tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61630131102021122262024-03-16T16:49:03.969+13:00Wellington BootsRory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.comBlogger805125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-46268497251400916572024-03-16T16:48:00.001+13:002024-03-16T16:48:11.735+13:00Belle: A Performance Of Air<p>This is a show which originally premiered in 2022, to an
audience of 30 people, when <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a> was in <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2022/01/red-traffic-light.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">lockdown</a> due to the <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-response-planning/covid-19-variants#omicron" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omicron variant</a> of <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Covid-19</a>. It’s only now getting a release in a larger venue – <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/st-james-theatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">St James Theatre</a>. It’s part of the <a href="https://www.festival.nz/">Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts</a>. We got
tickets and went along.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhje7foLuUlEDtw7WiXKIB31vJMBn_70CK3RGAzfu5hwX7oFILrpi7me0Kny_KwcU1XNrJB5m1cXmeTMoezI7Z3ReKtlHld2E6SDSkBEVtYvET7aJT1SArugeawAEdLNL7Jd8c3lFWRvnDMDc2T0EY-aRLJVQU2e33M5dhggtiHM1xksWiZbbXd63zmMyxT/s1240/Belle%20A%20Performance%20Of%20Air.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1240" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhje7foLuUlEDtw7WiXKIB31vJMBn_70CK3RGAzfu5hwX7oFILrpi7me0Kny_KwcU1XNrJB5m1cXmeTMoezI7Z3ReKtlHld2E6SDSkBEVtYvET7aJT1SArugeawAEdLNL7Jd8c3lFWRvnDMDc2T0EY-aRLJVQU2e33M5dhggtiHM1xksWiZbbXd63zmMyxT/w400-h226/Belle%20A%20Performance%20Of%20Air.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>It was an early 7:00pm start, so we decided to go for dinner
at old favourite <a href="https://www.mrgos.co.nz/#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mr. Go’s</a>. As usual we had their Korean chicken wings, typhoon
prawns and some pork dumplings. Excellent as ever.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">St James Theatre is but a skip and a jump away across Taranaki
Street and we were there well in time for the start. I activated the tickets on
my <a href="https://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ticketbastard</a> app, and…for the second time in two goes, they failed to scan.
Ticketbastard have implemented this new technology where there are moving lines
on the QR code, presumably to prevent fraud. It’s all very well installing this
new technology, but it’s no use if the bloody thing doesn’t work! Anyway, the usher
said “I’m sure it’s fine” and waved us in anyway, which is kinda what you’re
not supposed to do.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We were near the front at the end of a row so didn’t have a
full-on view of the stage. It did, unfortunately, mean we were right on the
angle of some of the lighting effects, which somewhat blinded us. The premise
of the show is that it fuses music, light, and dance with aerial acrobatics, using hoops, silk, ropes etc. There wasn’t as much of the aerial manoeuvres as I
thought there would be, and it took about 15 minutes to even get going, really...which for a one-hour show is quite a lot. The accompanying music, some of it
live, either vocal or violin, was very moody, occasionally straying into
electronica. The lighting effects and hazing machine were such that what you
saw was mostly shadows and silhouettes, with very few instances of the subjects
being well lit. Whilst I’m sure this was intentional, it did mean that you
couldn’t really see what was going on, for the most part. It felt to me that
they had around half an hour’s worth of material, and they’d padded it out to
one hour.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think this one gets filed under “interesting”, and also
under “don’t bother with again”.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-29978530913327680312024-03-11T14:32:00.002+13:002024-03-11T14:35:01.715+13:00An Unfunny Evening With Tim Minchin<p><a href="https://www.timminchin.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tim Minchin</a> is back in town! It’s been a while since we <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2019/04/tim-minchin.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">last saw him</a> – 2019, in fact – so of course we had to go and see him again. Tim
Minchin’s appeal does appear to be a bit patchy…obviously, we’re fans, but when
my barber asked what I was up to and I mentioned going to see him, he’d never
heard of him. Similarly, when I bumped into a <a href="https://www.visitzealandia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zealandia</a> colleague in town who
enquired what we were going to see, again it was “who he?” Both of these are
young persons, so maybe it’s a generational thang. As is saying “thang”.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WGFZpW8jEXn1I7uyv2b8f-RfzaolFxwqvHoesoXUGi1LJgNfuyABb6oa26EsEWEcaxLlD9CpbzsfzQVZ98TQiNR9hafJ59TVbcsyUrUDgYjb7Q9HYEvjV35Rh7EoclouGTfTisiro389kcW99FI092bjhMtwaHfGikIYyWwGvyMPiwJmmpG56sKuzWPN/s968/Tim%20Minchin%20Unfunny.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="968" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WGFZpW8jEXn1I7uyv2b8f-RfzaolFxwqvHoesoXUGi1LJgNfuyABb6oa26EsEWEcaxLlD9CpbzsfzQVZ98TQiNR9hafJ59TVbcsyUrUDgYjb7Q9HYEvjV35Rh7EoclouGTfTisiro389kcW99FI092bjhMtwaHfGikIYyWwGvyMPiwJmmpG56sKuzWPN/w400-h210/Tim%20Minchin%20Unfunny.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> I’d wanted to go to <a href="https://kojirestaurant.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Koji</a> for dinner, but they had no availability
so we ended up back at <a href="https://www.rosellawinebar.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rosella</a> again, which we’d enjoyed last time we went
there. There’s been no change, but we did manage to select some different menu
items this time (although I still had oysters to start). Then it was a short
walk up Courtenay Place to <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/st-james-theatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">St James Theatre</a> for the show. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3SXrmTMvMUHmROC_lxjKPcnFwm8lHstrBaNCCTBoMTRvp_ohe6U2bNzw_ukioRQD8jHCZZmLaxoIJ8j7IIf2QNiyVgxkRu0LaPJYEk1EGNfe44TDB5F_1zcu5woLfkbxYXez3L3-ovkCS6sg-GpLIuKrX62YmyfxFQve7xCucD57QXVU6_0kXHtg7F9EO" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="1960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3SXrmTMvMUHmROC_lxjKPcnFwm8lHstrBaNCCTBoMTRvp_ohe6U2bNzw_ukioRQD8jHCZZmLaxoIJ8j7IIf2QNiyVgxkRu0LaPJYEk1EGNfe44TDB5F_1zcu5woLfkbxYXez3L3-ovkCS6sg-GpLIuKrX62YmyfxFQve7xCucD57QXVU6_0kXHtg7F9EO=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for Timot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tim Minchin is known for his humorous songs. As he explained
at the beginning, he hadn’t set out to be a comedian, and had started out in a
band with his brother, before becoming more comedy-based, and also taking up
acting. So tonight’s show was not going to be his usual comedy routines and
songs, but a selection of songs, old and new, with various levels of sincerity,
pathos, and bathos…including some from his musicals, <a href="https://uk.matildathemusical.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matilda</a> and <a href="https://groundhogday.com.au/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Groundhog Day</a>.
Did you know he was responsible for those? He’s a man of many talents. He did
warn us in advance about how sincere each song was, giving us a value on a
scale of one to ten. So this was a set of unfunny songs, punctuated, as usual,
by Tim’s musings and ramblings on any number of subjects, his acting career,
the background to the songs, and anything that popped into his head, really.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the poster and other publicity materials it does say that
“artist may inadvertently amuse”. This is a lie. The amusement was definitely
advertent. And amusing it was, too, as the evening ran on, finally ending up
almost half an hour longer than the advertised run time. No, I’m not complaining.
It was a great fun evening, and if it comes anywhere near you, you should go
and see it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-34728612125049293842024-03-05T08:42:00.002+13:002024-03-06T08:40:53.665+13:00Hutt Sounds<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.brewtown.co.nz/whats-on/hutt-sounds-24" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hutt Sounds</a> is an annual festival in its second year, held
at <a href="https://www.brewtown.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brewtown</a> in <a href="https://www.upperhuttcity.com/Home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Upper Hutt</a>. Brewtown? What’s that? It’s like an industrial park…for
breweries! The anchor brewery there is <a href="https://panheadcustomales.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panhead</a>, who have established themselves
in the Wellington area over the last few years; but there are other breweries,
a gin distillery, and other related industries like, er, <a href="https://www.brewtown.co.nz/sweet-axe-throwing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">axe-throwing</a>?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In their inaugural year, the line-up had a distinctly
Antipodean feel to it, headlined by Aussie rockers <a href="https://www.hoodoogurus.net/tour/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hoodoo Gurus</a>, and supported
by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi-Sex" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mi-Sex</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_(New_Zealand_band)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stellar*</a>, both kiwi bands of yesteryear; those are the ones you’ll
have heard of, anyway. This year, however, the theme was definitely Eighties.
This started with Kiwi band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mockers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Mockers</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Choirboys_(band)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Choirboys</a>. We didn’t
really care about them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvY2sEfMC8g6dfV1l2tQKSD3ZfFYfZ9Zt_ZhKyJRIhyphenhyphen9vFrS3JFS2nlPte6h0xBL3euSch8Q8t3aaHoI_Vb_FKDfyMKMFJ_AvB5DSSBIJGxvxgS-pvCM3RRyi9U8SJPsqcmEFY0Tu-cBAiVK_Nylsk7mWVKGsjG0qc_j7ugqYxc9C-XyrcTRVfpS_ltFWT/s1080/Hutt%20Sounds.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvY2sEfMC8g6dfV1l2tQKSD3ZfFYfZ9Zt_ZhKyJRIhyphenhyphen9vFrS3JFS2nlPte6h0xBL3euSch8Q8t3aaHoI_Vb_FKDfyMKMFJ_AvB5DSSBIJGxvxgS-pvCM3RRyi9U8SJPsqcmEFY0Tu-cBAiVK_Nylsk7mWVKGsjG0qc_j7ugqYxc9C-XyrcTRVfpS_ltFWT/w400-h400/Hutt%20Sounds.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The event is held in an open field, with food and beverages
available from the adjacent covered area. Despite the weather forecast two days
out looking like it would be a washout, by the time we got to the day this had
been revised to sunshine, and this is how it turned out. We’d taken the
decision to skip the first three acts, and arrived just in time as <a href="https://www.nikkershaw.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nik Kershaw</a>
kicked off his set. Arriving late has two distinct disadvantages: finding
somewhere to park (we found a space a few hundred metres away), and then
finding a place in the crowd…for this is not a festival for those young folk
who can stand around for hours on end. No, this is a festival that you bring
your camp chairs to; this is Dad Rock. The ground had been divided up into standing at the front,
sitting on rugs next, then low-back chairs, and finally high-backed chairs at
the back. These were set out in serried rows by the punters who’d been there all
afternoon, and we had to try to find somewhere to squeeze in. We managed,
though, and were soon sitting and listening to the strains of Nik Kershaw. He’d
sensibly decided to leave all his new material at home, and just belted out the
classics. He’s got more hits than you probably remember, not just The Riddle
and Wouldn’t It Be Good. He also mixed in his pension plan (in case you don’t
know, he wrote world-wide hit The One And Only, sung by Chesney Hawkes) and
gave us a cover of Yazoo’s Only You.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next on the list was <a href="Go West" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Go West</a>. Why were they higher up the
set than Nik Kershaw? They’ve only had one hit! (We Close Our Eyes, in case you’ve
forgotten). But it turns out that their album was a huge seller in New Zealand –
triple platinum! OK, triple platinum in New Zealand is only 60,000 records
(compare UK 900,000, US 3,000,000), and this is what justifies them being
higher up the ranking. Meh. I only know one of their songs, and from the sound
of them, that’s the only one worth knowing.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But what we were really there for was the headline act: <a href="https://www.thehumanleague.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Human League</a>. Yes, Phil Oakey and the girls (ha! Both in their sixties now),
with a new band behind them playing the instruments. They cranked out all the
hits you know and love. They also slipped in what I consider some of their more
recent works – Tell Me When and One Man In My Heart (from 1995’s Octopus album - so recent!)
