Witters from Down Under
Created | Updated Mar 19, 2009
Having moved from Scotland to Australia in 2005 to find out if she had fallen in love with the country as well as her husband a decade ago, she decided that the answer was 'yes' and intended to stay.
However life has always had a marvellous way of changing her best-laid plans. And it happened again. An unexpected work opportunity presented itself in mid-2008: one too good to miss.
As a result the Witter from Down Under is now coming from the land of the long white cloud - New Zealand.
Please join us and read Frenchbean's commentary on a new country, a new city, a new job and new friends.
Jam-jar jam
Hello Everybody 
My life here is settling into a rhythm. It was the first day of autumn last week and the leaves are just beginning to turn: particularly on the city's plane tees and the horse chestnuts which are laden with conkers.
The hints of autumn remind me that it will be the first I've lived through for five years and I am looking forward to the colours; which are alleged to be wonderful. It's all the naughty exotic trees that provide us with the glory of autumn though: the natives are not seasonally deciduous (like in Australia) and drop leaves continually. There is definitely a place for non-natives in my world.
Despite my slight apprehension about winter, I absolutely love having seasons again. I think that having spent so much of my life in Britain, Queensland's two seasons put me out of kilter. Returning to four is somehow settling my soul.
The garden was the weekend location for a flurry of silver eyes
Zosterops lateralis . They have taken over from the blackbirds and thrushes, and it is lovely to have a native species around. I assume the bigger birds are gorging themselves on windblown fruit in the region's orchards and wineries, leaving the smaller berries in my garden to the locals.
Another native that surprised me on a wall, and at eye level, one evening was a
Canterbury praying mantis or
Orthodera novaezealandiae.
What a beast! I'm happy it was only a couple of centimetres long.
In order to avert a jam-jar-jam I have been inviting my colleagues to drop off their empties at my desk, in return for which I will supply them with a filled jar of preserves in the fullness of time. It works a treat and I am the contented recipient of at least 50 jars so far, with the promise of more to come.
What on earth precipitated such a crisis? The time of mellow fruitfulness is upon us in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Apples are falling off the trees; ditto pears, plums, quinces and peaches. Vegetables are ready for harvest and not only my garden, but everybody else's, is in glut. It is the season of huge pumpkins, marrows and trugs-full of beans, tomatoes, sweetcorn, peppers and almost everything else you can imagine.
It has become blatantly obvious in the past couple of weeks just what a perfect climate this is for somebody who is obsessed with growing food. The yields of beans, courgettes, carrots, beetroot and tomatoes coming out of my garden (which was planted late, remember) are staggering.
Fortunately I managed to find a freezer two weeks ago. Without it, I'd be struggling to keep on top of the produce. With it, I can make the most of the incredible cheap deals in the veggie barns around Chchch, as well as preserve my own veggies.
I had been scouring the papers, shops and internet for a freezer. They are even more expensive here than in Australia, so the option of buying one new was soon kicked into touch.
It wasn't long before I worked out that finding a reasonable second hand machine on Trade Me was going to be the best option. Trade Me is New Zealand's own version of EBay and sells everything from bone china to chickens, from houses to hammers and from fences to freezers.
The population of Chchch seem to be particularly active and there was a wide range for me to choose from. After a couple of weeks messing about, learning the ropes and successfully NOT buying an expensive unwanted item, I felt confident enough to get involved in some Serious Bidding.
My diligence paid off and I am now the proud owner of a 14 year old Frigidaire freezer. The most extraordinary feeling of contentment and security overcame me when I'd cleaned and switched it on. I can now be sure of feeding myself through the winter without having to resort too often to the shops.
Over the last three weekends I've been furiously preserving. There will be more to come, but so far the following fills my top cupboard: apple and mint jelly, courgette chutney, pear chutney, pear jam, apple jelly, plum chutney, plum ketchup, courgette chutney, pickled courgettes and sweetcorn relish.
The freezer is gradually filling with pumpkin soup, tomato soup, ratatouille, stuffed marrow and bags of runner beans. (I reckon that home-grown runner beans, blanched, frozen and then carefully cooked, taste better than 'fresh' shop beans any day of the week.)
How could a gardener and foodie not be happy here?
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