“The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing.” — Kenneth Grahame. Image: Su Leslie 2021
It’s a strange contradiction that while April has been my most sociable and outward-looking month in a long time, I’m remembering these thirty days mainly as a time of introspection.
The month began with a trip to the theatre. Dreading the CBD’s nightmare roadworks, T and I caught the ferry from Devonport, had a meal, strolled around the waterfront and sat down to one of the most interesting productions we’ve seen in a long time.
The Haka Party Incident was visually stunning verbatim theatre (1) that tells of a few moments in history which changed race relations in Aotearoa New Zealand.
In 1979, after enduring several decades of Auckland University Engineering students staging a highly offensive mock “haka” as a capping stunt, a group of young Maori activists confronted the engineers during a rehearsal. Punches were thrown, arrests were made, and institutional racism was laid bare.
But the engineers never again performed their “haka”.
T and I are both graduates of Auckland University (T of its Engineering School) and though the haka party incident was before our time, it is part of our collective history. To see events that we understood from the perspective of Pakeha teenagers, re-told 40-odd years later was a sobering and quite empowering experience.
An evening in the city. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Carved entrance to Te Wero Island, Auckland. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Really, April has been all about a road-trip to visit my father and attend a workshop on eco-printing/dye on fabric. I love solo travel, and having seven days to visit people and places I love — and learn a new skill — was absolute bliss.
I’ll write a separate post on what I learned in the workshop, but here a few shots of my efforts on the day
Laying out the plant material to be “printed”. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Bundled, “cooked” and then unrolled to reveal what’s been imprinted. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Hanging the results out to dry. Image; Su Leslie 2021
Looking back on the photos I shot while away pretty much confirms my obsession with desolate landscapes, lowering skies, quirky buildings and food.
Celeriac soup at The Kirk, Hamilton, NZ. Delicious! Image: Su Leslie 2021
Homemade preserves for sale at The Creel Lodge Cafe, Turangi, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Carrot cake and a flat white. The Black Stump Cafe, Pahiatua, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2021
You know you’re in the country when … Reading material at The Black Stump Cafe, Pahiatua. Image: Su Leslie 2021
“By far the greatest and most admirable form of wisdom is that needed to plan and beautify cities and human communities.” — Socrates. Seen in Whanganui, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Love the name! Probably just as well they were closed. Whanganui, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2021
A great Arts’ Centre, and ‘Ghost of the Huia’, sculpture by Paul Dibble. The Square, Palmerston North, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2021
What were they thinking? Brutalism in The Square, Palmerston North, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Tui Brewery, Pahiatua, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Pohuturoa; volcanic rhyolite plug. Waikato, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Because … why not? Replica Dutch windmill in Foxton, NZ. Opened in 2003. Image: Su Leslie 2021
It didn’t seem as run down when I stayed here in 1980. Gretna Hotel, Taihape, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie 2021
About The Changing Seasons
The Changing Seasons is a monthly project where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone. We all approach this slightly differently — though generally with an emphasis on the photos we’ve taken during the month.
For many of us, looking back over these photos provides the structure and narrative of our post, so each month is different.
Others focus on documenting the changes in a particular project — such as a garden, an art or craft project, or a photographic diary of a familiar landscape.
But in the end, it is your changing season, and you should approach it however works for you.
There are no fixed rules around post length or photo number — just a request that you respect your readers’ time and engagement.
Tags and ping-backs
Tag your photos with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them
Create a ping-back to this post, so that I can update it with links to all of yours.
Update
Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind
Tish from Writer on the Edge
Marilyn at Serendipity, Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth
Pauline at Living in Paradise
Natalie from Little Pieces of Me
Mick at Mick’s Cogs
Suzanne from Life at No. 22
Ju-Lyn at Touring my Backyard
Brian from Bushboy’s World
Out of the Cave joins us this month
