Posted by Jerry on November 1st, 2007 — Posted in History, Journal, Motorcycling, Travel
NZ Canterbury Musuem, Christchurch
This is a good regional museum – well equipped and laid out. The collection is arranged chronologically from the first peoples – Iwi tawhito- whenua hou (Ancient peoples – new lands) covering first settlment artifacts, including stone axxes and adzes and a form of bow drill. There was an interesting note that there s little evidence of tribal warfare until the Moa (flightless bird) was hunted to extinction, with the speculation that resource pressures brought competition and conflict.
Decorative arts from early European settlement are well represented with glass and ceramics and furniture and costumes.
‘Christchurch Street’ – a recreated Victorian period street makes for a good immersive experience of life in the Victorian times.
But perhaps the most fascinating and unique exhibition is that devoted to Antarctic exploration. I was particularly taken by the steampunk looking dome used at Hallett Station. The dome was made from fibreglass and assembled in place by US Navy Seabees in 1957. The dome has a tongue and groove wooden floor and was assembled using brass bolts to ensure that there were no magnetic components. It was used as a weather observation post and housed a sensitive variograph which recorded tiny changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. The observatory was kept free of magnetic contamination by ensuring that it contained no metal furniture or other items.
The dome was recovered from the base in 2004 when the Station was closed and the base site cleaned up.
Another interesting exhibit was Ivan Mauger’s 1970 winning speedway motorcycle. He had won the 1968 and 1969 World speedway championships, and undertook a US tour, during which an American industrialist told him that if he won the championship a record third time running he would gold plate the motorcycle. After the 1970 win, the bike was shipped to the US where it was dismantled and every component was gold plated over the succeeding 18 months at a cost of US$500,000 – even the pistons and valves are gold plated. But otherwise the bike is in exactly the condition in which it fininished the last race – so in theory at least it is a fully functional motorcycle.
That bike can be seen today in Canterbury museum as a piece of motorcycling history.
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Posted by Jerry on June 21st, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Music, Travel
Travel fiddles are not new. Dancing masters of the 17th century needed a portable instrument that could be played in homes in order to teach dancing to young ladies and gentlemen. So the problem of portability has always been an issue. In these days of air travel, a compact travel instrument is a useful item. There are several modern ‘backpackers’ guitars and mandolins, and very few backpackers fiddles or violins.
When at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London I not only paid homage to the hardanger fiddle on which mine is based, but found these delightful instruments that might well serve as the basis for a decent backpacker violin.
The first were a couple of ‘pochette’ fiddles – designed to fit both fiddle and bow into a small leather tube which could be easily carried or placed in a deep pocket in one’s coat.
The bow appears to be about one quarter size.
And this one
But possibly the most practical and one I am tempted to model is this one – more box-like and closer to modern backpacker mandolins
Something like this with a half-size bow could well fit into a carry-on bag – ideal for those jet-lagged late nights in hotel rooms – a nice quiet instrument to play a few tunes on
Now this bears further thought!
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on June 19th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Travel
Signs communicate a lot about a culture – both in terms of what they say, and how they say it. Signs show the boundaries of a society’s identity, marking the limits, or reflecting on the limits, such as where a sign has been altered, or where non-official signs are placed, such as graffiti and stencil art.
Paris is a place with style – its street signs are not merely utilitarian, but are artistically designed too.
This sign was designed in the 1920s
This one also gives the significance of the name – in this case the first female musical director of the orchestra.
Not all big yellow ‘M’ signs refer to a scottish restaurant – this one points out the entrance to the Metro station – the underground subway train system
And in a city where motorbikes dominate the traffic – and the parking, it’s interesting to see that mopeds here are have their own separate identity – even in the process of saying ‘No Parking’
Some signs point to good food 🙂
Others, such as this stencil sign on a footpath present a warning against/of racism.
This one loosely says
“Foreigners, don’t leave us alone with these “french” that are full of fear of the other, and superiority feeling.”
– thanks to ‘Frenchguy’ who left a comment below.
A Google translation yielded:
Abroad (Foreign visitors). Do not leave us alone with these ‘French’. Beef fear another ox’s sense of superiority
It seems ambiguous, and it is difficult to know whether the ‘beef’ refers to Frankish french or immigrant French. Either way this place clearly still has some issues with multicultural integration – unofficially of course. [NB see comment by ‘French guy” below – I could be reading this incorrectly, I would love to think this was an internationalist message as this guy reckons – please confirm or otherwise which is the most accurate translation 🙂 Thanks – Jerry]
Other stencil art is truly charming – like this one in Montmartre’s artist district
Just beyond this sign were quite a number of portrait artists touting for the tourist euro – several of them were quite good too.
And the French are proud of their (relatively) tidy streets (aside from the animal droppings). This sign tells people not to throw their rubbish under penalty of a fine. By order of the sanitation department of Paris.
And that’s just a few of the myriad signs that adorn Paris 🙂
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on June 18th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Travel
Most people looking for Gargoyles in Paris go straight to the Notre Dame cathedral where they will find the same gargoyles that are on every postcard. Perhaps it is reassuring that you can actually see the ones in the postcards. But if you head up to the top of the Montmartre butte – in one of Paris’ most fascinating quarters, you will find the basilica of Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart). This church was built in 1875 to commemorate the the defeat of the Paris Commune in 1871 (those who refused to acknowledge that Paris had been given up to the Prussians.
Its domed roofs dominate Paris from its elevated position. And to reward you for climbing the steep streets and stairways you are greeted by a magnificent building with wonderful stained glass, amazing acoustics for the choir and of course gothic gargoyles.
Gargoyles once served the very practical purpose of funneling water from the roof when it rains and directing the resultant jet of water out away from the foundations where the water could cause real damage. Yes, gargoyles are water spouts with a decorative aspect to them too.
There is a colourful description of how the gargoyles represent a dragon said to have been killed by St Romanus, that lived near the Seine and demanded annual sacrifices of young maidens and seamen. But today it serves as a great spot for people to meet and have a romantic view over Paris that is not the Eiffel Tower.
And there are grotesques too – like this image of a monk
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on June 16th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Travel
Every corner has a cafe´ and these are the soul of Paris. That and boulangeries – bakeries – home of the baguette that feeds a nation in precisely the way that burgers don’t in the USA.
Every corner has a surprise – whether a curiosity shop or the narrow cobbled streets
Or even a sign…
But probably the thing I find most striking are the boulevards of art nouveau buildings throughout central Paris. And each has flower boxes bursting with colour from every balcony
Even the doorways are striking for their flair
And some places are just special – like this circus supplies shop in Montmartre called Bonjour Artiste
Which is of course just below the great church of Sacre Coeur (Sacred heart)
Then from the sublime to…
Yes it’s the 1927 copy of the Red Mill Theatre, made famous for spectacularly unclad dancers, the music of Jacques Offenbach, and more recently a film by Baz Luhrmann starring Australian Actress Nicole Kidman. Interestingly, severl of the dancers are Australian! Here is a link to the Moulin Rouge website, where you can read about the history of the theatre, and see video of the dancers.
And at the end of the day you can relax in the garden near the Sacre Coeur.
This is close to where Amelie led the moped rider on a wild goose chase with the binoculars.
So I’ll leave it there for today
Cheers
Jerry
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