Lepod's Blog

Our big trip – by pod

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  • Well that was 2025, nearly!

    We’ve had a productive year getting things done on the house, extra insulation, some inserts in the front doors to stop the drafts which worked brilliantly, and we got solar panels installed with a 14kw battery.

    The battery is on the floor there, the other things are the inverters and various controllers.
    This 7kw car charger talks to the system and you can tell it to only charge when there’s plenty of sunshine.
    Some of the panels. There’s a double gable so there’s another row behind these ones.
    The north west array.

    We are pleased with the way this has worked out, last month our power bill was $25 and I suspect this month the power company will owe us money 🙂

    We figured once we are both retired it will be good to keep control of our power bill as it just keeps going up and in Dunedin in the winter it can be horrific.

    We sold the house in France. This was quite a mission but its gone to a nice couple from Texas and they seem to love the house and the village so that’s better than it could have been. One of them is part French so I hope they fit in OK. We are a bit sad to sell the house but also relieved, we had a good run with it but owning a house on the other side of the world is risky.

    We said a fond goodbye to the Leaf.

    The leaf has been an excellent vehicle, we’ve had it 8 years and it hasn’t put a foot wrong. We were both rather sorry to see it go, but we want to do a few road trips in NZ next year and we needed more range. I hope the next owner enjoys it as much as we did.

    The replacement is this Kia EV3. Its the smallest EV Kia sells in NZ which tells you something about how cars have grown in size. It is a very good car though, and with an 81kw battery the range is between 450 – 600 kms depending on use. It will make a huge difference to our trips up to central Otago and Christchurch. No need to stop basically although we will no doubt stop for lunch anyway.

    Pauline has had a busy year as the acting director of the Centre for Pacific Health Va’a o Tautai. Personally I have not had a busy year but there’s been quite a lot of admin around selling the house in France and etc. We did go to Christchurch to hold a remembrance ceremony for Pauline’s mum and we also managed to travel to Hanmer Springs for a wintry break which was very pleasant.

    While in Christchurch we visited Ferrymead, I haven’t been there for decades. I particularly enjoyed the Post and Telegraph part since I used to be a Telegraph Technician in the old NZPO in the ’80s.
    Sagem telex machine. This was the most modern machine we had when I was in the old NZPO
    I really liked the Viscount at Ferrymead
    The Bristol Freighter with Morry
    Ferrymead
    Ten year old Leafs can still get to Christchurch!
    I climbed up the hill at the back of our holiday house in Hanmer Springs
    Great views
    The old Hanmer hospital for drying people out.
    Pauline and her mums ashes.
    Pauline’s mum at rest.
    Elsa has a new friend! Elsa ran over the other side of the road to visit him/her.
    This cat Pearl on the other hand lives just down the street from us, she dropped in unannounced. Elsa was not impressed!

    On a personal note, it turns out I have stage three arthritis in both of my hips. I knew things weren’t right but it became serious when I couldn’t ride my friend Woody’s motorcycle because I couldn’t sit on it. Since then I’ve been going to a physio, doing pilates and various exercises and while I am more flexible than I was at the start of the year the pain has actually gotten worse so I had an x-ray and the hips are not flash. This is rather annoying! I was reading in the paper the other day that the Mercy hospital down here has just bought a couple of new robots for doing hip operations, this could be me in the not too distant future! If it helps me riding bikes then I’m all for it.

    Hoping this finds everyone in good health and all the best for 2026!

  • Back home, I think it’s fair to say that Jim and Elsa are happy to see us.

    Jim has a new sheet, he’s very pleased with it.
    Elsa enjoying her tower.

  • Singapore Slings at Raffles – as you do!

    We thought we should try this since we may not be back for some time and we’ve never been to Raffles for a drink.

    We got dressed up with the best clothes we had with us. Luckily they let me in anyway!
    Singapore Sling assembly line.
    This is the machine they use to shake many cocktails at once.
    The fans on the ceiling used to be operated by the servants feet apparently. Not so much these days of course.

  • Singapore person, you’re a great way to fly!

    We had a loooong but comfortable flight from CDG. Food on the flight was excellent I have to say, as was the crew. We were very pleased when we got there all the same.
    Stopped at the first place we saw in the airport to get some drinks. I did think the name was rather amusing, but I am only 12 after all.
    The famous Raffles hotel.
    I’m always pleased to see some buns when we get to Singapore.
    Eating out in the food courts is just great, cheap but very tasty.
    This was my first breakfast here, a classic toast set they call it, costs $5.80 including the coffee. Try finding that in NZ!
    The famous Marina Bay Sands hotel taken from the helix bridge.
    ArtScience museum (on the left there) is an unusual building.
    We visited the Gardens by the Bay and admired the supertrees.
    Jurassic Nest cafe was very cool, this dinosaur was roaring when we arrived.
    Little baby dinosaurs
    Its a pretty city Singapore.
    Inside the Marina Bay Sands hotel is rather impressive also.

