You learn to love the hood

One of the reasons I love getting around Nelson on foot and by bike is that you notice things that you'd never see from a car.

Take Vanguard St, for example. Many people think the street named after Admiral Nelson's flagship at the Battle of the Nile is a dump but then many people only see it at 50 kilometres an hour. Walk or pedal down it and you spot things that tell you something of the character of the people who live and work there.

For instance, there is a large cross with lights on it on the roof of a house on the hill above the street. It looks like it's been there for ages and, maybe this is the recovering Catholic in me talking, but it has a certain nostalgic appeal. I bet whoever put it up there was pretty excited when they turned it on for the first time.

A little further down the road you'll find my favourite no-parking sign. It's written in yellow letters on a red corrugated iron wall on the side of Ian McCully Builders and says: NP By order of Derek.

A short distance from Derek's decree, a bunch of knitted toys look out through the window of a sunny, well-kept house. The colourful characters include a bumble bee and a golliwog with a worried look on his face. There is a "for sale" sign next to them and potential buyers are encouraged to drop in. It's hard to imagine people stopping, thinking, "I simply must have that adorable golliwog" and knocking on the door with cash at the ready, but I hope they do.

Nearby, a magnolia tree is in flower in front of a house that appears to be home to a refugee family. Apart from grass and a succulent in a pot, it's the only thing on the property resembling a plant and it's beautiful.

In Vanguard St you can buy handmade furniture, paint, cars, stereos, lawnmowers, antiques, photocopiers, fireplaces, fridges, motorcycles and more. And if you're peckish you can check out the street's latest edition, Maurie's Magic Tucker Box.

Don't get me wrong. I know Vanguard St isn't the Champs-Elysees and a couple of years ago I wouldn't have had many kind words for it but, now that I know it, I like it.

Closer to home I spotted something last week that almost made me fall off my bike. In an act of outrageous optimism someone had set up an honesty box selling free-range eggs in Emano St. It was the first time I had ever seen an honesty box on our side of town.

There was no way I was going to let such a positive gesture go unrewarded. There were three dozen for sale for $5 each and a tin for the money. I only had a $10 note and there was no change in the tin so I bought two cartons and gave one of them to our neighbours Matt, Pip and Poppy.

Matt and Poppy turned up on our doorstep the next day with some still-warm lemon curd Matt had made with some of the eggs. How cool is that? By setting up an honesty box, a complete stranger set off a chain of events that has led to our kids having homemade lemon curd on toast.

Speaking of neighbours, I heard a classic story from Trevor from across the road the other day. With a big smile he told me he had just returned from an awesome weekend up north.

He explained that one of his mates was recently caught speeding and paid the fine with his Mastercard. The credit card company was running a promotion at the time and, as a result of that very transaction, Trevor's mate won an all-expenses-paid five-star weekend in Auckland for two. Being a good friend he invited Trevor to join him and, man, does it sound like they had a good time.

Paying a speeding ticket with your credit card? Convenient. Winning a luxury weekend in the process? Priceless.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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