Theatre Organ Concert... Amazing...

A friend invited me to an organ concert... Somewhere in

somebody's home. I was very ho hum but she was

insistent so off we went... I was in for the biggest treat

and a big surprise.

Since, I have found this article in the Christchurch

Press... Published last year...

Ray's Collection Just Keeps on Growing...

"When Ray and Nancy Drury first moved to Knightsbank, their

Halswell home had a three car garage.

Now it has expanded across the property to house

Ray's collection of more than 40.

Ray, 79, picked up his first car, a 1952 Riley 2, at an

auction by mistake.

"I never go to auctions because it's bad news," but he

walked in anyway just as the Riley was going under the

 hammer. It cost 3000 "something ot other" but 

Ray can't remember if it was dollars or pounds.

"That was the start of the disease."

His collection now spans cars, motorbikes and even a plane

suspended above the rest. 

He has never sold a car in his life, though he has given  some to

friends, or swapped them.

The plane was in Wanaka and Ray swapped a friend three cars

for it. The plan was to get it flying, but the costs were prohibitive

and he thought he might be too old to fly it anyway.

Then Nancy suggested he "put it up there where it costs no more

money."

All the cars are driveable and registered. They are started up at

least every month and he and Nancy get to pick which car they

take on outings with their four grandkids.

He doesn't have a favourite. "I like them all, all of them have a story

to tell."

How does he get it past Nancy?

"A few of the more expensive ones are registered in her name as

a bit of a sweetener."

Born in Sydenham, Ray has lived in Christchurch his whole life.

He started an engineering business with his father in 1958. They

worked together for 30 years and "never had a fight."

The extra space for the cars has a dual purpose for Ray's other

passion, organs.

He is restoring a 1920 Wurlitzer, a theatre organ that was played

during silent movies. It was languishing in a damp building in

Wellington and probably had not been played in 60  years. Organist

Eric Apperley is helping convert the instrument to electric.

"Eric says he tried to tell me it was going to be a massive job, but

obviously I didn't hear him," Ray said, of the restoration that has

already taken a year... They hope to be close to finishing it for the

next Drury Theatre Organ charity concert in September.

At the concerts Ray and Nancy host international organists in

 Christchurch and donate the proceeds to local charities.

So when will he build his next garage?

"I think that might the one thing the wife will put her foot

down about. The more you build the more you fill." "

This is part of Ray's collection of cars... But I didn't go to

 see those this particular day...

I went to hear an organ recital... Which turned out to

be this restored 'Allen' Wurlitzer Theatre Organ being played by...

Donna Parker from the USA. Donna heard her first Theatre

organ when she was 10 and there and then decided that, that

was what she was going to do for a living... so 40? years

later she is an amazing and very accomplished, international,

 Theatre organ player.

 Here is the keyboard... Up close...

A bit daunting... Where would you start?

And the foot pedals underneath the seat...

It took two hands, two feet, two eyes and a very

musical brain to play this instrument...

And Donna was superb.

The audience... If you go to the next concert... Wear

warm clothes and take a rug...Email: nancydrury@xtra.co.nz

to be put on the mailing list.

A stop for a hot cup of tea or coffee...

Take your own mug and snacks...

No frills but beautiful music. This time the

charity that benefited was The Chris Ruth

Centre' a day service for over 21 year olds with

 very high disability needs.

 

And the concert continued... You can see her hands...

 And feet all working. Donna was very knowledgeable about music

and played a variety of classics, jazz and pops, telling us the

history and composer which made the whole afternoon

very interesting. Donna plays as a soloist but also with the

'Trio con Brio"  Listen here to hear Donna playing. And

scroll further down to hear Martin Ellis...

And look here for her CD's.

Three Days in Akaroa...

Last week I went with a friend to Akaroa. We stayed in

her house there, just past the lighthouse and up 

the hill... With a wonderful view.

 We turned all the heaters on and didn't move out of 

the house the whole time we were there. It was a 

fantastic lazy time but incredibly cold. This is the 

view looking over the Akaroa Harbour to the hills we 

had driven over from Christchurch.

Day One...

Day Two...

Day Three... The sun came out... But it was -3 degrees...

So we stayed inside... No walking or fishing...

Or anything but lazing around... Delicious!

More Solar Power...

For a long time I have been wanting to install more solar panels 

and therefore have more power and therefore

 be more self sufficient... Off grid for a long time.

Finally, after months of debating and

pro's and con's and lots of advice the decision was made.

Here I am, parked at UCC in Christchurch. This place

was recommended by Able Solar in Auckland where

I purchased the panels. UCC's service and workmanship

was excellent. Ross at UCC gave me a quote that

included all panels, all new wiring, controller, batteries and

labour... And that's what I paid. I liked that, I knew what it was
all going to cost and didn't need to worry about any hidden
extras. I think the job took a little longer than anticipated...
 But there was no increase in price.

