Scratched from Race One - Showtime 15

You can tell I’ve never been to the races…..I missed the first New Zealand Cup Meeting at Riccarton Park Raceway on Saturday….. because I never knew it was on. Great start! Even more ridiculous is the fact that I was actually AT Riccarton Park Raceway early on Saturday morning because I had been out at the airport and thought I’d just swing by to see what might be happening. There were men fussing about with marquees and traffic wardens wandering about the place (but no traffic) and still it never dawned on me….though at the time I did think they were making a devilishly early start to the November 14th NZ Cup Day meeting. Ho hum!

So that was my non-experience of the New Zealand 2000 Guineas. Let’s hope I can do better and actually get myself there on Saturday November 14th, for the Christchurch Casino NZ Cup Day. I’ll be foregoing the second meeting - Wednesday’s Ladies’ Day - as I’ll be going to the opening of the Royal New Zealand Show that day. Well….that’s the plan but after yesterday’s debacle I’m the first to admit that anything could happen between now and Wednesday.

And in a classic case of Dumb Meets Dumber I never even twigged when I saw all the horses at the stables. I just sat there wondering why they were bringing them a week early! BUT I think you'll agree though, that everything was looking spick and span and deliciously green for the first NZ Cup and Show Week event - and they did have a beautiful day for it. www.nzcupandshow.co.nz

Summer Green

Christchurch Botanic Gardens. October 2009.

If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times - Christchurch Botanic Gardens and greater Hagley Park are one of the best things about this city. No matter what the time of year, they are a photographer's paradise. I love following the seasons in the gardens and when spring arrives - and it finally seems to have - everything turns the most incredibly vibrant shade of bright lime green. This laneway bordered by gigantic elms is one of my favourite spots in the gardens; the Archery Lawn, where the girls are picnicking is another.

Cool Cars - 60

One Pale Blue MkII Jaguar - Spotted in Sydenham in Christchurch

One Loaf or Two?

There's something immensely satisfying about photographing fresh bread and I was in my element at Riccarton Bush Farmers' Market this morning. There were at least four different bread stalls there, all handcrafting different tasty treats. For my own consumption I settled on something, sweet, delicious and Dutch - with a name that was completely unpronouncable!

StreetscapeNZ - 52

West Quay, Ahuriri

Napier, North Island.
May 2009. Ajr

The Drama of Entry

I was out at Addington Raceway recently and couldn't help noticing the 'architectural punch' of the main entrance to the Westpac Stadium - made all the more dramatic by the gloomy, cloud-filled skies billowing up in the rear. Designed by the Christchurch architectural practice Warren & Mahoney, the stadium opened in 2000. It was the biggest pre-cast concrete construction job ever undertaken in the South Island and if you'd like to know more about the details, you can find lots of information on their website - www.westpacstadium.co.nz www.warrenandmahoney.com

It's a Sign - Showtime 14

It's just a few days now - Tuesday, November 10th actually - before the New Zealand Trotting Cup Day kicks off at Addington Raceway. As one of the key events of NZ Cup and Show Week, it attracts huge crowds - most of whom will know ten times more than me about racing and what goes on.
When I was out at Addington a few weeks back I picked up a small booklet called Racing 101 - I thought it might give me a few tips on form - for both the horses and myself. It tells me how I should pick a winner and how I should place a bet (should I succumb to a wild and impulsive gamble). Thankfully, it also provides a list of 'important tips for new punters' and 'a guide to racing terms.' I feel like SUCH a beginner, so knowing that The Jump is where the race starts and that it's NOT an actual jump (as in a fence or a hedge), could save me a few red-faced moments. I suppose if I were cunning I would have arranged to take an expert with me but I don't think my media pass includes 'guests.' So it's going to be trial by fire for me. But I'm up for it. From my experience, all of life is a gamble, so I should be in my element - and who knows, I might even beat the odds and pass myself off as someone who knows what they're even doing there. www.nzcupandshow.co.nz www.addington.co.nz

Opening the Vault

The billboards are up and the anticipation is high: Tonight is the opening of Neil Pardington’s fabulous photographic show, The Vault at Christchurch Art Gallery – a collection of 40 large-format photographs that give us a privileged peek behind the scenes at museums and art galleries around New Zealand. It’s a brilliant ‘expose’ of the behind-the-scenes artefacts and collections in storage.

He got the idea for the photographic series while he was working behind the scenes at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and it has been a work in progress ever since as he has explored the vaults, archives and basements of museums, art galleries, archives, banks, libraries and hospitals – “my focus is on places we store those things that are precious to us and conversely, those very similar spaces we store the obsolete and unwanted,” he has said of his work.
Pardington’s photographs ‘expose storehouses of memory and places filled with mystifying treasure.’ They include my favourites, the stuffed animals and birds…all with cute little cardboard labels attached to their legs; paintings attached to sliding storage walls; specimens in jars; rooms filled with mannequins; shelves filled with rolls of film in tins; Maori artefacts; buildings filled with army vehicles; textiles, card catalogues and much more. It’s a scrumptiously voyeuristic peek into the normally unseen, off-limits world of the nation’s treasures and it will be on show at Christchurch Art Gallery until March 14, 2010. www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz www.neilpardington.com
Top Image: Neil Pardington Land and Marine Mammal Store #5 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa 2006. Lambda/C-print. Reeproduced courtesy of the artist & Christchurch Art Gallery.
Bottom Image: Neil Pardington Taonga Maori Store #2, Whanganui Regional Museum 2006. Reproduced courtesy of the artist and Christchurch Art Gallery.

Taking Part in History - Showtime 13

It’s not long now until the eagerly-awaited New Zealand Trotting Cup meeting at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 10th. I’ve never been to a trotting cup meeting so I’m looking forward to it; and it will be interesting not only from a race point-of-view but for the whole ‘cultural experience’ of race day. It’s a tradition here in Christchurch – a tradition that goes right back to 1899, when the inaugural race meeting was held at Addington, although the grandstand itself was not completed until 1900. A series of fires – in 1916, 1926, 1953 and 1961 - caused ongoing disruption but the ‘spirit of the race’ has never paled. Since 1981, there have been significant improvements and additions including the building of the Stewards’ and Members’ Stand in 1990. I took these photographs of the stands when I was out at the Raceway a week or so ago. I’m looking forward to taking the same shots again on race day, when thousands of people pour in for the frivolities. www.addington.co.nz www.nzcupandshow.co.nz

Thinking Melbourne, Thinking Fed Square

Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. November 2008. Ajr

This is where I was this time last year – spending much of my time slouching around Melbourne’s cultural centre, Federation Square, colloquially known as Fed Square. Designed by the Melbourne architectural practice, Lab Architecture Studio, the complex was built (2002-2004) on top of a concrete platform that straddles the busy railway lines below. Chief among its collected buildings is the National Gallery of Victoria’s newest and second premises, the Ian Potter Centre – the entrance pictured above, the rear of the gallery photographed from the riverbank, below. I love this whole area and last year was lucky enough to visit at the same time as a major sculptural award, with works scattered in and around the square. (If you put Melbourne of Federation Square into the blog index top left, you’ll be able to view many of those works). Quite apart from that, the place teems with people day and night and it’s a fabulous place to sit to get the feel of Melbourne as a city. It’s also home to one of my favourite restaurants, The Chocolate Buddha and I can't wait to get back there is a month or two. www.ngv.vic.gov.au www.labarchitecture.com www.federationsquare.com.au www.chocolatebuddha.com.au