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Baby Isobel, baby number 6, and 2nd girl, was born last week. My older daughter, Jahna, was delighted! She is feeding well and keeping us up all night! She does open her eyes, but not for the camera! Flights paid for with saved up Airpoints. Stayed in hotel in the town centre of Noumea, in a non-tourist area. We had two rooms for the seven of us. Took the bus everywhere, including the beaches. Spent a couple of days on Duck Island doing lots of snorkelling. Spoke lots of French to the locals and becoming much more confident now in everyday conversation. Enjoyed New Caledonia, would go back in the future and explore more of the island. Jetlagged but enjoyed. Vienna modern, clean and with great public transport. Nice city. Took the train to Budapest for a couple of days after the conference, because I had never been to Hungary. Interesting city, a clash of East and West. Still some remnants of the Iron Curtain, but I suspect it is becoming more metropolitan with each apssing decade. Ran my first marathon Kirikiriroa in a couple of years last weekend. Was hampered by quite severe stomach cramps and nausea in the second half of the race. Turned into an exercise in survival towards the end. Never underestimate the power of a marathon to test you to the limit of your physical and mental capacity. I have been teaching my children how to play chess. I used to play at a reasonably high level when I was younger, and look forward to getting back to that level when I am older and have more time. Brain exercise, social interaction, and time away from smartphones…. We have just returned from Hawkes Bay, where we camped for 3 nights in our friends back garden in Taradale. Luxury camping! This sounds a bit mad, but I actually prefer sleeping in a tent as opposed to sleeping in a house, as long as I have a mattress to lie on not a big fan of airbeds. I love being able to hear the weather around me and in addition, there are a lot less allergens in a tent than in a house. This is good for me , who is allergic to both cats and house dust mite. The only downside was that it was pouring on the morning that I had to take the tent down…. Over the past 3 months I have been on a 5 week road trip from LA to NY with my family, then on a 3 week trip to Europe with my two oldest children, visiting Ireland, Scotland, and France. Far from being refreshed and reinvigorated, I am now completely exhausted! Really glad it is Christmas coming up. The holiday season in NZ is Decmber and January, so work is often quite a bit quieter. Which is just as well, as I have used up all my leave! The good thing about all the long distance travelling is that I have almost accumulated enough Airpoints to take the family to the Pacific Islands, maybe next Easter. Getting ready to go a road trip with the family across the USA next weekend. I doubt it will all be plain sailing. I will post intermittent updates from the trip on this page. Other things I noted about Boston was that it was very warm, the shopkeepers were not that friendly and the cost of food was just as expensive as New Zealand. But overall I enjoyed it, and would definitely go back there in the future to see more of the city. I am actually quite enjoying it! They are only 12 and 13 year olds so the competition is not too serious. At work I have taken on a few too many presentations and data analyses recently. As a result I have had to spend a few too many hours in the office. My office or cubicle is not big enough to sit a guest so I am thus getting a bit claustrophobic. My son Shaun the middle one of five had a rough start in life. Born with a serious congenital heart defect, Tetralogy of Fallot, he needed emergency open heart surgery at the age of three months. Several more minor operations later, as well as a couple of broken bones, he is now in good health, and has developed a compassionate and inquisitive personality and a resilience which has undoubtedly been moulded by his previous experiences. He is doing well at school, very well. Now aged 7 he is currently reading Roald Dahl books at home, such as fantastic Mr Fox. When my wife questioned the teacher about this, she was told that his reading level had not been assessed yet more than 3 months into the school year. I analogise this to my days as a junior doctor. Not to do so was not an option. Shaun is doing well. We know it and he knows it. What difference would it make the teacher knowing it as well…. After disappearing for 2 whole weeks, one of our three cats, La-la, reappeared, looking a lot thinner and covered in cobwebs. We think she had probably been locked in a neighbours shed, and managed to get out when the lawns were due to be cut again…. I had to take a sick day yesterday due to a bad headache, and being unable to function properly. It must be my first sick day for a few years… I hate being off sick. I think this stems from when my parents would only let me stay off school sick if I was unable to move! It seems to have installed a good work ethic in me. I sat my first French exam in over a quarter of a century at the weekend. Looking to objectify and document my endeavours in learning the French language over the past few years, I went up to Auckland to sit the DELF diploma, and I was nervous! The exam was split up into reading, writing, listening and speaking. Reading was my best component. Overall I think the exam went fine though and hopefully I can work my way up through the DELF levels over the next 18 months. It was not without significant prodding. Challenging authority comes much more naturally to me than being the authority. I will probably resemble Brian Clough in my management style, fingers crossed I can produce similar results! Did some road trip planning for the US with the children. The reality will probably be very different. Good geography education for them. Did some planning with the children for our trip across the US. Here is a very rough sketch of our plans. The reality will probably be completely different. How the seven of us are going to traverse the US remains to be seen, but best not think about the detail just yet! The tickets are booked, which is the most important thing. Excellent place and they are making big efforts to modernise it with new exhibitions. The only snag is that