#1518 ... Green Balloons

Taking green balloons for a mid-day walk down Willis Street ... not sure what it was for however it added a bit of colour to the day.

#1517 ... Deep Thinking

Deep in thought ... thinking about digging a potential hole in Featherston Street. Even the Serengeti man in the background has to take his shades off !!

#1516 ... Moa at the Met

The stuffed moa ... maybe ... at the Met Shop (meteorological and other quirky scientific stuff), Cuba Street. The shop is great for interesting bits and pieces.

#1515 ... Gold Tomato

The price of a tomato has risen sharply ... more than 3X the summer prices ... floods in Australia, winter shortages, crop sabotage in Australia.

Tomato prices across Australia could double or triple in coming months after millions of seedlings were poisoned in an act of mass sabotage in north Queensland, but a spokesperson for New Zealand's tomato industry says domestic supplies should cushion the effect of any import shortage here.

About seven million plants, including about four million tomato seedlings, were lost after they were poisoned with a herbicide at a Bowen nursery last month. Other affected crops include capsicum, melons and eggplant.

#1514 ... Another Wild Animal

Is this the Garrett Street cat ... that lives at the Peoples' Coffee Shop

#1513 ... Grounded

The abseilers getting their gear ready for a day of window cleaning ... many metres of rope, straps, karabinas by the dozen

#1512 ... To the Cable Car

Walk up this little lane to get to the Wellington Cable Car

#1511 ... Francais

For that taste of France ... take time out to visit Cafe Breton in Brandon St

#1510 ...In motion

Running to get out of the rain ... an unintended image ... Cuba & Manners Sts

#1509 ... Supreme

The NZ Supreme Court ... was officially opened in January 2010. It has been linked harmoniously with the restored Old High Court Building on the eastern side. This view is from the Cenotaph Corner looking south east.

#1508 ... High Rise Patterns

Shapes and patterns ... office building, Molesworth St

#1507 ... Seismic

An outstanding new sculpture, Seismic, by the nationally renowned Auckland sculptor Louise Purvis is located at the western (Lambton Quay) end of Bunny St, in Victoria University of Wellington's Pipitea campus area.

Four large discs of fine Italian Carrara marble each 1.8 meters in diameter are strewn on the paving or on the raised grass areas as though thrown there by an earthquake. Each has carved patterns representing the different aspects of seismic activity. ''These strong, lyrical works combine respect for the actions of nature with the challenge of Carrara marble'' (Katy Corner, ArtNews NZ, Autumn 2007).

The sculptures interpret the tension and drama of Wellington's long history of seismic events. But the work also has strength and serenity, and invites contemplation, which makes it particularly appropriate to the university precinct.
The seemingly random and scattered placement of the discs will encourage people to sit and walk among them. It is also a very tactile work, inviting touch.

Louise Purvis has offered us another major contribution to the sculpture gallery that is emerging on Wellington's streets. As a work developed in stone it is quite different from other recent public art in the city, and shows another dimension of New Zealanders' creative skills as these are reflected in sculpture

The four components of the work are Topographical Map Section, which marks the location of a segment of the fault line that runs through Wellington; Seismic Shock which records an earthquake; Disrupt which reflects on the earth moving and disruption; and Split which tells of the results of an earthquake and the opening and movement of tectonic plates.

"Seismic is a direct response to the site. Each disc is an interpretation of events occurring during an earthquake. The discs are strewn about the site to evoke a sense of randomness. Seismic is intended to be a sculpture you pass through and perhaps contemplate the precarious nature of our environment along the way." Louise Purvis

#1506 ... Joe's Garage

Joe's Garage in lower Tory Street ... a friendly inviting cafe ... that also does great mushrooms on toast ... highly recommended.

#1505 ... Sudden Downpour

Manners Street ... the cold southerly blew through and dropped a lot of rain ... catching many unawares.

#1504 ... Creating the Signs

Mirror image templates, a white chalk pen and lots of patience .... and you will have a promotional sign on the inside of your window that is legible from the outside ... "3 Wise Men" shirts & ties

#1503 ... Oops !!

The Chelmsford Street railway underpass in Ngaio has an obstruction ... early evening traffic was disrupted due the transporter with the excavator on board being a little bit too large ... it nearly got through but the far edge of the bridge was the catch !!

#1502 ... Arched Entrance

One of the entrances into the Capital on the Quay shopping centre on Lambton Quay. I wonder what is interesting in the rubbish bin?

#1501 ... Sign of the Cable Car

The Cable car signpost on Lambton Quay ... distinctive but visitors can still miss it amongst all the other signage clutter. Note the ubiquitous "City Guardian" ... the orange cone ... they are everywhere at present with all the construction work going on in the central city.

#1500 ... Well Buttoned

A great line up of cufflinks at the "3 Wise Men" shirt and tie shop.

#1499 ... The Indian Chief

Arizona Restaurant & Bar beside the Intercontinental Hotel ... reasonable food and a busy meeting point especially in the summer when the large umbrellas and tables are put out on the side walk

#1498 ... City Parking

One of the "delights" of parking in the inner city ... having your car towed because you forgot about the clear way times ... bugger!!

