Hello from Marnie in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. I was born in Melbourne where I attended kindergarten and two different primary schools. Melbourne has a population equivalent to all of NZ and a climate much like Wellington in winter but with some terribly hot days in summer, over 40degrees with some really hot northerly winds!You may remember 'Black Saturday' in February this year when nearly 200 people lost their lives in horrific bushfires - the day was like a furnace, over 45deg and so windy. My family moved to Sydney when I was eight years old, we lived right by beautiful Balmoral Beach and in those days it was safe for us children to go to the beach and park and fishing and swimming by ourselves, we spent hours there! At 12 years old my siblings and I got bribed into a move to NZ with a P&O cruise around the pacific islands terminating in Auckland.From there we went to Hawkes Bay where my father ran a company in Hastings and we set up home in beautiful Havelock North. Schooling for me ended in Auckland at Kings College (where Charles' father Struan went)then onto Otago university, back to Auckland (where I met Charles' mother Sarah) and finally I came full circle & transferred my university course to Melbourne. I now live in Geelong which is less than an hour from Melbourne, has a population of 200,000, and is close to the coast and farmlands. We have a farm 10minutes away from our house which has a beautiful river running through it and gumtrees and is a great spot for entertaining our friends. Victoria has unfortunately been in a drought for many years although this years' barley crop is looking OK thanks to some recent rain. My mother still lives in Havelock North, my brother in Wellington, my father has been in Belgium, Singapore and Malaysia before coming back to Australia. My sister left NZ to live in London, Singapore, HongKong and is now in New York. i will send her your link Charles and hopefully she can write a little about the places she has lived. x Marnie
hi flat charles, it is marnie's sister here.we are living in greenwich,connecticut, USA. it is a 45 min train ride from New york city. it is fall here, all the trees are red, yellow and orange. not like in NZ, here, it is every tree that changes colour. we had snow last weekend.
I have family in Wellington, Sydney (Australia), Melbourne (Australia), United Arab Emirates, London (UK), Winchester (UK), The Isle of Man (UK), Comrie (Scotland), and Perth (Scotland).
Comrie in Scotland is where my last name comes from - as a distant relative of mine was the Sheriff of the village of Comrie and had to take on the name to become the boss!
As you know I have lived in Windsor in the UK and in the south of France in a little village called Najac.
I have lived most of my life in Auckland, but more recently in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia), the Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia) and Wellington.
When I was five my family went to live in UK for a year. We lived in a little village called Bray. It was right on the river Thames. We even had a canal boat – it was called the Lucky Locket! I went to a school in Windsor which was called Upton House!
My name is Mike and I work with Emma. I am born and breed in Auckland but I have family in Australia, Holland and England. My fiancé has family in Los Angles (they live really close to Disneyland!), San Francisco and Germany.
My favourite place in the world to visit is the Maldives Island because of the beautiful diving you can do there.
The Maldives are about seven hundred kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and area.
About 65 million years ago (!!) the islands of the Maldives were part of a huge volcanic mountain range. There are over 700 common fish species. If you’ve got sharp-eyes you can see species like frogfish, leaf fish, ghost pipefish and a many different types of nudibranchs (Emma says you like these!). There are so many awesome manta ray, grey reef shark and tiny brightly coloured flatworm, the Maldives has it all. We will have to get you trained up...SCUBA style!
Emma told me about your cool ‘Flat travels’ so I thought I’d fill you in on my global encounters!
I was born in Auckland to second generation New Zealand parents. When I was fifteen I got accepted on a tennis scholarship to America. So I spent three years at a school called Cold Spring Harbour, which is in New York. I got to play tennis all around America!
When I graduated from High School I applied for a scholarship to Cornell University which is nestled in the heart of New York State's beautiful Finger Lakes region, in a place called Ithaca. It is located roughly halfway between Manhattan and Toronto. This is the university that Jonathan J. Rubinstein went too – he is the guy that invented the iPod!
Now I am living back in Auckland with my American fiancée! We have family in Long Island, (New York), Los Angles, Washington D.C, Germany, Manchester (UK) and here in New Zealand.
I am Emma’s cousin and I was born in Sydney, Australia where I lived for 30 years. However, now, with my own family I live in Dubai which is in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is on the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.
Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert. The sandy desert surrounding the city supports wild grasses and some date palm trees. Dubai has a hot climate. Summers here are extremely hot, with an average high around 40 °C. Winters are warm and short with an average high of 23 °C.
