To me, springtime in Wellington means a glory of magnolia blossoms in the suburb of Thorndon and the botanical gardens, an obsession I share with noted NZ artist Rita Angus. The magnolias were at their absolute peak when Theresa and I visited the gardens last Friday, and some of the best photographs were taken against the serene mauve petals, or in the dappled shade of the twisting branches.
My friend Theresa, who modelled in Pompeii to Paris, is in town, and she asked me if we could please, please, pretty please do a photoshoot while she is here. And could she wear the Jeanne Samary dress? And since she asked so nicely, and since it is Theresa, and since she is gorgeous, of course I said yes! Unfortunately we both had scheduling issues, so I wasn’t able to arrange a full photoshoot with a decent (e.g. a lot better than me) photographer. So we decided to just keep it really low key. We dolled each other up and ran around in the Botanical Gardens with my camera on a Friday afternoon and hoped we got something good. The photos themselves were a bit tricky as the light was really difficult, but the afternoon itself was a blast; the perfect way to spend a day with a good friend. These are my favourites: And the very best one of all:
It’s really hard to get ahold of a copy of Jeanne Samary’s children’s book Les Gourmandises de Charlotte (Charlotte’s Treats), which is really a pity, because it sounds charming, and the illustrations are adorable. Little Charlotte is a greedy, unruly little child. She won’t eat anything but sugar! Her mother tries to tempt her with all sorts of delicious, nutritious food, but Charlotte just says “Non”! A doctor is called to warn her, but does Charlotte listen? Non! Without nutrition, Charlotte begins to shrink… and shrink…. and shrink… …until she becomes so little that she is smaller than a rat. Indeed, she is so small that she becomes the servant to a rat! Poor naughty Charlotte! Charlotte is so distressed that she begins to eat. She eats… and eats… and eats… She eats anything she can get her hands on! She eats so much that she grows enormously fat, and can’t walk or play! Poor naughty Charlotte! Will Charlotte ever learn to eat the right amount of the right kind of foods, and be a …
