| Apparently,
working without any literature to help him, Haast concluded that the hard
rock was of limited extent and that lava had just flowed into hollows.
He determined that much of what was there was “agglomerates and ashbeds.”
By 1858, with only a population of 10,000, Christchurch had a tunnel and
a rail line.
The Tram
Line
Christchurch
has a tram. It’s a touristy thing. A “tram pass” costs $12.50 for visitors
and is good for 48 hours. For residents it’s good for a year. The tram
line takes you all around the city centre, rattling and clanging past the
Cathedral in the Square, the new Art Museum, the Arts Centre, Victoria
Square, and, finally, Regent Street.
Regent Street
is one of the most unique streets in Christchurch. The tram line curves
through it. No cars allowed. I had wonderful seafood chowder on Regent
Street this week at a café (restaurant upstairs) called Six Chairs
Missing.
Stores with
names like Moko Design Café (the owners used to live on my street
before moving into the city to live over their shop), RM Williams Outback
Outfitter, Tolaga Bay Cashmere Company, Artefact, Inkwell, The Blue Note,
Antiquarian Natural History Books, Cubana Havana’s Finest, The Ginkgo Tree,
Boxes, and, my favourite name--Pastel Shoes Dyers and Repairs.
Yes, you can
still get shoes dyed and repaired in Christchurch!
A Beeline
Look out
world, here comes Buzzy Bee, a news article headline on September 5th shouts.
He’s a “noisy wooden bug with a daft clicker” says Libby Middlebrook in
The Press. Buzzy Bee is such a New Zealand icon I thought I had seen him
before I saw him for the first time!
Apparently,
Buzzy Bee, now 61 years old and New Zealand’s favourite toy, has been sold
to people who want to market him worldwide. He is going to have to be reinvented,
though. They want him to be the next Thomas the Tank Engine.
But, first
Buzzy Bee needs a face lift. His facial expression needs to be friendlier.
But Buzzy’s not the only one!
In the same
edition of the paper Raybon Kan has a story about people over at the Beehive,
New Zealand’s name for the beehive-shaped offices of government officials
in Wellington. Raybon, it seems, has been talking to Dr. Bill Dorfman the
dentist from the television show Extreme Makeover.
Raybon says
Dr. Dorfman told him Helen Clark, the Prime Minister, and Don Brash, the
Opposition leader, could use his services. They don’t have smiles he would
want on himself or his wife.
Americans,
Dr. Dorfman said, are used to beautiful, perfect teeth, that every single
kid in America (except mine, who turned them down) has braces. Everybody
whitens their teeth in America, he says. He couldn’t name four women who
don’t colour their hair. There isn’t a woman over 40, who’s had children,
in his circle of friends, who hasn’t had her breasts done. It’s just standard
in America, Dr Dorfman says.
Please let
me know this ain’t necessarily so.
Keeping
Kids In Line
A 16 year-old
was charged this week in Christchurch with indecent assault. I have to
wonder if this kid needs braces. While waiting in line in a shopping
mall to shake the hand of super-model Rachel Hunter, the lad, instead,
grabbed her breast. Maybe he needs glasses instead of braces.
Rachel, a Kiwi,
is also the estranged wife of singer Rod Stewart (coming to Christchurch
in February). The boy’s defence is that he did it on a dare. Rachel
was here to promote a new line of cosmetics. Not earthshaking news, but
the following was.
The Fault
Line
Up in Wellington,
where the beehive and crooked teeth are, there are earthquakes all the
time. New Zealand is, as Dave, the geophysicist once told me, “geologically
unstable.” But, this week, about the same time Sonya, was battling
the hurricane, an earthquake was noticed by some in Christchurch, measuring
4.3 on the Richter (www.geonet.org.nz)
and described as nearly enough to “move ornaments.” No damage reported.
I didn’t feel it.
Staying
To The Left Of The Line
We drive
on the left in New Zealand.
Last week
I got a call from my second son telling me he had had a car accident.
Late the night before, he took his best friend’s family car for a spin.
He was driving alone. As he crossed the causeway leading into Sumner where
he lives, with the estuary on both sides, he says he saw a car approaching
him in his lane. (I have to wonder if it was a confused visitor.)
He says he
swerved to avoid the other car, fish-tailed, flipped and landed right side
up in three feet of water. He had to fight to get out as the car filled
with water. The police said he was lucky to be alive and fined him $1000.
Now, we have to replace this hardworking Cambodian refugee family’s car.
Kids! I may
need Rachel’s new line of cosmetics!
That Line
On The Face
In New Zealand,
you must know, we are closer to the hole in the ozone layer. More powerful
ultra violet rays beam down from on high. From now to the end of summer
there will be much information on avoiding too much exposure to the sun.
New Zealand, it seems, has the highest rate of melanoma in the world. And
wrinkles may become a worry for New Zealand women as the aftershocks of
Dr Dorfman’s thinking set in.
She hasn’t
seemed worried before, this New Zealand woman. She seems to have enjoyed
those years soaking up the sun over years of Christmas holidays at the
beach. She seems to enjoy being outside participating in sports of
all kinds. And if her face falls a little earlier than those in the northern
hemisphere, her sunny disposition and “can do” attitude makes up for it.
Closing
Lines…
On duty at
lunch time, out by the entrance to the school, the soft spring sun was
shining down. I dared to lift my SPF 30-less face to the sky. Another teacher
stopped to chat and enjoy the warmth and the moment. I realized I really
and truly don’t want to live my life according to the Gospel of Dr Dorfman.
I
don’t want to be afraid to squint, use expression, laugh, cry, rejoice
or… put my face to the wind.
The newspaper
on September 10th showed a map of the Banks Peninsula with little lines
pointing to the locations for 12 yachting clubs offering lessons. “New
Zealand is the greatest little yachting nation in the world,” it says.
In New Zealand, a yacht refers to anything from a dinghy on up.
In the summer,
which is coming soon, lines of yachts of all sizes whiz and spin and swirl
in the harbour below my home. I want to join them this year.
WOW, or
Women on Water, looks like an interesting group. Fun-loving women, the
“advert” says, coming from all walks of life, having a little experience
of sailing or absolutely none at all.
Sounds like
someone very familiar.
The following
are the previous articles that Candy has written about New Zealand for
the magazine:
To contact Candy
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