669 feet

I considered not doing this post.  Compared to many I've done, I think it's somewhat boring.  

But it's raining out today.  And blowing. And chilly. And Covid is still out there besides, reeking havoc, so I haven't been hopping buses and exploring as much as I used to. 

And, to be honest, I needed a topic.  

Well, let's start with a little music, if you're in the mood.  I've played this Crosby, Stills and Nash's song in the past, but I'd like to hear it again, but I'm not going to show you the video you might expect. I have been watching another group do many of the most popular CSN songs, and I like them very much. Today, Foxes and Fossils will be singing Southern Cross.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxl72RbGHxY

Here is a map of our village. Notice that it has numbers very crudely drawn on it in blue.  

I am going to take a walk through the corridors today, taking pictures as I go, from number 1 in the middle of the Atrium on the map, all the way around to the end of Rosecourt and number 15.  My photos will look out of the window as I past them into the area between the buildings.  As you see, I'll be walking 180 degrees of a circle. 

The numbers are approximations of where I was when I took each picture. Numbers 11 through 15 are rather mashed up, but you'll get the idea. I found it difficult to draw with my cursor. (The numbers are not on the original of course.)  Number 2 is our apartment. 

According to Goggle Maps, the distance from number 1 to 15 is 204 meters or 669 feet. 

At the end of the pictures, I'll show you a video I made of walking the same route.   

1.  The middle of the Atrium. You see the entrance to the underground carpark below you. That's Rosecourt to the left of the entrance gate. 

2.  From our balcony. 

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11.  Here comes another downpour.  It won't last long.  

12.  That's The Palms straight across.  

13. In this picture, The Palms are on the right.  We're looking toward the front entrance of course. 

14.  Our apartment has a blue checkmark on it.  We are on what's called the 2nd floor here, but it would be called the 3rd floor in America.  

15.

Here is the video I made using You Tube. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkTGXrGjtKU&t=1s

Walking through our buildings may not be your first choice for entertainment, but at least those of you I most care about now have a little better idea of what our village looks like.   

And just be aware, I won't be able to put up next week's post at the usual time. But, when I do, it will show photos of New Zealand's Southern Island. Keep watching and I'll start a new series soon.  -djf

Howick Village, part two

I ended my last post with the picture you see below of the general store at Howick Village.  Apparently, this building did not weather the last century and a half plus, without getting some help from modern materials. Well, let's take a look inside where the items displayed are more in keeping with the time period. (1840 to 1880 I believe) 

I think that because most of the exteriors of the homes that I saw have been updated in a way similar to the General Store, I'll concentrate on showing you the interiors.  

Although I was a little disappointed with the modern looking exteriors of many of the buildings, the interiors were clearly original and smelled it.  Very old stone, brick and wood reveal the wonderful odor of history when they no longer have the smells of daily living layered upon them.   

That's it for this week.  

Soon, a group of us will be taking a 'mystery sight-seeing tour' by bus.  Gary, the organizer, is giving no hints whatsoever about the itinerary, so I'm completely in the dark.  

I'll share the mystery though, once it's revealed to the 50 or so of us signed up for the experience, with all of you.  Later,   -djf

Howick Village

We enjoyed a bus trip recently that took us across to the east side of Auckland, and to Howick Historical Village.  There, we spent a couple of rainy hours, slipping under umbrellas from one building to the next.  

I'm not going to try to give you a detailed tour of the village, naming each building and giving its history. I doubt that you're really that interested. I'll just show you some pictures. If you do want to learn more, the link below will take you to a virtual tour that does a much better job than I could do here. The photography is impressive.  

https://www.historicalvillage.org.nz/

We learned that this town began as a 'fencible.' Offers were made to retired military men (no long on active duty but still young) in England. They were promised free passage to New Zealand for themselves and their families, a cottage, and an acre of land here, at Howick, in exchange for seven years of helping in the defense of this area. 

Unfortunately, when they arrived, they found no cottages and a very wild land. They started out living in tents like the one you see below. In time, it did become a walled, 'defensible' enclosure and the town grew within it. 

Not all of the buildings now on the site actually originated here. Many have been moved to this location from other similar, fensible sites around Auckland.  

I don't know if this dwelling qualifies as a cottage or not, but it's a big step up from a tent.  

Eventually, the settlement grew and became what we are seeing today. 

We'll start off with one of the finest houses. (It's also the first building we came to after leaving the entrance, café and gift shop.) I'm sure this one came much later in the 'evolution' of this village.  

But let's back up a bit...

I've already shown you a tent and 'cottage wannabee.'  Here is another of what must have been an early form of housing. 

Another step up, but still pretty rustic. 

