CARDIFF, WALES

Cardiff, Wales - Coupe Du Monde 2007 - Rugby World Cup 2007

We got off the train some 45 minutes of or so later in Cardiff and there were All Black and French jerseys everywhere. The atmosphere was already electric as everyone was anticipating the biggest game of the World Cup so far.
Olivia's Aunty and Uncle we in town for the game as well and she spent a bit of time on the phone trying to suss out where to meet up. They had come all the way from NZ!
As we had arrived very early in the morning we had plenty of time to look around so we went and got a coffee and met so many Kiwis all primed for the game. After finally locating them we went and met Olivia's Aunty Trish and Uncle Les. We went to the infamous 'Angel Pub' where All Black Keith Murdoch punched over a security guard and became the first All Black every sent home from a tour for a couple of pre-match beers. It was really great to see them both and to share in the ocassion and moment and whilst we were there my Dad rang and I met him out side the pub with our bags so that he could take them back to his hotel for us.
From there we went and met our mates and my cousin Charmaine and Ty in another pub in Cardiff where we watched the Aussies go down to Perry and his England team. Jared and I started chanting 'Four more years George!' as a poke at George Gregan for his comments in the last World Cup. The rest of the pub that was pretty much All Black supporters joined in and we were all hyped and ready for the Quarter Final against our arch World Cup nemesis France. It was here that one of the funniest (but tragic) things happened. I was taking a photo of Olivia and the others when a kiwi guy asked me if I wanted him to take one for us. So I said yes. While he was trying to usher us all into a group he dropped our camera into his full pint glass of beer. It hit the bottom of his glass with a plonk and I didnt know whether to get angry or laugh! Trevor and Jared cracked up laughing as good mates would and I grabbed the camera and ran to the bathroom to see what I could salvage. I put the camera under the hand drier but alas to no avail it was stuffed. Luckily the memory stick was in tact but that meant no more photos from our camera- which sucked as I was so looking forward to going to the Millenium Stadium as I had heard so much about it. This was the last photo our camera took!:So we made our way to the stadium later on that evening and mingled with the masses walking through the streets to the stadium. There were French and All Black jerseys everywhere. I was quietly apprehensive about the game as the French had always seemed to play well against us in the World Cup and little did I know that this would come back to haunt us again soon! The stadium was amazing and the atmosphere inside electric.

The rest they say is history and I must be honest and say that we both shed a tear when the final whistle went. It was such a disappointment although the French fans were so gracious in victory and kept telling us to keep our heads up and not to look sad! Easy for them to say they hadn't just fell over the last hurdle in yet another World Cup.

We went into Cardiff with Martin, Katrina and Aunty Fay after a couple of sad quiets at the stadium and sat at a table surrounded by other desolate Kiwis all very quiet and shocked. Then we walked back to Dad's hotel and crawled into bed with the full impact of what had just happened not quite a realisation.

The next morning the restaurant was like a morgue of distraught New Zealanders all absolutely depressed. I had breakfast with Olivia's Aunty and Uncle and she joined us a bit later. I felt really sorry for Dad and his workmates as they had bus loads of clients that they had to keep happy even though some of them had literally just arrived for the that game and the semis and final.

Dad drove us back to London on his way to Dover and Calais (AGAIN) and we caught the tube to Trev's and had yet another post World Cup failure analysis. At least we didn't lose to England.

BRISTOL, ENGLAND

Bristol, England

Olivia was really excited about going to Bristol as she had spent some time growing up there when she was a child. Her Dad was training to be a doctor at Bristol Hospital and she had made friends with Anna Steen at school and they became best friends. They had kep in touch over the years and when we got to the Steen's place the two of them had a wonderful reunion. It was so great to see where she had lived and to finally meet Anna and her younger brother Mikey too. We had a great time that evening with the Steens and it felt awesome to be in a family home once again.The next day Olivia and I went for a walk into Bristol town to have a look around. It's a really beautiful city and the University is a stunning piece of architecture. There are buildings along the waterfront that are kind of similar to Wellington and made for a really picturesque setting.The next night Olivia cooked everyone her Chicken curry which went down a treat! After dinner Anna and her partner Daffyd (Welsh for David) took us to a local pub down the road for a quiet beer. This gave us a real good opportunity to get to know him and of course for me to get to know them both better.Charlotte is a teacher at a local private school and she thought that it might be a good idea for me to go with her one day to see how British School Children operated. I had a fun day there with the PE teachers going with them to their lessons and seeing what I might be in store for when I started work in a couple of months time. Whilst I was at school, Olivia went for a walk with Mickey on the Downs which is a big grass area very near to their house.

