Yesterday, Saturday, I was able to travel back into Wellington with Carla, primarily to see "Walk a Mile In My Shoes", by the Barefoot Divas, five independent female vocal artists who came together to tell of their struggles as indigenous women who share great strength in their culture and spiritual lives. This show took place in the Wellington Town Hall, a great acoustic hall. Carla and I (Gregg once again gave me his ticket so that I could see another Festival show) sat near the middle of the hall main floor at a table with Maisey Rika's parents, which was pretty cool. Maisey's mom was high energy, very excited to be there to see her daughter perform and to see the large group of her whanau there for the same pleasure. Her dad was low key and smiling a lot. About ten minutes before the show started, Ian McKellen, aka, wizard Gandalf, came in with his friend and sat at the table next to us. He apparently has been taking in some Festival shows while here doing his part in the Hobbit. The singing was terrific, and these women know how to express themselves in grand style, one quite pregnant and incredibly talented, with her husband drumming in the band of six musicians. I had almost five hours to spend before the show and so took myself on a hike through the Oriental Bay area and up to the top of a great outlook called Mt Victoria. Below you can see a panorama from this vantage point looking back at the harbor and city, and another shot looking toward the airport and open sea. The street sign to the left is one of the steep streets in Oriental Bay that now only allow foot traffic and are fully stepped. Eventually these uphill 'streets' connect with the greenbelt above and the foot and bike paths that go up to the top of Mt Victoria. After the hike I spent some time at the great museum of Wellington, Te Papa, where Gregg has helped build several displays/ exhibits. Then I was off to see the Bare Foot Divas.
Last weekend I was able to go with Gregg to see the Circus Cantina show, right after the theatrical performance of Beautiful Burnout, by the Scottish National Theater Company. Six very skilled acrobats and a contortionist with a smattering of hilarious magic thrown in performed a great show from Circus Cantina. It was outside this venue that Gregg and I spent a week constructing the 80 plus meters of protective walls. In the photo you can see the tight rope wire that a woman walks across in five inch stiletto heels! The same woman manages to walk across the top of a piano, stepping only on the mouth of a single champagne bottle at a time, that are in a row across the piano top.
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| Inside the Crystal Palace, ready for Circus Cantina from Australia |
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| the sanding is done and ready for urethane in Carla's marae |
Gregg managed to get the second coat of urethane onto the marae floor this past week, after he and I hand sanded the first coat. Just one more coat to go, and when that is cured we can put the marae back as it was with a few improvements on Gregg's list.
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| I've been eating really healthy foods and I think its beginning to show |
The biking 80 miles this week has also helped with my health and wellbeing, not to mention how I look!
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| The city of Wellington and the harbor from Mt Victoria |
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| Te Papa sculpture |
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| It is a big year for cicada |
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| The Circus Ronaldo from Belgium |
Circus Ronaldo does a clever show where half the audience sees what goes on behind the stage ( a rambunctious comedy of errors and mismatched affections) and the other half sees the official circus show and the resulting comedy in consequence to the backstage antics. Then there is the intermission and the audience changes sides to see the other half of the story. The principle clown is great with his timing and execution of considerable skills. He has been invited to come here to the orchard with his two sons for some R&R. The circus also has a very skilled woman who throws a lot of knives and hatchets, at live people no less, as part of the thrill in the show. The music and sound is terrific and enhanced the show a good deal.
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| Gregg and Carla's home is the red place just to the left of mid caption amidst the dairy and orchard country. |
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| Oriental Bay, southeast Wellington |
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| Wellington airport, between the two bodies of water, and the open sea |
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