Recharging the Creative Batteries in Melbourne, Australia (and Becoming Less Anxious)

We're just back from a long week in Melbourne where we were catching up with friends and revisiting old haunts. It's a great city for art and other culture and a good place to recharge my creative batteries.

I always stop in at the free exhibitions in the NGV galleries in Federation Square and on St Kilda Road.

The international collection had an amazing exhibit on Venetian glass, something I wouldn't normally be drawn to.

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But by far the most impressive work there for me on that visit was Zhu Jinshi’s “Ship of Time” about letting anxiety go. It did the job and walking through it was quite an amazing feeling from me.

The boyf wasn’t as impressed.

Melbourne is also well-known for its street art, which can be seen all over the city, but is most noteworthy in the central city laneways.

Our friends took us to see the newly painted Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand prime minister) mural on a silo in Brunswick. It made me proud to be Kiwi.

Here are a few more snapshots of the city:

Living in New Zealand: You See More Kingfishers Looking Up

Spotted overhead on Ticehurst Terrace, Lyttelton.

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If you want to hear a recording of a New Zealand kingfisher, head here:
http://www.kuaka.co.nz/birdcalls

Living in New Zealand: Christchurch Has Fantastic Libraries and Tūranga is the Best

I love libraries. They are the original community-sharing resource, but even if you never borrow anything, they are great spaces to be in. The new library in the middle of Christchurch, Tūranga, is incredible. It is a beautifully designed space, with lots of different areas depending on what you want to do in the library. There are quieter areas as well as areas for kids to play around in or for people to collaborate in.

The children’s area on the first floor of Tūranga library

There are a couple of cafes, a computer lab and a room for making music. As well as books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs and CDs there are also games, puzzles and interactive displays. And there are incredible views over a city that is changing before our eyes.

Looking south from Christchurch Central Library over the cathedral towards the Port Hills

https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/turanga/turanga-floor-by-floor/

https://inhabitat.com/earthquake-resistant-christchurch-central-library-is-a-stunning-symbol-of-rebirth/

The earthquake has also meant a rebuild of many suburban libraries like the one in Lincoln.

Lincoln library

Some libraries weren’t destroyed in the earthquake. One of my favourites, New Brighton library, is one of them.

Unfortunately, the ugly Lyttelton library is another.

It's Bullying-Free NZ Week

But let’s make it all year!

This week is Bullying-Free NZ Week. The theme is 'whakanuia tōu āhua ake! celebrating being us' and culminates with the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand Pink Shirt Day this Friday 17 May. Schools and whanau can find lots of resources to support our kids at www.bullyingfree.nz

— hat tip to The Worry Bug Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheWorryBug

It seems that bullying is a big problem in New Zealand and not just in schools:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/112627263/our-workplace-bullying-shame

I was bullied as a child and I’ve never forgotten how lousy that felt. It is what inspired me to write FAB Club.

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FAB Club is available on  Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Fishpond, Whitcoulls, Booktopia, Barnes & Noble and in all good book shops and libraries.

Arctic Circle Cartoon - Eating Invasive Species

I really enjoyed drawing panel 3 of this cartoon. Poor Oscar...

And here are some more cartoons I’ve drawn about invasive species (we have quite a few in New Zealand, but so far I haven’t featured possums and stoats in the strip).

New Zealand Garden Diary: The South Island Robin

The South Island Robin is one of my favourite birds. You don't see it very often in Lyttelton, because there are too many predators (cats, dogs, rats and stoats) and not enough bush to hide in. I have seen them quite often when out tramping in native forest, but it was a delight to encounter one at my friend’s place on the West Coast.