June 2022 – The Vanninis' Manoeuvres

The cost of living

A number have people have asked us the prices of various staples here in the UK so I thought I’d do a quick blog entry on basic items here in the UK and rough NZ price equivalents. The exchange rate is currently around 50p to 1NZ$, so just double the British pounds to get the NZ$ equivalent.

The first major one that is a global talking point is the price of fuel. Diesel seems to be very expensive here compared to NZ with it being more expensive than 91 grade petroleum. Today 91 is priced at £1.89 and diesel at £1.99 (roughly NZ$4 whereas in Auckland we understand 91 is retailing at around $3.03 and diesel a few cents less).

At the supermarket we did a quick price check…butter is £2.40 for 250gms, a 500gm pack which is the usual size in NZ is a rarer sight here but I did find a 500gm pack at Sainsbury’s for £3.50, which is about the same full price in NZ although we buy it when it’s on special for around NZ$5.

Milk is £1.35 For a 2.7litre bottle (4 pints) whereas it is anything upwards from $NZ4 for a 2 litre bottle.

Cheese (tasty) is £4.40 for a 550gm block, again, kilo blocks of cheese are hardly in UK supermarkets but in NZ a 1kg block of tasty cheese can be up to NZ$21 in some supermarkets. Again, we buy it when it’s on special.

Price for 4 tins Baked Beans. We don’t eat/buy these so I have no idea of the price of them in NZ but a quick look online and they are $1.99 each so I would suggest they are around the same cost.

A tin of tomatoes is 28p….and anyone buying tinned tomatoes in NZ will know that since the pandemic the price has risen considerably and it’s now hard to find a tin for under NZ$1.

A whole chicken is as low as £2.50, of course you can pay a lot more for larger sizes and free range/organic but I’m pretty sure that a standard chicken is around the NZ$10. Meat, specifically beef, is expensive in the UK as you can see from the photo below, admittedly this was taken at Borough Market where prices are much higher.

It’s difficult to compare prices of fresh fruit and veg as they are very seasonal with it summer here in the UK and winter in NZ but you can buy 2 large punnets of strawberries for £3 or NZ$6. Bananas were 78p/kilo, cauliflower 82p for a whole one, tomatoes 75p/kilo.

You can buy spirits at the local supermarket with a litre bottle of Captain Morgan Rum for around £15 whereas that would be $60 in NZ.

House prices seem to be on a par with Auckland prices, you cannot get very much for the equivalent of NZ$1million in the suburbs around London. Apartments, flats, maisonettes and the like are also similar prices to Auckland. But in other areas there are much more affordable prices depending on your budget.

Electricity and gas prices are difficult for us to compare…..but I am assured that prices have risen in some cases over 150% here in the UK over the past year making it a major expense.

Car insurance is compulsory and each driver must be named on the policy for the specific car to be road legal, something that NZ should consider, even if it’s just 3rd party insurance. No insurance? No excuses, your car is seized immediately and you make your own way home.

The cost of living and inflation rates are high on the news reel each day with some speculating inflation will rise to 11% in the UK in the next few months.

Generally we have found the cost of groceries to be about half of what we would pay at the supermarket in NZ, taking into account the exchange rate. However, we tend to think of a pound as a dollar and don’t bother to convert, otherwise we’d end up doing very little!

There’s a hole…

Alex and Ian live in Bexleyheath and we are always asked where is that? Then we try and explain. Bexleyheath hit the headlines today (including in NZ as I saw it on an article in Stuff) after a sinkhole appeared in the road not too far from their home, the Guardian newspaper has an article about it here. The Stuff article is here.

The blue dot 🔵 is where we are and the red pin 📍 is the location of the sinkhole

It’s not too far from anywhere really, a quick bus and/or train trip from where we want to go. Except this week as the trains aren’t running everyday as train workers strike for more pay as most workers around the world would like more pay particularly as the cost of living seemingly rises on a daily basis.

Anyway, we have not been swallowed up by any sinkhole, we are quite a way from the hole but now you know where we are basing ourselves for the next few months.

