Moving Back to Scotland from New Zealand

I left Scotland in 2002 when I met my other (Canadian) half. We now Live in Auckland, New Zealand.



We love it, but after visiting back home to Scotland twice in the last few years, I find that I miss it and could easily move back.



In a few years time, due to family reasons we probably will move to the northern hemisphere again either to my partners home of Nova Scotia in Canada, or my home of Edinburgh, Scotland.



I was one of those people who always wanted to emigrate and I did. I feel really happy about emigrating and I have amazing adventures to show for it. Once we hit retirement (we are only 30 at the mo) we will probably end up coming back to Aotearoa (NZ)



Is Scotland a good place to move back to? obviously there is the family links and amazing social scene which I have to admit, is far better than anything in NZ or even Australia for that matter. There is the culture, history and festivals which all fall in the correct season for my northern sensibilities (I hate a warm Xmas).



One thing that I discovered after I left Scotland is when there is a show on TV here in NZ about Scotland or even the UK in general is how bloody amazing it looks from the other side of the fence. New Zealand and Australia have the beaches and the warm weather (although don't get me started on NZ winter) and Scotland definitely lacks in consistent blue skies and high temperatures, but what about Scottish Winter?



Winter in Edinburgh is absolutely amazing! having lived through some very hot summers I can tell you, if it has to be cold in winter, I would prefer the nice crisp and clean air that we get in a lovely winters day in Scotland than the wet, uncomfortable winters day in Auckland.



Another thing that looks great from the other side of the fence is the nature and history. NZ has amazing scenery but then so does Scotland. The thing Scotland has in addition to the amazing scenery is the history and stories that go with it. One thing I find it hard to comprehend is that New Zealand is actually slightly larger than the island of Great Britain, but with only 4 million people it seems that even after my initial 6 week tour, I basically saw the majority of the place.



The UK however is somewhere that you could explore for many years and you would still never see it all.



When we move, I will miss New Zealand. Its an easier and perhaps slower pace of life here. People are friendly and the beaches and the weather are amazing. But once upon a time I would have placed weather and exotic isolation near the top of my list on places to go, I guess they have lost the top spot to things like culture and family and the proximity of Europe.



It is an interesting reversal that probably comes with getting older.



So, in a few years time, we will leave NZ to move back to Edinburgh or Nova Scotia and then I will discover if all those things we get nostalgic for are worthwhile or not.



I'd love to hear from anyone who has done this!



Muzzerino

You Little Bastard!, You've Killed us all!

Swine Flu, how it all started. "You little bastard!, You've killed us all!"

Breaking News : Gurkhas Will Stay!

Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally!

From the Gurkha Justice Campaign...

Breaking News : Gurkhas!

A motion calling for the Government to withdraw the new Gurkha settlement guidelines immediately and bring forward revised proposals that extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas has been passed in the House of Commons by 267 to 246. The motion was proposed by the Liberal Democrats, but supported by MPs from all Parties, and we are grateful to all of them.

Thank you to everyone who has lobbied their MP, signed petitions, joined rallies and sent messages of support for the Gurkhas. Without your support, we would never have got this far.

We are waiting to hear the Government's response to the vote. They must respect the wishes of Parliament to grant citizenship rights to all Gurkhas, and do so quickly.

You can see reaction to today's historic vote at BBC News online.

Support Our Gurkhas!

VCHero.co.uk

Gurkhas are fighting for Justice. They want the same terms and conditions as their UK and Commonwealth counterparts.
Sign the Gurkha Justice Campaign Petition

From Wikipedia...
Background:

• Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha or Ghurka, are people from Nepal who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. His disciple Bappa Rawal, born Prince Kalbhoj/Prince Shailadhish, founded the house of Mewar, Rajasthan (Rajputana). Later descendants of Bappa Rawal moved further east to found the house of Gorkha, which in turn founded the Kingdom of Nepal.^[2] Gorkha District is one of the 75 districts of modern Nepal. Gurkhas are best known for their history of bravery and strength in the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments. The Gurkhas were designated by British officials as a "Martial Race". "Martial Race" was a designation created by officials of British Indiaaggressive in battle, and to possess qualities like courage, loyalty, self sufficiency, physical strength, resilience, orderliness, the ability to work hard for long periods of time, fighting tenacity and military strategy. The British recruited heavily from these Martial Races for service in the colonial army.

