My mother's birthday party, 27 January, at Addiscombe, Blenheim

There must be mountains inside those clouds and the sea still exists where the port once was. A bitter rain attacks the last, Byzantine well-heads, and the custodian eyes you suspiciously as if you might steal that acanthus fragment or postcard of a saint— as if understanding were possession. The

Tony Taylor was a great man of the theatre. A master of his craft, he directed over 80 plays, opera, musicals and a mass in a 50-year career in New Zealand. He loved actors and changed lives. During his sojourn he launched the careers of many of today’s actors.