Holidays are exhausting
Halloween party
We had a great time dressing up for Glen and Jeneen’s Halloween party.
Popup Globe Twelfth Night
Our American friend Emily invited us to join her at the Popup Globe company’s Twelfth Night last weekend.
The Popup Globe started out as an actual popup… a full-scale replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre that could be assembled and taken down. They toured various festivals before settling semi-permanently and becoming Auckland’s resident Shakespeare company.
But then the pandemic.
This production of Twelfth Night is their first show since things have returned to normal. It was held in a real theatre, the Q, which was probably way better for us: indoors for one thing, and easier to see and hear the show compared to the Popup. Still, there was plenty of dialogue we missed due to accents, acoustics, and unfamiliar Elizabethan phraseology. In a nod to the troupe’s in-the-round roots, there were seats on either side of the stage, and that’s where we sat. Great to be so close, although a lot of times the actors had their backs to us.
We really liked the silliness, and the rowdiness, of the production, and we hope the Popup Globe company can continue to achieve greatness in the years ahead!
Serious art film
Lee and I put on our pink shirts and went to see Barbie last night. We went to the closest theater, the Bridgeway, which does a mix of Hollywood blockbusters and artsy film festival fare.
And even last night, as the queue for Barbie lengthened out the door, a young woman sat somewhat forlornly at a table set up for will-call tickets to the International Film Festival. Her eyes flicked over our rosy attire and I think she didn’t see us again.
One thing I’m snobby about is education and a certain cultural tone that goes with it… I think people should do — and enjoy — learned things, and especially I feel I should do and enjoy those things. One should lift one’s nose just a bit, and choose The Atlantic over Cosmopolitan. And whatever the film equivalent of that analogy (I think that might even be an example of synecdoche, but I’ll let you decide) might be.
So Barbie? No way. At least when I go to Marvel comics movies I’m tapping into my own boyhood memories… but neither of us has any known affinity for the doll.
But we went because everyone else is and because the smart reviewers we listen to gave us permission… And here’s the thing: it was a really really good movie. I was moved to tears multiple times, even as I catalogued the clichés. Like a few other of the best directors in their various genres of film, Greta Gerwig seems to have just nailed this one. Because she got me and Lee, but she also got the four VERY sparkly 9-year-olds next to us whose moms brought them. And, as far as I could tell, everyone else.
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Last weekend we got to join Emily and Brian for a Women’s World Cup game at Eden Park.
It was the USA vs Vietnam, and the outcome was never in doubt. You know the phrase “they never had a shot at winning”? Well in this case it was literally true… the Vietnamese team never had a shot on goal. The American players were all a head taller, sometimes head and shoulders taller, and sometimes more like head, shoulders and sternum taller. And proportionately bigger. And more experienced, and so on.
But even if the game was a bit boring, the afternoon most certainly wasn’t. I haven’t seen so much starring and striping in a long time. These two ladies took it upon themselves to lead our section of the stadium in song throughout mist of the second half. The wave was very successful a couple of times. The Vietnamese fans were out in big numbers, and ready to get into chant wars with the Americans.
We ate a lot of junk food, but still went out for tacos and a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s afterwards.
Tonight, the NZ Football Ferns drew 0-0 against Switzerland, meaning they’re out of the tournament. But the USA is still in (as expected), so now we can root for them with undivided loyalty.
Thanks for the tickets, guys, we had a blast!
ANZAC Day
Just at the end of my mandated isolation period was the ANZAC Day holiday. I walked over to the local parade and commemorative ceremony, staying a bit apart from the crowd just in case.
Very moving, in a wholesome small-town way. The band was followed by active and returned service members, some marching fairly smartly in formation, while a few of the oldest struggled to stay upright in their best suits bedecked with ribbons and medals.
The day’s slogan is “Lest we forget” the senseless horrors of war. That’s important. But I worry that knowing and remembering may not be enough. In the face of so much post-truth thinking in the world, maybe that noble sentiment should be accompanied by “Lest we repeat”.
Just make it up as you go along
A work colleague performs in the improv troupe at Covert Theatre, which I wouldn’t have guessed until he put out the invitation a few weeks ago.
The show’s premise was clever, start on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, and then incorporate the random audience ideas from that point.
As always with this kind of thing, some bits turned out better than others. But it was cool to see another, unexpected, side of someone, and to discover a new venue.
Hangry Planet
Just on the other side of the freeway from the national cemetery sits the Hangry Planet mini mart. It’s just a convenience store at a gas station, but it’s vegan and is very proudly making that point on its social media and, obviously, with its signage. Good on ya, I say, although you are perhaps reinforcing the stereotypes about vegans talking about being vegan.
In their parking lot over by the self-service car vacuum is this statue of Alfredina the T-Rex. A sign reads “Any visual interpretations here of Putin as a nefarious monster worthy of being consumed by Alfredina amounts to coincidental community art not necessarily reflective of the perspectives of The Hangry Planet or Tanforan Shell.” Whatever you say.
Tanforan
I’d never been to San Bruno, CA until landing at SFO last Friday and transferring to the convenient and surprisingly nice Marriott Courtyard there.
Overall, I’d say San Bruno is left off the tourist itineraries with good reason… it’s mostly nondescript housing, under the flight path, and criss-crossed by freeways and railroad tracks.
