2017 has been a surprising year. We came to Auckland for Christmas and it turns out I’ll be staying all year. I was offered a fixed-term job till 15 December, which I have now begun. But I am here without any of the three people I love the most and that feels strange. Both our daughters moved away from Auckland in January, to Sydney and Dargaville respectively, to take up new jobs. Jim returned to Ipoh early in January and he is slogging away, without me to help on the home front. Separately we’re all having new experiences, which it will be wonderful to share when we’re all together again.