    Its good to feel that we’re on our way home, but it’s also good that we can spend a few days here getting over our jet lag and acclimatising for the searing Dunedin summer to come. People in Singapore seem very friendly and the whole place is super well organized. If it wasn’t so humid it would be perfect!

  • The last few weeks in Josselin, just enjoying the village and getting the house ready, lots of things to do!

    Dinner at La Sarrazine
    Sold my Citroën Traction Avant parts manual on leboncoin
    Sold my bike too 😦
    We visited Madame’s grave and left a longlife plant there.
    We had some frosty mornings

    Our friends Jean-Pierre and Françoise picked us up last Saturday after the market and took us to their house in the country near Saint-Servant for lunch, we had a very nice time with them. Françoise taught us some french when we first came to the village and we became good friends with them both so it was great to catch up, thanks Jean-Pierre et Françoise! A bientôt.

    Dinner chez Martine and Lewis, and Otis the dog of course!
    I applied some undercoat to the plasterboard in the attic as we thought it was better for it to have a protective coating.
    Same in the aménageable part of the attic.
    Birthday dinner at La Table d’O
    We both had the duck, it was excellent.

    Today we went back to the Table d’O with Martine and Lewis for a farewell lunch.

    Lewis, Pauline, Martine and myself, Table d’O for lunch.

    We’ve enjoyed being back in the village for the last time although I can’t say that we will never return. The market has been a joy and we’ve enjoyed taking the RIV bus to Ploermel, we went to Rennes for a bit of shopping, but mostly we’ve been in the house getting it ready to leave. We inherited all sorts of things from M. Joulain some of which has ended up at the local Croix Rouge, and of course we have added to the stuff over the last twelve years. On Monday we are off to Charles de Gaulle airport on the train, Tuesday we leave for Singapore. It’s going to be a wrench leaving but it will also be rather nice to see the cats again. We have a picture of them sent to me by Emma the other day, made me feel a lot better about going home. Elsa had hurt her tail, it’s good to see she’s healing well.

    I’m looking forward to the market tomorrow, not that we need anything but just so we can say goodbye to everyone. Then it’ll just be trying our best to get everything into our suitcases for Monday.

    I will definitely miss our ducks!

  • Bonne Année from Josselin!

    After an early start involving the 7:55 substitute bus to Bray and a slow train to Rosslare Europort I was pleased to board the ferry Salamanca and explore the ship, and my cabin for the next 17 hours.
    Fairly sparse but comfortable.

    The ship was not as large as the Viking Line ships we took from Finland to Sweden but it was big enough and quite new so well fitted out. There were just the two restaurants but the food was French so I was happy. In the evening they had a young woman providing live music for a while, I was a bit anxious about that until it became clear that all her songs were very definitely from my era 🙂

    Getting there. The ship had very efficient stabilisers so I was disappointed to find very little motion, just enough to make walking up and down the stairs a bit tricky.
    We presumably turned a corner around Cornwall and then headed up La Manche to Cherbourg.
    After a very pleasant sleep it was time for breakfast before we docked at 8am French time.
    There were very few passengers on board, it’s hard to see how they could make any money on this trip.
    Arriving in Cherbourg
    There was a shuttle to the Gare which myself, a nice French gentleman and an Irish couple took, we got there quite early for the 10:45 train to Lison.
    So the Frenchman and myself went and found a café nearby “La Cave du Monkey” for a coffee.
    It was a nice bar but quite quirky. The French are nothing if not eccentric. People say the English are eccentric, well I think the French quite easily trump them in that department!
    “La cave du monkey”

    The Frenchman and I got on well, he was an interesting chap. He’d worked in a bank for thirty years and then quit that and opened his own Cave selling at first just wine and then expanding to whisky. He was naturally interested in the Cave du Monkey, he said they had some good stuff on sale. Nice guy, retired now and living in Caen.

    At 10:45 we jumped on the train to Lison where I changed to the NOMAD train to Rennes, which certainly lived up to its name, it went all over Normandy and bits of Brittany before finally arriving in Rennes at 2:30. Nice train though, it had big windows and the countryside is spectacular. I took the 2:45 bus to Josselin, arrived just in time to get some groceries in and make myself some sausages for dinner. I had a drink with our friend Lewis just up the road, then a fairly early night. Long couple of days. I do like traveling by ship though, it’s my favourite. Pauline arrives today via the Eurostar after stopping in the UK to visit Louisa in Birmingham and our friends Lucy and David in Oxford. Long day for her and you don’t get a cabin on the train! But she prefers it, fair enough.

    Happy New Year to everyone!

  • Kilcoona, Donegal and Killybegs

    We hired an electric VW in Dublin and drove to Kilcoona in Galway to visit Daniel, his partner Maria and their little girl Poppy, a toddler, who was extremely charming and cute. We visited Maria’s parents who live just down the lane and had an extremely cultural time talking about bog for heating and how Guinness doesn’t travel, that sort of thing. It was great and it was lovely to see Daniel again and meet his partner and child. The next day we headed off to Donegal and Killybegs to meet my cousin Sharon, two of her boys, her partner and some of his family, we ended up 11 of us out for dinner at an Indian. It was great to catch up with Sharon and her sons in Ireland.

