AR
@psalisbury.bsky.social
Headteacher in a challenging school. Rugby. Alex and Rudi. Jeff and Elaine. Claire. Sandals. History. Was @llewelyn20 on Twitter
Thought I'd finish the holiday with a bit of a walk. Would have been perfect (well not far off,.it isn't Yorkshire) if I hadn't been stung half to death having briefly lost the path and had to beat my way through an evil patch of nettles and brambles. Wankers.
Holidays starting to feel a little bit over now, so thinking of this as a long weekend. Cheers people.
It's all a bit doom and gloom at the moment. So here's me and Ruud fucking about in Auckland..
There's an underclass of people that don't play any positive part in society. They care nothing for people, laws or property. They go unnoticed most of the time, until their culture clashes with the mainstream. They don't give a fuck. And I should know, I grew up with them.
So there's a Tiktok craze now encouraging people to drive the wrong way down motorways. Mother of god.
Those big white things are sheep, just to be clear. The swallows were in the sky.
AR@psalisbury.bsky.social · last wk.Another little solo jaunt today, walking an area I've never been before. Noticed swallows starting to group together. Won't be long now.
Another little solo jaunt today, walking an area I've never been before. Noticed swallows starting to group together. Won't be long now.
I could have done without this excitement though. Good job I speak Minotaur ..
Rudi was forced to choose A levels he didn't like so he could get on his rugby academy. Last year he got EEU. He's not that academic, but worked so hard all year (literally every day) and today got BBC. For a lad who spends most of his time in the land of Ruud, that's amazing. He's a good lad.
So we land, customs and passport is chaos. It's 35 degrees and this is the 'grassy area' outside the airport. Alex is stuck in traffic and I'm wondering whether it would be quicker to walk home. This heat is insane.
Last walk down the beach before we fly. These big skies are nearly as good as Yorkshire.
Last full day here, so we went for a walk. It was like Jurassic park. What a wonderfully complex and contrasting place New Zealand is. I feel like I've seen more contrasting climates, landscapes and scenery in 3 weeks than any other place I've visited..
Watching the rugby in the hot tub has got to be one of the best things I've done this holiday...
Since Ruud was 4 years old we got up every Friday or Saturday morning at 6am and watched the NZWarriors in our kitchen. Well tonight we saw them live, and it was amazing. They won, we saw a haka, indigenous round, they beat the panthers...perfect.
So turns out my friend has a boat, so we went out to Rangitoto and climbed a volcano. Just another weird, wonderful day in this amazing place...
So we're back in Auckland after the most amazing 5 days in Queenstown. That is some place...
When I was younger, I was pretty fearless (a benefit of limited intelligence). Becoming a parent introduced a level of emotion and worry that I didn't think possible. Today I was as distressed as I've ever felt, partly because I had to smile and wave at the little goon.
I feel like I'm in a place that is part The Lakes, part Switzerland, part Norway and part Dale. Amazing.
Came back from the Bay of Islands today. Me and Ruud swam in the sea but I had one eye out for fins, I can tell you. There is so little development round here, it is like looking back in time. Just splendid.
But there is a sense of living history here that I love. I'm not one for glorifying cultures, but I like to try to understand people and the places that they shape. The links across continents fascinate me, I see Buddhism in Maori; Celtic mythology in Taoism. I love it.
Made our way up the north coast today to Waitangi and the coastline is as beautiful as anything I've seen. And this includes the stretch from Bewdley to Arley on the river Severn. I'm kidding (although that is pretty, to be fair).
