Christmas no.2 - baked ham and leprosy

So, Christmas is all but over for another year. Our second Christmas in Nuzziland has gone. My second summer Christmas passed. If I've not spoken to you or emailed you or chatted to you in the past few days merry Christmas, eh?

Joanne and I have had a lovely last few days. Starting with Christmas day, we got up early enough to open presents before heading off to church. Among the many wonderful gifts I received I got a couple of Rachel Allen cookbooks, a bundt tin, a digital photo frame loaded with pictures of family and a copy of Football Manager 2009 that I'm scared to install because of the days it will eat. I also got a Billy T. James DVD and an album of Neil Finn, Anika Moa and Dave Dobbyn music. She's trying to educate me about kiwi culture.

The rest of Christmas day, after church was spent with our friend Sarah and her family. It was so lovely of them to invite us to share their day and they all made us feel really welcome, even though we'd never met any of them before bar Sarah's mum, and even then only briefly. Lunch was what was described as a real Kiwi Christmas lunch - baked ham, salad and some meat off the barbecue. Not quite what a typical UK Christmas lunch but very tasty all the same. I do love baked ham. After lunch we headed out for a walk around the beautiful Canterbury University grounds before heading back for the real Christmas action - sing-a-long-a-Mamma Mia. I'd not seen the movie before and I have to tell you, despite my preconceptions, I enjoyed it. Just a fun film. You can tell the cast had loads of fun making it too. And after watching some famous people sing we thought we'd give it a go ourselves. We'd taken the PS2 along and the rest of the evening was spent introducing Sarah's family to Singstar. We persuaded them it would be a good opportunity to practice before they have a bigger audience at our NYE party. It's amazing how people adamant they will never do karaoke soften as an evening progresses.

Yesterday, Boxing Day, was a relaxing day. Neither Joanne or I left the house. Lazing around, not doing anything imparticular was the order of the day, and the order was filled. Perfect.

Today we met up with Mon and Barry and the kids and Mel and their mum. Mel is over from Hong Kong spending Christmas with her family so it was a great opportunity to catch up with everyone all in one go. And it was definitely great to catch up with everyone. Mon had the idea of heading over on the ferry to Quail Island. It's an island in the middle of Lyttelton harbour that has at various times been used for quarantining both animals and humans, including a period spent as a leprosy colony. Now it's a nature reserve and general beauty spot. It's hard to believe that only fifteen minutes out of Lyttelton on the boat, in the middle of an extinct volcano cone there is such a lovely little place.

We met the others in Lyttelton at about midday (after a lovely panini and chocolate banana smoothie in No.6 cafe) and headed down to the ferry. A fifteen minute boat ride, as I say, and we were pulling up alongside the quay at Quail Island. There was plenty of time for a spot of afternoon tea, a fast-paced stroll round the island and some time for lazing in the sun too. So this is what a Kiwi Christmas is all about is it?

So far it looks like we've got about 30 or so people coming along at New Year. It's still not quite as big an event as the London ones where we had over 50 one year, but we're getting there. The word is spreading. The entertainment for the evening is taken care of with Joanne's massive selection of Singstar disks (she's practising in the other room as I type). Now we just have to plan the food side of things.

Non-stop Saturdays

You know, it's nice to be busy, but I am looking forward to a Saturday with nothing on. Today was another non-stop one. It's been a good one though.

It started with England v Tonga and England playing a lot better than they have done. They looked a long way from the team that got hammered by South Africa, but I still fear for them against (probably) Australia next week. There's a couple of Aussies in the office but I think they'll be gentle with me. I'm just glad Clayton's still 12,000 miles away in London.

After the rugby match it was time for what Joanne described as the best breakfast she'd ever eaten, even surpassing our favourite diner in New York. She was so excited by what I told her about Drexels after I went with the marketing team on Tuesday that she insisted we go as soon as possible. Who am I to refuse another great breakfast, eh? Heuvos rancheros for me, eggs, sausages, hashbrowns and pancakes for Joanne. Be warned - anyone who intends to visit us in Chch, expect a breakfast in Drexels scheduled in.

The next part of the day was spent shopping for house stuff, checking out some furniture, looking for coat racks, buying towels, checking out 'garage organising solutions'. Our usual weekend stuff. But at least it was only part of the day. I can't get over how the Kiwi equivalent of B&Q has a drive-through bit, and every DIY store has someone selling sausages outside of it. Very peculiar.

In the afternoon we headed off to the Botanic Gardens to meet Monika and Barry and their family. Mon is the sister of Marvin and Melanie, friends of ours from London (although Mel is living in Hong Kong at the moment). It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. They're a great couple and have lovely kids. Mon assured us they were on their best behaviour, but we were impressed. The Botanic Gardens is a really great site actually, in the centre of the city, but really well cared for and looked after, well-tended but with stuff for the kids to do too. It reminded me of Pukekura Park in New Plymouth that we had a wander around with Shirley on my first visit to NZ. Kiwis do do outside well, you know.

