New Years Day - Wellington

For us it was a sleep in - no children - and then we went to the movies after a scrummy lunch at Gordon and Di's.

Harry went to the second Hunger Games movie and Theresa and I went to see Philomena.

The movie is based on the 2009 investigative book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee.
It is a true story of a woman who kept secret the fact that she had a baby boy conceived out of wedlock - something her Irish-Catholic community didn't have the highest opinion of - and given away for adoption in the United States.

Philomena Lee searches for her son who was taken away from her when she was forced to live in a convent. In following church doctrine, she was forced to sign a contract that wouldn't allow for any sort of inquiry into the son's whereabouts.

After starting a family years later in England and, for the most part, moving on with her life, Lee meets Sixsmith, a BBC reporter with whom she decides; after fifty years, to discover her long-lost son.

The movie focuses on the efforts of Philomena Lee and Sixsmith and the barriers they come across.

The movie was held at the Embassy Theatre, at Courtenay Place in Wellington. It has changed since the days of old red seats when I used to go there. But some of the interior has been preserved.

The inside has been refurbished and I found the entrance way to the front lounge caught my eye.

The convenience was that Theresa just lives a few doors down so it wasn't far to go from parking the car, which was just as well because by then it was pouring.

Harry got a bit wet running to his film.

On returning to Gordon's I watched some of the native birds feeding from their balconies.



 

A pair of Kaka (New zealand native brown bush parrot) have come to feed. They give them almonds which they are rather partial to.










And the usual Tui's (Parsons bird) feeding on sugar water.





And then we (Gordon, Di and us) were joined by my other brother Stuart and his wife Liz, Theresa and Steven and had a lovely New Years meal and time of family sharing. Relaxing around the table I realized how precious our family are and that we are blessed with good relationships.