Tuiscope page header graphic showing Mt Pirongia, some hydrangeas and two Tuiscope logo tuis.

I have a life-partner called Jeff and two children, Leith and Heather (see below). Both my children are very argumentative and self-opinionated but also highly motivated achievers in their own completely differentThe bird who inhabits my business cards. ways and very good-looking !

I split from their dad, an Auckland boatbuilder and sailor, many years ago when the kids were young but we got on okay so I lived as a next door neighbour while the kids were growing up so they didn't ever lose their dad. They used to sniff outside both kitchens before deciding which house to eat at each night.

I also have a sister, three brothers, a step-brother, and a mother. I am working on having all of them on this page eventually - they are certainly a sufficiently entertaining bunch of people to warrant it. This is where I'm up to so far:

Jeff
I've been in a stable relationship with my partner Jeff Tucker since 1992. He is an aluminium joinery engineer for an Auckland company called Thermosash. So he sits in his office here in the wilds of Te Pahu and helps to build skyscrapers in big cities far away. He telecommutes to work and pops up to Auckland for the day about five times per year if that.
He's always been some kind of endurance athlete. Was an excellent marathon and half marathon runner, has done the Ironman triathlon twice and is now focussed on road cycling and mountain biking, which we often do together.

He is super-lean, very fit, sometimes grumpy, sandy haired, blue eyed and cute. But he was born in 1947 into the meaner backstreets of Hull in Yorkshire, in a grim postwar England so he is a tough little cookie and won't be pushed around. He was married before and has two tall blond sons both now in their thirties. Even now I am still only the 2nd woman in his life - top girl is Phoebe the cat. She gets away with murder. Imagine what he'd do to me if I strolled across the keyboard of his computer several times a day and messed up his work - but she gets away with it.

Jeff Tucker tries to work at his computer while Phoebe the cat strolls around on his keyboard adoring him. Jeff Tucker, riding his Colnago bike. He is dressed in a fiery-coloured cycling top.
Jeff and Phoebe building skyscrapers together. Jeff half way through a very hard bike race called the Waitomo "No Whimps" ride.

Leith
My son was born in 1983. He is my older child, and is an engineering student at AUT in Auckland. He is towards the end of his bachelor's degree now and working hard to achieve his goals. He is a mad keen windsurfer and spends every spare second on the water being blown about like ocean spray in the wind over the waves.

He has a talent for drawing, anything from technical drawing to portraits, something which has been handed down to him from his father and grandfather, but I think Leith has more talent than both of them. He is also very articulate and politically -minded - will very likely be prime minister one day.

He refuses to let me photograph him (even though he is very gorgeous) so I have very few pictures. Folks say he looks like Prince William but Prince William isn't a patch on Leith. He can't stop me snapping him when he's out on the water so that is about the only photo I have of him that is recent. The other one I pinched off the web site of the Society of Student Enginneers at AUT (he'll kill me when he finds out) where he was fooling around with his mates and showing off his bulging biceps - Like a big macho toad.
Click to see the complete pictures
Leith Simpson windsurfing Leith Simpson grinning like a wild hyena and showing off his muscles.
Windsurfing Showing off at AUT

Heather
My beautiful daughter is saving the world. Born in 1986, she now works for Greenpeace, and is an energetic activist for conservation causes and being a songwriter, singer and guitar-playing busker, she also works tirelessly to make the world a better place for buskers. She recently spent her Christmas holidays in the South Island, in Happy Valley, helping to save the rare native Augustus snails which are being moved out of Happy Valley by the conservationists, in order to save them before the mine opens.
She is mourning the loss that will happen in Happy Valley if she can't stop the miners from destroying everything in that beautiful place. She has named her old black van "Augustus" after the snails . In the photos below she is about to set off for Happy Valley. It must have taken her months to save the money she needed to do this trip but achieved a cherished dream by doing it and now describes the whole experience as a highlight of her life.
Heather got the assistance of artistic friends to help her decorate her van in a way that reflects everything that is important to her. She proudly proclaims herself to be a hippy. Like her brother, she is artistic and highly articulate.