and a cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Behind The Mask. After finishing their
set with the inevitable Don’t You Want Me? They returned for an encore of what might
be considered non-canon works – Being Boiled, from when the Human League
included Martin Ware and Ian Marsh, who later left to form <a href="https://www.heaven17.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Heaven 17</a>; and
Together In Electric Dreams, which was Phil Oakey/Giorgio Moroder, from the
film of the same name.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the venue is in a residential district, I assume that
there are regulations about late night activities. The gig ended early and we
were heading for the exit at the prescribed finish time of 8:40.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p> </p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-85203578750246005622024-03-04T13:24:00.001+13:002024-03-04T13:24:13.621+13:00Lads On The Island<p>Nicola is back on ushering duty at <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Circa</a> again, and this
month there’s an adaptation of Shakespeare’s <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/tempest/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Tempest</a>. Sounds fun!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Due to various time constraints, we’d had a big lunch at
<a href="https://www.arcimboldi.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Arcimboldi</a> – pizza and pasta – rather than trying to find somewhere to eat
before afterwards, as the show started at 7:30 and lasted 75 minutes. Now that
<a href="https://www.fieldandgreen.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Field & Green</a> have closed we have fewer good options for dining nearby. No
matter, we satisfied ourselves with what was described as “bread and dips” off
the snack menu, but actually turned out to be “bread and dip”. It was OK.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3upyVOI9eN4pGwtd1L1_SlCQgRaqsFh-7uwYkditHvdR9FcmmNkSBSVIM-bI2qOLPhvv_2-UMkx_vBWuaYvfL0k_cI-elZ2yIl7MxDNqzvXMgVVNYZNM4CUt9oAm9dJjBct3gOEyJd4KS3kLnDQ9Jy0T60i4W-i4MBFrylv1KuR92grDlY-WtZuFlb2V5/s225/Lads%20on%20the%20island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="224" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3upyVOI9eN4pGwtd1L1_SlCQgRaqsFh-7uwYkditHvdR9FcmmNkSBSVIM-bI2qOLPhvv_2-UMkx_vBWuaYvfL0k_cI-elZ2yIl7MxDNqzvXMgVVNYZNM4CUt9oAm9dJjBct3gOEyJd4KS3kLnDQ9Jy0T60i4W-i4MBFrylv1KuR92grDlY-WtZuFlb2V5/w398-h400/Lads%20on%20the%20island.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I’ve never seen or read The Tempest before, so I did a quick
bit of swotting (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>) to get the gist of it. I needn’t have bothered: it’s
not so much an adaptation, as a play loosely based on characters from the Tempest.
There are three actors – the eponymous “lads”, Prospero and Ariel; and four
female characters all played by Bronwyn Ensor: Prospero’s sister Miranda; Ariel’s
boyfriend Sebastian; Prospero’s ex-girlfriend, Fern; and Ariel’s mother.
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sycorax#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sycorax</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shakespeare afficionados will have spotted that Miranda isn’t
Prospero’s sister, and Fern doesn’t exist in the original. She is, however, the
driving force of the plot, as it is Prospero’s breakup with her that is the
cause of his angst. Prospero has magically bound his best friend Ariel to the
island, and Ariel is trying to comfort him in the time-honoured way of all men,
with beer, chips, and an acoustic guitar. Whilst the plot in no way follows Shakespeare,
quotes from the play are liberally worked into the dialogue, in particular
echoing the “thou liest” from the play with “I truthest”, repeated several times
at different points. They also debate the relative merits of being Sherlock
Holmes or Dr. Watson. It is the arrival of Ariel’s mother that finally opens
Prospero up, and he discusses the details of his breakup with Ariel and Sycorax.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It all comes to a satisfactorily unsatisfactory conclusion,
rather than wrapping up neatly. There are few twists and turns along the way as
well – spoiler alert!* It turns out Ariel was never bound to the island, and
that Prospero had been unceremoniously dumped by Fern, rather than the way he
told it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">* It’s OK, it’s finished its run in Wellington, and you
probably won’t get to see it overseas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-71251850703257590062024-02-24T08:46:00.000+13:002024-02-24T08:46:25.730+13:00Blackcaps vs. Australia<p><a href="https://www.cricket.com.au/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Australia</a> are touring <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a> and playing a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">T20</a> series
and two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_cricket" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">test matches</a> here. They haven’t played test match cricket in New
Zealand since 2016, presumably through fear of the thrashing they’d get at the
hands of the <a href="https://www.nzc.nz/international/blackcaps/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Blackcaps</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0amqhHu-qS2ofpz9JaE8Tzh09lCG4BiuS1GPKuYi-qOkR9YKGRD0URYtHcZVtyexo9xooTsNYezm_a4ob8rm0BitSFMu67DcqnZhSPPXYmXnn8YLezlj7SOWG4bT33sQD8dcKhXGtedwnpCYZZsdc5ZR20DfsYmkFeVTgAruQbei9lyVoqLhIvtNcOOa0/s345/Blackcaps.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="345" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0amqhHu-qS2ofpz9JaE8Tzh09lCG4BiuS1GPKuYi-qOkR9YKGRD0URYtHcZVtyexo9xooTsNYezm_a4ob8rm0BitSFMu67DcqnZhSPPXYmXnn8YLezlj7SOWG4bT33sQD8dcKhXGtedwnpCYZZsdc5ZR20DfsYmkFeVTgAruQbei9lyVoqLhIvtNcOOa0/w400-h266/Blackcaps.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>One of the test matches will be played in <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington</a> at the
<a href="https://basinreserve.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Basin Reserve</a>, and is already sold out. If there’s play on day five we might be
able to get along to it. However, the T20 matches are played in much larger
stadium venues, and in Wellington that means <a href="https://www.skystadium.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sky Stadium</a>. We went along on
Wednesday night to see the Blackcaps give the opposition a total thrashing.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We arrived with a bit of time to spare, so got drinks
upstairs at the <a href="https://www.skystadium.co.nz/functions/function-room/16" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mezz Bar</a>. They also serve food up there, so I put in my order,
only to be told there was a 30-minute wait for food. “But, no problem”, the
barman told me; “they serve the same food downstairs”. So we finished our
drinks, and Nicola went to take our seats whilst I went in search of
alimentation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here is the news: they do NOT serve the same food downstairs.
They serve typical stadium food downstairs, which is why we head up to the Mezz
Bar in the first place. So I found some fush’n’chups and a cheeseburger of
dubious quality, and we had those instead.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Blackcaps started with a stutter, scoring three runs from
the first over. This didn’t seem to bother them, and soon they were at 51/0 off
4 overs. First fall was Finn Allen at 61 runs off 5.2 overs. This brought in <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/rachin-ravindra-959767" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rachin Ravindra</a>, New Zealand’s new superstar, and he and Devon Conway made 113 for the next wicket,
both making half centuries. New Zealand kept up the run rate, eventually finishing 215/3.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kD-r4QTdfQUPr4pgUHSO8A_BRBaFMRZZjF5p5Dup-KU0lZBn6C2Yi6gywDCiXAI7qtRrU0vosUz2f7pSQzSCwfBVig-9ElOjw4xDN0h4fKmO6tFu4d1iYxiN8rO5UpqoZ3sTZHa65Pq31-aQBVdvwafd8coSdiZx0crt0XAAS47wxsNG4SSBNBC3LvQM/s4000/20240221_192742%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kD-r4QTdfQUPr4pgUHSO8A_BRBaFMRZZjF5p5Dup-KU0lZBn6C2Yi6gywDCiXAI7qtRrU0vosUz2f7pSQzSCwfBVig-9ElOjw4xDN0h4fKmO6tFu4d1iYxiN8rO5UpqoZ3sTZHa65Pq31-aQBVdvwafd8coSdiZx0crt0XAAS47wxsNG4SSBNBC3LvQM/w400-h300/20240221_192742%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">That’s a formidable target for a T20 match, and Australia set about chasing
it. They managed to keep up with the run rate until towards the end, as wickets
fell regularly. But not regularly enough, and with three overs to go, they were
at 173/4, needing 43. The 18<sup>th</sup> over went for eight runs, so now the
equation was 35 off 12 balls. It looked like New Zealand’s game.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How do you lose a match from there? The penultimate over went
for 19 runs, with Tim David hitting two sixes and a four off the last three
balls. Suddenly, the target is 16. Tim Southee comes in to bowl, and bowls a
wide! A leg bye on the next ball returns Tim David to the striking end, and the
next two balls are also singles. They need 12 from three balls…a six and a two
leave them needing a four off the last ball to win. Southee attempts the yorker
to tuck him up, but David gives himself room and hits it to midwicket. There’s
a despairing dive from Glenn Phillips but he can’t stop it reaching the rope,
and Australia make it on the last ball. A <a href="https://scoring.nzc.nz/?tab=m_scorecard#m73d879e8-4f48-4991-8ae5-e38858ee0be5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">true nail-biter</a>!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Right, we’ve got them where we want them now, it’ll all be
over in the next two matches.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-26434529592110146172024-02-23T13:35:00.002+13:002024-02-23T13:40:30.385+13:00A Ratshit Night In Paradise<p>Say what? Yes, this is the <a href="https://fringe.co.nz/show/a-ratshit-night-in-paradise" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">title of the show</a>. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/svenolsensbrutal/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sven Olsen’s Brutal Canadian Love Saga</a> is the name of the band, and they play a selection of
songs, mostly about life in <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington</a> and <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a>. They have a string
section, and a few weeks ago Nicola was recruited to join it with her viola.
