Category Archives: General muttering

Well I’ve survived another extended family holiday…

Posted on January 3, 2012 | 1 Comment

Always something to be celebrated really.

It wasn’t helped much by the very unseasonal weather. It’s easier to hide in the sun behind a book than in the corner of a noisy room full of kids, and in laws.

I got a few walks in. But not of the length I’d have liked given my ‘gammy’ foot. Suspect it’s an old war wound flaring up. Will toddle off and see the quack when he returns from his Christmas break. I keep telling the kid’s it’ll likely need to come off and I’ll need to change my name to Blackbeard. Katie seemed pretty philosophical about having a pirate for a dad.

I read about the latest swarm of earthquakes that had rattled Christchurch overnight. A few people were expressing sentiments of guilt on Facebook for not having been there (from their various holiday locations). I could understand this as they presumably had family there. I on the other hand had my family with me and felt relieved not to have been in Sumner. I am firmly of the view that any you miss are good ones.

I would like to miss many more. It is a curious phenomenon that some Christchurch residents inherently criticize others in words or tone for not having been in the city for the Boxing Day quake 2010, or the February 22nd or the June 13 or whatever (there are a fare few to choose from). My view is that there are no prizes for having gone through them all… and as I say any that you miss are good ones.

And so I am now home in Sumner. I head off to Auckland for the balance of the week tomorrow. It’ll see the first flight of 2012.

Lots to do… Looking forward to staying on Waiheke with Woody, Anna and their collection on Thursday. Might get a movie in tomorrow night…

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And here we are at the end of all things…

Posted on December 31, 2011 | 1 Comment

…well things 2011 at least.

I’ve exhausted my commentary on the year that was. So a brief summary is all that is left to be recorded. It had some lovely bits and some really awful bits. Anyone who follows Cantabrians on Facebook will see the general consensus amongst their postings is that 2011 was an awful year.

If you’ve never lived through major earthquakes, you’re lucky and keep it that way. There’s nothing really to be said in support of them.

Sure there’s the adrenalin rush, the sense of survival, the wonderful sense of community and caring for one another in a new way. There’s the refocusing of the mind on the things that matter, the lessening of interest in material (and breakable) things the newfound desire to fit more into our mortal lives…

But to be honest I’d have been happy to have just kept with the droll status quo rather than panicked about where my kids were, watched my wife suffer through anxiety and my kids loose their confidence and routines. Selfish of me I know.

Of 2012 not a lot is known. I have plans for travel to India for the first time. I expect I’ll be in Canada a couple of times along with at least one trip to the US. I would dearly like to get back to the UK again as I do so enjoy my trips there and the deep sense of connection I have to that lovely crowded Island. I shall throw myself into my work with gusto, it’s an exciting time for Foster Moore and I know we’ll do great things.

Molly starts her high school years at Rangi Ruru in late January. Annie will head off to the relocated Marian for her year 12 and Katie will be the oldest Hygate at Star of the Sea she tells me.

I am in the mood to throw some stuff out. My garage is full of junk and my loft doubly so. Less is more in 2012. Holding on to stuff is just pointless and it’s time to have a good clear out. This is equally true of old ideas, hopes and behaviours.

To those who have been kind to me this year, thank you.

To those to whom I have been less than kind I am sorry.

I truly hope that 2012 is kind to us all.

Have a Happy New Year one and all.

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On losing my religion…

Posted on December 31, 2011 | 6 Comments

This wee entry has been a long time brewing. It is recorded for no other reason than in writing it I am declaring it.

I have lost my religion. Not in the sense that I can no longer find it but rather I have actively and consciously shed it.

Those who have known me a while may find this surprising, disturbing or hard to believe… This is all the more interesting I suppose as it comes from a fellow who as a young man sought the monastic life. I was born into a Catholic family; I attended Catholic primary and secondary schools. I participated fully in the life of the Church for many years.

Now there will be some of you who already having rejected religion might smugly roll your eyes and mutter something about how you already knew all this… I care not. Some may welcome me into the folds of the unbeliever – if it’s all the same I prefer no fuss.

