Wednesday, 15 August 2012

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:

Saturday, 11 August 2012

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?

Sunday, 5 August 2012

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.

Saturday, 4 August 2012

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.