For the past few weeks she’s been rehearsing, and now, finally, she got to play
live in two gigs on Saturday and Sunday night, as part of the <a href="https://fringe.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington Fringe Festival</a>. I went along for the second of these gigs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAURsVIejRMUt7SIS1KQw4q-LRhh5FK9PWvyHrMF-WSEho-BCbyvnWH32RajixFQkfqAHimzSZMTJcqgKwXfWGXGVtPn99aXDcjaGv0bNON9t8L0-kaWYZstGXPTYCMBL-8Ab78ZLsbsXPkkmY9J-ghC3l7Oo_Fdjn-UPzI2rHbzKW4E_oU6O5cwyjt7W7/s1232/A%20Ratshit%20Night%20In%20Paradise.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="1008" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAURsVIejRMUt7SIS1KQw4q-LRhh5FK9PWvyHrMF-WSEho-BCbyvnWH32RajixFQkfqAHimzSZMTJcqgKwXfWGXGVtPn99aXDcjaGv0bNON9t8L0-kaWYZstGXPTYCMBL-8Ab78ZLsbsXPkkmY9J-ghC3l7Oo_Fdjn-UPzI2rHbzKW4E_oU6O5cwyjt7W7/w328-h400/A%20Ratshit%20Night%20In%20Paradise.jpg" width="328" /></a></div><p>Nicola set out early as she had to do a sound check before
the show, so I met her later and we went for a quick <a href="https://theconversation.com/whos-for-a-ruby-murray-the-real-people-behind-popular-english-sayings-105815" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ruby</a> beforehand. The venue
was <a href="http://www.newtowncommunity.org.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Newtown Community Centre</a>, and <a href="https://neatplaces.co.nz/stories/newtown" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Newtown</a>, being at the more bohemian end of
town, has a wide selection of curry restaurants to choose from. We selected <a href="https://www.planetspice.co.nz/#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Planet Spice</a>, largely on the basis that it was close to the Community Centre. After
dining on butter chicken and biryani, we headed back and I positioned myself in
an ideal spot to take pictures and record one of the songs – Nicola had given
me a heads-up that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Ylnptd90aHA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Adam’s Terrace</a> would be a good candidate for this.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The gig started, and they played through a long set of songs,
with some chat in between explaining the provenance and meaning of each song,
as well as introducing the band, and general badinage. The band total 20 people –
the main band on the stage, including vocalists, guitar, drums, and double bass;
a flautist, a mandolinier, and the strings. The musical styles of the songs
vary, but all have a quasi-country tone and feel to them. They also make videos
which are projected onto the backdrop as they play. I took some pictures and recorded
on my phone.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEUxGdV9_XwiU74JKnSg4n-8n1LSMgueZjd3Vm1BzU5gBeEpCzCOwZMRUuF1dVG5rBSpvyMzbolMFhOqln9cfSP6hsV4viHt0B_VvLmsPPkzIWytIFx8RYuDgBg5YOp2eh-IAztLAIJ7Za0Wn5LEYp8k0EfKNOHTXA6V_W_QK8j1m-f577ke2hsTBXC5M/s2576/20240218_193702%5B1%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1932" data-original-width="2576" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEUxGdV9_XwiU74JKnSg4n-8n1LSMgueZjd3Vm1BzU5gBeEpCzCOwZMRUuF1dVG5rBSpvyMzbolMFhOqln9cfSP6hsV4viHt0B_VvLmsPPkzIWytIFx8RYuDgBg5YOp2eh-IAztLAIJ7Za0Wn5LEYp8k0EfKNOHTXA6V_W_QK8j1m-f577ke2hsTBXC5M/w400-h300/20240218_193702%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">As <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Elder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Helmuth Von Moltke</a> once said, “No plan survives first
contact with the enemy”. What I hadn’t bargained for was the 1,000KW LED that Nicola
uses to be able to read her music, clipped to the music stand. Yes, behind that
blinding light is Nicola.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqlNzPk6jhhKP2O7G_NcOAjl9SUfZtScsXqu47NwXKwsHPvIzVbXO8rALp2bdAKNr6KrIzty3ADWQ1ab9l9kinPyw6_qzuIP_xIU6HjU8g1fSKo5wgtVUbn1c8Ibv1CbKNCojOnaluSqrA8ff6hxyisEfDrZKq04yQZWpPx-YHjOgwrYm-7DeqpbuVGnU/s4000/20240218_211126%5B1%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqlNzPk6jhhKP2O7G_NcOAjl9SUfZtScsXqu47NwXKwsHPvIzVbXO8rALp2bdAKNr6KrIzty3ADWQ1ab9l9kinPyw6_qzuIP_xIU6HjU8g1fSKo5wgtVUbn1c8Ibv1CbKNCojOnaluSqrA8ff6hxyisEfDrZKq04yQZWpPx-YHjOgwrYm-7DeqpbuVGnU/w400-h300/20240218_211126%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Fortunately, they all stood up at the end to take a bow.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-61309201416680038702024-01-21T11:46:00.001+13:002024-01-21T11:46:10.991+13:00The Lobster<p>There’s not usually much on at the theatre at the beginning
of the year, as they close for the Christmas and New Year break, and then
re-open with a rerun of the Christmas panto. However, <a href="https://bats.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BATS</a> are putting stuff
on, and one of those is <a href="https://bats.co.nz/whats-on/the-lobster/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Lobster</a> – a stage adaptation of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3464902/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the film</a> starring
Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman. I’ve seen the film, and it’s
weird, so we were forewarned about what to expect.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qT_NdL2zdfvUFZh3S8bxe5pvxOpRcgftFoEBIoqLtywvJ71o9dhtv0bSvdDKyekvOqbYNK_iTe9x6-0rAqJrravihNvMvOzoD2wVwnleevVJx4XUyvNHvF7eLwE8kUKuPkTwR33j18iUsi4LytVEI4UVHVuEGIgdcRWu51Cljnz_7hGZ018vLmMTbJQU/s960/The%20Lobster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="960" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qT_NdL2zdfvUFZh3S8bxe5pvxOpRcgftFoEBIoqLtywvJ71o9dhtv0bSvdDKyekvOqbYNK_iTe9x6-0rAqJrravihNvMvOzoD2wVwnleevVJx4XUyvNHvF7eLwE8kUKuPkTwR33j18iUsi4LytVEI4UVHVuEGIgdcRWu51Cljnz_7hGZ018vLmMTbJQU/w400-h191/The%20Lobster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>But what’s theatre without dinner first? A new restaurant
has opened on a perennial site – formerly Ambeli, Slim Davey’s, Amok, now <a href="https://www.rosellawinebar.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rosella</a>...and
that’s just since we moved here! They claim to take influences from across the
Mediterranean, North Africa, and Middle East. Sounds good!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their menu is the smaller plates/sharing type that seems to
have been all the rage for the last few years, but we decided on a more
conventional starter & main course approach: oysters and chicken liver
parfait, followed by butterfish and squid ink pasta. We had time and the inclination
for dessert, and chose the grapefruit & Campari sorbet, and sumac-roasted
strawberries. All delicious, and we’ll be back, hopefully for a longer service,
as they have an option called “Just feed me!” where you hand control over to
the chef, and accept what comes.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">BATS Theatre is just round the corner, so we toddled off and
went up to <a href="https://bats.co.nz/about-bats/venues/the-dome/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Dome</a>. This had been kitted out with minimal décor, a couple of
chairs, a bed and a table, which were moved around by the cast, as required.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The plot of The Lobster revolves around David, who has been
sent to The Hotel because his wife has left him for another man. In this
dystopian future, being single or a “loner” is not permitted, and he has 45
days in which to form a relationship with another loner at the hotel, or face
being turned into an animal of his choice. David’s preferred animal is a
lobster. We meet a selection of the other loners, who are almost universally
weirdos and misfits. There are strict rules at The Hotel, and many activities
in which participation is obligatory.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The play follows the story of the first half of the film, so
far as I remember it, but stops abruptly at that point. The second half of the
film, where (spoiler alert) David escapes, is not covered…probably because of
the logistics and scene changes that would be required to take it outside of
The Hotel. Nevertheless, it was suitably weird, and blackly humorous, much like
the original.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-59555339023225778852024-01-17T12:54:00.004+13:002024-01-17T16:35:34.452+13:00The Big Foody<p>For the past five years (yes!) I’ve been taking guided
tours at <a href="https://www.visitzealandia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zealandia</a>. At the end of last year, another opportunity was presented
to me…taking guided tours around Wellington, to various foody establishments.
The company, <a href="https://www.thebigfoody.com/daily-tours/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Big Foody</a>, is setting up in <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington</a> (they’re based in
<a href="https://www.aucklandnz.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Auckland</a>) and need guides for its tours. Sounds like my kind of deal, right?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR7aOsk8AY701UnllqJU6IcJ5YkMVziKbAWiWvvAXICRazfaoC57volMmfJ6TThK6uuR_AvhYVBXz7X8OuKhrlAnZvdmPlhHBySaok75r9L7mQ654WrUwpOmAbgQBxSJJCs1JIA1RVdbO59FU851Lo-XPUog_-0vKPrsJZGWc17tgs_gymv-XNIWd5NbH/s640/the-big-foody-food-tours.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="640" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR7aOsk8AY701UnllqJU6IcJ5YkMVziKbAWiWvvAXICRazfaoC57volMmfJ6TThK6uuR_AvhYVBXz7X8OuKhrlAnZvdmPlhHBySaok75r9L7mQ654WrUwpOmAbgQBxSJJCs1JIA1RVdbO59FU851Lo-XPUog_-0vKPrsJZGWc17tgs_gymv-XNIWd5NbH/w400-h231/the-big-foody-food-tours.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>In December, I accompanied the other Wellington guide,
once on a training tour and once on what is known in the trade as a ”<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/famil" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">famil</a>”
- a familiarisation tour for people who
will recommend us – journalists, industry professionals, tourism companies etc.
Then on Sunday, I took my first tour with actual members of the public, from
the cruise ship <a href="https://www.azamara.com/nz/our-ships/azamara-journey" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Azamara Journey</a>. There were supposed to be two ships in Wellington on
that day, so the Big Cheese, Elle, had come down from Auckland to take the
other…but it turns out that <a href="https://www.princess.com/en-au/ships-and-experience/ships/ap-grand-princess" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Grand Princess</a> couldn’t dock in Wellington due to
the high winds. Azamara Journey is a much smaller, boutique cruise liner, so
didn’t suffer from the problems that affect the larger ships: their high-sidedness
effectively turns the side of a ship into a giant sail, and they are unable to
control docking in high winds.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We’d arranged to meet up 15 minutes before the tour began
at the <a href="https://visitheritage.co.nz/visit/wellington/old-government-buildings/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Old Government Buildings</a>. When I arrived, they were already there! I
welcomed them all, and explained that as it was Sunday, all the businesses
around this end of town were closed, so we had a little bit of a walk to our
first destination. Just to complicate matters, Sunday was also the day of the
Wellington leg of the <a href="https://cycletournz.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand Pro Classic</a> cycle race. This is normally run
in various legs around the Wairarapa, but this year they decided to do the
final leg on an urban course on the <a href="https://cycletournz.com/cycle-wellingtons-golden-mile/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Golden Mile</a> in Wellington. Which is slap
bang in the middle of the route we usually take through the city! We had to
divert down Featherston Street. Normally we’d head to <a href="https://www.pravdacafe.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pravda</a> for cheese scones,
but they’re shut on Sundays, so we went to our alternate venue, <a href="https://www.pickleandpie.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pickle &
Pie</a>. Both are Wellington institutions, with Pravda being <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_famous_in_New_Zealand" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">world-famous in New Zealand</a> for its cheese scones. During <a href="https://visawoap.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington On A Plate</a> they run
scone-making courses, and these are usually a sell-out. Pickle & Pie’s approach
is slightly different, in that they cram as much cheese into the scone as
possible, and then toast it and serve it with…you guessed…pickles! We also tasted
some of their Pie Of The Day – brisket with cheese.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Next, we backtracked a little to <a href="https://www.willislane.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Willis Lane</a>, to try
beer, charcuterie and cheeses at <a href="https://churlys.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Churly’s</a> . This is a venue owned by <a href="https://www.behemothbrewing.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Behemoth</a>,
an Auckland craft brewery, but it’s inclusion on the Wellington tour is due to
(a) having a strong connection to the owner, and (b) the unique charcuterie from
<a href="https://www.aladybutcher.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Lady Butcher</a>. As the sun is over the yardarm by this stage, a couple of beers
(tasting size only!) are included.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Out into the sunshine and Wellington wind again – we were
certainly giving our group the full Wellington experience! – and across <a href="https://wellington.govt.nz/news-and-events/news-and-information/our-wellington/2021/06/the-history-of-jervois-quay" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jervois Quay</a> to the waterfront, our next stop was <a href="https://www.karakacafe.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Karaka café</a>. Sited next to the
<a href="https://wharewakatours.maori.nz/wharewaka-function-centre/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wharewaka</a> function centre, this café is owned and operated by the <a href="https://www.teawe.maori.nz/who-we-are/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Retimanu whānau</a>, of Māori
& Pacifica descent. The food is reflective of this heritage, and they work
with Māori and Pacifica providers as much as possible. The offering here is a <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/maori-hangi/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hāngī</a>-style
potato and kumara cake, topped with a pork and watercress sausage, washed down
with a <a href="https://tahadrinks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Taha tonic</a>, flavoured with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_excelsum" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kawakawa</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Our final stop on this tour is at <a href="https://wcf.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington Chocolate Factory</a>. WCF is no ordinary chocolate maker – they go above and beyond to
