New Year greetings from New Zealand
Lorraine Hayne admits that if she knew she would never live in Ireland again when she first made the move to New Zealand in 1991, she probably wouldn’t have gone there!
Despite her initial reservations, the mother of two, from Puttaghaun in Tullamore, says New Zealand has been “very good” to her family. “We are fortunate to have two grown up children, and we live in a country which is beautiful, has great weather and the people are very friendly.”
Lorraine met her husband in a pub in Croydon, London, when she was living in England. “I moved to New Zealand for six months and I am still here today” she says “although if I had to know then that I would never live in Ireland again, I’m not sure I would have made that move.”
Having just spent “a very quiet Christmas Day” at their home in Napier with her husband, mother in law, daughter and son, Lorraine Hayne says the worst thing about being so far away from home, especially at Christmas, is having no family around.
She has fond memories of Christmas past in Offaly and says she misses “just the feel of Christmas, the atmosphere and family” and the distance from home has been compounded by Covid “as we just can’t get on a plane and go home.”
Like most other countries, the presence of Covid meant the build up to Christmas in New Zealand was different this year. “”We have a traffic light system in place which reflects what cities can do due to vaccination rates and a lot of the Christmas entertainment was cancelled,” she says.
The best thing about living in New Zealand for Lorraine is “the great opportunities to get ahead and fantastic weather.” The family love spending time with friends in Mahia, which is a holiday destination, and this year they rang in the New Year “at the beach with friends.”
Lorraine would like to send special New Year greetings to her parents, brothers and sister, their partners, especially her twin brother, nieces and nephews, her Aunty Rose, Greta and Martina, Timmy and Mary, friends Paula and Anna Marie and of course, Brendan.