Mask

I had to come up to Nelson for a 3.30 appointment today. Half way to town I got a message to say it was cancelled. Probably just as well as I was late leaving work, held up by an important phone call, and I'd have been very late for the meeting anyway. It meant I had an hour to spare before my 5.00 appointment (if you're coming to town always fit in as many appointments as you can). So I went and watched the hundreds of people getting prepared for the annual Nelson Masked Parade that's starts off the Arts Festival.

At the time I had a coffee in one hand and in the other I was juggling a bag of books I'd just bought (the latest Geraldine Brooks and the new Brandon Sanderson) and my camera. So the shots I took were crap.

By the time I was leaving my appointment the parade was over and the CBD was thick with people trailing masks. I took a few photos of them but then spotted this kids homemade robot mask., broken and abandoned in a rubbish bin. Earlier I'd seen a whole school class in their various versions of this and they looked really cool. I guess this one just couldn't stand up to the rigours of the parade.

It was really great to see that more than 90% of the masks in the parade were homemade. Well done Nelsonians!