Tag: travel
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Travels in the South
Over the festive season we travelled through the central part of Te Waipounamu/ the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. The journey of more than 1,500 kms, once all the side trips were taken into account, took ten days and covered some of the most spectacular scenery and sights of the island. One of the…
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Ohinetahi – gardens of enchantment
A recent trip to Christchurch/ Otautahi offered a surprising and lovely treat. Lyttelton is a port town across the hills from Otautahi Christchurch. It is at the entrance to Banks Peninsula – a definite must if you are visiting Aotearoa New Zealand – and there are many treats in store for those who venture there.…
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A January concert
To begin the year’s programme of music there is to be a short concert in the town of Hokitika, south of Greymouth, at the end of January. The concert is a duo of works, Songs of Travel by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and Sings Harry by Douglas Lilburn. The latter, a New Zealander, studied…
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Christmas 2023
It is time for the blog to take its annual rest for the Christmas celebrations, and this will be the last one for a few weeks. Thank you all for taking time to read, write and comment over the last year. Your support has been tremendous and I have loved discovering a different rhythm to…
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Workshops for summer 2024
Over the next few months – after the Christmas and New Year break – the Southern Hemisphere summer really gets into its swing with workshops. Over the next few months there are lots of events and activities in Aotearoa New Zealand. Here are a few that are happening up and down the West Coast. Down…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a curated list of songs and sounds from Spotify is made for the blog. The pieces are chosen because they relate to something from the blog or because of current world events. This week’s list is largely about the festive season. To listen to the playlist click on the the play icon on…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a Spotify playlist is curated that references items on the blog and/ or current events. To listen to this week’s playlist you can click the play button below. If you have a paid subscription you will hear the whole playlist, uninterrupted. Those with a free subscription will have advertising every so often and…
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An interview with Caroline McQuarrie
This week saw the first interview of the Conversation and Cloth series of textile events. Caroline McQuarrie joined Andy Ross on the couch for a chat about textiles, art practices, weaving and memory. You can watch the video of the interview below. Links to works and websites mentioned in the interview: https://www.hastingscityartgallery.co.nz/home/article/433/caroline-mcquarrie-and-shaun-matthews-prospects-fearful?t=featured&s=1 https://teara.govt.nz/en/search/teara?keys=pakeha https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=pakeha https://www.annagratton.co.nz…
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Opera as African artform.
A new book on how opera became African has recently been published and it promises to be a fascinating read. Opera was introduced to Cape Town in South Africa in the 19th Century and was originally the preserve of the privileged few. When democracy came to the country in 1994, people thought that opera would…
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How Shetland wool became famous
For those who have been lucky enough to visit Shetland, the archipelago in the Far North of the UK that has an illustrious and long history of textiles, you will remember the thousands of sheep that litter the hills (and, sometimes, the roads) of the islands. These sheep are the mainstay of an industry that…