Cadbury Creme Egg Biscuits Not Coming to New Zealand

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New Zealander's love the traditional Cadbury Creme Egg (some of us too much).  It has been the go to Easter egg for years, but in 2014 Cadbury released a Cadbury Creme Egg biscuit in the United Kingdom.  According to Cadbury's Facebook page there is no intention of bringing these biscuits to New Zealand.  Sure, it could be another Double Down from KFC or Georgie Pie, where the novelty only lasted a short time for most people, but I think they should bring Cadbury Creme Egg biscuits to New Zealand, although remember to only eat in moderation!

According to sources in England, these biscuits are amazing, so you may have to get a friend to bring you some from overseas.  

To help achieve this please like my Facebook page to Bring Cadbury Creme Egg Biscuits to New Zealand.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Cadbury-Creme-Egg-Biscuits-to-New-Zealand/587165728038343?skip_nax_wizard=true

Should Cadbury Creme Egg Biscuits come to New Zealand or would the novelty wear off too quickly?  Would you try them?

Oxfam 100 Trailwalker 2014 - Sponsor Team Cool Runnings

Oxfam 100 Trailwalker 2014 is nearly here when teams give up their weekends to walk, hop or run 100km to raise money for charity.  Some of my mates were inspired by the feel good story of the Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and entered as Cool Runnings.

Cool Runnings were the fastest team in Oxfam Trailwalker 2013 choosing to run large parts of the 100km.

These guys trained for months beforehand and even took timeout to watch their favourite Super Rugby team the Highlanders play on the way up to the race the night before even if it cost them some precious pre race sleep!  That shows the level of commitment that Cool Runnings brings to Oxfam Trailwalker 2014.

Sponsor Team Cool Runnings in Oxfam Trailwalker in 2014 by going to one of these links.  All the best guys!

 http://www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz/otw14/teams/cool-runnings 

Like the Team Cool Runnings fan page!

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/OXFAM-100-Team-Cool-Runnings/341439182623732?fref=ts



 Here is footage of Cool Runnings in Oxfam Trailwalker 2013

Cool Runnings the Oxfam Trailwalker 2013 fastest time team have released a music video to inspire sponsorship in 2014.  Click the link below.
http://screen.yahoo.com/bobsled-song-182420782.html

CNN Votes Wellington World's Great Coffee City

Wellington has been named as one of the world's great coffee cities in a recent article by CNN.  The "flat white" has been included as a favourite for the people of Wellington.  Wellington joins other cities like Melbourne, Vienna, London, Reykjavik, Rome, Singapore and Seattle on the list.  Wellington's Flight Centre Hangar, Memphis Belle and Lamason Brew Bar get a mention too.

Do you rate Wellington's flat white?  The article below seems to simply mention eight of the world's great coffee cities rather than doing an actual test, although I guess it is rather subjective.  Go Wellington!

What other cities make great coffee?  Do you agreee with the list?  Invercargill is the home of instant coffee, but I think the article might be generous when it says it is hard to find a bad coffee in New Zealand.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/04/travel/best-coffee-cities/

Winter's Tale - Disappointing Given The Stars!

 We went and saw Winter's Tale and while it is based on a novel and stars big names like Russell Crowe, Colin Farrell, Will Smith and Jennifer Connelly, it was a bit disappointing. Maybe it was because this movie was so unrealistic with the classic angels vs demons, but I guess it got people talking. The star of the show was actually a white horse! There were a few strange things in the plot including the small girl in 1915 was the still working as the current Editor in Chief for the New York Times which would make her 107ish. One interesting scenario was a fight between Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell. When you consider how many fighters Russell Crowe has played then you would have thought he would be stronger, mind you he looked bigger and not as cut as he did in Cinderella Man! After initially thinking that this movie was strange, I kind of got used to the strong good vs evil and flying horses and started to enjoy it. The idea of not dying until your destiny is reached was lets just say, interesting. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 13 percent while their audience was more generous with 48 percent. I would only give it 5/10. Have you seen Winter's Tale? What did you think of it? Hey it was one of the only movies in English here in Ecuador!

