Winter Solstice

It's the time of the Winter Solstice here in New Zealand. Which means of course that it is Summer Solstice in Great Britain. ON the TV news tonight we saw pictures of thousands of people attending the Solstice celebrations at the wonderful Stonehenge. Here in New Zealand we have our own version of this famous monument, Stonehenge Aotearoa. Many gathered there also to celebrate the Solstice and honour the old ways.

We attended a Winter Solstice mid-year Christmas lunch at the James Cook Hotel today with a group of friends, in the Whitby Room Restaurant. The James Cook Hotel is a Wellington landmark. The dining tables looked lovely dressed with crisp white linen, with a gold foil Christmas cracker for each patron. There was plenty of choices from the smorgasbord menu. Roast turkey and hot carved ham were favourites, as was the traditional Christmas plum pudding and hot custard.

A group of ladies caused a bit of a stir when they arrived later in the afternoon for their "High Tea". They were all attired in fur jackets and fancy hats!!. "How many foxes died to make your coat?", one of our group asked. "None", was the reply, it's fake".


The entrance of the James Cook Hotel, Wellington