it is in Auckland where the traffic congestion is horrendous, even at the weekend. Dinner in Mexicali in Ellerslie and home by 10pm. Long but enjoyable day. I have wandered back to this long-neglected part of the website, and resolve to get it back up and running…. This is a photo from the microbiology laboratory at Rotorua, one of the laboratories where I work. The steam is from a large geothermal area not more than m from the lab. There cannot be many medical laboratories in the world situated next door to a geothermal park. And I am sure it is the only laboratory in the world where the toilets in the basement are always warm due to the geothermal pool sitting directly underneath it! It was the first time in many years that we have been childfree for a few days. Played Cluedo for the first time in decades last night with the family. Excellent game. I was going well until I realised I had crossed off all the murder weapons… Oops. Hope the weather is good for them! Just completed a 32km off-road trail event in Hawkes Bay, which is my first event after a long term injury lay-off. Swimming in a cold river with running shoes and backpack on after 25km and not having swum a stroke for 5 yrs… Well it was a real challenge, but managed to survive! Due to chronic insomnia I have decided to give up caffeine. So from cups per day I went cold turkey on Monday and have been caffeine free for 4 days now. Played my first game of monopoly in about quarter of a century. It is great that my two oldest children are now old enough to play this with us. There were no fights, but this was probably only because we had to throw the towel in and go to bed before the game got really interesting! Not content with locking the carkeys in the boot see 29th July , I then proceeded to lose them during a short morning run around the Mount. Many enquiries to police stations and information centres followed, along with a complete re-tracing of my steps on the run, without success. The keys were eventually handed in to the local police station in the afternoon, much to my relief! My 4 yr old son was found in the bathroom shaving yesterday. Instead of shaving foam he used Clarins face cream. And he even had a couple of shaving cuts for his trouble! My wife left the boot of the car below open at the weekend. I walked by and shut it, not realising that the car keys were still inside! When we bought the car it only came with one key. It took the AA mechanic almost an hour to get acess to the car. Will go and get another key cut today….. The family got a second car a couple of weeks ago. Ferrying the seven of us around in the one car was becoming logistically very difficult so we bit the bullet and bought a wee 13yr old VW beetle. It was a private sale and we were a little dismayed to find steam and hissing from the bonnet on driving it home straight after buying it! Not to worry, it was a minor coolant leak, which we got fixed and all well now. I like beetles, they have a bit of character. I also liked the fact that it was the last car that should be considered when you have a large family! Had a fire break out in our BBQ a few days ago. Months of not being cleaned must have resulted in a build-up of fat. When I came outside after buttering the rolls in the kitchen, the flames were shooting up into the air. Fortunately I was able to turn the gas cylinder off and grab a hose nearby. Could have been lot worse. Will clean the BBQ after use in future. Took a couple of my sons to the Waikato stadium to see New Zealand play Portugal in the last 16 of the Fifa U20 world cup soccer, which is being hosted in NZ. What a good game! The Portugese players were small, thin, fast and skillful, whilst the NZ players were big, strong, but maybe not so technically gifted. However both sides played some good football and NZ were unlucky to have been edged out by a goal in the last 5 minutes, the final score being Portugal go on to play Brazil in the quarter finals. Great experience for the children. Now setting the alarm for 5. Looking after the 6 month old baby and the 4 month old puppy takes time as well. Went to see a stand-up comedian last night, Ed Byrne, an Irish comic who is doing a tour of New Zealand at the moment. It is the first time in about 20 years that I have been to see a comedian, which probably explains why I am so grumpy. It was a great show. The language was gratuitous, but then he is a stand-up comedian after all, and it goes with the territory. On the other hand, I work as a healthcare professional and have a young family, so my language is heavily censored. Got the bus yesterday from the town centre up to an open day at a school my son might be going to next year. The intimidation gradually got more aggressive over the next few minutes. By this stage I was getting actively jostled and the language became more threatening. I blame my new clothes from Marks and Spender, which must have made me look posh! Next time I will sit close to the driver with the little old ladies! It reminded me of a quote from one of my relatives. On my first night back in NZ from Europe the jetlag kicked in and I was up wide awake at 2am. I decided to get up, but on walking out of the bedroom door I stood on something squelchy…. It turned out to be a dead mouse. One of our cats must have left it as a coming home present for me. I had a cup of coffee and at 3am decided to fold away some washing from the laundry. Whilst I was unravelling a sock a large wasp appeared from it and promptly stung me on my little finger. On returning to Belfast from Copenhagen I popped into a souvenir shop at the airport to buy a fridge magnet. Costing 40 Danish Krones, I used my credit card. Quite possibly. I am glad I noticed anyhow, otherwise it would have been one of the most expensive fridge magnets ever! Copenhagen seems like a nice city but the weather has been lousy. I have caught up with a few old colleagues from Glasgow which has been great. We were given a tour of the aquarium. Atlantic Fish are definitely not as colourful as Pacific ones! After the promotional talks by the sponsoring company, we had a nice dinner. Sitting beside me was a German who spoke very little English but we got on well nevertheless, and an Italian who has been working in a BSL4 lab with Ebola. In the City Centre in Belfast today. It is