Today we treated ourselves to lunch at the Valley Inn in Heathcote. We had the seafood platter and it was very very good – and reasonably priced too. We were suitably impressed, and enjoyed every last bite – especially the scallop and prawns on a kebab. We’d been meaning to go there for a while now (it re-opened months ago after being rebuilt due to the September 2010 earthquake damage).

I really liked how they’ve divided the pub up into distinct dining and public bar areas and the outdoor area just in front looked quite appealing but it just was not warm enough today to dine al fresco!

Spotted these ducklings on the water sculpture in the Botanic Gardens. The concrete around the sculpture that contains the pond is quite high so I am not sure if they can get out. Someone had put some branches into the water as a way for them to climb out.

One brave little duckling had a go at it, but gave up part of the way. He then swam off and found his own spot to stand on.

Now and then, the mother duck would pop up and check on the babies.

Hope they are ok and finally got out of the pond.

Millbrook Reserve is a lovely spot beside the Avon River just off Helmores Lane by Hagley Park.

I went along to check out the protest today – it was very well attended. Quite a few people are frustrated with the city council so turned up to have their voices heard. Check out the Press article for more details about the issues.

I went to the gardens with the intention of photographing the herbaceous border and getting some lovely flower photos. Well I achieved that and was about to leave when I saw something moving on the red hot poker plant. I was very pleasantly surprised when I spotted it was a bellbird. It was having a good old feed and was not the least bit worried about me standing just 6 feet away with my giant lens aimed at it. I had to look up my NZ Birds book just to double check it was a bellbird as it didn’t look as green as you often seen in photos. Apparently the female bellbird has less intense colour. The forked tail though confirmed it for me. Though I am not a bird expert at all, so if you think I am wrong please let me know. I don’t often seem them up this close so it’s hard to know for sure.

I didn’t quite believe my eyes this morning, when I spotted this teddy bear up a tree in a local park! I’m guessing it’s been left behind accidentally and some kind person has put it somewhere visible in case the owner comes back for it.

So if you’re missing a large white bear dressed in a frilly red and dark green dress get in touch via the Facebook page and I’ll let you know where it is.

I finally got into North Hagley Park for a look at some more busker acts. Here’s a little photo montage of some of the performers I saw today.

Seeing the buskers in Hagley Park made me feel very nostalgic for past busker festivals that have been hosted in the Arts Centre or the inner city. I sincerely hope that next year we can have them back on our city streets where they belong.

I caught the Street Circus buskers at New Brighton this afternoon. They were excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the sunshine at the beach. I hope to check out a few more acts tomorrow at Hagley Park. It’s so good to have the festival back as it really made me feel like we were getting back to the old Christchurch. However, one of the acts on before Street Circus were a bit surprised at the crowds weird reaction to their act at one point – that’s because those of us sitting on the steps at the basketball court felt the full effects of a small earthquake that happened during their act. I don’t think the buskers felt it, but the crowd were amused and maybe a little spooked at the same time as they certainly did feel it!

This cute dog also appeared to be enjoying itself at the buskers as well!

Bruce and I had dinner out tonight at one of our local restaurants Thai Talay. It’s a great place for some tasty Thai food – the service is always good and fast too. I had the chicken with cashew nuts and Bruce had the lamb shanks. They were both delicious. It’s a beautiful night in Christchurch – which is very welcome as we’ve had some interesting weather this week. I’m looking forward to finally getting along to the Buskers tomorrow – I’ve not felt up to it this week as I’ve been nursing a rather painful shoulder injury. Thai food helped though …  as did the glass of wine and excellent company.

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