produce the finest chocolate possible. This includes going way further than the
rubber-stamp <a href="https://fairtradeanz.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fair Trade</a> that other ethically-produced chocolate manufacturers
boast of – they actually visit the chocolate growers themselves, and
increasingly source their beans from Pacific producers, notably in <a href="https://www.vanuatu.travel/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vanuatu</a>. They
sort the beans and roast them all themselves, and then mix them into various
types of chocolate – dark, milk, vegan (with coconut milk), and some flavoured
bars as well. Naturally, it’s more expensive than Cadbury’s and even
<a href="https://www.whittakers.co.nz/en_NZ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Whittaker's</a>, but it is as good as chocolate can get. They have recently
introduced <a href="https://wcf.co.nz/collections/drinking-chocolate/products/original-tea-15-pack" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">chocolate “tea”</a>, made with the husks of the cacao beans (which are
usually discarded) – a light and refreshing alternative to hot chocolate, but
with all the health benefits associated with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theobromine</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Elle had to dash away early to catch her plane back to
Auckland, so I escorted the group back to the pick-up point where we’d started
the tour. It’s a bit of a hike around Wellington, so you get a chance to work
up an appetite, and then walk off the calories afterwards. But no-one left
hungry!</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">For the rest of the summer I'll be combining my Zealandia tours with Big Foody tours, which helps to break up my work and provide some variety.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-39121453331596056092023-11-26T11:58:00.001+13:002023-11-26T11:58:10.536+13:00Dara Ó Briain<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">It’s raining comedy in <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a>! Hot on the heels of
<a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2023/11/bill-bailey-thoughtifier.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bill Bailey</a> comes Ireland’s finest, <a href="https://daraobriain.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dara Ó Briain</a>. As you can tell from the picture,
<i>his</i> tour is ending in New Zealand, not beginning. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholZ5xmIaFwV9gDfxdfxAbwxMivSNLh60y8CUdGxREmO6sLFcxti_lYFUOBWWYGUzUBuwm5u6697n9eiI-2_He-Lp9KghmxlQpmRDGDDb6EFHOy7CTXvwKUTlyhys-ums6O57ykqWt73vESXjdMLr0h0grOw9QQ-O67WtPiQBCEUesl81NXn_IXaUCJTlE/s680/Dara%20OBriain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="680" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholZ5xmIaFwV9gDfxdfxAbwxMivSNLh60y8CUdGxREmO6sLFcxti_lYFUOBWWYGUzUBuwm5u6697n9eiI-2_He-Lp9KghmxlQpmRDGDDb6EFHOy7CTXvwKUTlyhys-ums6O57ykqWt73vESXjdMLr0h0grOw9QQ-O67WtPiQBCEUesl81NXn_IXaUCJTlE/w400-h225/Dara%20OBriain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Dinner first: we booked <a href="https://theoldquarter.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Old Quarter</a>, a modern Asian
place on Dixon Street. They specialise in Vietnamese food; they also specialise
in serving you quickly and turning over tables. We made a rookie mistake of
ordering our drinks and food at the same time, and the food started arriving
before our cocktails were ready! Next time, we’ll order cocktails and not do
the food until they’ve arrived. All of it was delicious, however, and we even
had time for a dessert.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It’s just up the road from <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/st-james-theatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">St James Theatre</a>, so in a
matter of moments we were in the foyer with time on our hands. On this occasion
we had eschewed the cheap seats and booked into the dress circle (there’s also
a grand circle), and settled in for Dara to begin.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">When Dara Ó Briain does stand-up, he doesn’t have
anything on the stage, except a stand with some water on it. This, we found out
later, has its drawbacks. Much of his show is stream of consciousness, and he disappears
off on to wild tangents before dragging himself back to the story he was
telling. He also did some audience interaction, meeting people in the front row
and basically taking the piss out of their jobs (there was a hypnotherapist, an
animal experimenter, and a civil servant, amongst others).</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyway, he’s pleased to be back in Wellingon, if only
because the <a href="https://www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cable Car</a> is working now. On his first visit in 2019 it was out of
action, being repaired. “But don’t worry, there’s a replacement bus service”,
said the attendant. Dara then explains “I don’t have a meeting at the top of
the Cable Car that I have to get to, I just wanted a go on the Cable Car.” But
now he’s happy.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The second half of the show takes a different tack. After
first regaling us about the joys of visiting a theme park, with rollercoasters
and the like, mere days after undergoing knee surgery, he realised he’d missed
out a bit of his show. He ran off stage to collect his exercise book, and
started leafing through it, eventually pulling out a swathe of papers. He then
proceeded, for around half an hour, to give us a harrowing tale of the
privations suffered under Irish law, by anyone who was adopted. And why they
were adopted. This all came from having watched a film called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomena_(film)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Philomena</a>, which
he heartily recommends, as do I. Because (spoiler alert), it turns out Dara is
adopted, and he detailed the Kafkaesque Irish bureaucracy involved in getting
information about the woman who “gave you up” for adoption. Like many Irish
phrases, “giving up for adoption” is a euphemism that disguises the <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/adoption-controversy-only-one-person-was-ever-charged-over-bogus-birth-certificates-1.3515329" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">horrendous truth</a> (cf. “The Troubles”) that these women had their babies taken from them
forcibly, and often <a href="https://www.irishpost.com/news/heartbreaking-report-reveals-2000-irish-children-sold-us-adoption-mother-baby-homes-160891#:~:text=AT%20LEAST%202%2C000%20children%20were,and%20Baby%20Homes%20has%20found." rel="nofollow" target="_blank">sold to Americans</a>. Yes, sold. This was in the latter part
of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. It’s a very moving story, and fortunately one
with a happy ending, which is not the usual outcome.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But it’s all a bit of a downer. This is supposed to be a
comedy show! So Dara then brings us back with an upbeat, uplifting story about
an audience member in Canada, to cheer us all up! And then he leaves the stage,
before coming back for an inevitable encore about how he was asked for a
seven-minute segment to trail his show, and how this was impossible, because it
takes him an hour just to say “hello”.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><br /><p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-58930424333930213762023-11-24T10:29:00.003+13:002023-11-25T13:29:41.051+13:00Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier<p>That old card <a href="https://www.billbailey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bill Bailey</a> has gotten into the habit of
starting his tours in <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a>. It’s a sad fact of life that many acts,
both comedians and music, will start off their tours in Europe & America,
and don’t get to New Zealand until (sometimes) several years later. Not so Mr.
Bailey, though…in fact, at one point during his show, as he railed against the
incompetencies of UK politicians, someone heckled him “Emigrate!”, and he shared
his serious thoughts on how he’d considered moving to New Zealand at one
point. He <i>loves</i> New Zealand!</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyb-LC0MHy-KzJycOyoC9F81S0oRgQ0Api6d45tQsuG18T5kby_OcOLdpeHhQDFr9S8tKwq373qmCY11s-cIu_KsOgXmGY-HLlvuMxGCEcb-gLwKYFBTxVUkCF3NftYkOBDXFYou4ugbzzJYopr85Ibu9Ci4HTudlh5o4HxbZqcekrfVEQgwbOjy4Kba4T/s2426/Thoughtifier.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2426" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyb-LC0MHy-KzJycOyoC9F81S0oRgQ0Api6d45tQsuG18T5kby_OcOLdpeHhQDFr9S8tKwq373qmCY11s-cIu_KsOgXmGY-HLlvuMxGCEcb-gLwKYFBTxVUkCF3NftYkOBDXFYou4ugbzzJYopr85Ibu9Ci4HTudlh5o4HxbZqcekrfVEQgwbOjy4Kba4T/w400-h225/Thoughtifier.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>But I digress. Obviously, you want to know where we went for
dinner beforehand? We went to <a href="https://www.mrgos.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mr. Go’s</a>, a perennial favourite, who have now
relocated to larger premises on Eva Street. The food, however, has remained to
the same high standard, and we had my favourite, Korean chicken wings, along with broccolini,
dumplings, and “typhoon shelter” prawns – because they’re like a typhoon for
the taste buds!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bill (we’re mates) was on at the <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/michael-fowler-centre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Michael Fowler Centre</a>,
which has a bigger capacity than <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/st-james-theatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">St James Theatre</a>...and also, crucially, more
comfortable seats! Nevertheless, he’d had to book an additional night – we were
on the second show of the two, on Monday night. I’ve since spoken to some
people who went on the previous night, and there were definitely elements of our
show that weren’t in theirs – a testament to his ability to ad-lib and concoct
hilarious moments without needing to just stick to a script. Many of his quips
were tailored specifically for a New Zealand audience, including constant digs
at <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/nz/2522892/Boring-Palmy-butt-of-all-jokes?videoId=6322447107112" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Palmerston North</a>, and always referring to this gig as being in “Wellington
and the surrounding areas”.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As ever, the show involves a lot of music, and this time
round he’d come equipped with <a href="https://oddballism.com/en-ww" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MIDI balls</a>. These are bouncy balls, wirelessly connected
to a computer, which play a sound whenever they are bounced or hit. He distributed
some of these to the audience (in the front row, natch), to play the drum line,
whilst he played the guitars on another pair of balls himself. Obviously, there's a comedy moment to be had about playing with one 's balls. Another
instrument he introduced was the laser harp – a series of laser beams are the
strings, and he plays it by “plucking” them – a note is played when he interrupts
the beam. He also plays more traditional instruments, including walking around
the house and doing everything in the death metal style. Also, a madrigal
interlude based on <a href="https://oddballism.com/en-ww" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Henry VIII</a>’s <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/anne-of-cleves/#gs.0sg36x" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">meeting</a> with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Cleves" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anne of Cleves</a> – clearly a comedy
goldmine! And a rendition of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ_HHRJf0xg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Habenera</a> from Carmen, with subtitles which he felt more
accurately reflected the content of the aria; with the assistance of <a href="https://deborahwaikapohe.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Deborah Wai Kapohe</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another area he explored in some detail was the emergence of
AI. He has built some AI clones of himself and asked them questions, and also
deals with some <a href="https://chat.openai.com/auth/login" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ChatGPT</a> live on a screen. He’s unconvinced by the idea that AI
will be taking over the world soon, and demonstrates why.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As ever, two hours of howlingly funny, intelligent comedy.
If you can get to it, do – he’s playing the <a href="https://www.billbailey.co.uk/live/#uktour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">UK and Ireland</a> from February next
year.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-55840541856056927032023-11-06T10:30:00.006+13:002023-11-06T19:51:52.102+13:00Dracula’s: The Resurrection<p>What is <a href="https://draculas.com.au/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dracula’s</a>? According to its website, it was “born in
a dark, dingy Melbourne laneway in 1980, and four decades later has sold over
five million tickets…leaps like a feathered zombie show girl - from the crypt!”
In Australia, it has a fixed venue on the <a href="https://draculas.com.au/gold-coast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gold Coast</a>, with a dinner and a show.
For the tour, there’s no dinner – although their signature cocktails were available,
served in blood bags. It’s best described as a comedy gothic cabaret show. What’s
not to like?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi976Y0jhL9CV2utWWnw1ALdlaw1IRGDo-6iazFNco7uiGrwYg_7KZGZPVF_9LzL1LXx2ePzGFmT5NPDbQDrdyoKHG9haIDt2LcxfJqO-F3PK45CX78YIQaPximC3-zzbqZiZBtN1tggN0KSyWIk-9ct3agqJT25UOrVQ_c6pRjl5Wasyb3jb1XSlIAlE-Q/s2340/draculas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="2340" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi976Y0jhL9CV2utWWnw1ALdlaw1IRGDo-6iazFNco7uiGrwYg_7KZGZPVF_9LzL1LXx2ePzGFmT5NPDbQDrdyoKHG9haIDt2LcxfJqO-F3PK45CX78YIQaPximC3-zzbqZiZBtN1tggN0KSyWIk-9ct3agqJT25UOrVQ_c6pRjl5Wasyb3jb1XSlIAlE-Q/w400-h131/draculas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>It’s on at <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/st-james-theatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">St James Theatre</a> for three nights and a matinee,
and has also <a href="https://draculas.com.au/nz/wellington" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">toured</a> the rest of <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a>. Before the show, two of the cast
are patrolling the foyer in full makeup and costume, interacting with the
audience. The show started with a bang, and a rendition of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwtyn-L-2gQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sympathy For The Devil</a>. The show contains “strobe lighting, haze, fog/smoke effects, simulated
pyrotechnics, strong language, partial nudity, and adult themes”. As well as
the cabaret elements, there was a circus-style act with aerial silk, and a lot
of singing and dancing. The performers are all very technically accomplished.
