Gillian and Hywel @ 33a The Parade. St Heliers
Gillian and Hywel Jeffreys, Ruth’s parents, are retired primary school heads. They enjoy their travel and when we made our decision to shift out to New Zealand, they were the first to book their visit with us.
They made their way to us via Dubhai, Bankock and Sydney and are not knocked sideways by jet-lag when they arrive. Having now been away for six months it’s great to see them.
They are with us on-and-off for the best part of three weeks. During this period they travel the North Island extensively including :
- Mount Manganui
- Gisborne
- Napier
- Taupo
- Rotorua
- Orewa
- Helensville (strange choice eh?)
- Paihia and the Bay of Islands (while in the Bay of Island they meet with Darren Fielding – originally from Sennybridge – who handed over a Brecon Cricket Club Cup which has been in his possession for several years and which he was supposed to give back at the end of the season he was awarded it. Hywel is under strict instructions to return it to the club saying that he found it washed up on a beach in NZ !
Revolving restaurant at the Sky Tower.
We also show them extensively around Auckland, including the following:
- Waiheke (and a visit to the Mud Brick Cafe with its spectacular views and took in the view of Auckland city and Hauraki Gulf)
- Auckland Zoo
- Parnell Cathedral (Hywel is a fan of visiting chapels, churches and cathedrals).
- Auckland museum with its impressive Maori collection
- Mission Bay
- Howick historic village
- Viaduct harbour
- Devonport
- Sky Tower
Hywel and I also watch Auckland v Taranaki in the quarter final of the Air New Zealand Cup (the domestic club competition). Auckland win convincingly 30-10 and we call in my rugby club, College Rifles, for a beer on the way home.
Creative dance at St Heliers school assembly under the watchful eye of the excellent Headmaster Craig McCartthney
As grandparents and former teachers they also enjoy attending various assemblies and other school events and are generally ver impressed with St Heliers school (which is no platitude given their lifetime commitment to education).
Gillian at Gymnastics with Meg
Gillian also enjoys taking Meg to gymnastics where she characteristically joins in. She also enjoys going with Ruth to aerobic sessions at St Heliers hall while Hywel is benefiting from the climate and the sea air and is walking a couple of miles most days and enjoying himself.
Their stay coincides with the Rugby World Cup which is being hosted in France. So their stay is punctuated with family viewing of fixtures early in the morning (give the time difference). This spectating includes the disappointing Wales v Fiji game. As an event it was very exciting but all to predictably Wales ended on the wrong side of the result. The only comment I will make is that had Martyn Williams narrowed the angle for his try ( he was not under pressure) perhaps the conversion would not have hit the post and, that being the case, the final penalty we had (which was kickable) could have been kicked for a draw which was all we needed to progress. But this observation deflects from the fact that the management has been shocking all year and this result is essentially deserved (and has a silver lining because surely Gareth Jenkins and his team cannot stay on).
Count down clock at the Britomart, downtown Auckland the day the AB’s go out.
Another memorable fixture is the ABs v France fixture from Cardiff (one of four games played in Cardiff despite the tournament being hosted by France). Despite the AB’s 72% possession and 64% territory and the 140 French tackles v 40 New Zealand tackles the result goes against them. The radio phone-in shows are inundated with irate callers. It will be interesting to spectate on the repercussions of this loss, a loss which represents the worst result in World Cup history for New Zealand (they have never lost at quarter final stage) and one which means New Zealand will go at least 34 years without having won the World Cup despite being, on average, the best side for the last 30 years. There are already calls for Henry and his backroom staff along with Richie McCall to resign.
All too quickly Gillian and Hywel’s 3 week visit is over and it’s time to run them to the airport for their journey back to Wales. There visit has been great, they’ve been impressed by what they have seen and can see we are having a great time, we’ve enjoyed their company (and baby-sitting service) and the children have love them being with us. They’ll also be able to fill in the gaps for my parents in a way that telephone calls and emails don’t.
Their journey home takes them via Melbourne, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Very cosmopolitan!
NewZealandly 