Whipsnade

We took advantage of one of the last warm days of the year to have a little adventure in Whipsnade Zoo. There were some wonderful characters about!







The elephants get taken for a walk in the park every day:











Nap time:







And we finally found out what a wolverine looks like:

Two Years Together

Two years together since that wonderful first date! Love you always, Dave.

xxx

Wintry Blast

Sorry there haven't been any new posts for a while, we've been settling into a routine in the flat with us both going out to work. It's going well in Henley and I'm enjoying my new job. Hopefully it might become a permanent position, but it's great to have work in the meantime anyway! We've both been getting through the first of the winter sniffles and the weather has definitely gotten colder. Time for the central heating and the electric blanket.

Wedding planning is happening slowly and surely, we've received our batch of save-the-date cards from the printers and will have the task of writing them out. I was also lucky enough to spot some lovely ivory parasols at the local farmers' market in Henley, which happens every Thursday. I've got four at the moment, and will collect another four next week. Fingers crossed we won't need them as umbrellas on the day.

Funny Little Fellow

Here's a little video of Murray the cat - named after this Murray - entertaining himself. He has a sweet and funny personality, very friendly, chatty and playful. He loves Felix brand cat food and tries to talk you into giving him some... His phobias are the vacuum cleaner and that one day Dave and I will be flushed down the toilet! (Murray stands guard outside the door and if you are in the loo for more than 5 minutes he starts getting very worried and distressed). Maybe his last best friend was a goldfish? We will miss him when he finds an owner - it's nice to come home to a friendly ginger face at the top of the stairs.

Sunday in Henley

It was a cold, grey day in London... Autumn is truly here. We drove out to Henley on a test run - I'm starting work on Wednesday in Henley-on-Thames, South Oxfordshire. It's a beautiful village right on the river. We walked around the village, admiring the late roses and someone's carefully grown grapes.





There are lots of swans on the river, many of them being fed by visiting children.



Henley is perhaps most famous for hosting the Royal Regatta. There were some rowers out on the water, but mostly it was just people relaxing and enjoying the sunny day. We warmed up in a local pub and had a tasty lunch. I think I'll enjoy working here.

Old Gorhambury House

I am a wonderfully lucky girl to have Dave as my driving instructor. He is very patient and we get to sweeten the deal by going to fun places. I'm learning how to drive in Britain, although I have a full NZ licence (recently swapped for a British one!) the road and traffic conditions are different here, and worth getting to grips with. We had fun driving to St Albans in my new little Yaris. We parked up next to the Roman ruins and walked 2 miles up to the remains of a mansion built in 1563-8 for Nicolas Bacon, Queen Elizabeth's Lord Keeper.



The house is now just a folly, seen from the new Gorhambury house. It was a fun walk, seeing grouse running out from the bushes and getting caught in the rain! Nothing like cosying up under one umbrella and laughing while avoiding the puddles...

Roeburger

This is for Mum... yes, we tracked the roeburger down! I had one in Wirksworth, a Peak District village. We went to see Dave's friend Chris for his 30th birthday celebration and stayed over the weekend. My verdict? Yum, but not for everyone. Yummy fishy goodness for 80p takeaway, £1 restaurant.

Someone else who is fond of fish...