I am not keen on the commercialisation of Christmas, and every year complain indignantly “but it’s not even December yet!” when the decorations go up in the streets and the shops, and the Christmas music is playing in the malls…in November! So on principal I have not posted any Christmas themed photos until today, the first day of December. This shot was taken on Colombo Street in the city.
Lost cat flier seen around the city.
(click on image to look more closely)
Suit sale at Working Style, 668A Colombo Street – where only the smoothest and coolest Bond-types get suited up.
Three members of The Unfaithful Ways – a local band who play alt-country-meets-old-timey-pop tunes. They drew an appreciative audience of all ages in Cathedral Square today. They have an EP out called “First Four Songs” available for download from here, or from Real Groovy. You can also listen to some of their songs on their MySpace site. Even though I don’t consider myself a country kinda person, I could have listened to them for hours! I look forward to the release of their first album.
“Music For Lunch” is a series of free lunch time concerts held in Cathedral Square on Friday’s (weather permitting).
Yesterday I walked the “The Bridle Path” and this is the view from the top. Below is the Heathcote Valley, with the estuary and Christchurch city beyond. The Bridle Path is the route taken by European settlers from Lyttleton (on the other side of the Port Hills) to the plains of Christchurch. From 1850 to 1867 (when the rail tunnel opened) immigrants carried their essential household items over on this track. Yesterday was a hot day, the path was steep, and I was grateful to be carrying nothing but my camera and a water bottle.
Below is also the view from top of the Bridle Path – the other side – looking down into Banks Peninsula. The port town of Lyttelton is closest, with the Diamond Harbour settlement across the water. In the foreground are the spear-like seed heads of flax plants (Phormium tenax, different from the “flax” plants of the Northern Hemisphere, and distinct to New Zealand), and the yellow flowered gorse bush (Ulex europaeus), brought to New Zealand by Europeans as a garden shrub. The conditions for the gorse bush proved to be more than ideal and the plant proliferated way beyond expectation. It is now a major invasive plant species in New Zealand with millions of dollars spent every year on its “control”.
I took the remainder of The Bridle Path down into the Lyttelton township, had a delicious lunch at Lyttleton Coffee Company, and caught a bus through the tunnel back to my car in Heathcote Valley – relishing the comfort and convenience of modern transportation all the way!
Yesterday I introduced Canterbury Museum’s replica of the famous Paua Shell House of the small South Island town of Bluff. (Check out the post below). Today, you get to see Fred and Myrtle Flutey’s house from the inside! The interior was painstakingly reproduced as closely as possible to the original – constructed to scale, with as many items from the original Buff house as possible installed – including the carpet. The paua shells themselves are on loan to the museum for a period of 10 years. I was touched by the numerous awards on the walls, mantle and furniture commending Fred and Myrtle for their hospitality and their contribution to tourism. You surely would have to be a real “people person” to open your home to strangers seven days a week! I highly recommend clicking on the image in order to see the details more clearly.
This is the late Fred and Myrtle Flutey’s “Paua Shell House” from 258 Marine Parade, Bluff – now replicated approximately 600 kilometers north of it’s original location in the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Inside, the original paua* shells are shown off exactly as they were in Fred and Myrtle’s real house. The famous house in Bluff was open to visitors for 8 hours a day, seven days a week and received about a million visitors over 31 years. According to the video presentation, Myrtle “loved the company”. Tomorrow I will post some photos from inside.
* Paua is a univalve shellfish that feeds on seaweed and lives in rocky, coastal areas at depths of one to fifteen metres. The blackfoot paua (Haliotis iris) with its spectacular blue/green/purple iridescent shell is unique to New Zealand. The meat is a delicacy, and the shell is traditionally used in Maori carvings to illumine the eyes. It is also used in jewelry and art work.
“The Vault” exhibition from Neil Pardington features photographs taken in storage spaces in museums and galleries in New Zealand – spaces normally closed to the public. Not only the photographer in me, but also the librarian in me loved this exhibition! The Vault is at the Christchurch Art Gallery (pictured) until 14 March 2010.
My guess is that it was Health and Safety issues that meant that the guys from Treetech had to fell this tree in Cathedral Square in a succession of pieces. This guy has cut two wedges, will wrap the rope around to secure the top part, and next will cut right through – a little under the bottom wedge. A guy on the ground “catches” the log as it is lowered slowly to the ground with the ropes…the log goes into the mulcher…and so it goes…
The New Zealand Historic Trust recently declared the majority of the Lyttelton to be one of New Zealand’s largest historic areas -the ‘history’ being based on the colonial era – hence the theme of this shop perhaps…
Graffiti-art (stencil) spotted near the Avon River in central Christchurch. (click image for larger size)
A puzzling display featuring numerous tea bags. This a window in the Majestic Church, whose home is the old Majestic Theatre on the corner of Manchester and Lichfield Streets in the central city. A poster in another window, also featuring a tea bag, revealed that the theme for their services for the month of November is “Living a Generous Life”.
Spotted on Manchester Street. I have no idea what the box is or who has an interest in it.
