tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379628012011-07-28T01:19:10.205-12:00We moved to New Zealand (Aotearoa) to start a new life. We knew nobody but soon made friends. This blog chronicles our emigration experience, our adventures in our new country and just stuff that happens.Philnoreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-4409148489292189682009-04-22T11:46:00.002-12:002009-04-22T12:21:13.223-12:00

Work has been pretty frantic lately but we are grateful to be busy. I must get at least 5 CVs a week from graphic designers looking for work plus the usual misspelt, badly laid out attempts from graduates. Unfortunately, we are unable to help any of them.It's been so busy that I only realised it was my birthday at about 11pm the night before. Is this how it goes? I'm not one to obsess about a

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-28002804027004379132009-01-21T08:40:00.002-12:002009-01-21T09:07:10.192-12:00

Now it’s Summer, we're having a few nights of fish n chips by the beach. What could be more kiwi?Fish n chips seems to have been a british invention and in the 80s was the UKs most popular food - it has since been eclipsed by another very british (sic) food - the curry.Back back to good ole fush an chups. Some things inherent in the UK fn'c experience haven't travelled well. The absence of

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-70934855798048384272008-09-29T08:05:00.004-12:002008-10-15T09:51:33.483-12:00

The business has had an 0800 no. since it's inception. Before we started trading, we made a list of a whole series of numbers which we thought would roll off the tongue and be memorable (important as were advertising on the radio) but when it came to it, only one of the fifty or so we came up with was actually available. It was a good one: it had repetition and identical paired digits, so we

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-86540617055825706532008-09-24T10:33:00.002-12:002008-09-24T10:49:21.488-12:00

I was already late and although I was right outside the offices of a client, I couldn't find a parking space anywhere."Stuff it", I thought, and swung into a scabby looking Wilson carpark. Not their usual city standard. Unmanned, no cctv and no barriers, just an dim underground area with about 50 spaces.I parked up and in the dimness I grabbed my stuff then hurried off to the meeting.Hours later,

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-545582919220123802008-09-04T09:00:00.001-12:002008-09-24T11:49:53.302-12:00

Last night we played a gig with a legend: Dave Ball from Procol Harum. If you know the song "A Whiter Shade of Pale", thats them.It was a short notice offer (came in on Sunday night for gig on the Thursday) but one I wasn't going to pass up. I'd seen Dave play with Billy TK jnr which was great but at a few others gigs I felt the backing band didnt really do him justice - fluffing through songs

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-72104785822808175992008-06-15T08:48:00.007-12:002008-06-22T12:35:27.788-12:00

This is a shameless plug, but I don't care. If you've been wondering where I've been for the last couple of months, I've been starting my own business. Advertising and graphic design has been my career for about 12 years so after some great stints at places like DDB, Metromedia and Ogilvy, I've decided to do things on my own terms. So, everything I've learned from working in London agencies

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-48534171286386148932008-05-08T17:59:00.003-12:002008-05-08T21:23:23.377-12:00

I've spent alot of time with my family lately. My mum and my aunt came to visit for 2 months and it was great to see them - we've been apart for 3 years - but just like Christmas, you always hope it will be different but it never is.My family seems compelled to generate a constant level chatter and faff, a running commentary on things like their quest to find their glasses they put down 5

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-88961625793583261302008-05-08T17:26:00.002-12:002008-05-08T17:58:14.837-12:00

I heard on the radio yesterday that "unemployment is up, over and above previous forecasts". In the paper last week was a "downturn on the way" headline and there's not a day goes by that there is a report of the continuing "housing slump."The fact was that unemployment was indeed up to 3.7% when predictions forcecasted 3.6%. A difference of 0.1% and hardly a significant deviation for that sort

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-75703528852967815092008-03-26T13:42:00.003-12:002008-03-26T13:54:26.829-12:00

The gigs have gone swimmingly. Our last one at the Crest Hotel was best I remember playing or singing. On top of that we sold out the first small pressing of our 7 track CD: the "Not Cursed" E.P. Best of all my mum, my aunt, my mother-in-law, my wife and my baby girl were all there to witness it.We have been well supported by the guys at Kfm 106.9. Big ups to Simon and Christie from Crossroads

