The Mr X factor 11: February 24, 2006
December '06 - March '07

French Alps for Christmas - new church - a girlfriend :) - Bruce Cockburn concert - CPS contract extension - first Aston Villa football match - tickets to Wimbledon - upcoming trip to NZ


Hi all



Early December was when I last wrote. The lead up to Christmas involved winding down for the year, learning the ropes with my new job, heading to various Christmas parties and getting set for a 10-day break on the continent. The Christmas holiday in the French Alps was simply great - really relaxing, visually stunning and totally enjoyable. Seven of us UK-based Kiwis hired a house: Paul & Becs Roper-Gee, Tim & Celia Dewar + Josh & Fleur Thorpe.


Early on Sat 23rd Dec, we flew out of Luton airport - the only one operating in London that morning. The city had had a cold snap & the famous 'pea-souper' fog had rolled in for a week. Thankfully Luton airport is 500ft above sea level, so wasn’t affected.

We flew into Geneva, then hired a car for our 90 minute drive east to the Haute Savoie region of France - into the Alps! We stayed nearby a small village called Sixt-a-Cheval, near Samoens, about half-way between Geneva and Chamonix, as the crow flies. After settling into our Lockwood style chalet - reasonably basic, but with warm gas heating and a superb table for cards, board games and puzzles, we were well set. The next day's activity was dedicated to exploring the nearby market town of Samoens, and doing a large shop for the all important Christmas dinner.


Christmas day was a perfect blue sky day, minus 6 degrees, and there was SNOW!!! A perfect white Xmas feel to our day quite novel for a NZ lad, used to Xmas BBQs. After we had exchanged Secret Santa presents and spent a good 2 hours around preparing the roast, we headed outside for some amazing photos of the beautiful scenery, brought alive by the bright sunlight. A few snow balls were thrown and we enjoyed the special moment.




The Christmas meal was fantastique! Beautiful turkey, with all sorts of roast vegetables, gravy and trimmings. Great to share the day with people a long way from home. After that, a mass Monopoly game began (Tim had just got it as a present!) - the girls were quickly eliminated one-by-one, leaving Paul, Tim & Dave to battle it out next day, after stumps we recalled, mid-evening. Hodgkinson eventually won out after Paul & Tim merged to form a threatening conglomerate - unsuccessful of course! One of those great Monopoly games that was evenly balanced and rip-snortingly close – for quite some time.


Josh & Fleur arrived on Boxing Day from Rotterdam, to turn our five into seven. By now we had had some lovely R&R, and were up for some exploring. Annecy, on the shores of Lake Annecy (funnily enough!) was our first day trip - most of these began late morning! Driving through the countryside with its quite amazing fog/mist formations in the bright sun was quite beautiful. Annecy was a lovely ancient lakeside village. We explored for a couple of hours, before heading to a cafe and then a restaurant, for a cheese fondue – always fun - before driving home late evening.


The next day was a real highlight of the trip – a visit to ski-resort town of Chamonix & a trip up the highest gondola/cable car in the world - the 'Aiguille du Midi telepherique', rising to 3824m. This had amazing view of the Alps, including the highest peak, Mt Blanc 4810m). Once again, a perfect blue sky day. The gondola was absolutely amazing, holding about 30-40 people in a car – possibly even more. It climbed an incredibly steep incline directly out of the Chamonix valley, over glaciers and rugged mountains. Didn’t seem to be going very fast but when we passed the sister car heading back down, the differential speed was quite breathtaking. An amazing feet of engineering. It took less than 20 minutes to climb 2800m and when we emerged at the top, at about the height of NZ's Mt Cook, we got our first experience of altitude fatigue- just walking up a small flight of stairs incurred dizziness - completely unanticipated, and therefore quite strange. But it made sense, given the height – just a real surprise.



The views were completely stunning. We took lots of photos of the amazing mountain scenery, breathed in the crisp air, before heading to the cafe for a rest, some snacks and some souvenir shopping. We were up there for about 2 hours before heading down - what an experience!! After that, the boys modelled their newly purchased 'Aiguille du Midi' T-shirts, as the fashion photographers clicked away!

