The CBD right now

When we went into town to watch the implosion I took a few photos of the surrounding area.We were on the edge of the "Red Zone" but had a good view of the south-east side of the CBD.

The High St-ManchesterSt-Lichfield St corner - check out all the cranes!:

The corner of High and Lichfield (looking North) - the big building on the left is the Majestic.

Manchester/Tuam corner:

The facade of the backpackers that was on the High/Manchester corner - the whole building has gone, but the facade is being propped up by containers on the other side, as the owners are hoping to save it.

Looking across High St at the only remaining building from that strip - the National. The cream/yellow building in the background is the Twisted Hop on Poplar Lane.

And a closer look at the Twisted Hop and that dodgy fountain/sculpture out the front:

Seriously?

I glanced at our fruit trees the other day and saw...blossom buds! Seriously? Does that mean that spring is just around the corner?

Now you see it, now you don't.

 We got out of bed at sparrow's fart this morning to go and watch the implosion of a building in town - although there is currently extensive demolition going on, this was the first implosion. We stood on a rooftop and drank champagne beforehand, and felt exhilarated and shaky afterwards.

I don't know why, but we expected a PA system, and a countdown, or something. Instead, as we were watching, a series of incredibly loud booms were heard in quick succession, followed by what felt like a huge pause, before the building gracefully sank into the ground below. Here are my two photos:

..which obviously capture none of that...to get a better sense of the occasion, I recommend this link.

Indulgent

We just returned from a last minute trip out of town for 24 hours. A much-needed and very much appreciate jaunt. Anyone living in Christchurch right now knows how awesome it is to leave for a wee while.

A miscellaneous post...

Things are busy around here right now - I am working a fair bit, which always makes life frantic. And a new semester has just started, so I am studying again... Clinical Pathology and Hematology - very exciting!

We have had a bit of time to stop and smell the roses though - yesterday I made blueberry pancakes for brekky...

 

 And late last week I go this snap of the sunset....check out the layer of smog settled on the city:

 

Slightly to the side you can see our CBD skyline:

...dominated by cranes and darkened buildings. Each building is being painstakingly deconstructed - but in the news today, they have announced the intention to implode a building! We will head down and have a look on Sunday August 5th when it takes place.

Art comes to town...

Christchurch is lucky enough to be hosting Michael Parekowhai's On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer - the work he exhibited at the Venice Bienniale last year.

The work is made up of a series of objects, including two bronze bulls atop two bronze pianos, a scarlet-red carved Steinway piano (which originally belonged to Lili Kraus when she lived in NZ), and at least four bronze olive seedlings. Difficult to visualise, but amazing.

Earthquake update

I keep meaning to post some photos taken around the CBD, as it is pretty crazy right now - we can see about a dozen cranes from our house, and there is a constant rumbling and grinding noise as you get close and can hear the diggers, nibblers and trucks. There is still a large cyclone fence around the central city (the Red Zone), and only authorised people (construction workers, engineers etc) are allowed in. The local newspaper posts updated videos taken from in the Red Zone regularly, and for those who are interested - the latest link is here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/7179100/Fresh-footage-from-inside-the-red-zone

Even people familiar with Christchurch now find it difficult to orientate themselves when watching these videos - it is a totally flat city, and without many of the landmark buildings navigation is almost impossible.  The more astute of you will recognise the Sons & Co site at around the 20 sec mark.