looking great. A double decker bus in Belfast city centre. These were not in use when I was young due to the risk of petrol bomb attacks etc. Good to see them again. I have been to many zoos throughout the world and I have to say that Belfast zoo is up there amongst the best. I was last here over 30 years ago and the old cages have long since been replaced by spacious enclosures for the animals. The information given on each animal is interesting and there is a strong focus on conservation. Was very impressed. A view of North Belfast from the Zoo. When I was growing up, this area had the highest murder rate in Europe. Spent a few hours with my Mum in the Marks and Spencers department store in Belfast. Not having bought any clothes for myself for several years, I was down to my last pair of threadbare trousers, an old pair of trainers with holes in them and a few faded T-shirts. Therefore a few new garments were much in need. Still, the quality of the clothes they sell is pretty good, and hopefully my new supplies will do me for another decade. Have just arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland for a visit to my parents. The journey was not without incident with the domestic flight between Tauranga and Auckland being cancelled due to thunderstorms, thus necessitating a bus journey and a very narrow check in window to catch the flight to LA. On the flight from LA to London I met a family whose children had gone to the same school as my son in Paris. A small world indeed! Like pianos, nobody in the family has ever had a dog before, so it will be a steep learning curve for us. We picked up a free piano that was being given away by a piano rental company. I think it sounds pretty good actually. However my non-musical ear would not really know the difference. Nobody knows how to play it yet, so we are all having a bash and working through the beginner books on learning to play. It will be a while before anyone is playing Eine Kleine Nacht music on it. Nevertheless it is good entertainment, and provides another excuse not to do any housework. Did my first running event post-ultra, a half marathon through the Redwoods forest at Rotorua. The distance was no problem, given I had run over 4 times that over much tougher terrain a few weeks before. However my legs had no speed in them, being much more used recently to energy conserving plodding. So I am going to do a few shorter distances over the next few months, and try and do them a bit faster, before I get too old to run fast. The family went to a Scottish Ceilidh dance this evening. Large range of dancing abilities present, a few even worse than me. I used to be a really shy dancer, probably because of my limited abilities. Now I no longer care! Great evening. Ran my first ultra-marathon on Saturday, a gruelling 85km over the hills and around the lakes from Rotorua to Kawerau. The nervous anticipation had been building over the past few weeks and I was hoping the rather patchy training I had put in would be sufficient. The day started at 6am with over other slightly insane but very excited ultra-runners at the Redwoods Forest. The event started with a Maori powhiri and we were off into the darkness. The first 20k was fairly straightforward. By the time I hit 40k the legs were starting to tire due to the incessant hills. The period between 45k and 55k were the most difficult of the whole race for me. It also happened to be the most technically difficult stage of the event, with lots of fallen tree trunks to clamber over. With feet that would not do what I told them to, I was stumbling a lot, with several close shaves. At 52k my luck ran out and I tripped and fell, grazing my hands and knees. Somewhat shaken from this I walked for a few minutes then started back into a slow run, relieved to reach the aid station a couple of km later. I am not a big talker during long runs, but chatting to a few fellow runners at this stage definitely took my mind off the pain. At 70k, a decision had to be made whether to complete the 85k or to turn off on a loop and go for k. A friend from the running club tried to talk me into the k but I was having none of it! My legs were shot and I would have been in a very messy condition by the end of k. The last 15k were fairly flat and I managed a slow shuffle to the finish line in Kawerau, approximately twelve and a half hours after I started. The winner did the course in 7hr 44 min which was a ridiculous time given the terrain we were going over! Even though it was painful at times, I thoroughly enjoyed the event. The volunteers were great and the scenery in this part of NZ is stunning. Interestingly, and in contrast to the two previous road marathons I had done, I knew straightaway that I wanted to do it again next year, and hopefully train for the k…. Spent a few very enjoyable days down in Wellington with the family. We visited the Te Papa museum, the zoo, the NZ parliament buildings, travelled on a cable car, visited the Botanic Gardens and had a few meals out. The weather, which can be a bit unpredictable in Wellington was fantastic. It was great to experience a bit of culture. Tauranga, where we live, can be a bit of a cultural desert at times…. Ran further today than I have ever done in my life before, a training run for the Tarawera Ultra. Then back to the house for several hours of housework and looking after children. Made a barbeque lunch for 20 people today. Not bad for an Irishman. It is too early to say whether any illness has ensued. Not having had a dishwasher in previous lives in Belfast and Glasgow, it has taken me a few years to get used to this cutting edge technology. However I am now getting used to them and have adapted a few simple rules for their use. You know you are training for an ultra-marathon when you are doing marathon distance for training runs….. Did a 44k run on Monday and you could probably count the number of people that know this on the fingers of one hand. I run for me. I am not anti-social but I generally prefer running by myself. I like self-motivation. On long runs, the encouragement of others seems to have little effect on me. I am also sure there is a huge amount of psychology in completing an ultramarathon. I am visualising the pain, running through the pain, and the finishing line. We will find out in three weeks