LATEST ON HEATHER!
She is planning to organise a "Zero Carbon Walk" from Auckland to Happy Valley this summer. Wooohooo!
Here's her web site about it. It's called Walk the Walk. (Wouldn't mind going along with her.)

These are cropped miniature photos of Heather and her famous van "Augustus".

Click them to see the complete picture full size.

 Heather sits on the outdoor table singing and playing her guitar with a glass of wine beside her and the open countryside shining green behind her Heathersmiles out from the drivers seat of Augustus. "GE Free NZ" sticker visible on car. Heather Simpson's van Augustus with the words saying "Life is about the journey - not the destination" painted in brilliantly coloured letters all over the rear.
Heather sings and drinks wine on Christmas day at home in Te Pahu Heather boards Augustus and takes off to the South Island Augustus from the rear. This view can frustrate fast drivers.
Augustus from the front Augustus from the side at the back Augustus from the side at the front Augustus from the other side.

My Younger Siblings

In order of age, starting with the oldest who is . . .

Joe Allen
A rockstar yachtie - during his prime racing years he was often referred to by those who know as "The best Bowman in the World". He is currently the sailing coach for Team NZ. Whatever boat Joe sailed on - it always seemed to win. When Joe was with Chris Dickson, Chris was the best in the world. When Joe was on the bow for Team NZ - they never lost a race. His life has been dedicated to sailing. He is a professional yachtsman still and travels the world to sail all the big races and series.

I once organised a blind date for Joe with the girl I had thought for years would suit him. He loved her at first sight - I knew he would, but luckily she liked him too! Now they are married with three gorgeous children.

Joe is five years younger than me and as a child he was the most annoying of all my little siblings.

Joy Adams
My nutty sister Joy is 7 years younger than me. She is a total goofball with not one nasty bone in her whole body. She is also a highly skilled and talented sailor who has represented NZ internationally and once won a world championships women's keelboat sailing event in the States. Her skipper was Leslie Egnot.

Joy is a sailmaker and has worked on America's Cup campaigns as a sailmaker all her life. She has been a sailmaker for some of the NZ America's Cup campaigns as well but was involved with AC campaigns since before NZ was even doing them! Sometimes instead of sailmaking she does race commentary instead - she was the Telecom race commentator last time the Cup was in NZ - that was the disaster AC series. Joy could earn millions by re-enacting her commentaries for those disastrous races on television - she is forced to do it for the family at every family gathering - she remembers them word perfect and she has us all rolling on the floor in agonies of mirth every time she does it. Her re-enactments of her commentaries of that campaign are utterly priceless.

If I am sailing with a female crew I'd rather have Joy at the helm than any other woman I have ever sailed with. She has the magic touch.

She was the force behind the family doing the Great Lake relay in 2005 (which Photos I must upload here one day.)

She has two daughters at school.

Mike Allen
The baby of the family is also the biggest of us all now. And guess what! He's a cyclist too! As a child he was the most naturally talented sailor in a family of talented sailors, and he too has represented his country in sailing events, but gave it all up for his beloved wife and children. He has two children at school too - a son and a daughter. They are talented athletes like both their parents. Their mother, Betty is a fit and speedy runner.
Like me, Mike turned to cycling later in life and it was immediately evident that he was very talented at that also. He has done the murderous K2 race in under 6 hours which, for a guy in his mid-forties, puts him in a fairly elite level of cycling. During that race I was his supporter and was about as bad as a supporter could be, never being in the right place with the right stuff at the right time - too busy taking photos of the other cyclists for my web sites - he said lots of very rude words to me, when he did see me (always in the wrong places) but he still came in under 6 hours proving himself to be both independent and resilient.
As always in his life - he puts his work and family before his own sporting activities and lately has been going overseas on business so often, he has not been able to ride as much as he would like.

My three Younger Siblings -Click for the full picture
Joe - rockstar yachtie sailing on Sayonara Joy about to unleash her awesome forces Mike training for K2 - he went under 6 hours.

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