Now that I have my wheels, and passengers, ready for the road, it’s time to resume my gallivanting; first of all with a look in the rear view mirror, so you can see some of the jaunts I took during my 17 day blogcation.
Looking back…..
In the midst of my not very busy holiday schedule, on a not very nice weather day, my friends and I had a short interlude in the centre of Christchurch; short because interludes usually are, but, also, because it was a beastly cold day, not suited to our yet to adjust, lingering-in-summer, bodies.
Cold, as it was, and we were, we did see a little of the fun side of the city. Here is my record of the day.
The Chalice, our millennium statue, sometimes referred to as the ice cream cone.
Art work wrapping around the ruins.
Portrait let out to play, from the Art Gallery.
Rita Angus’s Portrait of O’Donnell Moffett Quiet Invasion
Is She amused by events?
The Queen crowned with a bicycle helmet
Pretty tiles replicated and replaced on New Regent Street.
Replicated Tiles Replicated Tiles in New Regent Street
Oh, it is a lovely playground we have in our city.
A scaled down braided river at the Nature Play Park
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- Nature in the City
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- Warning
This post was prompted by Sally at http://lensandpensbysally.wordpress.com/ who alerted me to a New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/travel/after-earthquakes-a-creative-rebirth-in-christchurch.html ,published on April 6th, about the creative rebirth of Christchurch, post earthquakes. It is an excellent article. Thank you Sally. I only wish you had been with me to focus your camera on the intriguing sights we saw, on our city excursion, at the beginning of April.
© silkannthreades
silkannthreades 
Thanks so much for sharing your walk with us…how inspiring to see all that beautiful art and think of everything your city and its residents has been through – your description “resilience” truly fits! The human spirit at work….
It’s amazing how creativity thrives despite devastation.
A very positive article – thank you for the link. And positive you are too, as usual! Your chilly outing sounds great anyway – and I loved the pictures. The chalice is my favourite – how beautiful!
Spring is coming along nicely here while you are waiting for winter. I have so enjoyed your spring and summer posts – now maybe some flowers will appear here too…And that warm smile from Mandela – it’s there to warm us all! If there will be a statue of the Dalai Lama, I think it will be a smiling one too.
I am looking forward to your flower posts. They will keep my winter days bright and cheerful. And just thinking about the Dalai Lama’s smile makes me feel cheerful, right now. This is something from an ad campaign but it does show that a smile makes all the difference. http://adsoftheworld.com/media/outdoor/blendamed_smiling_monuments I don’t know when it was that sculptures lost their smiles. Once upon a time a smile was okay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_smile
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I noticed your comment that your city isn’t as beautiful as Florence. Perhaps, in some ways. On the other hand, I know people who think a hybrid rose is beautiful and a dandelion ugly, when, in fact, both are beautiful in their own way. Your photos here show me a beautiful city – not just in terms of the actual art, but also in the spirit of a people that realizes “rebuilding” takes more than construction cranes!
Thank you for your encouraging comment. I,too, am very glad that the rebuilding is not all about construction cranes. Many artists lost as much, if not more, than many of us, yet they have bounced back and produced wonders for our city.
Looks like you had a lovely time in spite of the chill.
Yes, it was good to be with friends and a good exercise in looking on the bright side, or searching for the bright side.
Resilience is my most favourite word. Isn’t it interesting that one event, a few seconds in time, defines our humanity in ways that cannot even be imagined. And yet, resilience keeps us centred and focused on the task that lays ahead. It is putting one step ahead of the other. This post is a testament to courage and endurance.
This event was beyond my wildest dreams; absolutely defining for all of us who live here. For one thing, I wouldn’t have started a blog without the incentive/the conditions created by the earthquakes. And, then, there are the wonderful stories like this one http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9935043/Careful-carving-recreating-Arts-Centre which enrich our lives.
Great shot of the Chalice; gives it an almost silk-screen sort of quality. And I do like the Rita Angus!
The Chalice is lovely, close up. On a sunny, blue sky day, it looks good in its entirety, too.
I’ve just been reading the article and it really is inspirational what has achieved. Many thanks for bringing it to my notice 🙂
Sometimes, it helps to have an outsider’s point of view. It made me feel better about my city.
Those are very Portuguese looking tiles 🙂 Love the Chalice too! And that poor wasted ballerina.
I think the ballerina should have been given an umbrella. For days we have been subjected to something like Glaswegian smirr.
Love the term ‘Blogcation’. I think I could very well use that frequently (most of my blogging life really)
What a beautiful collection of pictures – you have been well and truly Gallivanting around. All the amazing and wonderful adventures.. Meanwhile back at the ranch I have been stuck in Management Committee Meetings, working groups and writing policies no one will sign!! Not to mention the 8 legged furry critters with drumsticks that have been racing around my skirting boards.
How I wish I was tagging along on your excursions. The Bicycle Helmet was, without a doubt a classic community contribution of how things really should be (will anyone fine me for saying that?)
Loved the Ballerina (and all the angles), the repainted tiles are absolutely stunning and I want them for my back verandah…
Also, I can only imagine how glorious that scaled down river would be if there were big rains and a huge flow.