but starting to get very psyched up! A teenager sat down beside me on the bench at the Strand at lunchtime. She took out her Smartphone and photographed her Shushi and Smoothie lunch. The rather unexciting picture was undoubtedly destined for her myriad of Facebook Friends. She then spent the next 15 minutes texting away on her phone. Meanwhile I finished off my sausage roll, drank my can of coke, and continued reading my paperback book. Have lots of vegetables growing in the garden, potatoes, turnips, beetroot, courgettes, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, sweetcorn, pumpkin, lettuce and plenty of herbs also. I am not very green fingered but it is something I enjoy and get a little bit better at each year. When I come home from work I bypass my family, and go straight out to the garden so I can talk to my vegetables, and ask them how their day was…. Spent last night in the tent in the garden with some of the children. As I was not being woken up by the baby every couple of hours, I had my best sleep in ages! He will not be sleeping so well for a day or two! What a year was. Finishing off in Paris and spending last New Years Day skiing in the Scottish Highlands, we then returned to New Zealand, buying a new house a few months later. I had a tremendous trip to Europe in April for a conference in Barcelona, then visiting labs in Germany, England and Holland. No rest for the wicked. In November, the arrival of Albie, our 5th child has drained whatever energy we have had left. Fortunately help was at hand with the arrival of my father in law from Scotland, and we had a great family Christmas at home. My first ultramarathon comes up next month, although not sure how far I will get with that as training hampered by injury. In April I have another trip to a conference in Copenhagen and a visit to my parents in Belfast. Hopefully will get away on a family holiday later on in the year. On the work side of things, we are moving into a brand new purpose built lab in late , with one of the most advanced microbiology processing platforms in the world being installed. I forecast a busy year ahead! After opening the Christmas presents and going to Christmas Mass, the family went down to the playpark at the Strand in Tauranga. I happened to wander over to the waterfront. I was then lucky enough to spot a large stingray swimming along the shoreline. We walked along beside it for a few minutes, very excited! This will not be a Christmas we forget in a hurry! Have just completed my Christamas shopping, a couple of hours before the shops close. Compared to usual, I have plenty of time to spare this year! Looking forward to the Christmas break. My oldest son has just developed a classical chickenpox rash, and three days before Christmas! Maybe Santa will bring him an extra present to make up for it. As none of the other children have had chickenpox, I expect it to spread through the family like wildfire. I have seen a lot of perfect Christmas trees on Facebook recently, trees where people have spent hours, if not days decorating them. Our tree was erected and decorated in 10 minutes flat, including lights. It has a slight lean to the right, but it adds to the character I think. When the first baby comes along, all is new and unknown, and everything has to be perfect. It is certainly stressful. When the 5th one comes along, you have seen all of it before. Nothing is perfect, and you realise that nothing needs to be, even for babies. It is still stressful, sure, but not as much as for baby number 1, and the stress is usually caused by exhaustion. Combining work work with house work, regularly putting in 17 hour days at the moment. The stress might be inversely proportional to the number of babies but the fatigue is additive. And it is all relative when I think about my wife, and wonder how she does it…. Looking forward to three weeks holiday from work after Christmas. Hopefully some long sunny days on the beach to recharge the batteries. Simultaneously to the above, the website went down with technical problems and it has taken until now to get round to fixing it. With 5 young children, I have to grab an hour here and there to do this, usually in the middle of the night when everyone else is sleeping! A post on this section of the website is well overdue so time to catch up. My wife is due today, but no sign of anything happening as yet. The meeting yesterday was interesting. Not to mention the flights to and from Wellington had sensational views. Domestic flights in NZ are often like that. The trip itself can be every bit as good as the destination. Tom, my father in law is over visiting from Scotland just now. He is a great help with various jobs that needed doing around the house, which were well overdue. You might like to know that I build this website on a laptop that is held together with sellotape. It has a small ant colony living inside it, coming out to gather the crumbs spilt by its users. Not all the keys on the keyboard work, but most of the important ones do. Unfortunately 6 months of my posts on this page have been lost due to technical difficulties. Some days you can run forever, others you can hardly go a few hundred yards. Fortunately today was one of the former and I managed to set a personal best for the half marathon. Of course it is all relative. In running as with many other things, there are always people on a different level from yourself. Still the buzz you get from a good run makes all the training worthwhile…. My youngest son needed to go to the emergency department today to get a few stitches in his head after a fall. I used to enjoy stitching up patients when I worked in ED in Glasgow many years ago. The lacerations were often scalp wounds secondary to Buckfast bottles. Was in a cafe for lunch with the family yesterday when an elderly lady a couple of places in front of me suddenly collapsed to the floor. She literally dropped like a stone. I hope she makes it OK. We have been TV free in the household for quite a few months now. After a few weeks the children forgot all about the TV. Moreover they talk and play with each other now, and most of the time they are out in the street on their scooters and bikes, or in the garage playing with their toys. The way it should be. Click here for a great poem about TV by Roald