The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

This was nothing to do with biking, but it was quite an event, so I will write about it anyway.

This past weekend Wellington has been host to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It is the second time this grand show has been brought to Wellington. When it was here in 2000, I attended and loved it. This time however, I hummed and ha’ed about going. I wanted to, but John wasn’t interested in going, and anyway, it was very expensive, so I reluctantly decided not to go. Then when reports about it started showing up in the media, I so regretted my decision.

It was very lucky then, that a Scottish country dancing friend rang me on Saturday morning, and asked if I was interested in going to that evening’s show. A relative of hers was not able to go, so the ticket was going cheap. I was thrilled.

A busy weekend

We haven’t been out for a bike ride this week, we’ve been too busy with other things. Apart from going to Scottish Country Dancing on Sunday afternoon (last week) and on three evenings during the week, this last weekend was also very busy.

On Friday night we attended a “Wellington on a Plate” event, at the Boomrock Lodge. This is a convention and wedding venue, right at the end of the Ohariu Valley Road, and up the hill for several kilometres to the edge of the world, it seems.

As part of the event, participants were picked up from the city – or in our case, from Johnsonville – and taken in two full-size buses to the Boomrock Lodge. On the way through the Ohariu Valley, we could see, though dusk was setting in, that this would be quite a nice place to bike. We must investigate that some time soon. It is practically on our back doorstep, but we haven’t been there for a long while.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset as we were being driven up to the lodge, but unfortunately by the time we got there it was nearly dark.

The idea for this event was that it would simulate an après-ski ambiance, and participants were encouraged to don their best “après-ski” outfits. It was a very cold evening, with a bitter southerly, and when we emerged from the bus, it seemed to be snowing! But no, it wasn’t actually snow, just a machine on the roof blowing very fine clusters of bubbles which looked quite realistically like big snow flakes. It all added to the illusion.

“Snow” on the ground at the Boomrock Lodge entrance (photo by John)

There was a roaring open fire in the dining room, and we were immediately offered glasses of bubbly as we entered. Then everyone trooped out onto the lawn in front of the Lodge, to catch the last of the fabulous view before dark. Beyond the lawn, the hill dropped away sharply and the stunning view over Cook Strait stretched from the South Island to Mana Island.

John and I warm our hands on cups of Glühwein in front of the Lodge.
The South Island is in the background

It was jolly cold out there, so we went back inside and found our table. A group of people in natty ski jumpers was hovering in front of the open fire.

The warm pre-dinner atmosphere (photo by John)

The table settings were beautifully done (photo taken from the Boomrock Facebook page)

The dinner was excellent. It started with an entrée of French bread slices with melting Camembert and fig chutney. When the young man in a David Bain ski jersey came to clear the empty plates away, I said to him that the fig chutney was delicious. “Would you like some to take home?”, he asked. Yes, of course I would. And within seconds a waitress came over and gave me a beautiful little jar of it. Then, to my surprise, the young man came back with another jar! How wonderful – that meant that my sister, who was there too, was able to take a jar home as well!

A jar of Boomrock Fig Chutney

The main course was Thar mountain goat with a braised leek concoction and potato Mornay (I think). I hadn’t been too sure about the mountain goat (as I hate the taste of goat’s milk or cheese), but it was actually delicious – rather like venison, in fact. The meal finished with apple strudel and ice-cream, and finally hot chocolate with marshmallows. Yum!

The Thar mountain goat steak was delicious (photo by John)

At about 9 pm, we were advised that the buses were ready to take us back into town. It was a good thing that guests didn’t have to drive back, along that very winding, steep gravel road in the pitch dark, as many people had imbibed a fair bit of alcohol. It had been a fun evening, and excellent meal.

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On Saturday night, John and I went to our (Johnsonville) Scottish Country Dance Club’s Annual Dance, where we had a wonderful time. It was very well attended, with over 70 people there. I think I rather overdid the dancing – I danced every one of the 20 dances, with the result that I was feeling somewhat sore the next day – pretty much "crippled", actually! But I do love the dancing, despite the pain afterwards.

