Author Archives: jb

>On being happy

Posted on 28 March, 2008 by jb

>The happiest person in New Zealand is a 75 year old widow, having retired to Nelson on a $75,000 income, living in a freehold property and with no dependent children. Glaring obvious, really. Nelson is blessed with a benign climate … Continue reading →

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>I get confused

Posted on 26 March, 2008 by jb

>They have this fixation down here with motor scooters. One cafe in Nelson City is called “Lambretta” and there’s another one out in Brightwater called “Vespa’s”. What? Oh, it’s VESPERS. So that’s why they’ve built it to look like an … Continue reading →

Posted in This is Nelson | 2 Comments

>Fools I have met

Posted on 25 March, 2008 by jb

> MiNDFOOD is an integrated media brand delivering information from New Zealand and around the world. The magazine and website feature television, podcasts, electronic newsletters, features, recipes, photopraphs and daily news. The core editorial platforms of Society, Wellness, Environment, Culture, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fools I have met | 1 Comment

>This is Nelson

Posted on 24 March, 2008 by jb

>The “Windy City Strugglers” is a Wellington-based blues/roots band (one self-penned description is “The ZZ Top of folk music”) we saw at the Boathouse in Nelson at the end of 2006. They’re really good. Nick Bollinger who writes the music … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, This is Nelson | 2 Comments

>Catch 22

Posted on 24 March, 2008 by jb

> So I’e seen a back issue of a magazine, want to get hold of it and call up the publisher’s subscription department. It went like this: “I’d like to get hold of the October/November issue of Homes NZ please” … Continue reading →

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>This is quite tricky

Posted on 24 March, 2008 by jb

>I’ve been wandering around Nelson for a week now, looking for the famous Meg and Ben. Every Japanese couple I spy (and there are a lot…), I approach and say “Hi Meg, hi Ben” Mostly they just run off. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in This is Nelson | 1 Comment

>Bloody 1970s furniture

Posted on 24 March, 2008 by jb

> Staying on the shores of the Waimea Estuary in Mapua at a place that describes itself as “renovated apple pickers’ cottages (that) are furnished “bach style” with an eclectic mix of treasures from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. ……… … Continue reading →

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>Mr Todd…

Posted on 21 March, 2008 by jb

> and his brother – if they’re not both over 70, they’re pretty close – own a market garden next to the speedway track in Nelson. They’re out in the fields (or in the shed out at the back having … Continue reading →

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>All change

Posted on 20 March, 2008 by jb

> In Mainz’s wine bars, there’s a generation change at about 6:30pm when the geriatrics toddle off to clamber onto the last bus that’ll get them back home before curfew and their places are taken by the youngsters. Well, baby-boomers, … Continue reading →

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>I’m very sorry….

Posted on 20 March, 2008 by jb

> you’re 5 minutes too early…. This is the South Street Gallery in Nelson at 4:55pm yesterday. Not that they’d just closed and there were people rattling around inside, putting stuff away and doing the things you do after you … Continue reading →

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