Back at the chalet, our week consisted of relaxation & indulgence – sleeping in, lovely meals, supplemented with cheese boards, wine, beer, port and chocolate log cakes. Lots of chatting, music, reading, puzzles, card + board games - just brilliant to relax for a week. A thoroughly relaxing & therapeutic trip. I also realised that my grasp of the French language has got substantially better - almost passable for a touriste! Five trips to France in 20 months has certainly helped supplement my one year of French when13 - 'J'ai treize ans!!' I was quite enjoying learning new phrases and understanding what some people were saying to us, not to mention holding door open for lovely French girls and replying 'J'ai vous en prix, mademoiselle', to their 'Merci beaucoup'!. My trusty European languages phrase book from my sister & bro’in law, has sure come in handy!


Our final day-trip was on the last day of 2006. We drove over a high mountain pass, then around the stunningly still Lake Geneva. We stopped in Evian Les Bains - to buy and drink some Evian water – in Evian! Mid-afternoon, we made it to Montreux in Switzerland (near Lausanne), where a lakeside walk was had, and beer/coffee in a nice little cafe near the lake. As the sun set, we headed home for the evening, to welcome in the New Year. This consisted of an evening meal, a reflection time of highs and lows of 2006, and hopes for 2007, for each of us.


Before we knew it, midnight came, the champagne was poured, photos taken, and we all agreed it had been a fabulous trip. Then the lads settled into some poker. Paul was the cards shark this time! Next day, we packed up, cleaned up and left mid-afternoon, for Geneva airport. It had started to rain, so we had had the best of the weather.


And then it was back to London, 2007, and my 11th year of flatting. My sister Nicola had also made it back safely – from a 6 week trip to NZ. After a difficult 2006 on the job front, she has found a stimulating and steady job in South Kensington, and has recently got a flat in Kew, south-west London. So it is great to see her get settled, and hopefully 2007 will treat her well. For the first time since we've both been flatting over here, we won't be on the same bus route – how will we cope!!? Probably meet at a pub somewhere, halfway!


January is usually a depressing, grey and cold month over here, where workers head back to work, reasonably broke from Christmas partying – hence a quiet, 'minimise the overdraft & wait for January 31st pay-day’ sort of vibe. I once again sought to catch up on doing my photo album (10 months behind currently!), started attending a new church – St Pauls, Hammersmith, went to a church weekend away for guys, called ‘Hombre’ – where we were encouraged to be committed, godly & reckless – aimed at challenging us blokes to share our lives with each other & live with more authenticity & accountability – ‘confess your sins and pray for one another, that you might be healed’ (James 4) sort of stuff.


January was pretty good for me, as I started going out with a girl that I met before Christmas. Yes, Dave finally has a love life! I met Julia at a friend's birthday party before Christmas, we ended up chatting a bit at the party, I asked her out for drink in the new year, and things have gone nicely from there. She's comes from a combination of places - Hertfordshire, Essex & Norfolk. She loves her job in Occupational therapy and we both like Scrabble! So, early days, but big smiles so far :)

Late January, I went to a concert with Julia and 5 other friends. This was to see legendary Canadian guitarist & lyricist, Bruce Cockburn play, in a basement club in Soho. It was great music, and one of the last outings with Becs & Paul Roper-Gee before they headed back to NZ to live. All the best back home guys – been great hanging with you here!


On the work front, my new job within the Crown Prosecution Service has worked out really well. I started it mid-November, and the role has been interesting and invigorating. I have quickly realised that the programme is actually one of the most important business strategies, for creating revenue for the CPS over the next few years. So I feel right in the thick of it!


The main focus in January was analysing & reporting on third quarter legal performance data, submitted to HQ by the 42 Areas that England and Wales are divided into by the Police & CPS. It was pretty intense at times, but I enjoyed the challenge and our newly expanded team worked well together. I have enjoyed working with my boss, and she clearly thinks I've done a good job, as she extended my contract from end of January, up until mid-March, when I head to NZ for a holiday. So it has worked out perfectly. I feel really blessed. February has mostly been about target setting for the next financial year. I go on an advanced Excel training course this coming Monday, and to Birmingham on Tuesday for an audit of West Midlands data recording & submission methods – I am looking forward to both of these.