The Current Issue:

• The treatment of Gurkhas and their families has been the subject of controversy in the United Kingdom following revelations that Gurkhas received smaller pensions than their British equivalents.^[63] On 8 March 2007, it was announced by the British Government that all Gurkhas who signed up after July 1, 1997 would receive a pension equivalent to that of their British counterparts. In addition, Gurkhas would, for the first time, be able to transfer to another army unit after five years service to broaden their experience. It was also stated that, for the first time in the history of the Gurkhas, women would be allowed to join - although not in infantry units, in line with general British Army policy.^[64]
• Despite this, many Gurkhas who had not served long enough to entitle them to a pension faced hardship on their return to Nepal, and some critics have derided the Government's decision to only award the new pension to those joining after the 1 July 1997, claiming that this left many ex-Gurkhas still facing a financially uncertain retirement. A charity, the Gurkha Welfare Trust, provides aid to alleviate hardship and distress among Gurkha ex-servicemen.^[65]
• The nationality status of Gurkhas and their families was also previously an area of dispute, with claims that some ex-army Nepali families were being denied residency and forced to leave Britain. The new policy on Gurkhas (announced by the British Government on 8 March 2007) guarantees residency rights in Britain for retired Gurkhas and their families. In a landmark ruling on 30 September 2008 the High Court in London decided that Gurkhas who left the Army before 1997 did have an automatic right of residency in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} Before this ruling only Gurkhas who left the British Army after 1997 were granted automatic residency benefits.^[66] In line with the ruling of the High Court the Home Office is to review all cases affected by this decision.
• There is a campaign currently running to support Gurkhas and pressure the UK government into giving more help and equal treatment to Gurkhas, called Gurkha Justice.^[67] There is also a direct petition to the British Prime Minister on the government's official website to allow Gurkhas that have served the nation a right to stay in the United Kingdom.^[68]

Gurkhas Still Struggle to Live in the UK

THE GURKHA
SOLDIER
Bravest of the brave,
most generous of the generous,
never had country
more faithful friends
than you.
Professor Sir Ralph Turner MC

So then why does the UK immigration dept continue to stifle and hinder these brave men who have fought for the UK and now want to live in the UK?

I have written about this before and I do not know what else to say but to reaffirm my desire as a British citizen to welcome with open arms this minority group in the country.

Many people migrate to the UK every year and I hate to say it, but many of them are not too keen on Britain, such as our very own homegrown terrorists.

Yet for some reason, the Gurkhas hit a brick wall evertime they try to emigrate to the very nation they have fought for? something is very wrong here.

From the Gurkha Justice Campaign...

"Gurkhas are fighting for Justice. They want the same terms and conditions as their UK and Commonwealth counterparts.

Britain has had no greater friends than the Gurkhas. They have served all across the world in the defence of our Country for nearly 200 years. Over 45,000 died in the two World Wars as part of the British Army. They are still fighting in the British Army today.

You may have seen in the media that the Gurkhas have been fighting in Parliament and the Courts. Step by step, things are getting better - but there is a long way to go.

The Government decision of 25th April 2009 on Gurkha settlement rights is yet another huge betrayal of the Gurkhas who have served our country.

Only a tiny fraction of the Gurkhas who retired before 1997 will win settlement rights under the new policy. A Gurkha will have to have served 20 years or more or won one of a handful of medals: the big majority of Gurkhas served for 15 years under standard army policy."

Gurkha Justice!



More reading

• Times Online

Most Amazing Youtube Video Ever! Danny MacAskill Bike Stunts

This has to be probably the best video I have seen on Youtube so far and if ever Youtube needed a justification for its exsitence, then this video is it. Danny MacAskill performs Incredible gravity defying Bike Stunts, but not the usual MTV kind, this video has a certain grace and art to it that I think anyone will appreciate. Amaing footage, editing and a superb soundtrack by Seattle band, "Band of Horses"

It is an absolute must-see!

it also makes the Fine city of Edinburgh look 'fine!'

Home Business, Affiliate Schemes, WTF?