Dahl. Have been getting the bus in and out of work over the past couple of weeks. Have enjoyed so far as it gives me a chance to catch up on some reading and there are always a few entertaining characters on the journey. Today was not so enjoyable however. The driver, seemingly wound up about something, drove increasingly erratically as the journey progressed. Gesturing to other drivers, driving over corner kerbs and not slowing over speed bumps made for an interesting journey. Have just entered the murky world of false niceties, little white lies and strong nerves as we look to buy a house in New Zealand. It was the caravan demolition derby at Baypark Speedway this evening. Good entertainment for the children. It would get a few more of them off the road…. Really enjoying working a 4 day week. Great work-life balance. Would thoroughly recommend it. I suspect it is only going to become more common in the future. Great way to spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon. Becoming one of my favourite geothermal pools. The bonus is the interesting walk by the pools alongside the geothermal river to the source of the hot spring. Interesting all the innovative methods they use to cool the water from 98C at source down to something that you can sit in. A new addition to the family today, courtesy of one of our neighbours. Originally called Ninja, my son has renamed him Clippy, after his own nickname. He is about 2 months old. Our neighbour has another 8 kittens, not sure what she is going to do with them all! Out of all the places I have visited, New Zealand is undoubtedly the king of the personalised number plate. You can see it everywhere on the estuary. Regardless of the cause, it is a good reminder of the potential dangers of deep sea oil drilling around the coasts of New Zealand…. Found this little injured sparrow flapping about in the back garden. We fed it with water and egg through a syringe overnight and took it to a bird sanctuary the next morning. Hope it survives! What better way to spend a summer afternoon in Tauranga than kayaking up the Wairoa River. Beats mowing the lawn which I have always reminded myself that life is too short for. One day I might even make it as far as the McLaren Falls…. Smiles can be deceptive! This photo was taken at around the 25km point in a trail run across the Rangipo desert and the Tongariro saddle. Despite the smile I was in a great deal of pain. The Mount Ngauruhoe volcano is in the background. I would have run faster if it had been erupting. Visited this idyllic Coromandel village today. Unspoilt scenery, a dozen traditional Kiwi Baches, a couple of laidback cafes, a crystal clear river, beautiful golden beaches. Kuaotunu for me is akin to paradise. Would love to have a little bit of it, if it stays the way it is at the moment. At Hot Water Beach today in the Coromandels. Maybe one of the best free attractions in New Zealand, and today we were lucky enough to get a great spot in a really hot area just where the geothermal stream runs down to the sea. There is nothing like sitting in a steaming hot pool when the weather is freezing cold. When i was away I really missed this place. The views from the base of the Mount are spectacular. The views from the top are out of this world. Soul enhancing stuff…. Protecting the Mount and its surrounds from the developers should be one of the core objectives for the local council, so that it remains a special place. Great to be back in New Zealand again! It really is starting to feel like home now. Just recovering from the jetlag and looking forward to a couple more weeks of holiday before returning to work at the start of February, batteries recharged. In Dubai at the moment en route back to NZ, completing the circle! I should be getting some sleep for the 14 hour flight tomorrow but internet accessibility is now ubiquitous, wherever you are in the world. Lots of different places visited and many adventures. Our stay in Paris did not go exactly to plan. In fact for the first couple of months nothing went to plan! However nothing ventured, nothing gained. It was a fantastic experience and absolutely no regrets. Lots of plans in the pipeline for I have a feeling it is going to be an incredible year.. Up in the Scottish Highlands at the moment, staying in one of my favourite places in the world, Fortwilliam. All that space after Paris! Took the four children skiing for the first time yesterday at the Nevis Range. That was an experience! It will take a few trips I suspect before they are all up and going. The children are a bit worried that Santa Claus might think they are still in Paris instead of Glasgow and that they will not get any presents this year. Shopping for a new buggy in London on the last weekend before Christmas was Hell on Earth. It took so long that it was dark by the time we got to the London Eye. However in compensation going on the London Eye at night time was a great experience, even though we had to queue for an hour to get on. Compared to Paris, London is a bit cleaner and more spacious, with less poverty on the streets. However three days in London is enough for me, always has been, always will be. It is a place I can only enjoy in small doses. Paris though is a different story altogether. After many years, 4 children, several circuits of the world and much abuse, our buggy finally gave up the ghost on the streets of London. It was really quite sad. Great relaxed atmosphere for the family. We did a bit of sightseeing around London today, although the weather was pretty wet, so spent a good deal of time in cafes and bookstores. The most interesting incident happened on our way home. We were walking along the Albion canal on the way back from the Tube station when a rat ran out in front of us, jumped into the canal, swam across at least 7m , jumped out and disappeared into one of the buildings on the opposite bank. In our last full day in Paris, I have been reflecting on our time spent here. Before coming to Paris I always shyed away from difficult situations. However I think that facet of my personality has been eradicated for good. I have faced so many difficult situations over the past few months that dealing with them has become second nature. Living in Paris is quite simply survival of the fittest, and looking after four young