Dry goods delivery

This week is my 20th in my new job and I'm now attuned to delivery days and what to do. Every now and then there's a glitch; like today when ferry sailings were cancelled and our fresh bread and milk delivery didn't take place. Locals take it in their stride but some visitors are surprised when the milk cabinet is empty or the egg shelf is bare.

Wednesday is dry goods delivery day along with bread and milk. The forklift first delivers ferry bins of crated bread and milk, then brings pallets stacked high with boxes with plastic wrapping to keep it all intact. Add a few pallets of beer, wine, coal and potting mix and soon we have a garage full of stock and spend the rest of the day restocking the shelves.

When the first ferry bin arrives (about 10.45am) most of the staff head out to the garage to help. The bread generally comes first, followed by the milk and these are unloaded and put out in the shop before the main pallets arrive.

Ferry bin with empty bread racks. The Tip-Top bag is how we get our
ice-cream from the refrigerated trucks at Bluff to the Ship to Shore
4 Square on Stewart Island

Milk crates in the right hand bin; the bins will be picked up by the forklift
when they are full

The boxes on the pallet are lifted off and stacked in the garage; generally we can offload a pallet before the forklift returns with the next. If we get behind then we have further to carry the boxes and, if it's raining, the stock also gets wetter. Although the pallets are wrapped in plastic, they can get wet in rough seas or when it's raining; not quite so easy lifting soggy cardboard boxes - especially ones with glass bottles in!

The 'box wall' after Wednesday's dry goods delivery

Another view of the 'wall' - all the boxes will be unpacked by day's end

Phase 2 starts when the forklift has delivered its last load: one by one the boxes will be opened, carried to the appropriate shelf in the shop and unpacked. Not quite so easy when the shop is full of customers and the narrow aisles cluttered with staff, boxes and stepladders to reach the high shelves. No night fill here and I reckon we should sell tickets as it's quite fascinating to watch the shelves being filled. This is where we check the dates of all stock and reorganise shelves and price labels to make the new stock fit in. Any surplus is put in the storeroom until there's space on the shelf.

Pallets of beer waiting to be put away

Some boxes have yellow labels; these are 'repacks' which contain a mixture of goods - it's a bit like opening Christmas presents as you don't know what's inside. It's a good workout and combined with great teamwork it's an enjoyable time in my working week.

Taking stock

I had a new experience just over a week ago when Ship to Shore 4 Square carried out its annual stocktake. Inside the store it looked just like any other day but behind the scenes it was more like a military operation as a slick team scurried about counting stock in the chillers, freezers and storage areas. The shop closed its doors early at 3.30pm and then an army of us swarmed down the aisles counting every item in the shop.

The sign had been up for a number of days but several people still tried to
get in after we closed

Stock in the storeroom was counted early before the shop shut

I was a 'counter' and first counted the stock behind the tills before helping Jules and Matt on aisle 2 (including herbs, baking items, plastic wrap and cat food). We grabbed a handful of paper strips, counted the stock, wrote the number on the strip and popped it under the item we were counting. Jules then came along with her electronic recorder, scanned the item and entered in the number we had written on the strip. Easy peasy! When the 'recorders' had finished an aisle, they coloured it in on the master map and then started on the next section.

The 'end' display has been 'counted' with numbers written on the paper
strips - it's now waiting to be 'recorded' by Jules

The aisle 3 team

Sam and Charlotte recording the stock behind the tills; Jules
'recording' the scene with her camera

Fern recording numbers on aisle 1 - paper strips galore

Karen and Richard working hard in aisle 4

Teamwork won the day and I was very impressed with the planning and execution of a difficult job; consistent methods and, with experienced people on hand to guide the newbies, the whole operation was completed by 8pm - it would have been earlier but Carol had made us a fab roast turkey dinner with roast veges, followed by an ice-cream or drink. Such a buzz to work with dedicated and hard-working people that work toward a common goal.

Dry goods delivery day

Another lovely day on my island paradise; it's been a mixed bag of weather lately with showers, cloud and sunshine but today was all blue skies and hot temperatures. Great for the tourists and trampers. I got caught out on Monday when clear skies in the morning turned to persistent drizzle and at lunchtime I realised that I had left my raincoat and leggings at home - just as well Ship to Shore sells plastic ponchos for $4!

It's been a bit quieter in the shop this week but we're still having a lot of goods delivered. Today was dry goods day and I think I counted 11 pallets-worth of stock, along with a couple of ferry bins of bread and one of milk. It's all hands to the deck to unload the pallet before the forklift brings the next one from the ferry terminal; when everything's been unloaded we open up the boxes and re-stock the shelves and put any excess in the storeroom. Some boxes have yellow stickers on and these are a mixed lot of goods so it's a bit like opening a Christmas present to see what's inside - a few boxes of herbs and spices, two garlic crushers, some tins of tuna and some maple syrup! The mountain of toilet paper/paper towels by the freezer needs to be stacked up high so need to grab the ladder and hoist them up out of the way. Eventually everything is neat and orderly and the shelves are well-stocked for a wee while!

The ferry terminal - some ferry bins are over by the building

Looking back toward the village from the wharf - Ship to Shore is
out of the picture to the right

Autumn is fungi time and I saw a couple as I checked my rat traps at the weekend...

It will also be blackberry time though not for a few weeks by the look of these fruit...

My intention to cut out all the weeds as they flower has not eventuated and even the gorse and broom are getting away on me. I've stacked some of the wood in the woodshed but there's plenty more to go and now the grass needs cutting again - I've put in a request for a fine weekend so fingers crossed!

