Just the Ticket

Today I stayed in Ashburton for the whole day, Alex is driving Benny both ways to school and Naomi took a mental health day, it is hard when you have just started school and you have to travel one and half hours to get there. It makes you very tired and just a little bit grumpy. I am sure our grandparents would disagree, I know they had to walk three hours, uphill (both ways), in the snow to get to school, but times have changed a bit since then, our generation are all a bit soft now.

Naomi and I joined our token Ashburton friends Jeremy and Christina and their new little baby Florence (Flossie) for lunch at a very lovely cafe in town and we were joined by Anna and my wee god-daughter Bella who made the mammoth trek from Christchurch to join us. Christina, Anna and I all drove in separate cars to get to the cafe and all found car parking spaces behind each other on the main street just outside the cafe (gotta love this provincial town living eh?).

We paid for our parking meters, I was very surprised, nay delighted to realise that the parking was a mere 30c, yes, you heard correctly, for a 30 minute stay (compared to the $4.00 an hour in Wellington and $3.10 in Christchurch, where there aren't even any shops to go to, this is a veritable treat!). Anna was caught so unawares that she inserted a two dollar coin into the slot before she even realised what was happening - we did tease her a little about that.

We had a lovely lunch where I managed to spend more money on Naomi's breakfast of bacon and eggs and a hot chocolate than spent on myself (when did that switch happen?) and we talked about babies and parking meters and Dora the Explorer until Jeremy could take it no more, made some feeble 'gotta get back to work' excuse and shuffled off to let us talk some more.

We said our goodbyes then Naomi and I stayed around for a little while to look at the gift shop and get a lolly cake (more treats for the 'sick' school dodger) before we were on our way.

We got back to the car, armed and so pleased with our purchase of beautiful paper plates to have afternoon tea in our new garden, and didn't notice that we had a $12.00 ticket on the windscreen, just for parking in a 30 minute car park for two hours. Can you believe it? Do they not know who I am?

Anna, you paid $2.00 - ha ha - but oh dear, we paid $12.30!

But the company (and the plates I am sure you will agree), were worth it, and I do get a $2.00 discount for paying within 14 days, if I remember, thanks Ashburton City Council;)

Here are the gorgeous plates, and yes, they are paper! Turns out Ashburton is rather stylish after all!





Photographed on location in the garden of our Gardener's cottage, in the very stylish town of Ashburton. I love them!





Just don't tell Alex about the ticket.

Love
Est xxx