At long last, this building shows that the soldiers had started to live in relative comfort.  As you see, the closer side of this structure is the general store.

 Next week we'll look inside the store and some of the homes and other buildings.  I hope that you'll come back and continue to explore in both time and space.  -djf

Off to the Races on our 49th!

We had a special adventure on our 49th Wedding Anniversary. (September 1, 1973)  We rode a bus from Waitakere Gardens to the Alexandra Park Raceway for a night of harness racing. 

We have been reading Dick Frances novels for many years and through them, imagined scores of races all over England. We were very excited to finally be able to experience what a night at the races really entailed.  Dick, an ex-jockey, wrote about flat racing and steeplechases, but we thought the world of horses and betting and the action at the races would certainly be similar for harness racing.  

We were not disappointed.  We were able to watch the races from a large glass enclosed room above the track, that offered drinks at one end and all manner of food at the other. A bevy of  servers delivered our orders and whisked away plates and glasses as they emptied.  

We sat at a table with a number of friends. One, who lives directly below us in the Atrium, and who knew all about betting, advised me how to go about it.  

I'm not completely happy with all my photos, but I have what I have and want to share them with you.  Come along to the races!  

This is the finish line. You can see that we could not have had better seats.   

This is our group in the foreground. We had reserved several tables.  You can just barely see Jeanne on the far right. The race looks pretty well attended, doesn't it?    

Here is Jeanne at our table. I had dashed off just after we arrived and ordered some 'starters' for us and they arrived almost on my heels as I returned to the table.  We shared a prawn cocktail, some battered strips of fish and chicken, and a bowl of beer-battered fries; oh, and two tall glasses of Speight's Gold beer.    

You can see the race forms being studied. The others at our table had also ordered and shortly had their own choices of dinner treats. Our table got very full of plates for a while.  

This next shot is a closer look at one page of the race book and the menu.

I purchased our tap beer here, at the bar that was no more than a dozen paces from our table. 

This is where I placed my one bet of the evening. 

I placed my bet with the lady on the left.  I had been instructed, since I wanted to wager $5, to say, "I want the 4th race, horse number 9, 3 to win and 2 to place."  

Since we were celebrating our 49th anniversary, I was hoping to find a horse that had a 'wedding' or 'anniversary' appropriate name.  Unfortunately, there were none suitable so I simply used the 49 to choose which race and horse.  Our horse, Ideal Delight, a two-year old brown filly, tried her best but came in second to last. Oh, well.  She is still very young. I predict great things from her in the future.  

Here is the video of the race. Our driver is wearing green silks and yellow cap. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh1gqbc08aU

This is a shot that shows both the outside and indoor seating. 

When the horses come out of the stables for a race, they walk around in this circle for a couple of laps. I think its called 'the walking ring.'  

Not many people are outside at all.  Jeanne and I sat here for a couple of races.  It was a little cool but refreshing after being in the slightly overheated room inside.  

The big screen. Between each race it also kept fans up to date on dog races taking place in Australia.  

Jeanne and I knew nothing at all about racing before this evening.  During the course of it, Jeanne noticed that in some of the races, all the horses had hobbles on their legs and ran by moving both legs on one side of their bodies at the same time.  These we learned where called pacers. In other races, the horses moved diagonal pairs of legs, (right front and left rear) at the same time. These are the trotters.  

The picture below shows a pacer. Zoom in if you want a better look.  

That's the stable area. Those two riders coming from it in the red coats are the 'Clerks of the Course."  Among other things, they monitor the condition of the course and the running of the races.  

Our exciting night at the races is almost over.  Our bus leaves at 9:10. We had a very pleasant time. 

There's the Sky Tower in the distance.  We'll pass just to the left of it on our way home.  There is nothing like settling into a bus seat after an active night out, and letting the driver deliver us to our door.  Quite the life.  

The next morning found us sitting in our living room and sipping coffee. We discussed what we had seen and then started researching horses and racing, using the race form book as a guide to what we needed to learn. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and learned all sorts of things.  

One of the most unique things was that the horses wear earplugs during the early portion of the race and that the driver of the sulky, spider or chariot, (names for the cart vary) pulls the plugs at some point and the suddenly increased noise causes the horse to run faster.  Who knew? 

If the opportunity to go the races comes to us again, we will certainly take advantage of it. 

It is not expensive.  There is no admission fee to get into the race track.  You can bet as little as $1, if you want to bet at all.  The drinks and food are no more expensive than most restaurants. The viewing room is large and warm, the seats outside are comfortable.  I can't think of a single downside to this sort of entertainment.   

What a 49th we had.  I wonder what our 50th holds in store for us?    -djf