Alex Hallatt 10/25/18 Alex Hallatt 10/25/18

New Zealand Diary: First Surf of the Season

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I’m a fair weather surfer, but the forecast was for a sunny, 28 degree day yesterday, so I headed out with my bodyboard to South Brighton. As soon as I got through the tunnel, the gorgeous weather was replaced by a chilly sea mist, but I was kitted up and continued on. No one else was in the water (surprise!), so I steeled myself, but it wasn’t bad. And I caught some nice little waves. And I felt better for it, as I always do when I throw myself into the sea and muck around.

South Brighton beach on a sea misty day in Christchurch

Alex Hallatt 6/7/18 Alex Hallatt 6/7/18

Lincoln: It's Much Nicer Than I Expected

The boyf, Billie and I headed out to Lincoln last Friday and really quite enjoyed it. It is missing the sea, but has a little river and it doesn't have any hills, but it seems popular with cyclists. And what a library.

Click to see options for using the image. The closest you'll get to an English pub in Lincoln. Good food and dog friendly. — Click to see options for using the image. The closest you'll get to an English pub in Lincoln. Good food and dog friendly.

The laboratory was the closest you'll get to an English pub in Lincoln. Good food and dog friendly. Read more on the boyf's blog.

Alex Hallatt 6/1/18 Alex Hallatt 6/1/18

I Love New Brighton. It Has Many Reasons to Be Cheerful

If I didn't live in Lyttelton, I’d probably choose New Brighton (though I would be worried long-term about the threat of sea level rise and tsunamis). New Brighton has a fabulous long sandy beach and a cool modern pier that stretches out into the Pacific. The council had to do a lot of work to repair it after the earthquake and it is due to open to the public again tomorrow.

New Brighton also has one of the new electric car charging points that are springing up around Christchurch.

But the thing I like best about new Brighton is the library. You can sit and work in a chair that looks out over the ocean and there is a cafe below whenever you need a break from that.

Alex Hallatt 4/12/18 Alex Hallatt 4/12/18

Reasons to Be Cheerful: Fermenting

My friend, Jane, introduced me to my latest fermenting foray (previously, I had only tried yoghurt and alcohol).

After being inspired by Sandor Katz's "The Art of Fermentation" and coming back from my Mapua trip with a couple of cultures, the boyf tolerated the build up of various jars and crocks in the house (kombucha and sauerkraut) and kindly shouted me a ticket to a fermentation workshop, hosted by the Australian, Sharon Flynn of The Fermentary. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted half the photos on my phone this week, so these images are grabbed from Sharon's Instagram.

I went along to the workshop thinking I would learn a little, but came away with a lot of notes and a better understanding of fermentation, including some of the things I had been doing wrong (I'm surprised my kombucha has done so well - that SCOBY is bulletproof!). I don't think I'll be attempting milk kefir again any time soon, but there are definitely a few other things on my list.