The Bee Gees and The Rain

Breakfast this morning was at a little place next door to the motor lodge...how very Route 66 of them. Except of course for the menu itself, I don't think Marmite and 14 grain toast with passion fruit filled yogurt was ever served to people with white wall tires on their rides. For those of you who haven't tried Marmite, it's a salty sort of brown paste made from yeast that turns out to be pretty tasty on toast...they swear it is good for you, but it does make me wonder if I'm turning the wheat from the bread I just ate into some form of beer in my tummy with all that yeast.


It took me a moment to decide if I wanted any after being offered a pot of "plunger coffee" maybe it is the jet lag, but my first thought was of scary use of plumbing equipment and not what basically turns out to be a French Press. I'm sure the waitress thought I was daft when I had to ask "so, the plunger coffee, it's made here?" The best thing about this place is also the most strange: The Bee Gees are blaring through the place...not just a single song from a play list, but whole albums now I have the song "tragedy!" stuck in my head and indeed it is one...


Yesterday was "cup day" (this is part of the week long horse racing and shows going on here in Christchurch.) So, besides the obvious racing and horse shows, there is apparently a contest for things like best hat and best dressed people.. with outfits that would have made Eliza Doolitle proud (as well as the Queen Mum!) But the best part is this: one of the prizes goes to a category titled "Edge Dress" which would appear to be whatever outlandish costume a person is willing to show up in.. the winner? A woman wearing only a hat and skirt with the rest of her outfit painted on. I'm no prude, a full salute to anyone daring enough to go for it...my issue is that it was less than 60 degrees yesterday and this poor woman was using pink paint to keep warm!


It's raining in a way that only New Zealand can conjure...now I know how this place stays so middle earthy green! But we can see the sun trying to burn through on the horizon line so this afternoon's shooting should still be a go. We are 18 hours ahead of central time here so the whole today/tomorrow thing won't make any sense, but Wednesday morning we are leaving Christchurch to Grab shots near the Selwyn River and then over to the Pacific Ocean to a town called Oamaru. Looking forward to lots of beach and Moeraki boulders to shoot there.