A fascinating scene

Sketching this week 

has included another effort to depict that house on the Chatham Islands that I tried in pastels in a previous post.

This time I tried a watercolour version:

And then for good measure a simple pencil sketch:

This morning, with the sun shining and the wind dropped, I set out early. My drivers licence expires in a few weeks, as happens every two years at my age, and I was headed for the AA office in town to renew it. 

Fortunately the doctor had no qualms about Oking it last week so there was no problem.

A few metres from the AA building I stopped by a small reserve, named in honour of Sir Victor Davies, New Plymouth's leading horticulturalist of the last century, and sketched the view down the street. I was leaning on the brick wall and looking into the sunshine.

 On Friday we had the fortnightly meeting of our U3A Sketching Group. We met at the zoo, where we found some interesting sights to sketch.

Among the inhabitants is this Yellow-crested Cockatoo, which kept saying "Hullo Charlie" the whole time I was sitting nearby sketching the scene.

When I left he farewelled me with "Bye-bye Charlie".

A short way away was the children's playground and behind that a large aviary with lots of exotic birds flying about.

I took a few more photos, including one of some of my colleagues. You can see more of the playground. The other sketchers are disguised as flax bushes!

Here is one of my sketches of the scene. The corner of the aviary is in the corner of my sketch. Unfortunately I was too far away to catch the birds!

Next time our meeting is going to concentrate on drawing crowds of people, basing our work on a seminar from the recent Sketching Symposium held in Singapore and reported on the internet.

So we are all going to be practising sketching body shapes and portraits.

Here is one I tried a few days ago from a photo in the newspaper.

I must keep practising so as to be ready for our meeting!

A good movie

Yesterday we watched a good movie at the cinema complex here.

In the morning we joined the Memory Walk organised by the Alzheimers Society. It was cold and windy, and there had been rain recently, but lots of others braved the weather with us, including Richard Faull, New Zealand's leading brain researcher. He was educated first at Tikorangi School, where Carys and Spencer go.

Saturday evening we joined another crowd who listened spell-bound to his lecture in the Boys High School Hall. We heard about the latest research on the brain, including ideas like keeping our brains active to stave off dementia; if we slow the onset by five years we save 50% of the numbers suffering from dementia in a few years' time.

After all the excitement of the walk on Sunday morning we had lunch at the Art Cafe, run by our friend Sally Johnson. In the later afternoon we walked back to town to see the "Everest" movie.

This spectacular film tells the story of the disastrous 1996 climb managed by New Zealanders Rob Hall and Andy Harris, in which both of them and several others of the party lost their lives. At that time we were just getting friendly with Andy's parents, who had just come to live here.

A few years later we read Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air, which tells his version of events. Krakauer was a reporter who was a member of the ill-fated expedition.

The impact of the film is due to the careful planning, photography and direction, which make the story pretty clear, and give us a good feel of the conditions on the mountain on the day of the ascent.

Teams shot the sequences in Nepal, Italy and the UK. The depiction of both the climbing and the camps is very realistic.We have not visited Nepal, but have been in nearby Indian districts and we felt right at home in Kathmandu, for instance.

The acting was all well done. As the Guardian's reviewer writes, "Emily Watson is terrific as the base camp controller trying to manage the unfolding chaos, and it’s her scenes that pack the greatest punch, her face and voice a pitch-perfect portrayal of alarmed restraint."

I would have liked a bit more of the actual climbing, to balance the emphasis on the human parts of the story, but that would have made the film far too long.

Do see it; we recommend it. We saw the 2D version, but the 3D is probably even more graphic.

Recent Sketches

By the Harbour

A fortnight ago our sketching group met at the Bach, a favourite watering-hole of New Plymouth folk because it is right by the harbour, with a good view of the sea and the little boats coming and going.

After their excellent morning tea we spread ourselves around the area and did some sketches. Here is a quick one I did of the building which houses the café.

This week we met at another popular cafe, the Tea House by the lake in Pukekura Park. Then, inspite of the cloudy weather, we found places around the park to work. I concentrated on distinguishing different types of trees in a variety of grades of pencils:

I'm not so sure I made a success this time, but at least I have managed to include the shadows rather than the leaves themselves, when drawing ponga trees.

I was sitting outside the cafe looking across the lake to a hillside with a lot of different varieties of trees.