The more comedic acts included one with two men and two bath towels…and nothing
more. The first half ended on the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKz9zsH-wWs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">When I Was A Sperm</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3sJ-MhED1wA" width="320" youtube-src-id="3sJ-MhED1wA"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal">The second half continued in the same theme, and finished
with a musical medley, beginning with a puppet version of Bohemian Rhapsody, then
live versions of Let’s Go Crazy and Let’s Dance. All jolly good fun, and we
emerged blinking into the afternoon sun.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-23327867405848686542023-11-03T17:13:00.005+13:002023-11-03T17:15:03.827+13:00The Importance Of Being Earnest<p>The classic <a href="http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a> <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/package/the-importance-of-being-earnest/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tale</a> has been on at <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Circa Theatre</a>
for the last few weeks. Nicola got the ushering gig for its pre-penultimate
night, so I went along too. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKizrwB_wzbWpdN4AV1aipoounTjea22AB4IWi0A1Hh9QYI1AcPZX7MdXIRglsE6GVmOApby-Ngi7_lUynwq5Z2iCNgUGQL1NPBbvi5h4UsCdqdh3W312e7ndeEWztmizMGmxNmeZ1E8w8CHNYn6C_bIJquz2B99nT8rhyphenhyphenO_QYc8iAJUakyWwGqqbFm3P/s727/Importance%20Earnest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="727" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKizrwB_wzbWpdN4AV1aipoounTjea22AB4IWi0A1Hh9QYI1AcPZX7MdXIRglsE6GVmOApby-Ngi7_lUynwq5Z2iCNgUGQL1NPBbvi5h4UsCdqdh3W312e7ndeEWztmizMGmxNmeZ1E8w8CHNYn6C_bIJquz2B99nT8rhyphenhyphenO_QYc8iAJUakyWwGqqbFm3P/w400-h345/Importance%20Earnest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s not a short play, so the start time was brought forward
to 6:30pm. This limited our dining options somewhat, so we decided to dine off
the new Circa <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/restaurant-bar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">restaurant menu</a>. I’d been disappointed with their <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/2018682519/fush-n-chups-and-the-kiwi-accent" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fush’n’chups</a>
the last time I was there, so this time opted for the chicken burger. It’s not
brilliant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When you tackle a classic like this, you’ve got to add a
twist. The last version of this I saw was with <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001132/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Judi Dench</a>, who tackled the
famous “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHVxpLDEAo8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a handbag?</a>” line with quiet restraint instead of the usual histrionics…so
that’s been done. The quirk added by this production is in the casting:
Algernon is played by Isobel Mackinnon, and Gwendolen by <a href="https://www.aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/details/ryan-carter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ryan Carter</a>. The part
of John Worthing was played by <a href="http://theproactors.co.nz/actors/andrew-paterson/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Andrew Paterson</a>, who we know as a member of <a href="https://aslightlyisolateddog.weebly.com/about.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Slightly Isolated Dog</a> as well as other roles, and has been a regular at Circa
over a number of years. Also departing from most other productions is the maid
Merriman’s rendition of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKcl4-tcuo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Life On Mars</a>, which I don’t remember being in the
original.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s all splendidly done, and everything works out in the end.
Sorry, should’ve said “spoiler alert” there.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-10772898477181599612023-10-15T09:39:00.006+13:002023-10-15T10:56:23.087+13:00Election Day<p><a href="https://youtu.be/4W5aKwrsYIM?si=p_SXU2iWaDBP4ctV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">We’re coming up on re-election day</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a> has been having one of its <a href="https://vote.nz/2023-general-election/about/2023-general-election/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">general elections</a>
recently. They happen every three years here, which is quite often. When the
election comes around the <a href="https://vote.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Electoral Commission</a> advertises for casual workers to
deliver the election – around 20,000 people get involved in the whole process.
Nicola and I decided to give it a go this year. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo2Vyzyx4HpoGMQUjnZ4cwMeWE9fCIB8cmIc2PqcnfMBs7OlvOLEM6ufVpHbp30tMplIx8-kWpADF2bYguJieBwkRWcGG2hAcosiYQYCLu9XxSZ65sgFhx_8d3U8RoRWZRDoHJN6Y0RDRcf8odFQC_fGHGR5BQowHbbq5OgignquXo-8nsA34-cLsZ0iak/s564/General%20Election.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="564" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo2Vyzyx4HpoGMQUjnZ4cwMeWE9fCIB8cmIc2PqcnfMBs7OlvOLEM6ufVpHbp30tMplIx8-kWpADF2bYguJieBwkRWcGG2hAcosiYQYCLu9XxSZ65sgFhx_8d3U8RoRWZRDoHJN6Y0RDRcf8odFQC_fGHGR5BQowHbbq5OgignquXo-8nsA34-cLsZ0iak/w400-h213/General%20Election.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We applied online and were duly invited to an
interview/assessment to see whether we were suitable and for which roles. We
both ended up being OSVIOs, which is Ordinary/Special Vote Issuing Officer. It’s
our job to complete the voting paper (what used to be called a ballot paper) for
each voter as they come to us; telling them how to mark their vote (if
necessary), and where to put the voting paper when they’d finished.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unlike some countries, voting is open for two weeks before
the final Election Day, so voting places (what used to be called Polling
Stations, but this is too difficult for some people to understand) are open and
need to be staffed. We both attended training in the weeks before so that we
would have a clear idea of what we were doing – you can watch so many videos
and online modules, but there’s nothing like practising doing it for real.
Nicola was allocated to work in the <a href="https://www.mmcc.org.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Miramar Community Centre</a>, which is just
down the road, and I was in <a href="https://hataitai.org.nz/hataitai-community-house" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hataitai Community House</a>, which is a bit further away,
necessitating a drive. In the week before election day, I was working for five
days, then did the final ED on Saturday. This is a long day, as we start at 9am
instead of the usual 10am, and go through to 7pm instead of 4pm. But at 7pm, it’s
not over. In the days leading up to ED, we’d finish up with a reconciliation
to total all the votes issued that day to a running total – a process that
normally took half an hour. On ED, however, we have to count all the votes for
each candidate and each party, and send those to Electoral Headquarters. On ED
I’d been moved to Miramar Community Hall so I was in a bigger voting place than
I’d been used to. Additionally, we had three electorates for which we were
counting votes there, and each one needs to be processed separately.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You remember that bit about “where to put their voting paper”?
It’s up there, at the end of paragraph two? Yeah, that’s too hard. So when we
were first starting the count, we had to open up all the ballot boxes and make
sure that they contained only those votes for that electorate. You’re way ahead
of me on this one, aren’t you? Of course there were some in the wrong boxes!
After we’d sorted that out, the counting proper could begin. This is a long
process, but once it’s complete the manager gets on the phone to headquarters and
relays his results…which then get fed through to the TV stations and news
networks.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We finished up around 11:15, signed out, said our goodbyes
and “see you in three years!”es, and got home. My back was aching and I was
still buzzing, so I watched the results show with a glass or two of muscle
relaxant before I hit the hay.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-8050065426354743362023-09-27T15:44:00.006+13:002023-09-27T15:58:39.292+13:00Geology<p>As members of the Friends of <a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Te Papa</a>, we are often invited
to participate in talks or other events arranged by <a href="https://www.friendsoftepapa.org.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FoTP</a> as part of their
fundraising efforts. Occasionally, we even accept! </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcnRyQXT8UoD5pFV7s2hp7vYh1tru5XwTdkfU9NKQvnHXzNtj3B5XJ_-BO7WgbVvlMRwBjae-hBLHrhloo8YuOy1xuCDx_kGuxzVAcf-UzXRJPyfOLfHGKykiiQZtvvANWVbr672UO7lo34-khwoYc433Zn3Mn60NUj9N1rWXlUiWPLRIbxEzXvgJI485/s2069/TEPAPA+2008+logo+cmyk+hi-res.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2069" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcnRyQXT8UoD5pFV7s2hp7vYh1tru5XwTdkfU9NKQvnHXzNtj3B5XJ_-BO7WgbVvlMRwBjae-hBLHrhloo8YuOy1xuCDx_kGuxzVAcf-UzXRJPyfOLfHGKykiiQZtvvANWVbr672UO7lo34-khwoYc433Zn3Mn60NUj9N1rWXlUiWPLRIbxEzXvgJI485/w194-h400/TEPAPA+2008+logo+cmyk+hi-res.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This tour was to explore the geology of Wellington city, and
was led by Hamish Campbell, formerly of <a href="https://www.gns.cri.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GNS</a>. We were advised to bring outdoor
and waterproof clothing as we would be going outside on what turned out to be a
cold, windy, somewhat drizzly day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We arrived at Te Papa to board our coach at 9:45, and set
off around Wellington’s coast – i.e. the route we usually drive to and from
Wellington! – with commentary from Hamish. He distributed maps of the city,
oriented such that the edge of the map was parallel with the <a href="https://www.gns.cri.nz/our-science/natural-hazards-and-risks/earthquakes/new-zealands-faults/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington Fault</a>
and the whole of the harbour could be included. There was lots of stuff about
faults, and subduction, and plates. The rock in the Wellington region is
uniformly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greywacke" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">greywacke</a> base rock, a type of sandstone. Our route took us around the bays and along
Shelly Bay road – the first time we’d been up that way since the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/wellington/132297880/shelly-bay-fire-cleanup-a-slow-process-because-of-asbestos-risk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fire</a> in June
this year. All those lovely heritage buildings destroyed. So sad.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our first stop was at the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/102848402/wahine-disaster-50-years-on-those-who-died-and-a-citys-memorials" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wahine Memorial</a> in Seatoun. The
memorial itself is built from greywacke of various different colours –
fifty shades of greywacke! The different colours reflect the fine-ness of the
particles that made up the original sedimentary layer, and also the amount of
carbon included – the more carbon, the darker it appears. Hamish also asked us
to consider where the pebbles on the beach had come from – not the sea, as it
happens, but almost exclusively delivered by man.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From here we drove along the south coast towards <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/sg/feature/red-rocks-reserve/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Red Rocks</a>.
The tarmac road runs out after passing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cwhiro_Bay" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Owhiro Bay</a>, so from there we went on foot
to admire some of the rock formations in what used to be a quarry.
The fault lines are clearly visible in the rock, and the shift between the layers
of strata show the subduction and bending of the rock under extremely high
temperatures deep underground, which have now been brought up to the surface. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY4mmNqqKGPGamxCZln5GKPlQViAo2ZfGWuQoWg3AvFnXjUwCD5lyv6oxhNxDGScT3ln69-zhD__v54TRA57va3RiGQ63l49xRI7wcIhJUTmfERckFPhLVe3AaXtopFhvH4uSh8ZSAbVOpaZQnQb4oFKvGAGhq9bMFOPSkvCu7NiOaCLVooOHzm4oGWY38" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1853" data-original-width="1390" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY4mmNqqKGPGamxCZln5GKPlQViAo2ZfGWuQoWg3AvFnXjUwCD5lyv6oxhNxDGScT3ln69-zhD__v54TRA57va3RiGQ63l49xRI7wcIhJUTmfERckFPhLVe3AaXtopFhvH4uSh8ZSAbVOpaZQnQb4oFKvGAGhq9bMFOPSkvCu7NiOaCLVooOHzm4oGWY38" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0mn95dopXQ7IUx5XJ0ozVD4nmeC0ne1Ax_uaqUds2yOvvWra0-tSPrUk7ioSwDJHoB9TYDLjDNKaCSulSUKE9jBJgugGwpGA1kLECkyMgEdjMVT6l6m6YSk1dHWgzNU4bT7ICHtOTA5zQZqGCa7Jy3e4XFJ-SenBIvuOdGfgujuhpZoMklV19jaV5Losu" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1414" data-original-width="1885" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0mn95dopXQ7IUx5XJ0ozVD4nmeC0ne1Ax_uaqUds2yOvvWra0-tSPrUk7ioSwDJHoB9TYDLjDNKaCSulSUKE9jBJgugGwpGA1kLECkyMgEdjMVT6l6m6YSk1dHWgzNU4bT7ICHtOTA5zQZqGCa7Jy3e4XFJ-SenBIvuOdGfgujuhpZoMklV19jaV5Losu" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is all your fault</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We ate our packed lunches on the coach at this point, it being
generally too cold, windy and rainy to eat outside. From there we drove up to
Karori, with the intention of getting up to <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/uk/feature/wrights-hill-fortress-and-recreation-reserve/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wright’s Hill</a> to see the whole of
the Wellington fault from the vantage point. But the weather was against us by
this time, and we scratched the idea after a cup of coffee, as there would have
been nothing to see under these conditions. We therefore drove on to
the final stop on the tour – a church built in the 1960s, the <a href="https://www.futunatrust.org.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Futuna Chapel</a>.
