Welcome back to the Chris and Jue blog, it's been a while but here is the latest update on what we've been up to.

First, lets get the boring bit out the way. We're both still working, audit still sucks and Jue's still an organisation guru, but has also added General Trust Manager to her CV. If anyone requires more details of what this new role involves then please feel free to email Jue and request such information as the list is way way way to long for this blog!!!

Now, for the more interesting bits we've been up, starting with Jue's magnificent debut for the work's Netball team. As we all know, Jue is a fitness fanatic (ahem) and regular Netball player (well atleast when she was 10) so the opportunity to put her skills to the test in an energetic game of Indoor netball could not be passed over. Unfortunately, the ball was passed over her, many times (back and forth and back again) whilst she gradually turned to the colour of a sunburnt lobster running up and down the court. Unlike proper Netball, the version being played here the ball never goes out and is allowed to be thrown from one end of the court to the other directly, and so with 1 tall bloke as defender and another as shooter, our lady in the middle was sadly bypassed. The consequences of not including Jue in the game plan was evident, with the team taking one hell of a beating (it should be noted that Jue did score a basket that evening - and from what she recalls of this moment, it was possibly the best basket ever scored). After the game, Jue was informed that this had been the last game of the season and so put her kit back into the wardrobe ready for another year and eased back on her intensive training regime. The week after however, it was noted that the team had apparently played again and had more games to follow to which the Jue had not been invited. Jue was not to be affected by this and it was agreed with her coach that she was to good anyway and will be looking to join the professional ranks next season...and perhaps sticking to Pilates was a better idea! Please see the latest photo entries for some incredible action shots!!

A couple of weeks ago we got ourselves a couple of tickets to watch the mightly All Blacks take on the world champions South Africa in Hamilton. In order to get ourselves in the mood for the game we managed to wangle a couple of free tickets to the local rugby team (Taranaki) in what is meant to be a high standard domestic league. All we can say is, what a load of crap!!!! We left the game feeling rather less excited about the big match coming up but knew at least it couldn't be any worse. The drive to Hamilton was 3 hours of constant rain which was worrying as our tickets were for an uncovered bank behind one of the goals. Luckily the rain disappeared about an hour before kick off and after a few drinks we took our position in an area which seemed to have as many South Africans as New Zealanders. The build up to the game was very impressive with a huge fireworks display and then the haka which was worth the entry fee itself. As for the game, well it was a lot better than Taranaki!!! The first half saw SA take a 13 point lead but with both teams mainly kicking the ball. In the secomd half, NZ gave away a simple try early on but from thn on they through the ball around constantly and we witnessed a brilliant comeback with the deficit being closed to 3 points with 1 min to play and then NZ storming back up the pitch and nearly winning it when a cross field kick just went slightly to far. Overall we'd definitely watch the All Blacks again, unfortunately we're having to put up with a works evening watching Taranaki on Friday!!!

Other notable events in the past couple of months have included a day at the local horse racing where we managed to walk away with a small profit, which would have been considerably bigger if we hadn't changed our minds at the last second on the first race. Jue was very good at predicting the winners and her technique mainly involved wandering around the stable blocks watching them get ready and warm up. Apparently this was essential to picking a good winner!

Last weekend we had another attempt at skiing which was cut very short by Jue's knee giving way half up the mountain. Despite things looking very good at the outset with us both performing our turns and stops perfectly, (Jue writes: apart from when you fell over a pole when getting onto the ski lift! Very funny!), taking on the more advanced slopes proved to be a bit too much for Jues knee and we were forced to call it a day. Jue is now on a rehab programme to ensure she is fit and well for hitting the slopes in Canada. Instead of skiing we then spent the day hiking up the side of the mountain. This was only supposed to be a gentil stroll for an hour...in reality it was a 4 hour tramp (as they call it in NZ) across uneven terrain and mostly involved wading through 4 inches of water and descending 5 foot banks where the pathway had eroded somewhat.

The majority of our weekends since we last wrote have been spent out and about the local area, with some lovely walks and bikerides on the mountain and coast occupying many days. New Plymouth and Taranaki is such a great place for getting out into places where there is only you and about a thousand sheep and cows for company and just recently we've started getting our fair share of sun with temparatures already getting up as high as 21 degrees.

We have also become regulars on a Wednesday night at the local pub quiz where we are doing Britain no favours by having a last place and next to last place finish to our name. We did mistakenly call ourselves 'Brains of Britain' which is now proving to be rather ironic, and subsequent variations of this name have since included 'Brain cell of Britain' and 'Left our brains in britain'. We do like to point out however, that all the other teams have had at least 4 people in them and a number of the questions are NZ orientated so we're at a definite disadvantage. The aim though is to get ourselves into the top 3 before we leave and earn ourselves a nice little bar tab. Although this weeks quiz saw us win $25 of drinks vouchers so happy days!

Next weekend will see me increase my international running experience when I take on the local half marathon, where a top 10 finish and a 1hr 25min finish time is the target. After a few long long runs including a 17 miler and a 2 hour mountain run (which was as painful as it sounds) all the signs are positive, however, the course is a toughy with the first half taking you to the highest point (which is a lot higher than the start) before a fast second half back down. Results will follow shortly (if it's a good one) or if not will be lost somewhere in the middle of our next blog entry.

Hope everyone is well back home and looking forward to the start of a miserable, cold, wet and windy winter whilst we're unpacking our shorts once again.