Let's go fly a kite

After church this morning Joanne, Len, Val and I headed over to New Brighton. We'd booked lunch at the restaurant in the library building at New Brighton Pier. It's such a stunning setting. I never tire of going there. The food's not bad either.


There was another motive for heading over to New Brighton this afternoon though. Today was the day of the annual New Brighton Kite Day. It's quite famous supposedly, and another of the free things the city council puts on over the summer. I've always had a thing for kites so I was quite taken by the prospect of a walk along the beach having a look at all the kites flying.

The weather was perfect with a sea breeze and blue skies, and it all made for a remarkable sight. Hundreds of people gathered to watch, to join in, having fun. There were quite a few 'professional' kite fliers but it seems that every child with a kite in Canterbury was there too. You certainly had to keep on your toes wandering up and down the sand, watching out for plummeting kites and decapitating kite lines. It really does amaze me quite how much joy something floating in the breeze attached to a bit of string can bring, to child and adult alike.

Oh, and we couldn't go the seaside without having icrecreams now, could we?

We took the scenic route home, via Sumner, Lyttelton and the Porthills. I love that drive and wanted to share it with Len & Val. It really is stunning on a day like today. You leave the ruggedness of the Lyttelton harbour side of the Porthills, climb over the top and are confronted with the Canterbury Plains and the southern Alps in the distance. Words cannot do it justice.