Living in New Zealand: Lyttelton's Dry Dock

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We went on a tour of Lyttelton’s dry dock recently. It was fascinating, as much of it dates back to the 19th century and survived the 21st-century earthquake. 

Old chainsaws

They’ve only recently replaced the pumps

Victorian brickwork

I was really happy to find out that they treat the water that comes out of the dry dock after cleaning and painting the boats. The room where they do this looks very Heath Robinson, but it does the job so well that the pollutant levels are lower then permitted leaving the sewage works in Bromley.

Cleaning these grates is a nasty job, as young crabs get in and enjoy living in the space, but then get too big to get out…

Living in New Zealand: Lyttelton Legend Bill Hammond

There's an exhibition on at the Christchurch Art Gallery of Bill Hammond’s work. Bill Hammond is a Lyttelton legend and one of New Zealand's most well-known painters. We went to a talk by his friend, Laurence Aberhart, who told lots of stories about Bill. Bill had a dry wit and was enormously good fun to hang out with.

Before the talk, we looked around the exhibition and it was fantastic to see this work again:

Volcano Flag by Bill Hammond at the Christchurch Art Gallery

I miss the Lava Bar. It was somewhere I often went to on my own when the boyf was working hard in his London Street wine bar. I would walk up the street from my flat at number 6, sit at the bar and have a plate of their nachos and a beer, or maybe a glass of red wine, filled to the top of their little glasses. Often Bill Hammond would be sitting at the bar as well. I bet he misses the Lava Bar too. 

We are lucky that there are still lots of great places to eat and drink in Lyttelton. But there was something about the Lava Bar that can't be replaced. It was quirky and busy and cosy all at the same time. It felt like home but you could always get into a good conversation with a stranger.

The Lava Bar may be gone, but Bill Hammond goes on. His work will outlast us all.

Giant Eagle and self portrait…

Reasons to Be Cheerful - Listening to Someone Practising the Violin (Sometimes)

Overheard on Voelas Road (Click to see options for using this image)

Living in New Zealand: Pies are an Important Fast Food and Essential on Road Trips

Hope River Pies

Before I came to New Zealand, I very rarely ate pies, especially savoury pies. But savoury pies are some of the best fast food you can get here. We're really lucky in that we have an artisan pie shop in Lyttelton itself. Our friend Craig is the pie maker extraordinaire at Hope River Pies and sells them out of his commercial kitchen on Norwich Quay on Thursdays and Fridays (and some Sundays). He also sells at many of the farmers markets in Christchurch, including the Lyttelton farmers market. His pies are great, especially as he does a lot of vegetarian and vegan pies.

But when I am on the road, I sometimes cheat on Craig to stop for a pie elsewhere.

Pies are an important part of any New Zealand Road trip. Click to see options for using the image

Most of those pies just fill a hole, but I can recommend the pies at the cafe in Hampden, Otago and now at the pie shop in Sheffield, Canterbury. This is a traditional place for my friend Crispin to stop when he heads out to his family’s bach on the West Coast. That was where we were heading a couple of weeks ago to do some work on the bach. A pie is just the ticket when you are on a long road trip.

Truckies are some of New Zealand’s better drivers and often pull over to let people pass on the narrow roads. Click to see options for using the image