Deluge for NZ

 

Dunedin was on the fringe of the big storm that hit NZ this week, but we got heavy rain regardless.

A geek's world

The website is down...
Check this out .. it had me laughing out loud. Does that mean I am a geek? I don't think so.

Yolanda Kondonassis, harpist

I drew this recently at a concert by a trio that included harpist Yolanda Kondonassis. I was sitting in the front row next to two high school students who told me their teacher told them to watch the harpist's feet as a harp has seven pedals.

Andersons Bay in winter

 

Five (car) minutes from central Dunedin on an inlet from Otago Habour is Andersons Bay.

 

A causeway across the bay leads to the coast road of Otago Penninsula.

Footie fans and food

Footie fans at the Octagon. Science week was on as well in Dunedin and in the Future Food van you can see behind the footie fans I read that NZ has 0.3% of agricultural land under certified organic management. This compares to 2.7% for Australia, 3.9% in the UK and 14.2% in Austria. The chemical companies must love us.

Boaties on Otago Harbour

This group of boaties were pulling up their boat in the late afternoon yesterday. They seemed to be in a hurry and perhaps they were going to the rugby test.

Dunedin basks in the sun on 12 July

I flew back from Sydney prepared for bitter cold but it was 18C and the shuttle bus driver was in shirt sleeves. Today was just as warm which is lucky for the rugby fans here for the NZ/SA test match. City shops are decorated in black and white and Carisbrook Stadium is sold out.
Proponents of the controversial proposed new $90m rugby stadium will probably argue that this means the stadium should be built. However, a radio presenter lamented this morning that the money already spent on feasibility studies for the proposed stadium would have paid for a brand new sewerage treatment works to keep the beaches clean. The presenter also said that a University study had concluded there was a 95% chance that the stadium would be bankrupt before its first year was out. A survey to assess support for the stadium has been done. It was sent to ratepayers, but only the males. If the head of a household was a woman the survey form was not sent. That says it all really. Maybe the recession will knock the proposal on the head. I notice mortgagee sales are prominent in the local paper today.

On a happier note, the local farmers market held on Saturdays at the Railway Station goes from strength the strength. Stall holders basked in the unseasonal warmth today and shoppers dawdled, listening to the piper standing in the gardens next door. The piper was a high school girl and accompanied on the drum by her smaller sister. They were a great team.

Naidoc celebration

Children at Camdenville School in Newtown celebrate Naidoc week.

Out of the freezer

Brrr. The forecast for Dunedin is "bitter southwester with sleet and hail, clearing."
Time to escape the antarctic weather and head to Sydney.

More ceramic music

I put some more music ceramics online.

Sound Cloud

Sound Cloud, one of my ceramic pieces in the 'Handled' exhibition that opened this evening at Whiteroom at 31 Moray Place in Dunedin.

Handled

The ceramics and jewellery students are having an exhibition - it opens next Tuesday so we are all scurrying around tying up the loose ends.

20 seconds

Our eArt class project this morning was to create a 20 second video from images without restrictive copyright. Most of what I found was on US Government websites - US Dept of Agriculture for example. This is my 20 second video:

Saints stack pot

Perhaps they are not visible on this photograph, but this ceramic has images of saints on it. I made it after reading about a wealthy Russian who is collecting Russian icons from around the world and taking them back home.

Autumn

Stunning colours in Queenstown.

Central Otago

Anzac weekend in Queenstown.

There is no snow on Coronet Peak yet but I suppose it wont be long.

Autumn colour in the garden.

The Shotover River.

Cromwell Dam Reflections.

Sorry pots

Kevin Rudd says 'sorry' and I make ceramic sorry-pots.
Out of the pots emerge tender young shoots.


I think it is hard for people living this side of the Tasman to appreciate the change in Australia. Perhaps you have to have lived through the last 11 years in Oz.

20C to 5C

Yesterday was a mild, pleasant late summer; today is cold, stormy winter with snow on the hills. The long spell of mild weather had lulled us into thinking that it might last forever.

The surfer

9am at St Clair in Dunedin and the surfers sniff the wind.

I went to St Clair this morning to meet a friend. It is only about 5 minutes drive from where I live but it had been a while since was at the beach and I was reminded what a different vibe there is when the ocean pounds on your doorstep. Here is the view in the other direction.

At high tide the waves crash against the (relatively new) retaining wall then pound their way down the beach to wash away the sand, a problem exacerbated by this concrete wall.

Leith River = concrete canal

A bit of the Leith River near the art school. Painted on small boards.