I wish to avoid offending those of my friends and family who hold their beliefs dear. I respect your right to believe what you believe. I do not intend to record this to offend those who have faith or in anyway to suggest that what has occurred to me is better or worse than that which you the reader believe. I am sure some of you will tut-tut and decide to pray for me. Do whatever you want.

I’m happy. In fact I have never been happier.

How did I get here?

When my mother died on 9 September 2010 through a series of events I was left with all her remaining worldly possessions in my garage. As I worked my way sadly through the boxes of half opened laundry powder or wedding cards she and dad received in 1954 I was confronted with the issue of what to do with those things that mum had kept so carefully for 57 years.

It hit me with a tangible force that mum was gone. She was quite simply gone. She was not looking down on me from some heavenly place nor was she watching my disposal of her detritus with some loving glow.

When a person dies they are gone. Simple. All that remains is the memory I hold. When I go – I go. I reject the notion that this life is some form of rehearsal for the next.

This is all there is and I find that rather refreshing. It means that how I behave here and now is important, for no other reason than I wont get here and now again.

I reject vehemently that men in Rome have some exclusive access to the truth. Bollocks to that. I am heartily sick of grumpy priests trying to explain every crappy thing that happens on the planet as god’s will.
I reject energetically any religious belief that argues that one gender is superior to the other.

I reject any proposition that a person’s sexual preference can be right or wrong. Consenting adults can do what they please in my world.

Food based religious rules are just bloody stupid.

Any belief system that suggests that by following rules one will gain eternal life – potty.

I recently completed a visa application for travel to India. It asked me to record what religion I practiced. I recorded for the first time Atheist, and I meant it.

And what of my mum and dad? They were both happy in their faith. Do I feel any sense of guilt or that I have let them down? No. They’re gone and I honoured them both in their death. I respected their faith in their funerals. I love them, as much today as I did when they were alive. But they’re gone.

A friend commented after I had declared my new found belief system that I had had the opposite to a Road to Damascus experience… I hopped back on the horse and turned around heading away from Damascus. He’s right… I am riding away happily.

I do not believe in god. I believe in good.

Oh and I do believe in magic and Harry Potter of course… and in good table manners, the restorative power of a good laugh, the joy of small pleasures and nice glass of whiskey a great cup of coffee…

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Oh the humanity…

Posted on December 30, 2011 | 1 Comment

So I find myself on the annual family holiday at a remote location devoid of cellphone coverage and thus Internet… Oh the humanity.

For some this would be the whole idea of a holiday – the absence of interruption, the solitude. Not me. I get enough solitude thanks. I like to be connected. Oh and I have two teenage daughters who feel the same. Katie the 5 year old is always connected but in a 5 year old way… she’s connected to her new soft toy puppy and her Polly Pockets and her Barbie…

It was bad enough, according to Annie, my 15 year old daughter, that we were leaving Sumner at New Years and leaving her friends… but to take her somewhere where she is unable to txt them is tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment. I wouldn’t be surprised if her friends stage a Navy Seal-like rescue in the middle of the night… all flash grenades and Black Hawk helicopters. I hope there’s room for me.

Katherine, my beloved wife of 22 years had always intended to marry a farmer, as she frequently reminds me. I could never have been a farmer. I need city living. I like neighbors and noise. I relish walking to the coffee shop(s), cinemas and supermarket. I am well and truly a city boy.

On those occasions, such as this, when I am in a rural location I find the absence of noise novel. Though even as I type there are six cousins all talking over each other at the table while they make origami thing-a-ma-jigs.

My plan (and if you are reading this, my plan has worked) is to empty my head into the trusty MacBook and then drive a few kilometres up the road in order to connect and update you all on my imprisonment.

The postings are designed to allow me to share what has become something of a family ritual. We head away at least once but occasionally twice a year with Katherine’s family. We have 13 of us here at the Huruni River Mouth. We are staying in a lodge that amply accommodates us all. We have bought tents as well but the weather is decidedly inclement so they may stay in their bags for a day or so yet.

