Nelson

Fairfield house

Me on the balcony at Fairfield

Catherine and Cindy

Between Cable Bay and Bishop rock

Cindy was a delightful host in Nelson and I really like her abstract photographic images printed directly on to brushed aluminium. Like me she studied art later in life and is also interested in finding new ways to think about and present her work.
In Nelson Connie stayed with the Atkinsons at a house called Fairfield. This house has been conserved by a group of community supporters and is now a Community house being further restored entirely by its supporters. It hosts all manner of events. Because I was with Cindy who the custodian Catherine knows, I was invited to 'take tea' in exactly the place where Connie had done on the balcony. We re-created the old photographs
We sat and read from Connie's diaries about the sweet peaches and plums that came from the orchard on the bank behind the house and Catherine told us how this is right now in the process of being restored into an Open Orchard one of a series being funded by Health and Welfare as a community asset, a place which the community can care for and then walk to and pick the fruit for their own use. I feel that would have been so much in line with the arts and crafts movement of Connie and her friends. And while Catherine has done an amazing job with organising the re-planting of the garden as another co-incidence it was Cindy's late husband Ron, a landscape gardner, who marked the notable trees in the garden as part of his project to recognise and mark beautiful large 'notable' trees.
I was also entertained by Maggie Atkinson who took me from her house which is completely enclosed by a beautiful tree rimmed garden, to see the Bishops rock and Cable bay area that Connie had painted. We sped there in 15 minute or so but we felt that in Connie's day this would have been a popular days outing by horse and trap and her hosts -the unrelated Atkinsons- would have taken her there as a special treat. It was a beautiful day for our visit and I was regalled by all of Maggie's deep knowledge of the science and history of the area. I realise that it isn't what you see that matters most it is who you see it with. Cindy and Maggie a deep thank you.
With the weather forecast looking really good I decided to set of for Kaiteriteri to make a boat trip up the Nelson coast to try and revisit the bays and island Connie recorded with such obvious love.