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| Originally from England (born 1970), Daniel Clive James Roger Rasputin Aldersley came to New Zealand while barely out of his nappies. From Wellington College he went on to Victoria University and was almost a straight A student. While he didn't play for Varsity Football, Dan, was the ref for our team for several years and earned the nickname Howard Kendall. I have no idea why? That was around the time that Dan finished at Vic and began working for a tax policy analyst at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). He stayed there for 6 years aside from a short spell as the Company Secretary of the New Zealand Game Industry Board. When he left he was a Senior Tax Policy Analyst. But Dan decided he wanted a career change. At the age of 28, Dan left his job, sold his apartment in Wellington and became a global traveller and adventurer in April 1998. No, he didn't need more time.� |
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| This photo was taken in June, 1998. Dan was in New York mainly catching up on his email after weeks in the jungle. He was also on holiday for a week on route to England to stay with his parents who live there. He had just arrived from six weeks of Mayan temples and Aztec ruins on a tour that took him from Costa Rica to Cancun. Before that he had had his baptism of fire in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dan was on the road. By the time he got to New York not only was he tired of temples, nacho's and burritos, he had also been out of contact with much of the outside world. This photo ia of a 21 year old Dan Aldersley at my flat in Mount Victoria. |
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| This photo was taken at the Calanques outside of Cassis, a small town where we stayed in the South of France near to Marseilles. Accidentally, we stumbled across a nude beach. Sunbathing in the buff. What the heck. You only live once. At least that was Dan's attitude. So what if he might shock some of the people back home in NZ.� After six long years at IRD, A a couple of months without working was just what the doctor ordered. But England wasn't the end of the road for Dan. I met up with him in Paris at the end of June 1998 and we went to a World Cup Soccer Game at the magnificent new Stade de France. Denmark beat Nigeria by a score of 4-1 but it could have been more. Then we travelled to Germany to drink wine at my friend Dieter's (see profile) before going on to the South of France for a much needed rest.� What a hectic month of adventures and mis-adventures for Dan. |
| Dan spent the night of July
12th (the night France won the World Cup) in the Champs Elysee in Paris.
Not just part of the night. The whole night. He hadn't expected to be there
but circumstances had forced it when his friend from NZ, Chris Gillian,
had got lost in Provence and Dan was left stranded. Dan returned to England
in mid-July and started looking for work. He now has a job as a pricing
analyst in London for Cable and Wireless. He spent a month in Canada in
March, 1999 travelling around and claims he was chased by a bear up in
British Columbia. But do we believe him? And what happened next?
Well, Dan turned up back in London in the spring of 1999 turned from a taxman into a telco man working for Cable and Wireless, where he was shortly promoted to Manager. From there he went to Bonn in the summer of 1999 for a few days. One night we went to the Jazz Gallery and that night would change life for Dan for it was there that he met a beautiful and attractive young Russian woman Lilia Gurewaja who Dan really hit it off with as we danced the night away. Also over the summer of 1999 we had an enjoyable week with the charming and eclectic hostess Ramona in Romania. But Dans' heart lay further east. And in November he went to Moscow to visit a lovely Russian woman (her name starts with an L and ends with an A) and his close friendship blossomed into a very special relationship. Indeed, at one point Lilia commented that she felt "The happiest girl in all of Russia, so happy was she at Dans thoughtfulness towards her." So Dan's trip to Moscow was a big success as he met somebody very special. But at the same time Dan met the lovely Lena who was also with Cable and Wireless and was soon to be transferred to London. Suddenly, Dan had gone from zero to hero. And upon his return to London he had some tough choices to make. Lilia or Lena? Who was it to be? The year 2000 was the year of Geronimo for Dan. Shortly after Lena moved to London they got together and within months were living together. Lilia was off the scene. Dan and Lena took trips together to Gibraltar, Paris, and back to Moscow and then at the end of 2000 they got married in Richmond. Dan learned a bit of Russian but he also commented that not learning Russian might also be an advantage as he didn't have to talk to his in-laws!! From 2001, Dan continued his rollercoast career in Telecoms moving from Cable and Wireless to World Com to Hutchisons to BT in 2003 and then in late 2003 Dan and Lena had a daughter, Sofia. 2004 sees them contemplating their future and a possible move. As of January 2005 Dan, and Lena and Sofia moved to New Zealand where both Dan and Lena work for Telecom New Zealand in Auckland and live a quiet life, irked sometimes by the small mindedness and remotelessness of New Zealand but happy that they are in a good place to bring up their daughter Sofia. |
| You can contact Dan over email at [email protected]� |