We drove here this afternoon and I enjoyed listening to Katie singing the chorus to the song on her iPod… “just passing by” (she was listening to Rolf Harris’s, the court of king characticus). She would hum along and then burst into the chorus…

One of the hallmarks of a Robb family holiday is the jigsaw puzzle. Egad I hate jigsaw puzzles. The highly successful NZ Transport Agency advertisement ‘Legend’ has a scene where the surviving youth has to live with the victim’s family. He is stuck at a table where a nerdy sibling of the deceased proudly and enthusiastically announces “Puzzle Time”. I found it the most disturbing scene of all the road safety campaigns ever.

I have a lot of reading to do and plenty of thinking to do as well. One of the annoying effects of the earthquakes we experienced in 2011 is that I have had difficulty finishing a book. I was previously an avid reader and would chew through a novel easily while on holiday. A five-day-break like this would see several consumed. Since February however I have struggled to complete a handful. I’ve picked up plenty and started them only to lose interest and to cast them aside.

I am hoping to break this curse this weekend.

I have also plenty of thinking to do. I want 2012 to be better than 2011. And by this I don’t mean an absence of earthquakes, they are well and truly out of my mortal control. I suppose the best way to articulate it is that there were plenty of things that happened in 2011 that I didn’t like. It’s very much a case of me learning to change the way I react to these events. I can only change my behavior not that of others. So I shall have a wee think about how I might make this happen.

I think I shall also start a Bucket List. I have an appetite for living and I plan to do a bit of it in 2012 (for the whole year is the plan). I intend to seize any and every opportunity for new experiences in the New Year.

I tried hard to do some new things in 2011 and if anything have added a whole series of experiences to my repertoire. Whether they’ll count for much in the long run and whether they have made me a better person will not be for me to judge I guess. That’ll be for those who read my eulogy. And I wont get to hear that so I care not a jot.

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The End (of 2011) is Nigh….

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

Well it would be impolite to let the year come to a conclusion without one last post to this collection of ramblings.

2011 has been enormous. By every metric it has been a big year. Full of change; some traumatic, some voluntary and some delightful. A lot of change.

It has also been truly a year that will be seared into the memory like no other.

If I were to sum up 2011 in one word it would be survival. Making it to the end of this amazing and tumultuous year with any form of functioning sanity is no small feat.

A year full of earthquakes, job changes, hundreds of thousands of kilometers of air travel on top of the ‘normal’ excitement of family life has certainly marked 2011 as a very memorable one.

Some statistics for 2011:

Number of take offs 74 and landings 74 (happily the number balances) – according to Tripit I have travelled 241,411 kilometres this year. That equates to flying around the circumference of the Earth 6 and bit times.

I have flown on Air New Zealand (my beloved airline), Air Canada, United Airlines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, JetStar (shudder), Lufthansa (who unbelievably still fly aircraft long-haul with no in seat entertainment, thank Steve for iPads), BMI, Ryan Air (never never again), and Aer Lingus. Forgive me if I groan when I hear “even if you are one of our regular travelers please pay attention to the safety demonstration”…

I’ve done the vast majority of the flights in coach/ economy. I’ve sat in premium economy a few times and had the luxury of business class on only 3 of the legs this year.

I’ve travelled to: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Washington DC, Winnipeg, Hong Kong, Bonn, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Dublin, Jersey, Toronto, Regina, Montpelier, Halifax, Ottawa… and some of these places I have been repeatedly!

I’ve stayed in at least 27 different hotels over the course of the year. I’ve been away from home for about 12 weeks of the year cumulatively. I find hotels soulless places. The best I’ve stayed in would be The Cambridge Suites in Toronto, the Hilton in Taupo and perhaps the Radisson in Regina. The worst would be the Comfort Inn in Toronto. These are very subjective assessments though and are greatly influenced by my mood at the time I’m there.

I’ve travelled to and from Wellington and Auckland umpteen times (where umpteen = more than 10 each at least).

Number of aftershocks (as at the time of writing) 9221 [see http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/ for up to date numbers]

Number of glasses of whisky drunk = 700+ (note correlation to aftershocks)

But rather than spend too much time reflecting on the year that was, I shall look to the promise of the year that is to come.

