Wizard Warns Save the Cathedral

Were he of Chaucer's age, his message would have been the

Wizard's Tale. This wizard of Canterbury who looks the knave,

preached profusely to visitors and Christchurch residents..."save

the Cathedral." Days later, the wrecking ball had the last voice.

Interesting, the new temporary cathedral will be made of

corrugated cardboard and will be expected to last ten years. Our

hearts go out to the brave residents of Christchurch who hang on

and rebuild their lives after the two life-changing earthquakes of

2011 and 2010. Your comments are appreciated. Thanks. Larry

larry,  there has been no final decision made on whether to demolish or rebuild as of yet.  yesterday a report was released that said it would be possible to rebuild,  but the cost is 100 million dollars.  they have had some very good european engineers access the situation who have suggested it is very viable.  this is nothing compared to what monte cassino  was to rebuild.  i personally hope they rebuild as this building is undoubtedly the most iconic building not only in christchurch,  but all of new zealand.  the wizard has always used the square in front of cathedral to address the public or anyone that will listen to him.  what makes this earthquake so different of any that i have ever heard about,  would be the problem presented by liquefaction.  rebuilding in the areas where it is predominant is a real problem,  for both the inhabitants and also the insurance companies,  who refuse to insure new homes built in these areas.  liquefaction is very strange the earth just bubbles up and it plays havoc on foundations roads or anything in its path.  there are still thousands of people who are in limbo over these two earthquakes living in highly damaged houses that insurance companies just refuse to cover because of the possibilities of more earthquakes or because they think the land should not be built on as it is not stable.  is a catch 22 for lots of folks living there.  

Compositionally this is rather lovely.

Roger,  Thanks for setting me straight on the cathedral status.  This shows what misinformation tourists get.  I too hope the cathedral is rebuilt.  We learned a little about liquefaction in the Canterbury Museum exhibit on the quakes.  Is the wizard the same person all the time?  I appreciate your following my NZ images.  They, of course, are limited by the fact that we were tourists, not likely in the right places at the right times for images.  I understand and appreciate your passion for NZ; it is contagious.  Aside from the unsurpassed beauty of the country, the people are the nicest we've encountered anywhere.  Thanks, again.

Starvy,

Thanks for your comment.  I posted this and the fence image mostly for their documentary rather than artistic value, although the wizard does have a compelling presence.  I put them in the landscape category simply because the other images in my NZ collection are there too.  Thanks for looking at my images.  Best to you.  Larry

larry,  the wizard is one and the same all of the time and has been for at least 33 years,  probably even longer,  the 33 years is how long i have been here.  further on the cathedral.  when you were here they had probably began the demolition,  but only of the tower,  which was very dangerous.  can remember when it happened  there was a lady stuck half way up tower and it was big news when she was rescued.  as far as i know the church has ordered the construction of the cardboard replacement as either way they will need it.  to rebuild original will take lots of time if it happens.  the church itself was one of first to say church should come down.  but residents and some councilors felt otherwise and the demolition halted until they could have it assessed by engineers with experience in this sort of restoration. another reason for restoration would be that there have been probably in the hundreds of buildings condemned to come down with heritage status,  so there are not that many buildings from the early period of new zealand left standing.  when the rebuilding of the city finally gets the go a-head another problem will be that they will need thousands of trades folks,  and somewhere for them all to stay.  a side effect from this earthquake has been that many buildings all around new zealand have been condemned as unsafe for habitation and have been told to either fix building to a safe standard or bring them down.  guess this would be described as the trickle on effects of the disaster.  hope there are no other major disasters,  as the earth quake and disaster fund was i think only 15 or 20 billion dollars which took 30 or 40 years to build to that amount.  it plus a bit more is all gone now. 

Roger,  Thanks for the continued commentary.  I am learning a lot from you.  Larry

HI, Larry! Thank you for your pictures and interesting information. Thank you , Roger, for your explanation. Very interesting! Best regards, Tamara

Tamara,  

Yes, Roger has been most helpful in getting the accurate story down about the wizard and about the Chirstchurch earthquakes.  My wife and I are more than impressed with the positive spirit and efforts of the people of Christchurch.  Thanks for your comment.  Best to you.  Larry

Well done.  Best Regards,