You’re Wellington’s bit of rough, Somes Home to countless, do you feel used? A shelter, confinement, protector, Story keeper of those who walked your back Trod your surface, changed your skin Ruffled your hair — Robin Naylor, “Somes,” 1999 Ever since starting work at the restaurant, I watched through the windows of Vercelli’s as crowds … Read More
“I love this city, the hills, the harbour, the wind that blasts through it. I love the life and pulse and activity, and the warm decrepitude… there’s always an edge here that one must walk which is sharp and precarious, requiring vigilance.” – Patricia Grace, on Wellington When you start a new job, it always … Read More
“How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully one goes they hold you – you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences…little rags and shreds of your very life…” – Katherine Mansfield to Ida Baker, 1922 Katherine Mansfield first came to me on a shelf in the Chelsea Public Library in … Read More
wind (noun): 1: a natural movement of air of any velocity; especially: the earth’s air or the gas surrounding a planet in natural motion horizontally 2a: a destructive force or influence 2b: a force or agency that carries along or influences It was an overcast Saturday afternoon in Wellington, rain imminent, plans to take a … Read More
Growing up in America, Boxing Day meant nothing more to me than the fine print on a calendar for the 26th of December: “Boxing Day (Canada).” Indeed, I looked on the words with the same sort of novelty with which I noted on the backs of books their price listed in American dollars and, always … Read More
It was the end of a bad day at work. It doesn’t matter what got me to that point – a boss, a customer, the sales, or lack thereof. What matters is that I was upset and only slightly at the end of my patience and sanity. The night, though, finally drew to a close … Read More
“It is enough to have to eat,” Marcello was saying late on Tuesday night. It was the end of a long day in a string of long days in the heart of the Christmas season. Being a higher-end Italian restaurant in the CBD (Central Business District) of Wellington with many of the tallest office buildings … Read More
As with many holidays abroad, I was tempted to let this year’s Thanksgiving pass unnoticed, just another day of the week. I also thought about buying some sort of pre-roasted chicken from the supermarket, a box of stuffing mix, and cooking a faux-Thanksgiving dinner for my new flatmates in Wellington. I was, after all, new … Read More
We woke up in Marahau holding our breath, just as we had before our whale watching and dolphin swimming trips – holding our breath for the sun. Would our long-awaited kayak trip, almost the peak activity planned for our trip around the northern areas of the South Island, get a green light and blue skies? … Read More
Cape Cod. Cape Town. Cape Canaveral. There are many of these famous headlands around the world, surrounded by water on three sides, but none have attracted more of my attention than Cape Farewell at the very top left corner of the South Island. Reluctant as we were to leave our unexpected haven at the Innlet, … Read More