#609 ... Automotive Art

A new Mercedes making a statement at the Merc dealership in Cambridge Terrace, Wellington.

#608 ... Summer Time

Summer time is tasty summer fruits .,. strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines ... the only unique aspect of these strawberries is that they were grown in our garden at home ... not bad for someone with NO green fingers !!

#607 ... Tourist Season

This time of year we have many visitors to our city ... which is great .. here some are being photographed, photographing Parliament ... and as you can see the kids have really embraced being dragged around the city ... YEAH RIGHT

#606 ... Vitamin Water

The vitamin water craze is growing .. here we have the usual viral marketing dudes .. handing out samples, taking photos of the recipients, populating blogsites and YouTube with imgaes and action ... to hopefully make it the "must have drink". Photo of photo being taken in front of the Wellington Railway Station

#605 ... Night Moves

This photo taken by my mate Rumi is another one of those great summer nights at the Soundshell in the Botanical Gardens ... every summer we have a month of music of all genres at the Gardens .. take a picnic, some wine and cruise away the evening .. and its FREE

#604 ... A Modern Scot

Despite all the legends to the contrary ... here is living evidence that even the modern Scotsman gets his money from the "hole in the wall" for race day. Photo taken in Wellington Railway Station

#603 ... Race Day

Off to the Races at Trentham ... Wellington Cup Day .. alll flashed up .. heading for the train ... love the Gucci "New World" supermarket bag ... very classy !!!

#602 ... Perpetual Nikau

The Nikau palm sculptures that surround the Wellington City Library and the Civic Square

One of Wellington's most enjoyed works of architecture, the Wellington Public Library not only houses a fabulous collection of books but represents a unique architectural style. Copper and steel copies of the native Nikau palm colonade by Ian Athfield(1992) surround the library. Also a very nice cosy reading space in children's area and a cafe upstairs that is child friendly with small play area for tots.

#601 ... The Loneliness of a street vendor

Great job for students .. but tough doing the hard sell, handing out brochures to the lunch time crowd ... this time it was brochures for a Spray Tan Clinic. Although this may also be a thing of the past .. Australian researches announced today a medication that slowly releases in the body and enhances the natural melanin production ... giving you a darker toned skin for up to 60 days. Apart from the beauty market the real excitement is its use for people that have skin conditions affected by ultraviolet light.

Photo taken at the bottom of Woodward Street (on Lambton Quay), opposite Midland Park

#600 ... Fashion in a Horse Float

Midland Park, Lambton Quay was transformed into a cat walk and promo for the Wellington Racing carnival which takes place over this weekend. Of particular interest is theFashion in the Field event where there are major prizes for the best dressed in various categories. The overall best dressed will win 12 months motoring in a BMW 3 series convertible worth NZ$103,000.

These models who had changed in the back of the horse float parked next to Midland Park, were discussing who walks where, when and how.

#599 ...The Master Musical Poet

Mood, feeling and not detailed clarity ... Leonard Cohen was in town for one concert ... captured on the iPhone ... and absolutely awesome event ... Josh and I went ... and I remember listening to Leonard's first songs when I was Josh's age and at university ... and here we were some 40 years later, enjoying the Master's repertoire.

REVIEW: SIMON SWEETMAN - The Dominion Post
Cohen's concert the best gig ever. TSB Arena. Tuesday 20 January

Canadian poet and singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen takes the stage with his nine-piece band. There is a huge ovation; many people get up out of their seats (for the first of several times).

The opening song is Dance Me To The End Of Love. From there it is to The Future, Ain't No Cure For Love and Bird On A Wire. A living legend places his lyrical legacy at the feet of an adoring audience and the songs - poems, mantras, scriptures even - continue to fall in to place: Everybody Knows with its wry, subversive humour, In My Secret Life (acknowledging the 2001 "comeback" album Ten New Songs).

