graham Henry has been writing for the Guardian so he had his sign off article which was very good. There was also a good article about the future of the game in the emerging countries and what is needed to keep closing the gap between the top 8 - 10 and the rest. Much colder here today but I did go outside to take some photos of the garden in Autumn. For those of you who read the Gallipoli blog you would have seen John and Nikki's garden in Spring so I thought you would be interested to see it in Autumn. The colours are pretty good although Nikki says the colours are past there best. I had to take the picture of the knot garden by hanging out of my bedroom window upstairs. I hope you enjoy

A night to remember

By the time I finally headed to my room at 1 am this morning it felt too hard to write a blog. However here is my recap of yesterday. The day was warm and sunny and started with the hotel serving Champagne for Breakfast in anticipation of a win. Champagne is not for me at most times let alone breakfast so I passed that by. Eat your heart our nieces I know if you had been here you would have fought over my glass! Armed with my Twickenham radio, my camera and water set off in the bus at 10:15 am for the 4 pm match. Always seemed so early to head out and I could have opted out of the transfer bus and taken the Tube but the company on the bus is always good gun and it saves watching overfull trains flying past your station. Arrived at the ground just before 1 pm and this time the gates were open so it was good to get inside to the stadium and enjoy all the pre-match entertainment from didgeridoos to Maori haka groups. By the tine found some lunch the stadium itself was open so it was off to find my seat and enjoy watching the warm up sessions and being entertained by the band of the Welsh Guards. I recall in 2007 that the All Blacks did not enter into a serious warm up session but just stood around chatting. In this tournament the All Blacks have been all intense in their warm ups and there is plenty to see. All over the field Dan Carter is practising goal kicks and line kicks while the forwards take each on in what appears to be ferocious tackles. Before long the serious business began. Lots of All Black support in the stadium and it is surprising to hear how many English folk have learnt our national anthem and sing it with more gusto that we New Zealanders. The formalities over it was time for the match to begin. Because this was the final one always has to be nervous but there is something about this All Black team that gives you the confidence that they have a plan and a the match under control. I think that of the three All Black matches someone has been in the sin bin but somehow we survive that period. Once the match was over stayed for the presentations and watch the international media vying for photos of the All Blacks. Finally got back to the bus around 7:30 local time and we headed back to the hotel around 8 pm getting back just after 10 pm. On arrival back at the hotel the hotel staff were waiting with the Champagne and then the plan was to head up to the rooftop bar for after match drinks. I decided as I hadn't eaten for over 10 hours I should grab some food from the bar to ensure the wine didn't rush to the head. I went upstairs until around 1 am and if was a great atmosphere - New Zealanders not drinking excessively but all sharing their special moments of the game. Apparently the after match drinks didn't finish until 7:30 so there are a few sore heads around today. Headed down to breakfast around 9 am and champagne was again on the breakfast menu. The hotel has really entered into the spirit of their guests. Today was a time to get the case into order in readiness for the train trip to Manchester tomorrow. Such a nice day decided to head to Covent Gardens for perhaps a Sunday Eggs Benedict. By the time I found somewhere to eat breakfast was off so I had to choose Salmon Fish cakes as an alternative. It wasn't too many years ago that English food was considered to be the pits but I do not think that is the case any longer. I have had some really tasty meals here elegantly presented and very enjoyable. Later on to day it is farewell drinks for the group and then everyone heads off. It looks like around 80% of the group are heading back to NZ tomorrow with some like me planning something different. I head off to Euston in the morning and will be at John

and Nikki's just after 1 pm. Looking forward to that and John has saved a replay of the match and after match review so I can watch the match again without all the tension of being there on the day.

Bronze final

Today I decided to take another route on the hop/hopoff bus. The commentary on the buses is so good that you get new insights of London every time you sit on the bus. It was the last day of the school holidays yesterday so the queues outside places like Madam Tussaud, the Eye, the Tower etc went for blocks down the street so it was a good idea just to sit on the bus and enjoy the sights. The route I chose took almost three hours from beginning to end so by that time it was tine to get sorted for the Bronze Final. I was looking forward to the match as I remember in 2007 the Bronze Final between Argentina and France was the best match of the tournament. The game was at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium a stadium built for the last Olympics. Great stadium in the middle of a major rebuild of an area of East London. The stadium seated 50,000 which was smaller than the other stadiums I have been in on this trip. The game was disappointment. It seems the South Africans weren't excited to be there and the Argentinians just ran out of ideas of how to win. I don't think it help Argentina when they made 7 changes to the team. This was an 8 pm match and it took until almost 1:45 am to get back to the hotel, The anticipation around the supporters group here is growing really fast from expectation to maybe we will win. Plenty of mind games being played out in the media which we hope the All Blacks are immune to. Go the All Blacks!

Opps NZ Herald photo

Seem to have prob with herald photo will try again.

