The annual Wellington fancy dress party!

Each year in Wellington, there is an occasion that sees the town invaded with all sorts of strange looking people, but it all seems incredibly normal somehow! It is possibly the biggest fancy dress party in the world. Otherwise known as the New Zealand Rugby 7s.

Tickets to the event sell out within minutes each year, and they'd already gone before we got here in September, so we were resigned to just observing from a distance. However, with a week to go, one of Annalie's colleagues got hold of a couple of weekend tickets and gave us first refusal on the Friday tickets. As these are often a rarity, we jumped at the chance.

And what a spectacle it is to behold!

First, some observations:
1) absolutely anything goes. Nothing is too tame or too outrageous. We would tell you some of the least tasteful outfits, but we might offend you!
2) there are some VERY brave people out there who will wear almost anything
3) there are also some very clever people out there with an incredible wit or sense of humour
4) the rugby is really just an excuse for the party - there almost seemed to be more people wandering around the concourse than inside the stadium.

Some examples of what we saw:

• railroad crossings - including flashing lights and sirens. Needless to say they had no trouble getting through the crowds!
• dolphin trainers - with inflatable dolphins and whisltes
• foosball players - including the metal pole between them
• floor lights
• pot plants
• Barbie - in the box as well!
• beekeepers
• the Smurfs
• Stabilo highlighter pens
• flamingoes
• Scousers!
• and Whoopee Cushions!!

Some of the best outfits we don't have photos of though. We saw a guy (or at least we assume it was a guy!) on a mobility scooter dressed as Stig! And someone else in a wheelchair dressed as a Dalek. Very clever!

And yes, we've got photographic evidence that you can see here! We would even go so far as to say don't even bother coming here for the Rugby World Cup (if you were planning to). Just aim for the Sevens weekend and you'll be guaranteed a laugh.

And that's the main point about the Sevens. No one cares what you look like and you can't feel stupid as we guarantee you, there will always be someone out there who will look even more ridiculous! We're sure there's an unofficial competition to see who's the most outrageous.

Oh, and by the way, England lost to NZ in the final. Just in case you were wondering if we noticed the rugby ;)

Maddy finds her own bed

Despite providing a bed and her crate, when we leave Maddy in the garage, she's found her own sleeping spot.

We were wondering why a lot of Maddy hair had found its way onto a fleecy blanket, and then we came back one time and found out why! Seems she chooses her own comfy spot...

Free Wellington!

Wellington has a wealth of free events on during the summer and Annalie sampled her first one last week. Concerts in the park are a daily event throughout January. She's got no idea who was on stage, but some friends invited her along as they wanted to meet Maddy. As it's an outdoor concert, that was easy, but Maddy wasn't on her best behaviour. The place was full of her two favourite things: people and food. So what did we expect really?!


Annalie has given away a free marketing suggestion to one of NZ's best companies for marketing! Air New Zealand has launched an online "superstar" as a marketing campaign for its new aircraft interiors. Rico has been a huge success and has acquired a huge following. When we were over here in 2009, we started "spotting" Explore More vans, as each van has a different name and it has "Explore More with..." and the name on each van. Annalie saw the marketing potential in an "Explore More with Rico" van so introduced the idea to both of them and a van has been made! Rico has toured NZ in the van and is running an online video series of his travels. Check out Annalie's van's "drive on" part at the start. Explore More has promised us a free rental at some point. And now Rico's not using it any more...


While we're enjoying summer (ish) here in NZ, our friends back in CT are being snowed in on a regular basis! Last winter we got virtually no snow. It was a huge disappointment. And we never even went skiing in New England. But this year has been mega! We're not sure if we miss it or not.


And talking of the old life, Annalie has completed her first work trip in her new job. Where previously her work took her to Singapore, Dubai, Beijing, Paris, Seattle and India, this week she went...wait for it...all the way to Taupo! Although there is the possibility of getting as far as Australia in the next couple of months. Woo hoo! Living the high life still!


What else have we been up to? Well, we scored free tickets to the local racing festival so had a day out at the gee gees. We had a great start on the betting and ended the day about $8 up. Then we had our first win on the lotto the same night! So that left us another $8 up. Hey, it's not going to make us millionaires, but at least we didn't lose!


We also went to the Penthouse Cinema in Brooklyn to watch Four Lions (very silly but very funny!). Wellington is full of little community cinemas that let you experience the cinema as it used to be. But they don't do popcorn! Much to Annalie's disappointment. It's a much more sophisticated experience! We walked into the cinema to be greeted by lots of people sat with coffee cups on their laps! Considering coffee is king in Wellington, this should come as no surprise. But you just don't expect people to be sat in the cinema with cups and saucers on their laps!

We have also been meeting up with friends for golf lessons (Ian teaching), housewarmings and Maddy meets. We've also been indulging in the Kiwi sport of attending open homes! Well, just the one. There's a house for sale on our street that has wonderful views over the bays. We're not looking to buy right now as we have our equity tied up in Derby, but it's good to know what we might be looking at. Ian kind of fell for the house we went to see and it's probably not hard to see why. A bit above our expected price range anyway, but when we're ready to buy, we'll be in a strong position as we'll effectively be first-time buyers and that will make us extremely attractive. We've just got to hope that another house like this one is on the market then.