A wind gets up in the night. The southerly gusts rattle all the old windows in the hotel and play the sash counterweights like wind chimes. Every now and then a sound I can’t place goes past. It’s like a helicopter is passing close but then disappearing as fast as it came.When I leave for…
Category: Life
Travel : Came on Holiday by Mistake – Geometry, Fire, Iron and Whisky
I breakfast at a vibrant bakery that also does café service. A dome of scrambled eggs , sausage patty , confit mushrooms and glazed ham all spiked with Szechuan crispy chilli oil. A family dressed like it’s 1983 walk along Lower Stuart Street. They are animatedly discussing the city’s wifi service. They head into one…
Travel : Came on Holiday by Mistake – City of Industry
In the morning I note that a bible has jumped to it’s death out of one of the adjoining rooms window. Perhaps it has died so that I may live. I set out in search of breakfast. Dunedin is a city that makes stuff. OR at least it always has been. Wilsons Whisky, Cadbury Chocolate,…
Travel : Came on Holiday by Mistake – There is much evil in the world and a great suffering in my head
I slowly become aware of my continuing existence on this mortal coil. Limbs seem to be unhindered , for the moment my gastric processes seem sound . But my head. God . My head. There is a bastard behind the eyes. It feels like a pig shat in my head. What do you mean we…
Travel : Came on Holiday by Mistake – By the sea but not of the sea
We pull into Oamaru . The roads are being resealed, dust rises as utes and trucks drive over the metal road surface. A haze fills the sky . I disembark, head to the Lagonda Tea Room. From it’s attached bakery next door I buy the last mutton pie. I walk down to where the railway…
Travel : Came on Holiday by Mistake – Up with the ghosts
I wake early. Shannon was out last night so I creep around the house, feed the dog, dress and set out with Rubes for an early morning walk. I head up past my family home where the light tells me mum has stirred and is starting her day. I walk a road edged by bush…
Travel : Came on Holiday by Mistake – Holiday at Home
I found myself coming on holiday by mistake. Not because we had lifted a key from Uncle Monty but because a work event I booked for had moved dates when I had already booked tickets and set up dog care. So I found myself setting off for 4 nights in Otago with one night in…
The Year of the Garden
This year I have put a lot of effort into my veg garden. As the pandemic rages on, the world teeters on the edge of another world war and far right conspiracy theorists attempt sedition an hour down the road the garden seems like a good place to hide. New raised beds and lots of new…
Life : On mortality , mobility and riding a bike.
On mortality , mobility and riding a bike. My father died last year after a decade of creeping dementia. In his end he followed his mother right down to dyeing at the same 70 years of age. This weekend in particular I find myself missing him.Both my father and my grandfather were competitive road cyclists,…
Raise the Dawn 