Past Blog Pics.

This is the dark & grainy pic of inside the Restaurant. You can see the two large Chandaliers, & tables down the centre. The lights at the sides were at the ends of the booths, which could seat 4 to 6. The old fireplace was on the right, but is invisible in this pic, which was taken looking towards the carpark, & the grill & kitchen was behind the photographer- who was probably me, & I was not a very good one!.

This is a pic of AFG McG & GOM, aka, HYPH at the front door of the newly renovated Restaurant. The window on the right was in the Lounge Bar.

And this photo is the result of face paints we bought the kids from a trip to Aussie. SB loved to do the Dracula look, & would sneak downstairs in the evening, & tap of the Lounge Bar windows. Upon peering out the curtains, the patrons would be met with his ghoulish face, & then he usually got roundly coloured language directed at him. Of course, this was done while Mum was busy being a Restaurant proprietress, & so she didnt always know he had done it. I think his hat was from his Zorro outfit. He always loved to dress up!

And this next pic, is of Bad Jelly The Witch, & Little Miss Muffet. These outfits were done for Book Character day at their school. SB designed his old outfit, & drew all the animals, which I then made in felt. It was made from an old grey woollen dress, that had been my mother's. We made the hat out of cardboard, & he wore a face mask, which we had also brought home from Aussie. Miss Muffet had a large black spider on her apron, & it had pipe cleaner legs.

They are standing on the terrace at the front of the old Hotel, & the Lounge Bar windows are behind them.

It looks to me as if Zorro's cape came in handy for Bad Jelly's cape too.

I was reminded of fashions, & how they come & go, when I saw the old grey dress.

My mother was a very small neat, petite person, & she always dressed fashionably. The first time she ever came down to the South Island to stay with us, she was very nervous about flying, having never done so before. And she was sure she wouldnt like it.

The day she flew down happened to be one of the special, glorious clear cloudless, crisp days the South Island can do so well. My mother fell in love with the Alps & the pristine gleaming brilliant white snow, as the plane flew over them. And the wonderful Canterbury Plains looking for all the world like a wonderful patchwork quilt, were a sight to behold.

My mother fell in love with flying from that moment & always enjoyed her flights to stay with us over the years. And often came to stay, & we always loved to have her, & enjoyed her visits. She had a daredevil streak in her, & loved our kids, & their little devilish tricks.

(Although she was known to have declared them the 'worst kids she has ever known'- however, my brother's sons took over that role, & by then our kids had attained Saint hood!!)

SB used to set traps in his bedroom door, & almost killed her one night as a shoe came flying out of the doorway, whacking her on the head, as she went to say goodnight.

We called our mother Little Mary, & she once went flying on a rope over a stream that the kids used for that purpose. I was horrified, expected her to land in the water, but no, she got back & declared that had been fun!

Then she tried out our daughter's roller skates all round the kitchen. GOM left hastily, saying he couldnt bear to watch accidents. Of course our kids thought she was great.

Once when she came to stay, it was the fashion to wear those false polo necked jumpers, under suit coats. They gave the illusion you were wearing a woollen jumper, but it was just the collar, & some flaps at the front & back. She had a very nice woollen suit, & a lovely polo collar to go under it. So she got all dressed up for the flight home, looking as neat as ever.

It so happened my brother, who didnt like fish as a rule, loved the South Island Blue Cod. (I still think Sth Is fish is the best in the world, but I have never tried fish from the cold northern seas, so I could be wrong). So we used to buy fish & freeze it the night before my mother's flight home, & we would wrap it well, & she would take it with her in a bag onto the cabin for the flight home.

This particular time, she had her large parcel of fish, & was well wrapped against the cold. The plane took off & it seemed very warm in the cabin. My mother became very hot, & the Hostess noticed my mothers somewhat pink face. So she kindly offered to take my mother's jacket & place it in the overhead locker.

And of course my mother hastily declined, as she could hardly sit there in nothing but her fake polo collar & her slip.

As the flight proceeded it seemed to get even warmer, & slowly to my mother's horror she started to smell a distinct fishy smell coming from the bag under her seat.

She inwardly groaned, knowing it must be the fish, which had thawed out, but she still couldnt believe it was smelling.

And just at that moment a charming voice said in her ear, "Hello Mrs M, I thought it was you. How are you?"

As he bent down to speak a strange look flashed accross his face, & he withdrew sharply, but still managed to keep his smile in place, as they exchanged pleasantries, & he went quickly back to his seat.

Little Mary was acutely embarrassed, -it was none other than AFG McG, & he was flying to Auckland on business.

That was one of her less successful flights, & she never found out why the cabin was so hot, or why the fish thawed & smelt so badly. Nor did she EVER wear a false Polo collar again!