children there has given me resilience and toughness of character which I never knew I had. Looking forward to new adventures and challenges…. I was standing outside the American Library in Paris the other day, when I was treated to an excellent example of Parisian parallel parking. A man arriving to pick up his child from the school opposite, spotted his potential parking space right in front of where I was standing. The fact that the space was only three quarters the length of his car did not bother him in the slightest. By a series of non-too subtle bumps and dunts, back and forward, with his well worn Peugeot, he made the space his own. Again this did not bother him, the hazard lights being switched on before exiting the car. Outwith the tourist areas, any request for a cafe au lait, cafe creme, cafe americain is usually met by a stare of disbelief, and a few quiet mutterings of discontent from the shop assistant. Was in a busy Metro yesterday when I was reprimanded by one of the locals. The fact that I had a buggy in one hand and a young child in the other was clearly lost on him. There are three main types of cigarettes smoked. Mistakenly thought to contain ecstasy. This new type of smoke is very popular amongst the trendy Parisians. I look on in disbelief at teenagers smoking right in front of their school. If I had done that at my old school in Belfast my head would have been placed on the school railings as an example to other students…. Footpaths in Paris are generally narrow, often obstructed, covered in dog doos, busy, and generally difficult to negotiate with a buggy. One is also at constant risk from the precariously balanced plant-pots above. Parisians have a bit of a reputation for being rude in the guidebooks, so it has been interesting to spend a few months living here to observe whether this is true. It is a generalisation of course, but compared to other places that I have lived in the world, the manners of Parisians are not the best. It probably does not reflect on their personalities in general either. More of a sub-concious lack of politeness. Went to get a Parisian haircut yesterday. I was even more nervous than on the roller coasters at Eurodisney the day before…. Ice skating with the family today. Now that I have done ice skating a few times, I have progressed from hapless beginner to barely competent. A newfound passion. The ice rink is located at the bottom of the Champs Elysees. From the rink you can look upwards through the Christmas markets and lights to the Arc de Triomphe. Looking in the other direction, you can see the Place de Concorde, the Jardin du Tuilleries, and The Louvre in the distance. Paris has that polarising effect on you. Children in Paris are to be seen and not heard. In fact they are not often seen. Parisian parenting is strict, bordering on the repressive. In contrast my children are noisy, fun-loving, playful, and slightly rebellious, exactly the way children should be. Took my daughter down to Galleries Lafayette to see the rather spectacular Christmas lights and decorations. I am no shopper by any stretch of the imagination, but I could not help be impressed by Galleries Lafayette at Christmas time. It was, as expected completely over the top in terms of ostentatiousness. A more fitting tribute to the war veterans. Maybe Napoleon should have requested an anonymous and more humble resting place. I think this is what a true war hero would have done…. This meeting point of roads, in the north of Central Paris, is about 5 minutes walk from our apartment. It is busy, noisy, dirty, chaotic and even a little treacherous with young children. And yet this is an area in Paris that I love to be in. It is a melting point of human culture and behaviour which makes you feel totally alive. The French, famous for their militancy within the public sector, have been very quiet since we arrived. Rubbish has been piling up on the streets for about 10 days now, and is starting to look a bit unsightly. Thankfully it is feezing cold so there is not the aroma of rotting food to contend with. It is only a minor inconvenience at the moment, and I guess it would have been somewhat of a disappointment if we had left Paris without seeing industrial action of some sort…. Due to the lack of green space in Paris, joggers tend to congregate in large numbers in the city Parks. It is not unusual to see literally hundreds of joggers jogging around the perimeters of these parks. There is cerainly no hiding place if you are out of shape. And only in Paris do you find joggers decked out in designer scarves. I kid you not…. The push scooter is very popular here, probably because they are generally allowed on the pavement, and allows you to get from A to B relatively quickly without having to go on the road or on public transport. They are fashionable with both children and adults. I have been scooting back to the apartment recently after dropping my son off at school. I was feeling very Parisian until I hit a hole in a manhole cover, sending me flying over the handlebars! Fortunately little more resulted than a bruised ego. I have been in Belfast visiting my parents over the last 10 days or so. Even more so now than during the worst days of the Troubles, different areas show their religious allegiances by decorating their streets with either Loyalist or Republican flags. Sectarianism is far from gone in Northern Ireland. Belfast and many other parts of the country remain deeply divided. This is a shame as the local people are some of the friendliest in the world when it comes to hospitality for visitors. However Flags do not make the city a more welcoming place. Relatively speaking there is not a lot of grass in Paris. The French love their rules, and follow them to the letter, even if the rules themselves do not make a lot of sense. Not being known to be a stickler for rules, I have been asked by officials on a few occasions to remove myself from a grass area. I always feel like telling them that the grass is exactly the same before and after me sitting on it. Getting acquainted with Parisian toilets can be a bit of a challenge. A lot of public toilets in Paris have a charge for use. Thus with a family of six on a day out in Paris, the daily ablutions can be an expensive exercise. Only with self-discipline and fluid deprivation