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JUST SAY "CHRISTCHURCH"
I was invited to speak at the Regional Conference in Christchurch at the weekend. Some of you attended the Waikato Conference a couple of weeks ago. It was a pleasure to be the guest of the Rangiora Bridge Club and to meet bridge players from a different region and hear how their clubs are faring. And so that was how I got to meet "Curly Shirley" of NZ Bridge Magazine fame and she was kind enough to billet me and take me on a tiki tour of Christchurch CBD. I had not been there since the earthquakes. Here are some pictures of the things I saw:
Cranes, building sites but also empty spaces everywhere. No shortage of parking anymore - just pull into an area cleared of a building that used to be standing there.
An entrance way to the cathedral has a floral display.
This makeshift cathedral was light and airy.
Apparently the place to be in an earthquake ... perhaps the earth was already moving for those inside! No windows for privacy and not damaged as a consequence.
I remember visiting here as a tourist when I first came to NZ, having breakfast in one of the cafes and going to a little cinema within the centre and shopping in the market. They are rebuilding it.
Plenty of this everywhere
The site where the CTV building used to stand.
Opposite a piece of modern art. 185 empty chairs for each person who died in the Christchurch earthquake.
Very moving.
Modern art popping up everywhere.
Walk tall campaign
Keep your head held high.
Amazingly New Regent St untouched - they held each other together.
So it was an interesting trip. I have been moaning too much about Cambridge turning into cone city. As they put SH1 through with their by-pass I have done nothing but whinge about the road closures and the sight of endless cones. I am never complaining about cones again. As soon as I start ... please ... just say, "Christchurch".