After growing up in NZ with Big League Soccer in the 1980s, on free-to-air TV (remember that!?), and dreaming of getting to a top flight game one-day, I have finally managed to get tickets to my first ever Premier League football match. Obviously, for my first match, my team, Aston Villa, had to be involved. So on 3 March I will be at Craven Cottage, in West London, for Villa's away match against Fulham. I am pretty excited about this, as it continues a family tradition – my Dad used to watch Villa with his Dad, when growing up in Birmingham. Nicola, Julia + me, and Cuffy are coming along.



And we will head out for a meal with mad Fulham supporters, Anne & Colin (friends of my parents) afterwards. They'll be watching the game in the Fulham section of the ground (90% of it!) and we'll meet up afterwards for a post-match drink & meal. Hopefully, Villa will have a blinder - they have squandered tonnes of chances this season, causing them to be in the bottom half of the table, pretty much level on points with Fulham, so it should be pretty keenly fought. Up the Villa!


And, a fortnight ago, I got a letter from the All England Lawn Tennis Association, to say that I had secured two tickets for Wimbledon this year! My entry was drawn out in the public ballot. Given the other trips/events I've won over here from entering comps, I fancied my chances. So I entered the ballot before Christmas - you gotta be in to win, yeah!? First Thursday of the tournament, I'll be there. And I won't be on some 'back & beyond court' – my tickets are for Centre Court!!! Yep, you read right. Unbelievable! In my more sarcastic moments I wonder if I'll get to see Cliff Richard sing in the rain! So, done Twickenham, Wimbledon, coming up, Lords and Wembley are now on the radar!


Since the new year, my thoughts have turned to New Zealand, and coming home for the first time in almost two years. I arrive in Wellington on 19 March (same LDN-AKL flight as fellow Tawa-ites, Simon & Sarah Perris!). I am pretty much bouncing off walls about this trip (!!), for so many reasons – to catch up with & spend time with precious family & friends, meet a new nephew (Ben Cameron – 7 months old now!), attend a wedding in Queenstown, see the NZ landscape & reconnect with the whenua (land), to celebrate & reflect on an amazing 2 years in my life, and many other things. Will also be pretty interesting experiencing NZ through outsider's eyes, for the first time.


As you would expect, I have an action-packed 5 weeks lined up! – the first 2.5 weeks at home, seeing family, friends & Wellington. This will include playing in a 500 cards tournament again, with mates from my 7th form year at Tawa College. We have held this at least once-annually, since 1995. It always involves shrewd and/or desperate bidding, in a hard fought fight to have one's name engraved on the 'ultimate 500 hand' trophy, crafted to honour the winners. Come on Hodgkinson!


A few days before Easter, I will head off on a road trip (I haven't driven for almost 2 years – can't wait,!!) with Mum & Dad, from Picton to Queenstown, for Rebekah Dennison's wedding to Mark Zwies. Then, if it all goes to plan, I drive the Haast Pass & West Coast with mates from the wedding, see my uncle in Arthur's Pass, drop in on precious friends in Christchurch for a day or two, then fly to Wellington, for a final few days at home. After that I head off on a road trip up State Highway 1 (Desert Road – gotta drive it!) to Auckland, via Mangakino & a special visit to my mentor teacher from Tawa College, Bill Millward.


I fly out of Auckland on Friday 20 April, spend 3 days in Hong Kong, before hitting London on 24 April, for the second stanza in my OE travel. But I'm not even thinking about that yet – for now it's NZ & home! It's been an amazing two years for me, not without it's difficulties, but it has been pretty exciting nonetheless. Thanks be to God. Coming home will be special, in so many ways. Like what Red said in 'The Shawshank Redemption', I hope Wellington harbour is as blue and beautiful, as it is in my mind!


All for now. For those of you in NZ, it will be great to see as many of you as I can, while I'm home. Hope it can work out.


Peace be with you.




Deut 33:27 - 'The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms'.


Come on the Black Caps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!