I went to Auckland

First stop, Mangere and a community garden peopled by African, Asian and Indian gardeners in a style that's very different to mine although the overall effect was somewhat rambunctious. There were vines I didn't recognise at all, melons of extraordinary size and weight, snake beans, huge yams and citrus I'd love to grow down here, but alas, we are too cold for these beauties (pictured). I thoroughly enjoyed the Tree Crops conference and had a lot of fun with my presentation. There were several magnificent beards amongst the audience, so I was able to make hay from them, so to speak. My flights home were pleasant and I saw a wonderous phenomenon as we were flying above the clouds; a double ring of rainbow, projected onto the clouds, keeping pace with us as we flew, and in its centre, the clear shadow of our plane. Once we landed I asked the hostess if such sights were common and she said she'd never seen such a thing. I felt guilty at not alerting her to the sight at the time. I don't have that photo :-)