The band, and the Johnsonville Club teacher, Rod Downey (photo by John)

The dance was very well attended (photo by Pat Reesby)

Great to see all the men in kilts! (photo by Loralee Hyde)

Supper waiting to be served. Every Johnsonville member brought two plates each!
 (photo by John)

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On Sunday night, we attended a performance of “Der Rosenkavalier”, an opera by Richard Strauss. It was performed by the Days Bay Opera which usually perform small opera events in a garden in summer. This time, the opera was performed in the newly built hall at Wellesley College in Days Bay. Before the performance, it was possible to enjoy a special dinner at the Days Bay Pavillion – supposedly an Austrian-style opera supper.

One of the choices for the main course was Bratwurst (Austrian sausage) in a crisp breadroll with sauerkraut and mustard, and a side salad. All four of us (we were with my sister and her husband) chose that. It was very tasty, but we were a bit mystified by the wasabi dressing on the side salad – that did not seem very Austrian! The dessert of Sachertorte however was suitably Austrian, and very yummy.

There is a path that leads directly from the Pavillion into the grounds of Wellesley College. It is a very attractive old (I think) building, and the new hall next to it seems to blend into it very nicely, with a large bay window at the front.

Wellesley College façade (photo by John)

The large bay window of the new hall (photo by John)

The hall was set up with seating on three sides, the orchestra in the bay window, and the “stage” in the middle. The only “setting” was a painting of the period (mid-18th century) projected onto a large screen overhead.

I am afraid that the opera was a bit of a disappointment. I suppose my musical tastes are not very sophisticated and Richard Strauss’ music is not terribly easy on the ear – at least not to me. Composed in 1910, it is not in the late 18th century classical music mould. And though it was all sung in English, we could not actually hear the words, so much of the time we were in the dark as to what was being said (sung). The acting was a bit dreary too - there wasn't a lot happening, especially in the first act. During the intermission we debated whether we should cut our losses and sneak out, or hang in there and hope it would improve. We stayed, and fortunately the pace picked up a bit during the second and third act. The singing was very good, but I think I shall think twice before attending a Strauss opera again.

The cast of “Der Rosenkavalier” take their bows (photo by John)

A Ceilidh

On Saturday 1 February, the Johnsonville Scottish Country Dance Club had a great start to the dancing year, with a ceilidh and pot-luck dinner at the home of the club’s tutor, Rod Downey, and his wife Kristin, who happens to be the club’s president.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), it is a social gathering which usually involves music, (Gaelic) social dancing, and musical performances or dance displays.

It was a fantastic afternoon/early evening. In all, we had 25 people there, including a few non-dancing family members. People started arriving from about 3pm, and Rod soon had us dancing.

Rod Downey – this afternoon’s host, Johnsonville SCD Club teacher, and Maths professor
at Victoria University – briefs the first dance (photo by John)

The first dance was a really easy “ceilidh dance”, The Kingston Flyer. This dance, devised by NZ’s Noeline O’Connor, refers to the vintage train of that name, that used to run in the Wakatipu District in the South Island. The dance is very simple, and is often used to introduce new dancers to the joys of Scottish dancing.

Playing trains, in the first dance “The Kingston Flyer” (photo by John)

For the occasion the lounge, with its beautiful wooden floor, had been cleared of furniture, and offered just enough room for one set (four couples) to dance.

A couple of years ago the Downeys had their lounge and deck extended, and it is now perfect for dancing. The deck was large enough for a set to be able to dance on it. How lucky we were that it was a perfect day – sunny and not much wind. The lack of wind was especially important, as being in one of Wellington’s windiest suburbs, this house is exposed to a lot of it. But they do have a jaw-dropping, fabulous view, looking out to the harbour entrance and Cook Strait.

What a fantastic backdrop to dancing! (photo by Pat Reesby)

The dancing was interspersed with musical items by some of the club members. What talented people we have in the club. The first person to perform was Peter Sullivan, playing a medley of Irish/Scots melodies on his 12-string guitar, including a firm favourite, “Marie’s Wedding”.

Peter Sullivan, playing his 12-string guitar (photo by John

The attentive audience listen to Peter’s item (photo by John)

More dancing was next. Another traditional ceilidh dance, called “The Dashing White Sergeant”. This is a round-the-room dance, usually danced at large gathering, in a large hall. It involves groups of three – woman, man, woman (or man, woman, man) – facing each other in a large circle. They dance in their groups of six, then “progress” to meet the next group of three, etc. However, in this case, with limited numbers and limited space, we just had four groups of three. So at times, the end threes had to “idle” while the middle six danced, as there was nowhere or them to progress to (I hope that makes sense to any non-dancers reading this).

