Computershare Christmas Party

This evening was my work Christmas do held at the Pullman Hotel in central Auckland.  A great venue with views out over the city and harbour.  Andrew, Andrea, James and Richard with Royston and myself in this photo during dinner.  A very enjoyable night with plenty of wine, dancing and singing.

Pre Christmas Party

This evening we had a pre Christmas gathering with some of our friends.  Santa's little elf turned up to help.

A great evening of tasty food, beer, wine, secret Santa and games - a serious session of the name game going on here.  A good start to the festive season.

Denise's 60th and the end of Movember

Tonight we headed into town to celebrate our friend Denise's 60th...her very own diamond jubilee so everything was decked out with union jacks.  Today is also the last day of Movember so Alistair had to keep Royston company sporting a dodgy mo.

The evening was a great celebration, and capped off with a fitting crown cake.

Huntington Stables, Cambridge

This weekend we headed for a night of luxury at Huntington Stables just outside of Cambridge.  The view from the deck across the countryside.

The two stables are in the grounds of the main house and we had use of the pool (freezing cold!), the spa, and up at the top of the garden, the sauna.  We used the latter two to warm us up after our very brief dip in the pool.




The stable was equipped with all the mod cons so we spent the afternoon and evening relaxing around the pool and in the room.

Provisions were provided for an afternoon snack and breakfast so we also made use of the well equipped kitchen. 






A very relaxing night away and a recommended place to stay.

Taste of Auckland

Our annual trip to Taste of Auckland coincided with Royston participating in Movember.  Two weeks in and already looking scary...an end of month photo will follow.

We took the opportunity to try out some new restaurants - both these dishes from Non Solo Pizza - the salmon tartare to the left and wagyu tartare to the right.  Both beautiful dishes and a great start to the tasting.






Our favourite dish of the day was from Everybodys Izakaya - the karaage duck leg with yum yum sauce and cabbage.

After several other small plates we finished with Taste's 5th birthday cake - a feast of strawberry.  

Front Garden

Over the past two weekends we have been working on our front garden - this was the before shot (though it had become a lot more overgrown than in this older photo).

Three and a half cubic metres of pebbles and a few feature stones later, along with new plants and we now have a much neater and low maintenance garden.






We may add some more plants along the front of the house and side of the drive at some point in the future.

Visit from Anna & Tim

As part of the Labour Weekend break, Anna and Tim came up to visit and finally got to see the house.  We made the most of the playground next door to entertain a very energetic two year old...Jodie enjoying the swing.

Whilst Royston was left holding the baby...three month old Nicholas.  We'll be down in Taupo to see them later in the year.