Midlife crisis brings out the boy in me

If you had to rate the reasons you live in Nelson, what would you put at the top of your list?

A lot of people will tell you it's the scenery, the sunshine and the pace of life. But I reckon if most of us really thought about it, there is a good chance that the people who live here would be at, or near, the top of our lists.

Think about it – no matter how nice the weather is or how pretty the views, if Nelson were populated only by the people who write angry letters to the editor quoting the Bible, boy racers and the sad-sacks who complained about paying 5 cents a bag at New World, it would be a terrible place to live.

One of the first things that struck me about Nelson when I arrived here late last century is that not only are people pulled back to this region, but it constantly attracts new and interesting people from other places as well.

Someone who ticks both those boxes is former London advertising industry star Paul Hargreaves. England-born but largely Nelson-raised, Paul went to Nelson Intermediate and Nayland College before studying advertising at Wellington Polytechnic.

After 30 years in the industry that saw him become an award-winning creative director at top agency Ogilvy, in London, Paul and wife Janice decided for their kids' sake it was time to head back to Aotearoa.

Now, upon landing back here, a lot of people in his shoes would try to replicate, on a Nelson level, what they had left behind. To his credit, Paul hasn't done this. Instead, he has followed his heart and ticked off one of the big things on his wish list by opening a toy museum with the genius name of Toy Toy on Waimea Rd.

It's on Snows Hill, where Eclectic used to be, and has an all-white interior that looks like something you'd find on TV's Buck Rogers.

There is a staggering range of toys in there, from Ultraman figures to The Man From UNCLE toys. There are even dolls of rock band Kiss and Fonzie from Happy Days. Talking to Paul on Fresh FM this week, I asked him if any of his former London colleagues think he is having a midlife crisis.

"I am having a midlife crisis," he laughed. "I think probably anyone my age is. Yes, they do, definitely, but I think a lot of them are actually quite envious that I'm down here by the sea doing something I've always wanted to do."

I seriously recommend you visit Toy Toy and pay the $2 for adults and $1 for kids entry fee. Not only will you be impressed and amused, you may also find yourself unexpectedly reconnecting with your past – a past you may have forgotten you even had.

That's what happened to me when I came face-to-face with an original Hammerhead Star Wars action figure still in its packaging.

I used to have heaps of those toys and even though he was in the film for only five seconds, that critter was my favourite. Gazing at Hammerhead with my mouth slightly open, I travelled to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Well, Wellington in 1977, to be precise.

I was eight years old, wearing pyjamas and, along with my sister and the kids from across the road, re-enacting the entire Star Wars film with the help of our action figures and the double LP soundtrack.

In fact, running into Hammerhead took me back to what were really the last days of innocence for blokes of my generation. I say this because the next movie phenomenon to sweep the world was Grease, featuring Olivia Newton John in shiny, skin-tight black pants and some kind of boob tube, seductively dragging on a cigarette and saying: "Tell me about it, stud." Life would never be the same again.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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