Farewell to 2014

The last day of the year dawned with an extra-special treat of beautiful clouds which I think were mammatus. I grabbed the camera and spent the next few minutes snapping pics but it's hard to capture the soft apricot light, the 360° vista and I was a few minutes too late to catch the mammatus cloud before it started 'falling' - some of the pics on the Cloud Appreciation Society website are more stunning! 



Eastern sky 5.54am



Western sky - mammatus cloud 5.55am

Zoom on above pic - mammatus cloud 'dropping' through the atmosphere

If you have an interest in clouds then consider joining the Cloud Appreciation Society or 'follow' them on facebook and 'live life with your head in the clouds'.

It's been a particularly busy week in the shop with cruise ships visits on Monday (sunny and very hot), Tuesday (foggy start then cloudy and humid with a few light showers) and today (cloudy and humid with some rain). We've done a roaring trade in insect repellent, drinks, ice-creams and (surprisingly) hot pies; great to meet people from all over the world and to wish them a Happy New Year.

Monday 29 December - on my lunch break

Oban waterfront - shining like a jewel in the sun

View from where I work - Presbyterian Church to the left

The Oban Visitor Centre (or Red Shed) - hire cars, pushbikes, scooters,
guided tours and information centre

Not quite so sunny for our Tuesday cruise ship visitors but still warm

Cruise ships look quite strange anchored out in the Bay

Long queues for the checkout today 

There's less than 3 weeks until my 4th anniversary of moving down here; it's been an amazing experience and there's been a lot of 'firsts' in that time: using a chainsaw and scrub-bar, learning about the ngahere (native bush) and its inhabitants and becoming a blogger. It's a privilege to write about this special island and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you in 2015.

Best wishes to you all for a happy, healthy, peaceful and sustainable New Year.

Ship to Shore Four Square

It's been raining steadily for 18 hours which is great for the rainforest and my vege garden. Yesterday, the mud puddles on the drive had dried up and I could walk my boundary without sinking into mud; today I almost have to swim round! I've been taking advantage of the dry weather to get the grass cut so with that done, I can now blog about my new job.

Stewart Island's only general store/supermarket is the Ship to Shore Four Square on Halfmoon Bay, Oban, and Sam recently became its owner-operator. I'm the newest staff member with three weeks service under my belt and I'm enjoying the challenge of working in this busy and fun environment.

Ship to Shore Four Square, Oban, Stewart Island

View of the Four Square (right) and Glowing Sky (left)

The nationwide Four Square family with over 280 stores celebrated its 90th birthday this year. Its founder, Mr J. Heaton Barker called a meeting in 1922 to discuss the formation of a co-operative group of independent grocers. Whilst talking to one of the members on the phone, Mr Barker drew a square around 4 July 1924 and realised he had the perfect name for the group - a store that would stand 'four square to all the winds that blew'. The Four Square stores have stood the test of time by living up to their catchphrases of 'Where all Kiwis love to shop', 'Always welcome. Always local. Always Four Squre', 'Providers of Kiwi essentials since 1924'.

The Four Square stores are locally owned and operated with a commitment to grocery tradition, personal customer service and supporting the local community. Nationally, Four Square support CanTeen, Crimestoppers, St John and VSA; locally, our store gives back to the community in numerous ways including funding traps, holding raffles, watching over the locals, especially our elders of excellence, and going out of their way to accommodate the needs of locals and visitors alike. For over 60 years, Four Square have welcomed babies born on 4 July with gifts; in 1961 it was a bear for every baby and the parents of triplets received a new car. The Four Square website has plenty of news, recipes and competitions - check it out!

Smiling Sam - owner-operator of Ship to Shore

New Zealand's first self-service grocery store was opened in Onehunga in February 1948 by Phil Barker (the Four Square founder's son) and Ray McGregor. Over the years these local stores have had to compete with the mega supermarkets but cheaper pricing often comes at the expense of personal service and community values. I'm proud to be part of a hard-working and supportive team that look after the Stewart Island community.

View of Halfmoon Bay from the shop door

Summer opening hours are 7.30am to 7pm and every day I've worked has been different in some way. Tuesday and Wednesday are main delivery days; pallets and ferry bins get delivered by forklift, manually unloaded and then it's a rush to get the shelves restocked and chilled/frozen goods put in the freezers or cool store. Magazine orders need to be processed, produce checked over and orders packed and delivered. The kitchen makes a selection of sandwiches, savouries and slices, along with a batch of freshly-cooked bread loaves each morning.

Our busy store is jam-packed with stock and even after 4 years of looking, I'm still discovering new items!

Entrance to store at right - there are four aisles plus the produce area

Shelves stocked with a wide variety of goods

Chillers and drinks cabinet line the back wall

Amelie putting up Christmas decorations on one of the produce cabinets

Jules decorating the aisle sign - photo taken from between the two checkouts

Charlie Four Square, or Cheeky Charlie, is a Kiwiana icon along with buzzy bees and jandals. He was developed by the Foodstuffs advertising department in the 1950s and has gone through several makeovers (his hair isn't parted now and the pencil behind his ear has disappeared). A number of artists, including Dick Frizzell, have used Mr Four Square in their artwork - check out this website (opens in new window).

Summer surfing with Charlie Four Square

There is also a Mr Four Square Car (link opens in a new window); a Model T Ford with a 20hp engine that was built in Canada in 1924, the same year that Four Square started. It has been rebuilt and restored by Bob Herron of Mosgiel - wouldn't it be neat to have on the island! Another eye-catching car was captured in a photo which became a popular artwork and makes me think of my friend up north that has it hanging on her wall.

Canvas print of Ship to Shore

The same view in December 2014 - but with no car!

With Christmas just 5 sleeps away, it's going to be a busy but exciting week with the opportunity to spread Christmas cheer and goodwill to locals and visitors. Merry Christmas everyone!