Signposts - a blog about Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

It took me ages to come up with the theme of this quiz, but the other night I watched a story on Target that said New Zealand should have legislation to prevent the tattooing of 5 year olds. There was no tattooed 5 year old … and I thought to myself ‘Just what we need – more legislation!’

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Baby shoes

Sandwich board, Salzburg

Seddon?

Globe theatre memorial

Anchor billboard

Tangaroa Sailing

Speights sign

I’ve just gotten back from my first trip to Europe, and being a resources researcher, I found it a bit hard to turn off my camera. Three thousand digital photos later, I’ve trawled through them all in order to show you some of the Kiwi connections we encountered while we were away. I wasn’t away for very long, but it was fun to spot places and things that reminded me of home.

Most of my Kiwi encounters were in the UK, but strangely it was Salzburg where I stumbled upon two quite different New Zealand connections. The first was this display of Bobux shoes in a children’s shop near my hotel. These soft babies and infants shoes are exported all over the world - including to Austria.

This Inligua sandwich board was found in the maze-like streets of the Salzburg Old Town. My rusty German translates the sign as ‘Some things you’ll just never understand/With language you’ll have it much easier’.

Once I got to London, I was spoilt for choice New Zealand associations. At the end of the Mall, just outside of Buckingham Palace, stands the Victoria Memorial, which was completed in 1911. Next to Victory are two figures donated by the ‘people of New Zealand’. Two figures, a man and a woman, represent New Zealand’s role in the Empire. I think that the chap in the photo looks suspiciously like Premier Richard Seddon. But maybe it’s just the beard?

Next, when wandering around Globe, I came across a stone donated by New Plymouth Boys’ High School. It sat alongside those paid for by Sir Patrick Stewart and other theatrical luminaries. This New Zealand connection didn’t surprise me - after all a group of New Zealand embroiderers created the fantastic New Zealand hangings inside the Globe. Sir Raymond Boyce’s cartoons or preliminary drawings for the hangings now reside in Te Papa.

Anchor billboards like this one appeared all over East London. Apparently New Zealand cows are very clever, with skills including tractor driving and cheese-making. Of course, Anchor has been a household name in New Zealand since 1886.

My dad comes from Bristol, and while the family were showing me around the rejuvenated Bristol dock area I found this sign for Tangaroa charters. The ship wasn’t in dock, so I didn’t get to see the beautiful oak ketch which was made in Denmark. I still have no idea why a ship in the Bristol floating harbour is called the Tangaroa, but it seemed appropriate.

This Southerner Speights pub was closed the Sunday afternoon I wandered around Fleet Street and Brideswell. A closer inspection of the menu didn’t find any New Zealand-themed food - but according to their website they do sell Speights and Steinlager.

Pub quizzes seem like a perfect way to spend a winter’s evening. My Southern Cross quiz team hasn’t ‘competed’ for a while, and I miss those nights; they are always fun and we have a knack of winning spot prizes … we may have even won a round once.

So, inspired by them, I have written for you a quiz that would seem at home as a section in any pub quiz. I’m only sorry there are no chicken wings and hot sauce to accompany your quiz on famous Johns.

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Search Te Ara and you will discover each of the seven deadly sins. I encourage you to search again when the entire Social Connections theme is completed if you’re interested in the subject, as that is where I expect to find the most sinning.

This month’s quiz covers each of the seven deadly sins, plus a few more for good measure. I hope you enjoy it, but not too much…

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When I think back to my childhood, I see myself as a kid who believed in fairness. At no time was this truer than when chocolate was involved. Chocolate bars in our house were cut into three – one piece each. A box of chocolates was a treat that involved a ritual of identifying a desired flavour from the box lid, picking the corresponding chocolate and handing the box to the next person. The ritual was repeated until the layer, and ultimately the box, was finished. It felt fair, it felt like equality.

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