    Me in front of Donegal castle, home of the O’Donnells
    Red Hugh O’Donnell who burnt the castle down rather than let the English capture it.
    The castle has seen better days, I was hoping Pauline would not be too disappointed with the family heritage.
    We stayed in Killybegs, this is the view from our hotel room. Quite a serious fishing town in its day.
    Today we drove back to Dublin via a bit of Northern Ireland. Here we are charging up the VW in Enniskillen.  It was a nice car to drive, good range, I particularly liked the cruise control which would slow you down when the speed limit changed and then speed you up again afterwards. Impressive! It’s always good to get the car back in one piece though and now we are back on foot, much easier!
    A well-earned Guinness
    And a tonic for Pauline

  • Nollaig Shona from Dublin

    We took the train to Manchester and flew across to Dublin on the 24th as the ferry we had booked from Holyhead was cancelled as the port is out of action due to storm damage.

    The Liffey
    Dublin airport was welcoming although the sentiment is perhaps questionable!
    Ha’penny bridge looking pretty at night. We are staying in an apartment very close by.
    I hope I get royalties from these chips.
    I had to buy a packet, they were pretty good too.
    This is the famous post office where the uprising’s leaders holed up in 1916. You can still see the bullet holes.
    This is the Dublin portal to other cities. It reminded me of the Star Trek episode “The city on the edge of forever.” https://www.portals.org/portal/dublin
    Naturally there’s a statue of James Joyce.
    The apartment kindly hung a stocking on everyone’s doors this morning.

    Its a bit odd being here on Christmas day just ourselves, the city is empty apart from the odd groups of tourists wandering about, but I’m glad we are here anyway. Merry Christmas to everyone from us both!

  • Morecambe

    We came to Morecambe because Pauline thought it sounded cool and it certainly is – the cold wind today could take your face off quite easily. We have a friend in Preston from the pharmacy school days, Gordon, who came up here to meet us so that was nice.

    I never knew until yesterday that Eric Morecambe was born in Morecambe and his real name was Eric Bartholemew
    Hence this pub named after him.
    We are staying at the Midland Hotel which is an iconic art deco hotel built in the ’30s.
    The decor is unusual!
    View from the hotel.
    Me and Pauline with the great man
    Gordon and Pauline
    Its a dog friendly hotel and they have these treats at the bar but for good dogs only of course.
    R.I.P. Eric Morecambe.

  • Kendal and the lake district.

    We wanted to visit our friend Louisa who Pauline has known for forty years so we planned to take the 11:30 train from Euston.

    The day started off well with a pasty at Euston station.
    Our fast train was cancelled so we got a slower train to Preston and changed there for Oxenholm and then arrived at Kendal at 3:30, just as the sun was setting! Lovely day though.
    This is the oldest inhabited building in Kendal, 14th century. Remodeled in 1560 it still retains many of its original features.
    We were excited to find a fish and chip shop next to the pub we were staying in. They were tasty but there was far too much food even for me.

    The next day we spent some time with Louisa showing us around Kendal and we visited her mum. It’s a pretty little town but the weather was not conducive to taking photos really.

    Kendal parish church
    One of the widest churches in England apparently (this picture courtesy Wikipedia)
    Louisa, Pauline and myself having a mulled wine at the Duke of Cumberland while waiting for our laundry

    Today we took a ten lakes scenic tour in a van. I’ve read a bit about the lakes district and enjoyed the Arthur Ransome books but I’ve never been here before, although Pauline has. Weather was quite rainy but we had some sunny patches. The tour was just us and the tour guide so that was nice.

    This is Ullswater I believe. Picturesque!
    We stopped at this little lake where there was a guy feeding the swans. He has been coming here to do this every day since the covid lockdowns when he started doing it for something to do. The swans have adopted him.
    Castlerigg stone circle, one of Britain’s oldest stone circles dating back to the neolithic period, 5000 years ago.
    It was the winter solstice today so there were some hippys but practically speaking we had the place to ourselves as they were in their vehicles.
    View from the stone circle in the car park direction.
    This is Derwentwater from a place called “Surprise View”
    Also from Surprise View
    It was nice to see some trees
    This bridge is apparently the most photographed bridge in the lake district
    The hills are not high by NZ standards but they are pretty.
    We stopped at the last remaining slate mine in this part of the UK, Honister slate mine.
    The view down the valley from the mine.
    I’m not sure if this train is in use but I liked it.
    The actual mine entrance is up on the top of this hill somewhere.
    Nice waterfall along the way
    This is lake Windermere, the largest of the lakes.

    It was an interesting day, we learned a lot about Beatrix Potter who bought a lot of land around here and saved the area from developers, and a bit about Wordsworth who lived here for most of his life. It would be a great place to come and spend some time in and do a bit of hiking. I’m very pleased we saw some of it.