The final was between New Zealand & Australia ...
The All Blacks versus the Wallabies.
We all knew New Zealand should win but I believe both countries were nervous.
Trans-Tasman mockery reaching an all-time high.
I watched it with folk met at The Running Stream pub, here in Farnham.
I barely survived.
The Aussies played hard.
New Zealand played harder.
Actually, the All Blacks played beautifully.
The highlights are below. You get a sense of the suffering involved, perhaps
New Zealand saw off Australia to make history and become the first team to win successive Rugby World Cups. Follow World Rugby on social media:Official Website! http://www.rugbyworldcup.com,SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel For More Great Videos https://youtube.com/user/irb,Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rugbyworldcup,Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rugbyworldcup and https://www.facebook.com/worldrugby,Follow us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/worldrugby,
And small droplets of water, caused by the fog... or that's what I'm imagining.
My lovely friend, Kim, took me out to lunch today and we ended up in a pretty little village called Godalming.
Have I already mentioned that the charity shops in England blow my mind?
Books, really good secondhand books, start at .50p and don't go higher than 2 pounds. And they're all in English.
I have been living outside of English for so long that I still find this stunning, even after a month in this world.
It was foggy today but beautifully, autumly, foggy. The light was divine and, for the first time in a long time, I felt my passion for photography rise up and demand time.
Kim stopped at a church, somewhere in the hills of Surrey, so that my camera and I could play for a while.
The lunch was delicious. We discovered Grills and Greens, and were served by a lovely guy from Rome. My tagliatelle funghi, mushrooms and cream sauce with fresh ground black pepper, was rather divine.
It's like Cinderella's prince finding the foot that belonged to the glass slipper. Or Goldilocks, perhaps.
I found 'something like home' tonight, the third pub I've tried.
The People!!!! So kind. A plumber bought me a drink. The welder, the builder, and some others too, made me almost die laughing there at the bar.
The publican ... he is brilliant. Like a stage manager, keeping an eye out and making sure that everyone is safe, that man who is incredibly kind.
And then there was the army chef and his beautiful wife ... they filled me in. Invited me to play golf with them sometime.
My birthday's tomorrow, so different to last year ... with the photography exhibition and friends flying in from all over Europe. Tomorrow, I shall go this pub that I've found ... the one that serves good wine and much kindness.
Thank you to everyone, who doesn't actually know about my blog, but ... who made me so welcome in this part of England where I currently am.
Oh ...! And the recruiting center phoned me today and I missed that call, as you do! So tomorrow, who knows, perhaps there is good news.
Meanwhile some the guys there gave me some contacts to check out in the days ahead. Who knows where this Kiwi is watching the All Blacks play on Saturday but that lovely pub is surely calling me.
I was on my way back from here, yesterday, when i found the pub ... just btw.
This Nature Reserve ... I was introduced to it yesterday. Thank you, Andy.
And then there's the people, who have been incredibly kind and polite so far. Yesterday I wandered into a pub. They had 'Rugby' written on the board outside. I asked if they were screening world cup rugby matches, and yes, they would be screening the rugby world cup, and yes again, when I asked them about sound. Previous experience: 2 world cup matches viewed locally, without much sound, made me check about commentary.
But nicer still, the woman behind the counter asked me if I was a Kiwi ... her husband comes from Palmerston North. I shall return there soon.
Sainsburys has continued to surprise and delight me. It's a lovely destination for that daily walk I now feel compelled to take. Pukka Pies remain my pie of choice, on the odd occasion I buy. Lovely, after so many years away from good pies. I don't need a lot but some is good.
The air seems relatively clean here and is currently all about autumn and woodsmoke and damp vegetation ... but in good ways. Ways that take me back to New Zealand. Chinook helicopters often fly over, we're on one of their flight paths. I love the sound of their heavy beat overhead.
I'm drinking tap water, after years of viewing the Antwerp water with a deep suspicion that left me drinking bottled sparkling water. It's still quite odd to simply open the tap and fill a glass when I need a drink.
I am missing my Nespresso machine but it's okay ... I'm missing Genova too, and would much prefer the coffee found there in the city. Starbucks is okay for a single espresso, occasionally.
I am loving the buses. People wait for all passengers to leave the bus before climbing on, exchanging greetings, asking questions ... which are always answered, by the drivers. And when they're not in service, the illuminated message on the front of the bus begins with 'Sorry.'
Really! All this courtesy just blows my mind.
People in shops and official places have been so nice that I come away stunned and bemused. When I had my National Insurance appointment, the woman told me of spending 30 minutes with the Dalai Lama some years ago. We chatted of other things, while we filled out the forms. Opening a bank account ... same kind of friendly, helpful service.
The woman at the recruiting office couldn't have been more helpful. And the local rugby club have said I can go along on Saturday night and watch the All Blacks play there ... I'll head to the NZer's pub on Sunday, for the Australian game.
And I don't even know where to begin when talking of the friends I am staying with, and their friends, who have gathered me in in ways that stun and humble me.
So times are challenging and the future is slightly unclear at the moment however ... England is a truly lovely country and I'm feeling quite lucky to be here.
This is my song at the moment ... I think it so often. I Wasn't Expecting That.
I suspect this is the face I most regularly wear in these days. I believe it might be a problem-solving kind of expression I'm wearing there.
I made pumpkin soup for lunch today but realised I was missing my small vegetable knife. I have a brand I particularly like. I missed my cupboard full of known ingredients. My kitchen too. And later I missed my bread and my place at that old oak table I used to adore.
There are hours like this out here in my new life. Not days or weeks ... just hours. I really am okay with missing things, mostly. I began moving house when I was 20, and haven't stopped anywhere longer than that big old Belgian house just left, after something like 6 years. The previous record ... maybe the airforce house back in New Zealand. 4 years, non-stop, in the same place.
But it's not a desire of mine, to constantly move. It's just my life.
My sister has lived differently and I love visiting her when I go back to New Zealand. She has lived in her home for years now. I'm not sure how many but if I 'go home' to anyplace, then it's her place. I love the familiarity I find there - I love her pantry, the smell of the house, but mostly, I love the people that live there. It's as close as I get to my childhood spaces ... 50 Green Street, the home I grew up in, or Nana's place, at 101 Islington Street.
But mostly, over all these years and moves, I've learned to make the unfamiliar familiar, as quickly as possible. The walk to the supermarket is a daily one now. Starbucks has become 'the place' where I buy my espresso. The walk there and back has become that time for deep thinking while I exercise. And I can feel myself getting stronger each day.
The first day I walked there I thought I was dying. The second day, I went out again, just to test it, and wondered if it wasn't some kind of anxiety attack. On the third day I began to feel better. Mmmhmmm, I might have been completely unfit. It's much easier now. Increasing the distance seems like a good idea. Let's see it.
But mostly I'm spending these days preparing myself for whatever is next. And the photograph ... taken by my lovely Australian client, Gabrielle, at Genova's Douce cafe, on one of those lovely photography workshop days last summer.
They were beautiful days. I'm glad that I had them.