A year in New Zealand

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows

It’s been a whole year since Family Haddow arrived on the shores of Aotearoa and we have had the most incredible twelve months. I can’t even begin to list all the amazing adventures we have had but needless to say, it has been a year of surfing, snowboarding, beautiful hikes and making wonderful new friendships.

I keep waiting for the homesickness to kick in, but with family visiting twice in the last year, meeting our brand new nephew for the very first time and of course the wonders of FaceTime, Brexit and heatwaves haven’t been enough to pull my heart back to the UK.

Next month we take our adventure further south and move to Dunedin, a UNESCO City of Literature and home to one of my good friends from university. We are so sad to be leaving our new friends in beautiful Christchurch but they know our door is always open when they come to visit Dunedin.

So what have I learnt and how easy is it to uproot your family and rebuild your life on the other side of the planet?

  • It’s not that easy but it’s also not incredibly difficult. Firstly, you need patience and the ability to pack up your life quickly. Whilst the husband managed to secure a job offer in New Zealand early on in 2018, it wasn’t until August that our visas turned up when we were set to leave at the beginning of September! You can’t speed up the process so we just had to be patient.
  • Secondly, you need money. The upfront costs of relocating, even with an employer willing to pay your relocation fees, add up. The flights and required vet fees alone for our dog to travel to New Zealand were more than the rest of our flights put together. We also had to have money to rent a house when we arrived, buy furniture and buy a car as we waited for our UK belongings to arrive three months after us. 

It was a lengthy three months of taking turns to sit in the dog bed whilst we waited for our couch. This was not helped by the fact it took a year longer than we hoped to sell our flat in London and we were pushed to take a price lower than we wanted so having savings on hand was very important.

  • The writing community around the world is full of the most generous and kind-hearted people I’ve ever met. Fact. I was so worried about how I would find my place as a writer in New Zealand but I needn’t have. I have been welcomed with open arms by everyone from librarians to teachers to parents to the book council to festival organisers to bookshops. It has been wonderful. I have had an amazing year of events in schools and at festivals including Auckland Writers Festival and KidsFest Christchurch. I’ve been a very lucky sausage. 

So if you are an author moving to New Zealand, be brave, send out a hello email and watch the love flood your inbox.

  • Kiwis are wonderful people. Also fact. In the days after the terror attacks at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre, the people of Christchurch stepped up in a way I have never seen before. The outpouring of love from all people in Christchurch was overwhelming from leadership down. 

Street gangs united to protect Muslims visiting mosques and many months later, the beautiful artwork created by the locals to encourage love and peace still hang around the city. 

We have made so many good friends in the last year and have been given so many excellent insider tips that New Zealand felt like home from the moment we arrived. (Kiwis also like to feed you so wear an elasticated waist if you are invited over for dinner.)

  • It is still stressful even though you feel settled. Well, it’s not nearly as stressful as not having your visa until after you’ve put your house on the market, told everyone you’re leaving and it’s only a few weeks before you fly but there are still stresses. As non-residents we don’t have the same rights as residents and costs such as doctor appointments mount up. As non-residents, we can’t vote. We also can’t buy a house so we have to rent which comes with its own problems when you need a landlord/landlady that will be comfortable with your pet dog, but Kiwis are understanding and one look at our good boy Archie and his excellent references usually helps bend the rules. We are in the process of applying for residency but that takes time and a whopper application so again, that patience thing proves very useful.
  • Everything you need is on TradeMe. And that is all you need to know. Oh and everyone who lives in New Zealand has their own opinion of where you can buy the best pies. Me personally? I recommend The Doughbin in Wanaka.

I’m so pleased we made the move to New Zealand. It has been fantastic for our little family as a tribe and as individuals and I can’t wait to see what new adventures lie ahead for us in Dunedin.

How to needle felt your very own Little Rabbit

Swapna HaddowAdventures With Little Rabbit

Alison Friend’s gorgeous illustrations of Little Rabbit in Little Rabbit’s Big Surprise got me inspired to create a plushie of the character. During my travels of New Zealand’s South Island, we stopped off at The Woolshed Canaan to enjoy some delicious ice cream and I took the opportunity to learn about needle felting.

That’s right, folks! I needle felted a Little Rabbit and I’ve put together this tutorial post so you can make your very own too.

First off, I had a good long look at Alison’s illustration of Little Rabbit.

For ease of needle felting, she is essentially four colours: brown, white, with pink and black for features. I used merino wool but any sheet of wool will work.

To make a Little Rabbit, you will need brown wool, white wool, black wool and pink wool. You will also need a couple of felting needles of different gauges and an old cushion to lean on. (Trust me, it’s not fun getting a felting needle in the thigh.)

Tear off enough brown wool to form the ball of the head and the tubular shape of the body. You will want to form the shape of the head and the body and I found this tutorial here really useful for perfecting the technique.

Essentially you are poking the felting needle repeatedly into the wool to create the shape you want. Use an old cushion to support your work and protect your knees and furniture from the needle.

Once I finished shaping the head and body, I used the same technique to place a white belly on Little Rabbit’s body.