Later that afternoon Martin came home and had a surprise for me. He took me in his car to show me the games of 'Racquets' and 'Real Tennis' that he plays. This was an awesome experience to see where the modern day games of squash and lawn tennis came from. That night Mikey insisted on taking us to his fabvourite cider house where we could try some 'real good cider'. Man it was strong but really delicious.

The next day Martin invited Olivia and I to come and watch him in action in the local courts as he is a barrister. After taking us to lunch we went into the courtroom to see him in action. His case ended up being suspended to a further date so we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a case about a local teacher that was on trial for molesting some of his former students. It was very interesting to say the least.

We went from the courtroom and met Anna and Daf' at a local micro-brewery called Zero Degrees. The beer there was great and we enjoyed a lovely evening chatting before going back to the Steens place where we had something else to drink and dinner. We decided then to go outside and go in their hot tub. It was so relaxing and was beautiful sitting under the cold winter night sky in the hot steaming water.

The next day we went to meet up with my Dad at a local hotel. He was over here working for a tour company that had clients from all over New Zealand that had come over to the UK for the Rugby World Cup. One of those clients suitcase had been put on the wrong bus at Heathrow airport and had ended up in Bristol. Dad had driven from Cardiff in Wales where the All Blacks would be playing France this weekend to come and pick up her suitcase and while he was waiting for the coach to arrive with it we went to a nice local pub for lunch. Dad brought a really nice bottle of New Zealand wine which went down really well with the bangers and mash that I had. Liv had a delicious Caesar salad. It was really good to see him and catch up on everyting that he had been up to over the last few weeks. He said that we could stay in his hotel room when we went to Cardiff that weekend and as we bade him farewell he gave Olivia a t- shirt that Mum had brought for her and my big puffy Kathmandu jacket that he had brought with him from home.

Saturday morning arrived and we said goodbye (for now!) to The Steens, got our supporters gear on and caught the train to Cardiff....

LONDON part 2. Dad/Ken's award ceremony.

Dad's award ceremony London, England

When we got back to London we collected our stuff from Puna and Shane's place and made our way across town to a hotel right near the famous cricket ground 'The Oval.' My parents were coming to London as my father was going to be awarded an 'Honorary Fellowship' to the Royal College of Gynecology and Obstetrics. We settled into our room and Tama went to the local shops to see where we might all go to dinner when Mum and Dad arrived. I was so excited when we got the call from the front desk that they were in reception and it was amazing to see them both as the last time we saw them was in Hong Kong three months ago. We went to a lovely French restaurant about ten minutes walk away and had a gorgeous meal and lots of catching up talks.After breakfast at the hotel, we all went into central London for a look around the shops. First stop was Oxford St and we had a coffee before hitting the clothing outlets. Dad wanted to go to Jaeger which is one of his favourite shops and ended up getting a suit and a couple of shirts and ties. He also bought Mum a beautiful top there. After looking around a bit more we went to Knightsbridge and Harrods where we were going to have lunch. Talk about spoilt! We had wood-fired pizza for lunch and it was incredible. After a lovely glass of wine for Mum and I and a beer for Tama and Dad we left Harrods with full stomachs and caught the underground to Piccadilly Circus. After getting the compulsory tourist shots we walked to Trafalgar Square and went to have look at the amazing collections in the National Gallery.That night we were treated to a very special treat indeed. Dad had booked us in for dinner at a 5 star Spanish restaurant. It was quite the experience. The wine and food was incredible and the service impeccable. We had some lovely starters which were accompanied by freshly baked rolls.
Mum and I had traditional paella for two as our mains and then when the dish came out there was easily enough to feed at least 4 people. It was enormous. Tama had a steak meal that he polished off and so Mum and I told him to have some of our main as there was no way that we were going to finish it. It was a truly memorable dining experience and one that we won't forget.The next morning was the big day of Dad's award ceremony at the Royal College. With another scrumptious breakfast out of the way we went back to rooms to get dressed. This was especially good as I finally got to see Tama wearing the lovely new suit, shirt and tie that we bought in Vietnam. When we were all ready we walked to the College about 10 minutes away. The ceremony was full of pomp as the Royal College is very much a British Academic Elite arena. Dad was one of 6 recepients of an Honorary Fellowship which recognised their contributions and achievements to the fields of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Dad was given the honour of speaking on behalf of the recepients and did an outstanding job of course.
The final act of the proceedings was to appoint the new chair of the College. When this was all done there was an after function of finger foods and drinks. We all toasted Dad's success with glasses of champagne and I was so very proud of him.