This is included because it contains three unusual types of stone: an altar made of red
South African granite, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpentinite" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">serpentinite</a> in the floor, and the marble used for
altars around the rest of the chapel. Hamish told us about serpentinite and the
difference between it and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pounamu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pounamu</a> (greenstone or jade); and also about his adventures in finding
pounamu, and the research which eventually led to a unique
way of identifying pounamu using radio isotope dating, which is the only
reliable way to positively say where a piece of stone has originated;
strontium/lead decay is the method used.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That about concluded our tour, and we drove back to the city
centre. They asked us where wanted to be dropped off (as the route was going
past some people’s homes), so I hopefully raised my hand and said Miramar, but
they weren’t going for that, and we alit at the bus station to complete our
journey on the No. 24 bus.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-7377657075521838672023-09-22T17:20:00.003+12:002023-09-22T17:23:57.427+12:00Tim Finn<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Finn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tim Finn</a>, brother of <a href="https://www.neilfinn.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Neil</a> and integral part of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_Enz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Split Enz</a> and
later joining <a href="https://www.crowdedhouse.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Crowded House</a>, is back playing gigs around New Zealand. We’ve
seen Neil on a <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2014/09/neil-finn.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">number</a> of <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2015/10/neil-finn-solo-with-strings.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">occasions</a> over the last <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2021/03/crowded-house.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">decade</a> or so, but this is the
first time that Tim’s broken cover, so of course we went!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnpS6R0EB_cdXHrTONfeCN3TfX5xt16Enkgu9rTOHBgBq1EDaL6NWyINHZQ4m8dzQqnR0sSYaltJKoFNl-UmNcKFLnwvCZRvErh9-hf6PRYcslI_DpZoVRvWW1vSjjSCUkia1hedIDWGPSFUjVTu3U0BA_MFkD9fp7USx8MIkIYluKOgN4px_t6rzmEYgW/s1920/Tim%20Finn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnpS6R0EB_cdXHrTONfeCN3TfX5xt16Enkgu9rTOHBgBq1EDaL6NWyINHZQ4m8dzQqnR0sSYaltJKoFNl-UmNcKFLnwvCZRvErh9-hf6PRYcslI_DpZoVRvWW1vSjjSCUkia1hedIDWGPSFUjVTu3U0BA_MFkD9fp7USx8MIkIYluKOgN4px_t6rzmEYgW/w225-h400/Tim%20Finn.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p>First, as always, the obligatory dinner. Recently we’ve been
frequenting much the same haunts, principally due to their proximity to <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/michael-fowler-centre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Michael Fowler Centre</a>, or wherever we’re due that evening. But tonight we cast the net
a little wider, to revisit a place we’ve not been to, I think, since
pre-pandemic times: <a href="https://www.pravdacafe.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pravda</a>. This has morphed into a specialist steak restaurant
these days, but they do also have other options. They’re also doing a pre-<a href="https://www.worldofwearableart.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WOW</a>
set menu, but we decided to forgo that in favour of a steak. Unfortunately
when I asked the waiter about oysters he told me they’d sold out, but we
ploughed on regardless. I had baby octopus and hurunui fillet, Nicola had burrata
and squid. Still a class restaurant, I’m happy to report.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A short walk took us back to <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/michael-fowler-centre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mickey Fowl’s</a> and this time we
were seated in the upper section, at the back – best seats in the house! The
support band, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Grater" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Flip Grater</a>, came on and gave us a short set of seven songs which
all sounded the same. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHXqxTv3lygHxxlxDVSQII2c11Gfud6VsGh2BWuQMA_4FdoRGJYtf3PQGZw5pGlb1oyhmGiOnuIT1L8pDEtIbK-ZC7-9i5w5tuANkU9YsW7IBqzlgXB0cfTJevg1R2DNAJfgacoCo31fimuo-JhNMK1NcNeMRLHsAdMEc_PI-z0rBJr3Vk4-w1QacNKh7I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1637" data-original-width="2183" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHXqxTv3lygHxxlxDVSQII2c11Gfud6VsGh2BWuQMA_4FdoRGJYtf3PQGZw5pGlb1oyhmGiOnuIT1L8pDEtIbK-ZC7-9i5w5tuANkU9YsW7IBqzlgXB0cfTJevg1R2DNAJfgacoCo31fimuo-JhNMK1NcNeMRLHsAdMEc_PI-z0rBJr3Vk4-w1QacNKh7I=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Then time for the main act. The house lights go down, the
stage lights go up, and the musicians all take their places; on comes Tim, to a
tremendous roar! He trips up, and the whole place goes dark and quiet. What’s
happened? The lights return, and “Oops!” says Tim. “That was my mistake”…and
they immediately rip into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjUoaP8xbSQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My Mistake</a>. I see what you did there!<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxdXsbjll7335f9UfU6XuysVX1HxthMxPtq-PJehlJCqZUQpi7xsgri0lg8sKfa09hp6cahaFqpFEq-9kVFfQ2wXktJmMCc43jhlyvZABAnuM1z_sAJTDcF2RmZfyPd6KAoORh50mXWXwE63Pa5UdlfXF46pxjF241LFMY4Wh6WPctBh_5sMyhHqmiUqCw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1807" data-original-width="2410" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxdXsbjll7335f9UfU6XuysVX1HxthMxPtq-PJehlJCqZUQpi7xsgri0lg8sKfa09hp6cahaFqpFEq-9kVFfQ2wXktJmMCc43jhlyvZABAnuM1z_sAJTDcF2RmZfyPd6KAoORh50mXWXwE63Pa5UdlfXF46pxjF241LFMY4Wh6WPctBh_5sMyhHqmiUqCw" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhISaP1xDChwzo2TJWSi9zl4YrPONdVC7FSPLhAUB8fwaIdiRIG56VpOqhaNc0LTTnb-sDwdLpwbQyFpOUbWW1-GW8J5zX3Lns0b4qScuhSZ78Fyt8LNPE9uH9_37_tC_KmYg_98o02kl1zKXuG_KRpqO9PCTxjnAuN1TBUJPZ_LXimK4-ae2sxLabsJfNX" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1659" data-original-width="2212" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhISaP1xDChwzo2TJWSi9zl4YrPONdVC7FSPLhAUB8fwaIdiRIG56VpOqhaNc0LTTnb-sDwdLpwbQyFpOUbWW1-GW8J5zX3Lns0b4qScuhSZ78Fyt8LNPE9uH9_37_tC_KmYg_98o02kl1zKXuG_KRpqO9PCTxjnAuN1TBUJPZ_LXimK4-ae2sxLabsJfNX" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The rest of the set followed a roughly chronological order,
with the first half made up of Split Enz songs, before heading off to solo
material and three songs from Crowded House’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodface" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Woodface</a> (Tim wasn’t a founding
member of CH and only joined for their third album). At the end, they came on
for an encore of two more Split Enz songs and another solo number, Staring At The
Embers, from his debut solo album. The title of the tour, The Times And Lives
of Tim Finn, seemed to imply a retrospective of his entire oeuvre; what we got
was nearly all from the early part of his output, and nothing since 1991’s
Woodface. Whilst the prospect of “heritage acts” using the dreaded N-word (for “New
Material”) can strike terror into the hearts of audiences, I wouldn’t have
minded hearing some of his more recent work as well as the classics. But he
gave a good set over 1¾ hours, and definitely had a good time!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-87410244881233304022023-09-21T14:27:00.003+12:002023-09-21T14:27:46.468+12:00I Want To Be Happy<p>Nicola is pulling a double duty ushering at <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Circa Theatre</a>
tonight – <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/package/verbatim/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Verbatim</a> at 6 o’clock and <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/package/i-want-to-be-happy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I Want To Be Happy</a> at 8 o’clock. I didn’t
much fancy the first one, so went along later to see catch the second show.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic9FDYDPuGfzQzvjip_wLBPIT_ut-z_K9lAQe9TIdh0smJX8-46xO7J-PsaCClnfyVmeHAWH2OZCmKzeujmnu7K87Fo_fDM_-wcw2-C6X0jJAv-C41He3O2qETN2VOv6WKLDq4HORaqxw5cuQ3jPE3qwRO4G1snBylkdXDAUGXZM4ZtBJFc9R4XHgwCvR/s940/I%20want%20to%20be%20happy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="940" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic9FDYDPuGfzQzvjip_wLBPIT_ut-z_K9lAQe9TIdh0smJX8-46xO7J-PsaCClnfyVmeHAWH2OZCmKzeujmnu7K87Fo_fDM_-wcw2-C6X0jJAv-C41He3O2qETN2VOv6WKLDq4HORaqxw5cuQ3jPE3qwRO4G1snBylkdXDAUGXZM4ZtBJFc9R4XHgwCvR/w400-h115/I%20want%20to%20be%20happy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />As we didn’t have much time between shows, we decided to
dine in-house at Circa’s <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/restaurant-bar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">restaurant</a>. Their choice is somewhat limited, but they
do do a tasty plate of spicy dumplings, so that’s usually our default option…but
wait! What’s this? It’s all changed, and they have a new caterer, with a new
menu. Looks like dumplings are <i>off</i> the menu, boys! Also off the menu is
tap beer, as they’ve removed the pump. Ah well…we had salmon mousse and
fish’n’chips instead. It wasn’t brilliant.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The play has two central characters, a scientist and a
guinea pig. Both can speak, but neither can understand each other. They try to
communicate, but largely fail. They are both trapped, but in different ways,
and are trying to break free. Paul, the scientist, is undergoing a divorce, and
the play becomes a metaphor for his marriage. Binka, the guinea pig, is trapped
in her cage. During the course of the play she has two mates, and some children,
as she is part of the breeding programme. Without giving too much away, she is
ultimately left alone. As is Paul, whose wife leaves him. He tells Binka this
in various monologues, but Binka can’t really understand. All she wants is to
find love, and to escape into the open air and see the mountains once more. On
one of her escapes she encounters a fearsome cat, so learning that freedom isn’t
necessarily a universally good thing.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whilst the subject matter is serious and thought-provoking,
there are moments of hilarity – mostly provoked by the guinea pig costumes and
the animatronics used to show the escape and flight scenes, which lightened the
mood somewhat. Definitely worth watching if you get the chance!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-58833280892502524002023-09-01T14:38:00.002+12:002023-09-01T14:42:27.784+12:00Mocha Me Verry Happy<p>Our final foray into the world of <a href="https://visawoap.com/explore?category=burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger Wellington</a> was a
local establishment, <a href="https://doublevisionbrewing.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Double Vision Brewery</a>. They’ve been gracing the Wellington craft beer scene for a while now, and have a tasting room/restaurant attached
to the brewery. Even though they’re a local <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miramar,_New_Zealand" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Miramar</a> brand, and I’ve drunk their
beer many a time, we haven’t previously set foot inside. We went on a Saturday,
and it turns out that it’s their last-Saturday-of-the-month quiz lunch. All the
table were reserved, but we promised we’d be out by one o’clock so we were able
to get their burger. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's called <a href="https://visawoap.com/venue/1526/burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mocha Me Verry Happy</a>, and it’s described on the
<a href="https://visawoap.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WOAP</a> site like this: <a href="https://peoplescoffee.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">People's Coffee</a>-rubbed beef patty, with <a href="https://www.wcf.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wellington Chocolate Factory</a> chocolate bacon and savoury whip, on a <a href="https://www.doughbakery.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dough bakery</a> doughnut
bun, with a side of chips and housemade tomato sauce. Interesting! A savoury/sweet
combination burger.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It looks like this: </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bWAfNk9r0KI8Pi4voGFU7WcYkIj-wvMRArBimQQ9oqlMTYdtcKjdxEfIp8kh9iFBd-boXhanhttthaTgqwLGKnasKZYDPKeAnwysHJDxRKx0X41cbJfGtz67q_-hzHcde09r7CMcC_WfTzu85nzAAPqF9usPXZSq466ScScXCuPMdO6ElcN6i1QMHTSl/s4000/20230826_123331%5B1%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bWAfNk9r0KI8Pi4voGFU7WcYkIj-wvMRArBimQQ9oqlMTYdtcKjdxEfIp8kh9iFBd-boXhanhttthaTgqwLGKnasKZYDPKeAnwysHJDxRKx0X41cbJfGtz67q_-hzHcde09r7CMcC_WfTzu85nzAAPqF9usPXZSq466ScScXCuPMdO6ElcN6i1QMHTSl/w400-h300/20230826_123331%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garage Project</a> beer match is <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/products/cereal-milk-stout" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cereal Milk Stout</a>. I decided against that and went for a DVB <a href="https://shop.doublevisionbrewing.com/products/double-denim" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Double Denim IPA</a> instead.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And how does it taste? The doughnut and the chocolate bacon
whip make the experience quite sweet, but the burger with the coffee rub
counters that. The coffee flavour was definitely in there without being
overpowering, and is a combination that works well. I personally wouldn’t have
made it quite so sweet – maybe a brioche bun instead of a doughnut? Being a
doughnut it was quite squishy, so cutlery was again required. The chips were
plentiful, chunky, and tasty. The combinations worked, it was a tasty burger,
and I scored it 8/10.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Burger Wellington is now over, the judging begins. My
favourite was <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2023/08/brioche-n-gravy.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brioche ‘n’ Gravy</a> from <a href="https://www.pickleandpie.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pickle & Pie</a>. None of the ones we
tasted made it onto the <a href="https://visawoap.com/whats-fresh/curated-lists/our-2023-burger-wellington-finalists-are" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">shortlist</a> for the overall competition. The winner will
be announced next week so there may be a further opportunity for a burger
before the event closes for 2023.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-21176274535438738572023-08-31T10:04:00.007+12:002023-08-31T10:10:57.158+12:00Wicked<p>After our <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2023/08/barbacoa-madness.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">burgers</a> at <a href="https://www.evapub.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eva Pub</a>, we went along to <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/st-james-theatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">St James Theatre</a> to see <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/visit/events/wicked" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wicked</a>. This <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(musical)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">musical</a> has been around for 20 years, and has
finally come to Wellington! It’s a lavish production, so we went along to see
it. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uquDWHbStVIq-2dnIi3zjk66eB95odvr20xZNB_O-jeFz8xmkP7MmvGEmzTtgzZunJc0weKVWTXKHRLtnHKFy6CPfjPYrSv4rF1lrBScgT2-LpvZxscrCLJUV0_QE5yFikU7yBbFaS1C1hs7FLyP2Sx7hZhxMZtDKC-3SI6D8R5NZ1NCGxZIZmxu6wpz/s640/wicked.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="452" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uquDWHbStVIq-2dnIi3zjk66eB95odvr20xZNB_O-jeFz8xmkP7MmvGEmzTtgzZunJc0weKVWTXKHRLtnHKFy6CPfjPYrSv4rF1lrBScgT2-LpvZxscrCLJUV0_QE5yFikU7yBbFaS1C1hs7FLyP2Sx7hZhxMZtDKC-3SI6D8R5NZ1NCGxZIZmxu6wpz/w283-h400/wicked.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before staring we headed along to Eva Pub for a burger, then
made our way to the theatre. This is a sell-out season, and by the time I got
around to looking for tickets the only ones still available were up in the
nosebleed seats. Fortunately we were in the front row of a section so had leg
room in front of us. Even so, the seats at SJT aren’t the most comfortable, and
the first half of the show went on for 1½ hours before a break, by which time
my bum was thoroughly numbed!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The show is the back story of the witches of Oz, and focuses
on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elphaba" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Elphaba</a>, the green, so-called “wicked” witch. Along the way it fills in the
backstory of all the things in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Wizard of Oz</a> that never get explained, i.e.
