I'm heading away for a day or two, making a short road trip with my three adult offspring. My youngest son is leaving New Zealand very soon and is likely to be away for a good many years. . . Post-grad. study in the UK is calling him; philosophy, alternative currencies and co-operative financial structures are calling him; engagement with the wider world is calling him. I will write more about this - what it means for him, what it means for me - in the next wee while. I will also write the story of the small boy Tomas with his passion for garden sprinklers and hovercrafts, and his nighttime travels on the back of a magic moss.
Here now, it's time to finish packing the picnic basket and hunt out my wind-sheeter, camera batteries and sunblock. . . We'll be revisiting some of my trio's childhood spots around the Caitlins coastal native forest reserve. The weather report is fine; the tide will be low at noon. We're planning to make our way over, under, around and through Tautuku's timber orienteering course (first tackled fifteen years ago), will picnic on the beach at Cathedral Caves then meander through lush coastal forest to McLeans Falls. . . Supper will be early at a quaint little place called 'The Whistling Frog.'
It'll be good to get away, to soften a few rough edges. Have yourselves a fine few days, too. . .
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Clock is an enigmatic photographic image (archival pigment ink on hand-coated silver gelatin emulsion; 100% rag paper) gifted to the MANY AS ONE Christchurch appeal by Cape Town artist and friend, Stephen Inggs. Many thanks, Stephen - Big Ben's a beauty.
VII
Clock - Stephen Inggs (South Africa)
Archival pigment ink on hand-coated silver gelatin emulsion; 100% rag paper
200 x 200mm
Several new artworks are on their way and will be posted on the MaO page when I return from the Caitlins (Thursday or Friday).
I will be looking forward to read about how your son's travels to Europe will affect you. You see, our child is in NZ for just the same reasons as your son is coming over here (roughly speaking) for. She has been gone for over a year now...
ReplyDeleteHe'll love it:) The call of the world must be heeded.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Southland, my Dad worked as a fisheries inspector, and his "beat" extended from Milford Sound to the Nuggets, at the Otago end of the Catlins. So I spent quite a bit of time there as a kid, and I am glad to hear that your family did, too. I hope you have a lovely time revisiting these beloved places.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely -- have a wonderful time with your three "adults"!
ReplyDeleteA retreat of the kindest kind. As Tom waits sings in 'Blind Love':
ReplyDelete"They say if you get far enough away, you'll be on your way back home."
Have a good time.