I’ve hung up my noise canceling headphones for the year and will throw them in my carry on again in late January 2012. The holidays will include a few days under canvass at Hurunui and then a week or so in Auckland with the family. They’ll get a first chance to see where I now work and live when away. We’ll also get to play in Auckland with trips to the zoo, Waiheke and some teenage shopping sojourns to Newmarket no doubt.

I have also been reflecting on my New Years resolution for 2012. I believe I had some modest success with those I set in 2011 (in the main, with a few relapses from time to time).

I am always keen on rebuilding oneself and I suspect 2012′s objective will be to reduce some of my more annoying behaviours (I have many) to move on from those things that are beyond my control and to build on some more positive ways of thinking.

There are some things that will occur in 2012 that are well outside my control and I shall just adapt to them. There are plenty of other things that I can manage.

And to those poor souls who have read to this point… Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Posted in General muttering, Ramblings of a mad man, Travel (broadens the mind), Uncategorized

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Hurtling Across Canada at 700 kmh

Posted on November 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls here we are again. Sitting in an aircraft seat (15D) Air Canada flight AC148 to Toronto specifically. This is the third trip to Canada I have made in 2011 and will not be the last for the year either.

I’m on an Air Canada plane but am going to write about Air New Zealand.

The flight from Auckland to Vancouver NZ84 was very pleasant. Anyone who has ever even glimpsed at my meagre contribution to the twittersphere will know that I am something of a fan of our national airline.

It hasn’t always been that way however, I remember being a very devoted fan of Ansett New Zealand and then Qantas for many years.

Coming back to Air New Zealand took a while but it has been well worth it. I am a very loyal passenger and enjoy getting to know the cabin attendants and lounge personnel on my regular trips.

I want to record a little of why I like them so much, and in particular the concierge service.

On this occasion the concierge (Aaron) was the same one I had on a flight in June from Vancouver to Auckland. That was a particularly memorable flight. I had been in the US and Canada (old job) and landed in Vancouver to connect with my homeward leg. Upon switching my phone on after the four and a half hour flight from Toronto it immediately went into overdrive with SMS messages from New Zealand. There had been another significant aftershock in my hometown of Christchurch. Several of my wonderful Christchurch staff had in the midst of their own drama thought to let me know so I could contact my family. I’m not too sure I’ve ever thanked them for this.

I telephoned my wife immediately. Thankfully Katherine (who it would be fair to say is not a big fan of earthquakes) was OK. It was a Monday in New Zealand when the quake hit and through good luck my youngest daughter Katie had had sore tummy and had not gone to Kindergarten that morning. This necessitated Katherine saying home from her work. Katherine works as an early childhood teacher and the protocol should a quake occur when she is at work means that she has to stay with her wards until they can be collected by their parents. This can take some time depending on the level of damage to the roads or bridges to our seaside community.

Our middle daughter Molly was also at home unwell. So despite the quake being large, Katherine was OK as she had two of our daughter’s with her. Separation anxiety is a considerable stress during earthquakes in Christchurch, not knowing where your kids are or if they’re OK is physically sickening.

So I was able talk to Katherine and establish that she had heard from Annie (our oldest, who was at high school and who had texted to say she too was OK). I talked for a while and then told Katherine I was going to get a coffee before boarding the long haul flight.

No sooner had I hung up than my phone rang. A good friend from work telephoned to tell me there had been another much bigger quake that very moment. It was (to say the least) a very emotion charged call… I was left with no doubt it had been a big and scary quake. I rang home straight away. Katherine was audibly shaken and I could feel the panic, fear and terror.

I did what little I could do by talking calmly and telling her to get to her family. Annie was on her way home from school, which had been closed due to the earlier shake. We didn’t know where she was.

I then received the boarding call for the flight. 13 and a half hours without contact. Grim.

Aaron from Air New Zealand came and found me at the gate lounge. He knew that I was from Christchurch, he told me that they we monitoring the situation and that he would keep me up to date throughout the flight. He was excellent, several times he came back to find me and kept me informed as best one can. He was the consummate professional. I was and am very grateful.

It was nice, therefore, to have a laugh with Aaron in the lounge before the flight on this trip and to get a chance to say thanks.

Special mention also to Tina and Jon on the flight today also. They were great.

