Latest 10mm Progress

 Hi all, hope you are well and enjoying life and wargaming! I have been (not too) busy at the painting desk, and turned out a few more bits n pieces for my nascent 10mm collection - more Romans, although the Ancient Britons are on the way, too!

The first of the auxiliary cavalry

And a unit of auxiliary archers too.

There is some really nice variation amongst the archer poses, kneeling and standing, firing and loading!

A couple more command stands; in my mind, the pair on the left are a senior command for the infantry legionaries, whilst the pair on the right are from the cavalry.

A friend wore this hat to work on 8th Nov - he had obtained it to wear to an American themed fancy dress party a few months ago..... I thought I should give it a try on, even if it's the one and only time I wear such head gear!

And now, another instalment of what must seem like my never-ending holiday in October!

Leaving Auckland for a quick four-day trip to Christchurch in the S Island

West Coast of the N Island

Mt Taranaki near New Plymouth

Crossing the Cook Strait between the two islands

The northern tip of the S Island

The Waimakariri River just north of Christchurch

Our American allies share a small corner of Christchurch airport, from where they support activities at the South Pole.

Views from the very nice two-bedroom apartment we had booked for our stay

We went for a walk around, starting off with the botanical gardens in Hagley Park

Christchurch is known as the Garden City - and it is easy to see why!

We wondered into this nice old building, which I assume might be part of Canterbury University, and found a nice little bar where we got a refreshing drink.

After the drink but before dinner, we wandered down to the centre of the city, which is bisected by the Avon river.

Obligatory military connections!

For those who have not heard of Charles Upham, here is a brief summary from Wikipedia

Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham VC & Bar (21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994) was a New Zealand soldier decorated for actions during World War II.

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, he attended Christ's College and later the Canterbury Agricultural College, where he earned a diploma in agriculture. Before the outbreak of the war, Upham worked as a sheep farmer and a manager of a high-country station and later at the Government Valuation Department. In 1939, with the advent of World War II, he enlisted in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, where he quickly rose through the ranks.

Upham's first Victoria Cross was awarded for his actions in the Battle of Crete in May 1941, where he displayed remarkable courage and leadership under fire. Despite being wounded, he led multiple attacks against enemy positions and helped evacuate wounded soldiers. His second Victoria Cross came from his actions during the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942, where once again he demonstrated bravery and resilience in the face of intense enemy fire, despite being severely wounded. Upham is one of three people to be awarded a Victoria Cross twice, the others being Arthur Martin-Leake and Noel Godfrey Chavasse.

This statue is of Captain Scott, of Antarctic fame.

Tourist map of Christchurch and its environs - if you look at the one below, in the top centre is a black asterisk marking the location of our apartment on Kilmore Street

Next Day (Sunday) we started with a visit to the Canterbury Museum

This isn't what you might think - see below!

The man above beat the man below to the South Pole - AND lived to tell the tale!

We did feel the Canterbury Museum was a bit underwhelming - nowhere was it advertised that, since the earthquake, 95% of the collection has been in storage while a new museum building is put up, and what they currently have available is a "pop up" version with a couple of rooms of random exhibits - at least it was only a small donation to gain entry!

Next up was a visit to "Shake" just around the corner, which was an exhibition and memorial to the Christchurch earthquake 

Parts of the cathedral spire that were shaken loose.

We moved on to Cathedral Square to take a look at what is left of the once iconic representation of the city of Christchurch.

I managed to find another war memorial!

There is still quite a lot of evidence of the destruction caused by the earthquake, even though it happened over ten years ago.

We then jumped in our hire car and headed off for a day trip to Akaroa. I went to get a brief summary of Akaroa from Wikipedia, but its not brief at all - if you are interested, follow this link Akaroa - Wikipedia

Suffice to say, in New Zealand, Akaroa is known for having had French origins.

The Long and Winding Road that leads to Akaroa!

I am sure you can guess what this is?!

We visited the Akaroa museum - free entry - and a lot more interesting than the big city version back in Christchurch!

As proof of its French heritage, many of the street names are rendered in the French style. And as a bit of a tongue in cheek nod to the same, the small NZ Police station had "Gendarmerie" painted on the wall!

One of Captain Scotts team was born and bred in Akaroa.

An old cannon on the waterfront

From Akaroa, we drove along the picturesque route to Lyttleton, which is the harbour for Christchurch and a destination for many cruise ships during the cruising season.

It's a pretty serious industrial port, as you can see here

We had a quick wander through the small town set on a steep slope above the harbour.

Then returned to Christchurch in about 15 minutes, courtesy of the Lyttleton tunnel.

We walked past this pretty clock tower on our way to an excellent Italian dinner that evening

Followed by a beer on the way home in a pub just across from where we were staying - this is a view of the hotel/apartment building from the pub.

Thanks for your visit and for any and all comments!