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!

Welcome to Exeter!

Hi Bertie here!

Had a great time in Canberra and there is so much to see and do - I must go back there again sometime as there are a couple of places I want to go back and see!

Anyway, arrived safely at Exeter in the Southern Highlands of NSW. My next chaperone wasn't at home so I spent a couple of days resting in my package and it was nice to kick back and relax after such a hectic couple of visits.

So when my chaperone came home from Sydney I was quickly released from my sleeping quarters and was prepared for a couple of days of travel and adventure.

Firstly, we went to the south coast of NSW, Nowra to be exact where my chaperone had to pick up her new car - very exciting as I got to drive in the front with her - she's not a bad driver but she likes to go fast!!

We then had lunch at Bomaderry Bowling Club where we met my chaperone's father, had a few drinks and then watched him play competition bowls.

I had never been to a lawn bowls tournament before and it was great - all these men, some looked serious, some not so and even an 11 year old boy who plays in the top team!.

Anyway here's me watching the bowls.



Very interesting game bowls, more strategy than you think and those bowls don't seem to have to be thrown too hard. A lot of waving of white rags, use of chalk and tape measures when deciding who is closer takes place.

A very enjoyable afternoon and best of all my chaperone's father played very well and his team won! Yay!!!

So back in the fast new car and we mad a quick stop at a petrol station at Kangaroo Valley and of course visited the lovely historical bridge. Here I am at the Hampden Bridge It's a cool bridge - only one car at a time is allowed to go it and it is suspended - I was a little scared but my chaperone said not to worry as she would keep me safe and she did.

Today, after a night of rest we went to beautiful Bowral and I insisted that if I was going there, there was only one place I had to visit and that was the home of Sir Donald Bradman and Bradman Oval.

Thankfully, my chaperone is very compliant and she and her husband (who seems a little bewildered about a Spurtle being taken around and photographed in places) took me to see the oval and statue of THE DON.

Here I am next to Sir Donald - just outside the museum set up in his honour. and here I am at the entrance of the oval (can you see me I am there - look on the fence!) and thoughtfully there was a match being played - so very civilised, so very English!



I then came back to my chaperone's house and I did a "gig" with her husband who is a bit of musician - see me? I am playing the drums with him and here is the song called shuffle that we played - cool eh? That's me on the drums and here is another called Ska. Just click play hi fi to listen to me!

I was pretty tired after that so I am having a rest and my chaperone has surprised me by telling me I am off to Sydney with her for the week to see some of the sites while she works! - Woo Hoo!

Catch ya all soon!

Over heated and Degas'd in Canberra.

Bertie has had a wonderful time in Canberra, A.C.T. Australia. He was taken to the National Art Gallery to see an exhibition of Edgar Degas' work. No pictures are allowed to be taken in side the gallery, so his tour guide Kerry,(http://kerry-meandmythree.blogspot.com/) had to settle for this one only out side the building.
Here are a couple of links..http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=01 and http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/Degas/
Wish I had gone too.
Canberra also experienced high temperatures in February, sometimes in the high 30's Celsius.
Just too hot for a boy (Kerry's son) and Bertie. Best to have a good sleep on the floor and continue playing later.

Now he is off to Exeter in the Southern Highlands of N.S.W. to visit Gail. Do hope she takes him to meet the ladies of the C.W.A. Who are making tea cosies to raise money for BREAST CANCER. Do visit their web site please.http://crazycozies.blogspot.com/

THE SPURTLE ODD IS 'E!

I, Bertie L. Spurtle
Am planning to hurtle
Awa round this wauld in guid time.

I've Sally'd forth
To Jilly up north
Och weel, "south" does nae rhyme.

We went Twenty/Twenty
Fans there a plenty
Though not all the cheers were for me.

Nou it's off tae Canberra
-----------
-------------

To be continued

Written by my Dad, Michael Fitz. Thank you for joining in the fun.

Berties Day at at the Cricket!

Well, he had a great time at the cricket and New South Wales won the finals of the Twenty20!!

Here he is outside the Olympic Stadium before it all began.



Inside, with the big screen before it all began. Tension is building!



Fireworks just before NSW come out to bat.



They have to get 167 off 20 overs to win. One ball to go and they still need one run. They hit and run but it has to go to the 3rd umpire to see whether the batsman was run out...nailbiting or what??


Anyway, a win to NSW with a crowd of 17000, 16996 of whom thought we were barking!!

Onto Canberra on Tuesday and the next leg of the adventure!

Safely at Hornsby

Whoohoo! He's just arrived for his sojourn in Hornsby!! Just pouring him a drink!

Fantastic Jilly. Give him some air quickly. All wrapped up like that overnight!

And so the Adventure starts!

Here he is sunning himself near the pool (in the middle) and yes he does have sun block on.



Here he is looking at the map of the Central Coast. Gorokan is at the top right between Kanwal and Toukley. Hornsby is down the bottom in the middle.



We shall go to the post office tomorrow and post to Jilly in Hornsby.
Note to self.... Must leave enough air in parcel so he can breathe.

How the Adventures Began.........

For this SPURTLE, it began by me getting him from the Central Coast Wood Turners Association. A group of men that turn wonderful pieces of wood into delightful objects and then sell them. I have got many over the years from *Jim* who really takes pride in his work, and would be very surprised to know that this one is about to travel the world.

This is the little note that is attached with tartan ribbon, when you acquire one of Jim's SPURTLES.

Now, thanks to WIKIPEDIA, the free encyclopedia, here is a little bit of history on THE SPURTLE.

The spurtle (or "spirtle") is a Scots kitchen tool, dating from at least the fifteenth century. It was originally a flat, wooden, spatula-like utensil, used for flipping oatcakes on a hot griddle. This terminology is now confined to Angus and Perthshire.
Over time, the original implement changed shape and began being used specifically for stirring oatmeal and soups. The rod-like shape is designed for constant stirring which prevents the porridge from congealing and so becoming lumpy and unappetising.[1] It looks like a fat wooden dowel, often with a contoured end to give the user a better grip. It is in common use throughout Scotland, although it is rarer in Angus and Fife where the term theevil is used.
The word may derive from the Latin spatula.
There is a World Porridge Cooking Contest known as "The Golden Spurtle".

Yeah, but how come this one is going around the world? Did I hear you ask?

Well, over on the foodie forum I belong to, one of the members suggested that we pick an item and post it to other members and then photograph the item in it's *holiday place*.

So, wanting to spread the word on SPURTLES, Mr. Bertie L. Spurtle was born.

There is also a set of plastic measuring spoons and a mini whisk about to start their travels around the world in the same way.

Good luck BERTIE and have a wonderful time.

I will endeavour to keep you up to date on his travels.