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-55031316428766478882008-03-26T12:30:00.003-12:002008-03-26T13:41:31.686-12:00

It took me at least 72 hours to get the smell of Beijing out of my nostrils. I went for 8 days and it took me about half that time again to "unsmell" all I had smelt.I was grateful to return the the purer New Zealand air, the type that doesn't leave black bits in your tissue when you blow your nose.  So what does it smell of?I remember Nasa astronaut, Jerry Lineger describing the smell of space "

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-15303138430288320242008-03-26T12:26:00.002-12:002008-03-26T12:30:04.226-12:00

I know those of you have been coming here havent seen much going on these past few months.What do you mean "much", there have been zero posts dude, totally zip, nada.A mixture of being a new dad and the arrival of 3 immediate family members from the UK who have stayed with us for 2 months have made things a bit tricky. Then I left the country for a bit. But enough of the excuses, I'll start

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-57873914675942500572007-12-31T08:38:00.000-12:002007-12-31T10:59:42.814-12:00

I formed the blues band Los Diablos here in Auckland back in April 2006. All previous musical projects I've been involved with have been up and running in 6 weeks and this one was no different. However, this has been a long and winding road - like no other I've ever experienced. Ups and downs - mostly downs as you're about to read. If there was ever a band fated the play the blues, its Los

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-49281150126199553672007-12-30T18:33:00.000-12:002007-12-30T19:14:49.168-12:00

So, I stand on the cusp of new beginnings. A new year beckons and with it a new life of such profound change that I can't imagine how things will be. Even if I do, its unlikely that my current self will have much of a clue about how it will really be, its just not really possible to picture. I'm going to be a dad.I'm excited and nervous and all the other things that men are when they know their

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-80375509469709165122007-11-30T16:12:00.000-12:002007-12-31T08:34:30.278-12:00

Our first trip to New Zealand had its fair share of great moments. A holiday so different to any other we'd been on up to that point, it really was supremely special.One of our fondest memories was staying it a retreat near Pancake Rocks in South Island called Te Nikau. Cosy huts built in the bush with lights in the trees that led you back to your cabin after dark. Minutes from a beach which we

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-81278953022827192472007-11-27T08:21:00.000-12:002007-12-31T08:38:09.038-12:00

We are fortunate to be the first generation to never lose touch - with anyone, EVER. From our earliest childhood friends to our latest work pals, even if connections have been severed by time or by circumstance, the internet can pretty much locate them by one way or another.For me, first to emerge was Friends Reunited, the website to locate mates from primary school, secondary school or college (

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-19688852521135492782007-09-20T09:23:00.000-12:002007-09-29T11:59:29.353-12:00

If I was a woman and you, as my boss, restricted the opportunities of my career, there would be a case for sexism. If I was Asian and you denied me access to facilities because of my creed, you'd be a racist.Over the years I've experienced many forms of restriction and exclusion because I am in a minority group. I have been denied access. I have had assumptions made about my habits. I have been

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-18233732518181784882007-08-12T09:20:00.000-12:002007-08-19T13:32:46.516-12:00

2 general anaesthetics in the space of 48hrs fucks you up. An obvious statement I know, but to actually experience the crazy things that rattle around in your brain while "spaced off one's pickle" can be both beautiful and harrowing.If you've been fortunate enough to avoid this experience, here's a run down of what happens:Your head swims, your balance is stuffed, you can fall over or faint

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-12781655322414630802007-07-24T17:45:00.000-12:002007-07-27T09:11:24.371-12:00

Its been a strange couple of weeks: many things have happened, both good and bad but all of them new.On Monday before setting off for work we heard on the radio that there had been a crash in nearby Silverdale and the northbound carriageway was closed.The NZ Herald reported the story thus:Serious crash unit senior sergeant Bill Russell said it appears that a truck heading north was trying to turn

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-59975980750365432712007-07-12T13:04:00.000-12:002007-07-12T13:22:50.716-12:00