Out and about

The day after the birthday celebrations I went to watch Alex play her final netball game for the season, it was an important match as promotion/relegation was on the line. The game was being played in Canterbury which is about an hours drive away. It was a lovely trip there, I am always amazed how here in the UK it quickly changes from cityscape and you are suddenly in the countryside.

It was really fantastic to meet up with the players and friends of Alex again, it was a fest of greetings, hugs and talk. Alex and her team won convincingly and are now in the top grade in the county competition for next year.

The following day we were invited along to Monday Club….what is Monday Club you may ask? On a Monday Callum spends the day with Ian’s parents – Chris & Barry, brother Mike aka Hen and Hen’s youngest daughter Beth, and we were invited to tag along on the morning out. Today they had planned to go to Hall Place, an historic house and garden not too far away.

It has extensive grounds where the kids can run around and play then for a treat Nana & Grandad take them to the cafe for morning tea.

From there it was back to Chris & Barry’s for a bite of lunch before later in the afternoon we are all dropped off at home.

The next day Roy and I ventured into London city to visit Borough Markets. It’s a short walk to the next road to catch the 301 bus to Abbey Wood Station and then the train into London Bridge Station. The new Elizabeth Rail line also runs to Abbey Wood but we are not going into Paddington Station today so it’s the other line for us.

Into Borough Market on the train, the Shard, and flags flying.

I have to say that the weather has been glorious, getting up in temperature as well so those autumnal clothes we brought with us have been well and truly put in the back of the cupboard….for now!

Roy had to be dragged away from the cheese shops, but we did get a good look at the fish mongers wares as well…note the price on those sea urchins/Kina, and they were tiny, easily fitting into the palm of my hand. An export potential for some enterprising person in NZ?

A few cheeses may have been purchased as well as some fresh fish for dinner.

Another morning out and we went strawberry picking, we have been here before, actually almost 3 years ago to the day as we did the same the day before Callum was born (you can recap that entry here).

There has been plenty to keep us busy and occupied and lots more in the planning stages.

Birthday party

Our main focus for getting to London was to be in time for Callum’s birthday. Callum is three therefore it’s birthday party time.

Grandma is tasked with making the birthday cake for the digger mad little man and this is what we came up with.

The night before his birthday and after Callum was in bed, we spent the evening putting together his trampoline. Just as well no one was watching as it was a bit of a laugh at times but we got there and it was all ready for him in the morning.

Later in the day people started arriving with lots of adults and children joining in the afternoons fun and games. By the end of the day on little boy was very tired and overwhelmed by people and presents but it was a fabulous day and one in which we loved seeing their family & friends whom we’ve met on previous occasions.

First few days

It takes me a couple of days to get my body clock sorted, it’s usually the day after we land that fatigue really hits but then I’m all good to go. To help, I don’t know if they really work or not but I always chew on the No Jet Lag tablets on our flights. It seems to help me as the one time I didn’t take them I felt quite ill with nausea, light headedness and dizziness for a day or two. Now I don’t risk it and just take them. For those that don’t know what they are, No Jet Lag tablets are a NZ product but are available in many countries, they are completely natural and don’t have any contraindications. They work for me.

As well, my Doctor prescribed some melatonin tablets to take for the first few days, again, just as a precautionary measure. Bernice is not a happy chappy if she doesn’t get a decent nights sleep. But this time apart from being very tired the first day, there has been no jet lag experienced.

The worst thing about this particular trip was the wearing of masks continually for 2 days…my ears became sore!

The first few days we spent getting ourselves sorted with SIM cards, Oyster cards for travel, sorting our UK bank card, and general stuff. Roy needed a new pair of reading glass as he cannot find his (last seen on the plane), but as he just needs magnifying ones for reading then the pound shop versions work just fine.

Alex & Ian had a large tree in their garden removed a couple of days after we landed, it made a huge difference to the space and light coming in and now we can plan their garden landscaping! Callum just loved watching the men up the tree with chainsaws then dragging the waste through to the chipper at the front of the house.

Callum wore himself out running from the back of the house to the front repeatedly over the next hour or two. It was all very exciting for the wee man.