My recent flight homeward in late October had Mary Jo as the concierge. She was equally awesome. As a regular traveller (polite way of saying Gold Elite) I receive a text message usually the day before the flight from the concierge introducing themselves and asking whether I need anything. I always say hi back. On this occasion I had neglected to do anything about looking into an upgrade from economy to premium economy and given I and done a ton of internal travel in Canada I thought a bit more leg room mightn’t be a bad idea.

I cheekily asked whether Mary Jo might be able to assist in the process of this (I’d left it too late to do online from my hotel). She cheerfully replied she could and did. Nice.

And the bit I really like is where I get little gestures that remind me I am welcome back. I tend to travel economy class for long haul (we are a small company and I am trying to maximize our travel spend in the number of trips I can make to clients rather than the location on the aircraft I sit). Notwithstanding that I’m in economy the Air New Zealand team equip my seat with water, premium economy toilet bag and headphones. And I frequently get a glass of port or some other nice surprise pop from the curtains in front. I love it.

I was once a premium One World member (the Qantas days). I was on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong with colleagues. They’re sick of this story… All three of us were sitting in economy together when the cabin attendant approached us asking for Mr Hygate. “Here we go chaps”, I said… “upgrade time”. She lent over and said (looking at a computer list) “welcome onboard”.

I laughed and laughed, how did my colleagues feel? Presumably they weren’t welcome onboard?

Well actually I do know how they felt as the same thing happened to me on a flight from Heathrow to LAX in June. I had a last minute seat change to Premium Economy and was siting next to chap who received a very warm welcome as a Gold Elite. He proudly told the attendant he had just ‘made’ Gold Elite. I am into my fourth consecutive year there. I was tempted to refer to chopped liver but was having such a comfy flight and after all I had the Cathay karma to make amends for.

I am interested to see how Air New Zealand will continue to reward their most loyal clients. I don’t see a huge amount of daylight between Gold and Gold Elite. I once heard that the number of Gold Elites was quite large, and I’m not that sure it’s hard to get there. I’ve banked enough status points to keep me there a while and that’s without the rather daunting 2012 schedule…

I do wonder whether a more status-based-upgrade-at-the-gate (where there are seats free) system might be cool? Then again I see that operating for Air Canada and United and don’t really like the whole litigation that can occur at the gate or the whole not knowing. I like to know where I am on the aircraft, it allows me to go through my own preflight rituals… But they’re the stuff of another blog entry.

Thanks Air New Zealand and thanks to the awesome team onboard.

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Better say something…

Posted on September 22, 2011 | 1 Comment

It’s interesting this blogging lark. Somedays I find I have nothing to say, others too much. I have the usual head full of clutter at the moment. I started my new job a fortnight ago and have had a very interesting and enjoyable two weeks in Auckland coming to grips with it.

I am pretty exhausted, I didn’t take a gap between the old job and the new which was a bit silly I guess. I came home from Auckland last weekend but had my wonderful cousin Rob visiting from the UK so we spent a lot of time catching up.

I imagine I will hit the wall soon if I’m not careful as it has been ‘all go’ as they say.

I’ve been enjoying the changes that come with a new job. Some are big such as new colleagues, new role and so on. Whereas some are small, I have only worn a tie once in the last three weeks!

When working from Auckland I live in an apartment downtown. This enables me to leave a load of gear in Auckland all the time and enjoy the luxury of travelling with carry on only. It makes a huge difference being able to get off the plane and head straight to the car. The apartment also means there is some routine to the stay. I have never been a fan of the hotel room lottery, never knowing what sort of room one is going to end up with when checking into a hotel. The apartment is rather noisy however due to its’ location (right on The Quay and directly adjacent to party central for the Rugby World Cup 2011).

When in Christchurch I am currently working from home. I’d have to say I’m not enjoying this part of the new arrangement, so far. I am a social being and sitting in my study all day is not my bag baby…

It is early days and I can’t realistically be in Auckland every week (something to do with having a family apparently). I shall find some routine soon I am sure.

I am heading up to Canada a couple of times between now and Santa so that’ll keep me busy no doubt.