Scotty Donaldson Back In New Zealand Blog Rankings Top 50

It was a quiet December and January, but this blog is now back into the Top 50 in the New Zealand Blog Rankings again according to the February rankings, with 4216 visits and 5235 page views in 45th place.

The recent New Zealand Blackcaps cricket series win over India definitely helped with the hits, along with some old posts from 2010 which must have caught the attention of internet trawlers.  Shane Warne's kiss ending Liz Hurley's marriage,  a post about who is going to win the FIFA World Cup 2010, Red Nose Day in 2010 and a Heaven vs Hell t-shirt post from 2011 were also popular with hundreds of hits in the last month.  My most popular recent post was about the Marriage Bed and Married Life which can be found here.

http://www.scottydonaldson.com/2014/01/married-life-marriage-bed.html

For the record, my other blog Super Rugby Tips is ranked 38th in the New Zealand Blog Rankings.  It can be found at www.superrugbytips.com

View the New Zealand Blog Rankings here, if you have a blog then I suggest to submit it and see how you rank.
http://openparachute.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/february-14-nz-blogs-sitemeter-ranking/#more-29668

Daisy Duke Turns 60 - Happy Birthday Catherine Bach

Here is the great Dukes of Hazzard theme song Classic Hits radio station mentioned earlier today that Daisy Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard has just turned sixty on 1st March 2014.

She gave the name to the Daisy Duke shorts and she even insured her legs for $1 million at one stage.

We Went To The Equator - Mitad Del Mundo

We paid a total of 40 cents and caught two buses to Mitad Del Mundo (The middle of the World) about 45 minutes out of Quito. Lets just say that gravity does do funny things on the equator! There is an original monument and small town set up where they originally thought the equator was, but since then it ends up that the equator is a few hundred metres down the road at another place which is where the fun was!  Would would've thought science could be so enjoyable!




Gravity made me look ridiculously un-coordinated in this video!



Here is a local Ecuadorian dance group.

I try to stand the egg up on the nail.  Unfortunately I couldn't but my wife could!

We are at the original equator monument.  It ends up it isn't on the equator.

Charlotte Dawson Found Dead - A Sad Sign of the Times!

The death of Australian television presenter Charlotte Dawson is a sad sign of the times. It seems that in this day and age of social media and everyone carrying a camera ready to take photos, people like Charlotte Dawson are often in the spotlight and this leads to problems in their private lives. The gap between the public and private life becomes blurred and before you know it, everyone knows about your problems.

There have been recent incidents with people like Justin Bieber and Phillip Seymour Hoffman going off the rails and it emerges that people often seek refuge in other vices like drugs, alcohol or whatever to help them get through their lives. Heath Ledger was another one who relied on drugs.

Charlotte Dawson's case was another sad case though because she suffered from depression and was cyber bullied by trolls on social media websites and this affected her terribly, but unfortunately this kind of thing will continue to happen these days. I remember a documentary interviewing her cyber bullies and lets just say that their words were far stronger than their physical status. These weren't tough prison yard bullies, these were skinny teenagers with too much time on their hands.

My advice - if you are going to become famous, seek refuge in God rather than other vices. It is far healthier and a far more sustainable long term option. God can help you too! http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/9752980/Charlotte-Dawson-found-dead

Update On Married Life - Wedding Video

I don't want to brag, but married life is great.  It is so much easier (less lonely) moving to a foreign country when you have a spouse.  I have noticed plenty of differences, but after two months of marriage, I am getting used to it and thoroughly enjoying it!

It doesn't matter so much that I haven't got as many friends in Ecuador, because I have one very special wife.  This is very handy when English isn't spoken widely in South America!

Even doing mundane things is fun with that special someone and so it seems that while friends are still important, I have come to the conclusion that once you get married, it is more about family than friends.  This changes many years of habits.

It is also funny meeting new people.  We have started going to a community group with other couples, although they all have kids.  When you are a married couple it is often easier meeting other couples rather than singles.  You also don't want to rough it by staying in a horrible backpackers, but you don't have to because you can get a Queen Room instead.

