We’ve been back to the Toi Tū, Toi Ora exhibition in the Auckland Art Gallery a couple of times now, and our appreciation of the diversity and significance of the Maori art works has deepened. There are paintings, of course, and sculptures, models, kinetic features, flags, jewellery, computer images and all manner of visual objects, […]
Adventures in Te Waipounamu
January 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Tanya has just returned from a stunning adventure in Te Waipounamu …here’s her story and pictures… It began with an unexpected invite from our younger generation of Cumbos – Barney, Jo and 8-year-old Ellie – to my older brother, Garth, and me, to join them on a cycling adventure (A2O: Alps 2 Ocean) in the […]
Being at home…
January 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Charmaine had no wish to ride a bicycle for three days in the mountains, and decided to stay home and get her mind in order. (“Mind has mountains, cliffs of fall” wrote poet Gerard Manley Hopkins- and she had definitely been feeling anxious about bike-riding, and in need for some sustained quiet time to re-order […]
Christchurch Whanau
January 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Before starting our cycling adventure in the South Island, Garth and I spent two days in Christchurch. Our first date was with our cousin Philip Carter, who took us on a guided tour on electric scooters (an exciting first for Garth and me!) of the new city developments in Christchurch. Philip is one of the […]
An hour from our front door…Rangitoto Island
January 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Back to the simplicity of bach life in summer… On New Year’s Day we hopped on a bus downtown, then a ferry across the Waitemata Harbour to Rangitoto Island for a stay in Bach 52, five minutes walk from the wharf. Bach 52 is another small 1920s bach which has been lovingly restored to near-original […]
Trumped! Now Biden- Our Time…
January 22, 2021 by 1 Comment
The last four years have made the USA feel like a foreign country, to us – our wonderful ex-wwoofing friends have been stuck in an alien land run by a psychopath, egging on the sad and the bad to acts of intimidation and violence, and destroying many of the bonds of friendship and solidarity […]
Happy Solstice, we hope…
December 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
We wish you a Happy Solstice, with a colour-full covid-free summer if you are in Aotearoa or the Pacific… …and if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, or in a Covid-infected area, and dealing with lockdowns and deaths, please take care, and know that we are sending our love to you, with our hopes […]
Some Brilliant Things…
December 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Toi Tu, Toi Ora The most outstanding current event in Tāmaki Makaurau is the contemporary Māori Art exhibition in the Auckland Art Gallery – a wonderful celebration of 112 Māori artists (60% of them women) , filling the whole gallery, and ranging from works, several storeys high to tiny exquisite objects, and in many different […]
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