can one keep the costs down. Thus a fair degree of research is required to find out where one can wee for free. Never mind Metro Maps. What Paris really needs is a toilet map…. Maybe it is a long time since I have lived in a big city, but it shocks me how many people there are sleeping rough and begging on the streets. The number must run into thousands. In close proximity there are many, many people who live in Paris who have far more money than they could possibly ever need. As a society we have a fundamental duty to provide the most basic needs of living to everyone, regardless of their circumstances or past choices. Not a day goes by without seeing someone jumping the barriers at the entrances to the Paris Metro. This is extremely common. Everyone seems to do it, even people in suits. It is generally the younger population but not exclusively. I saw a 65 year old scale the barrier the other day. They always seem to get away with it, they clearly know how to play the game… I am occasionally tempted. However in the unlikely event of being able to scale the not particularly high bar, I would likely be pounced on by half a dozen security guards yelling incomprehensible phrases at me. I saw my first rats in Paris today. Thin, with hooked noses and a bit of an attitude. As the theory goes, in a big city like Paris, there is almost always a rat within 5 metres of where you are sitting or standing. Better not to think about that….. There is something enchanting about walking to the local boulangerie at first light to get your daily bread. The streets are almost deserted, the only souls about are locals out to fetch their baguettes or their packets of Gallois. The place is atmospheric. Time to myself, and Paris to myself…. Most of the supermarkets in central Paris are closed on Sunday. Tesco take note…. There is a Parisian street market on Sunday morning at the end of our street, It is like any street market anywhere else in the world, except at Parisian prices. Strong haggling is required! A lot of Parisians speak a bit of English, particularly the younger ones, and they are always keen to practise it. Therefore if you make one slip up in your French, they will just switch to English, which can be a little frustrating, as often your French is better than their English. It is therefore satisfying to get through a whole conversational exchange in French, success being measured as keeping the dialogue in French. There is little about living in Paris that is easy. The language, the cost of living, the bureaucracy, the sheer number of people. It would be infinitely easier to give up and go elsewhere. However deep down I realise that is probably the only chance I will get in my lifetime to spend a prolonged amount of time living here. That is probably what is keeping us going at the moment. Paris is a fantastic city with an incredible amount to do and see. Central Paris is a real culture shock after New Zealand…. In previous visits to Paris we had stuck to tourist areas where the locals knew enough English to take food and drinks orders. However when the subject moves to arranging apartment viewings, opening bank accounts etc etc, the language is very much French, and French only. It is fantastic practice however. Once you have made half a dozen calls on your mobile to estate agents in French to ask about apartments, you start to get a feel for what to say and what is being said to you. The other notable thing is the mountain of red tape that one must go though in order to integrate into Parisian life. I am now back in Scotland for 6 weeks to do a microbiology locum post and save enough money for a few months of Parisian rent. After that it is back to Paris, for real…. Most of our belongings picked up yesterday for shipping to Paris. All very real now. House is very bare and we are essentially camping in our home.. Finished work last Friday and I am missing it but enjoying the freedom from responsibility also. Just getting all the last minute organising done before our flights next week. The house is sold, we are free agents once again, released from the chains of house ownership. Paris in 4 weeks, bring it on! Have booked the flight today. One way…. Another box ticked off in the myriad of organising that is required. Less than two months to go until I finish up work in NZ. Emails have been flying to and from Parisian schools, rental agencies, shipping companies etc. I received an email from a French primary school a couple of days ago and then could not subsequently remember whether the email was in French or in English. I was a little concerned that the children would be missing a couple of months of primary school during the transition from NZ to Paris. I then reflected on the new cultures, experiences and language they are about to embrace and realised this quite easily compensated for a few missed lessons. Over the past week I have had a couple of colleagues tell me that I have made the right decision to move to Paris. It is good to know that there are people out there who believe in you….. I have just realised that I only have another seven pay packets to go until moving to Paris. I have never placed myself in a position before with no regular income. I try not to think about it too much as to do so somewhat terrifies me! The weeks are ticking by.. The excitement is increasing, the stress levels are increasing, as is the amount of organisational work that is required. I have been learning French for about 18 months, in preparation for the move to Paris. I know a bit of French now, possibly even enough for a slow speed conversation on something not too complex! However using it for something functional such as filling in forms is a different matter altogether. I have enormous respect for laboratory workers and any other Healthcare Worker for that matter who have learnt not only to communicate, but to work in their non-native tongue. This must require a lot of determination and hard work. Working and living using another language will be a real challenge for me and I am inspired by those people I know who have done it already. The reality is now beginning to sink in. New language to learn, accommodation to organise, schools to find for the children, selling our current house, rehoming the cats etc etc. