Here now

I left the plane and walked onto an icy cold island in the middle of the English Channel.   I had to go through a second version of Customs - just to remind me that this is an island nation not just another part of the UK.  Having successfully negotiated that very small hurdle I was there - actually in Guernsey and there was James waiting.  I should have been a bit suspicious then, he was dressed in a big black coat, scarf and gloves, as was everyone else in the airport.  It was definitely winter and not the Wellington version.  We drove on narrow roads passed fields, glasshouses, stone cottages,  and whitewashed cottages from an episode of 'All Creatures Great and Small'  It was on this journey that I encountered my first 'Filter', a form of intersection control (or lack of control) where all the road rules are abandoned and cars go through the intersection on a 'first come first served' basis.  I could not believe it when James explained it to me but after passing through a few of them I had to believe him, it looks and feels like chaos but apparently it works, somehow.  I'm not convinced but I do have to apologise to May who I scoffed at when she told me of such things - however May that rule still doesn't apply in the back streets of Petone so don't try it again.

Then it was home to Bird House - the official residence of Princess Evie and her parents.  She wasn't actually home yet but I got to spend time with Cherie as I waited.  It was so good to see her but also quite surreal - here we were as far as you can get from NZ chatting away as if I had just popped round for a coffee.  The flights, the time difference, the distance all melted away into insignificance.  And then Evie arrived and it felt even more surreal, this wee girl who I saw born, who I have seen only once again when she was 18 months old, jumped on my knee as if she saw me every day.  It was simply lovely.

Since then I have been quite busy - Friday Evie, Booboo the giraffe (in his own pushchair) and I walked down to town, unfortunately walking back up the hill proved a bit much for Booboo and  the wee one but we made it.  My first impressions of the town - incredibly busy and actually quite crowded (due as much to the width of the road as to the number of people I suspect), coffee was decidedly below average, people were friendly (and helped us find our way home after a few wrong turns) and the hill home is deceptively steep (its the pushchair for Evie next time and no Booboo).
Saturday James said he'd take Evie and I for a drive but then  handed me the keys as we approached the car - best to get the first drive over with I guess but it was quite an education with such narrow streets and very unforgiving stone walls on the edges of those narrow streets, not a great combination.  We drove down to the waterfront, out into the middle of the island and down to the beach on the other side for tea and cake at the Cobo Beach teahouse.

Cobo Bay General Store

Leaving the tearooms - note the ubiquitous pebble front
 lawn, so much easier to keep than grass

Cobo Bay beach - yes thats a horse in the distance much to
Evie's delight 

Looking a little Mordor-like when the tide is out

Beautiful white sand and big black rocks

And Sunday was off to the local church - for those of you with an interest, you can imagine the church Adrian Plass describes and you wouldn't be far wrong.  I think I saw Mrs Flushpool and the vicar made some great jokes (conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes, to name just one you would have loved Peter Muller).  Highly entertaining.  

Today Evie and I had a big adventure - we went to the supermarket together, Waitrose.  Cherie gave me instructions and I got there with no trouble even though it was through one way streets, a number of filters and a few weird detours due to road works.   Waitrose is a medium sized, New World-like supermarket with good food and a coffee shop (always a sign of a quality retail outlet) which we started at with a baby cino and a cappuccino with an extra shot which greatly improved the taste I think.  Like a local I met one of Cherie's good friend there (she saw Evie of course and assumed I was the aunty, I had seen her and her family in many photos and knew who she was  - very amusing, no introductions necessary).  The trip home was a bit longer than expected and Evie kept asking me if our house was nearby - I honestly had no idea.  I will elaborate on the one way systems and lack of street signs in another episode, but we did get home eventually, ice cream a little worse for wear.

Opps nearly forgot - Evie and I had our first Fairy craft session and as promised here is the princess tiara and necklace.