Orepuki Beach Cafe's Whistlestop

'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.

Careys Bay Whistlestop

I would describe JnK Rolling's Careys Bay Whistlestop poetry reading held at the end of the year, as small but meaningful. Being re-united with Nick Ascroft (back in the country after a lengthy time in London as sports editor for Bloomsbury Publishing House) and hearing again his work and reading style, was pure pleasure. Good too, to hear Richard Reeve's work again. Carolyn McCurdie also contributed to Open Mic. time. We celebrated Dunedin entering the circle of UNESCO International Cities of Literature. One of nine other cities throughout the world, it is very exciting for Dunedin to have received this title. It can only be up from here. Writers unite! JnK Rolling are certainly ready to roll along with whatever momentum is created through Dunedin's status as a city steeped in the arts associated with literature.

Nick Ascroft

Nick Ascroft & Richard Reeve

Richard Reeve

Carolyn McCurdie

Jenny Powell

When You Hear The Whistle Blowin' Eight to the Bar'

Careys Bay

Wouldn't this be a perfect venue for a poetry evening for JnK Rolling's next whistlestop? We are in negotiations now with the Careys Bay Hotel. Excited!

Lined Up

Both Jenny and I have had books published this year. My book 'Born To A Red-Headed Woman' was published earlier this year. Go HERE to read more about it.

 Jenny's book, 'Trouble'  is being launched in a few days time. Go HERE to read about her book.

I've got a ways to go if I ever want to catch up on Jenny. She has had 7 books ... maybe 8 now? ... published in all! So far.

All Aboard!

We call ourselves 'JnK Rolling'. We are two Dunedin poets who have formed an alliance to seek out small corners of New Zealand and bring as well as bring-out, poetry. 

Discovering where the poetry of a community lies - whether it is in the landscapes, the community's unique characteristics, or in the people - is part of what we seek. It is our expectation that the poetry will be found in all three of these things (landscape, unique characteristics and people) and that they are in fact, inseparable.

Our underlying motif, or touchstone, is the idea of the steam trains of old that would call in at New Zealand country stations to off-load and on-load. This is also a tip of the hat to the Harry Potter stories to which our name J&K Rolling, alludes. We use the steam-train motif as our logo and we name the readings and tours we do, as Whistlestops.

This blog is intended to document the adventures we have already had in our short time into this venture, as well as the ones that await us down the line. 

Middlemarch, With Line-Breaks

One of JnK Rolling's (aka the poets, Jenny Powell and Kay McKenzie Cooke) recent whistlestops was at the small station of Middlemarch where we had a very pleasant reading time with some of the locals. We hope we can go back there again sometime, we had such fun.