Not So Bad

A new cafe has opened next to my regular dairy/convenience store. I’ve been in a couple of times but this morning I noticed they have a naughty corner. 

Not a bad spot for a bit of time out. 

High Tide

It’s a bit hard to see but I got to work Tuesday sporting a high tide mark. 

This was the result of standing at the bus stop in torrential swirling rain with thunder and lightning rolling around. Thanks to a proper coat that keeps me dry down to my knees at least I wasn’t sitting on a damp bum all day. 

Arty cups

Both Te Matatini and Womad had the same paper cups and not your boring old plain ones either.  Fully recyclable, beautifully decorated and multi purpose.

Definitely says something about my festival diet that two of these are ice cream and the other is coffee. 

Art

For the last few months I’ve been watching a pile of sand slowly change shape. It’s part of an exhibition at work and is designed to shift over its time in the gallery. I thought I’d taken a picture of it on opening day, if I did I can’t find it but this is what it looked like yesterday. 

You’ll have to trust me that it started out as a perfect cone and that it’s sparkly, black west coast sand. It’s called Whenua (Land) and is about the shifting permanence of our places. 

Epic

Epic pretty much sums up the last few weeks. Te Matatini was followed by Womad, another fantastic weekend of friends, food and brilliant music. When I got home I realised that, between those two events, my love of a good T-shirt might have also become a bit epic. 

In my defence a good number of those on the right are to be gifted. Holding on to the fact that I’m supporting local businesses and artists. 

Changes

After a month or more of hot sunny weather it’s feeling a bit autumnal. On Wednesday the weather app wasn’t helping - 13 feels like 3. 

Finals!

I’ve spent the week at Te Matatini in New Plymouth. It’s the biannual Kapa Haka festival/competition and this year it’s the biggest ever, 55 teams competing for 12 places in the finals. It’s been epic and today, the last day, is shaping up to be the same. We got here super early by our standards and joined the queue. 

The weather’s been amazing too.