Because the weather has been wintry some of the time, I have been forced to rely on photos for my subjects at other times.

The first is a thatch-roofed cottage in a village we stayed in in rural Hampshire (watercolour only):

Later on our European tour we visited Granada, and in this watercolour  we are looking out two of the decorative windows from the Alhambra Palace towards the Albaycin, the older, originally Muslim part of the city.

In the latest Life and Leisure magazine, which we get as a special deal with our newspaper subscription, is an article on this old chateau in France. This sketch is based on an early 20th century postcard.


















Finally a 150 year old cottage at the Chatham Islands, also featured in the Life and Leisure, this time in pastels.

Fathers' Day

Friday was Rowan's birthday. My older grandson is just coming to the end of his formal education. His little cousin, Spencer is just beginning his, having turned 5 a couple of months ago.

Both of them are focussed, bright boys, hard-working, handsome, with lots of friends. I am extremely proud of both of them and of what they have achieved. 

Rowan has been at the top of his classes and has worked at a part-time job all through university. Spencer practises hard at whatever he is doing and competes with boys twice his size on the football field.

But today I want specially to commend their fathers, Terry and Matt respectively. (And I want to include my son-in-law, Andrew, as well).

They are all in their own way exemplary fathers. Each has worked hard to provide a comfortable lifestyle, home, and education for their children, at considerable sacrifice and effort for themselves. All three are accomplished DIYers, in good Kiwi fashion. And all three have worked hard at their jobs, and still do.

But more importantly all three have put a lot of thought and effort into providing steady discipline and guidance for their children. And above all they are excellent role-models for their families and in particular for their sons. They play a full part in the household chores and by no means leave the care of their children to their wives.

This question of role-models is interesting. I used to find myself unconsciously imitating my father; more recently I have recognised some influences from my grandfathers! Now that I am older than all three of them I wonder if it is my great-grandfather I take after. He was the only ancestor I know of who lived longer!

I can think of several in our family tree who had good relationships with their sons, and many more in the wider family who do today. Long may it continue! 

Have a happy Fathers' Day.

The subsidy on sugar

Friday morning

The morning was beautiful and I was responsible for baby-sitting granddaughter Sophie (21 months). We set out on my walk to town (see a recent post) chatting about what we could see ("bus", "button", etc) or just drinking in the freshness of the almost windless day.

It was also Daffodil Day and Sophie was given a yellow balloon (she knows her colours, especially yellow) and we also found a toy bear for a small donation to the Cancer Society. So a good time was had by all.

After we met Granny and handed over Sophie, I walked on to a U3A meeting where we were swapping books, among other activities, and I picked up a copy of "New Scientist" which contained an article about sugar.

I was encouraged to do some investigation of my own, so when I called at the supermarket on my way home I looked at some packaged products which listed the percentages of protein, fat, sugars and fibre. I was puzzled to find that some products, like cheese, only cover 20% or less of the contents. So what is the other 80%?

Are we supposed to assume that all the rest is water? Does that make the truth that we are paying $20 per kg for a product, but $16 of that is for water?

On Sunday mornings we regularly Watch Q&A, and are impressed by the professionalism of the presenters such as Corin Dann, and of the panellists they recruit for the programme. This week Bernard Hickey was arguing that our dairy industry is being subsidised by the taxpayers of New Zealand, because in the absence of a tax on capital gain, most farmers are dependent on inflation of the land value for most of their income, as are most property-owners in Auckland.

In the same way it seems to me the irresponsible food processors who add sugar to their products are being subsidised by the taxpayers. The argument runs like this: the "New Scientist" article says our bodies need protein, fat and fibre to operate normally, but sugar is not needed, because we make sugar from other forms of carbohydrate, like bread or potato, for instance.

So the costs of health care for people who are suffering from life-threatening diseases of heart or liver or some types of diabetes--these costs are caused partly by unnecessary sugar in processed food and should really be borne by the food producers.

Since I had cancer 35 years ago, I have tried to eat less salt, because of its part in aggravating causes of cancer and other diseases. So I have made my porridge without any salt. But the porridge still tastes salty, even without extra salt, presumably because of the salt naturally in the other ingredients.
I guess the same would be true of sugar. Must try that anyway!

Mainly houses

Sketching Update

Most of my sketching from life the past few days has been of houses in the immediate neighbourhood, in the course of my daily walks.

