's Beach Caf
Early March 2015 saw J and K Rolling off on another road trip; delivering and picking up poetry in the environs of the southern coastal town of Orepuki (which also just happens to be my old home-town, having spent the first ten years of my life there).
Two Orepuki-ites, Penny and Brian, have restored a hundred-year-old (plus) house, which co-incidentally was where my great-aunt; Aunty Mary Simpson nee Hirst; used to live. They have successfully turned it into an attractive and popular cafe; Orepuki Beach Cafe.
This is where Jenny and I were reading.
After we"d arrived, Penny offered us a complimentary meal - whatever we wanted to choose from the menu. How generous. We both chose the flounder, which didn't disappoint. Delicious. They've got a gifted chef at Orepuki Beach Cafe.
People had started to drift in. A quiet buzz started up with the friendly, un-pretentious atmosphere that I associate with Southland.
Then it was time for the Open Mic part of the evening to begin.
Below are photos of a sample of the readers who took part.
The Open Mic part was then followed by readings by Jenny and myself.
One couple had come over from Te Anau, someone else had driven there from Invercargill. The atmosphere was lively and entertaining.
Once again - as we have found at all of these heartland-in-the-hinterland readings we've organised - the response was positive and the poetry great.
The next morning (after a very comfortable and pleasant stay at Orepuki's Quartz Cottage) Jenny and I were once more treated to the generosity of the owners of Orepuki Beach House and were given breakfast.
Most of the fare is locally sourced. I ate every crumb!
Before leaving 'Puki to travel up the line to Tuatapere, where I was born, and then back home to Dunedin, we took some photos of the place.
What's left of the railway station's platform.
Looking over Te Waewae Bay towards Princess Range.
What was once Orepuki's main street. No longer the thriving little country town it had become from gold mining days up until the mid-sixties.
Jenny and I are now looking forward to our next J and K Rolling venture, which will be on National Poetry Day, August 28th, 2015 and followed by a Poetry Day follow-up event in Southland.