An afternoon in Christchurch
We’ve just returned from a trip south, spending a night in Christchurch on the way home. The city was so different from my last visit, a couple of weeks before the February earthquake. We left the car close to the apartment we lived in, in Park Terrace. That building seem to have survived quite well and was inhabited.
Latest news: my friend Terry has just sent me a link to a video taken along the route of the bus tours, with a very good commentary by Warwick Isaacs, Demolition MAnager for CERA (Chch Earthquake Recovery Authority). Long, but well worth watching.
Christchurch Arts Centre
The massive earthquake of last weekend in Christchurch is still very much in our minds right now. Here are some images from the area still cordoned off, taken at a happier time. The Christchurch Arts Centre in fact used to be the home of Canterbury University. When my wife and I attended that university the campus was split over the two sites. She had most of her lectures in these buildings, while I had Chemistry II lectures here and the rest out at Ilam (its present location). The “town site” is a lovely spot:
More outdoor art
While on the subject of outdoor art, here’s a few objects from installations in Christchurch’s Hagley Park last year. As a keen sailor, I was very impressed with this steel dinghy dumped upside down on the grass:
Sand Artist
Peter Donnelly is an artist in Christchurch producing ephemeral works using rather basic equipment: stick, rake and broom. His canvas is the sand by the pier at New Brighton, Christchurch.
I think this image captures the exuberance and energy he puts into his work:
Grandma the Clown
Last week I called in on the World Buskers Festival in Christchurch. Here’s one of the acts that impressed me: very simple physical comedy, performed extremely well, with great timing. Barry Lubin is the creator of this character.
World Buskers Festival, Christchurch, January 2010
This popular festival is coming up this date next month, a photographer’s delight and a good reason to visit Christchurch. It’s not just the performers,
The best camera store in New Zealand
I miss my local camera store!
For most of the time we spent in Christchurch, from late 2005 through to a year ago, we lived in a suburb called Merivale, only 400 metres or so from New Zealand’s best camera store.