Watching the chipper from the front window

The workmen did a great job and there wasn’t too much mess to clean up afterwards. Roy did get out the old vacuum to clean up the lawn…well, the artificial grass lawn! A concept very foreign to these kiwis where artificial lawn is just not a thing at all, but very common here in the UK so it seems.

We are slowly getting our bearings, we now know which bus to catch to the train station and next week we are planning a trip into Borough Market – warn the cheese shops now 😉.

Auckland-Dubai-London

This time we are travelling through Dubai, we haven’t been this route before. We’ve travelled through Hong Kong a couple of times, Singapore, as well as Vancouver however I refuse to fly through the USA, just my personal protest which I will not get into details here. This will be a very loooooong flight though with a refuelling stop in Kuala Lumpur for 95 minutes where we remain on the plane, so it’s something like a 20hr flight then 3 hr wait in Dubai for the last 7hr leg to London. I think I may be well and truly shattered by the time we arrive but I keep telling myself ‘it’s just a day or so in your life, Bernice, get over it’.

It was all going so well, we had a week at Antony’s to get Dr’s and specialist appointments out of the way, prescriptions filled, packing sorted and mainly get everything under control when Roy woke on Friday morning and could not find one of his hearing aids. It had to be in the bedroom somewhere. We stripped out the room, dismantling the bed not once, twice but three times and still could not find the damn thing. The rest of the house was searched, swept, cleaned and still no sight of the damn thing. I think it got caught up in Roy’s clothes and when he got up to go to the toilet during the night it fell into it and got flushed away. What are we going to do with him?

A quick call to the insurance company and a quick trip to the hearing office where they issued him with a temporary replacement however it isn’t paired to the other one nor bluetoothed so he will have only one ear in full use for those capabilities but it’s better than none I can assure you!

Simon & Maria came to visit us before we left, and my how Maria is growing up. Last minute packing and sorting was done and we are off to the airport.

Bags packed, weighed and what’s this? We’ve only used less than half of our weight limit!

Woohoo, although I’m sure I’ve forgotten something. I’ve packed a smile, hopefully that will help!! Of course I ping the detectors going through border control and have to step into body scanner…yes I have knee and hip replacements as well as a wire in my bra to set it all off. Cleared, we head through to our gate.

Our plane awaits on a very wet, misty Auckland day

We boarded the plane in Auckland, a 777 as the big A380’s are not back online to NZ as yet, apparently they will return into service later in the year. We are seated in the first row behind the bulkhead row with me in the window seat, Roy in the middle and a young lady in the aisle seat.

As the doors were locked, the young lady beside Roy leapt up and said the row behind was empty, she moved there and settled herself in to lie down for the trip whilst Roy moved to the aisle seat, what a score, we could spread ourselves out a bit.

The next however many seemingly never ending hours passed by watching a bit of light entertainment (let’s face it, anything other than mindless movie watching is out the window), eating, and trying to catch some sleep. I think we both managed a bit of cat napping.

After 12 hours or so we landed in Kuala Lumpur for a refuel stop with no one getting off the plane we are told but what’s this? more passengers getting on. Our aisle companion returned to her seat, the plane is now full.

More movies, more eating, more catnapping and after 7 hrs or so we were landing in Dubai. Phew, this is a marathon but only one more 7 hour flight to go. We are scanned again in Dubai as we go through border control and yes I set it all off again. I am led away to a booth where I tell the lady that it’s probably my joint replacements and bra setting it off…she looks at me and opens the curtain and says off you go.

By the time I have a coffee, freshen up a little, it’s time for the last and shortest flight of the journey. This time we are on one of the A380s. We had had our boarding passes issued to us for this leg of the flight when we checked in in Auckland, but as we get to the gate they issued us with a new boarding pass. Why? We don’t know but as our seat letters aren’t sequential we do ask if we are seated together. “Yes madam, you are”. The plane is boarded section by section until there is just 20 or so people left, we can board now…and what’s this? We are at the front of the plane, we’ve been upgraded!! How did this happen? This sort of stuff never happens to us, Shhhh, don’t say anything, just relish the opportunity.

