Closed

This blog will be closed for the next few days. I am off to Oz!

Trolley

The Nelson Trolley Race (or Robertson Trolley Race to give the sponsors credit) is an annual event on Collingwood Street.  In the U.S. we would call this a Soapbox Derby.  Trolley builders from all over New Zealand and Australia gather at the top of Collingwood to run their trolleys down the street with the final winner crowned "Monarch of the Hill."  The Derby has been going since the 1950s and is the subject of the New Zealand film Kiwi Flier.

The trolleys are lined up for inspection at the top of Collingwood Street.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

No need to throw out that kayak with the hole in the bottom!

The Spirit of Burt Munro.  You can refer to Burt in a previous blog entry.

Buoy Racer.  That's funny!

777

Some of the trollys are quite elaborate.

This was my favourite.

Slow as molasses but full of class.

The race is on!

The Spirit of Burt Munro takes the lead.

The kayak was faster on land than water!

Some of the trolley drivers were very laid back.

There were a lot of spectators.  Many brought their dogs.

Some brought their goats. This is the attitude that have kept the Cubs from winning a World Series.

Even the wee tykes get in on the action.

How do the trolleys get back tot the top of the hill?

Now you know!

Here is the trailer for Kiwi Flier:

I have to stop.

Piggy

Here is something you don't see every day, even in Indiana.  Looking at the iPhone photos below, your first thought might be 'why is Jay taking pictures of traffic when he should be concentrating on driving?

It would have something to do with the passenger in the bed of the red pick-up truck (or Ute, as the Kiwis call it).  Hard to see in the first picture . . .

but the second one is a bit more telling.  Apparently somebody is having wild pig for dinner.

Renato

Chris and Amy (I work with Amy) took me out Renato Vineyard for a picnic and wine tasting.  I'm glad they took me because I don't think I would have found the place in my own.  The vineyard is close to Mapua and has come spectacular vistas of Tasman Bay.  They use over 35 km of netting to protect the grapes from birds.

Chris and Amy enjoying the picnic (but Chris is thinking about a beer).

The tasting room.

Renato Pinot Noir and Merlot

The weather has been great for the vineyards but no so much for the farmers.  The north island is under severe drought conditions and its heading south, which is strange considering New Zealand is essentially two, admittedly large, islands.  Rain is currently forecast for Nelson on Thursday.

Ska

You may or may not be familiar with Ska, a music genre that began in Jamaica. I remember it becoming popular with Ska bands like Madness, The Specials, The [English] Beat, and to some extent, ska influenced songs by UB40 and the Clash.   Some classic Ska songs from my younger days include "One Step Beyond," "A Message to You Rudy," and "Ghost Town." Later in life there was a heavily ska influenced band in Bloomington called Johnny Socko, true entertainers that often played at The Second Story.

When our friend Anne texted me and said there was a ska band playing in Nelson tonight, I was intrigued.  Ska bands in New Zealand are a fairly rare commodity, let alone ska bands in Nelson. When I heard their name, I had to go.  Ladies and Gentlemen . . . .

 BATTLE-SKA GALACTICA

Check out the keyboard player to the right.  Is he ready to play?

They were great.  A lot of people attended and a lot of people--old people--were up dancing.  They did a couple of covers but most of their material is original and quite good.  The front man for the group, Saali Marks, came and sat with Anne and I at the break and we had a great discussion about the band, how they got into ska, their roots in the Nelson School of Music, and their politically charged song "Wake Up NZ."

NovoPay

The alternate title to this post is "Protest," but I have a feeling that another that might be more appropriate for a future post.

Essentially, the problem all boils down to this: the teacher payroll system adopted by the New Zealand government in 2012 is "stuffed up" (that's Kiwi for 'messed up,' 'FUBARed, ' snafued, or oopsie!).  Under NovoPay, teachers are getting incorrect amounts, not being paid at all, have misdirected taxes, child support, retirement funds, student loan payments, . . . the list goes on.

Before 2012, and during my first months of teaching in New Zealand, teacher pay was administered by Datacom Group, a NZ based group.  The pay was on time and correct.  However, the Ministry of Education decided that the system was not modern enough and did not supply the data the Ministry 'needed.'  Wanting to move to a web-based, modern payroll system, the NZ Government hired Talant2, an Australian company, to administer the nation's teacher payroll system.

NovoPay has been a complete disaster with no end in sight.  The latest news report can be seen HERE.

Many of my colleagues at Garin College have incorrect pay or no pay at all.  This morning we had a little protest at the roundabout (that's where the traffic is) to enthusiastic support.  Both the Principal and Deputy Principal came to the protest in support as well (or else he was just trying to find all the teacher's who weren't at the staff meeting).  There was a story in the Nelson Mail about our little work action, though I don't think John Key had much interest.

Below is a photo of some of the worthy protesters:

Taste

Like the Taste of Chicago and the Taste of Bloomington, Nelson has its own culinary festival.  "Taste Nelson is a festival that encapsulates everything that is fantastic about Nelson: food, wine, beer, seafood fresh produce, culinary delights, arts, crafts, and local performing talent."

I was once again pleasantly surprised by the scale of the event.  It was much larger than I thought it would be.  There were also a good many people there, but not so many that I felt 'cluster-phobic.'  Taste Nelson is held at Founder's Park, just down the road between Atawhai and Nelson.  Enjoy the photos.

Taste Nelson is well attended . . . 

 . . . and well decorated.

 Founders Park, officially Founders Heritage Park, began in 1977.  The buildings in the park are replicas of buildings from Nelson's past.  The park alone is worthy of its own future blog entry.

Friends Lori and Wren were enjoying the day (and the face painting!).

What festival is complete without Morris Dancers?

Morris Dancers close up.

Founders Park has its own brewery!

Friendly people pouring lots of beer and wine.

Most unexpected find: GREAT MEXICAN FOOD!  Even cooked by a gentleman from Mexico!

Scallops on the grill.  Yum!

Its the Johnnys on stage!

Caramelized Almonds and Cashews from the nut man.

"Try our beer!"

Steady on, chap!

A major attraction.

I was able to taste samples of quite a bit of what Nelson had to offer in the way of food including paella, blue cheese and mushroom pie, Wienerschnitzel, mussels, pizza, etc. etc.  It was all quite delicious, but there was one thing I had that stood out above all the other foods.

And the winner is . . . 

Grilled Lime and Chilli Scallops

These were ridiculously good.

Recycle

I don't know about all the different types of public, private, special character, and charter schools in New Zealand, but when the staffroom recycle bin looks like this at 5 PM on a Friday, then I have found a great place to work.