Our home in Invercargill this year is on a portion of Bourke Street that goes between Queen's Park and the upscale Windsor shopping area. I love this location as I am independent as long as my feet stay happy. I can even walk as far as centre city from here, but who needs to? I can get most things I want in Windsor. Take a tour of Windsor with me starting at "Sally's" on the upper end.
Even upscale shoppers like to shop at "Sally's". The Salvation Army has
thrift stores throughout the city and this is the Windsor Sally.
Instead of government owned post offices, it appears independents take on the job of "postie". At this site, we can post letters and parcels, but also buy periodicals, books, greeting cards, and stationary supplies.
Directly across the street is the ubiquitous corner dairy store which carries the things one runs out of at the last minute as well as fish and chips and ice cream. I buy the daily Southland Times here.
We visited both churches in Windsor last year. The Anglicans are struggling with diminished attendance, but this church voted to go their own way rather than become a joint church with the "big" church in centre city. Such is the sentiment about losing the community focus. Liz, one of the priests here, is a most delightful and welcoming person.
The Presbyterians have the church one block down Windsor Street. We found the congregants a bit dour, but they are probably Scots, what can I say? (I can say that; I have Scot ancestry and I can do dour too).There must be more to it than that as they have a good outreach and community spirit. They sponsor a little shop where all proceeds go to Save the Children. Recently they removed the old manse and created a lovely little community park in its place.
Several businesses are lovely gift shops. Woodstock on Windsor is only one of them but it is distinguished by the beautiful garden of white tree roses and tall white snapdragons in front.
I must admit that the Windsor Wine Shop is a frequent stop for me. You may think it is just for the wine but there is an additional attraction. A lovely French man with the cutest accent and encyclopedic wine knowledge sometimes tends the store.
Beyond the wine shop are three occasionally visited places, though you may have trouble spotting them in this photo. First, Organica where I find organic, dietetic, and specialty foods; next a food import shop with imported coffee, chocolate, and much, much more; then The Village Green, one of three restaurants in Windsor, all worthy of a meal. I buy Belgian chocolates at the import shop as a hostess gift when we are invited out to someone's home, which happens rather frequently. I asked the quite portly store owner of the shop if she had sampled her chocolates. "Well ...... yes", she replied with an amused, guilty smile. I buy the ones she recommends.
D'Coy is just one of the dress shops. It looks pretty extravagant; I have never been there.
Our good friend, Dr. Kim Nestor, has her Catherine Street Clinic in Windsor. Concerned about what to do if I should need medical care, I asked Kim if she would take me on as a patient should that be needed. "Well, we are one of the oversubscribed practices in the city, but yes, I would." I felt relieved and hoped our relationship would stay strictly social.
Three blocks down Windsor is the New World grocery where I do most of our food shopping. Directly across the street is Ian Wallace's pharmacy. Ian has been helpful in the past accessing needed personal medication and recommending effective over the counter remedies (Rheumon topical gel) unknown to us in the US. The stores seem to have some kind of agreement on who carries what. You won't find toothbrushes in the pharmacy nor dental floss in the grocery here.
Our wee flat on Bourke Street has been an ideal location for me. The flat itself is quite adequate; it only takes an hour to clean the whole thing.
A dearth of cookware has also limited my creativity in the kitchen allowing time for other interesting things like perusing Windsor Road (1/2 block north) and trolling through Queen's Park (1/2 block south), and writing.
The neighborhood is older with quaint cottages.
Though our front garden is the size of a postage stamp, the weather-beaten rose is blossoming its heart out.
The headlines say it all: "Freak Storm Wreaks Havoc in City".