One of my earliest memories is of watching a documentary of a man who had contructed a ship of reeds and along with a multi-national crew sailed it thousands of miles around the world.I remember the man. He was lithe and tanned, with a straggled mop of blonde hair and a beard. I remember he was on some kind of mission, a personal one and also one with greater significance for mankind.I remember

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-3210603629749400912007-06-09T22:26:00.000-12:002007-06-11T17:12:40.691-12:00

Last night, after a tip off from Glen, I went to see Simen Taylor play.It was an excellent gig - small and intimate with awesome playing all round. It was great to see a young, talented player who's style was so steeped in the history of the blues - and someone performing who so clearly lives and breathes it.I checked out his myspace videos a few weeks ago while at work and drew unnecessary

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-88515636850632909192007-05-24T12:39:00.000-12:002007-05-24T13:05:54.811-12:00

At various times at work I'll either feel really good or totally adrift. Lately its been more the latter than the former. Some kind of building induced stupour sets in and I just cant do anything. Coupled with the inability to function comes the stern questioning of the "why" guy. A voice in my head who is very persistent. Why can't you do this simple task? Why is it taking you so long? Why didnt

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-49626605119139157682007-05-16T10:43:00.000-12:002007-05-16T11:22:20.260-12:00

No, its not a "Dude, who's that chic?" moment.I recently did a "show and tell" at work, my subject was my relationship with music. I've been playing guitar since I was 6 or 7 and involved in singing, arranging, writing, recording and playing live for 15 years or so.In prepartion for the talk, I examined my behaviour and decisions I had made over the years where music was concerned. I also

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-22649009925043995012007-05-15T13:56:00.000-12:002007-05-28T16:34:45.837-12:00

"Any ideas? Any ideas, guys? …Guys?""How 'bout Really Bad Star"?"Hmmmm, its scary - but is it scary enough?""I think Nasty Star is better - definitely more edgy""Yeah""Tarkin, you're such a kiss-ass""Gentlemen please, can we move on to the next point on the agenda""OK, I'm just gonna put this out there Mr V: the pink angle just isn't going to fly - its too goddamn gay"

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-44438092589313766822007-04-29T17:17:00.000-12:002007-05-08T15:12:05.872-12:00

Someone said to me "We kiwis drive like we shag...as fast as possible with no control at all."Considering my experience of driving on State Highway 1, I half expected them to add "yeah and we continue with great vigour while alarmingly close to your arse and could slip up it at any moment."The New Zealand Driving Experience™ is certainly markedly different from what I was expecting. After 9 years

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-17568826576046858572007-04-19T11:03:00.000-12:002007-04-19T11:06:03.934-12:00

Alison from BluishOrange finds a beer mat after my our heart.

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-20352445278262062092007-04-18T16:13:00.000-12:002007-04-18T16:20:49.034-12:00

I've been trying all day to get my team at work to enter a pub quiz. Not because I'm brilliant at them or indeed spend any time whatsoever in pubs but to simply increase the bonding amongst our team members.Theres been alot of new faces in the last 6 months (including myself) and I thought it would be a good opportunity to let our hair down abit after work and get to know eachother better.I

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-21254146136884793502007-04-16T17:05:00.000-12:002007-04-18T16:22:45.325-12:00

I caught some stolen moments with my friend Matt Ellingham last night (see links panel at right). He'd returned to NZ for his 30th birthday - amongst other things. Although he'd been here in New Zealand for 3 weeks or so he wasn't able to make it to see us in Auckland. However, I was determined not to let this guy travel all the way back here only to miss us by a few kms - no way.The only window

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-40835510937100948312007-04-07T09:21:00.000-12:002007-04-07T10:34:39.051-12:00

If there an any of you who still haven't seen Al Gore's An Incovenient Truth I'd consider it your duty as a world citizen to do so. I thought the same about Michael Moore's Farenheit 911 but for different reasons.Common perceptions of NZ is that it is clean, green and lovely. And for the most part it is but there are still many New Zealanders who are too lazy or too ignorant to understand their

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-38451167110821163692007-03-28T16:53:00.000-12:002007-03-29T09:32:53.617-12:00

