Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Phew, we had fish for dinner. Did wonder about having the local bratwurst initially, good job we gave it a miss.:lol:

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

:lol:

Enjoy your break...we are just starting to see signs of winter in Chch...;)

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Thanks Stormer, we shall try our very best. Done the planes bit and start the trains part tomorrow as we head to Grindelwald and the North face of the Eiger. The automobiles begin when we head to Strasbourg. I feel a film coming on ;).

Slightly concerned about the French leg as they seem to be having some sort of industrial action ( quelle surprise) which is affecting petrol stations :ohmy:

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Now don't forget that up there the North Eiger face will be the cold side...think about climbing one of the others...;) Strasbourg we loved but Vienna we hated.
When are the French not on strike....:rofl: I preferred catching the slow trains as opposed to the high speed to view the beautiful scenery. The Hills are alive................;)

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

O but it's tradition vitals. When you go to foreign places you have to try to fit in, be very rude to an American tourist in a French accent...that sort of thing.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Heading to Strasbourg today, so looking forward to following your sage advice :nod:.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

The Eiger hasn't been seen since Saturday :(. Have to say that the Swiss Alps are the most beautiful, stunning place I've ever been too so far. What friendly, warm people the Swiss are.

Bit over lugging suitcases around on trains etc. but got to be done.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Back in the UK it has been down to 12C during the day.
Central heating back on.

Flaming June - yeah, right!!

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Meanwhile 'oop north in the UK it's blazing sunshine and one of the best week's we've had in years. We may even turn the heating off for the first time in 18 months if this continues. :thumbup:

Sorry. :scarper:

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Does oop north = Oxford :lol:

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Its so pants huh LittleGreyCat, the kids left the back door open for half an bour while they played out and my feet started cramping from the cold... its blimmen June and we put the central heating on for a couple of hours... no point being miserable if you dont have to is my theory!

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Twas a Chch winter day yesterday, -1 C to wake up to heat pump working away frost over the lawn big blue sky full of promise. Mid morning the sun has heated the loft space so the HRV starts pumping down warm filtered air. 15 C by lunch time shorts and tee shirt on the deck sunnies on cats sunbathing, 17 days to winter solstice then the days get longer....she'll be right.......:thumbup:
Ground Hog day close the blinds....;)

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

That's almost my favourite type of day :thumbsup:

We're well north of there these days. ;) The UK has been really upside down this week with the south being cold and wet compared to right oop north where we've broken out the summer jackets and I even left the house without a coat on one day. :ohmy:

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Definitely not

Oxford is well into softy southerner territory

They don't wear flat caps and you'll struggle
to find a decent ferret or whippet anywhere

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

7 degrees and sunny today
Heating didn't go on till 6 o'clock tonight

Couple of piccies of my trip out this arvo

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Nice photos but assume you were in a scruffy Hilux ute behind that tourist. :-)

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Still no heating. Blankets over legs. Just spent two weeks knitting a dog jumper for my 12 year old Kelpie cross who has a few joint aches and pains. she's as snug as a bug now and fast asleep. :p

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

What a stunning day again in Canterbury. Hiked up a wee mountain in shorts and t-shirt and sat at the top taking in snow capped mountains against bright blue back drop. Went home and read on the sun lounger with a beer and the puss cats snoozing near by. All feels right in the world :)

Bloody winter ay...

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

This weather sure is odd. Sounds like a good day down South. We also have both dog and cat. Fostered and then adopted a kitten last Xmas. Bit of a shock for our 11 year old Kelpie Cross to suddenly have this annoying kitten in the house, but now, our kitty is 9 months old and shown our dog Missy just who's boss. Dog bed is only a dog bed when Mittens the kittens not in it. Up here in Auckland West, weather not too bad so far. Having visited South Island in the past, it's truly breath taking. Unfortunately,emolyment is local otherwise we would love to be in the South.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

