Last Christmas I gave you my Heart

December 2019 in Finnish Lapland in the Arctic Circle, this yule tide denier saw the spirit of Christmas is in fact alive and well, and it doesn’t need to rely on mountains of presents and shopping stress… just snow and magic. For many people. ‘Bucket List’ events are things you think you’ll only do once, […]

Robbed… The things you learn!

I’ve been fortunate enough to do a bit of travelling in my time. I wouldn’t call myself extensively travelled or anything, I’ve never had the budget for that, but nevertheless I’ve been a few places. I like to think that I’m careful and mindful of my surroundings, but it would be fair to say I’m […]

Can you be too polite?

Recently I stayed at a fancy hotel. It’s not quite as fancy as it thinks it is, or at least not as fancy as the price it charges, but still well above the level of hotel I usually stay in. I’ve never been ma’am’ed (can you even have 2 apostrophes in one word?) so much […]

For the love of noise cancelling headphones

I’m pretty sure half of the children under 5 in Melbourne were on the plane I was on last night. For a moment we’ll ignore how much times have changed and the comparison that I didn’t go on my first overseas trip until I was 25, and that was only because my Dad said my […]

When what you thought was true isn’t

I’m a kiwi, born and bred in New Zealand. My dad’s mother’s family is Irish. On my mum’s side there’s also an Irish connection. We are Ati hau, Ngati Rangi, Tuwharetoa… (Maori tribes) born and bred in the area where my mum still lives. The Irish connection is that my mum’s great-grandfather came from Ireland. I […]