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of new posts by email. Got teh medal though…. Brain exercise, social interaction, and time away from smartphones… 3rd January Hawkes Bay We have just returned from Hawkes Bay, where we camped for 3 nights in our friends back garden in Taradale. The only downside was that it was pouring on the morning that I had to take the tent down… 1st December Recovery Over the past 3 months I have been on a 5 week road trip from LA to NY with my family, then on a 3 week trip to Europe with my two oldest children, visiting Ireland, Scotland, and France. Looking forward to some much needed time off work! Otherwise I will go stir crazy! Underestimate him at your peril… He is doing well at school, very well. What difference would it make the teacher knowing it as well… Frankly I have bigger fish to fry, and by the looks of it, so too will Shaun… 16th May Returned Cat After disappearing for 2 whole weeks, one of our three cats, La-la, reappeared, looking a lot thinner and covered in cobwebs. We think she had probably been locked in a neighbours shed, and managed to get out when the lawns were due to be cut again… Cats have an amazing capacity for survival. It was bliss! Drive across USA. Do another ultramarathon. Keep working on my French. Get back to Paris, even if it is just for a holiday! It is likely however that my alcohol consumption will increase as a consequence. By Sunday we are shattered and usually take it in turns for an afternoon nap! We are now looking at Bedside Tables which may well take another two years.. The children then appeared with the new puppy around 4am. Back to reality! He will add to the general chaos of the household! Nevertheless it is good entertainment, and provides another excuse not to do any housework 8th March Redwoods Half-Marathon Did my first running event post-ultra, a half marathon through the Redwoods forest at Rotorua. One of the fantastic, and much needed Aid Stations on the Tarawera Ultra 23rd Januray Wellington Spent a few very enjoyable days down in Wellington with the family. Tauranga, where we live, can be a bit of a cultural desert at times… 18th January Long Run Ran further today than I have ever done in my life before, a training run for the Tarawera Ultra. Make sure the dishes are thoroughly washed before putting them into the dishwasher. Avoid bowls at all costs. Having your cereal on a plate is preferable to putting a bowl in the dishwasher. Always use the shortest time setting, as if this does not work, as there is no correlation between time in the system and success. The generation gap was quite evident! When I come home from work I bypass my family, and go straight out to the garden so I can talk to my vegetables, and ask them how their day was… 7th January Tent Spent last night in the tent in the garden with some of the children. Not this one. We all love it nevertheless. It symbolises the real world, not a perfect one. And it is all relative when I think about my wife, and wonder how she does it… Looking forward to three weeks holiday from work after Christmas. The baby Albie arrived, just a couple of days late, but then had to spend a few days in the Special Care Unit with an infection. All is well now, but it has taken a few weeks to get back to normal. The perils of sharing your laptop with 4 young children… 16th October Unfortunately 6 months of my posts on this page have been lost due to technical difficulties. Still the buzz you get from a good run makes all the training worthwhile… 8th March Stitches My youngest son needed to go to the emergency department today to get a few stitches in his head after a fall. I now see why New Zealanders love their cars so much… 19th February House Hunting Have just entered the murky world of false niceties, little white lies and strong nerves as we look to buy a house in New Zealand. I bet you can…. Personally I never saw the point. The saying goes that if you can ski in Scotland, you can ski anywhere…. I never realised rats could swim… 19th December Change In our last full day in Paris, I have been reflecting on our time spent here. The cigarette did not move from his mouth during the whole parking manoeuvre. A classical example of Parisian parking, which would have made a wonderful You-Tube video…. Ordering a double whisky at 8am in the morning would be more acceptable… 15th December The Shrug Was in a busy Metro yesterday when I was reprimanded by one of the locals. I responded reflexively with a perfectly executed Parisian shrug of the shoulders. In the City of Lights, the lights could go out at any time… 11th December Manners Parisians have a bit of a reputation for being rude in the guidebooks, so it has been interesting to spend a few months living here to observe whether this is true. The surrealism of the location is not lost on me… Paris has that polarising effect on you. And my daughter loved it….. It is only a minor inconvenience at the moment, and I guess it would have been somewhat of a disappointment if we had left Paris without seeing industrial action of some sort… 19th November Joggers Due to the lack of green space in Paris, joggers tend to congregate in large numbers in the city Parks. I kid you not… 18th November Traffic There is only one way to negotiate Parisian traffic as a pedestrian… Assume absolutely nothing. Style is very much the domain of the Parisian, not the outsider…. What Paris really needs is a toilet map… 15th October Down and Out in Paris Maybe it is a long time since I have lived in a big city, but it shocks me how many people there are sleeping rough and begging on the streets. I will stick with the metro tickets for the moment.. Time to myself, and Paris to myself… 29th September A day off… Most of the supermarkets in central Paris are closed on Sunday. Tesco take note… There is a Parisian street market on Sunday morning at the end of our street, It is like any street market anywhere else in the world, except at Parisian prices. Living in Paris There is little about living in Paris that is easy. Michael 2nd July Most of our belongings picked up yesterday for shipping to Paris. The children cannot wait of course. They just have the excitement, but not the stress. It will be a highly pressured six months! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.

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