funkypancake: November 2010 Archives

farmer's santa parade

the farmer's santa christmas parade is an annual event which happen every year at christmas and features a santa. farmer's is the name of a shop (a bit like john lewis for you brits).

santa isn't actually a farmer. although he might be.

it was a great rag bag mix up of everything kiwi and christmas

and kezia and i sat for an hour and a half in the blistering sun enjoying the procession as it trundled past

and now by the medium of photos you can enjoy it too

(it's behind you)

my giant poney

there were lots of 'fairies' sprinkled in between the different floats to keep the crowds amused. it looked like they'd only just found their way back after a rather chaotic halloween party

anyway, if you want to see a few more of the photos have a look here:

mr potato head turning his back on me

not quite as serious as this though

len brown super mayor

here's len brown. he's the mayor of the recently formed auckland super city

which means he has super power. he tried to fire a beam of christmas spirit at me using his super city super powers

he asked me how i thought his display of power went. he tried to influence my decision but i was getting mixed messages.

sometimes your face can give away your true thoughts whilst you body language is trying to convey something different.

the british aisles

here's the british products aisle from our local supermarket

it's what they think we crave

but we've not really bothered to get anything from here as not only it is real expensive, but it's stuff we don't really want

but interesting to see what we might have been missing.

skimpy santa

rubbish sun hat

wee man

this is for warren who is a regular reader of funkypancake and who i go for occasional health giving walks. it was his birthday yesterday and we saw this little man whilst out walking last week. so here it is.

i recognise this from a board game of some sort but can't remember what it is. drop me an email if you know !

very big moth

here's a moth and my foot to show you how bit it was when folded in half

it was flapping in the wind and crawling across the path. it's body underneath was about the size of a small mouse and just as furry.

directions

shed with a view

cog park

woof woof ruff

wheelchair stair

if i was a wheelchair user i'd probably want to avoid the stair rather than being directed to it

a man getting in to it

he's getting into it. are you ?

crushed apple cider

no one likes non-crushed apple cider with all those apples floating in your glass. much better to crush them and get the juice out.

sorbets

dove adverts

here's a nice thing. doves left around and about down by the viaduct for people to take home

it was an advert for something but i can't remember what so that's not very successful for them. but it was nice all the same

italic skate boots

big boat in downtown auckland

please do not move the cone

bins

super city bollards

cabaret

this chap was spraying water on the cabaret advert as i walked by but by the time i'd whipped my camera out he'd reaimed his yet.

there was something interesting about him cooling down the risque actors on the poster with the 'max' ladies looking on from across the street.

the pub they moved up the hill

medical equipment in the street

mysterious blue stain

if this was doctor who then this blue stain would have slowly expanded over the floor, then the entire building, and most probably the people. it wasn't though. but the carpet was still stained.

auckland from slightly above

breakfast with buzz

i had breakfast with my good mate big nosed ugly guy last week. it was great. here he is in his office.

warning to pedestrians on a very high stick

this sign is waaaay up high on a stick

which is probably where people shouldn't really be looking if they are driving along a road

the number 1 hazard is you!

i don't want to worry you, but you are the number one hazard. and we obviously need to minimise risks. draw your own conclusion.

red

monkey whom

spelling correction on a zoo sign

faceless soldiers

mannequin fun

poor thing. he's got absolutely no control over what he looks like. let's say no to the exploitations of mannequins in this way

balustrade

please walk on mats

old school

stunning buns

5

ice

this paper

chocolate fish

graffiti

please push for lawyers upstair

we don't know how many lawyers, but just the one stair

coat hanger

look for trains

the motto of train spotters everywhere

tsunami evacuation zone

jandal

a guide to temping with salt

dark mannequin 2

dark mannequin

you chose

rubbish

legs and wheels

michael jackson

perhaps this is a t-shirt of a michael jackson impersonator who doesn't really look like michael jackson ?

imposing building

we don't get many of these big buildings in auckland they do in christchurch, and there's a few less of them there having been shaked down a bit.

house (illustrative only)

the harbour police

steam roller convoy

hotel room controller

i stayed in a hotel last week which had this funky controller for everything in the room. well some things.

me in the past would have loved to have imagined i'd be staying in a hotel controlled by dials and buttons. i made full use of them you'll be pleased to know.

close the door please

push

man with lamp stand by the old shoreline

chameleon drink

animals

lift troubles

i got stuck in this lift. twice. the first one was only a temporary situation. the second time took longer but i was with a lift engineer.

i managed to release us but not before he'd scared me to death by jumping heavily up and down to try to jerk the lift in to motion.

do not put early grey in here

a little tea chuckle for the british

trolley trapped

christmas tree kiwi style

twist lid to fit

emergency cup instructions

pukeko

pukekos are always about, but they seemed to be loads of them last weekend which delighted me. as i love them.

cranes and towers

sawn off sky tower

(with half a christmas tree drawn on its stalk)

spirulina smoothie

fillled to the max

this point

this exact point. about 1 metre off the ground

car coming

sausage bacon and mash

this is not a public area

they don't want bill poster to do their business here because they obviously really care about their appearance

please do not park in front of gates

jandal

jandals are never really out of season as people wear them in the depth of winter. but they are a bit more common now summer is starting to kick in

cycle route to the airport

it's straight up to the airport. probably better off with a plane. just saying

and here's a useful all purpose sign

fish

no stopping on the eel

danger

sandcastles

path to the look out

2 cheap

even they admit it

leg hat

my favourite evil mannequin

and a trolley !

just admit it. cake is not healthy

there's some great ways of advertising things in new zealand. here's a classic example.

no blowing kisses

possibly the best every sign of a person (bottom right - click it for a better view)

bunny street

health and safety overload

casual play welcome

what's the point

i walked for hours to get somewhere and this was there.

it's a kinetic sculpture thing

it's an angle thing

traffic islands

active sports signs

ice cold fish and chips

surfers getting high (and low)

four square guy

this is a kiwi classic. it's a massive four square guy cut out of corrugated iron. an iconic figure cut out of a classic kiwi art material

the keepers have their favourites

you see that parrot ? it's superb

i bite, but i can also make lovely signage

\

perhaps it's the sign that bites.

"full menu"

"inverted commas" suggest a less than full menu ?

glove

lunch

slip slop slap wrap

surfing beach (with not much surf)

absolute poo-sters if you wanted to surf apparently.

hands up who wants rescuing ?

inspecting the drift wood

bank holiday at the beach

bank holidays are not called bank holidays here. it's a bit like saying 'butcher holiday or chimney sweep holiday'. it means nothing to them. but that's still what it is.

it's also a long weekend, i'll grant you that

big apple cafe

one of the many things that kiwis do well is making fantastically large fruit.

headless bird recovers

bored

three's a crowd

buzzy bee

a kiwi icon