Emirates have just launched their new Premium Economy section, so new in fact it was only launched on Saturday! According to their blurb….

Sink into soft leather seats, stretch out on raised leg rests and relax into a deeper recline. The adjustable cushioned headrest helps you get your comfort just right. Indulge in delicious Premium Economy meals served on Royal Doulton chinaware, and let our cabin crew pour you a glass of your favourite drink from our extended list. There’s never been a Premium Economy like it.

The next 7 hours literally flew by, this premium economy is brilliant, I’m up for this….lots of room, leg rests, seats that recline further, better food, …..sheer luxury.

We landed at Heathrow and walked the gazillion miles to immigration, we always seem to land at the gate furtherest from where we need to get to, then on through to collect our bags. Of course our bags were with the the very last off the plane, then the walk through customs to see if we can find Alex and Callum. I hear a little voice call out “there’s grandma!” And what do you know, there they are. Callum does recognise us after all this time of speaking to us via video link, how lovely, and he soon warms up to us.

Grandma and Callum…he did recognise us after all this time!

We load up the car and head off to Alex & Ian’s new-to-us house where the afternoon passes by very quickly. We unpack our bags of all the treasures and treats with Callum designated as official bag opener and treat sorter. It was like Christmas had come all at once, he was so excited to open up parcels and boxes. We manage to stay awake until just after 7pm local time then we both crash into bed to sleep the night away, only waking a couple of times. It’s so good to be here finally, let the fun begin.

Adventure begins!

Woohoo……we are OFF!

If you didn’t already realise, I was way behind with blog entries over the past month or two but I am now catching up to real time. anyway, back to this entry to catch up.

If only you realised what a mission it has been to get ourselves sorted and organised. We’ve waited and waited and waited, now it’s time to get on out there and reclaim our lives from the stranglehold of Covid.

First of all new passports had to be sorted. Roy’s was easy, all electronically done and the new passport was issued and back in his hands in a few weeks. Mine, on the other hand, was a little bit more difficult. For a start, I travel on my British Passport – yes, I know, I WILL become a NZ citizen soon – which had to be issued from the UK. The form could be done electronically but I had to return my old passport to the UK….why? I have no idea. Not to mention the $100.53 cost for secure postage for the damn thing! Anyway, that went off and we waited, and waited, and waited.

Then magically the new passport arrived. Woohoo. But the old passport would be returned separately, which you think wouldn’t be an issue however I needed to get my returning residents visa transferred to my new passport and to do that I needed a copy of my old passport and the visa within. I could not book our tickets until I had this…or could I? Should I take the risk and just book flights hoping that the old passport would be returned in time and then apply for the transfer?

Meanwhile airfares were rising in price and scarcity week by week. We took the risk…and booked!

If you hadn’t guessed already, we are off to the UK and can not wait.

Callum is excited at the prospect of Grandma and Grandad coming to stay.

We leave NZ this Sunday 5th June and return at the end of October, yes, a decent amount of time away. Departure date is creeping closer and closer and my Returning Residents Visa is still not here which means I may not be able to fly out, but we have faith that it will come through in time. Oh yes, the old passport was returned with the corners of the cover cut off…..I could have done that for them if they had asked. Phew, a few days before departure, the visa came through. Yes folks, I’m allowed back in to NZ!!

You may ask why we are keen to go by a specific date? Well, that is because Callum will be having his third birthday on the 11th June and we really would like to be there after missing his previous two birthdays.

But before we go anywhere, we have to sort out where to leave the van where it will be safe and looked after. Option A fell through, just as well we had options B,C and D just in case, but thankfully only needed option A.1. Many many thanks to Keith for all his help in sorting us out.

The van delivered to its safe parking spot, parked on a concrete pad.

We can go away rest assured knowing that the van will be safe and secure and regularly checked.

Next it’s packing everything we need to take out of the van before heading to Auckland to Antony’s for a week before we fly out. With our suitcases stored at Antony’s it’s an interesting pack of the car with lots of small bags here and there. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something but we will manage…..they have shops for anything we’ve missed.

