A trip to the fish shop

Yesterday I had agreed to buy some fish for our dinner. By the time I got around to it we were approaching the “magic hour”: the hour before sunset. It was a glorious winter’s day so I decided to take my camera with me and try out a new lens.  Here are some of the results.

The Boatshed cafe was quiet, ahead of the evening rush.  Its undercarriage was well and truly exposed, thanks to the big tides we have right now due to the ‘ super moon ‘.

A little further along sits The Boathouse, where the Nelson Rotary club will be meeting tonight.  What a venue!

Looking back, from the new pedestrian walkway:

I heard some dramatic music, booming from a van with its doors open.  A couple was dancing along the boardwalk, ballroom style.  The woman later explained that they had only recently moved to Nelson. They so loved the waterfront that at every opportunity on a sunny day they would come down to dance. “We can imagine we are dancing on the Riviera” she said.

The fishing boat skipper looking out to sea from the Seafarers’ Memorial Pier was no doubt pleased to be free from seagulls for a change.

A small coastal freighter approached, the “Spirit of Independence”.  Not many containers on board.

I watched as it left through The Cut.

There is a rather strange sight at the wharf: a modern lifeboat ready to be launched. One wonders why – we’re already on dry land.  But it’s been put there by NMIT (the local Polytech), as part of its mariner training programs.

It’s really quite photogenic:

The wharf is a good spot for fishing.

 

The car park for Sealord Rescue headquarters is “fenced” by some rather impressive chains. I made a note to have another go at photographing them when I had more time.

Likewise this piece of art nearby:

This gull wasn’t particularly bothered when I approached it:

By the time I bought a nice fillet of fresh turbot for dinner and had made my way up the steep hill towards home, the “ Spirit of Independence “ was barely visible on the horizon.

When I got home, I reflected on the last hour.  There were not huge crowds of people, I’d come across perhaps a dozen or more.  Every encounter involved a greeting and almost all of the exchanges included the phrase “what a glorious day! “  I felt somewhat exercised and hugely uplifted.