Apologies for the rather bland post, but some days are blander than others…

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Auckland – some reflections.

Posted on August 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

For the diligent reader of this little blog you will recall that I am making my farewell journey to Auckland in my old role this week. It is definitely not my last trip to Auckland however as my new employer are based in Auckland. I shall be a regular visitor.

I will however, in the interests of fairness and with a sense of order, offer some reflections on my association with New Zealand’s most populous city.

I started coming to Auckland as a boy. My lovely Aunt Angela (one of my late mother’s sisters) has lived in Auckland for a very long time. We used to have many (if not all) of our school holidays in Auckland as a result. Angela was a police officer and has the most amazing sense of fun. So holidays were always highly anticipated and invariably memorable. The trip itself, from Christchurch was part of the adventure.

I can recall flying on Vickers Viscounts, Fokker Friendships and very early model Boeing 737s. We sometimes drove, taking the Rangitira from Lyttelton to Wellington and then driving to Auckland. Other times we caught the ferry to Wellington and the train to Auckland. I remember the wonderful night trip on the Silver Star.

When in Auckland we would ‘do’ the zoo, a day trip to Rangitoto Island (including the compulsory walk to the summit), MOTAT historic park, trips to Piha, trips to Orewa and lots of wandering around Cornwall Park and One Tree Hill.

I spent my 5th form year as a student at St Peters’ College Epsom. My dad had moved to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and along with my mother and younger brother and sister I moved to stay with Angela for the year. It was an interesting year. I went from a school of three hundred to one of about nine hundred. I used to walk from Balmoral (where we lived) to school via Dominion Road and then along a railway track, dodging locomotives and there rudely gesturing drivers.

I didn’t really enjoy my 5th form year much and had occasion to bunk from time to time. I could walk from St Peters’ to catch a movie (or two) in Queen Street.

I remember also going to many ‘double-bills’ at the cinema down Dominion Road. My brother and I would go and see Clint Eastwood in those atrocious “Every Which Way But Loose” movies or the Cheech and Chong rubbish. I do recall seeing some of the best movies ever in Auckland for the first time however. There was a cinema up Queen Street that used to show classics and I first saw “Bridge on the River Kwai” and “The Dambusters” there, along with “Lawrence of Arabia”.

I once watched all three Godfather movies in a weekend at the St Jame’s in Auckland. The first two on the Saturday (back to back) and the new Godfather 3 the next day. Awesome. I spoke like a gangster for weeks.

I spent a lot of time mooching about the waterfront in Auckland.

In 1984 I returned to Auckland in what I like to refer to as my “monastic phase”. I thought I’d become a Catholic monk. I lived in a community of Catholic monks in a converted primary school in Herne Bay. Again walking and movies were a halmark of this year. I would walk all over Auckland. And as the monks had taught the Kerridge boys we got free tickets to attend any movie at the Amalgamated Theatre chain. A privilege a merrily abused. I saw “The Big Chill” that year, it was a movie that had a strong impact on me.

I had some interesting and diverse part-time jobs that year. On a Friday night I worked at the local butchers cleaning up. It was a real laugh but enough to drive one to become a vegetarian. Tales of maggot-infested drums of old meat come to mind.

During the week I worked as a nurse aide in a hospice. It was here that I learned to be very pragmatic and accepting of the reality of death. I believe the experiences I learned at St Josephs’ were some of the most valuable I’ve ever learned. I was exposed to the entire spectrum of dying. It was a very special experience. Little was I to know I would have to put this experience to good use with my parents so soon.

It was a rather lonely existence as a young fellow living in a monastic world. Monks are not supposed to have any personal relationships that would get in the way of their service to the Church. This clearly wasn’t going to work for me, as I was falling in love with everyone I met! (one of my traits). So I packed it in at the end of the year.

I then started travelling to Auckland for work in the late 80′s. It was, is and always has been the base for the IT development for the Companies Office. I have spent many creative hours, days, weeks dreaming up IT solutions and reengineering processes in Auckland.

I have some very dear friends on the Auckland staff. They are really what I enjoy about Auckland.