#1497 ... Tasty Food

The Wishbone outlet in the James Cook Arcade ... Wishbone have many outlets around the city and at the Wellington Airport ... good healthy tasty food options ... breakfast, lunch and dinner

#1496 ... The Scaffold

Inside & under construction ... the new Telecom building on Willis St

#1495 ... Hello

Lambton Quay... hello and waiting

#1494 ... Sign Up Here

Outside the Old Bank Arcade the signs are there for all to see.

#1493 ... Lamson

There are many many ways to make a decent cup of coffee. We are seeing some of these alternate methods returning to commercial use around Wellington’s more interesting cafés: the Swiss Gold; the Chemex; the V60; the cold drip… and the siphon.

Dave Lamason, formerly Peoples Coffee’s barista trainer, is passionate about the siphon. So passionate he’s opened a new café dedicated to this most theatrical of coffee-making methods. This is Lamason, Wellington’s only siphon-brewed coffee bar. (Others do siphon, it’s true: Memphis Belle, Customs Brew Bar, and for a short while Mojo Origins – but Lamason is the first to make this method the centrepiece of their café experience.) Lamason is underneath the carpark in Lombard Street – that’s the odd little street running between Bond Street and the former Manners Mall.

Inside there’s a lot of bare concrete, with the dominant feature being a very large wooden bar. And on the bar is The Apparatus.

#1492 ... Wellington Promotion

On the street handing out brochures for the Wellington Open Day this Sunday... get along to see many of the sights ... a gold coin entry ... learn some more about our great little city.

#1491 ... Crossing Willis

#1490 ... Looking down on Lambton

Looking down on Lambton Quay ... in the foreground is the edge of Midland Park... Waring Taylor Street to the right and Johnston Street to the left. Centre between the two cream coloured buildings is Woodward Street with The Terrace in the background

#1489 ... Dayglo Vests & White Hats

Four construction foremen on Willis Street assessing the work on the new Telecom Building ... I wonder if the WHITE HATS make them part of an Edward de Bono workshop!

#1488 ... It's a Wrap

The Tower Insurance Building getting wrapped up ... in preparation for external refurbishment ... it will be like Christmas when they unwrap it.

#1487 ... New Shop

Out-fitting the new Telecom shop on Willis Street ... organised chaos in action

#1486 ... This way for new shirts

Some advertising under construction ... and you will just walk over it!!

#1485 ... Peddling but going nowhere

The IBIS Hotel and some great cyclists raising funds for Cure Kids ... Featherston Street

#1484 ... Yellow Bollard

Still waters ... Dockside Restaurant in the background ... the EAST WEST catamaran that runs between Days Bay and here ... to the right

#1483 ... A Classic

A classic motor bike on the waterfront.

#1482 ... Slight of Hand

You will see this "card magic" busker all over the city ... delightfully engaging ... here he is on Lambton Quay ... entertaining!

#1481 ... Busker on Lambton

Mid-day music on Lambton Quay

#1480 ... The STOP-GO Man

And this is the man with his road sign and cones who controls the pedestrians, cars and buses in Willis Street.

#1479 ... Moving the Hole

Willis Street has been a construction zone for months, creating chaos for pedestrians, cars and buses ... I think these workers have finally got the hole in its final position !! and are now filling it in.

#1478 ... Price of Petrol

Maybe this is the best indicator of the price of petrol ... Hunter St, Old Bank Arcade in the background

#1477 ... Red Racks

Bike rack and bikes ... Cuba Mall

#1476 ... Winter in Cuba

A leafless tree in Cuba Street ... mid winter

#1475 ... Photo Time

Recording the day's adventures in Cuba Mall

#1474 ... Time to Eat

Today's menu ... with a French touch ... Cuba St.

#1473 ... Acknowledging the Weight

This is the second year of the charity event which contributes to the Melanoma Foundation in memory of a colleague. Bad-As 2011: The name says it all really, how exciting is this as a concept – women lifting heavy as $#!t.. (yeah, a little low-key cursing definitely fits this event) and no doubt you can understand why!

Tons (yep, it will easily be in the tons) of weight shifted over the day will be supplied by One Rep Max NZ, and lifted on their bars. They have also committed gear for prizes, and the best part is, people are already entering for the sake of personal best’s, testing, competition, growth, and community. The prizes are just a sweetener. This all about contribution and ‘all about community’.

THANKS to RUMI for another great image

#1472 ... Splish Splash

The Bucket Fountain in Cuba Mall doing its thing ... splish splash frozen in time

#1471 ... On the tiles

The Old Bank Arcade on Lambton Quay needs some repairs and maintenance ... and the tilers proudly told me the tiles were French ... I suppose that makes a difference

#1470 ... Orange Markers

Willis Street ... still a construction zone with cones ... lined up to keep the traffic on the straight and narrow.

#1469 ... In Spired

St Johns in the City ... upper Willis Street