Lately, we've met quite a few people from other parts of the world and many have been intrigued by why we moved to New Zealand and how we went about it. This post is a series of (slightly edited) emails which tells our story. Firstly the "why", written in a lengthy corespondance, followed by bits of the "how". Funny, I still get knots in my stomach reading these:Hi Kathleen,Well, its a big story

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-66252282275685279732007-03-18T16:57:00.000-12:002007-03-19T12:06:24.445-12:00

If a grown man came up to you and asked you if you wanted to play Touch, what would you say?If you're from the UK you'd probably say "Er, I'm not really into guy-on-guy action." If you're a kiwi you'd probably say "Yep, lets really get into some guy-on-guy action" That's because Touch isnt a pervy game of fondling - its a minimal-contact form of rugby.If the same grown man had asked you if you

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-73443582740050397712007-03-07T08:47:00.000-12:002007-03-07T10:12:17.778-12:00

When we lived in London, we'd come home and one of us would start dinner. We listened to the radio when we cooked (mainly because the stereo was 2 rooms away) and one of us would sit on the steps which led down our kitchen and recount their days events while the other chopped, sealed and sauced.The radio was always tuned to Jazz FM. It was a part of our London life even before we moved

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-76093120623291935922007-03-06T15:43:00.000-12:002007-03-13T11:17:56.405-12:00

It seemed like a great line-up: Hollie Smith, Shapeshifter, Open Souls, Ddub, Timmy Schumacher, State of Mind. I'd seen the ad on TV. "Orientation". It was basically a freshers week student gig but was also open to the public. With so many great acts on the same bill I was convinced it was a goer. So I bought a pair of tickets.Friday night came and T and I met after work, had some dinner and

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-31732899673343696452007-03-01T16:15:00.000-12:002007-03-01T16:31:03.317-12:00

Yesterday, a photographer came into work to show her book. Her name was Virginia. She was a fellow pommie. Her work was great and I felt really inspired. I also felt an age old pull to photography. I wish I'd been a photographer, actually I'd still like to be one. My affinity with the medium is greater than my love of design.Her work covered lots of people shots: kids, neighbours, teenagers. It

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-47390667128164184712007-02-26T16:04:00.000-12:002007-03-01T16:15:50.323-12:00

I've always been very polite and tolerant. Whether its been door slamming, party music, lateness, organisational mix-ups or whatever. If I'm the incovenienced party I'm always the "oh, that's alright, don't worry" type of guy.People take advantage of my politeness. People who have an agenda. People like clipboard charity workers who accost you on the streets. People like telemarketers who call at

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-26154040986534664872007-02-26T09:08:00.000-12:002007-02-26T09:30:32.591-12:00

Some of you may be concerned. If any New Zealand news actually reaches the rest of the world then most of you would have heard about:THE BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE TO HIT AUCKLAND IN 30 YEARS!Yes, that's right. 4.5 on the richter scale and only 30km away from where we live, thundering in just last Wednesday.Shock? Horror? Devastation?No. We didn't feel a thing. Not a rumble, shimmy or tremor. Granted, we

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-82727523336343179082007-02-13T15:56:00.000-12:002007-02-22T14:02:30.365-12:00

It's a bit of headfuck when 4 guys you went to college with in London suddenly step out into a hotel car par 11 years later in New Plymouth, New Zealand, all within 2 minutes of eachother.I knew they would be there, however it was truly the weirdest 8 minutes of 2007 so far. When Markie came to visit, I did double takes for ages. We would be in a shop browsing then I'd head towards a rack and

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-18522463517103753512007-02-08T15:22:00.000-12:002007-02-08T15:45:46.338-12:00

I'm making a list of things I think people notice about me: I sit on the floor cross-legged and sometimes I do this on chairs, freaking people out as it looks like I don't have legs.I clear my throat alot rather than cough.I click my neck (and a few other joints)I pull out hairs from my chin. This not a nervous habit. Sometimes I find one super-thick hair amongst all the others and have to

Philnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-20804437524404546052007-02-04T08:00:00.000-12:002007-02-04T08:48:13.194-12:00

