On a balmy evening, the day after mid- summer day, I went into town , population 40,700, at 6.30p.m. to look for dinner ( I’m learning , they eat early here, probably why there’s not many Spanish tourists). I think I really ought to keep up with the World News, obviously the Bomb has been dropped, Anthrax alert, H.M. died unexpectedly, there’s no one else about. After a few minutes of wandering around admiring the Art Deco Cinema and “Anderson’s, for men”‘, a fine 1930s emporium, clothes probably to match, though I didn’t check…. I find a restaurant that is open. Sitting outside having dinner the only sign of life are guys in Subarus with spoilers, cruising up and down Victoria Avenue, with it’s many zebra crossings and frequent speed bumps. You’ve guessed , I am exaggerating, and being unkind to my host country. The good thing is that the restaurant has delicious food, and plays great jazz and 40 year old music!

I have driven through the most amazing country side over the last two days, every time there is a pull-off on the left hand side, and sometimes even on the right, if not on a hairpin bend, I stop to take in the view. Today I also went on a road that runs parallel to the main road, but not all of it is sealed, quite usual here. The scenery on the main road was a series of mini volcanic bumps for 90 kilometres. Then I double backed on the other road,( which runs along the River Whanganui, NZ’s longest river), for as far as it was made up.

After about 45km, I was craving caffeine, and was pleasantly surprised to find the unlikely combination of gallery and coffee shop, no wonder a lot of people here are on the large size, their cakes beat the National Trust Tea Rooms hands down. I can’t see how she makes a living, only about four other people there, on a lovely Saturday lunch time, including a couple from Malvern!

Any way the cake-making lady came and sat with me, a good chance to find out how places like this exist. I asked about school… Some children do it by correspondence, but as she said, if their parents aren’t that interested they get no education nor contact with other children. There is a school at Jerusalem, 11km up the road which covers the valley, but that’s only up to about 14 years old, then they have to go to Whanganui, about 50km away, so stay with family or friends in the town or board, only to have social problems when they leave the valley. A community seems to consist of about ten households and be about 20km apart. The other thing that interested m , is where the income for these communities comes from? Sheep and honey seemed to be the answer, really I don’t know why Manuka honey is so expensive, there are as many Manuka trees here as there are heather moors in Scotland. It’ s a very isolated life, the nearest in the U.K would be living in the Hebrides!

I have decided that these cars going past aren’t all Subarus, but have just knocked their silencers off , after years of nothing better to do than cruising over speed bumps……