Cohen takes up an acoustic guitar for some delicate plucking (Who By Fire and Chelsea Hotel # 2). The audience sits hushed as immortal paeans, prayers and odes float from the stage - Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye - and Cohen's band provides the musical colour with a brushed drum kit, saxophones, flutes, mandolin, guitars and three perfectly pitched backing vocalists to assist his below sea-level growl. The sound is stunning in a venue that is so often awful for concerts; this time the right band is playing correctly and the audience is no longer suffering for the location of the musician's art.
A short interval, after Ring The Bells - with its line "there is a crack in everything/that's how the light gets in" - and Cohen returns with Tower Of Song, telling people they are too kind for applauding his one-finger keyboard solo. From there it is to Suzanne from the debut album, the start of the reverence and reverie, then to The Gypsy Wife, The Partisan and Hallelujah.

A Thousand Kisses Deep is stunning as poetic recital; the bard still possesses beguiling grace. And then it is to Take This Waltz, band introductions and a series of encores including So Long Marianne, First We Take Manhattan, If It Be Your Will (Cohen recites the first verse and then his version of Kate and Anna McGarrigle, the Webb sisters, deliver the body of the tune) Famous Blue Raincoat and Democracy. If you were at the concert and didn't like it then you had your information wrong.

It is hard work having to put this concert in to words so I'll just say something I have never said in a review before and will never say again: this was the best show I have ever seen.

#598 ... Nowhere to Go

New cars on the Wellington waterfront ... unloaded and nowhere to go ... a common image of the current state of the gloabal economy.

#597 ... Bike the Bays

A favourite Wellington activity ... biking around the bays ... and here cyclng through Oriental Bay

#596 ... Sky Blue

Looking north down the bottom of Tory Street ... more apartments under construction .. and with the obligatory safety net ... this time blue instead of the usual red or yellow ... the eastern edge of Te papa can be seen at the end of the street

#595 ... Cruise Capture

The other morning there were two cruise ships in port ... and as I stopped to capture the moment another guy had the same idea .. so I took the wider shot so you can get a full perspective from Wadestown Hill, across the railway yards, the ships, the stadium and across the Harbour to Oriental bay and Mt Victoria

#594 ... Grey Sky

A clouded view from the top of our driveway ... looking east

#593 ... Tracking on Up.

The steep access road to the work site on the hillside above Ngaio Gorge. The Johnsonville line is getting extensive work done to lower and realign the train track in readiness for the new trains. Much of the track is laid in the traditional manner but the tunnels require a pre-fabricated approach. The sections of track are made up in the workshop and delivered to the site on long truck and trailer units.

Cranes then transfer the track sections to these two excavators which then carry the track up the hillside to the train track above (where the workman in orange overalls are standing). the track sections are placed on low rolling stock and pushed into the tunnel where they are manouvered into their final place. The track floor has been lowered about 800mm, new drains and cable ducting installed, and the new track sections layed. About 4km of rail has been lifted and 6300 cubic metres of earth shifted in and around the tunnels so far.

#592 ... A bum wait

Yellow seats, at the beach volley ball, waiting for bums ... Oriental Bay

#591 ... A Roof Raising Experience

Photo taken from the Westpac Stadium concourse looking south towards Mt Victoria and Oriental Bay (left side) ... major construction rennovations at a building on the Wellington waterfront ... six cranes, craning their necks as they take the load!!.

The beach volley ball post yesterday took place on the beach at Oriental Bay just below the tall apartment buildings you can see against the green of Mt Victoria.

#590 ... Scarlett & Blundell WIN

Blundell & Scarlett (NZ) playing the German team in the Beach Volley Ball final at Oriental Bay.

New Zealand pair Anna Scarlett and Susan Blundell tasted victory at last Wellington, winning a thrilling final over German opponents in the second round of the national beach volleyball series today. After finishing runner-up in Wellington for the past two years, Scarlett and Blundell finally shook off the bridesmaid tag, beating accomplished foe Okka Rau and Helke Claasen 21-19 17-21 15-13.

