On Friday I hopped on a plane to Christchurch and was encouraged in my choice by a 150 km/h tail wind. I stayed with my son and his family; a few visual moments here:



Christchurch is sometimes described as being more English than England. Rows of leafless poplar trees in a grey sky echo a thought of desolation:



But, even in the wintry conditions, bicycles are a popular form of transport:



Christchurch cuisine has improved since the days of roast mutton and three veg. There are some interesting fusion offerings that combine East and West:



I assume that the chips are made from genuine Chinese potatoes. But traditional Christchurch industry is not forgotten. Here is a water feature made from ancient, rivetted industrial pressure vessels (probably steam boilers):

But from the depths of winter, spring shyly peeps out. Sunday was a balmy 17 degrees and we went to see what that might mean. There was the occasional odd man out:



... or two...



And the daffodils definitely required investigating:



As do the ducks:



Back in Australia now, the election seems to have produced a hung parliament both in the House of Representatives and the Senate. But the Reserve Bank of Australia's actions will continue to reflect the real world:



... and be unmoved by the political mess. At any rate the best thing to do on getting home is to have a beer:

Good stuff, RK. Thanks for sharing. Nice vacation, it seems!

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Please at least tell me you voted for the Australian Sex Party by proxy. I'd vote for them and I'm not even Australian.

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Quote:

Please at least tell me you voted for the Australian Sex Party

Regrettably Zichao, if you had ever experienced Australian sex, you would understand why it is not a good thing to vote for. We are looking for political parties whose stamina will last for more than one and a half minutes.

In fact I voted for the Greens. It seems like they will hold the balance of power in the Senate. Right wing news commentators (mainly associated with the Murdoch media machine) are rending their robes, insisting that a minority government is impossible and that the nation needs a new election:

The early promise of stability for a minority government is dissipating as the independents threaten to force a new election, refuse to guarantee a bloc vote for either side and declare diametrically opposed positions on key policies that have split the Coalition and paralysed Labor.

There are five independents who hold the balance of power in the lower house. They are doing none of that nonsense. In due course a minority government will emerge.

Dennis Shanahan is a Wanker.