Long time, no see - an update
where I've been painting, talking on the radio, and making stuff.
Each time I start a new post, I apologise for the time between posts. This is no exception. Sorry.
I have a lot of news since we returned from our Camino adventure, which I still need to write about.
When we returned from Spain, I realised that I needed to earn some money. Bus driving had, sadly, ended for me. I knew I wouldn’t return—the pay, the long 12-hour days (split shifts), and the weekend work didn’t sit well with me. Kinetic, my previous employer, doesn’t allow part-time workers, so even if I wanted to keep driving on a reduced service, that wasn’t an option.
I’d always dabbled in art. I’d been exposed to a lot of illustrators on Instagram, and it looked like a lot of fun. How did they know I’d be interested in giving this a crack? Anyway, I was inspired and thought, “I can do that!”
I started doing a few illustrations for myself to see if the “I can do that!” was actually true, and it seemed to stack up. So, I posted on the I Love Karori! Facebook page asking if anyone would like a portrait of their house for a Christmas gift.
Inundation.
That’d be the word I’d use to describe the response I received. Thirteen commissions off the bat! Somehow, my art seemed to resonate with my local audience. The joy I have felt in giving these paintings, and the emotional response I received in return for the work I did for them was truly wonderful. Here’s my latest house portrait.
You can find other work on my website www.alandoak.com. If you’d like an illustration of your house, please contact me directly for pricing.
What else?
Since I gave up driving the bus, having a Substack called Thanks, Driver! seemed redundant.
Well, it’s redundant no longer! I’m pleased to tell you that I am a newly minted volunteer driver for the Karori Community Bus. Before you get too excited, it’s a minivan, not a bus.
Every few weeks, on a Monday, I collect elderly folk and take them shopping. I’ve only done it twice—the first time we went on a jaunt to Porirua, and the second time we went to Kilbirnie and Miramar.
It’s a wonderful thing to do. So far, my passengers have all been elderly women who use the service to go shopping, but also to connect with others in their neighbourhood—they all seem to know each other.
We end each session with lunch (I’m always invited) and then return to Karori around 1:30 p.m. I can’t write much about this because it’d probably be a breach of privacy—there are often only four or five people on the bus—but I’m enjoying the experience. When I was a bus driver, my favourite passengers were generally the older ones, so this is the perfect situation—a concentration of elderly passengers in a small van.
What else?
I’ve started doing podcast reviews on Jesse Mulligan’s Afternoons show on RNZ. These come around every seven weeks or so. I've done two sessions so far—the first was a pre-record (they needed to find out if I knew what I was doing), and the second was live.
It’s fun! Despite my absolute love for a true crime podcast, I intend to only review uplifting podcasts—there’s too much misery and pain in the world right now, and I’m keen to connect listeners with podcasts that might lift their spirits.
My first session involved reviewing Strangers on a Bench, where the host, Tom Rosenthal, speaks to strangers he finds, unsurprisingly, on a park bench. The second podcast is The Adam Buxton Podcast. Adam interviews various well-known folk in an often humourous and irreverent manner. The interesting comparison between these two podcasts is that the complete unknowns on Strangers on a Bench are often as interesting, or sometimes more interesting, than the well-known folk interviewed on The Adam Buxton Podcast. Never underestimate how interesting you are! Don’t take my word for it. Have a listen for yourself.
In the second session, I reviewed a podcast called The Telepathy Tapes. This series investigates the apparent ability of some nonverbal autistic people to communicate telepathically. It’s almost unbelievable and has sparked some controversy. Listen and make up your own mind.
The second podcast in this session was Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud. As I say on the wireless, I’m the last person to talk knowledgeably about fashion, but this is an interesting podcast. Bella looks at how our identity shapes our fashion, and vice versa. I have a few theories on why I dress like I do, but that’s for another time.
If you have some good uplifting podcasts you think I might enjoy, please make some suggestions in the comments. I’d love to hear them.
Lastly, this may or may not surprise you, but I love knitting. My mum taught me to knit when I was around 10 years old. I have a very basic style, where I have to throw my hand over the needle each time I make a stitch, so my knitting is slow, but I’m told I have even tension, which in the world of knitting is real top-shelf behaviour.
Last year, I broke out and did some crocheting. Honestly, is there nothing you can’t learn from YouTube? I wanted to make a temperature blanket. These (I think) became popular a couple of years ago. Each row of the blanket represents the temperature of the day for wherever you live. So, there are 365 rows to the blanket, and at the end, you get this wonderful illustration of how the weather played out for that year—in my case, 2024.
I started my blanket in March last year, and with the benefits of a website that registered the average temperature for Wellington, I began. It’s not for the faint-hearted. Each row took me around 30 minutes to complete, but by around the 300th row, I swear I was getting faster.
There’s a bit of planning required. Firstly, you need to decide what colours represent what temperatures. It’s best (apparently) to have no more than 12 colours. I had a spreadsheet to record temperatures and their corresponding colours—especially important when you get behind.
The blanket was finished sometime in early January this year, and boy, is it a beauty.
Then, this year, I started knitting an Icelandic jersey. I found a pattern from a person I follow on Instagram, Villahullu. She recommended an authentic Icelandic wool. When I searched for the wool, I found a company in Greytown called Good Wool Hunting that stocked it. So close to home. Happy days.
As I knitted, I sought help from the NZ and OZ ❤️ Knitting Group on Facebook. The people (predominantly women) were super supportive and helpful. When I finished the jersey, I posted an image of me modelling my creation. I had so many comments and congratulations.
A week later, I became the poster boy for the group. I’ve never been a poster boy for anything, let alone a knitting group!
And here’s the Instagram reel I posted when I had finished my creation.
But wait, there’s more. I’m nearly finished.
I want to give a shout-out to Jesse Sherlock, another Wellington-based Substacker. I bumped into Jesse in a cafe this week. We’d never met each other, but recognised each other immediately and had a bit of a chat over a coffee. Jesse is a young man (less than a third of my age) who has a great love for Wellington city. He writes very positively about his experiences here. I’m sure you’ll find his observations and reflections a real tonic.
And, please sign up for Leah McFall’s Substack, Domestic Detail. This is wonderful, laugh-out-loud writing, again Wellington-centric but relevant to anywhere in NZ. She is a real talent. I’m not sure I’m her target market, but I find her observations spot-on.
You’ll be relieved to know, I think that’s all. A pretty exhaustive update, and I hope you find something in here to whet your whistle.
I owe you posts about the Camino, and I was recently notified of the pay increases that have been settled for Kinetic bus drivers in Wellington. Those increases are a disgrace, and in my opinion, so many players here have allowed this to happen. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, in the absence of my Camino posts, I can recommend this book by Jennifer Andrewes: A Will and A Way. Jane is a Wellingtonian and received an early diagnosis of Parkinson’s. One of the activities that can keep Parkinson’s at bay is walking, so Jane sets out to walk across France, twice! This might be a good place to start for any of you keen on doing one (or more) of the many Caminos in Europe.
Until next time. Ka kite anō.
Alan, this is the COSIEST post I've ever read on Substack. I'm going to click every link. You're a very generous bloke, thank you. Also, Good Wool Hunting is genius!
Very selfishly I'm thrilled you're back on here. Missed your goodwill enormously.
So good to hear you have found some wonderful new paths since returning from the Carmino and giving up bus driving. Keep those posts coming - they're great reading.