Next up, the features on Little Rabbit’s face. You will want to switch to a finer felting needle to neaten up the features, using the same technique of pricking the needle into the wool repeatedly.

I finished by creating Little Rabbit’s legs and ears, all the while using Alison’s illustrations as a reference point and decided I wanted a seated Little Rabbit to sit alongside her books.

I hope you all have a go at creating your own Little Rabbits and if you do, please send in photos of your creations because I love seeing your work.

Dave Pigeon at KidsFest 2019

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

Today, I was at KidsFest, in association with WORD Christchurch, at the beautiful Tūranga in Christchurch where I got to introduce an audience to my terrible but financially rewarding habit of telling tales.

We had a game of Guess Which Statement Was One of Swapna Haddow’s Many Many Outrageous Lies and then I got to meet with twenty-two budding young writers for a two-hour writing workshop.

I had such a blast meeting the young writing talent in Christchurch and it was an absolute honour to be part of KidsFest 2019. Thank you so much to all who came along and made this a very special afternoon.

It’s time to Return to Wonderland

Swapna HaddowScrapbook

It’s publication day for Return To Wonderland! Fall down the rabbit hole and return to where it all began with this brand new selection of stories. I’m so proud to have my story ‘The Missing Book‘ in this stunning collection, illustrated by Laura Barrett. I hope you all enjoy!

Pictures taken at the Alice Cinema in Christchurch

Return to Wonderland on 27th June…

Swapna HaddowScrapbook

Just three more sleeps until the Return To Wonderland anthology, illustrated by Laura Barrett, is officially out.

I’m so chuffed to have been part of this gorgeous collection of stories alongside some of today’s biggest children’s authors including Robin Stevens, Pamela Butchart, Patrice Lawrence, Maz Evans, Lisa Thompson, Amy Wilson, Lauren St John and Piers Torday.

My story, ‘The Missing Book‘, revisits Carroll’s Mock Turtle in his Wonderland library – I had the most fun falling back down the rabbit hole and reimagining the Mock Turtle. I won’t give you any spoilers but I really hope you enjoy his story.

Happy reading everyone!

Dave Pigeon at Queenspark School

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

Today, I visited years 3, 4, 5 and 6 at Queenspark School as part of their Book Week celebrations.

We had a blast talking about imagination and creativity and giving Mean Cat the stories she never had in the Dave Pigeon series.

Mean Cat got to meet donkeys, toilets, ponies, a meaner cat and a whole lot of poop.

Thank you so much to the pupils and staff at Queenspark School and a HUGE thanks to super librarian Maree for making me feel so at home at Queenspark School.

The Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) Launch Party

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows, Patron of Reading Official Business, Roosting With Dave

Hurray hurray! The very brilliant Zac and my Patron of Reading school, Halswell School, hosted the Kiwi launch of Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) on Tuesday evening. Thank you very much to everyone who came along to celebrate and for those who didn’t manage to make it, here are some pictures from a most pigeontastic evening:

There were royal crowns for everyone.
Dave and Skipper were on hand to greet the guests.
My gorgeous fluffer didn’t want to miss out on the action.
There was a most magnificent royal cake.
There were royal activity sheets…
…And royal Cheerio bird feeders.
We even had our very own Zac the librarian as MC!
Of course, there were many many selfies.
Before I got to my reading there was an extra-special message, from Sheena Dempsey, all the way from the UK.
Here I am, reading from Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!).
Thank you so much to everyone who came along and made it such a special event.

Dave Pigeon visits Ouruhia School

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

Yesterday, I was invited to speak to the pupils at Ouruhia School. This was the very first time I was taking Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) into a school and I was excited to meet the pupils and see what that thought of the new book.

I was greeted by a brilliant ‘Swapna Haddow’ display in their warm, cosy library.

Years 0 to 4 joined me for a Royal Pigeon character creation workshop and we designed character crowns together. There was a Prince Hamburger, a pigeon in a flying squirrel suit, a royal rabbit and a royal cat amongst many more pigeontastic characters.

Next, I met with the older pupils and we talked about creativity before writing our own Mean Cat stories together. There was lots of poo and deadly endings and I met many budding authors that morning.

Thank you so much to the staff and pupils at Ouruhia School, especially Maree, who made me feel so welcome in their wonderful school.

Dave Pigeon at Auckland Writers Festival

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows, Roosting With Dave

Kia ora, Readers! I’m back in Christchurch after an epic weekend away in Auckland at the Auckland Writers Festival.

I was so chuffed to be invited to this brilliant festival to take part in Family Day and introduce the Kiwi kids to Dave Pigeon.

Of course, I went along to as many events at the festival. The line up was impressive to say the least – I even got to see the prime minister Jacinda Ardern and the legendary Joy Cowley who was this year’s honoured writer.

On Sunday, I ran a session where I confessed to where my love for telling tales came from. The kids were so fantastic and had so many questions about writing a publishing we lost track of time!

Photo by Josie Shapiro

I had such a fantastic first trip to Auckland and have to say a huge thank you to Nicola Strawbridge and the team of volunteers who looked after me at the weekend.