Where to start? Well the biggest piece of news is that Eric has finally made it. As of 1 April (no, not a joke!) 2010, Eric is a partner in MagillEarl Solicitors of Matamata
In his jeans because it was the weekend!
I cannot tell you how very proud I am of him, well of us both really. I believe that there were several times when Eric may have given up on this journey. As I have explained before, it has taken so very long, from the time when we lived in South Street, Whitstable and we made the decision that Eric would study to be a lawyer, for him to get qualified. Partly because of the poor advice from the legal education council of NZ when we arrived. However, when he qualified he was very lucky to land a job with the afore mentioned firm. The partners were at that stage in their lives where they were looking to pass the firm on and Eric, and Paul, were the solicitors they decided were the right people for this. The handover is a staged affair over 3 years. Last year Paul took on a portion, this year Eric and next year it gets levelled out to a 50:50 partnership between them. We are certainly going to struggle for the next year or 2 but then, I am hoping that our financial situation will improve significantly . On the 1st both the girls were out in the evening so I cooked and we had a very romantic, candlelit dinner with balloons and banners, to celebrate. We went out to dinner as a family on Wednesday this week, Eric’s first full day as a partner.
Another, about to be, major piece of news is that we (nearly) have some form of central heating. Anyone who has been here in the cooler months, or is familiar with New Zealand will know that our houses are appallingly insulated and therefore very cold in the winters. Our, being an old (by NZ standards) house is a classic example of this. We do have loft insulation but our old Jayline wood burner was next to useless. Well, prior to setting off to South Africa our hot water tank developed a leak. We decided to bit the bullet and as we had to replace the cylinder we would get the right one for the wood burner we wanted and get both. We did some rapid research and found a company here that supply’s reconditioned Rayburns www.classiccookers.co.nz . We wanted something that burnt wood, heated our hot water and that we could run radiators off. This is it:
As you can see it’s not yet fully installed. There’s a reason for that! We ordered it in December for delivery mid-Feb. It did not arrive until mid-March. Thank heavens Mark was here when it did arrive (he called in for a tea on his way to Auckland) as the girls and I were not. It weighs 220kgs and had to be moved from the drive, up onto the deck and into the kitchen. It took them 2 hours to get it shifted! Eric had previously relayed the hearth after reinforcing the floor and once in position the next job was to get the council to grant building consent then get the plumbers in to connect up to the cylinder and and install a flue. When the cylinder was installed I asked the plumber 3 times if he was positive they had the right one. Eric was adamant it wasn’t, and when we spoke to the plumbing firm this time round one of the senior guys came out and agreed it was the wrong one. So, we are currently waiting for the flue and correct cylinder to arrive. We are in the process of sourcing radiators but I am hoping that we will at least have heat and hot water by next weekend. The temperatures are dropping significantly at the moment so I am keen to get this fixed up asap. Last weekend, Easter, we spent some time gathering in, chopping and stacking fire wood. With all the tress we have felled in the last 18 months it is certainly not in short supply! I’ll keep you posted.
Next week will be busy for us. We have a Danish student on Rotary’s GSE (Group Study Exchange) scheme. We don’t have to worry about entertaining her as their programme is jammed packed. They will be exhausted by the time they go home. She arrives on Sunday and we are meant to be at another Rotarians for lunch but we will not be available. Harriette’s GIPS (Global Issues Problem Solving) team have a fund raiser that day. We have arranged a 4x4 drive across a whole lot of farms at the base of the Kaimais. I say we, I actually mean the local 4x4 drive club. They pay money and get to drive. We provide morning tea and lunch. Not sure what time it finishes but the students go to Hobbitton (the set of the LOTR’s movies) after lunch and then back to Kevin and Margaret’s do we will collect her from there late afternoon. Our Rotary meeting on Tuesday is a formal affair which I am MC-ing!! The girls are playing music at it so it will be a family affair.
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