A (mostly) quiet day

Today I went to Brighton with my little mother

 and my good friend, Bon.

We went to a quiet day/retreat. 

Well it was supposed to be a quiet day

and for the most part it was.

Little mother and I walked down to the beach in the morning,

and we took Bon back down in the afternoon for a stroll.

I have to confess that while the three of us were together,

shock horror, we Talked!! Oh dear!!

It was a beautiful, warm day and my little mother

 and I sat out in the sun for lunch.

Yes, in this little glade behind the church, 

on these two very uncomfortable chairs. 

I noticed another lady had a beach roll that she just lounged on

 and looked a lot more comfy than we were.

Mind you, my little mother did manage to doze off 

for a few minutes in the sun.

These funny looking things were growing on a vine out there

 and I asked one of the locals what they were

(after it was all over, you realize, I did behave most of the time). 

I'd never seen them before.

Apparently they are banana passion-fruit. 

I was tempted to pick some but thought I'd better not.

And just for fun I wanted to show you the welcome mat

 outside the back door of the hall, 

I had a good chuckle over this. 

 Somehow I don't think this door is used very often.

***************************

I forgot to take my camera with me

so took these pics on my cell phone. 

The sun was so bright I couldn't see the screen,

so just pointed and hoped.

Now I'm hoping they don't disappear

on me at some point in the future.

Hoping this finds you all well, 

have a good week,

Diana

Through the track (part two)

As promised I have finally taken another walk 
through the track and taken photo's on the other side. 

Apart from this one. 

I couldn't resist. Cows have such beautiful eyes.

 I'm not sure that they were 'girl' cows though, 

I think they may have been juvenile boys, so I didn't tarry long.

Juvenile boys of any kind can be a bit unpredictable.

They were in the paddock where previously

the horse had been looking over the electric fence.

This side of the track is more cultivated than the other side.

I was going to say more civilised 

but thought that would be rather rude of me, haha.

But you'll see what I mean.

Horses relaxing in the spring sunshine.

The pine trees at the back are 

actually quite a distance away, 

across a road well behind the front houses.

Sheep in a paddock at back 

with deer fencing in the front. 

The deer fences are two metres high, 

to stop the deer escaping. 

No deer there today though.

A sheep, alpaca and horse 

at the racecourse end of the track. 

I thought they were all sharing the same 

paddock but no, the horse is further back.

A fairly traditional farm house,

when it was built it would have been regarded

 as rather a flash place - right up to date.

These days it may have the farm labourer 

and his family living in it,

or the original farmer with his wife,

 while the son will have built himself a new 'flash' place

just down the road a bit where Dad could keep an eye on him.

The entrance and driveway to a 'new flash' house.

If you look really hard you can just see the corner of 

the house behind the trees near the left side of the picture.

And back to the start,

from whence we came.

I hope you've enjoyed taking another stroll 

through the track with me in the spring sunshine.

It was lovely and warm with no breeze

and a hawk (aka: swamp harrier) circling overhead.

Until next time,

take care,

Diana

A controversial cathedral

Last weekend my GKB and I made a flying visit

 to Christchurch to visit an old friend who is ill.

While we were there we caught up with our eldest grandson

 who took us into the city centre to have a look at 

how things were progressing since the earthquakes in 2011.

The three of us at the Container Mall

part of the Container Mall

 A container mall has opened up where there used to be high rise buildings and it is rather a nice place to be. I thought it was a good example of thinking outside the square when it came to getting some of the businesses up and running again.

 It had been rather eerie walking among the damaged buildings and seeing cordoned off shops with their goods still all on display!

What I really want to show you today though,

 is ChristChurch Cathedral. 

My GKB and I were there just 12 months earlier 

and took photo's inside the cathedral as well as out.

Here are a few of the before photo's.

from Cathedral Square

As you can see from the scaffolding, 

repair and restorative work was going on.

looking from just inside main doors

beautiful stained glass

inside the Pacific Island Chapel, looking over to the visitor centre

The Rose window above the main doors with murals underneath

 My grandson and I went for a short walk, left my GKB and grandsons friend to chat as my bloke's sore leg was playing up.

He took me for a walk around the cathedral,

starting on the south side and then around the back.

South eastern end

I didn't think it looked too bad, all things considered.

I could understand why there is a large group 

of people wanting to restore it to it's former glory.

Then we came around to the western side proper.

That was a different story!

This is the side the tower and spire was on

It is quite devastated, 

(grandson related it to being like a medieval ruin),

and now I know why another group of people

 want to push it  over and build anew.

There is quite a controversy about it and it's a real dilemma.

 from the front, the tower and spire was to the left

ChristChurch Cathedral was the heart 

of Christchurch City, which is why there

 is such an emotional reaction to it being pulled down.