Until relatively recently (5 years maybe?) the Companies Office was located in the Auckland District Court Building. A foul building but relatively central. I recall numerous dinners at the nearby Mai Thai restaurant. I recall staying in a squillion different hotels in Auckland over the years. The tedious trip from the airport to the CBD which on some occasions took as long as the flight from Christchurch itself. What other city in the world has such a poor connection between the CBD and airport?

I love the weather in Auckland. I have a special affinity for the waterfront, in particular the ferry terminal area. I would spend hours just watching the boats and the world go by. I love Devonport and the ferry trip to it.

It would be fair to say Auckland and I have yet to really like each other. My past relationship with the city has been marked by adolescent angst and aloneness.

I am looking forward to learning to like the city more now it will be my HQ. Foster Moore have an apartment for out of town employees to use which is down on the Quay, overlooking the lovely harbour and close to the ferry terminal so that’s a good start…

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Been thinking about the leaving speech…

Posted on August 10, 2011 | 2 Comments

Well being a digital native it is natural that I should record my leaving speech in the ether. Actually I have three leaving speeches to make. The first in Wellington, the second to my lovely staff in Auckland and the last to my wonderful team in Christchurch. All over the next few weeks.

How does one go about summing up 26 years in a brief speech? All the thank you’s and the witty anecdotes all crammed into a brief moment of time. I must confess that for a fellow known for his verbosity I am struggling.

I do know that I want to leave my colleagues with a real sense that I am so very grateful to them for the opportunities I have been afforded over my career. I want to thank them for the care they have shown me personally at the difficult times; the deaths of my father (1996) my mother (2010), the loss of our first child, the illnesses, the family dramas (children falling from trees and breaking arms etc) and those sodding awful earthquakes.

I want to thank them for sharing the good times! My wedding (1989), the birth of my three daughters (1996, 1998 and 2006), celebrating with me my university achievements (1998 + 2005) and the numerous awards, achievements and milestones within the office itself.

I want to affirm the wonderful work they have done for so long and with such generosity. I want to remind them that they are simply and outstanding group of people, they are so far from the mold of traditional public servants that I struggle to recognise the stereotype. They are innovative, focused on helping their clients and so very kind to one another.

I want to thank them for the laughs – I once received feedback through some formal assessment tool from one of my direct reports that read “Life is not all stand up comedy” – I take it I must have annoyed said report at some point. I loved the feedback though ‘cos I think life is hilarious. And had it not been for the laughs I would have left a very long time ago.

I want to assure them that I shall miss them all dearly. My move is not because I don’t believe in what we are all doing but rather it is a personal desire on my part for a change. I will miss them.

I want to acknowledge that I have worked with some truly wonderful people and with some absolute tossers, thankfully the tossers never seem to last in my organisation.

I will recount that great line from Lord of the Rings where Bilbo Baggins’ remarks at his 111 birthday ‘I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve” This is particularly true of the Southern Business Centre as there are so many new faces about at the present.

I want to exhort them to keep on the great work. To do ever more to make New Zealand a great place to do business, to be innovative and optimistic, to seize the opportunities to use technology to deliver clever service to business.

I want to say thanks and have them know that I really mean it.

But I’ll probably just waffle on a bit and then thank them all for popping in….

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Of Hanmer I shall never tire

Posted on July 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve never had a bad holiday in Hanmer. It’s both a fact and a wee adage I have. I think it would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that Hanmer is one of my favourite places on planet earth. I am there now and on my walk this morning thought I might share my thoughts on this magical place.

To those reading who do not know it, Hanmer is an alpine village located in North Canterbury. It is a leisurely one and a half hour drive (well two from Sumner) from Christchurch. Nestled against the mountains Hanmer offers an all year set of things to do. The main attraction of the village is the thermal pool complex and I simply love hot water!

The thermal pools were long an attraction but at the end of the Great War become the focal point for the establishment of a hospital and sanatorium for shell-shocked soldiers. The Queen Mary hospital became renown for treating those with addictions in its’ latter life. The hospital was closed a few years back, sadly, but the development of Hanmer has continued.

