Day of calm

Two buses missed today, one by seconds, the other I don't think turned up. After yesterday's deluge where whole suburbs were inundated I think the drivers are recovering. The sun is even managing to peak out from behind the rather grey sky, hopefully to augur well for a finer weekend which we need for our big Memorial on Sunday. The mothers with their strollers are out sunning their babes, joggers are always there; the weather never really stops true Wellingtonians from doing anything they want to do. I believe it's part of their stoicism inherited in many cases from the harsh terrain of their ancestors in northern Scotland, and many from northern Europe. 

View across Oriental Bay...

...towards the city

At least one dead in deluge...

With only two roads leading out of the Wellington cachement area, it is high drama when one of them is totally blocked and 30,000 people are stick in the city. This was nearly the situation of last night where even the City library opened its doors to look after the many stranded people who could not get home in Kapiti region from where so many commute. And one elderly gent got caught in his submerged car and his dead body was found much later. Again, the wonderful, if sometimes fierce, Wellington weather rearing up to be acknowledged and respected.

Rupert Everett, possibly more famous for being gay than a good actor, is still there and apparently being rather good at it, old chap! He plays King Georg VI in this apocryphal tale of a romp about the two princesses having a night out on the town during the war years. The trailer looked like fun but I'm sure sure it is candy floss and sticky fingers. All the same I may go, just for the fun of it.

Today is the last prep day for the AIDS Candlelight Memorial and the Wishing Tree has been built by the intrepid Welshman Noel, who seems to be able to do just about anything. In a couple of hours he has built this artistic wooden tree from which will be hung the various mementoes of people who have lost loved ones from the AIDS epidemic. 

It is also shaping up to be very interesting summit eve meeting on Saturday night at BP, designed, rather at a bad time, to discuss its future. It is probably going to be juicy. I feel I have a bit to say about how the manager R. has been badly treated in his valiant two years of pioneer work there, now to be summarily told the organisation is not financially viable. I had better prepare my speech.

The Wishing Tree