Some photos

Above is a photo I took, showing our river Avon which runs through the middle of Christchurch. This one was taken during the Chinese New Year festival and the bright lights across the bridge were really red lanterns - it was very festive! We love going to the festival - all the fun, food and culture is great. The punter is part of Christcuhrch every day of the year almost. I like the way he crept out of the shaows to be in my photo!

This is a mask in a shop in Oamaru - huge shop floor in an old building. Each year in the old part of town they have a festival and everyone dresses up in olden day clothes and it is a fantastic day out!

And finally, for Owen, my old car "bone yard" photo. If you click on it you will see better, but I suspect the words on the car say it all!

Going Back

As Neil Young said, I feel like goin' back....

Here is a photo that my mother found. It was taken approximately 1909 and the young girl in the front with the pigtails is my Grandmother. How amazing that we have pix of these things. My grandmother probably only had paintings of her family, if she had anything at all other than memory! I can see a few likenesses (if thats even a word) in some of our close rellies. Apparently when my Grandmother wa a lot older (about 1955) she went to a small village either in or near Mevagissey (in Cornwall, UK I believe) and went into a shop to post a letter only to be met by someone who was a deadringer for her brother. Yep, they were related but how weird would that be....travel several thousand kilometres to bump into someone who looked like you, and was related...without even trying? It's a bit redneck.

And do you remember this wee rabbit, Daisy? Turns out Daisy was a fraud. Daisy, like Gretel, is a bloke rabbit. So far these rabbits have cost me more than the fare to Sydney for a dirty weekend. Anyone got any good recipes??

A very brief deviation down memory lane

I am blaming Owen for this post.

This is a photo I took when in Amsterdam, a particularly charming hairdressers in the background - you may need to enlrage the photo to see the name clearly. Lost in translation perhaps? Or the original Sweeney Todds??

Here in Calais, someone has put the rubbish out - which included a bidet!
And last but not least the bike with a very bent back wheel and another round the corner with artistic parking! the bike's were in Amsterdam as well. I really love it there.

So, there ya go. And can you believe it, those photos were taken on my old Pentax K1000 so i had to scan them in....I felt old as it is only a quick process these days with the digital camera to download and post.

Here in NZ the media at least are in a fever about Swine Flu, and there were 14 new cases reported here in Canterbury overnight. Everyone is wondering how they will bring home the bacon if they are forced off work, and schools closed etc. As my Granny used to say "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger".

Is it just me?

Is it just me, or does everyone feel like this.....



after they're approached/accosted in the supermarket to see if they want to "self check-out?"

No, I say, and if I ever do get that depressed they can be sure they will be the first to know. This thing really annoys me, you don't get your groceries any cheaper because you're doing the checkout job FOR EVEN LESS than the pittance they pay the workers anyway. Its mad becasue they usually have a staff member assigned to that particular check out too.

Or maybe I'm just a grumpy sod today?

Too much information

I went to visit a worksite the other week. I do this quite a lot in my job but this visit was slightly different in that I only went as far as the office.
This meeting was with the site health and safety team. (No, don't switch away just yet....it does get exciting, I promise!!)

Anyway, we all filed in and did the introduction things. The company HR manager was there too and happily introduced herself and the "others". She is rather on the cuddly side, British with proper clipped accent and everything.

We were there to discuss migrant workers and how best to accommodate their health and safety needs while they were learning better English (or Kiwi).

I mentioned that at a recent site I had visited there were some Egyptian workers who had just started.

Aforementioned HR Manager leaned forward and excitedly announced that she "had a Brazilian".

None of us knew where to look and the young Union rep beside me (in HIS early 20s) nearly exploded at the mental image no doubt we all had!

In memory of Clare

For Clare – Amanda Stephens ©


Russet leaves flatter the earth
Mornings wring wet,
jagged afternoons

We cluster in droves at footpath cafés
Cappuccino frothing like gossip on our lips
Summers’ last stolen twitch

And all the while

That callous harpy that is death
Scrapes her nails
Across the blackboard
of life.







RIP, Clare.