arrived back into a hot steamy Mumbai on Saturday night.. suitcase was missing, last seen in Sydney, but eventually was delivered home on Sunday night (did mange to get 2500rupees out of Singapore Airlines in the meantime though). Had a lovely time in NZ, though it is nice to be home after travelling so much lately.. unfortunately I am off again tonight to Germany and Uk and for the first time in my life I think I would actually rather stay home than travel. But off i go and will dream of May when i send my passport off for replacement and am on enforced home stay for 3 weeks.
Was in NZ for my Dad’s wedding to his partner Denise on Easter Monday. We had the perfect NZ late summer’s day – cloudless deep blue sky, beaming sunshine and not a breath of wind. We celebrated out on a farm that was green and lush and quiet, and we drunk beautiful kiwi chardonnay and gorged on barbeque lamb and pork that had been slow cooking on a spit since 6am. Both animals had been chewing on the sweet NZ grass only a day earlier and tasted mighty fine!
Dad’s car was attacked by his kids and new stepkids:
Had a chance to go for a drive over to Raglan, a rugged surf beach on the north west coast of the north island and wandered the art galleries, had a pint at the pub and icecreams on the beach. here we are in all our glory enjoying the glow from the setting sun.
Also had a quick trip down to Nelson to see my Mum and her family. Met the new baby in the family who is just the cutest bub in the world; and also got to spend time with my wonderful 92 year old Nana who is still going strong and certainly hasn’t lost her marbles. She was born in 1915 and spent her 20s in Wellington, the same city i grew up in. i love thinking about how we walked the same streets and probably even shopped in a couple of the same shops.. only about 65 years apart. her experiences would have been a little different to mine though, depression era and then World War 2 both major eras during her youth. Nana married my Grandad Jack when he came back from the war, but I love hearing her talk about the American soldiers who were posted by Mackays Crossing, north of Wellington, and who used to give gifts of silk stockings and take the girls out dancing. Grandad passed away in 1975, after becoming a successful farmer and also a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party and now Nana has been by herself for as long as she was married. She’s still got a fiery tongue and lets us know about the women she doesn’t like at her rest home (one in particular who ‘dresses like a man’). She gets such a thrill out of seeing her grandchildren (she has five, plus 3 great grandkids) and the walls of her room are covered in photos of us all. It was painful for all of us to say goodbye. When you know you might not be back for a year, you have to take into the account that this time could be the last time and thats never far from our minds. Of course we have been thinking about that for the last 10 years and she is still going strong, my Nana is a trooper.
Here she is with my sister:
Going home is such a mix of happiness and melancholy, but it is always wonderful to be there.
