You've been seeing photos of all sorts as long as we've been here of course, but this time I thought that I'd show you just pictures of Henderson. This is what we see in our daily life and where we walk and shop, etc.
This post then, is called, "Our Town." and is presented, in a way very loosely modeled, on the play of the same name by Thornton Wilder. (I have a video starring Allison as the Stage Manager in the Our Town production at a dinner and a play event that her senior class put on back in 1995. What a treasure that is.)
"The name of the town is Henderson, New Zealand--just across the international date line: latitude, 36.8811 degrees south, longitude 174.6312 east. The day is February 5th, 2015. The time is several hours after dawn."
"Well, I had better show you how our town lies..."
"Up here is main street" (actually Great North Road, looking northward. At the top of the hill, we turn left on to Swanson Road, then left again on to Sturges Road, and then right on to Harvest Drive. Home is about 2 kilometres, 1.2 miles, from this corner. )
(The courtyard of our Westcity Mall, that lies along GNR)
"Way back there is the railway station." (Bus Stop is on the side walk, train platform is raised in the background, next to the ivy-covered wall.)
(The bus stop and train station from the other direction.)
"Catholic Church is over beyond the tracks"...(Our Lady of Lourdes is in Glen Eden, about ten minutes drive from our house or 3 stops by train...sorry for the low quality of the photo.
Our Lady of Lourdes side view. This shot was taken on Christmas Eve 2014. There are nine 'communities' represented in the Church...Maori, Kiwi, African, Samoan, Tongan, Filipino, Asian, Indian and Fijian.)
"Here's the town hall." (this sign is located on the corner of the WestCity Mall carpark on Railside Avenue.)
"And the Post Office." (The post office, called 'Postie' here, and the Kiwibank are combined. This branch, where we do our business, is on the lower level of the mall)
"Here's the grocery store." (We commonly shop at two, mostly Pak'nSave. You see two practitioners of "Falun Dafa." This is a Chinese discipline for mind and body... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong )
"Public school's over yonder." (Summerland Primary. Both boy's new classrooms for this coming year lie behind the building on the far right of the photo.)
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(First electric trains are going to come along in about 5 months. This is the new electric model that I saw being tested on our line at Sturges Road a few days ago. For now, it's noisy diesels)
(Our favorite, a sushi place, Ko & Ki's. And the boy's too. This is our favorite place for a treat after going to the library or on another errand.)
(Here's one of those treats.)
(Our public library)
(Here are some stores that we shop at constantly.)
(The Great North Bakehouse is my favorite because of the nice lady who runs it. We limit ourselves to only stopping here occasionally.)
Well, I hope you've enjoyed walking around our town and seeing a few of the things we see almost every day. I wish I could have included the sun and the wind and all the folks walking past on the footpaths.)
THE END -djf
I loved seeing the pictures of your town. I loved the boulevards with trees. It reminded me of the Putnam boulevard when we were just kids in Wakefield. Your town is a combination of quaint and very functional with everything so close. It makes me feel closer to you to see it. Thank you for sharing it. McKenzie
ReplyDeleteThank you Doug! I have been to almost every place you have pictured here and it brings back such fond memories! Although I I've walked from Swanson to Sturges to Harvest Drive at least a few times while I was there, I'm still not totally familar with the view and I never got the directions right anyways - I just relied on you and Jeanne to help me get around!
ReplyDeleteIn your previous entry about the food market in the underground car park... is that at WestCity Mall? I so enjoyed the trips to Aussie Butcher, Henderson Fish Market, the Asian grocery store, Ko & Ki's sushi (I really enjoyed that lunch with you!), the library with Jeanne to get books for the boys, and Fruit Market! I kept a plastic Fruit Market bag in which I am keeping some of the Whittakers chocolate that I'm still enjoying. in fact I just had a taste of the toasted coconut bar and the dark chocolate almond bar. Mmmmmm!
I enjoyed the Pac 'n Save and Countdown too! recently I read a sweet story about a kitty named Diesel who greets customers at the Countdown in Rototuna. When I first saw that story I thought Rototuna was really a play on Rotorua --- and you might remember we visited the Countdown there! but I discovered that Rototuna is actually by Hamilton. This kitty even has a facebook page "Diesel the Rototuna Countdown Cat"!
One day maybe you could feature Sokuls and its yummy ice cream stand! I enjoyed that little hole in the wall a lot and the ice cream we enjoyed there after our Cascade walk was such a treat!
Thanks for the great comment, Dianne.
DeleteNo, the food fair carpark is at another mall that we didn't get to while you were visiting.
I'm pleased that you enjoyed seeing Henderson again.
And I better get some shots at Sokuls soon...
Another hole-in-the-wall shop I enjoyed was Island Style. Maybe you could feature it as well in a sequel along with Sokuls. Also, do you ever see the Jade guy anymore? I wonder if he would let you take his picture too? and then there's Burger Fuel and the boutiques that we've been to as well... whew!
DeleteDoug--you are so creative. What a fun way to see your town! I know I would enjoy Ko & Ki's--sushi is so very pretty. Ten years ago I would have laughed at the idea of eating sushi. Christopher was the one to introduce me to it. We learn so much from our kids. I love the sign...Sushi Take Away. Thanks for showing us Henderson! --Pat
ReplyDeleteDoug, great post as always. Amazing to see all there is in NZ. Like the part from "Cannery Row". Mom got me Cannery Row after my trip to see Mary in CA in 1980. - Tim
ReplyDelete