This was supposed to be a "fine day" and it was warm enough for a light jacket. The Kiwi Consort and I had a date for lunch at the tea house in Queens Park. Peering to the south west, dark clouds indicated I had best take my rain wear for my walk in the park before lunch. In 10 minutes, I felt the first drops. Not much. I kept walking. It got steadier and I unpacked the rain jacket and put it on. Now it was a steady serious rain. I stood under trees in the park thinking it would slow down. As I stood there, I felt safe standing under a tree in the rain as thunder and lightening quite rarely if ever occurred in Invercargill. Certainly it hadn't in my two summers here. The rain looked as if it wasn't going to let up so I splashed on deciding to go to the tea house early ... if I could find it. The park is large and I sort of know where it is but I usually flounder a bit getting oriented. Today my orientation was good. As I approached the tea house I noted people streaming to the tea house from every direction. The place was packed as we all sought shelter from the rain.
After lunch, the rain had stopped and I headed for Windsor Street to purchase a newspaper at the corner convenience store. Then I heard a distant rumble. Was that thunder? A louder rumble. Indeed! I quickened my pace to get my errand done before the rain resumed. I barely made it home when the crashing was immediately overhead and the sky became very dark. This was completely unpredicted. The wind intensified. Torrents of rain slashed sideways. Then I heard the first ping, ping, ping on the metal overhang at the front door. Soon the pings were a tattoo and then a roar. Heaps of small size hail piled up in the grass, in the street, and on the walkway. Initially I thought it was a wonderful storm. I parted the lace curtains and pulled my chair up in front of the window to appreciate its awesomeness. I was one of very few enjoying this spectacle.
In centre city, the hail blocked drain pipes and storm sewers. The drain pipes backed up and water spilled into attics and poured through light fixtures in many stores and businesses. The storm sewers could not handle the heavy water burden and the streets were flooded. Clerks ran around soaking up water with towels and placing buckets as well as they could. There was no happiness in centre city.
There was one fatality from a lightning strike. A horse alone in its paddock on Racecourse Road about 8 blocks from our location was struck instantly dead, its blanket smoldering on its back.
Soon it was over as quickly as it had appeared and all was at peace again. I will be more circumspect in the future about standing under trees in the rain, even in Invercargill.re
The year is 1901. The Earl of Ranfurly, then Governor of New Zealand for the British Empire, announces he will present a cup to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union as a prize in the sport of their choosing. The sports group chooses to make it a rugby trophy. When the "cup" arrives, it turns out to be a shield, a shield with a decidedly soccer (football) design as a centrepiece. Not to worry; goal posts were added to the soccer goal making it a rugby image. The shield was first awarded to Auckland in 1902 as they had the best record.
This is a challenge trophy, not one earned through playoffs. To earn the shield, a team must defeat the current holder of the shield. That holder in 2009 was the Canterbury team from the mid-east coast of South Island. The holder of the shield is required to accept a minimum of seven challenges each year. All home games are considered challenges, essentially requiring the trophy holder to remain almost undefeated.
Fast forward to 22 October 2009: The Southland Stags of Invercargill defeat Canterbury and capture the trophy for the first time in 50 years. Since we weren't yet on the scene, we can only imagine Southland province's response! A front page photo showed the sweaty, grizzled Captain of the Stags, Jamie Mackintosh kissing the shield, "the province's most sought after possession". When the team's flight arrived from Christchurch, the newspaper reported that Jamie was last off the plane. "Chuffed" (chest puffed; proud) he held up the trophy as he appeared at the jet's exit to the delight of the waiting throng. The Southland Times immediately announced the limited publication of a commemorative booklet. Orders were taken and no extras were printed. A recent sales circular announced that anyone who bought a case (12 bottles) of wine at $19.99 a bottle would get a free bottle autographed by Captain Jamie Mackintosh . The shield is now on view for only a week or so at the Invercargill Museum . But we had an early private preview.
As captain of the Stags, Jamie had possession of the shield until after Christmas. The shield turned up in Christmas wrapping under the family tree, a temporary gift to his extended family. Dubbed " Jamie 's girlfriend" by the family, it was a centrepiece of the post-Christmas dinner social. Individually and in groups, everyone had their photos taken with Jamie and the shield, including the Kiwi Traveler and Consort.
The media is still crowing about this triumph; a photo of the Mackintosh extended family with the shield turned up in the Southland Times December 26 ("Shield enjoys Christmas with Mackintosh and his mates").