where the tin man, lion and scarecrow came from, flying monkeys, the wizard himself.
I haven’t actually watched TWOO for a few decades, so I’m a bit rusty on the details,
but it always seemed a bit vapid. This story packs far more of an emotional
punch as the actual characters and their motivations are filled in.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It doesn’t quite end up “happily ever after”, but all the
loose ends get tied up, and you end up knowing much more about TWOO than the
original film ever gave you.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-31227827262244285172023-08-30T12:13:00.002+12:002023-08-30T12:15:50.300+12:00Barbacoa Madness<p>We were on our way to see <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/visit/events/wicked" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wicked</a>, and decided that we’d try
a burger at <a href="https://www.evapub.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eva Pub</a>, on <a href="https://nzjane.com/wellington-laneways/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eva Street</a>, as it is reasonably close to <a href="https://www.wellingtonnz.com/venues-wellington/our-venues/st-james-theatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">St James Theatre</a>. I haven’t been to Eva for quite a while, but it hasn’t really changed –
it’s a bustling city centre pub.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their <a href="https://visawoap.com/explore?category=burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger Wellington</a> offering is called <a href="https://visawoap.com/venue/1560/burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barbacoa Madness</a>,
and is described on the <a href="https://visawoap.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WOAP</a> website: Beef patty, with marinated slow-cooked
beef brisket, shredded lettuce, grilled pickled onion, red salsa, cheddar
cheese, and secret mayonnaise in an <a href="https://arobake.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Arobake</a> milk brioche bun, with Salsero
white and blue corn chips with birria broth and guacamole.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It looks like this: </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYz1lTfjZsPEGuB8nyph3-6ScTaBoF7xvS3Indk68_3eZ_S0_A8-qNQ9DyDvNc8eufBzWuicfzIzfvjx1EhjKqCsCq0hJskMYrgj-KDlKGxlDKphEMcGAmghw2uKwgnoKHOPPEGl8Lt-7H-qS49EtH2OSfnnsMo-79nKvCQjLbhkBnzuW8a_W1jgaRWiHb/s4000/20230824_183948%5B1%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYz1lTfjZsPEGuB8nyph3-6ScTaBoF7xvS3Indk68_3eZ_S0_A8-qNQ9DyDvNc8eufBzWuicfzIzfvjx1EhjKqCsCq0hJskMYrgj-KDlKGxlDKphEMcGAmghw2uKwgnoKHOPPEGl8Lt-7H-qS49EtH2OSfnnsMo-79nKvCQjLbhkBnzuW8a_W1jgaRWiHb/w400-h300/20230824_183948%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garage Project</a> beer match is <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/products/dirty-water-cherry-peach" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dirty Water: Cherry Peach</a>.
This is a seltzer, which I’m not a fan of, so I went for a <a href="https://panheadcustomales.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panhead</a> <a href="https://panheadcustomales.com/collections/core-range/products/super-charger-apa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Supercharger</a>
instead.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There’s a lot going on here: firstly, this is a stacked
burger, so I went in straight away with cutlery. The burger was juicy, and on
top the brisket was tender and not chewy. I’ve had bad experiences with brisket
before, as it can be chewy if not slow-cooked for a good few hours, but this
was really good. Also, in previously years there was a sudden craze for smoked
brisket, most of which tended to be oversmoked and therefore totally overpowered
the whole burger…not the case here, there’s no smoking. The other ingredients
were also present. Onto the accompaniments: the corn chips were good, although
I could’ve used a more generous helping of guacamole – I know, I know, the
<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cozzie%20livs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cozzie livs</a> and all that. Overall, this was a good burger, and one of the best
I’ve had this year. I scored it a 9/10.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-29500862040164189792023-08-24T08:42:00.001+12:002023-08-24T08:44:20.264+12:00Brioche ‘n’ Gravy<p>I was at a volunteer event at <a href="https://www.visitzealandia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zealandia</a> in the morning, so
instead of coming straight home I decided to stop off in town for another
burger. My selected venue was <a href="https://www.pickleandpie.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pickle & Pie</a>, Wellington’s premier purveyor
of pies, and indeed, pickles. We’ve been there occasionally in the past.
Unfortunately, I hadn't booked, so I turned up on the chance that they
would be able to accommodate me. The place was pretty full, but the maître d'
told me that they’d have something available within 10 minutes, so I waited.
And, as usual, this was expectation management by them, as it was actually only
a couple of minutes before I was seated.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://visawoap.com/venue/1512/burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brioche ‘n’ Gravy</a> Is described on the <a href="https://visawoap.com/explore?category=all&region=Wellington+CBD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger Wellington</a>
website like this: Double smash patties with gravy-dipped brioche, ballpark
mustard aioli, cheese and pickles in a <a href="https://www.doughbakery.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dough Bakery</a> brioche bun, with crinkle
cut fries. It looks like this:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip85eZDXvJ9L7yuKHEDz4EQdE3ROU7OPmntjbrMOOnRGqb-7M7etuCoJQniAcKeaFOzI33tJMpv1LmQQzEXP2WdAFouXj2sJajRg4GOCEviQREcEfHeHxgaDdDjJpVNY2eGPY1tcibpJ8V3ddd5f2Zaa3qXEMd13Y8KPml1J6373iyXbH4H1zkrbxbtSdx/s4000/20230822_125325%5B1%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip85eZDXvJ9L7yuKHEDz4EQdE3ROU7OPmntjbrMOOnRGqb-7M7etuCoJQniAcKeaFOzI33tJMpv1LmQQzEXP2WdAFouXj2sJajRg4GOCEviQREcEfHeHxgaDdDjJpVNY2eGPY1tcibpJ8V3ddd5f2Zaa3qXEMd13Y8KPml1J6373iyXbH4H1zkrbxbtSdx/w400-h300/20230822_125325%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garage Project</a> beer match was – surprise! – The Devil’s
Lettuce, and – double surprise! – that’s what I ordered. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OK, this is a proper burger, no messing. The patties were
definitely smashed, as evidenced by the irregular shape. The bun was a double-decker
style, with the middle bit between the two patties soaked in gravy. This, along
with the aioli and lettuce, made it a slippery customer indeed, and an initial
investigation into its pick-up-ability revealed that this was going to be a
knife and fork job. The crinkle-cut fries were crispy, but were clearly
catering-pack style. But that’s a minor cavil, as the rest of the burger
delivered in spades: nothing fancy, none of those unwanted additions that some
places have included (which actually detract from the burger experience), just
good, honest, burgeration. I scored it 9/10. Home-made fries, or an
accompaniment with just a little more effort, would have lifted it to
perfection.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-56777189702845139732023-08-23T14:02:00.000+12:002023-08-23T14:02:31.690+12:00Public Service Announcements<p>Every three years, <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Zealand</a> holds a <a href="https://vote.nz/2023-general-election/about/2023-general-election/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">general election</a> (I <i>know!</i>),
and every three years, to mark this, <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Circa Theatre</a> puts on a show called <a href="https://www.circa.co.nz/package/public-service-announcements-election-2023/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Public Service Announcements</a>, in which they generally poke fun at the whole party politics and
electioneering process. As part of Nicola’s ushering duties, we went along on a
Thursday night to see what it was all about. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMR98i0NvGa66xc5aHpHF-oUKx5V8ozeCiLSF1JgNjdeUlUkVxiIlDnMQsycTbcy_mchVCaUbGCvMrTUxgLz502PxRe7kvZOsAXNZBJTqvZxuhP0hCwBkJnt9TlOV15g3FvoeLxnYSK5Rl3rpEgeEXp9L_oz8KZMeHHwvU8RamOdooNXctEVIKzb8qxoG/s1170/1882786-809645-35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="1170" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMR98i0NvGa66xc5aHpHF-oUKx5V8ozeCiLSF1JgNjdeUlUkVxiIlDnMQsycTbcy_mchVCaUbGCvMrTUxgLz502PxRe7kvZOsAXNZBJTqvZxuhP0hCwBkJnt9TlOV15g3FvoeLxnYSK5Rl3rpEgeEXp9L_oz8KZMeHHwvU8RamOdooNXctEVIKzb8qxoG/w400-h172/1882786-809645-35.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The show has a plot, sort of, revolving around <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/swarbrick-chloe/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chloe Swarbrick</a>’s defection to <a href="https://www.maoriparty.org.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Te Pāti Māori</a>. Mostly it’s about the jolly japes of
party politics, with a few contemporary references thrown in. Without knowing
the minutiae of New Zealand politics, it’s difficult to explain why <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/biography/james-shaw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">James Shaw</a>
is being presented as the sensible one of the Green Party, or why waka-jumping*
is such a heinous crime (in the eyes of some). <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/rt-hon-chris-hipkins" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ginger Chris</a> (or Chris With Hair),
zooming about the stage on a skateboard, is portrayed as being mates with <a href="https://christopherluxon.national.org.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bald Chris</a>; and there is <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/collins-judith/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Judith CollinsGPT</a> as an AI bot. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinda_Ardern" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jacinda Ardern</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Peters" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Winston Peters</a>
also get walk-on parts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's a bit hit-and-miss, with lines being thrown out left,
right, and centre in the hope that some of them stick, rather than being funny
all the way through. There’s the traditional digs at the in-fighting of the
Green Party, Te Pāti Māori, and the minor minor parties. In the end, it’s all
a laugh, if only in parts. Don’t take it too seriously.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">* Known as “crossing the floor” elsewhere, i.e. joining a different
political party.<o:p></o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-11418020428454202122023-08-23T11:27:00.008+12:002023-08-23T11:32:44.817+12:00The Dave<p>We were looking for a burger in the local area, and decided
that <a href="https://www.cafepolo.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Café Polo</a> was a likely candidate. Their standard burgers are good anyway,
so their <a href="https://visawoap.com/explore?category=burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger Wellington</a> offering must be worth a try?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s called <a href="https://visawoap.com/venue/427/burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Dave</a>. I don’t know who Dave is*. It’s
described thus on the website: <a href="https://harringtonsmallgoods.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Harrington's</a> pork, beef and sage sausage
meatloaf patty, with a crispy <a href="https://zanyzeus.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zany Zeus</a> ricotta and potato fritter, caramelised
onion, and green pea salsa, in a housemade milk bun with chunky chips and beef
gravy. It looks like this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QufcMDQuqze6iccVMwBleh6A17tgJWUL54Xbek0utn5c8MrQzPLWycjSh_npdTetb004Lz7gjfwczOcImxJRPJnUzbKjLpaDO0BxvZbvmDjxd5JAYe3ycokzq0cIz4Elbo00_4eN7YuLY0kYnxVMXLc7gCLyxy6ZPBVNGlXbbZ0hypfYwtd9ULJsyDFn/s4000/20230820_132140%5B2%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QufcMDQuqze6iccVMwBleh6A17tgJWUL54Xbek0utn5c8MrQzPLWycjSh_npdTetb004Lz7gjfwczOcImxJRPJnUzbKjLpaDO0BxvZbvmDjxd5JAYe3ycokzq0cIz4Elbo00_4eN7YuLY0kYnxVMXLc7gCLyxy6ZPBVNGlXbbZ0hypfYwtd9ULJsyDFn/w400-h300/20230820_132140%5B2%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garage Project</a> beer match was again The Devil’s Lettuce,
which is a tasty drop. It still hasn't made it onto GP's website so whether it will be continued after Burger Wellington remains to be seen.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Basically, what we have here is a sausage burger, and a
tasty one. Caramelised onion – tick. Green pea salsa was more like mushy peas.
