Very busy week!

After a long, bumpy drive (lots of roadworks and potholes due to earthquakes) around Christchurch to Ferrymead, I arrived at the Heritage Park a little before 10am. I went to the wrong area of the park initially, but after directions from the helpful volunteers I eventually made it to the correct place just outside the information/ticket office.

There were two other stalls already set up under the shade of autumnal-coloured trees, so I  found a spare semi-flat section and put my table up. Although it was a brilliantly sunny day, the position of my table meant that I didn't really get to enjoy the sunshine. After a few hours of sitting in the shade, with a coolish breeze blowing, I did end up very cold, but that was the only downside.

Thanks to the lovely lady from the stall next to me who offered to keep an eye on my table, I was able to look around some of the heritage park. There were hundreds of people milling around and ambling through the historic buildings, a brass band was playing on the tram and someone was playing ragtime music on a piano in the old hotel.

Beside the main train station was a small but very full bookstore which stocked all sorts of books and magazines relating to trains. After speaking with two of the people who were involved in running the shop, I was able to sell them some copies of my book. Now the store stocks Custard and Carriages too!

The rest of my week, from Tuesday - Friday, was taken up with FAB club. Twice a year a bunch of committed volunteers plan and run a holiday program for kids, with the main focus being Fun and BIBLE (hence the name). I've had the opportunity to help out on previous occasions, but this time I was able to make it to the program every day. It was awesome to be a part of the organised chaos that is FAB week!

Despite some major disruptions that we had to work around (double bookings, wet weather, faulty micophones and noisy roof repairs) the program was a success, with everyone pitching in to see that things ran as smoothly as possible. Here is a sample of action from the week