A Picture from the Library

Paint a picture of a sky that are shades of blue as far as you can see, the colors vary from a clear azure blue fading to an almost pale baby blue. The odd cloud looks as if they were just an accidental flick of the paint brush, on the canvas, as the creator walked past.

The sun is sitting in pride of place, just to the edge of the picture, exactly like a child's painting. It creates jeweled party ball sparkles on the watery base of this scene.

The sea gently ripples shoreward, the line between the horizon and earth is as definite as if was drawn and someone had to color inside it. At this point of intersection is the meeting of Baby blue and deep ultramarine. Off to the right, faintly outlined against the hills, two ships of ghostly white, slowly almost unperceivable, move towards the horizon. Closer to shore the ripples furl into turquoise, white caped, curls, unraveling one at a time toward the the shore.

Two surfers sit out in the calmness, just seemly dreaming of what a wave should look like. The pier, sixteen columns long, stretches out to meet the horizon. A short bulge at the end, still sports the odd fishermen, Even though the tide is on the move.

Now add to this picture yourself as you lounge in my seat of orange and red, feet pointing seaward, your ears getting smoothed by mellow jazz. Glass in front protects you from an autumn nip. The books that drew you to this place lie abandon in lap. How can you concentrate on society's wows, when nature's beauty is wooing, so strong?

Where is this place where you can have a chance to experience such a vista? This is, believe it or not the local library. Some enlightened designer and I admit amongst lots of outcry, created and built a place of reading and relaxation, on the end of the New Brighton Pier Windows and seats, directed to enable full appreciation of the exquisiteness of nature, while filling the mind with the beauty of humans' words.

Have you painted the picture yet? For I really must head back to these books.

Editors Note:

New Brighton is a suburb on the seashore of Christchurch. The pier was built in 1999 and pokes out into the Pegaus bay One of the most unusual features of this area, is that the developers have not got their hands on it, so it is just an average mans suburb, nice and relaxed New Zealand style. In the summer the four surf clubs that run up and down the beach, keep an eye on the youth and us oldies. But by oversea standards the beach is never really that crowded. In the winter the surfers are the only ones to bare the winter chill. While walkers step out on the sand for some winter exercise and fresh air, often with a dog or children in tow.

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