From there we caught a black cab into London and went to Selfridges for yet another treat! Dad took us to 'The Wonder Bar' which is a wine bar in the store that sits above the most amazing wine store I think that I have ever seen. At 'The Wonder Bar' you put credit onto a swipe card and then chose from the extensive wine list the wine that you want to taste. Once you have made your selection you make a note of the number code of the wine and then find it on the wine dispensing machines that line the walls of the bar. There are trays of stunning crystal wine glasses everywhere and you take one and then insert your card into the machine. Then the prices of each size of sample of wine come up and chose the one you want and press the button. The machine then fills your glass to that amount and debits the correct amount of money. It was so much fun. We also had some beautiful rare tuna and other nibbles. That night Mum and Dad went to the black tie dinner event at the College and Tama and I went and saw some friends for a drink and a bite to eat.

The next day we had planned to meet up with some dear family friends of ours, The Steens from Bristol. We had met them when Dad was in training at Bristol Hospital and I was going to school with their eldest daughter Anna. She and I became best of friends and by coincidence their house was merly a stones throw away from ours. Our parents struck up a friendship that has lasted to this day. Mum and Dad went into London to meet them for brunch while Tama and I stayed in our room so he could watch the next All Blacks game against Romania. We had tickets to this game but we decided to give them up so we could come to London for the presentation instead. After the game finished with another resounding win to the All Blacks we met up with Mum, Dad and Charlotte and Martin Steen at Westminster where we boarded a ferry for a cruise down the Thames to Greenwich. It was such a great view of London and we saw lots of the major tourist sights along the way.
It was so good to see them both and after the cruise we all went to Knightsbridge for coffee and scones and yet another look around Harrods. That night we went to Angel for dinner with their daughters Anna & Laura and had some really lovely Turkish food.

After breakfast in the morning Mum and Dad got ready for their return trip back to New Zealand.
Martin and Charlotte came to pick us up and we said our sad farewells and headed off to Bristol to spend some time with them.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Edinburgh, Scotland

We arrived at Kings Cross St Pancras at 7.30am in the morning to catch our train to Edinburgh for the World Cup quarter final Scotland vs All Blacks. In a short time there were All Black jerseys everywhere and the atmosphere was building quite nicely. What we didn't know was that the train we would eventually be catching was stopping off in Newcastle and that they were playing Westham that day in football, so the train ended up being packed with rugby and football fans. The other thing was that they didn't have our trains platform displayed yet so everyone was watching the boards and listening for the announcement and when it finally came there was a huge mad sprint to get seats (as they are not reserved unless you have First Class ones). I ran ahead of Olivia and got us a couple of seats in a carriage that was mostly rugby fans and we settled in for our journey. If all went well we would arrive with about an hour to spare to get to the stadium before kick off! Of course British transport being what it is this didn't happen. Our train ended up being delayed for an hour on the tracks because of a fault on one of the lines which meant that all the trains heading North had to to use ONE BRIDGE! Talk about useless! This gave us time to chat to the people on our carriage and share a beer or two in the process. One of the guys that we met was a man named Victor who turned out to be a doctor. When we asked him where he practised he said Palmerston North Hospital, (talk about small world!) Olivia laughed and asked him if he knew Ken Clark (his boss) and he said "Yes I do." She laughed and said' "Well it's a small world isn't it because he is my father!"