What can I say?  My life has changed.  I now feel I am a more family focused well rounded guy who is into salads, cooking and cleaning.  I have discovered an assortment of healthy foods here which are cheaper and taste better than they did when I tried them in New Zealand. I still the support the Stags though!

For those who missed the wedding, here is our two minute wedding video.  It is password protected for friends only.

https://vimeo.com/83481395

Mitchell Johnson - Went To Buy A Dozen Roses Photo Meme

Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson went to buy a dozen roses but picked up seven Proteas instead.  A great Valentine's Day for the Australian cricketer.  The funny thing is that he actually picked up a dozen Proteas for the match.  He may be a hot head, but Mitchell Johnson is in great cricketing form against South Africa.

Schapelle Corby Hasn't Seen NSW Win State of Origin Since 2005

Schapelle Corby Hasn't Seen NSW Win State of Origin Rugby League Since 2005, Don't Worry... Neither Has Anybody Else!

This is a topical photo meme based on the recent release of Schapelle Corby from prison.

Is There Room For Christian Religious Education in Secular State Schools?

St Heliers School in Auckland has shifted their Christian based religious education to after school and making it voluntary following complaints from non-Christians at the state school.  Do you think other schools will follow suit?

It is an interesting point in an increasingly secular society if New Zealand should still have some kind of Christian religious education instruction, especially in non-Christian schools but I think St Heliers has come up with a good compromise.

It is potentially a bit embarrassing in some parts of ethnically diverse New Zealand these days where the population is potentially more non-Christian or Hindu or Buddist than Christian, but at the same time, it is good to provide young minds with something positive like the Bible as it could be their only chance to gain salvation, although it is difficult to know how many people become Christians following Bible in Schools or similar programs.

I think having Christian Education in state schools is fine, but if people are majorly offended by it then an alternative like what St Heliers has is also a good option.

There is obviously room for Christian education in Christian schools.

Should there be Christian education in non-Christian state schools?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11199819

Air New Zealand Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Safety Video - Smart Marketing?

 

Air New Zealand's next safety in-flight video will feature Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models in the Cook Islands celebrating fifty years of Sports Illustrated. Do you think this is appropriate for general viewing or smart marketing?

In the past they have tried Richard Simmons in lycra with Paul Henry and more recently The Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit, but it must be difficult to come up with ideas to get people to actually watch in-flight videos. Is getting swimsuit models to advertise the in-flight safety video appropriate?

This video will definitely help tourism to the Cook Islands judging by the stunning scenery, but it could also help Sports Illustrated magazine with their 50th birthday. I wonder who is paying who to do this advertisement? I assume both parties are getting some mutual benefits from these in-flight videos.

Anyway, what do you think of swimsuit models advertising in-flight safety videos? I understand that Air New Zealand want to get the attention of passengers, but I wonder how many passengers will appreciate this video!

In the past they stuck to more dry kiwi humour, but now they seem to be going for the obvious.

Auckland Church Pastors Selling House For $1.9 Million - Is This Right?

Auckland City Impact pastors Peter and Bev Mortlock are selling their flash Auckland house for $1.9 million when some members of their church are struggling to pay their bills after giving money to the church, is this ethical?

I think that the media has potentially over-reacted to this.  For starters, it doesn't take much in Auckland to have a house worth nearly $2 million and also because as Christians we should tithe (give a tenth) of our income to help the church share the gospel, it must be remembered that the pastors probably only get a relatively small portion of the money given as offerings to the church.  Churches have to get their money from somewhere and this goes towards maintaining the church building, paying for electricity and some of it will go towards the pastors of the church.

I don't know Peter and Bev Mortlock, but it is their job to convert people to Christianity and spread the gospel as part of doing God's work..  They therefore must get paid like people in any other job, so I don't have a problem with it.

It boils down to the fact that some people are giving more than they should.  They should only give one tenth of their earnings and even that is a guide.  God still loves us when we don't give one tenth if we are really short of money.  It is more the motive behind giving.  I don't know how much pressure was put on people at Auckland City Impact Church to give money, but people shouldn't feel obliged to give money to the church, they should give it because they want to.

Is City Impact Church similar to Destiny Church?

What do you think about these Auckland church pastors selling their house for nearly $2 million?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11196721