Wintry weather

It’s been a very wet week. Winter officially starts on Tuesday and the temperatures plummeted (I tell you!) with a cold southerly blast over the country. Wellington escaped the worst but the garden has relished the soaking it has had.
This is the flooding in Dunedin and the main road has been cut down the east coast of the south island.

Sam’s game was cancelled yesterday – the first time he can remember in the last ten years.

Today was drier but there were showers over the harbour as we walked up the first part of the Southern Walkway.

We escaped getting wet until the last few minutes returning to the car along Oriental Parade.

I cooked borscht for lunch

and this afternoon am off into the garden to plant broad beans for the spring.

Winter approaching

Although we are nearing the end of autumn, the weather has been uncharacteristically warm and dry. Having said that we have had some rain over the past few days and more is forecast. I expect we will have some cold southerlies before long.

Firstly to tidy up a couple of things from last week’s post. I have found out some information (thanks to Noreen for the lead) on the Tinakori Hill Landmark.
From that link -
“The history of the Wellington area is displayed in the Landmark as snapshots within the circular vertical column of the structure where layers of subtly coloured aggregate and concrete mimic a profile that might be found in geological layers of rock and sediment. Each layer contains selected short descriptions of that point in history, for example Te Atiawa’s arrival in the 1820s and the introduction of electric trams in 1902.”

We had the first fire in the new fireplace on Monday night. Here Andy is rightly proud of his fire making abilities.

We also had a formal meal in the dining room. Ali cooked and it was jolly good.

I’m not sure why I look worried here!

Yesterday was Chatham Cup round one. Sam’s team had a rematch of the previous week’s fixture with Lower Hutt (which Petone lost 4-1). Again Petone scored first and played really good football through both halves. Sam made some great saves.

Just before full time Lower Hutt equalised although the striker appeared to be clearly off side (at least to Petone supporters). In extra time Lower Hutt scored from a penalty and Petone gave up the fight. Sam exhorted them to do better but to no avail. Sigh!

Today we did a walk round Otari Bush.

This is the 800 year old rimu

and a rata in flower.

Ali’s last weekend in Wellington

Ali is heading back up north after a few years in Wellington. We shall all miss her but she has promised to come back regularly to see us and offered us somewhere to crash in Tauranga or Whakatane or wherever she ends up. So we got together for a walk over Tinakori Hill and down through Trelissick Park.
There is a new installation on a clear patch of land over towards Wadestown. I can’t find any information about it but it seems to represent a history of the area in a mock geological sedimentary record.
In Wadestown, Liz found a swing to play on,

we saw a tui in a tree

and a wonderful nikau in a suburban garden.

A group photo was taken at the bottom of the valley.

We then repaired to our house for a pot-luck supper.

Sam did his wandering minstrel impersonation.

Everyone got stuck in with the washing up and we had to dig deep into the tea towel drawer. This Welsh flag dates from my days as a student in London in the late 60s.

The dining room has been returned to its former glory. I inherited my grandparents’ dining table and chairs. The chairs have been recovered and new casters put on the table.

Noreen has realised another ambition and installed a log burner in the front room fireplace. The surround has been plastered and awaits final painting. Some of our more creative friends decided it was a good spot for some impromptu graffiti art. Ostensibly it’s Ali’s farewell card but I’m not sure how she will take it with her. We now have to decide whether to paint over it.

Yesterday was Mothers’ Day here. Noreen was called into a delivery so Ali acted as surrogate for Jenny and Sam when they went for brunch.

The week before Jenny had a flat warming party. Sam went as a sailor.

Final Melbourne blog

This one's mainly pictures - first, the gorgeous and historic Hopetoun Tea Rooms where we had a wonderfully civilised afternoon tea on our last day:



Then the nearby Haigh's chocolate shop, also historic, having been open since 1915, where we stocked up on delicious hand-made chocolate goodies:


Both of these lovely shops are located in the stunning Block Arcade, one of the many old shopping arcades Melbourne boasts. They're all amazingly well preserved and the high ceilings, detailed mosaic floors and stunning stained glass really make you feel as though you've stepped back in time. I heart them muchly. This is the next one over from the Block, the Royal Arcade:


And lastly, on our final night we had dinner in the Italian heart of Melbourne, Lygon Street. We found a wonderful little resturant, with blue wine and a very forward waiter!!

Melbourne, Part Deux

So, on our second day in Melbourne, we decided to take a leisurely day of shopping and turn it into an endurance mission. As you do. We met up with Janie and Alice and ended up collapsing at a fabulous chain they have over in Oz called Theobroma, after theobromide, which is one of the active chemicals in chocolate. Mmm, chocolate... Unsurprisingly, then, the cafes make a point of their hot chocolates, which are basically just hunks of chocolate in a mug, with hot milk on top and a wee candle underneath to keep it warm:

Sort of like fondue, but without the dipping and consequent spilling and burning and pain. Or maybe that's just me?

Later that evening, mum, Ali and I went to a fabulously strange play, ostensibly based on the last days of Queen Elizabeth I, and afterwards decided the only sensible thing to do was go out for cocktails. The bright lights of the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex beckoned, so we went in, played the slots (it's only polite) and Ali turned out to be a regular pokie Queen!!!

The next day, in search of something entirely more wholesome, we preceded breakfast at Melbourne insitution Degraves with the ANZAC day parade, which was crazy huge:

Later on, continuing our healthy theme, we went for a bike ride with Alice, Jane and Melbourne-dwelling cousin Katie Hart, whose band the Young Heretics recently scored a record deal in Japan, of all places! If you so wish, you can download their album for FREE by going to their website and linking back to it on Facebook, Twitter or other social media of your choice.

It was an artistic day all round really, as the bike ride took us past lots of Melbourne's gorgeous public sculpture:

Some of which is very tactile and fun to play with/in:

Last post will follow in a couple of days, I reckon. :)

Update on the Garden

I know it's not as exciting as Jenny's post on Melbourne (and we are hoping for more from where that came) but I like my garden.

The veggie patch round the side of the house has been quite productive over the summer.

For reference here it was in January, all newly planted and bare;
then later in February with the beans reaching skyward and the spring onions looking healthy.

This is the situation now. The beans have been producing a good crop and still have a way to go I think. We have had many spring onions and they will last a little longer. The broccoli are starting to bolt so they may be destined for soup.

From the other end you can see beetroot and everlasting spinach (which I have just discovered is not really spinach!).

Finally a picture of the wood shed Andy has built us. The new fire is being installed as I write this. Expect photos soon!

And in soccer news, Petone beat Western Suburbs (who are normally a strong team) 2-1. Sam was MVP! Well done all.