Tag: London
Wellington City
I adore New Zealand’s capital city. Wellington was my hometown for nine very happy years. The memories it holds for me are etched all over the city. I spent several years studying at Victoria University and then worked in the capital for four years before moving to London.
Things I love most about Wellington:
- You can walk from one end of Wellington to the other
- Wellington Cable Car
- Lots of great independent cafes serving the perfect brew
- Te Papa Museum
- The ‘feel good’ vibe
- Oriental Parade
- Very family friendly
- City to Sea Walkway
- The pubs and bars
- Wellington Botanical Garden
- Civic Square and Lambton Quay
- The Beehive
The beautiful globe-like sculpture of silver ferns hangs over Civic Square.
Looking down one of Wellington’s main streets, Lambton Quay.
The amazing Parliamentary Building known as The Beehive. The Executive Wing of parliament has been named The Beehive due to its shape. It’s here that the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers have offices and this is where the Cabinet meets.
Molly
When my sister and I were growing up our pets were from the RSPCA, animal rescue centres or we found them abandoned and needing a home. I’m so thankful our parents helped to teach us how to love and respect all living creatures. This is something hubby and I wish to pass on to Imogen who has grown up with Louis and Mia. It’s so wonderful to see she has already developed a love of animals and knowledge of how to care for them.
Molly is a short haired tortoiseshell moggy who became my very own first beloved rescue cat in 1996. She shared such a precious time with me when I was at University, sitting for hours on end whilst I read books and wrote essays. She then lovingly became part of my parent’s life when I moved from New Zealand to London in 2003.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Molly again and spend time with her during this holiday in New Zealand. I’m thrilled she and Imogen have become friends. Imogen absolutely adores Molly. Molly is now 17 years old which is a ripe old age, even for a cat.
Six weeks ago we knew something wasn’t quite right with Molly. She was drinking and urinating excessively. Given that the summer here has been nothing but hot we didn’t think anything of it until she started to slow down. We took her to the vet and after some tests she was diagnosed with diabetes. That’s the last thing we had considered. I knew little about diabetes in cats and have since discovered the symptoms are similar to humans who suffer from diabetes.
Molly now needs a high protein low carbohydrate diet to help her lose a small amount of weight and two injections of insulin each day to help regulate her blood glucose levels. After making some changes to her diet and giving the insulin twice daily she has perked up and is back to her very bonny self. She is a star.
It’s going to be so difficult to say goodbye to Molly next week, knowing her health and her age. I love her so much. She was there with me throughout my student years, she watched me grow up and she saw me take a leap of faith when I flew the nest and ventured to London. Molly, you will be forever in my heart.
Beach Fun at Kapiti Coast
The sun shone and the tide was high when we went to the beautiful Kapiti Coast for a day of running on the beach and jumping in the sea. Imogen loved it and ran freely into the ocean, so fast that we had to be quick to scoop her up as the waves splashed over her chest.
I’m writing this with sadness as I think about leaving my parents, sister and family in beautiful New Zealand. We make our return to London in 10 days time. The last seven weeks have literally flown by. My parents have loved every second with their grand-daughter and it’s going to be so hard living half a world away, the bond they have formed is immense.
As well as Kapiti’s stunning coastline the region is also famous for amazing ice cream and this is where Imogen tried her first ice cream cone.
Kapiti Island Nature Reserve lies in the background where you can visit little spotted kiwi which are now extinct on mainland New Zealand. It’s an amazing nature reserve which is doing a great deal for bird recovery, especially since rats were eradicated from the island.
