Straining the waistline

This week has been more “normal” - more work and less socialising, though we haven’t completely abstained.

I have done some Mac work each day except for Friday, and we have had a dry week (though with some questionable clouds) so I have been able to get the washing done. The library has been extremely busy and regularly frantic (the school holidays finish today) so Nicky was pleased when the working week came to an end.

On Thursday evening Nicky went up to BHB Primary School with Clem and Shaun (Sean?) to see Shani in a drama group musical. On Friday I met Nicky at The Block after work as she was having drinks there with work colleagues for farewell one of them, and I was meeting up with Paul and Co. for our regularly-ish get together. We had decided that as we were both going to be there having a bite to eat would also be a good idea. Friday had been a lovely sunny day (I had been to KareKare in the afternoon for a walk and a swim), and it was great to meet Nicky and just relax have have some very nice food, all in “our neighbourhood”. We were joined a little after 6 by some of the library staff and it was good for me to put names to faces and get to know them a little. They were good company. When Nicky went home I joined Paul et al and put the world to rights. It was a very good way to end the working week; we feel very lucky to have such amenities on our door step (Nicky walks past The Block every day on her 3 minutes walk to work).

This weekend has been the last weekend of the Heritage Festival, and our busiest. Saturday dawned clear and sunny. After breakfasting on poached eggs on toast with bacon, we grabbed some fruit for a light lunch and then headed down to the waterfront for an “Engineering Walk” around the environs. Much of the area is reclaimed land and out guide regaled us with many anecdotes of technical challenges that had to be overcome to build the things that we see and use and take for granted. It was very interesting, and we saw parts of the waterfront that we hadn’t been to before. 

We ate our fruit sat on a bench overlooking the sea out towards the harbour bridge in the warm spring sunshine. A leisurely 15 minute drive had us arriving in Takapuna at the Lake House Art Gallery and Café, where we were booked in for a High Tea. I had high hopes, and was not let down. The food was excellent and scrumptious. We each had a couple of wee three-layer sandwiches, a bacon and mushroom vol au vent, a small slice of quiche, a couple of small savory-ish scones, and individual cheesecake, tiramasu, lemon meringue pie and chocolate eclair. This was all washed down with a couple of pots of tea. All the crockery used was “heritage” and individual; each cup, saucer and plate matched as a trio, but each place setting was a different design, as was the serving crockery. None of it was what we would choose, but it suited the atmosphere of the house. It was a lovely experience, and needles to say, we didn’t need much for tea later.

The Rob Roy Hotel, which was moved a few meters to facilitate the building of a road tunnel.

Lake House

The High Tea was also a very nice way to end the Heritage Festival for Nicky, as she had church commitments today so was not able to join me on the walk round the Devonport volcanos. This was as interesting as the other two walks we have done, and again I was introduced to parts of familiar areas that I didn’t know about. It was a four hour walk so we stopped for lunch a little after halfway, after a brief visit to the Devonport Museum.

A scoria bomb on North Head

I caught the ferry back to the CBD and walked down Quay Street to a pub called Brew for a talk on Auckland’s Heritage pubs. Unfortunately the chap giving the talk shouldn’t be allowed to do public speaking, but I was drinking a very nice pint of beer so it didn’t matter too much. Afterwards I walked up Queen Street to see the Diwali festivities and enjoy a snack before catching a bus home. 

Nicky’s reading at church had gone well, and Steve and Stella came over for Scrabble so that she had a break from the vacuuming. Our Sunday evening has been the usual telly-fest.

That’s all for this week,

Take care, Rick