Hard News: Wellington, you win
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although its nowhere near as bad as you get further south.
Try telling folks south of the Strait that a) you are from Ak, and, worse, b) you don't follow Rugby and have no idea who the Crusaders are.........
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Wellington had an ice skating rink for years - roughly about where the library is now in Kilbirnie. I've skated there myself. It wasn't a financial goer then, so it folded, and I doubt one would be now either, though I'm always willing to be proved wrong.
Assuming they get support from the city council, a rink up there would rake it in. There's a lot of inline hockey players in Wellington, so there's an instant hockey club. Christchurch is a city of similar population, and their rink is busy until midnight some nights. Even if it was a private business they should be able to get a good return on their investment.
Tekapo opened a beautiful ice rink last year. If a population of a thousand or so can make an ice rink viable...
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From the sidelines and faintly amused by the arguments and counter-arguments...I lived in Wellington between 1984-1992 and moved to a job at the University of Waikato (initially, a little reluctantly), largely because Victoria Univ was too slow in developing Media Studies, and I was getting sick of earning my keep through a series of contracts (with all demeaning kowtowing that involved). In those years, Wellington was a fairly dismal place if you had young children--especially when faced by months of cold, wet Sundays. The usual solution was 'take them to the bloody zoo again!'
Now, when I visit, it seems vastly changed, for the better...for parents, children and those people who think that cafes and coffee make a city. I think the dressing-up Rugby 7s is a sign of great change. I saw the 7s (via BBC Sports) in Edinburgh last year and there were no more than 20 drenched spectatorsPS damn Blues beat the Chiefs tonight!
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Assuming they get support from the city council, a rink up there would rake it in. There's a lot of inline hockey players in Wellington, so there's an instant hockey club. Christchurch is a city of similar population, and their rink is busy until midnight some nights. Even if it was a private business they should be able to get a good return on their investment.
There actually was a council-backed ice rink proposal a couple of years back, which was to have been cross-subsidised by a bowling alley. However, the developer broke off the deal after The Lanes appeared on the scene, and couldn't extract any more concessions from the Council.
There's a Facebook group dedicated to getting an ice rink built in Welly that was featured in the Capital Times. And WellUrban has done some analysis on the issue.
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Heh. What did I start?
I should be clear: it was the combination of virtues on Thursday evening I found so winning: great band, wonderful atmosphere and then the chance to stroll over to a nice bar like the Hawthorn for a couple of drinks. It really was great.
I used to go to the Dancing in the Streets shows in Auckland before the council had a panic attack about them, but they tended to be a bit crazier, with more out-of it-people. Which is fun in a different way, but ...
On the other hand, I prefer the weather in Auckland. I know it rains more, but it's warm rain, which certainly wasn't the case on Friday night in Wellington.
Then there's the beaches, both around the city and on the coasts. The array of live music you can go and hear on any given weekend. The brilliant harbour, the sense of connection to the Pacific, the more satisfying museum (fightin' words!), etc ...
Apart from my many friends in the capital, the one thing I'd choose to transport to Auckland is the mighty Moore Wilson, both the fresh and wholesale sides. I have a Moore Wilson card and I don't even live there.
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I sometimes wish that all the people who've come here from elsewhere would bugger off somewhere else, just for five minutes, and leave the place to the REAL Aucklanders
we noticed that they do bugger off at Xmas, and the peace that reigns over the week to new years week is quite lovely.Dominion rd (and Mt Eden Rd) without cars was worthy of a photo.
Fourth generation Auckland, first time caller..... I loved being able to park right where I wanted on Ponsonby and Parnell Roads in the glorious post-Xmas period. Bliss......
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Fourth generation Auckland, first time caller..... I loved being able to park right where I wanted on Ponsonby and Parnell Roads in the glorious post-Xmas period. Bliss......
I've only lived here for a quarter of a century, but it seemed particularly glorious this summer. The weather was great, the nights were warm, and there was hardly anyone on the roads. You could just trundle along and get where you wanted to be, really easily.
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>Wellington is depraved of good hardware shops.
>Typo of the week. Never checked out the depraved hardware shops of either Wellington or Auckland so I'll have to take your word for it.
I brought some dishwashing gloves and a pot plant in a Wellington hardware shop the other day
Don't you know the difference between depraved and perverted? You also need a hamster to suffer from true depravation.
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Don't you know the difference between depraved and perverted?
Yes, the latter involves a feather, the former the whole chicken...
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it seemed particularly glorious this summer. The weather was great, the nights were warm, and there was hardly anyone on the roads.
And yet you rail against global warming??
You're such a __flip flopper__ ...!
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hey everyone,
finn higgins is a regular poster here on PA System, but this past monday he disappeared around 7pm.
his partner is understandably worried about him, so i'm putting out word on her behalf.
it's thought that he might have disappeared to auckland. we're hoping that is the case.
finn is 26 years old, medium height, slim build, dark brown hair.
he was wearing cargo pants and a black teeshirt, barefoot. he is in need of medical assistance.
if you've seen him either get in touch with his partner, the police, or someone who can contact her. if you know where he is please ask him to contact home.
thanks
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if you've seen him either get in touch with his partner, the police, or someone who can contact her. if you know where he is please ask him to contact home.
Shit. I have a lot of time for Finn and from private correspondence I know some of the challenges he's faced. My thoughts and hopes are with all his friends.