I hope they find a solution that will 

make most of the people happy.

**********

Have a wonderful week,

till next time,

Diana

Through the track (part one)

I dropped my little mother off after church last Sunday

 and thought I'd go for a walk through the track

 just around the road from her place.

I had the trusty old camera with me and took a picture or two.

I wish I'd taken more so I could show you

 how different one side of the track is from the other.

But that's okay, a project for another day.

This end of the track has poles across it to deter road traffic.

 The other end is open so that stock trucks 

and the private vehicles 

of  homeowners can enter, and preferably, exit.

Someone has come along and dug the middle post out, 

you can see the mark where it had been buried to.

On this day I saw an older man drive up, 

remove the post, drive through then replace it.

I suppose if he had driven right around the paddocks

 it wouldn't have taken much longer than it took to do all that.

Still it takes all types to make this world interesting.

I'll take you down the left hand side today.

As you exit the beginning of the track

 is this sheep race, used for getting the sheep

 onto the trucks to go to the freezing works. 

'Nuff said.

Over the gate, and the electric fence,

 who's looking at who?

A general view from the roadside.

A thrush on that same gate, old stables and sheds.

I thought he would fly away when he heard the camera

 but no, he turned around and posed for me.

Looking towards town across the paddocks.

Firewood and storage shed.

Racehorses and mares out at pasture 

at the other end of the track.

There is a racecourse in this area and 

quite a few stables and horse studs.

Time to turn around and head back to the car.

I hope you've enjoyed a little walk 

with me on a cool spring afternoon.

I'll do the other side another day.

Wishing you all well 

for the rest of the week.

Diana

America's cup

Allow me to be a little parochial today.

We are watching the America's cup races 

and now that Oracle (USA) has points on the board,

 and racing, it's exciting, nail biting stuff.

My father loved sailing, sailed as a boy,

but we never did. He knew all the nautical terms,

 we don't, but we enjoy watching the competition races.

Especially at the moment.

We are getting up an hour early, 

well my GKB is, to watch the races.

I generally get up in time to watch the second 

race of the day while I have breakfast.

We know it's not over till the fat lady sings,

 or the last race is over,

but at the moment it's looking good and we're 

hoping for the two more wins we need 

to bring the cup home. 

Again.

Go Team New Zealand, 

we're all "leaning with you" 

and wearing our red socks!

A late afternoon walk

Spring has arrived and today was nice and warm.

So later this afternoon  I went walking.

 I was surrounded by other like minded people.

Some of them had two legs and feathers.

Trust me, there is a duck in the middle of this photo, 

he or she decided to depart to the opposite bank

 as soon as I got my camera out.

It's mate went even further away.

Some of them had four legs and bounced

 around with the joy of life.

And some of them were just like me with two arms and two legs, 

although some were on wheels, 

and some just sat and made mud pies at the top of the bank.

Some intrepid souls even had their arms and legs on show,

but not I, oh no. 

It's still not warm enough for that sort of behaviour, 

not for this lass anyway.

Have a great week,

Diana

I am a 'Coaster'

I am not a native southerner,

I am a 'Coaster'.

That is, I hail from the West Coast of the South Island. 

It is a rugged area with three main towns, 

and a quite a few smaller towns 

(which might be called villages in another land).

I am a small town girl.

Taramakau River on the West Coast

It is quite a beautiful area.

It is also quite a depressed area in that

 there are not a lot of job opportunities. 

Some of us left to get on in life.

The natives are very parochial 

and once a 'coaster', always a 'coaster'.

part of the CBD of my home town

So when I met and married my GKB 

we ended up living in his home town, 

which is a city. Not large by world standards,

 a provincial city, but it was mind boggling to me.

We were also further south 

and it took me a long time to acclimatise. 

But this is a beautiful city, 

and I now love living here. 

I just wish it were a little warmer!!

I'd like to show you a few photo's we took 

a few years ago of some 

of the buildings about the city.

First Church, Presbyterian

Apartments, the front building was a church in another life

Apartments and business premises

Flats and offices

Business premises and flats near the CBD

Back of the Town Hall and clock

Restaurant and apartments

You will see that there are a lot of architectural styles,

we also have more modern concrete and glass structures

and it all adds to the richness, beauty

 and diversity of our lovely city. 

I hope you've enjoyed having a little look around 

where I live. 

No, that's not quite right, this is our city 

but we live in a small town on the edge. 

Just 20 minutes in the car.

We were a borough in our own right when

 I moved here but now we are a suburb

and the boundaries are getting blurred.

I'm going to wish you all a goodnight now and go to bed. 

It is getting late on a Saturday night, yawnnnn.

Have a great week,

Diana