A day at the fair

Our extended family is growing and now there are more birthdays and occasions that require gifts than ever before. We have a shelf at the top of the wardrobe where we stock up on gifts during the year (online shopping is great!), but this week's birthday has cleared out the present cupboard. Time to go shopping!

It is a beautiful summer's day, which is perfect for the annual Petone Rotary Fair. Living a stone's throw away from Jackson Street means we don't have to tussle for parking in and out of the side streets and can be in among the action within minutes. It is tempting to pimp out our driveway for profit on days like these ... today, it was occupied by a friend who was thankful she could bypass all the commotion and drive straight into a guaranteed car park.

The fair featured the usual assortment of stalls and entertainment as well as all the Jackson Street shops open for business. There were possibly fewer this year as the street seemed less crowded and more pleasant to wander through. We went in search of the usual fair grub (coffee, fair fudge - sadly, chop suey was nowhere to be seen this time) and enjoyed fresh spring rolls, dim sum and roti with peanut sauce from various street vendors. I picked up a few gifts for family members (I'm great at shopping for others), including some gorgeous wooden toys and this adorable set of book ends for the newest reader in our family.

How could any new reader resist these book ends?

Further up the street, there was a stall I'd never seen before. I don't recall the name of the company, but couldn't miss the product they were selling: coffins. Now, I know there's no reason why we shouldn't demystify death and it's probably very practical to think of these things in advance. I just didn't expect to see coffin samples nestled in among baby clothing and colourful children's toys at an event like this. We didn't linger.

A day at the fair is a great way to celebrate and support local businesses and crafty people from all around the region. I was thrilled to start restocking our present cupboard again but will say no to a buying a coffin for now.