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if you've seen him either get in touch with his partner, the police, or someone who can contact her. if you know where he is please ask him to contact home.
Or you can contact Che or myself and we'll pass on the info.
cheers Hivemind
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I feel a little awkward going back on-topic after that. Fingers crossed - I hope Finn's okay.
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We had a family outing to the Phoenix Foundation, Lawerence Arabia and Tama Waipara at the Zoo last night. Absolutely fantastic - a huge, happy, well-behaved crowd, kids a-plenty and a great relaxed atmosphere. Nothing reminds you of just how much fun music can be than dancing like a loon with a toddler, with nothing other tha a beer and a coffee enhancing the mood.
Well done to the organisers (though it did seem a little...odd...having the whole thing presented and MC'ed by ZM, a station that I imagine plays nothing by the artists in question).
And a big thanks to James Milne - I never thought I'd experience someone playing kazoo at the zoo in this lifetime.
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Picture of Finn here.
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I feel a little awkward going back on-topic after that. Fingers crossed - I hope Finn's okay.
i was worried it was a little heavy, but finn, if you're reading, get in touch with someone bro.
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my wife commented how lovely it was "and how fantastic it would be in Summer"... unfortunately it was February!
Two reasons for the weather situation.
1. It makes us better sailors
2. It keeps the JAFAs away (kaboomcha).WRT the rest of the country's obsession with Aucklanders...I have found it the other way (see Damian Christie's pronouncements). A long time ago, literally fresh off a boat, I was told to avoid Wellington like the proverbial. Mostly, its seems, because they spoke funny.
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I have found it the other way (see Damian Christie's pronouncements)
to be fair Don, DCs comments were spoken with tongue firmly placed, rather than the pure vitriol many of us Jafas have to deal with once we venture past Levin (you rarely get it north of that line, not sure why, perhaps there is a sense of identification with the north). It gets quite nasty at times.
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My theory about Wellington's grimness myth, evolved out of the rail ferry terminal. It's under the motor way, it's gray and if there's a southerly its cold and windy.
I once saw one a theatrical event based on Fiat Bambinos at that venue. In many ways that was a turning point time for Wellington.
It gets quite nasty at times.
I'm sure. But the chip on the shoulder stuff about Wellington and our noses being placed firmly in the taxpayers trough can get rather tiresome as well. It does seem to cut both ways.
All that being said, to the Webstock organisers, congratulations. I failed again to attend or support but I have been along to a few of the mini-Webstocks and can vouch for those as being great as well.
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By the way, in all this appreciation of things Wellington we should not forget Russell's huge influence on...things. The KGB evenings, foo camp, Webstock and many other events have all the hallmarks of, at the very least, his influence and more often his clod hoppers.
Thanks Russell for being a catalyst and Auckland for hosting him.
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And seeing as how I'm on a roll here (talking to myself), the changes in Wellington people comment on are a microcosm of changes across NZ. Quite frankly, in the last 15 years the whole country has become a better, more interesting place in which to live.
I have similar feelings about Auckland improvements that others point to WRT Wellington.
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But the chip on the shoulder stuff about Wellington and our noses being placed firmly in the taxpayers trough can get rather tiresome as well.
maybe its the circles I move in, but really I've not heard that for years, and even then only once or twice. I'd say most people in Auckland regard the capital as a fairly pleasant, sophisticated place to visit, with good food and coffee. And we are rather happy that the capital is down there...god forbid anyone ever considers moving it.
And coming out of the gorge and seeing the harbour is one of my favourite vistas in NZ. I love the road into Wellington.
To be honest, the only folk I ever hear being nasty about the place are ex-Welingtonians moved north. Not sure what that means.
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Thanks Russell for being a catalyst and Auckland for hosting him.
hear hear. russell has organised some of the best events i've been to over the past few years in wellington. the great blend being an example.
and mr crawford is right, wellington's public transport has added to our dreary image. on my first trip here the airport terminal was in fact, and indisputably, a shed. courtney place was a windy bus terminal full of old soaks sleeping off their hangovers (and then starting again), and all public servants dressed in grey.
fortunately black is the new grey.
the rest has changed markedly.
excepting the ferry terminal, which might as well be designed for herding sheep into a abattoir.
oh, and when rb isn't here we just have to make our own fun. which helps you know, it tends to keep the dozens of bars, restaurants and cafes open while russell is getting his next event together.
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And seeing as how I'm on a roll here (talking to myself), the changes in Wellington people comment on are a microcosm of changes across NZ. Quite frankly, in the last 15 years the whole country has become a better, more interesting place in which to live.
... I agree..We went out last night to a screening of F.W. Murnau's silent masterpiece 'Sunrise' (1927), part of Hamilton's Summer Garden Festival. It was extraordinary enjoyable, watching the film on a screen positioned in the Chinese pavilion, under a full moon and with much laughter from a sizeable crowd. I felt privileged to be living in any part of NZ.
Other screenings this week include The Locals (with director Greg Page in attendance), Gloomy Sunday and Rocky Horror.
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We went out last night to a screening of F.W. Murnau's silent masterpiece 'Sunrise' (1927)
Oh, I love that film! Yay for Hamilton.
And also, yay for the Auckland zoo, kazoo solos, bopping around to 'Bright Grey', and note-perfectly badass covers of 'Love is the Drug'. Lumber up, limbo down.
(I assume any news of Finn will be posted here? Hope so.)
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