And yet… getting off the BART train I was deposited into The Shops at Tanforan, a half-empty mall. And it turns out that the mall sits on the former site of Tanforan racetrack, which in turn was the main site used to stage the detention of San Francisco’s Japanese-descended people during WWII. From there, they were transported to the Topaz internment camp. In addition to this memorial, there’s a nice interpretive display in the BART station describing the internment and its legacy.
At some point before starting this blog, while trawling through the used books at a Salt Lake City thrift store I found a moderately rare book about the Topaz experience. I was able to donate it to the group that was raising funds for a Topaz museum, which has since opened.
And so, while San Bruno won’t be competing with Fisherman’s Wharf for tourist dollars anytime soon, there are more reasons to visit than I would have thought at first glance. I was glad to add another serendipitous link in my chain of places and stories.
Stay-cation
One of the advantages of moving a lot is still feeling a little like we’re on vacation even doing normal things. So when the Christmas break found us with no plans to fly away, nor really the motivation, no big deal.
We dined with friends, did a few projects around the house, went to the beach a couple of times, did some shopping, saw the new Avatar in IMAX… and of course went out for a boozy brunch. Best of all, we didn’t feel the least bit deprived for the lack of an airport experience.
Franklin Road 2022
After two years of COVID cancellation, Auckland’s Christmas light capital, Franklin Road in Ponsonby, was back this year.
We’ve been before, in 2017 and 2019. This time it felt a little less crowded, and maybe the decorations were a little less extravagant. But still pretty darn good. Our whole trip was easier this time… we now have a car, unlike in 2017, and knew just how to get there, unlike in 2019. And we got a really lucky parking spot.
Christmas kiwis always a hit.
I enjoy the lights of course, but maybe the best part for me is the sense of community this endeavor must bring to the residents and certainly brings to the many thousands of people who visit. There are so many divisions and distractions, but here’s a time when a whole lot of people get to be together and agree about something. Merry Christmas!
Now it’s Christmas for sure
Growing up, our Christmas decorations always had a set of angel chimes like the one on the right side of this picture. We haven’t found proper candles for that one here in NZ yet (in a bit of interfaith cooperation, menorah candles work well, but we haven’t run across any). We found the tiny (and non-chiming) tea light powered example in a Christmas shop, and the big wooden German glockenspiel style one at a thrift store… so now we have a collection!
Happy Halloween 👻
Here’s a picture of a nearby cemetery from one of our recent walks. We got a suitably lowering sky for a Halloween shot, but actually it isn’t a very spooky place… up on a hilltop with palm trees etc.
ANZAC Day 2021
Lest we forget…
What a difference a year makes. In 2020, we stood on the little balcony at our old house in Parnell and listened to the dawn service on the radio. We were ‘together, apart’ with all the other people on the street, in full lockdown. COVID-19 was still new. We didn’t know how many of us might die in the coming year.
But then we were spared… lockdown worked and COVID is mostly a thing that happens elsewhere. Last Monday we all celebrated ANZAC Day with big crowds, military drills and parades, bagpipes and fly-overs. After my morning swim, I listened to the service in Devonport and wandered along the beach a bit. Then we went for a nice lunch.
Even if just for a minute, the holiday demands/allows a moment to consider all the possibilities we face as humans. Here we are in this life in this peaceful time in this healthy place with this much comfort. But other places, other times, are so very close, and so very different.
In much of the world, we humans have a lot of control over those circumstances these days… it is possible as individuals to not shoot each other, to wear the masks when there’s a bad virus in town, to vote for one candidate over another. In other places, poverty and propaganda make it harder to exercise those choices, which I guess means it’s even more important that those who can, do.
Anniversary weekend
It’s the 171st anniversary of the founding of Auckland, which is mostly important because it’s a long weekend.
We had a quick road trip to Tom’s place in Tutukaka with Astrid before the gravitational pull of her Massachusetts home place pulls her away from all this NZ ease and beauty.
We started the trip with a pie, which is becoming a ritual. Pioneer Pies is a very good pie shop but not as good as the one in Kumeu we’ve been to before.
Next stop, also comfortingly familiar, Eutopia Café and the Dutch cheese shop.
Then on to Whangarei Falls, where they’ve added a grove of trees commemorating the lives of the Christchurch shooting victims since our last visit.
And then to the bach (that’s Kiwi for beach house). We made a quick jaunt to a nearby beach, then cooked supper and watched a spectacular moonrise.
On Saturday we did the Perfect Day charter out to the Poor Knights islands. After a ride out that the skipper described as “sporty” and which had half the boat puking into the little emergency bags, the clouds cleared and we enjoyed a few hours of snorkeling and other activities. The shot of me on the paddle board is a marvel of journalism, because I spent about one second standing up and the rest falling off.
We capped the whole day with a soak in the new cedar hot tub overlooking the ocean… very nice… and another moonrise and stargazing session.
On the way home we took the scenic route to Langs Beach and passed through Waipu, which was having its big summer market and festival. Ate mussel fritters and ice cream cones.
Home and unpacked, we drove down to the foot of our own road to watch the Harbour Bridge light show and of course the Anniversary Day fireworks.
And there’s still a Monday holiday left!!
Brattleboro Adventure – the Auckland Edition 