So you're in any country in the world trying to cross a road. There's a crossing control with traffic lights (so thats a good start). The lights indicate you should cross, so you begin - only to find that the "don't cross" signal pings on when you're halfway across. Damn! Do you make a run for it?If this has happened to you, you'll know that pedestrian signals in different cities across the world

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1169610927951811432007-01-23T15:27:00.000-12:002007-02-04T07:59:30.692-12:00

Well, we're properly into 2007 already. I've noticed most bloggers do a round up of the year's highlights. I can't really be arsed to write a full-on retrospective but from the mudane to the extra special, alot has happened in the last 12 months.I formed a band.I got a full-time job.We bought a house.Tracey passed her driving test.Markie came to visit.I had my first taste of South Island

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1169172715837356252007-01-18T13:47:00.000-12:002007-01-18T14:11:55.853-12:00

Well the christmas period has come and gone. I didn't gorge myself stupid but we enjoyed a few fine meals. I got Tracey an authentic italian cookbook for xmas. Its excellent, not only does it have recipes but its also the jottings of 3 people who travelled through Italy (2 restaurateurs and a chef) with photos and anecdotes.We both read it avidly and within days out came Tracey's pasta maker

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1168548822769023102007-01-11T08:30:00.000-12:002007-01-14T13:32:10.106-12:00

It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that images on the web are a suitable quality for print. Here's a heads-up: NO! NO! NO! Just cos you used a PC all your sad office life and you can copy and paste (the shittest) clipart into a Word document, then blow it up to A4 and get passable image quality on-screen - doesnt, I repeat, does not mean you know what the fuck you are doing. OKAY?

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1168990677439166432007-01-05T11:12:00.000-12:002007-01-16T11:38:06.426-12:00

Things to do at an Afterparty with heaps of free booze and bursting with celebs when you are not drinking (because you're driving) and aren't with a huge possé of mates:Look awkwardGet bored...very quicklyGo homeThe new Cirque du Soleil offering Varekai was very good. The female lead, Irina Naumenko was quite sexy for an anthelete/acrobat. Usually, we see skinny 15 year old russian girls that are

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1166504878744339292006-12-18T17:03:00.000-12:002006-12-18T17:07:58.743-12:00

Those of who happened across this site from blogspot can read the rest of this blog's previous entries here. I'm currently transferring content from the old premises, but as there's about 2 years' worth, I may just start a fresh in 2007

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1166495066277534702006-12-18T14:24:00.000-12:002007-01-18T13:47:09.220-12:00

Every now and then we get an email saying "hi, I'm finally coming to New Zealand! What is there to do and what shall I bring?"We're over the moon to receive friends and family who we haven't seen in ages and we count the days until we see them. However, it is quite difficult to explain to them exactly what a New Zealand experience is going to be like and how to go about things because its just

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1166406064031702832006-12-17T12:47:00.000-12:002006-12-20T12:09:30.200-12:00

Its not often in my life that I've ever had to contemplate my own mortality. The one time I truly thought I was going to die I was 6 and got hit in the chest with a football. It turned out that I had only been badly winded but in those excruitating seconds I was absolute sure my number was up.This week I had to phone the doctors for the results of a blood test. I had found a lump behind my ear

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1165805844151812632006-12-10T14:56:00.000-12:002006-12-10T14:57:24.160-12:00

I haven't written much for a while. Its not that there isnt stuff going on, just its a bit everyday and mundane to discuss. Last night this fact was captured perfectly in a scene from the movie "Old School". Massive house party, a college student offers Frank a blast of beer from a funnel and pipe.Frank: Ah no thanks, I told my wife I wouldn't drink tonight. Besides, I got a big day tomorrow. You

Philnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962801.post-1166494947989944192006-11-23T11:39:00.000-12:002006-12-18T14:22:28.000-12:00

David Lee Roth is one of my heroes. I love early Van Halen and I hated it when he left. I thought his replacement, Sammy Hagar was a pussy (the guy didnt even have long hair) and I ditched loyalty to VH in favour of the David Lee Roth band which had the powerhouse line-up of the man himself, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan and Greg Bisonette."Is this The Darkness", asked Jussi as I drove him to the

Philnoreply@blogger.com0