From home...

I thought yesterdays NZ Herald said it well and certainly there is a touch of Black all around Auckland. I meant to also take some photos around Kawakawa Bay where the flags are flying but sorry forgot. Our fan zone has moved to Goldstine Place. Photos to follow . Enjoy Lois! 

Thursday in London

A bit of a boring day for my blog readers. Had a leisurely breakfast this morning and then set off to use my 'hop on/hop off' complimentary voucher. Decided to get off the bus close to the Tate Modern which is an interesting Art Gallery in what was an old power station on the river Thames. I was there some years ago interviewing Town Planners for one of my clients who was seeking to recruit Town Planners to New Zealand. It turned out the Tate Modern was the most convenient place to interview three different candidates so back then I sat in the coffee shop meeting with some interesting Town Planners keen to come to New Zealand. I am pleased to say that one of the people I saw back then was employed by my client in Auckland and she is now a Partner in the Town Planning firm. Because I was interviewing back then didn't have time to wander around the gallery so today was the chance to do that. Amazing spaces with high walls which once controlled a major power station for London. After that I set off towards Oxford Street but soon got tired of that as what I once knew as Oxford street is being completely rebuilt and on every corner there was a construction site making negotiating the sidewalk difficult. Finally headed back to the hotel mid/late afternoon and am planning soon to go out and find some dinner. Tomorrow is loser final (a terrible name for hoping to be third in the world) It could be an interesting match and I am backing Argentina as I think they play more interesting rugby. The match doesn't start until 8 pm which is the latest match time I will have been to. The match is at the Olympic Stadium which was built for the last Olympic Games. It will be nice to be at a different venue. Today Graham Henry signed my Rugby School football which I am sure will add more value to my Facebook competition. Lots of media here hedging their bets about who is going to win on Saturday. No doubt it will be a nervous time for us all but I will have my fingers and toes crossed as I am sure you will. No photos today as the Tate Modern was a no no for photographers.

Very serious business today

This morning I set out at 7.15 am on behalf of you to check that Twickenham was ready for the final and there was no sabotage! This morning was a trip to Twickenham to tour behind the scenes and of course check out for you all that the following were in place: 1.The correct jerseys were displayed alongside the great bronze outside Twickenham 2. The correct flags were flying inside the stadium 3. There was no glass on the pitch 4. The All Blacks had the correct Changing Room (England's of course being the most prestigious) 5. The changing room was appropriate for the mighty All Blacks 6. There was no food in the fridge in the changing rooms that might go off and poison the lads! It was a really interesting trip inside the stadium. Once you are on the edge of the grass you get a sense of what it must be like for players to see the stadium full. On the pitch there were lots of special light mounts (looked a bit like the sprinklers our farmers use to water their paddocks). These lights imitate sunlight and supposedly help the grass to grow. Three per cent of the grass is artificial as the artificial grass is used to bind the natural grass and make it stronger. We then went through the hallowed doors of the Changing Rooms and saw all those dedicated seats we often see on pre-match TV. I did check out the fridge to make sure there was no rotting food there that would poison our team. There was a good display of international rugby players who died in World War I and you will see in the pictures John Key on a TV. John Key would not always make my postings but he was speaking on the video on the contribution and commitment of NZ'ers in World War One and the fact that the events of World War One were a significant part of New Zealand become a Nation in its own right. Today was one of those days when you contemplated giving the tour a miss (many did and although 7 buses were ordered for TED Team only three were required). We left the hotel at 7:15 am in pouring rain and it rained almost non stop for the two hour journey to the stadium. However by the time we alighted from the bus the rain had stopped which was just perfect for the tour behind the scenes. I was glad I made the effort even if the alarm did go off at 6:15 am. We finally arrived back at the hotel after 1 pm so I grabbed a Banana and a coffee from the coffee shop in the hotel to get some sustenance and contemplate what I might do with the rest of the afternoon. Decided that I would visit the Imperial War Museum as they were promising a special World War I display. I arrived and joined what felt like thousands of others to view the display. There seemed to be lots of school groups which I suppose makes sense in that the English version of Anzac Day (Remembrance Day) is in early November and no doubt all the schools were visiting so the pupils could get a sense of what Remembrance Day is all about. I didn't think the display compared as well as the one we saw with John in Manchester earlier in the year but that could have been because of the crowds. Finally back at the hotel around 5 pm for a dose the The Chase and the news before I head out to find a meal in the vicinity of the hotel. Saw a local pup not too far away so thought I might try that tonight. Just realised that Saturday the day of the Final is Halloween so it could be an interesting night after the match. Glad to see you are back on line Irene - hope you enjoy following along.

