The party.

Oh dear! Bit of a headache this morning. Had a roaring party in the kitchen. Overindulged in that potent mixture of furniture polish and porridge oats. We've all done it though, haven't we? But I shouldn't have mixed the furniture polishes.
Spent half an hour looking for re-runs of Andy Stewart's Hogmanay on my hosts cable T.V. Over a hundred channels and no ANDY STEWART!! I wouldn't pay my T.V. license if I was them.
My host (FRAN) wasn't to pleased with the state of her kitchen this morning either. (She doesn't know how to party!!!!)
Oh well, back to bed for a few hours.

Happy New Year.

Wishing you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Having a bit of a party later with the kitchen staff, that's if the host ever goes to bed. Boy she can natter!
I have the new shirt to wear for the occasion and Myrtle looks mighty fine in her *best* dress too.

Christmas Day.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.

Hope you are having or had a wonderful Christmas and you got lots of presents.
I got a new shirt, very snazzy indeed.
Tonight we are going to the Christmas party on the Kibbutz, I've heard there will be lots of lovely food and bingo later. Hope we are all lucky.

Bertie's arrival in Israel.

Well, I've just arrived in Israel and what a shock the weather is to me. I left the snow of Scotland last week to this lovely sunshine. Couldn't wait to get out of my padded envelope and get some sun on my back.
My cousin, Myrtle the Spurtle, was happy to show me around the garden and fend off my hosts dog who wanted to play *Go fetch* with me. He might have had that on his mind, but I had PASSION on mine. That Myrtle is a real looker.
Nice to be here in time for Christmas though. Wonder what they have planned for me?

Berties visit to Wellington.

Bertie flew in from Nelson and was pleased to be released from the confines of his box. It was a bit nippy so I found a spare merino wool wrap to keep him warm. We then decided to toast his good health with a Bombay Sapphire Gin and Tonic I don't think alcohol agreed with him as he had a wee vom, never mind, all cleaned up and then he was off to bed !

Bertie decided that he would like to help take Billie our Westhighland terrier for a walk, so we all climbed into the Landrover and drove out to a very scenic spot close to Wellington City called Ataturk's Memorial Park. Looking South out into Cook Strait.The white pillar in the distance is Ataturks Memorial which was erected to remember the New Zealand and Turkish soldiers who died in battle at Gallipoli during WW2.The large white boat out at sea is the Picton Ferry which carries people and vehicles between Picton in the South Island and Wellington in the North Island. The sea journey takes about 3 hours and is a glorious sailing on a fine still day.The rocks in the sea are part of Barretts Reef and if the sea is too rough with gale force winds then the ferry will not sail because the reef becomes difficult to avoid.

Looking North up into Wellington harbour with the 3 sisters (pinnacles) in the distance.

Ataturks Memorial. The inscription reads:

Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives, you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side in this country of ours. You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears, your sons are now lying in our bosoms and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they become our sons as well.

A grubby Billie after her walk with Bertie.

Bertie wanted to expand his wardrobe before his international flight to Holland so we went shopping and bought some feathers and leather. We made him a feather and merino wool cloak, woollen hat, underpants and a leather boot. We then bought a new box and some sweet treats for his new hosts and he was airmailed to Het in The Netherlands.

Bye Bye Bertie xxx

Kia Ora from New Zealand

Well, here i am in sunny Nelson, at the top of the South Island of New Zealand, famous for it's beautiful National parks, seafood, wines, arts and crafts,cafes and sunshine.

My first official outing was to the wedding of my hosts daughter Bethany, where i had pride of place at the bridal table with the beautiful bridesmaids. Here i am with Jessica, Genevieve and Bronte. We had a lovely evening, even had a spin around the dance floor!

Here is a photo of me at a cafe in front of the Nelson Cathedral.

One beautiful sunny day, my hosts took me for a "Tiki tour" and we ended up at Mapua, a little place on the Mapua Estuary that has some lovely cafes. Here i am about to share my hosts steak, mmmm, it was delicious.

This was my seat at the table, it was a beautiful sunny day as you can see.

This day we went out fishing in my hosts boat. This is just one of the many snapper we caught, we had fish for dinner every day. Nelson is a good fishing spot, and the largest fishing port in Australasia.

This one is taken on Seafarer's wharf

in front of the Seafarers Memorial, which is dedicated to all those lost at sea.

And looking the other way towards the yacht club, and cafes.

So, as you can see i have had a lovely few days, the weather was stunning and i have been well looked after. I'm off now to Wellington.....goodbye Nelson.

Sydney Town!

Well I know it has been a while since I posted on here but I have been busy and well, with one thing another time just flew (and the battery ran out in my chaperone's camera too!)

But what a time in Sydney I had - so much to see and do and really just not enough time.

Where to start..........well, I was staying in a lovely apartment for my entire stay so that was fun had glorious views of Darling Harbour and Centrepoint Tower but I wasn't just relaxing no I took in several sites.

Let's see - had to walk over the Harbour Bridge and her I am doing just that!



(See the person jogging?) I didn't do that I took in the amazing structure that is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You can climb the bridge and climb to the top of the arch - amazing the views!!

Of course, whilst walking across you get a great view of the Sydney Opera House. I even walked down to the Opera House a few days later which just really got me to appreciate the wonder of the design. It is really one of the wonders of the world.



Now, having ticked off the 2 must sees in Sydney I then took a stroll around Sydney town.

Gee, there is a lot of sandstone in Sydney and here are some examples. Oh and when you are a Spurtle and sandstone looking you tend to blend in!!

First Sydney Town Hall.....



And St Andrews Cathedral.......



And the GPO!!! Whilst it still has a post office, it actually has a great hotel, cheese and wine store and restaurants.



Oh and her is the Sydney Tower - I really wanted to go up there but just didn't have time as I needed to get ready for my next destination - New Zealand!



Oh, but here is just one last photo of me on TOP of the Harbour Bridge - well sort off!!!!



I suddenly remembered that I had an invitation to a wedding in Nelson New Zealand. Gosh, I hope I make it as it is on the 21st March!! Well at least I am already dressed for the occasion.

Roll on New Zealand!