Rau is a two-time Olympian, and ranked 14th in the world, so the win was especially satisfying for the New Zealanders, making it two wins from two events in the series. The lead changed several times in the deciding set, before some great serves and blocks from Scarlett saw the hosts to a popular win. Earlier in the day they enjoyed another three-set tussle in their semifinal, beating Americans Paige Davis and Jen Snyder 21-16 17-21 15-13.

Rau and Claasen won their semifinal 21-16 21-16 over the promising New Zealand combination of Emma Preston and Toni Edmonson. To make the semifinal was a victory in itself for Preston and Edmonson, upsetting the fancied Brazilian pairing of Nina Zgoda and Fernanda Costa in their quarter-final. (Report by NZPA)

For information on the world rankings

#589 ... Sandy Stretch

Not the usual photo of Beach Volleyball ... but probably one of the most important activities for top sports people .. stretching exercises before the match. This is Anna Scarlett rolling around on the court before their semifinals match.
>>>>>>
Anna Scarlett & Susan Blundell play their 3rd season together on the McEntee Hire NZ Tour, after completing their debut season on the FIVB World Tour.

They made outstanding progress throughout the 2008 World Tour , with their top performance coming in Norway, where they finished 13th. They are seeking their first NZ Tour win together, after making the finals last season in Matarangi, Wellington & Auckland.

Susan Blundell has previously won four titles on the national tour, her last win coming at Ohope in 2004. She is renowned for her strong blocking and serving game. Anna Scarlett is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished sportswomen, having played for Silver Ferns netball team, and the NZ indoor volleyball team.

With both players over 185cm, they have been dubbed beach volleyball’s ‘twin towers’.

For more information on the volleyball tour

#588 ... The Icecream Man

Taranaki Wharf ... while some had a cold beer in the brewery behind the icecream vendor .. others chose to stop and have a creamy refreshement. Te Papa and Circa Theatre are to the left of the photo. Look at the Google Earth image HERE to see the location

#587 ... Diving Dudes

A hot day in Wellington .. and these guys took advantage of the statue of the man leaning into the Wellington wind, to get some elevation for diving off the wharf ... in front of Te Papa. In the background is the Overseas Terminal and the yacht marina.

#586 ... Little Red Tugboat

Another cruise ship arriving yesterday ... they have been visiting Wellington at about two a week .. and provide valuable input to the city's economy. The morning was a bit overcast, so the palette was almost monochrome apart from the tugboat ... so the effect has been enhanced in Photoshop.

#585 ... Tinakori Wide

A wide load slowly navigating through the "after work" traffic on Tinakori Road ... the northern end of the city. City streets are not that friendly for the big stuff!

#584 ... No Train Today

MAJOR upgrade taking place on the Johnsonville Line ... after decades of promises it is finally taking place. At present the trains are replaced with buses as the work goes on 24 hours a day. The tunnels are being enlarged and the track repositioned in readiness for the larger train carriages.

This shot is of Ngaio Station ... my local stop ... and as you can see it is a big job ... that is the Ngaio Station sign, upside down resting against the right hand platform edge. The old track is visible in front of the sign.

#583 ... Pack up time

It must be over ... the Christmas Tree at Midland Park, Lambton Quay in the process of being packed away for another year ...

#582 ... Takeaway Night

Back to work tomorrow ... so takeaways tonight from Monsoon Poon in Blair St .. just off Courtenay Place ... even David Beckham dines here !!

#581 ... Good Night Kapiti

#580 ... A Day at the Beach

A great day at Peka Peka Beach ... a west coast beach ... churned up waves ... family, pets, sand & salty water ... awesome weather ... just the way to start the new year !!

#579 ... Kapiti Magic

... Apologies ... I didn't join the theme day for the first day of 2009, as being away on holiday and on the end of a slow dial up ... the thought of S L O W L Y surfing, browsing and selecting the image of last year, was a tad unwelcome ... HOWEVER this shot of last evening on the Kapiti Coast is a great way to farewell 2008 ... and welcome in 2009