A day at Canterbury

As planned I got myself organised and headed off to Charing Cross to catch the train to Canterbury. Canterbury is in Kent in the vicinity of Tunbridge Wells but further south. The train trip took about an hour and twenty minutes so it was after 11 am before I arrived in this medieval historic town. It was a pleasant walk from the Railway Station to the Cathedral. There were lots of narrow streets that went off to the left and right as I walked up the main street to the Cathedral. The Cathedral of course is ancient - founded as a Cathedral in 597 AD. The current cathedral is built over the site of the original cathedral and the current cathedral was built in 1377 AD. It was at Canterbury when the King finally broke England away from Rome but the battle for the hearts and minds of the population went on for years. The Kings closest advisor Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral by the Kings Knights and since that murder. Becket although a friend of the King held to the rights of the Church against the King and the Kings Knights took it into their own hands to get rid of this pesky priest. The architecture of the church inside is quite amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how the medieval builders were able to make these beautiful vaulted ceilings from stone. They ceiling is so high it must have been amazing to see how they continued to work (no doubt on shaky wooden scaffolding) to put the stonework in place. I used an audio guide to get around the Cathedral and the guided audio tour took almost three hours. I wandered back to the Railway Station and headed back to London finally arriving back in my hotel room around 5:45 pm. Altogether a lovely day. Warm and sunny with no wind. There us a supporters function tonight which I decided to miss. The last one was a bit of a bun fight with too many people in a small space. From what I have heard tonight's occasion is to be similar and the buses are not going to be back to the hotel until midnight. I am off at 7:15 in the morning for a guided tour of Twickenham so perhaps an early night is a better idea.

Day off in London

Today seems to have been the first day for a long time that there hasn't been something to go to. Must say I have enjoyed having a day off. Had a leisurely breakfast and then thought I would go out for some retail therapy - not that I had anything on my shopping list but thought it would be nice to see if there is anything different in this part of the world. Because of all the global brands it seems harder and harder to find something unique to a Country and today proved no different. However it was a nice day and the sun came out. I took the tube to Oxford Street and wandered in and out of the shops. Purchases were very boring like an indelible pen for Graham Henry to autograph my Rugby School Ball and a USB stick to copy a file for Clare. Returned to the hotel mid afternoon and plan to head out later to find an evening meal. Thought you would like to see what a Fan Zone in a hotel room looks like. Doesn't quite compete with the Facebook ones but the hotel staff seem to honour the layout by cleaning around it. No doubt it collapses when they are cleaning but they seem to keep it restored. The English press seem to think the All Blacks have had their day and wont conquer the Australians which seems par for the course here as it seems hard for the English Rugby writers to acknowledge the All Blacks - that's OK might be good to go into Saturday as underdogs. Tomorrow I am planning to take the train to Canerbury to explore the birthplace of Anglicanism. I have probably been there before but I cannot remember being there for a long time so looking forward to the trip. The trip in the train is just over an hour so plan to be on the train by 10 am.

Semi final TWO

Today dawned sunny and clear if a little chilly. There had been a frost overnight and the day took a bit longer to warm up. After breakfast I got myself organised for another day at Twickenham. Last night the UK shifted their clocks back so I did have an extra hour in bed which was nice. NZ is now 13 hours ahead of the UK which I assume makes it a little later for you to watch the final next weekend. Today we left an hour later for Twickenham which meant we did not arrive at the ground until around 1:30 which was much better. By the time I found myself a Cornish Pastie (surprisingly tasty for Stadium food) and a coffee the stadium itself was open and I could set off to find my seat. It is quite fun being in the ground for the warm up of the teams. It looks a bit like 'hide and seek' - we will train at the same time of you but we will not let you see any of our tricks'. Before long we were standing for the National Anthems. The Argentinian one has such a long introduction that you begin to think the choir has forgotten the script. However once you get to the singing part the Argentinians become very emotional and loud! The Argentinians did play well and never gave up but there did not seem to be a plan B when they could not break the Aussies with their constant going up the middle and bashing into the opposition. There was certainly a lot more blood than we have seen in any match so far so you are allowed to have a little hope that the Aussies are a bit bashed up with one less day to recover. It was surprising to me that there were not a lot of Australians in the crowd. There were blocks of yellow dotted around the stadium but not in the numbers I expected to see. After the game there did not seem to be a lot of celebrating Australians walking away. When I got back to the bus everyone commented on this so perhaps I was correct in my observations. At the end of the game it was a longer walk back to the bus in a clear frosty night. A brisk walk was the order of the evening. When you come out of the Stadium it is very dark and it feels like midnight even although it is around 6:45 pm. The trip back to the hotel takes almost two hours and the Thames looked quite stunning tonight with all the reflections on the water from the clear night atmosphere. I am sure I must have been in the UK during Autumn but I do not remember the stunning autumn colours in the trees. Right in the middle of London there are green spaces with trees just turning colour and it looks quite amazing. I took some photos from the bus but they weren't so successful as cars kept zooming into my lens.