There and Back Again

In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. I am sure that his hole in the ground did not look like a Chinese laundry. My nice dry pile of kecks was the high water mark of Mrs Verno and my efforts to dry our washing. The fact that we had blown the electrics previously will have nothing to do with it your honour but having left the drier to run all bloody night the clothes came out only marginally less wet that they went in. All this globetrotting is not as easy as you may think. And when I say all night I mean all night. It made for a less than beautifying slumber. Add to that the dodgy toilet that needed a jiggle to stop it forever flushing and like the water in the cistern my lack of gruntle was endless.

We set aside these tribulations and headed out for a leisurely brunch before seeking out the collection point for our tour to the famous WETA workshop, home of the Lord Of The Rings props and prosthetics maker. We were duly picked up in a dragon themed minibus with the other punters. A mother and daughter from New Mexico and a couple from Nottingham who believe it or not had come to Wellington to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It seems it was a special end of tour bash attended by Richard O’Brien. The gentleman, who was about six foot six had dressed as a Satanic Mechanic. Isn’t that interesting?

We duly arrived at the WETA tour and it was quite something. A charming young lady took the tour and conducted us between a number of rooms, each with a different focus. We had been told early on to keep our cameras in our pocketses (see what they did there?). Rooms included props such as knives, swords, costumes and collectibles as well as one with a frankly crazy lady who made a living out of using tin foil to make sculptures. We were all forced to give it a go. Mrs Verno was very proud of her whippet head. I thought my four legged creature was marginally better.

This tour was great and even Mrs Verno who had not seen any of the films was captivated.

There were a lot of collectibles on display, LOTR and Warhammer 40K items. I was like a pig in the proverbial only I did not want to get my clothes dirty. You know the story.

Our visit ended too soon and we we conveyed back to the collection point whereby we rushed to see if any progress had been made in the drying saga. Feckin’ nothing. The clothes iron was deployed and a convivial session of ironing damp clothes ensued.

We headed out for dinner in a nearby Italian eatery. Lovely. Red snapper. Not me but what I had. Gnocchi was Mrs Verno’s choice. And then back to pack as we had an early start in the am. 6am to be precise for our scenic train ride to Auckland. Top class meals and wine pairings to match the scenery as we recover from our drier tribulations.

One last observation. New Zealand is the home of the Māori and the Hama and in and around the museum the traffic lights had distinctive green and red men. Just thought you’d like to know.

One final, last note. A few people have been concerned that Mrs Verno and I may not be eating properly. Rest assured all is good and worry ye not.