TBH, as crude as it sounds, I *DO* support the motion to place restrictions on groups of people protesting at the Bridge of Remembrance (and a few other sensitive spots like the official quake memorial), and think that it is a terrible shame that this proposal got voted down (by such a slim margin, and from the usual suspects too)
It's hard to believe that today marks 15 years since the Feb 22 Christchurch Quake in 2011, as 12:51pm!
Nothing quite put that number into focus as hearing that kids born that day are now teens in high school!
In hindsight, there is truth in the words: "This too shall pass..."
For all those going through a hard time now: Kia Kaha. This too shall pass.
For all that we lost that horrible overcast day 15 years ago: We will remember them. Always. 💔
If you've been following the news from Christchurch in the past week (or my socials for that matter), you'd be aware that this week, we've been *plagued* by waves of a putrid poopy stench (that irritates the eyes and airways, and yes... aggravates asthma in folks like myself). The last time many of us were faced with this stench was for the first half of 2022, after the water treatment plant caught fire in late 2021!
That was 5 years ago now! Yet this, we suddenly have the same bloody problem again!
For additional context: No we are *NOT* in the "Eastern Suburbs" near where this plant and all the open-air "oxidation ponds" that the poopy water is pumped into are located, next to the Estuary / Eastern coastline lining the Pacific Ocean. Anything past the centrally located "Hagley Park" really cannot be considered an "Eastern Suburb" here, with places like Wigram, Halswell, or out around Burnside/Harewood where the airport is located certainly falling *well outside* the range where you'd expect to smell stuff like this!
Despite all this, and the problem first *really* rearing its ugly head city-wide (after having been a problem for months already in the areas surrounding the plant), the latest council update today says they are still "monitoring" the situation and hoping it miraculously improves - somehow... by itself... when hopefully some algae miraculously grows to fix it! WTF?!! 🤬
"Monitoring" (i.e. standing there with you hands to kept to yourself, scribbling away on a clipboard, while peering into the abyss / monitoring screens, staring at the charts) is about as much use as "thoughts and prayers" after yet another mass terrorist / gun violence incident... jeez 🙄
As you may have read, yesterday we had some crazy weather here. Crazy is probably the right word...
For those who aren't aware:
Yesterday, we had a sudden thunderstorm front pass through, where the weather went from sunny and mild, to suddenly storm + overcast, with dark ominous clouds, which quickly turned into thunder + lighting + hail + heavy rain (with surface flooding). Most affected were all the folks who had headed out to the final day of the A&P show (i.e. farm folk bring their animals to town, to let us city people see their critters + lifestyle) and/or the horse races (i.e. where ladies dress up in fancy dresses, and consume too much wine) - as both of these events are held outdoors, and in the areas where the most hail fell. Large hailstones I might add apparently... From the photos I've seen, it was such a hailstorm, that it looked like snow had fallen out that way - it was everywhere, and enough for folks to make little snowmen (oh... *ahem* "hail people") out of that white stuff!
Unfortunately, it seems we missed most of the most fun/exciting parts!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aligorith/albums/72177720330356928
Yay! After missing its last few visits for various reasons (including being out of the country, a snowstorm, and being far away from the airport occupied with other activities), today I finally got to see the "NBA" livery A380 (A6-EOD) with my own eyes at last!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aligorith/albums/72177720330215352/
Many people know this old building as the old "Canterbury Public Library" building
For me, this was and always will be: "The Original Home of 'Jade Garden' - Dim Sum Chinese Restaurant" (although apparently, they may have been in one other location before this one IIRC)
I was inspired to write this little oral history down for posterity when stumbling across the photo below earlier today (complete with the caption that showed below it). It was one of the first times I'd come across a decent photo of the place, so thought it was a good chance to write this down.
Canterbury Public Library 19 December 1981. Exterior of the former Canterbury Public Library building on the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Hereford Street. Christchurch Star archive photo
With fine sunny weather today (sandwiched between two days of chilly, showery, wintery weather) it was a great day to get out and about, and away from my desk for a few hours. It ended up being a nice afternoon to take a walk around the Arts Centre for the first time in ages - between the first wave of Omicron, and our very own "Camp Covid" from the rabid "Freedumbs" crowd just around the corner, it's been a while since I've been to this part of town.
Here are some highlights from the afternoon. Unfortunately, I only had my phone with me today, though things turned out relatively ok in the end I guess...