The city has heaps of remarkable skyscrapers, such as the world’s current tallest building, the Burj Dubai, and is also in the process of developing one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world – The Pad. This is based on the idea of an iPod (!) and is a residential tower which is set to be have all the latest gadgets that will have the power to change interior design and window views to almost anything imaginable.
Although Dubai has been transformed into a man-made hi-tech city, it still has a strong Islamic culture with a stretch of historical buildings by the Creek.
I have heard about your school studies and thought I’d put France and England on the map! My name is Tom and I am one of Emma’s English cousins!
I was born in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia! My dad was working their as a doctor when I arrived early. Jeddah is located on the coast of the Red Sea.
Not long after I was born we moved back home to Winchester in South East England. Winchester is set on the River Itchen. Winchester is very famous for its Cathedral, which is the longest cathedral in Europe, and was originally built in 1079. During Saxon times, Winchester was the capital of England - chosen by King Alfred (Alfred the Great) - and the city remained a Royal residence for centuries afterwards.
Once I finished school I moved to Paris (France) to study art and photography. Paris is a wonderfully exciting city filled with croissant and pain au chocolat!
It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with 45 million tourists every year in the Paris Region.
Paris has warm and pleasant summers with average high temperatures of 25 °C. Winter is chilly, but temperature is around 3 °C to 8 °C, and rarely falls below the freezing point.
France is also famous for some "strange" foods that are well known overseas. However despite what some people think frogs legs or snails are not usual menu items and many people in France are even reluctant eating such food. So I’m guessing you are wondering if I have eaten any snails since I have been living here!! France is the biggest snail consumer in the world with 40,000 tons consumed per year. Snails are bred on one of France’s 200 snail farms. Famous French snails are "escargot de Bourgogne" (Burgundy snails) and "petit gris" (small snails). Buy the way, the answer is YES and only because my mother told me that “they are good for my health as they are full of calcium, magnesium and vitamin C!”
My name is Guy and I am Emma’s uncle. I am from England but I have lived in various parts of the world! I met my New Zealand wife while studying at Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine in London. Soon after I graduated we moved back to Auckland for a number of years while I began my Specialist studies. Not long after I finished my studies we moved to where we currently have our home base in the city of Winchester, in South East England. Winchester has so much history - as settlement in the area dates back to pre-Roman times, with an Iron Age enclosure or valley fort to boot!
My work meant that after a few years back in England I moved my family (temporarily) to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is a fascinating place to live. Some of the old houses are multi-story buildings made from coral! Unfortunately, coral is not a very durable building material, and most of the buildings are in disrepair. Scuba diving is a major draw for visitors to the Kingdom. Visibility can be a spectacular 30-40m and the corals are virtually untouched. There are plenty of interesting sites to explore like the Chicken Wreck, which was cause by a boat carrying tons of frozen chicken that hit the reef and sunk at a depth of 15m!! Although it was an interesting place to live it was hard on my growing family. As Jeddah falls under Islamic laws women normally wear a hijab (headscarf) and abaya (long black over garment) to cover her head and entire body. Men are expected to avoid wearing shorts. So now with my three children in tow we moved back to Winchester! Since then I have done stints away overseas doing 3-6 month trips in various countries while doing some locum work.
My base is now in the Isle of Man which is located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The Isle of Man includes some nearby small islands: the Calf of Man; Chicken Rock; and St Patrick's Isle and St Michael's Isle! (Thought you might like those names!!)
The Isle is 52 kilometers long and 22 kilometers wide at its widest point. The Isle of Man has cool summers and mild winters. Funny facts about the Isle of Man;
- Many of the roads on the island have no speed limit. - Quocunque Jeceris Stabit, is the traditional motto of the Isle which means 'Whichever way you throw it, it will stand'. - The Isle of Man is also said to be home to fairies, known locally as 'the little folk'. There is a famous Fairy Bridge and it is said to be bad luck if one fails to wish the fairies good morning or afternoon when passing over it. It used to be a tradition to leave a coin on the bridge to ensure good luck. - The Bee Gees were born in the Isle of Man!
Hello from Marnie in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. I was born in Melbourne where I attended kindergarten and two different primary schools. Melbourne has a population equivalent to all of NZ and a climate much like Wellington in winter but with some terribly hot days in summer, over 40degrees with some really hot northerly winds!You may remember 'Black Saturday' in February this year when nearly 200 people lost their lives in horrific bushfires - the day was like a furnace, over 45deg and so windy.
