Sandwich time

 

I spotted this sign at one of our local beaches where there was a coffee caravan among the campers and caravans that were parked there. A bacon and egg sandwich sounds great to me.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Tom's Signs.

Spring

 

There are a few blossoms blooming around town - this is one of the busy roads through Greymouth.

Just on the side of the road is this little park with a bench seat looking out over the river behind it.

And looking in the opposite direction is the fire station, retirement home, one of the 2 local high schools, one of the 2 supermarkets in town and a barber shop.

This plaque nearby is a memorial to those who were killed in the Pike River Mine explosion which sadlly occurred on the 19th November 2010. There is a movie about to come out about this event featuring New Zealanders Melanie Lynskey and Robyn Malcolm.

Linking up with Tuesday Treasures, Happy Tuesdays and Wordless Wednesday.

Coates Memorial Church

 

One of my favourite places in Northland is the tiny town of Matakohe and next to the Kauri Settler's Museum is this church which was dedicated after a local politician/farmer named Joseph Gordon Coates (Coates is still a well known surname around this region with descendants living locally) who is also buried in the cemetery here.

He was first elected as MP in 1911 and took a leave of absence from parliament in 1916 to serve in the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces rising to the rank of major. He was wounded and decorated twice then became leader of the Reform Party and Prime Minister in 1925. He served as a very effective minister from 1931 to 1935 and in a wartime cabinet from 1940 to 1943. He died suddenly on 27th May 1943.

After discussing it with the Coates family, the government decided to build this church as a national memorial designed by architect Horace Lovell Massey and was then opened on 27th May 1950 by Prime Minster Sidney Holland.

Natter

 

Always good to see happy people with their friends having a good chat over coffee and lunch. Seen at the local Mitre 10 coffee shop.

There was a sad bit of local news that's sent this town buzzing lately. Next to our local McDonalds building is there is a vacant building that was until recently home to a number of people living inside in separate apartments. The health department deemed it unsanitary to live in  and closed it down but since then there have been local squatters living in it, one of which was found sadly dead outside the building on the ground earlier this week. I had a feeling who it was and I was correct. It has now turned into a homicide investigation with the victim being an elderly man who use to come into my work now and again who was homeless and living in the building. I had heard from someone else that they had helped him go to the local council who then gave him a granny flat to live in but, as with alot of homeless people, he preferred it seems to live on the street. It's like one of those situations in life where no matter how much a person is helped, it's like it's not going to end well no matter what. It's a very sad thing.

Linking up with Shadow Shot Sunday, Mosaic Monday and the Weekend Roundup.

Daylight savings

 

Over Spring there hasn't been many tourists around Greymouth, mind you the weather hasn't been that great. We put our clocks forward last Sunday in preparation for daylight savings so hopefully Summer isn't too far away.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Tom's Signs.

Red

 

There's a local man who owns this vintage car and he regularly drives it around town, I think he's looked after it very well.

Linking up with Tuesday Treasures, Happy Tuesdays and Wordless Wednesday.

Hori Ngatai

 

Right next to a motorway in the central city is the Tauranga Mission Cemetery aka Otamataha Pa which is known as the Military Cemetery. There are monuments to the Naval Brigade, the 43rd Monmouth Regiment and a mass Maori grave. This particular monument is for a man named Hori Ngatai who was a chief of the Ngaiterangi Tribe and was part of the battles of Gate Pa during the New Zealand wars.

Linking up with Shadow Shot Sunday and Mosaic Monday.

Meandering

 

This is a favourite place to enjoy coffee. It's our local Mitre 10 (hardware store) cafe which includes a garden centre to the right. They make good drinks and food.

After reading Graham's post this morning about politics, it's gotten me thinking about New Zealand's own political system. Why are so many people in power so interested in putting themselves ahead of their own country? Like my late grandmother use to say "it'll all be over for me in less than 100 years so I won't be here to see it".

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and the Weekend Roundup.

Blossoms

 

My daughter and I took her dog Bug out to visit a friend last week so she could have a playdate with their dog. On the way back we stopped at the local reserve to take photos of the Spring blossoms. It's hard to see but there were loads of Tuis in the trees eating the nectar from the flowers.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Tom's Signs.

Daffodils

 

On a piece of narrow land in between the Grey River/railway lines/main road/supermarkets, the local council (I assume) had workers plant hundreds of daffodil bulbs and every Spring they flower - nice to see some colour after Winter. I managed to get this snap on a cloudy day in between the storms we've been getting.

Linking up with Tuesday Treasures, Happy Tuesdays and Wordless Wednesday.

Treasures

 

All of the above were seen at Whakatane Cemetery about 7 years ago.

Linking up with Shadow Shot Sunday and Mosaic Monday.