New Plymouth August 2015 - Day 1

In 1967 I started two years at New Plymouth Girls High School and the same two years at their boarding hostel, Scotlands. When I started there, I was in sixth form (Year 12) - the school at Te Kauwhata only went as far as fifth form. Although boarding school proved to be a lot less exciting than Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers books, I did enjoy my time there - it was a fresh start with nobody knowing me or my past mistakes. Most of all, I feel in love - with Mt Egmont, as it was then known. It has not changed, but I'm glad the name has, as Mt Taranaki seems so much more fitting.

More recently, we enjoyed visiting the Govett-Brewster Museum where an old flatmate of ours works, and we were keen to return to see the new Len Lye Centre. So we went down for a long weekend with Simon and Rebecca.

The building is gorgeous - and fun.

The surrounding buildings aren't new, but are pretty cool too.

After the exhibition we walked down to the grass square outside the museum to join the anti-TPP protest.

I doubt it did any good, but I feel I couldn't not stand against such an appalling thing.