Just as an aside here, New Zealanders can’t do mushy peas; they use garden peas
instead of marrowfat, which doesn’t work, the texture’s all wrong. The chunky
chips were good, and the gravy, served on the side, was delicious – chips and
gravy is a rare delicacy! You can tell there’s a “but” coming, though, can’t
you? Yes, indeed: it’s the ricotta and potato fritter. It may have been crispy
at some stage in its life, but it wasn’t by the time it reached the table. So
what you had was a layer of mashed potato on top of the patty. Ricotta isn’t a
strongly-flavoured cheese, and diluted with mashed potato it was barely
discernible. All this did was add an unnecessary layer of carbs,
which unbalanced the whole burger. Overall, I scored this a 7/10.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>* The vegetarian option is called The Chas. Mystery solved! </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-76194182883275641072023-08-18T16:46:00.000+12:002023-08-18T16:46:00.460+12:00Rossini<p>We had an appointment in town, so decided to combine this with
a trip to <a href="https://capitolrestaurant.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Capitol</a>, who are now open at lunchtime in Thursday and Fridays. Still
not at the weekend, which is a pity, as their brunch offerings used to be delicious.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What they are offering, however, is a burger, called
<a href="https://visawoap.com/venue/313/burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rossini</a>. It’s described on the <a href="https://visawoap.com/explore?category=burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger Wellington</a> site thus: Grilled Wagyu patty
with duck liver pâté, truffled crispy-fried leeks and Madeira demi-glace in a
<a href="https://www.pandoro.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pandoro</a> ciabatta bun, with hand ripped and thrice-cooked agrias. It looks like
this:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5_IzlmaFfrKHICG85vLcPsaW-uF0bI-msN6kSyCCtfSDAe5vwBPmuut8NHx7xwuoSaUowpvq9Os7H67XNS19Lwddj7xr6DEy-dUwlnU_mV6IrHMhnrjvFb-KzaLk01RLM2fFsTjSUYx53RTbL0iTclhyfO0PkW-Gt5-5UdIU5sKvmegONCo_1yUTXXEA/s4000/20230818_131251%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5_IzlmaFfrKHICG85vLcPsaW-uF0bI-msN6kSyCCtfSDAe5vwBPmuut8NHx7xwuoSaUowpvq9Os7H67XNS19Lwddj7xr6DEy-dUwlnU_mV6IrHMhnrjvFb-KzaLk01RLM2fFsTjSUYx53RTbL0iTclhyfO0PkW-Gt5-5UdIU5sKvmegONCo_1yUTXXEA/w400-h300/20230818_131251%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> It <i>should</i> look like this: <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEeUYGWPLL1yyw6Hb0-T-eAXQGYzlFSnFav5ZTHMH5JK4j50HzGvsX-5RFiBGehSA40CGt2npixuH4utic4tMwm9cmL2PMHO4GswtF180xliMlH6Q7-yYcJy3vA_4-m-P4sooyBU6s8TfFzzfB4S1tD67cKd8zUnLKaN1CjTvvX05JlXMJpZGRzonPwxZ/s1153/Rossini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="1125" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEeUYGWPLL1yyw6Hb0-T-eAXQGYzlFSnFav5ZTHMH5JK4j50HzGvsX-5RFiBGehSA40CGt2npixuH4utic4tMwm9cmL2PMHO4GswtF180xliMlH6Q7-yYcJy3vA_4-m-P4sooyBU6s8TfFzzfB4S1tD67cKd8zUnLKaN1CjTvvX05JlXMJpZGRzonPwxZ/w390-h400/Rossini.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Quite a difference, no?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The pâté had completely melted. The leeks (in which no
truffle was discernible) were under, rather than over the patty. Looking like
this, there was no way that this could be eaten with the hands, so it was
straight in with knife and fork. Here, another feature of the burger manifested
itself: lack of integrity. This is something I usually complain about with the
bun, but in this case, it was with the patty itself. It was of a loose
consistency, and basically meant that what I was left with was minced beef on
toast. Very nice minced beef, but nonetheless, it was a sub-optimal burger
experience. The thrice-cooked potatoes were nice and crisp, and lived up to
their billing. And at $46, this is above the normal price range for Burger
Wellington, so I felt doubly let down by Capitol. The rating I’m giving it is a disappointing 4/10.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-18759203181082182562023-08-17T10:44:00.000+12:002023-08-17T10:44:14.004+12:00Deer In Dough<p>Tuesday night is <a href="https://theoldbailey.co.nz/events/quiz-night/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">quiz night</a> at <a href="https://theoldbailey.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Old Bailey</a>, and we
usually dine there when quizzing. As they’re also participating in <a href="https://visawoap.com/explore?category=burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger Wellington</a>, this is a good opportunity to try their offering, <a href="https://visawoap.com/venue/478/burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Deer In Dough</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It described on the <a href="https://visawoap.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WOAP</a> site as: Venison patty seared in
duck fat, with crunchy red cabbage and fennel slaw, and plum and cherry chutney
on a <a href="https://www.brezel.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brezelmania</a> charcoal milk bun, with crispy skin fries and aioli.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And it looks like this: </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NOcQeJrUw1kS_zOBvwEcqZih5FutzCSmAT-vw2iuarbr13S1iUc0AbAZpDwQPZTFmq25zhF3iFNWLj-2ppgSJL1iTxjGtFEk_mleWP00U7bLvSi1IdzM4rDkwsQUszOsSMILi7RgcJ_V_uzhYAn5KONxqM2zXRn88eSdzIg8rnEj25alc8vksko2PaCu/s4000/20230815_182806%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NOcQeJrUw1kS_zOBvwEcqZih5FutzCSmAT-vw2iuarbr13S1iUc0AbAZpDwQPZTFmq25zhF3iFNWLj-2ppgSJL1iTxjGtFEk_mleWP00U7bLvSi1IdzM4rDkwsQUszOsSMILi7RgcJ_V_uzhYAn5KONxqM2zXRn88eSdzIg8rnEj25alc8vksko2PaCu/w400-h300/20230815_182806%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garage Project</a> beer match is Good Shout, but they don’t
appear to be promoting that at all. Anyway, I had my usual Black Dog Chomp.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What can I say about it? Venison is a tricky meat as it can
be a bit dry, due to its leanness. The black burger is, well, a gimmick really.
I found the whole thing fitted the name a little too well – it felt quite
bready and doughy to me. I was able to pick this one up and the bun maintained integrity
until the end, despite the slaw and chutney filling. The fries were their
usual, no sign of crispy skins on them. Overall, this felt a bit like they’d
phoned it in. I scored it 5/10.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163013110202112226.post-67404760186803277712023-08-16T11:05:00.004+12:002023-08-16T11:05:27.268+12:00Tainted Love<p>We went to <a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Te Papa</a> for a talk about shore birds, and particularly
<a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/bar-tailed-godwit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bar-tailed godwits</a>, and their migration to <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/north-korea-birdwatchers-new-zealand-godwit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">North Korea</a>, on Monday. Sounds like
an odd subject, but there are compelling reasons why the tiny New Zealand <a href="https://shorebirds.org.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pūkorokoro Shorebird Centre</a> should be influencing North Korea’s government policy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Afterwards, we went for lunch at nearby <a href="https://forkandbrewer.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fork & Brewer</a> –
the venue I’d been trying to get to last <a href="https://rorywellingtonboots.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-simon-garfunkel-story.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Friday</a>. On a Monday, and past the
normal office lunch hour, it was almost deserted…but, importantly, still open,
and serving food. We settled in for their <a href="https://visawoap.com/explore?category=burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger Wellington</a> offering, <a href="https://visawoap.com/venue/748/burger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Tainted Love</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s described on the <a href="https://visawoap.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WOAP</a> site like this: Randwick Meats
Wagyu and pork patty, with a Fork & Brewer <a href="https://forkandbrewer.co.nz/beers/tainted-love/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tainted Love</a> juniper and
passionfruit sour glaze, cabbage and daikon slaw, Kewpie mayonnaise, shichimi
togarashi and tamarind infused tomato sauce, in a La Linda sesame milk bun,
with crispy onion rings.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It looks like this: </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlL7OKjNJx6lbi41yzQLjHOquChrBOX48p6ZzDDXdzB4I6NQeuMHf0Y1sORQtksIhVQwld8aC3fOSN0rtSSYjvX8niEGryTMKTy_13vU-9b8t-N0EO2ll4ocHSr9DrCp6ZIbYGnEnOgKaQZhtqpwwx2wU3L78CQXOPW8j7gfyoHuas5c3jjROuYPAiAJV/s4000/20230814_144254%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlL7OKjNJx6lbi41yzQLjHOquChrBOX48p6ZzDDXdzB4I6NQeuMHf0Y1sORQtksIhVQwld8aC3fOSN0rtSSYjvX8niEGryTMKTy_13vU-9b8t-N0EO2ll4ocHSr9DrCp6ZIbYGnEnOgKaQZhtqpwwx2wU3L78CQXOPW8j7gfyoHuas5c3jjROuYPAiAJV/w400-h300/20230814_144254%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And how was it? Tasty! The patty was OK, despite being well-done.
There is a conundrum here: if you include pork mince in your patty you need to
cook it well, but the pork and the wagyu ensure that the burger doesn’t dry out
and become chewy. Also, the coleslaw makes for a slippy-slideyness to the
burger as whole, so I didn’t even attempt to pick this one up, it was straight
in with the knife and fork. I couldn’t really notice the additional flavours of
the ketchup, they’re lost in the overall mix. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://garageproject.co.nz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garage Project</a> beer match is again The Devil’s Lettuce,
and this time, I tried it. The devil’s lettuce is a slang term for marijuana,
and, sure enough, the ingredients listed contain <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terpene" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">terpenes</a>, which are the type
of compounds found in Mary Jane that give it it’s effects. It doesn’t
specifically say it’s made with cannabis, because (I guess) laws and shit.
Anyway, it was a pleasant enough IPA.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This was better than the souvlaki burger, and I quite liked
this one, so I’m scoring it 8/10.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rory In Wellingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09831747197298754725noreply@blogger.com0