The Dashing White Sergeant (photo by John)

The next performance was by Sally Taylor, playing "Czardas" by Vittorio Monti, on accordion. This piece was originally composed for violin, mandolin or piano, but it sounded great on accordion too. I don't think many of us knew that Sally played the accordion. And she played so amazingly well!

Sally Taylor and her piano accordion (photo by John)

More dancing followed. This time John and I were both in the set dancing on the deck. We danced "The Duke of Atholl’s Reel", which is a very old dance, devised in 1776, named for the Duke of Atholl, the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Murray.

John and I, along with Maureen and Sally, dance a formation called “rights and lefts” in the Duke of Atholl’s Reel (photo by Loralee Hyde)

Our next musical artist was Jennifer Timmings, playing some Scottish songs on the piano. Jennifer is a professional pianist who used to provide the lovely background music for lunchtime shoppers in Wellington’s oldest department store, Kirkcaldie’s.  The intention was that we would all join in and sing – songsheets were handed round, but sadly the singing was a bit feeble. We really needed a strong baritone to lead the singing, but nobody offered …

Jennifer Timmings played some Scottish songs (photo by John)

More dancing. This time we danced a strathspey, which is a slower tempo – a bit more “stately” than the more exuberant reels or jigs. Lady Glasgow includes a three-couple promenade.

Peter and Joan lead the three-couple promenade in “Lady Glasgow” (photo by Loralee Hyde)

The next couple of items involved pianist Malcolm Leitch. In one he accompanied Sono Barnes, on flute, playing two beautiful pieces from François Couperin’s dance music. When I emailed her the photo below and commented on how I had enjoyed their performance, she replied that she wasn’t sure whether her kind of music (i.e. Baroque music) would be people’s cup of tea. Well, how could anyone not like such beautiful, gentle music!

Sono Barnes, on flute, and Malcolm Leitch, on piano, play a dance by Couperin (photo by John)

The other item that Malcolm was performing, consisted of two duets played with Bill Roberts. Malcolm mentioned that he had known Bill for over thirty years, and that during most of that time, they had got together every week to play duets. Malcolm also plays the organ, and in fact is the organist for Sunday services at the Khandallah Presbyterian Church.

Malcolm Leitch and Bill Roberts played two duets (photo by John)

More dancing followed, and another musical piece by Peter on his 12-string guitar. The final item for the afternoon was a recitation by John Markham, regaling us with the poem “Albert and the Lion” by Marriott Edgar.  John M delivered the monologue in a Lancashire accent (I presume, as he started out by apologising to any Lancastrians that might be present, if his accent wasn’t the real deal). Albert was a character invented by the late actor Stanley Holloway, and the monologue was the first of 16 written for him by Marriot Edgar.

John Markham recites “Albert and the Lion” (photo by Loralee Hyde)

One of the last dances before dinner was called “The Machine without Horses”. This is another very old dance, first published in 1772. Apparently the machine refers to either a sedan chair, or a chain plough – not a steam locomotive, as this was not invented until the early 1800s.

The very last dance was called "De'il Amang the Tailors", which is a boisterous reel that is often used as the final dance in social evenings. When everyone is ready to drop, the lively music of this dance is enough to make people get up for just one more dance!

Three couples dance “six hands round”, while Judy, half of the fourth couple, looks on, in “De'il Amang the Tailors” (photo by John)

To end the evening there was the pot-luck dinner. Everyone had contributed a dish, and what an interesting variety of dishes and desserts there was. Supplemented with French bread, salads and a glass of wine, we definitely did not go hungry.

It was great to be able to sit down and spend time talking with our fellow-dancers. When we are at club classes, there is usually not much time to chat between dances – Rod likes to keep us on the move! So it was interesting to talk and find out more about people – i.e. their jobs, children, holidays and other interests. For instance, most of us had no inkling of the musical talents that were hiding amongst us.

Rod and friends enjoy after-dinner chat on the deck (photo by Loralee Hyde)

It was well after 8pm when dinner was over, and people started to drift off home. Some of us stayed behind to help return furniture to the lounge, including the mega-heavy dining table.

