Big Smoke

After a weekend of education in Auckland, decided to go into the city centre for coffee before driving home.

The bright lights of the 'big little city' haven't lost their appeal and I still enjoy spending time in the music stores, bookshops, art galleries and alternative cinemas when I'm there.

Smith and Caughey department store was in yearly sale mode, so it was teeming with people in every department. Upon entry, saw bored husbands with wives deciding on whether to buy discounted talcum powder from the bargain bins and massive lines for makeovers at cosmetic counters.

Proceeding to the next floor, there were plenty of bargain hunters in the women's section, hurriedly assessing each sale rack. Venturing to the household linens/kitchenware section up on the next level, there were men pushing babies in strollers, couples buying duvets and grandmothers sizing up their next crockery purchase.

Came in on a wandering mission so moved out on to the street in search of a Saturday 5pm coffee without a sale bag. We'd just been talking about how in Auckland you hardly see anyone you know as we crossed the road to the Civic Theatre complex.

Coming across Starks Expresso Cafe and Champagne Bar, we stopped in for a mocha/flat white and stuffed date. Its a cosy fit inside but since all the tables were taken, we stepped out into the roped off street dining section. It was bitterly cold but fine with the sun setting, casting Queen Street in dull shade.

When coffee plus extra came out, it was served by the host of NZ TV show 'The Kitchen Job'. Strange after saying we hardly see anyone, what a small world it is. He wasn't in the best mood, maybe one of his waiters had let him down and he had to serve/help out.

Still it was a nice coffee and treat to end our Saturday before returning home. Next time we are in the CBD we'll be stopping by again.

At the Showgrounds

Sales are everywhere but can still be appear in rather unexpected places.

My friend and I were driving past the Showgrounds the other day and happened upon a book/cd sale. Of course, we were out of the car in a flash trooping towards the entrance.

Claudelands Showgrounds isn't the most glamorous of locations but it serves its purpose for the many travelling roadshows that appear in town for a day, weekend or a few weeks.
The main exhibition hall was filled with fold-down tables, some with price placards. It was roughly split into DVDs, CDs and books and a variety of people were milling about.
Music played over the speakers and several 'cashiers' in neon vests waited behind the front counter. An odd additional credit card charge was advertised maybe to dissuade the plastic fantastic.

There were popular CDs, wrapped compilation CDs all muddled together, after you had checked out a few aisles it felt like you were seeing the same stock over and over.
Same with the books, mainly fiction paperbacks but some 'how-to' coffee table books on offer.
DVDs were a bit of let down with very obscure and old titles in newer packaging. Several items caught my eye- a paperback I'd read a review for but never found and some CDs.
When purchasing, I asked how long they were here for and he said another 12 days. On the docket, it stated an Australian address.
The life of the travelling roadshow seller, a few weeks in different towns throughout the year. I guess one town looks like another when you're on the road.

Soon they'll be packed up and on their way. Something new will be here next week.

free, take one

Everyday the letterbox is filled with circulars and leaflets. They flood shelves in shops, the streets and the gutter.

Is it human instinct to take flyers pressed into your hand by a distributor instead of refusing. Fifty people can go by, each given literature they briefly scan. It is instantly crumbled and thrown in the bin or drops to the ground.

Is the prospect of a bargain more important than the planet?

Amazingly despite living in the digital age, we are still reliant on paper to spread messages. Maybe its because a physical item and not a jumping ad on a computer screen that we can scrawl away from or shut down with a click of a box.

Even when trays in stores are stacked with the latest catalogue, people would rather read the specials and then put it back or rest it on a shelf.
We are in a constant battle with paper, newspapers and general junk ourselves.

Spare a thought for the hopeless hoarders, every aspect of modern life mass produced including paper takes over every living space they ever had.

One of the festival films I saw was about people crazy about movies. It followed three, who spent their days rushing from one cinema to another in New York.

Their apartments were crammed full of albums, promotional movie material and memorabilia. One woman had to move out because she had filled her entire apartment despite warnings from her landlord.

Guess that is why paper is successful as an advertising medium, it is hard to throw things away. Clutter-free books and TV programmes are all the rage, but will they save us from our own rubbish dump in the car, home or at work?