One Hour in Cuba

The SNZ offices are at the top of Cuba Street in Wellington. When I first moved here I had an apartment at the bottom of Cuba so I had to walk the length of it twice each day, to and from work. It’s one of the most amazing streets in the world. The sights are mind-boggling; not the architecture but the people. As the Daily Express in Britain says on its banner, ‘All human life is there.’ Well, it’s definitely on Cuba Street although some of it is questionable in its humanity. I’ve long had an idea of sitting there for a day just taking photos of all the interesting people wandering around. I did it yesterday. Not for a day but for an hour. It’s enough; at one point I wanted to change lenses but was scared I’d miss a freak.

Here's a small selection. I have about 200 in total but I need to return as two 'regulars' didn't show; Raymond the Blanket Man and the Military Lady. Raymond is a Rasta-Maori guy who wears only a blanket year-round and lives on the street. Sometimes when he's sitting on the sidewalk the blanket slips off but his nakedness doesn't phase him. I may have mentioned him before; he was arrested for marihuana possession and sentenced to about 30 days detention. Being a quick-witted soul he asked for home detention :)

The Military Lady is about 60 (old!), quite short and very stocky. She always wears full battle dress, camouflage, field-helmet, combat boots, cross-chest webbing, field-radio in a backpack, the full deal. Its always very neat and clean and she marches down Cuba on a regular basis. Not to be seen during my hour though.

I have a vision of Wellington Council sponsoring a book with these photos and, I did once see a 6'6" tranvestite fairy complete with wings and magic wand.