The mighty Wellington Phoenix played a home game away last weekend, at the stadium of sheep in Christchurch. Marcus, Deborah, JJ, and I followed them down to watch. The match was typically Phoenix – an early goal followed by some questionable substitutions and a half hour of hanging back waiting for the opposition to equalise. Fortunately Adelaide are rubbish, and didn’t.
Marcus used to live in Christchurch and is of the opinion that there is nothing to do there apart from drink, so we hit the bars hard and a very enjoyable time was had by all. The Bard of Avon is the third most English pub I’ve been to in New Zealand, behind the Thingummy in Arrowtown and the Welsh bar in Wellington.
Acommodation was provided by the SO hotel, which is verging on a capsule hotel. Clean and comfortable though, and the TV has a number of ‘mood channels’ – lapping waves, waterfall, log fire, etc, etc. Not sure why all of the ‘mood channels’ are there to promote a restful and calm mood mind – what happens if I want to be in a mood of abject fear or misery? Lapping waves aren’t going to help me then are they? Foolish hotel TV channel designers.
Sunday saw Marcus and I go for a row on the river while Deborah and Leanne had a yarn and JJ went for a surf. All veyr Wind in the Willows. Marcus took the part of Moley, I took the part of Ratty, and Leanne’s daughter Jordan took the part of Mr Toad. Drowning was only narrowly avoided and some restorative ales at the Dux de Lux were in order. Marcus further distinguished himself by eating almost a whole Bratwurst in one mouthful and thereby earning a free pint, much to his glee.
February 2, 2010 at 8:32 pm |
I really liked Christchurch. Quite lively and cosmopolitan for NZ (and things were open in the evening!). Has quite a British feel to it – even has a Greenwich Observatory thingy on the hill behind the town. The flat hinterland is dull though.