Ok, we all want to get rich and we all need money. I have been making a very small amount from this site and others using adsense and the odd time I have dabbled into Clickbank and others while trying to get something a little more lucrative.

What I have found, every time I click on an add proclaiming "home business!" "earn your monthly income in a year!" always seem to be the same. A bloody Pyramid Scheme!

OK, I know they are not all like that, but it certainly seems that most of them get you to sign up, then you get paid for more people who sign up using your affiliate ID link. This is basically a Pyramid Scheme and although a lot of other affiliate schemes do sell other items, a great many of them in my research seem to fall back onto the pyramid model as a staple income.

I have never made a cent from Affiliate schemes but to be honest, I spend more time on trying to maximise my adsense revenue from this blog amongst others. I suppose I feel that if I make a site to gain traffic, then only to send that traffic off in search of an affiliate sale, then I myself am somehow selling out, but then I never had a head for business I guess....

I like adsense because all the ads are relevant to my site content. But I have also added Clickbank links to some pages which are relevant to the article and yet, even though I have plenty of hops and clickthroughs. I get so cash.

Has anyone else out there had any luck with this? (add to the comments!)

If you can recommend a decent affiliate scheme I'd love to know. I get plenty of traffic to this site so if I get no responses or very few, I will consider the matter a waste of time and maybe so should you.

Muzzerino.

Whats the best Graphics Card for Photoshop and Premiere ?

Hello Blogosphere!

I have been researching new graphics cards and I really want to get a good one to improve my Work Desktop PC when using Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro.

I see that Nvidia has one called a Quadro CX but at around 1,800 bucks, I need something a little more affordable.

At home I use an Nvidia 7800GS card and it seems to run Photoshop well but I never use Premiere at home so I cannot tell if it will improve it much.

If anyone out there in the blogosphere has any ideas I would love to hear about it!

(sorry if you found this page looking for a solution)

Project Protector : New Zealand Warships Photos

HMNZS Rotoiti (P3569) is a Protector-class inshore patrol boat of the Royal New Zealand Navy. These boats will perform border and fishery protection patrols.

She was fitted out in Whangarei and on 20 November 2007 started contractor sea trials. After delays due to problems with gear and fittings, she was commissioned on 17 April 2009,[1] the lead boat to commission in this class.

Rotoiti is the third boat of this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and is named after Lake Rotoiti.

Inshore Patrol Vessel HMNZS Taupo
Image Taken from Original Article @ Scoop

HMNZS Rotoiti anchored at Whangarei Heads,(in Urquharts bay)
Photo by Kotare:
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Susan Boyle Desktop Background Wallpapers

Muzzerino : Home

Susan Boyle
Desktop Wallpapers

Susan Boyle
Desktop Wallpapers

Susan Boyle, Scottish Superstar!
Desktop Wallpapers

Muzzerino Home

From Wikipedia

Susan Boyle (born June 15, 1961) is a Scottish church volunteer and amateur singer who came to public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Britain's Got Talent.[4] Boyle leapt to almost immediate global fame when she sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the competition's first round.

Before she sang, both the audience and the judges appeared to express skepticism based on her ungroomed appearance and awkwardness. In contrast, her vocal performance was so outstanding that she has been dubbed "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell". She received a standing ovation from the live audience, attracting yes-votes from Cowell and Amanda Holden, and the "biggest yes I have ever given anybody" from Piers Morgan. The audition was recorded in January 2009 at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, Scotland.

The juxtaposition of her powerful voice with the audience's first impression of her triggered global interest. Articles about her appeared in newspapers all over the world, while online videos of her performance totalled over 50 million views within a week. Cowell is reported to be setting up a contract with Boyle with his Syco Music company label, a subsidiary of Sony Music.

Susan Boyle, desktop Wallpapers created by Murray Douglas of Widescreenstuff using publicly available images.

Susan Boyle and the one who rolled her eyes

It was absolutely amazing to see Susan Boyle was able to win over the skeptical image conscious crowd that this girl embodied so well with this facial expression as Susan Boyle walked out.

You do NOT want to be this girl right now.

I wonder if she even knows that she is bearing the brunt of the attacks on Facebook. I became a 'fan' of Susan Boyle on Facebook and soon I realised that people were using it as a launching pad for attacks on this girl (pictured) by creating another group with the description...

