Arctic Circle Celebrates 13 Years of Syndication
The first syndicated Arctic Circle comic strip appeared on August 27th 2007
The three immigrant penguins arrived looking quite different to how they've evolved to look now. But the underlying theme hasn't changed. Here are a selection of strips - one from each year of syndication:
The world has certainly changed in 13 years. Electric cars are now awesome. Solar and wind power are cheaper than fossil fuelled power in the majority of the world. Regenerative agriculture is catching on as a way to build soil (and fix carbon). And more people CARE.
Let's celebrate that.
Living in New Zealand: A Weekend in Moeraki
Moeraki boulders are weird and wonderful (Click to see options for using the image)
The alternative Maori explanation for the boulders:
I went to Moeraki for a weekend of walking, thinking and writing. I had to visit the boulders of course, but apart from that, there aren’t too many distractions in the area and it is a good place to mull things over. It’s easier (I found out the hard way) to walk from the village to the boulders along the Millennium Track than it is to get there by scrambling over the rocks at low tide.
Bunnies in Moeraki
The other reason many people stop at Moeraki is the legendary restaurant, Fleur’s. You can get beautiful, locally-caught fish there if you don't mind paying a bit more (mains are $40 plus), but since I was on my own I went to the Fishwife to have fish and chips (less than $15). The blue cod was excellent.
And if you are on your own, I can recommend going to Fleur’s for coffee and cake, or a glass of wine before dinner. Unfortunately, the pub seems to cater more to the mass tourist crowd than to locals as you can't sit by the bar because it is a “working area”. A working area that is 15 feet long.
Because of Covid-19 there were very few tourists in town during the winter weekend and absolutely nobody in the water except me.
Very briefly.
I wish there was a saltwater pool in Moeraki. Though I’m happy to not see sharks.
More photos of the boulders, showing how they wash out of the cliffs. No dinosaurs seen to photograph on this visit.
Living in New Zealand: The Secondhand Bookshop is Lethal
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Looking around the bookshop in Lyttelton is dangerous when my bookshelves are already stuffed with books unread. I used to read massively as a kid until I went to university and got out of the habit. I really should make more time for it now.
Any advice on how to do that would be gratefully received!
Living in New Zealand: Emergency Services are Largely Voluntary
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In 1870 fire destroyed Lyttleton's main street. It started in the Queen’s Hotel (which later became London Street restaurant, which had to be demolished after the earthquake, as happened to many of the historic timber buildings that had been rebuilt in brick to resist fire). Residents had to demolish buildings to stop the fire spreading as there was no firefighting service in the isolated town. There is now, and a siren sounds to call the volunteers when they are needed. I really don't like that sound.
The Order of St John (or St John's) is the ambulance service for most of New Zealand. It is voluntary, in the way that having an emergency health event isn't.