As with many Christchurch people I have been coming to Hanmer all my life. I can recall day trips with my parents and siblings that inevitably included a walk up Conical Hill. It seemed like quite a hike when one was young but is a simple 30-minute stroll these days. Then there were the trips to the pools, a very simple affair in my youth with none of the Spa facilities, hydro-slides or themed rock pools we now enjoy. Three simple octagonal shaped pools and a cold water pool was the sum total. There were private pools as well as I recall but they were beyond our budget or need at the time.

I remember one memorable trip with my friend Glenn in his Austin A40. We were coming for a day and had flat tyre just past Mouse Point. For some reason Glenn didn’t have a spare so we started walking (the wrong way) in search of a garage. Some kind soul picked us up and we wasted much of a day getting the tyre repaired. I lost a woolen vest that had been knitted for me by my friend Kim on that day… random thought I know. I do recall we drowned our sorrows at the old public bar at the Hanmer Lodge and ate fish and chips for tea. Interestingly and completely out of the blue, he connected with me on Facebook today (he now lives in Aussie). Perhaps he knew I was here.

I came here on a couple of occasions with Special Camping Services (SCS). SCS was an organisation set up to take young adults with special needs on holidays. Parents and caregivers of people with special needs are entitled to respite care. An entrepreneurial fellow from Sumner had set up SCS on a model where the parents would pass the respite care monies along with a bit more so their children could go off on holidays (rather than just going into a faceless residential care unit). Along with a number of other young adults I was invited along to assist with the care and we received as payment our accommodation and food along with gaining from the experience. We went to all sorts of places over the three years I was involved: Nelson, Wanaka, Napier and on at least three occasions, Hanmer. We always stayed at the mobility lodge. The old forestry workers camp had been modernised and a specialized lodge had been built which provided excellent facilities for those with disabilities.

The SCS trips were always great fun. I remember one hilarious occasion where we took the gang to the pools. I was sitting in one of the pools with some of the guys and a girl called Cathy who had Down syndrome stood at the top of the steps to the pool. The pool was quite full with tourists. Cathy dipped her toe in the water and proceeded to pee down her leg into the pool. I was too comfortable to care and figured the water to urine ratio to be in my favour considerably. A great number of tourists disagreed and we ended up in a much less congested pool.

On another occasion we cleared the pool by singing loudly (and out of tune). There is nothing amorous teenagers like less than a bunch of lads who look different (Downs’ syndrome) singing.

We would work hard and look after our ‘wards’ during the day and then we’d pack them all off to bed and have a great time. More than once we snuck into the pools after they were closed (impossible now but relatively easy in those days) and help ourselves to the warm waters. I first watched the movie the Blues Brothers in Hanmer as I recall.

Katherine and I bought Annie here on one of the first wee holidays we ever had as a family. Annie was all of about 8 months old and we stayed at the old AA motor camp. We walked into the village each day, a fair hike. Annie had her first experience of the hot pools and loved every minute of it. She conveniently slept all day and was awake all night. Molly was not conceived in Hanmer!

We have been here as our little family or we have been here with Katherine’s wider family, all the sisters and cousins.

Katie ate her first solids here. We were staying at the Seven-away holiday homes and she was 5 months old. I first read a Terry Pratchett novel in Hanmer.

We have stayed in lots of different homes here. I always dream of having our own place but it is so easy to find a place to rent and we get to stay in different parts of the village. Some we like and go back to again, others we avoid.

We pretty much do the same sorts of things each time. We get takeaways one night and go out for dinner another. We have fresh bread from the bakery and I sneak off and drink copious amounts of decent coffee.

I tend to wake earlier than the others and go off on long rambling walks. I end up usually at the Powerhouse Café, I like it ‘cos it’s small and the coffee’s good. We explore the shops and occasionally do mini golf or the silly bike things.

We always do the pools.

I spent much of June overseas. I was in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK and Ireland. I was in Singapore in May. I have done an enormous amount of travel in the last 12 months but nowhere do I feel so relaxed and at peace. There is just something about this place.

We have had many family holidays here. Here we are again with Annie at age 15, Molly 12 and Katie enjoying her last days as a 4 year old. She will start school after these holidays. She too wandered up Conical Hill today. It started snowing on the way up which was rather magical.

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