NZ +1: Quick Dash into Christchurch

There will inevitably be some of what I write here which is more for me when I get back than it is for anyone else reading it, so apologies if parts of it seem narrative and irrelevant. They will serve as memory joggers for me when I get back... Here goes.

Settled in to Nessie's house, which is roughly here, and had showers and began to feel a bit human again.

We then went into Christchurch to have a quick look round and to buy all the things we forgot to bring with us (shaving gel) or which exploded in Lisa's suitcase (shampoo) or which were needed for the holiday journals of people who aren't 21st century enough to do it online (Pritt Stick).

We also had lunch. Here.

Discovered the New Zealand version of WHSmith which is Whitcoulls . It's actually not just the NZ version of WHSmith, it actually WHSmith with a different name. Lots of the cards and merchandise they sell is branded WHSmith. We were served today by Torina.

Also found the Christchurch Millennium Folly. It's not officially called that, but you know the kind of thing... monument or sculpture inspired by the Year 2000, not actually finished until years later, cost fourteen times as much as originally planned, no-one likes it, spoils the view of something quite nice that was already there etc... Anyone who has seen the Millennium Spire in Dublin will know what I'm getting at here...

Anyway, here's the Christchurch version...



The thing that it spoils the view of is Christchurch Cathedral. Which, if it were back in the UK, whould be called "a small church".

Oh, and we also saw this in the supermarket car park. Click on it to enlarge and read the wording.



Apparently it's totally legal here to set yourself up to openly sell (split infinitive) party drugs from the back of a van so long as they are only "herbal".

Back tomorrow.