36: Meet the gang 'cause the boys are here

Of course I went over to Arrowtown Primary School when some of the England rugby team came to visit...  and as a team, I give them a glowing report card.


Most likely to succeed: Chris Ashton



Most likely to get his head kicked in: James Haskell

Teacher's pet: Alex Corbisiero

Mr Popularity: Mark Cueto

Class clown: Dylan Hartley

Actually, they were all utterly charming. Read the full post on Kate's blog.

35: Friends in Springtime

Bad Fairy

While I've been commuting back and forth to Alexandra for rehearsals I've been lucky enough to stay with friends on Springvale Road in their charmingly rustic and incredibly cosy converted woolshed.

34: Queenstown Beer Festival

The Queenstown Beer Festival is certainly better than it used to be. There were a few breweries with their beers on offer, including the Arrow Brewery and Moa. The oompah band was ok and didn't force you to join in as much as it used to; the covers' band were excellent with music ranging from The Kinks and The Jam to The Strokes and Oasis, via The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The drummer was 'very relaxed' and I was very impressed.

The atmosphere was light and warm (rather than the dark chilly marquee we have been crammed into before) and, by the end of the evening, it started to feel like a real festival, although more craft beers and knowledgable local brewers would not go amiss.

Him Outdoors seems to like his beer (yes, that's a 'like' face)

And it's thumbs up from the Dairy Queen

I think this is one of the Moa boys

And this is another

33: Plonking

I recently stumbled across a great website with mainly cat and dog photos. This posting explains the phenomenon of 'plonking', a forerunner to the planking fad, and something cats and dogs have been perfecting for centuries. Here are some pictures of Chester demonstrating a fine technique.

32: Alternative transport

I went for a walk with a couple of friends (The Fudge Princess and the Mischievous Minx plus her dopey dog) around Lake Hayes. It was a beautiful winter's day with blue sky, white mountains and still waters.

The Fudge Princess, Mischievous Minx and her Dopey Dog pose for a photo

What a difference a day makes, indeed! We were snowed in the next day. It was only a foot or so of snow, but impossible to drive on the roads without a 4WD or snow chains. We have since purchased the latter (we haven't got a spare $20,000 for the former).

I almost expect Mr Tumnus to make an appearance...

And so I went skiing, as you do, around the streets of Arrowtown to stock up on essentials such as milk, bread and mulled wine. I skied up and down the hills...

---and 'hid' behind a tree.

31: Wellington Weekend

You may detect a bit of a theme to these first few photos...


The Weevil and me in the Bruhaus



The Weevil in The Hop Garden



Him Outdoors at Beervana

The Weevil and Him Outdoors at Beervana

Beervana!

And here are some photos to prove that the Baker Family do other 'normal' stuff, like storytime and the school run...

Well, maybe not all of them...