Hobbit update

The film site across the harbour is now looking like a town. We scanned The hobbit, as the memories needed a refresher, and found reference to two towns in the novel: Dale and Estragoth. Smaug detroys Dale and has a good go at Estragoth. It's got to be Estragoth going up over there, although it has an odd Spanish look to it. We know that digital technology will change its appearance to make it look like a Middle Earth town. No night filming yet, but a cherry picker is hovering above the 'town'. They will be filming during March and April. We've got a cool view of that set on Miramar peninsula; shame we'll miss most of it!

Beautiful day yesterday, so we went over to Miramar and had a walk on the other end of the peninsula, facing Cook Strait. An Irish guy was swimming it yesterday, as you do - 12 hours plugging away, no thanks. Had a couple of tres tasty fish sandwiches at the Chocolate Fish cafe and walked up to the Ataturk memorial.

That's a pillar of white tiles, with a cresent shaped top, that commemorates Kemal Ataturk's magnificent words at the end of WW1 - re your sons are now our sons and they rest in friendly soil. Only the founder of modern Turkey put it much better than that. The same ANZAC quote is on the Ataturk memorial in Canberra.

Found it:

Heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives. You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

We sat up there for a bit,  watching ferries and container ships and planes coming and going. South Island very clear - that's the kind of day you want for a ferry crossing.

 

Looking south east from the Ataturk memorial