We had a fabulous time, thank you Rod and Kristin for a terrific afternoon and evening. A final thought – with 29 new hopefuls joining the beginners classes on Monday night, how will you accommodate that many people next year?

A final look at the view, with dusk starting to close in, before heading home (photo by John) 

NOTE: My thanks go to Loralee Hyde and Pat Reesby for allowing me to use some of their photos. Thank you Loralee and Pat!



 

Petone to Lowry Bay – and pottery, and music

This past week we had two gorgeous days in a row, so we went cycling on both days. Tuesday’s ride was described in my last blog post. On Wednesday, with our muscles still sore from Tuesday’s effort, we thought we would do an easy, smooth ride on a sealed surface, so we went to Petone, along the foreshore, and we planned to turn around at Point Howard. As it happened, we went a little further, which was a nice bonus. We did just over 14 kms.

Right at the start of the ride, we went onto the Petone Wharf. On such a fine day, in the school holidays, there were a few dads there with their kids, doing a spot of fishing. I was quite taken with the family below, with their little folding chairs, in decreasing sizes, to match the size of the kids. How cute is that!

Dad and the kids – hoping to catch some dinner? (photo by John)

We rode without stopping, along the Petone Esplanade, across the bridge, around Seaview, and past the marina. Looking up at the hillside from there, John commented on the houses clinging to the steep slope, and how foolish people are to build on sites like these. They may have a fabulous view, but, he says, “how do they think the cliff got there in the first place?”. Land crumbles from below and collapses. Is that what will happen to these residences eventually?

One of the houses clinging to the cliff-face above Point Howard (photo by John)

On to Point Howard. There, to my surprise, I found that the gate to the wharf was locked in such a position as to leave a gap for pedestrians and cyclists to go through, and there was a sign prohibiting access to cars. So of course we ventured onto the wharf to take a look. It’s always interesting to see things from a different perspective.

From the end of the Point Howard Wharf

The pipelines coming off the oil terminal wharf (photo by John)

This was how far we had ridden on previous jaunts. This time we decided to keep going around the coast road towards Eastbourne. We hadn’t tried this before because the space for cycling is only demarcated by a broken yellow line, and the space between the line and the water’s edge is not very wide.

On the rocks below the road, I spotted some oyster catchers. That’s the beauty of cycling. You would not be likely to see this kind of detail when you are whizzing past in a car. And even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to stop in a hurry to take a photo.

Oyster catchers

We stopped at a seat under a tree just at the entrance to Lowry Bay. There, John took some good photos of our bikes, for his technical page about the bikes.

We sat in the shade of this tree for a bit

Our bikes, with the Point Howard oil terminal wharf in the background (photo by John)

From here we were able to have a close look at the brightly coloured boatshed that always catches my eye when we drive past here.

The entrance to Lowry Bay

John by the colourful boatshed at Lowry Bay

This brightly dressed angler was fishing off the rocks by the boatshed

A bit further along, in the middle of the sweep of Lowry Bay, was the “iconic” white boatshed (I actually don’t much like the word iconic – it gets used too much – but it seems appropriate in this case). This protected historic building is the subject of many a photograph and painting.

It was built in 1906, originally without building consent, and the Wellington Harbour Board warned the owners numerous times to remove it, but they ignored it. Eventually it was listed by the Historic Places Trust as an historic building, and in 1988 the then owner gifted it to the Hutt City Council. It was severely damaged by a storm in 2004, so it was removed, new foundations were built and it was placed back and repaired in 2005. There is more about the building’s history here.

The historic Lowry Bay Boatshed (photo by John)

From here, the road verge reserved for cyclists petered out to just a broken yellow line, mere inches from the water's edge, so we turned around. At Seaview, John spotted a decoration on the wall of one of the storage sheds which made him smile.

The frog seems to be leaping out of the ute! (photo by John)

Near the bridge over the exit of the Waiwhetu Stream into the Hutt River, I looked at some black swans, preening. They are so graceful on the water, but look so awkward on land. I was amazed at how the swan in the foreground was contorting his neck to get at his tail feathers!

Swans preening

We pedalled without stopping till we got back to the far end of Petone. We rode an extra little loop to see if there was anything interesting going on at the Water Ski Club, but all we saw was a jetski being launched. The woman that we had seen water-skiing was just coming ashore, and didn’t look as if she was going to do more.

