ChristChurch Cathedral added to CERA demolitions list

I can't say I didn't see it coming, but still it is sad to see that ChristChurch Cathedral has been added to the CERA demolitions list in the 'Partial Demolish' category. See the list here: http://cera.govt.nz/demolitions/list

Still, I was half expecting it to be a full demolition, the way they had been procrastinating making an announcement, so the news is not all bad.

Christchurch now

At the moment, there is a central city walk open to the public of Christchurch. It starts at the Re:START project, the container mall, and heads up Colombo Street to Cathedral Square. On Sunday I decided I wanted to see for myself what the central city is like. It was not a pleasant experience, but I'm glad I went. Here are some photos I took on the walk.

The Re:START project.

It's not too bad for a mall made out of shipping containers. Of course, the shops are mostly high-end and too expensive for most. Trelise Cooper is there, for example. Because a city can't go without its high-end fashion.

Colombo Street. What was there, again? I can't remember.

Corner of Colombo and Hereford. Again, I can't remember what has gone. I think whatever it was, it was renovated not long before the earthquakes. I seem to remember scaffolding on this corner.

Looking East along Hereford.

Looking down High Street. The lovely old building on the corner is long gone. That building with the top stripped bare is the Grand Chancellor Hotel. If you look side-on, the top is as airy as a leaf skeleton now. It's barely recognisable.

Where the Regent Cinema used to be. There was also a nice sushi place on the street level, and some gaudy souvenir shops facing the square. I spent a lot of time at the cinema (it's where the International Film Festival films were played).

Needs no introduction.

Buildings yet to be attended to in the section of the City Mall East of Colombo.

Steampunk Capital of New Zealand, plus steampunk short story competition

SpecFicNZ and the authors of the Steampunk adventure Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, are together holding a competition for a spot in the supporting Ministry podcast, Tales from the Archives. The competition is open to all residents and citizens of New Zealand. This is really exciting, because the winner will not only get published, their name will be connected with a high-profile project, and of course all entrants can have fun playing in another writer's sandbox. The full details of the competition are here.

To get people in the mood for writing Steampunk, I thought I'd post a few pictures I took in Oamaru, the Steampunk Capital of New Zealand, at the end of October.