The winter weather has been fine and pleasant for a stroll most days.

Continuing the theme of the lat post, here (right) is another view of Wharepapa. I was further down the end of Lemon Street, at the corner of Pukenui Street, looking back to Fort Niger.

Another day, heading along Pendarves Street towards Fort Niger Reserve, I stopped to sketch these two contrasting houses.

In the foreground is a brand-new spec house in a modern style.

Behind it, higher up the hill, is a much older building, also white, to contrast with it.

In Watson Street, just round the corner, is this older villa, late nineteenth century. It looks a bit tired these days, but when we shifted in to this house here in Lemon Street, the former owner of this Watson St house, a retired builder, came to our garage sale and spent a while chatting about our new home and its history.

Half-way from here to Pukenui Street and the view sketched at the top of this post is this older cottage. When we lived in this neighbourhood in the early eighties it was owned by a couple of acquaintances, but since then it has been badly neglected, as I hope my charcoal sketch shows.

On the odd days when the weather has not co-operated, I have worked in other media: this vase of daphne was on the table, so I took out my pastels and tried to get it on to the paper.

Another day I took out an old book about the Greek islands and did a water-colour version of a photo of one of the harbours in Crete (below).

We even had a second wet day, so I looked at our travel photos again: here is my watercolour of the youth hostel we stayed in near St Paul's Cathedral, with yours truly about to knock on the front door!

History all around us

My walk to town

On a beautiful morning last week I took my usual route to town.

New Plymouth is full of history, no part more so than the neighbourhood where we live. Our house is the cottage behind the house in the foreground.

Behind both houses, both re-sited on this double section about forty years ago, you can see the trees which adorn the top of the hill. In pre-European days it was a kainga called Wharepapa. During the war scares in 1860 it was turned into a fort, one of a ring that served as outposts defending the town.

It was named, after the navy ship its builders served in, Fort Niger, and the reserve is still called by that name.

Looking west, above, you can see the older houses on our side of the street, and at the corner of Eliot Street, our local dairy.

At the other end of the next block is a building now used as a backpackers' hostel.

When you turn at the dairy and face the north, as I do, you get this view on the left.

McDonalds is right in front of us now, so you can see we are not far from morning tea and the kids' play area when we have the grandchildren with us!

At the next intersection, we glance to the left, west, to see the traffic coming along State Highway 45 (Surf Highway).

Eliot Street behind us is part of State Highway 3 from Hawera, and Courtenay Street, heading east, is the continuation of Highway 3 towards Waitara and Hamilton.

Courtenay Street is named after the family of the Earls of Devon, especially Henry who was the Chair of the Board when New Plymouth was being planned.

The next corner is where Eliot Street crosses Devon Street, New Plymouth's nominal main street, and also named after the Earl of Devon (below).

Here, Eliot Street forms part of Highway 44, which connects Highway 3 with Port Taranaki, and has lots of heavy vehicles like logging trucks and oil tankers, thundering along it.

My route takes me west along Devon Street at this point, because that is where the shop verandahs are and on wet days I can stay dry all the way to the city centre.

The photo below is taken further west along Devon Street and shows the unprepossessing building of the Sunworld restaurant on the left.

In the centre of the photo is the State Hotel, originally called the Red House, on the corner of Gover Street.

Behind that is the TSB Bank head office building. Taranakians are very proud of their own bank, and the fact that it is one of the few banks still owned by New Zeralanders.

Every year the profits of the banking business are distributed to public and charitable organisations throughout Taranaki to assist with various community projects.

Opposite the State Hotel Building is "Best 4 Less", the discount shop where I buy a lot of my art materials.

There are at least three other discount stores close to the city centre where I can find much of the same art requirements.

In the next photo we have moved on to the frontage of the TSB bank building. Here are the bank branches whose signs you can read, but also our local branch of the bank where we do our business.

In the last view of our walk to town, we have moved another few metres west and are now just about outside the Trade Aid shop. In the eighties Marg and I worked as volunteers and shop committee members for Trade Aid, and were part of the organisation when the shop moved into the central business area, near its present site.

The traffic lights at the end of the block mark New Plymouth's central intersection. This is where the inner defence of the wartime town, a trench and watchhouse ring, had its eastern limit.

To the right of the traffic lights you can see the top of the facade of the new Len Lye Centre on the skyline.

But the walk along to that part of town needs another blog!