Oriental Bay

It was a glorious day in Wellington today so I celebrated finishing my judging for the Mix and Mash competition with a stroll to the beach at Oriental Bay. Every time I walk through Wellington I see something interesting and unexpected. Today it was a guy dressed in 1930s gear, playing a honky tonk piano on the back of a vintage truck on Courtney Place.

It's the first time I have taken a wander along the bays, and we walked as far as the point where I could see across the harbour to Miramar. Inspired by Mix and Mash I thought I'd look in the Creative Commons section on Flickr for pictures of Oriental Bay and found this gem from 1955 (note the weight lifters on the left).

Crowd on the beach at Oriental Bay, Wellington, with weight-lifters ca 1955 from the National Library

Instead of weight lifters we were entertained by the Canadian rugby team who may have planned on an afternoon swim, but only got as far as waist deep then stood around shivering in their shorts. There were sunbathers, boats and people eating ice creams. More like the height of a British summer rather than the beginning of a Kiwi spring. Gorgeous.

Thanks Fudge !

I've been a faithful Fudge fan for nearly twenty years since they launched their Styling Putty which smelled like delicious marzipan. I've worked my way through their Paintbox extreme colour range and have been sponsored by Fudge NZ since I started my show on Twisted Radio back in 2004. I get a bumper box of haircare and styling products a couple of times a year and was delighted to receive my new Fudge pack in the mail this week.

My favourite items from the Fudge range are Dynamite, and 1 Shot leave in conditioner. My wavy hair hair just soaks them up, and as it grows longer it's staying glossy and soft. Two products I always take with me when I'm travelling are Hair Shaper (now in a fresh minty version) which is great in high humidity and Hair Varnish for smoothing out the frizz. I'm also liking Liquid Skrewd to coax out my curls, and the Gloss in a funky test tube is the prefect item for a high shine finish. All of them smell good enough to eat, and are available from salons across New Zealand.

A Fudge Urban range for boys and girls has been launched in Kiwi supermarkets this year, so keep an eye out for the funky orange containers or check them out on Facebook