And then this evening, after an eat-all-you-want buffet at the Cabbage Tree, we headed off to AMI stadium, ex-Jade Stadium, ex-Lancaster Park (the joy of the age of corporate sponsorship of sport, eh?) for Canterbury v Auckland. Both teams, as I mentioned were unbeaten going into the game and had been playing well all season. Well tonight that changed. Canterbury just didn't real turn up and lacked Auckland's intensity. Having said that, had Stephen Brett, who has had an impressive season so far, kicked all the penalties and conversions he missed the scores would have been tied.

There was a strange subdued atmosphere at the game. Someone told me that it was nothing out of the ordinary. It was very different from a football game in the UK, I can tell you. It took 70 minutes before there was even any chanting of any sort, and that was only because the Tui the crowd had been downing began to take effect.

Leaving after the match was a little strange too. I've decided, because we live here, to support Canterbury in the Air NZ Cup and the Crusaders in the Super 14. It wouldn't make any sense to do otherwise really. So I have an intellectual attachment to Canterbury, if you like, and to the result tonight. But it's not like watching Grimsby Town and Man United. It's not a team that is part of me yet, not part of my history, of what makes me me. I have no emotional attachment. And so watching the game I wanted them to win, sure, but leaving after the game I was a little disappointed but the feeling wasn't nearly the same as leaving Blundell Park after seeing Town getting beaten. It wasn't personal. I wonder how long that takes.

Shepherds in shorts

Today I got to see my first summer nativity. It was carol service day today at church and the kids of the Sunday school performed the traditional nativity play. Bless. How cute. Nativity plays, singing carols and the usual passages from the Bible about Jesus' birth do seem a little out of place when the sun's shining though. I wonder if I'll manage to feel Christmassy once we're up north.

Melanie is over from Hong Kong at the moment, visiting her family. She just spend a week in Wellington with her mum and is now down in Chch visiting Mon and Barry and the kids so came along to church this morning. Afterwards we headed to Northlands for a bit of lunch. It got me thinking how nice it is that we're friends with Monika as a result of knowing Mel and Marvin back in London. Mel's over here for dinner tomorrow night so it will be good to catch up a bit. I know Jo's looking forward to spending some time with her bridesmaid.

Joanne and I stopped by Animates on the way home. They had two gorgeous little schnauzer-shih tzu cross puppies, one biscuit coloured and one black with brown 'detailing'. Getting a dog is a big commitment though, eh? And which particular variety is the rightr flavour for us? I think we'll revisit the issue in the new year.

Choo-choo

Burgers in buns followed by jelly and icecream followed by riding on trains. The kids were happy. I think the adults were too, to be honest.

After church today Mon and Barry and the kids came back to ours for lunch. Xavier likes trains and we'd promised a few weeks back that we'd get together one Sunday for lunch at our house before nipping across the road to the trains. Today was the day.

I thought it was just going to be a little circuit round and round, but it wasn't. In and out of the trees, over a bridge, round the duck pond, underneath the the bridge, back through the trees and back to the station. I can see why it's always heaving over there when the weather's favourable. Trains are always a winner.

DIY

I have just finished the first little DIY job on our new house. We now have towel rails in our bathroom and the toilet. And Joanne said I am useless round the house. Pah! ;)

Yesterday we went to the Canterbury Homeshow. It wasn't quite the Ideal Homeshow. It turned out it was more for people redeveloping or building a house, rather than for people in our position, but we did buy some lovely stone-coated saucepans. German technology, supposedly.

After that we headed to Payless Plastics and spent a bomb on 'storage solutions' crates and boxes and drawers and wireframe-cubes and underbed storage galore. We might nearly have enough storage to empty all of our boxes now. That's the plan for next weekend when we have a bank holiday on the Monday.

Oh yes, I guess I should mention the rugby at some point. England reaching the World Cup Final, eh? Better than most Englanders could have hoped for before the tournament and following the South Africa game. They look a completely different team, but I still worry that they've done nothing all tournament past No.10.

I spoke to my Dad last night, once we got his mic and speakers both working. Which was tricky from 12,000 miles away. Skype rules though. Free calls. What a brilliant idea. It was good to talk to him. We're looking forward to having him out here in Feb.

Joanne and I have been chatting about how we're both settling in and how it feels and stuff, two months or so in. It still doesn't feel quite like home yet. As Joanne said, after hanging up some washing yesterday morning, it feels like we're playing "house". It's quite different living in a house after ten years in a flat, having a garden and a garage and drying clothes outside and stuff. It's a lot of responsibility, you know.

Monika made it along to St John's this morning, which was good. She said she was going to come along and check it out sometime. Wally's sermon again was very challenging, looking at Deuteronomy 4 and what God has to say about idolatry. The six of us (Barry was working so it was just Mon and her three kids and me and Jo) then headed to a cafe called Scrummy Mummies. Rather a bizarre name, but a lovely place. It used to be Papanui train station before it was converted and it has been designed to be very welcoming to parents with kids. They have stuff on during the week for "mums and bubs". A really cool idea having somewhere for mothers to meet and hang out that is kid-friendly.

Joanne's working at the moment. I can't wait until the end of October when she eventually finishes with her old company in London. It'll be nice when they eventually pay her too.