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The Great Man
Nelson, what a priviledge to see himI am so lucky and feel very privledged because I have been within 100 metres of two of the greatest men of our time within 9 months. Last year in Auckland I sat in awe of the Dalai Lama and last week I went to Hyde Park to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Inspirational Nelson Mandala. Wow. To celebrate his bday and comemorate nearly 20 years since he was released they held a concert in London and Midiba was there and on stage. The lineup included Queen, Amy Winehouse, Razorlight, Eddy Grant, Annie Lennox, Joan Baez, Leona Lewis the sugarbabes and many many african musicans. The 46664 rocked, I will never forget the experience and I have the T Shirt.
It has been a mixed month. Our trip to Swansea has been called off this weekend but we are catching up with Steve and Amanda, who are over here on a short holiday and to see family. It is really nice seeing friends from back home. Jude and John Larkins (friends from Nelson (and probation) have been kind to us. They have a car and two weeks ago we drove down to the Isle of Wight. It got off
Isle of Wight
Lunch on a beautiful sunny day to a great start when we arrived at 9am in Southport, stumbled into a Hotel that was televising the All Black game and offered us to help ourselves to coffee. John and I took that to mean breakfast and we enjoyed Bacon and Eggs while the AB's kicked arse. What a neat place, it really felt home to be near the sea, on an island. A wee bit like going to Waiheke for the weekend only its a bit bigger. The atmosphere was laid back, people friend and villages very compact and quaint. However commericalisation has hit the locals. You go to a scenic reserve and its hard to find the scenery for fast foods, candy shops, souviners (no spellcheck) and the dreaded Pommie tradition of side shows (Yuck). Can you imagine going around the Malborough Sounds, stopping at Anakiwa and there are Dodgems, Candy Floss and a Merry go Round. Anyway we did have a nice time and enjoyed being out of London. John and I took our boardies but as the sun was absent so was our motivation to pay our respects to Tangaroa.
Domestic wise the last month has been stressful. We have been forced to
Isle of Wight
Gamblers Heaven, every Pier is loaded with gambling machines for young and old and you can't get to the end without passing them move from Morton Way because the builders have decided to redo all the plumbing, wiring and reinforce the foundations. They told us it would take a month but its going to be a lot longer. We are now living in a room in a shared house. The location is great (opposite the Tube) and it only 10 minutes walk from our old place. We share with 4 other guys (poor Anita) I have to escort her to the shower every night and the kitchen and bathroom were not up to her standard so she did a lot a cleaning. Those of you who know Anita will know what I mean. We do not have a phone and no internet access but the shops are next door andIi can put on the jug, go across the road and get the Sunday paper and be back before it boils. We had planned to regulary go back to our old place to call home and use the internet but for some strange reason the chippies decided their tools would not be safe if we had a key and the changed the locks without telling us. This has left a sour taste in our
$240 a week
This room costs us £95 a week. It could be much worse mouths and we will not be returning.
The good news is we have found a nice little Studio apartment 10 doors down and we move in on the 11th July. Anita is really excited and I agree that it will be nice to have a place to call our own and make our home. The people renting it are from New York, they liked that we had put flyers in letter boxes saying "Mature Kiwi couple......" anyway they invited us around and opened a bottle of wine and the deal was done. So by the end of the month there should be some stability and normality in our living situation. Well my time at the internet cafe is just about out. The weather has been pretty good and Wimbledon is all the talk over here. Didn't Marina Erakovic do well. Love you all Tony and Anita.
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