A jetski is launched, while another is already roaring around in the background

On the way home, we dropped in to my sister’s, as she had suggested we come and take a look at her latest handiwork. We found her in the garden, putting some extra touches to her monumental project: a mosaic couch!

Aimée’s mosaic couch

This project has been a long time in the making. A few years ago, the family couch needed replacing, and so rather than taking the old one to the tip, she had it put in the garden. Then she, a neighbour and I spent a day covering the whole thing in concrete! That was quite a feat.

The mosaic design – consisting of broken bits of her own pottery, pieces of commercial tiles, and bits of mirror – was glued onto netting by Aimée and a potting friend, Jan. They weren’t able to apply it to the couch at the time, so the mosaic netting lay under the bed for several years, gathering dust. Finally, this summer, Jan came to stay again, and together they continued the masterpiece.

The back of the couch is still to be covered in mosaic, and the grouting still has to be done. Hopefully, Aimée and her cat Pixie will be able to lounge on it before the summer is out! The paua shells at the base are part of the design, but the bricks aren’t! They are just holding the paua in place while the glue sets.

After a glass of wine and some nibbles, we went down to her showroom, to see her latest offerings (and for me to select a bowl for my breakfast!). She will be having an open weekend on 22 and 23 February, from 11am to 5pm, at 35 Huntleigh Park Way, Ngaio. All are welcome. Do bring your wallet or chequebook!

Aimee will also have a stall at both Martinborough Fairs, on Saturday 1 February, and Saturday 1 March.

The showroom of potter (and my sister) Aimée McLeod. Come and check out her Open Weekend in February

Finally for this blog post, something completely unrelated to cycling. In the evening, we attended a free concert in the Soundshell of the Wellington Botanic Gardens. The Wellington City Shake Em On Downers, a Dixieland jazz band, was performing New Orleans and Chicago favourites, as part of the Summer City Gardens Magic events. I love Dixieland jazz and I was really glad that it was a fine night for an outdoor concert. The music was great!

The lawn in front of the stage was packed, as were the hillsides overlooking it. It looked like many people had arrived straight after work, with their picnic rugs and baskets, and their bottles of wine. Right by the front of the stage keen people were dancing to the toe-tapping music.

The Wellington City Shake Em On Downers in the Botanic Gardens (photo by John)

The concert was very well attended (photo by John)

Before the end of the concert, when it was almost dark, we wandered through the gardens to enjoy the special lighting. We could still hear the music, by the time we got back to the car.

Plastic flowers, made by children at the Teddy Bears’ Picnic a week ago, decorate a tree in the Louis Braille Garden, below the Treehouse (photo by John) 

Scottish Country Dancing - Hogmanay

If you read this blog regularly, you will know that I am a keen Scottish Country dancer. A highlight of the SCD year is the Hogmanay Dance on New Year’s Eve. So too, this year.

The Wellington Region nearly didn’t have a Hogmanay Dance, as no one had offered to be this year’s organiser. However, at quite a late stage, Pat Reesby decided it would be a real shame if we didn’t have the yearly celebration, so she took up the challenge, and did a wonderful job. We had a grand evening.

Pat is not only a keen dancer (and secretary of the Johnsonville SCD Club), but also a keen photographer, and I feel fortunate that she has given me permission to use some of her photos, and links to her videos in this blog post. Thanks Pat!

There was a great band, consisting of Peter Elmes on button accordion, John Smith on the fiddle, and Aileen Logie on keyboard. The MC, Betty Redfearn, had prepared a lovely programme of popular dances. The dance was well attended, with seven “sets” (groups of eight dancers, required for most dances), which is quite a respectable number, considering that many local dancers would have been away on holiday, or attending the yearly SCD Summer School, which this year was being held in Cambridge.

One of the first dances was the Kelloholm Jig. Below are two photos of this dance – one where the sets are getting ready (Bronwyn with her finger in the air is indicating that her set needs one more couple), and one where we are dancing (that's me in the red skirt). Pat also took a video of this dance, the link to which is here.

