Christchurch

Demolition of Scales Building cnr Montreal and Cashel St.

Carl checking out the demolition

Christchurch was good, it was family time and catching up with some of Frank's buddies.
We had two big shakes while I was there but you expect that these days. I spent an afternoon with my brother Carl checking out some of the red zone - from behind the cordons. We stopped to watch the demolition of the Scales Building on the corner of Montreal and Cashel Street. Then checked out the Container Mall and walked alongside the Avon River then down Gloucester Street into the Botanical Gardens.
It was a leisurely few hours just wandering around and there's nothing like walking through knee deep autumn leaves in Hagley Park!
They had their first Winter frosts while I was there with some bitterly cold mornings and then those brilliant clear blue skies and sunshine all day.

I enjoyed a Saturday evening at the Miller Bar on Lincoln Road with Carl and Shary, down the road at Addington the Crusaders thrashed Auckland. Heho. I gunned for the Crusaders of course, its my home town. If you're in ChCh drop into the Miller Bar & Cafe, it oozes character, originally a classic style ASB bank the bar is the original wooden counter. There's a big log gas fire, excellent food and cruisy live music that doesn't invade one's conversation.

One of mum's roses

Mum still lives in the same house I grew up in, so it really is special hanging out in my old room and she has the most beautiful flower garden. In 2009 she won a "Christchurch Community Pride Award" for her effort in beautifying the street. Many gardeners strive to receive these awards, neat rows mapped out with a tape measure all perfectly spaced with their plants in varying degrees of height not unlike those old school photos with the tallest kids in the back row.
Mum's not like that, she digs and pokes, pulls bushes out, puts something else in simply becuase she likes the look of it she mixes it all up -  and what a display of texture and colour.

On the Sunday Mum and I visited Jack Wildermoth in Coalgate. We sat round his big open fire and chatted about his time as Ranger  for the Riccarton Bush Reserve in Christchurch, where he worked for fourteen years until retiring in the late 1980s.
We also talked about his deer hunting days of course and I was also very keen to learn more about his first job at fifteen, working in the Burke Creek Coal Mine on the Westcoast. Jack was born in Reefton his father and grandfather were miners before him. His father died when he was a teenager, so he had no choice, he had to go to work to support his mother and younger sister. He's tough - a real coaster is our Jack and has a great sense of humour, he made me laugh several times recounting stories and I got the feeling the loved having an auidence. It was a pleasant afternoon.
We had breakfast at the West Melton Pub on the way out to Jack's. It was another fine Canterbury day, clear blue sky and the drive out to Coalgate heading towards the Southern Alps was a treat.

Mum enjoying a cuppa at West Melton Pub Canterbury.

Bacon, eggs and hash browns... all washed down with a pot of tea.

I also caught up with Kevin Whitelaw after years of corresponding and never meeting it was about time we did. Kevin has written articles on NZ wilderness, hunting, and related subjects for many years. He is a wealth of knowledge and generous with it. Thanks Kevin and Pat for a lovely night out. Look forward to seeing you all again soon.