Expendition to Eastbourne

Wellington's famous fierce winds persist, and we were amazed to look out on the eastern side of the apartment this morning, where a scaffolding has been erected, to see a painting crew cheerfully going about their work, without any safety harnesses, facing northerlies that practically knocked me over at ground level while jogging this morning. But it was bright and sunny, so we decided to take advantage of it by venturing around the harbor to the little village of Eastbourne. This was a pilgrimage of sorts, as the painting in a friend's office that inspired us to choose Wellington was done by Richard Ponder, an artist who owns a gallery there. Although it turned out to be more than that-- combination post office, bank, book store and small art gallery. Eastborne is a very quiet place that offers an easy commute via ferry into Wellington. A few quirky touches, e.g.:

And, of course, schoolboys dressed straight out of Tom Brown's School Days, but playing rugby on the beach. Note the hat, which seems almost obligatory in a country noted for the decline of its ozone layer (which, according to our friend Graeme, is due to the increasingly prevalence of cows whose flatulence exudes methane).