Getting ready to dance the Kelloholm Jig (photo by Pat Reesby)

Dancing the Kelloholm Jig (photo by John)

A dance that was new to most of us, and which had the title “Oompah, Oompah, Shove It Up Your Joompah”, was a lot of fun. While the dance was devised by the well-respected SCD deviser John Drewry, the music for it was not your regular Scottish jig or reel, but a lively quickstep. Take a look at another one of Pat’s videos here. You can tell it was new to the dancers as there was a bit of confusion going on to begin with, but people soon got the hang of it, and it really was fun to dance.

About half-way through the evening, we were treated to a musical item by a newly formed group “Chintz”. This talented trio consisted of Cici Kong, playing an ancient Chinese lute known as a pipa, Moggie Grayson on guitar, and Emily Clemett on violin. Cici is a Chinese student who has been boarding with Moggie this year, and whom Moggie introduced to SCD – naturally! As well as being an outstanding musician, Cici turned out to be a pretty good dancer too!

We were treated to a musical item by “Chintz” (photo by Pat Reesby)

As the time drew close to midnight, we were asked to take a seat, and were handed song sheets and we sang the traditional songs “Scotland the Brave”, "The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen”, and “I Belong to Glasgow”.

Then it was time for the midnight ceremony. All stood up to clasp hands with their neighbours, arms crossed, for “Auld Lang Syne” and for Old Father Time and the Sweeper (sweeping out the old year) to do their round.

Aline and John Homes prepare for their roles as Old Father Time and the Sweeper (photo by John)

Auld Lang Syne (photo by John)

The “tradition” at the SCD Hogmanay dances is for a baby, representing the New Year, to appear through a hoop marked with the number of the new year. This year, however, a baby was not available, so the three-year-old grandson of one of the dancers was to take on the role. But the poor little boy, all dressed up in a kilt for the occasion, had been kept awake way past his bedtime, and when it came to his big moment, he wouldn’t have a bar of it! It must have been pretty frightening for him, when the lights went out, strong torch light shone, and he was expected to push through a hoop covered in paper. Result: one very tired little boy throwing a screaming paddy on the floor!

Fortunately quite a lot of the dancers have grandchildren of their own, and quite understood.

The next part of the ceremony involved the arrival of First Foot. This is the first person to come across the threshold in the new year. It is supposed to be a tall, dark man, carrying gifts of coal, symbolising warmth, salt or money for wealth, shortbread for sustenance, and whisky for good cheer.

The ritual went as follows:

MC: “Who is that knocking at the door?” Doorman: “It is a stranger”. MC: “Is he tall?” “Yes he is”. “Is he handsome?” “Yes he is.”

Then: “Does he have the necessary equipment?” At this, everybody burst out laughing. I wonder what they were laughing about? (!!) What the MC meant was “does he have his tray of gifts”, but obviously people had something else in mind entirely!

When the laughter had died down, First Foot was led into the hall by a piper and did a circuit before presenting his gifts to the MC and the representative of the RSCDS (Wellington Region Treasurer Kath Ledingham).

First Foot John Gregory is piped into the hall by Ross Edwards (photo by John)

First Foot holds aloft the gift of "money, for wealth”, and “Yes”, he said, “I do have the necessary equipment!” (photo by John)

The last part of the ceremony was for all to join in a toast, and for this, trolleys of whisky and shortbread were wheeled out. Actually, there was a choice of whisky, sherry or apple juice. The nips of whisky or sherry were very small – so there was no risk of anyone getting drunk!

The trolley of drinks for the toast. The apple juice has already been poured. The whisky and sherry are yet to be dispensed into the colourful tumblers (photo by Pat Reesby)

Finally, after the toast to the RSCDS (Royal Scottish Country Dance Society), and the all-round kissing and hugging and wishing each other Happy New Year, it was time for the last dance of the evening, the Eightsome Reel. This is a very energetic dance, in which each of the eight dancers gets a turn to “show off” in the middle of the circle, and dance some reels across the circle with their partner and another dancer.

The Eightsome Reel (photo by John)

What a grand evening it had been. Congratulations were due for Pat, the organiser, and her volunteers. Finally, people pitched in to help stack the chairs, take down decorations, and help the musicians take their equipment out to their vehicles. Before long, everything was cleared up, and we all headed home, thoroughly satisfied with a great start to 2014.

Happy New Year!

Note: My thanks to Pat Reesby for allowing me to use some of her photos and video links.