Frozen bananas dipped in chocolate ....

Wow ... what a weekend of contrasts ... not just on the weather front but in the activities I participated in too .....

Saturday was beautiful ... the threat of rain always there .. but the sun shone and the skies were blue.  We joined a whole host of hounds and their humans in a walk around the Auckland Domain to raise funds for the charity Paw Justice.  My hound has never been amongst so many hounds before and I wasn’t sure how she’d respond .... but both her and Indy were so well behaved.  They sniffed bums .... wagged tails ..... kissed noses .... pinched the water out of other hounds water bowls ... cheeky Indy .... and had a whole host of fun!  The variety of hounds was incredible .... they came in all shapes ... sizes ... colours .... breeds ..... and some whose lineage

was totally undecipherable  ... I’ve never seen so many wagging tails!!

A Snoop Dog!

It’s heartwarming to see the number of people who care about what happens to animals.  Paw Justice do a great job in helping prevent animal abuse so the response to this call-out to raise funds for them was tremendous.  People 
care ... Aucklanders care (or should that be the people of Jafaland care) ..... the young, the old, the trendy, the famous .... and for a city where it’s supposedly infra-dig to own a dog there sure are a whole bunch of people who’re not concerned about what others think ... it’s enlightening!

Sunday was another story ... enlightening from a totally different perspective ..... our first St. Heliers Christmas Market.  For a start .. the weather was crap ... it rained all day .... and then it rained some more .... the

Chocolat and Indy

My stall and Julia's stall at the market .. Gav's just arrived with coffee!

 sunshine of yesterday was missing in action ... not sure where.  Santa Claus was in attendance ..... the Violin and Cello duet were in attendance .... the Frozen Banana Man was in attendance ...... but the sun and the crowds weren’t!  The inclement weather kept them away .... if we had 100 people through the market we were lucky.  There were more stall-holders there than what I’ve ever seen at the market since I’ve been attending .... it was great ... the variety and quality of the products being sold was brilliant .... but there were no bodies to buy what we had to sell.  The Frozen Banana concept is fascinating ... I’ve never seen it before .... peeled and frozen bananas ..... when you buy one it’s dipped in chocolate and then in your choice of nuts, sprinkles, coconut etc.  Wish I’d taken a pic of him holding up a frozen banana dipped in chocolate prior to it being dipped in sprinkles

... I wouldn’t be the only one thinking naughty thoughts!!

I have to keep reminding myself that I do these markets for exposure .. not for sales .. but even so, it’s disillusioning when you put so much effort in and the sales don’t materialise ... well at least not in the volumes I’d like.  I was probably fortunate ... I at least made sales ... there were some stall holders who didn’t.  I  guess today the weather wasn’t playing ball and you can’t really blame people for not wanting to come out in the rain. I have met the nicest of people at these markets though .... amongst the stallholders .... amongst the visitors  ..... both local and from foreign shores.  There’s a marvellous sense of camaraderie between the stallholders ... a sharing of ideas .... a pooling of resources .... of info about markets to try .... it’s a community willing to work together and I like it!

My hound misses me when I do
the markets ..... she looks at me with reproach in her eyes when I come down the stairs on a Sunday morning dressed for a market .... you can see it in her eyes “.. what about my ramble ....”.  Her unhappiness  is short-lived though ... there’s other bodies here at home to bug ... and she knows that on my return we’ll head to the beach ... only after 7 though as we’re onto Summer Beach Times ..... and I don’t want a FINE!!