"This girl represents the horror of prejudgemental behaviour and should now feel like a douche. This group is not picking on just this one girl, more using her reaction to the idea that someone who is not glossy magazine beautiful could desire to be a professional singer, to highlight the unacceptable prejudices in society"

The thing is, I reckon there were plenty more 'rolling eyes' elsewhere in the audience and from the viewers at home when Susan first stepped onto the the stage but unfortunately for this girl, ummmm she was filmed doing it. Doh!

Once upon a time, I reckon I would have rolled my eyes too, most probably when I would have been in my teens and I reckon that's probably how old this girl is anyway so I reckon, ummm as much as it pains me with my vengeful "fuck you" attitude.....

lets leave her alone

In the final analysis, Susan Boyle has let the world know for maybe just a little while, that you should ever judge a book by its cover. That we should drop our all important image conscience veneer for even for a little while and realise that beauty is only skin deep and that real beauty lies on the inside.

Good luck Susan Boyle, I truly hope that you will be the huge success that you have always dreamed of.

Muzzerino

Comedy Central has finally arrived in New Zealand on Sky TV

Yes!

Comedy Central has finally arrived in New Zealand on Sky TV

Fur TV, American Dad, Robot Chicken, The Roast, why the hell did we in NZ not see this stuff before?

This is by far my new favourite channel! and its free!

Why the hell would I pay for crap like Sky Movies when we have this! Whoo Hoo!

ps. only one bad thing though, do they really need to repeat the ads for other shows quite so much? I can recite them all by heart now and its making me go a bit mad.

Tony Veitch Suicide Attempt

I knew this was going to happen.

The media really have been on this guys back a hell of a lot over the incident with Kristen Dunne-Powell in 2005.

I cannot help thinking that although what he did was wrong, I myself have been in similar situations. Sometimes you can be in such a trapped domestic argument with someone that the primal instinct to lash out physically just happens!

Is it wrong? yes of course. Assault of any kind is wrong, however, Have you ever been kicked, hit or slapped by someone? is it not normal to then hit back?

I seriously doubt that Tony Veitch had some kind of calculated mind whereby he actually planned to kick Kristen Dunne-Powell in the back. Maybe he did, but I doubt it.

Because he is a media star, this has been blown way out of what normally would happen to someone else. I guarantee 100% that since this incident in 2005, there will have been plenty of other kickings, slappings and punchings between couples which we have never heard about.

Tony Veitch finally came out and pleased guilty, he apologised and quite rightly, threatened to sue certain media outlets for false statements about him (I would too) and yet the media and the people of New Zealand continue to denounce him?

His career may be over, his mental state will be in turmoil. People hate him. Why? not because he did something horrendous but for something I think was probably incredibly normal and natural. Shame on him?

Shame on you NZ!

England is not a REAL country.

I just want to highlight something that myself as a Scot and a Brit always seem to come across.

This is aimed at those people out there, usually Americans, Australians and even Kiwis, who seem to think that either the UK is called 'England' or that Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland all come under one name 'England'.

England is not a REAL country.

In this sense, a real country, means a Sovereign Nation with 100% powers over all its own affairs.

In the UK we still use the name 'country' or 'nations' for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, but they are not "REAL" countries.

An example of where this might be mis-used is when someone tells me they visited England and I ask if they also visited Scotland, often the answer is something like this.
"oh, yes I went all over England".
but did you go to Scotland
"I just told you, I toured all over England"
sigh....

The List below deals with England in particular but is relevant to all 4 nations within the UK

• There is no such thing as an English Government.
• There is no such thing as the Prime Minister of England
• There is no such thing as an English Passport
• There is no currency called English Pounds.
• There is no such thing as an Embassy or High Commission of England
• There is no English Army
• There is no English Navy
• There is no English Air Force

The United Nations has 7 representatives from countries beginning with the letter "E"

• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• England? nope.
  

all the above goes for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well of course. But we / they already know this



Welcome to the UK.

Further reading and evidence

• England is NOT and independent country
• England is a Province!

Demotivational Posters 7

White Bridal Gowns
So the new Dishwasher matches the fridge

Whats up!?
soooo, we do it or what?

