So exciting to catch up with Jane Rogers for the day. We visited a lovely birthing unit at Lyndhurst with a garden overlooking the New Forest with free ranging ponies. Amazing sight. Then we went through the Southampton hospital where her office is as Midwifery consultant and met staff including the famous Sister Kay who featured in the first series of "One born every minute". There are 6000 births a year. It is a regional tertiary hospital with three male midwiv...

I have woken to this view of sunshine and the Dorset countryside from my upstairs window. Though it was foggy when I arrived yesterday at Court Farm Askerswell today is beautiful and I can't wait to get dressed and explore the village with Geoff and aunty Eileen. We plan to drive to Bridport for lunch and enjoy the south coast. Apparently the tv series Broadchurch was filmed here and the creator of the series lives locally . It will be a jam packed day of sightse...

Visiting Whanau (extended family for the non-Maori speaking readers) is always a highlight of any overseas trip. And so it has been with the Bryan family of Askerswell, Dorset. This beautiful village of around 100 population has been the home of the Bryans since Henry Bryan became rector there in the 1800s. The church is 500 years old as are many of the thatched and charming cottages in the village. As I walked along the lanes and circumvented the farmlands of A...

It has long been a dream of mine to visit the Yorkshire Moors where Emily, Charlotte and Anne were inspired to write their epic novels and tragically died too early. Charlotte at aged 38 of Morning sickness and the others of her 4 sisters of Tuberculosis. Branwell, their brother died of alcoholism and depression after being rejected in the courtship of his employer, a widow called Mrs Robinson. Sadly their dad outlived all his seven children and his wife Marie wh...

To return to the roots of my whakapapa on my maternal grandmothers fathers side was indeed one of the highlights of the trip so far. There is something deep and primal about imagining my forebears birthing working living and dying in this beautiful flat part of UK. Called the Lincolnshire Wolls. I will send photos when I have better internet connection. But it was such a blessing to walk the lanes and sit in the church where they spent their lives and were buried...