Oi, How Dare You Poke Your Tongue Out At Me!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Just in case you have just joined this  blog, you are following the Kiwidutch retrospective tour of New Zealand,  and the trip we made there  in December 2011-January 2012.

It’s difficult to blog every day whilst travelling  ”in real time” as we often don’t have regular internet connection, we are busy spending time with family and friends, going places, doing things, (or in my case hoisting my foot onto pillows and taking an afternoon nap) so my solution is to take notes on the laptop, take lots of photographs and to bring the two together as soon as I can after the event.

In this post we are still in Whakawarewa geothermal village , in Rotorua, central North Island and  this is the path that runs alongside the cemetery.

I’m intrigued by the presence of small carved wooden posts, all of figures, realistic or stylised, evenly spaced along the route.

Our guide tells us they are there for luck…  keeping up on crutches and trying to keep the camera dry in the downpour consumes my attention and I forget to ask if that means luck for the departed ancestor or for the living left behind…

I love the fact that these, whilst clearly centred around a theme, are all very different with their own character and I wonder if some of them may even  be actual portraits of people.

I love the fact that the fearsome act of the bulging eyes and sticking out of tongues, so prevalent in the famous Maori Haka warrior dances as a means of instilling fear into their enemies, are also represented here in these figures, and to such an extent that it almost looks like a competition to see who can do it the best.

The Haka is also all about summoning-up up bravery, bravado and courage…

…it’s about rising to the challenge when faced with adversity or a strong  adversary … so maybe this is indeed for the departed as I assume they thought you would need all of this when crossing over into the afterlife too?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Statuesquely Watching the World rush By…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m sitting in bed, fairly immobile with my foot in plaster so new photos from around and about my home city are not happening any time soon.

However I do have some photos in my stash from walking adventures around The Hague earlier on in the year, so this post is about a small series of those photos.

There are some figures in The Hague that many the locals will recognise but might be less well known to visitors.

They are not situated in the centre of town or near any prominent tourist attraction, and are on a busy road, well above people’s eye-line and set back just a little so if you are just looking straight in front of you out of the car or tram window then you might not even realise that they are there.

I’m a detail fanatic and love looking up at the decorations on old buildings when I’m a passenger in a car or on a tram.

Sadly many of the oldest buildings on this street  and in this neighbourhood were rather dilapidated and run down and so were in recent years demolished to make way for newer, more modern houses and shops.

If you find yourself on the Loosduinseweg, between the intersections of  the Asmanweg and the Gaslaan, heading towards Loosduinen, then you will have on your left hand side a tram track that runs though a narrow avenue of trees and which divides the road and the traffic heading in the opposite direction and on your right hand side, a large block of Flats that sport some small business premises out the front.

The Flats take up a good proportion of the area between the Asmanweg and the Gaslaan and more or less in the centre, there are two columns,  that mark a small parking and drop off area that comes off the Loosduinseweg and service the flats.

My statues are a jaunty couple seated upon these columns and if you are not looking for them, are dwarfed by the flats behind them.

They are a figures of a man and a woman,  1930′s style (I think) and they are casually posed, nonchalantly looking down at the traffic that passes by on the busy road.

Perched up high, it’s not so easy to get photos from different angles, but I’ve done my best.

I love them…   take a look and see if you do too…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)