After parking the van, packing up the car and dropping off the keys, we head to Whangamata to Steve & Leslie’s for the weekend to stay with them and catch up. We hadn’t timed it too well as it was only one night with them before Steve & Les were off to see one of their daughters for a couple of nights. However, we stayed on to cat-sit for the weekend. Of course not a photo was taken, we were far too busy talking!

But what do you know? John & Jude are in town for the weekend on their boat before they too head to Auckland to fly out to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

We arranged to meet J&J at the Whangamata Club for dinner as we had been there the previous evening with Steve & Les for dinner and quiz night fun, the meal was very good so we returned to try something else.

John & Jude waiting for dinner to be served.

We spent the weekend suitably entertained and returned to the boat for a few games of cards and dinner the following day.

Roy, John and Jude…..and for the record the girls showed the fellas how to win at cards!

Soon it was time for us to head to Auckland, get appointments out of the way, shops for treats for the UK crew, pack our bags and get on our way.

Adiós, ka kite, au revoir, arrivederci, slán, adieu, ciao, sayonara…..or more appropriately tootle-pip! Watch out for updates on our travels in the UK and wherever else we get to over the next 5 months.

Plan B

You know how I said in the previous post that my oven was fixed? Well, it seems it wasn’t, the same §¥@% fault has recurred. Damn thing. Another phone call to Coastal Motorhomes and Plan B is now in place as the supplier will be visiting in a weeks time and he is bringing a new part to fix it himself although I really think that we should call it quits and just get a replacement oven. So back to Whakatāne we have to go. But first, we do get to spend the week at Pyes Pa and the surrounding Tauranga district so we can take the opportunity to meet up with a few friends and family.

And true to our usual style, even those plans evolved and changed daily, it’s just as well we are reasonably flexible and not on a tight schedule. Keith was celebrating a significant birthday so I offered to cook dinner for all the family, we planned a bit of a surprise as well but those plans went completely out the window when Isla (6yo), our great niece and Keith’s granddaughter was taken into hospital with high temperatures and breathing difficulties. Hmmmm, Covid? No. RSV? No.

Poor wee thing, she was really very unwell, so much so she was quickly moved to ICU where she remained for the next few days.

Top: not well at all in ICU, bottom: feeling a bit better, then yahoo one very excited Isla on dads shoulders going home

Both mum & dad were shattered after the experience, taking turns to be with her at the hospital with Covid restrictions making things even more difficult plus taking care of sister Ashlyn aged 3. But in true childlike fashion, Isla was soon on the mend and back to her usual jovial self after a few days in hospital.

Meanwhile, we met up with friend Judy for lunch at a local cafe and caught up with all her news since we were last together up at Whakapirau…no photos of course! But it’s always lovely to reconnect and share tales.

We also went out to Papamoa and caught up with Doreen. We met Doreen last year when we were holed up at Rona’s for something like 11 weeks waiting for Aucklands border to open, and we hit it off. We’ve since kept in touch and it was lovely to visit her in her new tiny home.

From there we didn’t have to travel too far to visit and have lunch with long standing friend Estelle (I refuse to use the term “old friend”). We had a lovely lunch and get together …and also ‘helped’ Estelle with a jigsaw she was doing!! Again, I forgot to take pictures!

After a week in Tauranga we returned to Whakatāne to get the oven fixed…and guess what? It couldn’t be fixed so to cut a long story short, a new oven will be installed later in the year. Why later in the year? The reasoning for that decision will be revealed all in good time.

After all details were sorted we headed off to Matatā DOC camp where spent two glorious nights and we were pretty much all on our own. We have never seen the camp with so few people in it, it was very quiet with only two or three other vehicles in over the two nights we stayed here. Of course with no oven working we just had to have fish & chips for dinner from Aunties chip shop across the road. They did not disappoint either, beautiful fresh fish in crispy batter and the best chips we’ve had in a while, with not a skerrick of grease left on the paper. Truly delicious.

It was lovely going to sleep listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach each evening but there was not too much relaxing being done during the day. Over our two days at Matatā we were kept very busy with cleaning, tidying and sorting out lots as it’s time to move on – the next adventure beckons!

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30