I am so very proud of being kiwi, and yearn to be back in Aotearoa when I am travelling abroad. Of course I think the rest of the world is wonderful, with its own magic ... but it is always wonderful to be home ... This country is part of my soul Aotearoa |a??te???r???| the Maori name for New Zealand . ORIGIN Maori, literally "land of the long white cloud.” To View More >>

It's a sad fact that the only thing we know with certainty in life is that one day we will die. Despite this certainty, a lot of people will be affected by the loss, the only question being, by how much and in what way? It's a sad fact that the only thing we know with certainty in life is that one day we will die. Despite this certainty, a lot of people will be affected by the loss, the only question being, by how much and in what way? Will our passing give cause for celebration, a time to remember the wonderful times together, or will our passing be the beginning of the end for someone else To View More >>

When I grow up I want to be just like House MD ... Not only is this such a wonderful show, but isn't he a wonderful and inspiring man? LOL I don't want to scare people, and I say this partly tongue in cheek, but I think it would be kind of cool to be like him. Think about it ... - he's incredibly intelligent - he saves lives when others can't - he's creative, and works outside the box - he knows how to differentiate between the "symptom" and the actual "problem" - he says exactly what he wants to say, when he wants to say it, and political correctness doesn't hold him back - he inspires (also To View More >>

LOL Ok Woo Woo moment coming up ... :-) "Choose to be Optomistic" - Dali Lama I've been given two wonderful gifts in the last few years, one being an understanding of the power of truth and the other the power of gratitude. I have to say I'm a long way from perfect, and that it was a lot easier to hear about these than it was to take advantage of them, but I can attest to the confidence they bring you. TRUTH: There is incredible power and strength in the truth, but sadly more and more society justifies "white lies" as part of life, but think about this... Those who think it is permissible to tell To View More >>

I love my wife: she is brilliant, a beautiful and most incredible person ... She is however a moving freak ... Where some guys might drink beer, watch sports or play video games for fun she likes to rearrange the house. That isn't me in the photo but it's how I feel when any sentence starts with "This weekend I want to ..." because I know the next word will be "rearrange". If she really wants to do something, and I am resisting, that just adds to the challenge, and she recruits her partners in crime, Brenda and the kids. It got so bad that one day when she went away I rearranged the house just To View More >>

I was reading Paulo Coelho's blog today, and came across a wonderful post from a few days ago, discussing ones "personal legend". It is a wonderful reminder of our need to pursue what is deep within us, what it takes and why some fail. Like so much of his writing, I would thoroughly recomend taking a few minutes to read it. Conversation with the master the personal legend To View More >>

One of the incredible blessings of working in the Queensberry Group is the wonderful people we get to spend our time with, and few are more inspiring than Peter Haythornthwaite. [flickr]photo:3099049094[/flickr] I was sitting at the kitchen table about to take a photo of this wood pigeon when I got an email from Peter commenting on my blog. Amongst other things he said "I guess a natural 'other' would be small videos of family discoveries at the beach - your area, your 'forest' area, your Titirangi - why do you live there etc." The timing made me smile as this beautiful bird perfectly symbolizes To View More >>

Danny and I are in Germany at present, Cologne (Köln) to be specific, visiting the Photokina trade fair. It's been a whirlwind tour through Europe getting here. In 5 days we travelled through Las Angeles, London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne. What an incredible week of contrasts. The cities, especially Paris and Amsterdam, were incredible, so romantic with their old world charm and architecture, but with unfortunate modern contrasts. If Mc Donalds down the road from Notre Dame wasn't enough, how about the accommodation we have in Cologne? This is a table in the restaurant. The place To View More >>