Bring it on....

And so it begins.

After 2122 days of waiting, the world's biggest rugby party is about to begin.

Tonight, the long wait will be over and what promises to be New Zealand's biggest ever party will kick off the Rugby World Cup.

I’m glad I missed the last two years of in-fighting and finger-pointing, as well as the interminable column inches and hours of tedious media coverage. For once, timing has been on our side and we have arrived just in time for the party.

And you know what, I don’t give a toss about who wins – as long as we beat the English (and the Aussies, the Saffers and the French!)

Congratulations!!

In a few short hours, my darling friend Anita and her handsome beau Gary (below) will walk down the aisle.

It wouldn't be right for me not to tell you about Anita: not only is she the funniest, loveliest and most fashion conscious woman on the planet, she's also the high priestess of bargains and my shopping patron saint.

Anita, you will make such a beautiful bride and I can only imagine how perfect everything will be. You will not just be the centre of attention, but the master of it.

I hope your special day is everything you hope for and I wish you and Gary even more joy than you already have in your lives.

God how I wish I could teleport myself to the Cotswolds right now...

Cleaning up

Swiss artist Ursus Wehrli's new book is called The Art of Clean Up and, as far as I can make out, pretty much involves taking everyday scenes of 'disorder' and rearranging them into neat rows, sorted by attributes such as colour, size, shape, etc.

Obviously appeals to my OCD tendencies, but thought it was kinda cool..

Room 506

Things I've learnt living in a hotel for the past six weeks:

• Coming home to find the bed neatly made, the loo cleaned and the dishes done is beyond bliss


• Ditto the bottle of good wine and the choccies delivered by the hotel angels each Monday


• No matter how much fabric softner I use, I will never get my towels as fluffy or as white


• Air conditioning is no friend to the epidermis


• Those silly wooden hangers are the least user friendly device ever invented. And there are never enough.


• Having to fight though a sea of conference attendees or art lovers in the foyer just to get to the lift can be a little tiresome after a long day


• Very few people use hotel gyms


• All sorts of useless facts about Justin Bieber and the Kardashians, having been too lazy to get off the treadmill and change the channel


• Being able to say you're living in the Museum Hotel is pretty cool (if a little smug)


• Not having to pay for the experience is even better. Sometimes I cannot believe our luck.

Room 506, thank you. I miss you already and it's only been half a day....

Whanau

Moving from one side of the world to the other is about more than just upholstering the airmile account.

There's the tiresome issue of growing new roots, of getting jiggy with the discomfort, the alienation and yes, sometimes the sadness, of reinventing yourself yet again.

Last night, the Animator's sister Theresa (Tess) hosted a birthday dinner for her younger bro. The food was beautiful, the company entertaining and the evening one of the most fun I've had since being back.

Thanks so much for your gracious hospitality Tess - it went a long way to making this wee girl feel a little more comfortable in her skin.

Happy Birthday to the Animator

Don't make a fuss, you say.

"I hate birthdays and being the centre of attention, I don't want to make a big deal of it," you moan each year.

Well sorry hon, but I believe everyone deserves to be spoilt on their special day.

Happy birthday my clever, funny and loving husband. Here's to a lovely day and an even more fantastic year.

Is it too soon to start planning your milestone birthday in Bermuda next year?

Too, too cute

Tonight, I had the rare pleasure of the Animator's company on my workout around the bays.

As we stopped to stretch, we noticed a bunch of ripples in the clear water. It was getting dark by then but we were able to make out two baby seals frolicking in the shallows.

God only knows where their Mama was but they were having a grand old time of it. Sadly we didn't have our camera (hence the pic above is from The Telegraph) but oh my, it gladdened this world-weary heart to see such an extravagant and unexpected display of beauty.

Today wasn't, as it turns out, a complete waste of makeup...