Alex Hallatt 6/10/19 Alex Hallatt 6/10/19

Living in New Zealand: The Lyttelton Timeball Drops Every Day at 1pm (Probably)

The timeball has been a landmark in Lyttelton for over 100 years. It was one of only two working timeballs in the world until the earthquakes destroyed it.

timeball destroyed by earthquakes in Christchurch

It was fantastic to see it restored and working again in 2018. Sensibly, only the tower was rebuilt.

Lyttelton’s timeball in 2019 (Click to see options for using the image)

I have seen the timeball drop a couple of times, but just missed it dozens of times.

I'm glad that in 2006 it was one of the things I chose to draw as part of my Lyttel Lives series of line drawings (The Deluxe Cafe was erased by Coffee Culture, but the boyf's restaurant and St David’s Street steps’ benches were also victims of the earthquakes).

Alex Hallatt 6/9/19 Alex Hallatt 6/9/19

Reasons to Be Cheerful - Finding There Are a Lot of People Who Care

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The boyf and I went to our first climate change march when we were in Melbourne. I doubt it will be my last.

Alex Hallatt 6/7/19 Alex Hallatt 6/7/19

How to Reduce Anxiety - Hang Out With Friendly Dogs

Illustrated advice on reducing anxiety.

We're still missing our Jack Russell, Billie, nine months on, but now we're talking about getting another dog. If anyone knows of a good-natured Jack Russell in New Zealand that needs a good home, let us know. It turns out that this kind of Jack Russell is pretty hard to find.

In the meantime, we get our dose of dogs when we're out and about, including on our recent trip to Melbourne. We encountered this lovely Jack Russell in Prahran.

This one is the inspiration for the Oven Street bakery in Brunswick.

Unfortunately the bakery had sold out of bread, but at least the dog were still there.

Alex Hallatt 6/5/19 Alex Hallatt 6/5/19

Living in New Zealand: Slip Slap Slop Against the Sun's UV

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Thanks to New Zealand’s latitude, its closeness to the sun in summer (a real thing, see here), its cleaner air and the lower ozone levels, the UV radiation from the sun is very strong in summer in this part of the world. There is a high incidence of skin cancer and it is common to have your moles checked (sometimes mapped) to catch any that might become a problem.

Though I grew up in England and didn’t even go abroad until I was 18 (a trip to France), or get on a plane until I was 20 (when I went to New Jersey for a year), I thought I should have my moles checked and went to a clinic in Christchurch. I love this graphic in the waiting room:

I had one suspect mole (1989 lying on the beach at Durdle Door on a windy day in summer?) and the doctor recommended it be taken out, so my doctor did (Molecheck charges $270 for the procedure and my GP charges $150).