Day One – Thurs 26 July – Christchurch

Weird day because I was sort of tucked up in a corner of the Square so most of the people who dropped by were stranded travellers trying to get into X-base (other than the bunch of guys playing football on my back lawn).
Had an interesting conversation with Sue from Littleton who reckons I should take a trip out there with the house. The only problem is that I’d need a trailer cos there is no way I’m gonna try taking this thing apart again


So this woman had met me before in Auckland apparently, not that I can remember. Show me your shoes again and I might recall. Anyhow, she now works here in this bar on the left and she brought me some biscuits just at the moment that I’d tagged with Milton who was holding the fort while I went to the loo, Bummer!


This is living proof that Wanganui really is the best town in the world to live in if your sole criteria is the level workmanship of the paving bricks. For the rest of the world, we gotta just suffer.

Comparative sculptural study




Officially the first ever person in Christchurch to come visit, you get the special prize of the $12 pizza. Actually judging by the lack of brown faces round here he’s probably from outta town.



Comparative sculptural study number 2. I bought this tea cup for 20c at the Salvation Army store in town. The guy at the photocopy shop laughed at me when I asked him for directions ‘why would I wanna know where Sally’s is?’ Well buddy, don’t bother looking for green-lipped tea cups for 20c anywhere else in town cos I got ‘em.

The note on the right is from a girl called Kirsty who drew this for me when I was in Auckland. She said she worked in a bar but she looked young enough to still need a baby sitter. Am I getting older? Funny how when you get down this low to the ground any uniform at all gives you a sense of authority. The article above is from NZ Herald all about how rich Aucklanders would like to live somewhere nicer and not have to pay so much.

Wed 25 July – Picton to Christchurch

The number of days I’ve gotten up this early to see the sun rise I could count on one hand, I kept running that saying my mother used to use through my head – red sky at night shepherds delight, red sky in morning shepherds warning – but I really can’t see the sense in it. What’s the difference exactly? Today was like the return of Autumn in Christchurch proving not only my mother wrong but also every one of my friends who insisted I take twenty jerseys with me. So I bailed out the jerseys, the hot water bottle, the sleeping bag, the leather jacket, the possum fur socks, and starting putting together Baby part III complete with new paint job and classy new aluminium corners.
Was working at the art gallery in Christchurch, they have some pretty flash carpenters working there so was feeling a little self conscious about my dodgy building work, splashing on plenty of paint to cover things up. Sure is a nice space though that gallery (at least the back of it is where the workshops are), pity there are so many locks around. These are some pictures I took with my camera on self timer so that I could pretend to be shot at work. Honk! That guy is posing.
Today I was thinking today about how many houses I’ve lived in. Well there was my folks house in Masterton for the first 18 years then a run of about thirty houses since. So apart from the fact that this is the first house I’ve owned, this is also the first house I’ve managed to hang on to. So I figure the idea of moving house but taking it with me isn’t such a bad idea. I mean, it does fit in a car after all. I will count them up for tomorrow and see if I can list every house I’ve lived in. I’m prepared to bet it’ll be greater than the number of girls I’ve slept with. Either way this is potentially a sad indictment of my inconsistent personality.

Goodnight and thank you Auckland

Yep - so that was it Auckland. Saturday was the big send off, had a thousand cups of tea, scones, Peter thanks for the Shortbread coconut men, Caoimhe thanks for the sit-in, John thanks for the pancakes, the chocolate and passionfruit combo was memorable!

Highs and lows? Well, I reckon that's the most intense period of meeting people I've had in a long time, have a bunch of phone numbers and written notes to get through. The Scrabble matches were hard to beat, the guy who wanted to piss on my roof never followed through with it. High street really is fashion capital of inner Auckland, the korean pancakes on Wellesley street which got passed through my window were phenomenal, Jean with her information of Treaty issues had me intrigued, as did the American Architect, the Chilean artist, the school girls on their way to rehearsal, the Brazilian exchange student, Trudy and her pictures, Nicole and Rose for their weird colouring-in drawings.... adios amigos until next time.

Albert Park had the locals looking sideways


Caoimhe and Jen - on great form as usual.
Andriu trying to figure out the mathematics behind it all, he'll get there eventually.

The aftermath - anyone any good with a vacuum?

The dream of affordable homes... voila!

new meetings

This guy - his identity shall be hidden for the moment - was just on his way to getting the snip! Yeah that's right folks, the big snip down there, I thought it only right that I should take his portrait.
Insurance guys see things sideways
best dress man in Wyndham st. with a close second going to those firemen
the original insurance guy. Would you trust him? Course you would

This is what pregnant girls do to keep warm on a thursday afternoon. Look forward to seeing what develops G!

Scrabble pics from Trudy

Trudy sent me these - very ace photos. This is Josh versus the Russians.

Durham St Fashionistas

Style Meisters on Durham St today - what is it, the weather? Scrabble seems to be taking a turn for the better with Josh on his second round today. Great neighborhood though, good food, the friendly locals. A harbour view would make it complete.

St Mary's gals after Chemistry exam.

Wellesley St panoramas