clapped out nissan patrol is on order, have to fit in with the locals

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Well. Up with the lark today, or should I say up with the sound of something mysteriously walking with clogs inside my bedroom walls. If it's mice, they must be a giant variety. 5.30am onwards. Now fully awake, of course all activity has since stopped. Bang goes my lazy sleep in weekend. Doh! I sure miss the solid walls of ol Blighty housing.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Sunny and 25degC (in the shade) today near Keri, a pain as you can see the grass growing.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Yes the weather is so topsy turvy. Been outside chopping branches off trees close to the house in a bid to stop those pesky rodents. Had a rat man come round last night who set a bait trap. Have to say, wasn't too impressed with his professional image. Ended up helping him. Unfortunately, Rentokill can't come out until the end of June. There has been a huge problem with rats in the Auckland area and they are working full tilt. Pooped now after over four hours, chopping, sawing and tidying up. I'm getting to old for this.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Hey could be worse.....

Giant rats caught in Goytre - Abergavenny Chronicle

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Used to work in and around Abergavenny for Monmouth social services. Worked in the community with adult disabilities team. A most rewarding job.😀

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

I too was advised to ring Auckland council, but they replied similarly. Apparently, if you're a home owner, you don't qualify for any help and have to find a pest controller and pay for it. Wasn't surprised at all.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Really? Symonds yat here.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Wow. Small world eh!. Know it well😀. Tell you what. I do miss that part of the world. Tintern Abbey was one of our favourite places. So beautiful. The history is something else. Used to take clients over to Symonds Yat for a ride out and tea and scones.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

I think the question at the moment is which brave sole is still holding out on the fire? It's a bit nippy. :lol:

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

16 deg inside, 10 deg outside so the winter duvet may have to go on - heating is for Brit wimps :)

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

The fires down here have been going full bore since May & it was the Kiwis that lit theirs first. Wimps :nod:

It is all topsy turvey. Today has been fine with sun - and you do need the sun here - however there have been several days and weeks of torrential rains with a very cold bite to them.

Now The Ranges are covered in snow . More than I have ever seen so it tells me that somewhere has been getting a huge dump.

You don't want too warm for a winter . It encourages vermin that then decimates the birdlife. We want the birdlife , right?

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Fire back on last night here in Torbay.
Firkin ridiculous - clocks went fwd last night!! We had staved off having the fire on during September as it's a bit of house policy - a couple of nights we did resort to cozying down under blankets but we tried!!
Right now it's hideous - utter monsoon rain - about as bad as I have EVER seen it. Black as night, and not warm. Will be dashing out to the woodshed if the rain breaks to get more wood for tonight too.

Not happy.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Take one of these they're slow release to get you through Spring :eek::p

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Those medicinal compounds are clearly not efficacious in every case. :rofl:

Our heatpump has been on every night since mid-May and not showing any signs that it will be made redundant any time soon.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Central heating? That's something I miss. We're in the Bay of Plenty and although it doesn't get cold like Otago in winter, a more efficient full house system wouldn't go amiss. My advice to any newcomers to NZ is don't buy a house that doesn't at least have double glazing and a heat pump, even in the north island. So anything built before 2007 probably won't have it. After 7 years and 3 moves we've finally got it and it does make a difference, still cold in bathrooms and bedrooms though.
Still got my electric blanket on as well!

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Bit generic - up north of Auckland you don't really need it. This year we haven't used any heating (and my wife doesn't like cold)! Not sure if this was a typical Winter though. A reversible heat pump might be useful in the Summer though :-)

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

I did say the Bay of Plenty, and don't forget we Brits are a bit woosy, we do like our c/heating.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

Have any of you fitted central heating over there or live in a house that has it? Is it expensive (I think I already know the answer to that one!).

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

I don't think anyone has c/heating in the north island, not sure about the far south but I suspect most have heat converters. They are quite efficient but heat only the room they are installed in so you'd need several. Perhaps a south islander could answer your query.

Re: 'Fess up . Who has relit their fires this evening.
 

There's no mains Gas in most of NZ so you'd be relying on bottles of LPG which would be very expensive. Having a central heating system fitted similar to what you get in the UK would also be very expensive as they're so uncommon.