ReplyDeleteMy family moved to Sydney when I was eight years old, we lived right by beautiful Balmoral Beach and in those days it was safe for us children to go to the beach and park and fishing and swimming by ourselves, we spent hours there!
At 12 years old my siblings and I got bribed into a move to NZ with a P&O cruise around the pacific islands terminating in Auckland.From there we went to Hawkes Bay where my father ran a company in Hastings and we set up home in beautiful Havelock North. Schooling for me ended in Auckland at Kings College (where Charles' father Struan went)then onto Otago university, back to Auckland (where I met Charles' mother Sarah) and finally I came full circle & transferred my university course to Melbourne.
I now live in Geelong which is less than an hour from Melbourne, has a population of 200,000, and is close to the coast and farmlands. We have a farm 10minutes away from our house which has a beautiful river running through it and gumtrees and is a great spot for entertaining our friends. Victoria has unfortunately been in a drought for many years although this years' barley crop is looking OK thanks to some recent rain.
My mother still lives in Havelock North, my brother in Wellington, my father has been in Belgium, Singapore and Malaysia before coming back to Australia. My sister left NZ to live in London, Singapore, HongKong and is now in New York. i will send her your link Charles and hopefully she can write a little about the places she has lived.
x Marnie
hi flat charles, it is marnie's sister here.we are living in greenwich,connecticut, USA. it is a 45 min train ride from New york city. it is fall here, all the trees are red, yellow and orange. not like in NZ, here, it is every tree that changes colour. we had snow last weekend.
ReplyDeleteHey buddy, Emo and Oscar here.
ReplyDeleteAs you know I live in Arch Hill in Auckland.
I have family in Wellington, Sydney (Australia), Melbourne (Australia), United Arab Emirates, London (UK), Winchester (UK), The Isle of Man (UK), Comrie (Scotland), and Perth (Scotland).
Comrie in Scotland is where my last name comes from - as a distant relative of mine was the Sheriff of the village of Comrie and had to take on the name to become the boss!
As you know I have lived in Windsor in the UK and in the south of France in a little village called Najac.
Anyway, buddy great cricket yesterday!
Hugs Emo
Hi Charles,
ReplyDeleteIts Paul, Emo’s brother!
I was born in St Helens Hospital in Auckland.
I have lived most of my life in Auckland, but more recently in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia), the Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia) and Wellington.
When I was five my family went to live in UK for a year. We lived in a little village called Bray. It was right on the river Thames. We even had a canal boat – it was called the Lucky Locket! I went to a school in Windsor which was called Upton House!
Good luck with your ‘flat’ travels.
Morning Charles
ReplyDeleteMy name is Mike and I work with Emma. I am born and breed in Auckland but I have family in Australia, Holland and England. My fiancé has family in Los Angles (they live really close to Disneyland!), San Francisco and Germany.
My favourite place in the world to visit is the Maldives Island because of the beautiful diving you can do there.
The Maldives are about seven hundred kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and area.
About 65 million years ago (!!) the islands of the Maldives were part of a huge volcanic mountain range. There are over 700 common fish species. If you’ve got sharp-eyes you can see species like frogfish, leaf fish, ghost pipefish and a many different types of nudibranchs (Emma says you like these!). There are so many awesome manta ray, grey reef shark and tiny brightly coloured flatworm, the Maldives has it all. We will have to get you trained up...SCUBA style!
Anyway good luck flat Charles.
Mike
Hi Charles
ReplyDeleteEmma told me about your cool ‘Flat travels’ so I thought I’d fill you in on my global encounters!
I was born in Auckland to second generation New Zealand parents. When I was fifteen I got accepted on a tennis scholarship to America. So I spent three years at a school called Cold Spring Harbour, which is in New York. I got to play tennis all around America!
When I graduated from High School I applied for a scholarship to Cornell University which is nestled in the heart of New York State's beautiful Finger Lakes region, in a place called Ithaca. It is located roughly halfway between Manhattan and Toronto. This is the university that Jonathan J. Rubinstein went too – he is the guy that invented the iPod!
Now I am living back in Auckland with my American fiancée! We have family in Long Island, (New York), Los Angles, Washington D.C, Germany, Manchester (UK) and here in New Zealand.
Zeus
Hi Charles
ReplyDeleteI am Emma’s cousin and I was born in Sydney, Australia where I lived for 30 years. However, now, with my own family I live in Dubai which is in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is on the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.
Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert. The sandy desert surrounding the city supports wild grasses and some date palm trees. Dubai has a hot climate. Summers here are extremely hot, with an average high around 40 °C. Winters are warm and short with an average high of 23 °C.
The city has heaps of remarkable skyscrapers, such as the world’s current tallest building, the Burj Dubai, and is also in the process of developing one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world – The Pad. This is based on the idea of an iPod (!) and is a residential tower which is set to be have all the latest gadgets that will have the power to change interior design and window views to almost anything imaginable.
Although Dubai has been transformed into a man-made hi-tech city, it still has a strong Islamic culture with a stretch of historical buildings by the Creek.
Have fun with you studies
Kate
Charles,
ReplyDeleteI have heard about your school studies and thought I’d put France and England on the map! My name is Tom and I am one of Emma’s English cousins!
I was born in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia! My dad was working their as a doctor when I arrived early. Jeddah is located on the coast of the Red Sea.
Not long after I was born we moved back home to Winchester in South East England. Winchester is set on the River Itchen. Winchester is very famous for its Cathedral, which is the longest cathedral in Europe, and was originally built in 1079.
During Saxon times, Winchester was the capital of England - chosen by King Alfred (Alfred the Great) - and the city remained a Royal residence for centuries afterwards.
Once I finished school I moved to Paris (France) to study art and photography. Paris is a wonderfully exciting city filled with croissant and pain au chocolat!
It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with 45 million tourists every year in the Paris Region.
Paris has warm and pleasant summers with average high temperatures of 25 °C. Winter is chilly, but temperature is around 3 °C to 8 °C, and rarely falls below the freezing point.
France is also famous for some "strange" foods that are well known overseas. However despite what some people think frogs legs or snails are not usual menu items and many people in France are even reluctant eating such food.
So I’m guessing you are wondering if I have eaten any snails since I have been living here!! France is the biggest snail consumer in the world with 40,000 tons consumed per year. Snails are bred on one of France’s 200 snail farms. Famous French snails are "escargot de Bourgogne" (Burgundy snails) and "petit gris" (small snails). Buy the way, the answer is YES and only because my mother told me that “they are good for my health as they are full of calcium, magnesium and vitamin C!”
Au revoir et salut
Tom.
Flat Charles,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Guy and I am Emma’s uncle. I am from England but I have lived in various parts of the world! I met my New Zealand wife while studying at Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine in London. Soon after I graduated we moved back to Auckland for a number of years while I began my Specialist studies.
Not long after I finished my studies we moved to where we currently have our home base in the city of Winchester, in South East England. Winchester has so much history - as settlement in the area dates back to pre-Roman times, with an Iron Age enclosure or valley fort to boot!
My work meant that after a few years back in England I moved my family (temporarily) to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Jeddah is a fascinating place to live. Some of the old houses are multi-story buildings made from coral! Unfortunately, coral is not a very durable building material, and most of the buildings are in disrepair.
Scuba diving is a major draw for visitors to the Kingdom. Visibility can be a spectacular 30-40m and the corals are virtually untouched. There are plenty of interesting sites to explore like the Chicken Wreck, which was cause by a boat carrying tons of frozen chicken that hit the reef and sunk at a depth of 15m!!
Although it was an interesting place to live it was hard on my growing family. As Jeddah falls under Islamic laws women normally wear a hijab (headscarf) and abaya (long black over garment) to cover her head and entire body. Men are expected to avoid wearing shorts.
So now with my three children in tow we moved back to Winchester!
Since then I have done stints away overseas doing 3-6 month trips in various countries while doing some locum work.
My base is now in the Isle of Man which is located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The Isle of Man includes some nearby small islands: the Calf of Man; Chicken Rock; and St Patrick's Isle and St Michael's Isle! (Thought you might like those names!!)
The Isle is 52 kilometers long and 22 kilometers wide at its widest point. The Isle of Man has cool summers and mild winters.
Funny facts about the Isle of Man;
- Many of the roads on the island have no speed limit.
- Quocunque Jeceris Stabit, is the traditional motto of the Isle which means 'Whichever way you throw it, it will stand'.
- The Isle of Man is also said to be home to fairies, known locally as 'the little folk'. There is a famous Fairy Bridge and it is said to be bad luck if one fails to wish the fairies good morning or afternoon when passing over it. It used to be a tradition to leave a coin on the bridge to ensure good luck.
- The Bee Gees were born in the Isle of Man!
Anyway my friend. Good luck on your travels.
Guy