As soon as I arrived at 8am... I was plugged into power so I could 

have my  heater going. It was a freezing cold morning and in the
workshop couldn't light my fire. The big dock was secured
alongside and the work began...

 2 x 150 watt Hilight Monocrystalline shade tolerant panels...

3 x 12volt 95A/hr Exide batteries...

A Morningstar MPPT charge regulator with remote display...

Discussion over the batteries, where to fit them...

And the regulator...

The old batteries were taken out and an old charger plus an old

wooden shelf at the top...

The old 85 watt panels were taken off... to be repositioned...

Moss under the old panels...  Next job is to clean and paint the roof...

Here they are... All the panels in a line along one side...

They just fitted... Why all on one side?

So I can put a kayak on the other side!

The batteries fitted in a row... And being wired up...

This is the end result in my locker... The starter batteries

on the right, then the solar batteries. On the left the

 regulator and underneath the bit of wood I use when 

parking on my levellers so I don't roll backwards. 

The finishing touch was a little free standing shelf over 

all the batteries to sit my levelling chocks on. 

UCC were wonderful, nothing was a bother.

And here I am the next morning... Parked outside in the sun...

Well... Daylight as there wasn't any sun! checking that

everything was working... And it was.

All you can see from the ground is the four edges of the panels...

But I know they are charging up the batteries

and with 470 watts of panels and 285 A/hr of battery

capacity... I think I will survive the south island winter

with absolutely no worries... Plenty of power and some to spare.

Today (a few days later) is a beautiful sunny day, after
a succession of several cloudy days.
My batteries are full up to 14.5 volts and 7.20 Amps
is going in... Well I don't think it can as the batteries are full.

I just have to put a wee 'add-on' here...
If you are observant you might notice in the photo above
that I don't have any hub caps... Well just in case
you are a mere female like me... Or like  me didn't
know... It is now required that I take my hub caps off
for a Cof so the wheel nuts and whatever else can be inspected.
The first time I went to VTNZ in Jipcho Rd, Christchurch I sat
in the queue for 2 hours. One of the men there walked along the
line of trucks and asked me to move into another lane. He
looked at my bus but made no comment. When it was my turn and
I was over the pit he looked at my wheels and would't look
any further - the hubs caps were still on... so I had to go back
another day. It was a simple job to take then off. I could
have done it while waiting in the queue - if I had known.

While at VTNZ I bought some more diesel road tax miles...
In the government money making scheme, I sold back the
ones I hadn't used during the last year and re-bought them
at a higher price! I also re-licensed my bus, so all done
for another year... Well not quite... I have since applied for
another DoC Pass and am about to pay my NZMCA sub.
I think I'll go and live in the wilderness for a while.
Hopefully one where money grows on the nearby trees!

Soon I'll have to decide... New jeans or diesel tax!

Rakaia Gorge...

We left Hororata... Driving through the flat Canterbury Plains...

Crops growing here...

Sheep grazing... Unperturbed by the bitterly cold climate...

We got closer to the mountains... Not much snow...

And here's our next destination... The Rakaia River...

At the gorge.

On one side of the road, overlooking the river is the

Mt Hutt Lodge, close to Methven and the ski fields.

On the other side of the road is the Rakaia River with the huge

wide expanse of shingle river bed... One of the largest

braided rivers in New Zealand. 

 The Rakaia River has a mean flow of 203 cubic metres per second and 

a mean annual seven-day low flow of 87 cubic metres per second.

It rises in the Southern Alps travelling 150 kilometres in a

 generally easterly or southeasterly direction before entering the 

Pacific Ocean 50 kilometres south of Christchurch.

it is briefly confined to a narrow canyon known as the Rakaia Gorge.

The Rakaia River is bridged in two places. The busiest crossing is 

at the small town of Rakaia 20 kilometres from the river mouth, 

where State Highway 1 and the South Island Main Trunk Railway

cross the river using separate bridges. These two bridges are New 

 Zealand's longest road and rail bridges respectively,
approximately 1.75 km long. A second bridge, much shorter
and less used, spans the Rakaia Gorge.

These are the two bridges at Rakaia Gorge...

Both with a lot of history.

This concrete pole measures the water depth, of particular

 interest when in flood. You can see how the water flow has

washed away the bank and the different colours of the silt and

 stone buildup over the years.

The Rakaia River is fed by meltwater from the Lyell and Ramsay Glaciers.

There are some people in this photo that I took standing on one 

of the bridges... Puts the size of the river into perspective!

There is a small sheltered camping area with water and toilets.

I want to go back when the weather improves

and do some of these walks.

The Rakaia is also well known for Salmon and Trout fishing.

I'd like to try that! Need some lessons and a license first!

Having walked over both bridges and looked around

it was time to head for home...

Along the endless flat roads, the huge shelter belts...

In this photo if you look carefully you can see the enormous

irrigation machines that stretch the width and length of the paddocks.