This Cat
is going to fuck somebody up

Rapist
it might be someone you live with

Fuck it.
I'm going home
You guys are jerks.

Last Call for Alcohol
When you think you are leaving the bar with the best looking guy

Affairs
Honey, it is'nt what it looks like

demotivational posters

Exactseeks Rapid Paid Inclusion : Review

Well I am not too sure if it a Scam as such but I recently paid $24.95 USD to get my site (this one) added to ExactSeek Rapid Paid Inclusion program.

They boast on their website that your site will be added to 40+ search engines and although I am doing quite well in the organic search results of Google, Yahoo and MSN I thought it would be a good idea to get some exposure on some of the 'niche' search engines such as Exactseek.

2 Weeks later I have not received a single hit.

I am consitently getting approx 2,000 Page views a day with around 750 unique visitors. Google, MSN and Yahoo rank my site very well with the appropriate Keywords yet Exactseek sends me nothing. Why?

If you are thinking about getting on the Rapid Paid Inclusion Listing then I guess I am saying, be careful, for $24.95 I would expect a few hits, but instead I got nothing.

Its a bloody waste of money if you ask me.

Muzzerino

Bloggin in Scots

Well ah thought it wiz aboot time thit ah tried my hand again at writing doon a blog post in mair Scots dialect. Ye kin see mah last airticle in Scots here >>

Ah've been concentratin mair oan mah ither blogs over the last few months and ah've kindae neglected this yin fur a while.

The day at wurk ah'm helpin tae set up fur a 'last night at the Proms' type concurt at the boys school. This is the brither school tae the yin that I wurk at. The whole concurt is tae raise funds fur the music dept and its aywiz a right laugh and hugely enturtainin.

anyway ah better git goin since ah'm supposed tae be dain sum-hin else.

cheerio fur noo.

Muzzerino

Americans are already Socialist.

Socialism is such a bad word in the Unites States of America.

I recently watched the Michael Moore Documentary 'Sicko' and I have started to realise a few things...

Americans are already Socialist.

Like the documentary points out, the Police, Fire Services and Schools are all government funded. They are not private, they make no profit. Why?

Is it because they are 'essential' services, perhaps?

• Are the Police essential to our everyday lives?
  
• Do we really need a Fire Service?
  
• And why bother to allow people to go to school for free?

Yes, I think we can all agree, Right Wing, Left Wing and every single person in the middle, these services are 'essential'.

So, lets assume that Fire, Police and Schools are indeed essential.

• You have a right to be safe from fire.
  
• You have a right to be protected from crime.
  
• You have a right to be Educated.
• Do you have a right to be healthy?
  

The USA is the only western country in the world without universal healthcare for its citizens. it is the only country that demands that a citizen must place their trust in a private profit making company to look after their healthcare. But that's the only option I guess, because the mere mention of making the system go public attracts cries of "Socialism!".

I grew up in Scotland, UK. I have lived in Australia and I now live in New Zealand. All these countries share a common belief:
Freedom requires that you as a human being have a right to access primary essential services..

• Police
• Fire Services
• Education
• Free Heathcare.

Listing these services as 'essential' does not make a country is socialist in any way shape or form. The UK, Germany, France and Japan (to name a few) are among the worlds largest capitalist economies. Yes they may have what you could call 'social' elements to their structure, but they are free, democratic and capitalist nations anyway.

• Making profit is not evil.
• Socialised health care is not evil.
  

So why do Americans fear the 'S' word?

Would you prefer to receive a bill the next time the police chase a rapist from your neighbourhood? or would you stand up to keep it FREE?

NASA is another example of a fully funded United States organisation and is respected world-wide for its amazing achievements in space exploration and science, but if you want to, you could call it a Socialist organisation. Does that make NASA bad? Does that mean that the NASA logo should be replaced with a Hammer and Sickle?

The Cold War is over and just because the the USSR was communist and socialist doesn't mean that there must be fear of public healthcare.

As a side note I'd also like to mention that after NASA's space shuttles were grounded the only vehicle left to fly into space for manned missions was the Soviet era Soyuz. A craft built with no private money whatsoever. Ironic?

Muzzerino