So how important is this trophy, I wondered. Jamie said, "It's like winning the Stanley Cup!" Pretty important then, I concluded. I felt chuffed too.
As the Kiwi Consort and I arrived in NZ (pronounced En-Zed) in early December, the drive up to Christmas was already underway. Overhead holiday decor spanned Tay Street and Dee Street, major arteries in centre city Invercargill. Holiday music echoed through the store aisles, super sales were announced weekly: "Open to Midnight! Prices slashed!" The Southland Hospice garners a fair number of donations over the holiday season. H&J Department Store features a Christmas Remembrance Tree; hospice volunteers collect donations as shoppers hang cards commemorating a deceased loved one on the tree. Many agencies are seeking donations in store entries. Last year I sat in the cold, windy entry of The Warehouse store as a volunteer for the hospice. Southland folk are generous and strongly support their hospice.
In 2008, we turned up for the annual Christmas parade, watching from the outdoor tables at the Global Byte Cafe nursing our coffees against the chill. The bands were Scots pipers and the floats imaginative. We missed this grand occasion this year. But we didn't miss any meals!
Christmas Eve we had appetizers and wine at the home of Dr. Kim (who works with the Kiwi Consort (KC) at the hospice) and her partner, Shirley, where we met Kim's parents and her office staff.
When it finally got dark, about 10 PM or so, we drove to a street known for the lighted decorations on the houses. What a trip back in time for me. As a kid, my family was always in the Duluth MN area for Christmas. Our family tradition on Christmas Eve was to drive from Clover Valley into Duluth to pay visits to the city cousins and look at the Christmas lights. Church was not part of that tradition of yore. But the KC and I went to the 11PM candlelight and carol service at First Church in Invercargill, no other identification is needed for this area settled predominantly by Scottish Presbyterians. Carla, a nurse colleague from the hospice invited us to attend as Sean, her 11-year old son with a pure, clear soprano voice sang two solos. The last, Silent Night, from the balcony sent us on our way into the silent night at 12:15 AM.
We spent Christmas Day at the home of Brian and Ann (sister to Kate Macintosh) with the raucous Macintosh clan, 18 strong this day, with children, grandchildren, in-laws, and guests. It took three tables to seat all the folk and two plus tables to hold all the food. The major traditional food for Christmas? Boiled white new potatoes from the spring gardens. There was ham, chicken, multiples of vegetables and salads. The chocolate fountain required a separate overflow table. We started with crackers (see photo) at each place. Pulled apart with a partner, they popped rewarding the winner (like a turkey wishbone) with a cheezy toy. In addition to food aplenty, there were toasts as in "This will be a standing toast; recharge your glasses!" We refilled the wine glasses, stood and clinked all glasses at our table in response to the toast. Then each table came up with a joke. Finally, we earned our way to the fully loaded dessert table including two versions of the iconic Pavlova. A chocolate fountain was accommodated on yet another table.
Waiting, waiting, waiting ....
Food lined up on porch - waiting
Tables are inviting
The center of attention or the day was the Ranfurly Shield, recently won by the Southland Stags rugby team. More about that at another time, but suffice it to say we all had our pictures taken with team captain Jamie Macintosh and the shield. Jamie, who is quite the local hero, was immensely proud of the prize, justifiably a bit full of himself, cheerfully posed with each group and autographed programs about the prize for neighbors. The Macintosh clan with Ranfurly Shield
The final scene is what happens after every major family feast. As we left, the Kiwi men all went to a nearby park to play cricket and the women collapsed in the parlour.
Directly across the street is the ubiquitous corner dairy store which carries the things one runs out of at the last minute as well as fish and chips and ice cream. I buy the daily Southland Times here. 
Three blocks down Windsor is the New World grocery where I do most of our food shopping. Directly across the street is Ian Wallace's pharmacy. Ian has been helpful in the past accessing needed personal medication and recommending effective over the counter remedies (Rheumon topical gel) unknown to us in the US. The stores seem to have some kind of agreement on who carries what. You won't find toothbrushes in the pharmacy nor dental floss in the grocery here. 
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