We were sad yesterday

After a lovely birthday celebration on Saturday with Tim and the boys - The Lion King was just great, and dinner at a Thai restaurant in Pimlico was lovely and made more so by two of Tim's friends, Issie and Gavin from Dalry, joining us as a surprise for him - yesterday was sad.

The boys were heading home by train with their babcia Jola to their mum in Dalry, which meant their saying goodbye to Tim for a couple of weeks, and we had to say goodbye to them and to Tim for the next 6 months - until we arrive back here early in May next year.

So a few tears all round.

And today we have to say goodbye to our good friends, Barry and Pauline, who we've been staying with for the last couple of nights.

But wait - we are travelling home Business Class - yippee, we can lie down! And we are short so we fit the beds when we are fully stretched out!

And there's more: we are going home to our wonderful NZ friends and our lovely home (although the garden and lawns have no doubt grown a fair bit in the warm wet spring weather).

But wait, there's more! My work awaits, and I am very excited about that - I have kept in touch and done quite a bit of work during our time over here - jet lag and then general insomnia have assisted having work not encroach on the holiday aspects in the main. So I will be travelling to Hokitika every fortnight, and that place and its people are a pleasure to be around. The team has finished cleaning up the Waiuta Mine site so it can be re-opened for visitors, and now we are planning the clean up of the Alexander Roaster and Battery - all to be completed before May next year. (Note to team: it must be completed before 4 May, as that is the day that I am getting on the plane to the UK - get it? got it? good!)

And David has several more Weaving Memories jobs lined up waiting, so he will be kept busy and won't have time to watch daytime TV (yeah, right!)

And we have friends coming over from the UK who will be visiting, so plans must be made for their Waikanae experience...

• big Neil and little Neill from Bude in Cornwall are coming in January - big Neil's surprise 50th birthday present for little Neill was/is a trip to NZ and we are on the itinerary
• Irene and Ian from nb Free Spirit are on their Big OE (Overseas Experience - for the northern hemisphere-ites who don't understand the Oz/NZ acronym for our intra-hemisphere travels). Currently they are in Oz and heading for NZ in the New Year.

And we have our friends Jack and Sarah and their owner, Duey the papillon, coming to visit in December.

And Pete and Warren are moving to Carteron to a HUGE ENORMOUS house and we will have to go and visit them.

And Cafe Rata will be re-opening.

So it'll the time between now and early May will be busy and productive, as well as filled with friends and socialising. Note to self: must get in touch with lovely sister and arrange a getting together, soonest!