It ended up that the train was so delyed that there was no way we were going to make the pre-match proceedings like the anthems and haka and probably even the kick off. It was really disappointing as I had always wanted to see and hear the Scottish National Anthem being sung at Murrayfield and now we were so close but yet so far! When we finally got to the station there was a mad rush as people jumped off the train and started running towards the stadium. Olivia was so nice and said that I could take off so that I didn't miss much of the game and she would come along soon. Eventually I found my seat and the game had started! The worst thing about this game was that the All Blacks were more like the All Greys as they were wearing their alternative strip and it was so difficult to tell the two teams apart!
Olivia went off at half time to get us some beers and didn't come back until the game was almost over because the stall where she had been queueing for about 25mins closed just as she was getting to the front and all the people had to go elsewhere! ONLY IN THE UK!!!!!!!! At least we won this game though!

After the game we met up with my cousin Charmaine and her husband Ty and it was great to see them. We also ran into a whole lot of people from Wellington. Our friends Trevor, Barrett and Jared joined our group along with Dr. Victor. We all went on a bit of a pub crawl back towards Edinburgh and there were Kiwi and Scottish fans everywhere. Further down the road we caught up with Guy (who is Charmaine's sister Waitaha's partner) and his brothers as well as what seemed to be the rest of New Zealand.

Trevor and I left the others and took mine and Olivia's things back to the apartment where we would be staying the night and then met back up with everyone at a pub called 'The Scotmans Arms.' It was just off the magic mile (basically the centre of Edinburgh), full of locals and it was awesome!

Whilst we were in there we met a couple of local Scottish lads and someone mentioned to them that I missed the Sottish National anthem at the game and had been so looking forward to it, so they started singing it and the whole pub joined in. It was incredible.

Later on the night we met the publican who was your stereotypical Scottsman with a big beard and kilt and he got up on stage with a set of bag pipes and played for about half an hour including another hearty rendition of 'The Flower of Scotland.' There was also a one man band guy with his guitar and eventually I asked him if I could have a go and played a couple of songs for everyone to sing along to.

The next morning we gingerly got up and went for a 'Scottish breakfast.' We found a pub on the magic mile and when it arrived it was worth the wait - haggus, black pudding and all - delicious!Then Olivia and I said farewell to everyone and went and checked into our hotel as we were going to be staying one more night so that we could have a look around. On the way we stopped off at Footlocker to get Olivia some new shoes and something warm to wear. We got a really nice thick 'hoodie' each and were sorted. We managed to get a great deal on lastminute.com and our hotel was really beautiful. Once we had checked in we went for a walk around Edinburgh in the drizzle and got ourselves an amazing jacket potato for lunch, it was soooooo good, especially on a chilly overcast day.

Ater that we caught one of the many hop on hop off bus tours around Edinburgh and went up to see the famous castle which didn't disappoint.



From the castle we got back on the bus and finished the scenic tour.

After a quick shower and change of clothes we met up with Dr. Victor for dinner and went to a local Indian restaraunt that had been recommended by our tour guide earlier in the day. It was in an old Church and was stunning. The cool thing about the restaurant was that although it was unlicensed you were able to go to the pub next door and get something to drink and all you had to do was tell them you were eating at the restaurant and you could take it back with you. When we ordered dinner Olivia asked for a particluar curry and the waiter said, "Oh no you don't want that one as it will be too spicy for you. You should have this one instead." The three of us were totally shocked! "No I want this one," was her reply, "as I like spicy food." Again the waiter insisted that it would be too spicy for her and offered her an alternative. What a cheek! Anyway once that was all sorted we ended up having a very pleasant dinner and evening (Olivia got her original choice and it was perfect for her!).

The next morning we had our 'Scottish Breakfast' at our hotel and then went into town to check out an 'Andy Warhol' exhibition at a local museum. Olivia was so excited about it as she had studied him at school and University. It was an amazing spectacle and we bought ourselves a Marylin Monroe print on wood as a momento. After some more sightseeing we checked out of our hotel and met Dr Victor at the train station for our return journey back to London.