Mike Riversdale

A short lived venue in an old bank on Courtenay Place as owned by Jamie Selkirk. As I write the venue is being changed one more time into something else.

Last coffee for 450m 😁

Sometimes it's beer time and there's nothing else that will assuage the feeling. Not that that means alcohol though, plenty of great zero or very low alcoholic beers out there.

" Building Better Services For People " seems like such an obvious statement of intent, one that each and every government agency and civil servant (of which I am one, as are many of the people I know) should just be doing. Many (most?) on a day to day basis, aren't, despite being very busy and with good intentions. Are you? This was a poster created by and displayed at the short lived Service Innovation Lab, killed off by internal politics, external Politics, and a privileged white male defense system that fought tooth and nail to ensure the status quo power structures were maintained.

There are some workplaces in Wellington that have spectacular 360 degree views, this is one of them. Obviously the view towards the Hutt over the Stadium and across the harbour is the stunning, but I also love the views inwards to the city, and even straight down on Molesworth Street and the rest of Thorndon. Can anyone guess which government agency and/or building this is?

A moment of tree and window light.

A colourful Wellington evening.

I only went to see one evening of jazz at the space above the Third Eye brew bar and I consequently I only have a gazillion photos .

It's the people we meet on the journey that makes it all worthwhile. During my Access Granted NZ years I was fortunate enough to meet so many incredible people and for a brief time get to know them a little. Some people went on to become great friends whilst others, like the woman below , were brief encounters of the magical kind. I am still living an incredible life as I meet more people, share our stories, and sometimes over a meal.

Deep Purple MkII are the band I fell in love with. I collected everything including many bootlegs. I thought I knew it all ... and then this after a work colleague shared a mix. This, this is ... I have no words, I don't know/remember the song and certainly don't recall the Spike Milligan/Python approach to the  ... film ... ? To be fair it's 1969 and therefore probably after Blackmore had sacked the old band, which wasn't his band to to sack but egos do what egos can. AND THEN ... this is also unknown to me, is this really Purple playing, that looks like Lord, Paice, and perhaps Glover ... but ... what is going on? Part of the  Concerto for Group and Orchestra, but sounds more like a soundtrack. And the men in tight black shorts ... ? Ah, from the same 'show': Some information about the background from Nigel Young on http://www.thehighwaystar.com/ It is the bizarre, avant garde and arty film, P2, by Werner Schretzmeier and Juergen Schmidt-Oehm, which also in

I think this is a spot on photo of me in the late 2010s. I was bearded up, wearing those clothes a lot, Dr Who t-shirt coz me and Jack, smiling, Webstock bag coz my history, and standing in front of a tree that meant something at the time but means nothing to me now. And someone was taking a photo of me, with my phone. This is me 2018 to a tee.

Is Wellington out of the bus woes we've had since the Regional Council decided to "make everything better"?

I think we're about 17, maybe a year either side. A bunch of teens that got together ostensibly around music, hair rock and parts of classic British rock , Led Zeppelin, Queen, Deep Purple and the like - don't forget they weren't distant memories back in the early/mid 1980s. I can only remember one fellas name, Taff (Paul) on the far right who's house I think we're in. He and I ended up sharing a place in Swindon for a while. As to why this photo was taken, who knows, probably booking around doing our "album cover shot" holding chair legs, as one does. I also can't remember why this is in amongst the late 2018 photos, perhaps I was scanning in a stack of old ones. Anyways, here I am in my brief non-career as a rock-n-roll star - golly I'm trying to look staunch eh.

I still use the Web as a library, a place to go and discover ideas, points of view, and thinking on subjects. And funny stuff. As you may know I don't really go online to hear brain farts from strangers hence me moving on from "social media" ( whatever that actually is ). I also do like sharing. And whilst most people share using either Facebook or Twitter I'm more likely to pop it into my blog* or send it to various mates via Signal / text. Making a post on this blog takes time as I don't allow myself to simply share a link with a thumbs-up, I have to give a reason as to why I think it's worthy or reading (IMHO), and usually what the article I'm sharing means to me - trying to keep myself away from the brain farts previously mentioned. I don't always succeed but when I do it makes me smile inside. To keep a track of things I've read, heard, or seen on my travels around the Web I use Pocket , a simple "bookmarking" tool that saves them a

My first proper job was working as a waiter in a cocktail bar 🎶 No, it wasn't 😋, it was working as a waiter in the Kings Head Hotel in Monmouth - I was a happy wee fella. The universe then smiled upon me and after a number of adventures my first actual proper job, or one that seems related to what I sort of maybe do now, was as a programmer in the Budget & Forecast section of St Ivel's Finance Department. I believe this is me at the time, around 1987, in the Swindon Head Office. I was aged 20 years-old.

Wooden staircases always remind me of the farm.

The Third Eye, Tuataras brew pub, was always a weird one. Being cut off from the obvious front door by SH1 it felt both close and far away. Inside was fantastic, especially the upstairs event venue, check out the jazz photos  I took one gig. The outstanding mural, now painted over, was seen by everyone leaving Wellington depicting the 250 million year old Tuatara reptile and, of course, its famous "third eye" They are also unusual in having a pronounced photoreceptive eye, the third eye, which is thought to be involved in setting circadian and seasonal cycles. [ Wikipedia: Tuatara ]

I think the Government put in legislation to limit the charges, definitely been a while since I have experienced this (no matter which way you spell it :)

When you have a straw then, and only then, life is good 🤪

Where the Laird lives 😃 Hamish : Help! We're trapped between floors! Help! Dougal : Hamish, you're getting hysterical. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! Hamish : Well, don't just stand there applauding, do something! Dougal : All right! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! Hamish : Ow! Dougal : Now, control yourself. Or next time it's the face. Or, if you prefer, and I do ... The Laird : But Dougal, have you never played golf? Dougal : Oh no, your Lairdship. I like women.

Ok class, here's a question for the literary historians amongst you ... who left what at the London Albemarle Club that would end with Oscar Wildes imprisonment and eventually his untimely death?

Apparently these are both a "large flat white".

Anyone bought The Cuba Street Project by Beth Brash and Alice Lloyd?

I can remember the TV show theme music but not much more than that.

There are quite a few that get a weekly, "OMG, have you seen it now!!?" message as I send the latest amazing shot of the erupting Iceland volcano . I've also been sneakily saving a few screenshots as it is AMAZING! Is this one?

I believe that shining white dot is the planet Venus shining bright during a clear Paekākāriki sunset. Anyone tell me it's not Venus and what it actually is?

Paekākāriki sharp lines nestled amongst the curvy hills.

Well I can see myself tearing up the road, faster Than any other boy has ever gone And my skin is raw, but my soul is ripe, And no one's gonna stop me now, I'm gonna make my escape But I can't stop thinking of you, And I never see the sudden curve until it's way too late

My daughter has played football for quite a number of years and so Sunday mornings I get to stand in sun, rain, wind, and/or hail and watch her and her mates have a bloody awesome time on the pitch. I wouldn't miss it for the world. And will when it inevitably does come to an end.

Full glass to empty glass in a colourful bar.

Colourful wine in a colourful bar.

"Really, a photo now?"

Art on the side of the centre barriers of the Wellington motorway. Love it.