My Favourite Window

October 3, 2012

Sixty: Reasons to Visit Wellington

Of course I didn't go to Wellington just to look at the tulips.




Two weeks ago now, Andy turned Sixty. 




Even on his birthday he can't help being Handy;  
here is my first attempt at a birthday portrait - Andy at the kitchen sink after breakfast.

There were plenty of distractions though, as there always are in a city so doubly blessed with natural beauty and cultural extravagance.

Henry Moore's Bronze Form is a jewel in the Arts crown.




I am always enchanted by the enclave of Arts and Crafts gardeners' buildings in the Botanic Gardens;



















and the little gazebo set beside water at the edge of indigenous woodland.

In the children's playground an old tree stump has been given new life


Catching up with friends in the city I finally placed an enigmatic façade; 


I used to admire this Art Deco detailing from Elwin's desk on the sixth floor of DeLoitte House. I could never work out where it stood in the street scape until this recent visit. It stands on the corner of Brandon and Featherston Streets.
Another handsome building in Brandon Street is this one, with its decorative metal panels.




Metal of a different ilk featured in Stainless (by Judy Darragh), an installation at the Dowse Art Museum. The stainless steel kitchenware is just visible in Andy's reflective photo. Something about the concentric discs and Andy's stance with his pocket camera, as well as the rectangular, reflected frame brings to mind a photographer using a twin lens reflex camera. 



There's some kind of resonance there with the era of popularity for that type of camera alongside a sixtieth birthday.
And what of that elusive birthday portrait? 
Really this is it in my eyes.
Happy Birthday Handy Andy.


8 comments:

Cuby said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!
This photographic tour of Wellington entices me to go there if only it wasn't quite so far only ?,000 miles, shame!

rusty duck said...

Wellington looks fascinating, especially the Botanic Gardens. Could be England, until you look closely at the plants!

Great shot, Andy!

libby said...

Wellington would be a fabulous place to visit...one day maybe I will.
Happy birthday Andy! both pictures are lovely.

Jeneane said...

the cuby poet: It's the two long haul flights (12 and 14 hours) that daunt me when I'm making plans to travel. But Wellington is a destination all on its own. And most three-weeks-around-the-country visitors don't see more than the Port, and the national museum.

rusty duck: All NZ's botanical gardens feature our native plants of course, but the Wellington Gardens, like most of the suburbs are nestled into native woodland (or bush as we call it)and the contrast between wild and managed is invigorating. The walk to the tulip gardens and formal rose beds is through a primeval stream gully, lit by gloworms at nightime!

libby: Come on over you gad-about, you :-)

John Going Gently said...

well if he looks sixty I am a ducks arse!

Susan Heather said...

Had a short visit there many years ago. Would be good to to again some time. Thanks for the photos.

Jeneane said...

John Gray: Hmmm what can I say ;-)

Susan Heather: There is always something to see or do there.

Owen said...

I'm sure there must be far more than 60 good reasons to visit Wellington, but any one of them would do, I've been hoping to go to NZ for a long time now... hope to get there one day, one day... better hurry up, eh, for the clock is ticking, ticking...

PS, please do stop by and vote for a photo I put in a contest, further instructions on the blog, but the link is here :

http://photos.oise.fr/en-cours/categorie/plus-de-18-ans/photo/cavalier/

Cheers !