Jaunts

I finally made it back to dear old Nelson/Whakatū to catch up with some very dear people on Tuesday 29th October, 2024. It’s almost 3 years since I left so it was very exciting. First stop was an AirBNB to leave my bag, then straight to Stoke to meet up with Sue. We had a lovely chat and attended a talk by author Jacqueline Bublitz who was interviewed by Suzie Ferguson. More chatting over another cuppa was just lovely. I have so missed my friends.

Wednesday was the perfect day for a bus trip from the city to the end of the line in Richmond. I was delighted to find that the bus stops outside MacMillan’s Gallery in Bateup Road, where I found Saralinda and Hugh waiting for me. We had a great lunch at the Craftsman Cafe on site and a long chat – but were too busy talking to take any photos.  It was lovely to see them both, plus pictures of the 3 grandchildren, so adorable.

Graham and I met up early evening for pizza and a chat which was great. We then wandered up to the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts for a performance of Couch Stories. There were 10 short stories on the theme of “Time”. It was a rollercoaster of emotion from laugh out loud to trauma, an amazing experience. Returning to my AirBNB after dark, the lights came on when I opened the gate. The way up the stairs to the cottage was lit by hundreds of fairy lights along the shrubs and handrails, and at the deck on top more tiny lights festooned the trees and shrubs and even the roses round the door. What a magical little cottage it appears after dark.

When Thursday came it was time to meet up with Thushari at Red Gallery, such a happy reunion. Then a walk round town to see all the street art displays. This was followed by a visit to a favourite Artist, Barbara Franklet at Mockingbird Studio. We had a tram\ndt chat and I was able to view her recent work in real life, which was so special. Barbara won Gold for her painting shown at the Queenstown Art Festival last month and is one of 4 Finalists nationwide.

As I was walking past Jens Hansen,The Ringmaker, I recalled when Trevor and I had looked in that window more than 40 years ago before deciding to have a golden sapphire set into a ring designed by Jens himself. For some reason I then went inside the showroom. A young woman asked if she could show me anything, and I replied that I had come to show her something – a Jens Hansen creation from the dark ages. Well, it caused a stir, with the staff oohing and cooing and exclaiming that they had not seen its like. They polished up the gold, (would have cleaned the stone, except I was short of time) and asked if they could take photos of what they called “a relic” for their historic records. No, they meant the ring, not me. So that was rather fun and heart-warming, a nice encounter. It may not be “the world’s most famous ring”, but it may be the best beloved.

Friday was the final day of the Nelson Arts Festival and we had many plans, but Covid 19 had other ideas. I limited my visits accordingly. First stop was Cultural Conversations to Make Art not War – where I folded the worst Crane for Peace ever made. On to the WAKA OF DREAMS: PUNANGA POHEWA at Refinery Art. This crochet art is beyond imagining and is quite stunning in its scale and impact. A short visit to Parker Gallery completed my gallivanting for the day.

Saturday arrived as a perfect day for a highlight reunion with Heather and a sunny walk around Monaco at full tide. What a glorious spot it is. We passed the usual picnic spots that Trevor and I used to visit and talked about all kinds of things. We managed to work up a healthy appetite and visited renowned restaurant Brick Eatery where we feasted royally and had the best time. This was our first experience of charred lettuce – who would believe it could taste so good? All too soon it was time to head for the airport and my return to the big smoke. I’m so lucky to have caught up with so many dear friends and family….I do hope they will visit me in the not-too-distant future.