#BeautifullyCaptured and conveyed, thank you for sharing so well that I am left slightly envious.
I must visit one day! I’ll bring my entire family and we can eat shortbread in the Nature Play Park.
Miss Lou
♥
Oh, what a picnic we will have. Do come. And you won’t have to worry about huge spiders. And the dear Queen, I am sure, would be happy to share the helmet should you want to ride a bike around the city. Not sure where we would find a bike. Perhaps that is to be found by another statue somewhere.
lol, I’m not particularly keen on riding bikes. not since the last effort on the Tandem with my Bestie (who is mostly blind) and we near ended up in the scrub 25 times!
I think I could convince one of the children to wear the helmet – just for fun.. lol
Yay for no spiders *scrunches up ma nose at the memory*
I will be sure to touch base should we make it over your way.
ML
x
I am not keen on bike-riding. In fact, haven’t ridden for years. Queen Victoria apparently preferred a tricycle…..http://veloweb.ca/2010/05/24/queen-victorias-tricycle/
Interesting! and so.. A Royal Salvo was born! lol
Indeed!
Love your blogcation!
Thanks Mary.
I smiled when I saw your photo of the statue of Queen Victoria and the line you wrote above the image, because she doesn’t look amused, at all! That said, I cannot recall seeing a smiling statue of anyone.
It’s good that your beloved city is having a creative re-awakening 😉
You are right, there are very few smiling statues. However, I did find this one and it is uplifting to see this famous smile http://db2.stb.s-msn.com/i/6E/2C14FEA4ADCED7F18125F4B512B4.jpg
Now that smile made me smile. Thanks. 😉
Me too. I am now going to pay more attention to statutes to see how many smiles I find.
That sounds like a very positive thing to do. 😉
😀
Well thanks for taking me along with you on this lovely walk now I can take on the stresses of the world….lol lovely post Gallivanta!! 🙂
You would have loved one of the shops we saw on our walk. Everything they sell is made from wood recycled from damaged buildings in the city. Nothing is wasted.
sounds like music to my ears, post please lol, hugs Gallivanta 🙂
I will have to go back to get some photos!
It is getting cold for you, warm for us. I am ready for it!
What a lovely day you had, despite the chill. I think my favorite picture is the one of those beautiful colorful tiles….
Joanne
They are beauties.
HL=huge like for your post-interlude… 🙂 Btw, I know a French lucky student and future micro-biology researcher(scientist) who has been for about 18 months in your city… she’ll return to France in June, but she’ll deeply miss your wonderful land… 🙂
I am so glad she likes us, despite the mess.
I love taking visitors around where I live–I get to experience everything anew. It looks like you had the same experience!
I did. And it was actually the first time I had walked through that area since 2011!
Nice to see you gallivanting once more, and having adventures around the city. I love the tiles, and Queen Victoria with helmet – that will be handy if she decides to take a cycle ride.
She will need it; the roads are still very rough. In fact I am wondering how the royal cavalcade will travel on Monday, through Christchurch. 😀
The statue (sans helmet) reminds me of an interchange at the end of Pirates of Penzance:
SERGEANT: To gain a brief advantage you’ve contrived,
But your proud triumph will not be long-lived
KING: Don’t say you are orphans, for we know that game.
SERGEANT: On your allegiance we’ve a stronger claim.
We charge you yield, we charge you yield,
In Queen Victoria’s name!
KING: (baffled) You do?
POLICE: We do!
We charge you yield,
In Queen Victoria’s name!
(PIRATES kneel, POLICE stand over them triumphantly.)
KING: We yield at once, with humbled mien,
Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen.
Perfect! I feel much the same and am inclined to love her all the more because, unlike some of our other statues, She stood firm throughout the earthquakes.
I enjoyed exploring Christchurch virtually via your wonderful pictures. It looks like you had an enjoyable blogcation.
It was a great blogcation. Or some might call it a staycation since I didn’t venture outside the city limits.
How lovely that there are hidden bits emerging. Thanks for sharing. x
It’s good to see the pleasant things. Not everything in the city was as pleasant.
No but at least there were some to focus on. x
Definitely! The art was eye catching.
Nice you had an opportunity to tour the city with your guests! I love the tile work. Its great that the replacement is almost done.
The tiles look very good. In fact, that little street looks much better now than it did before the earthquakes.
I can imagine how cheerful the street will look!
🙂
I am so very glad that your lovely city is finding ways of making the beauty come back…and as usual, it is with the Kiwi sense of fun and color…
It is very Kiwi, isn’t it?
It is nice to gallivant around and see great things in your own city. Sometimes things you never noticed before. I have my God daughter staying an dI show her London, which involves a lot of walking and we see many things!
How lovely. You will be seeing your environment with new eyes. Have a great time.
Thanks for the tour–so glad that NYT wrote such a positive article about your city. It’s obvious the LOVE that is felt by your greater community. Art always soothes the spirit and soul (even as it also provokes it).
It was a wonderful article. And the artists and creative people who beautify our city are wonderful, too. The city scape would be worse than it is without their efforts.
I like how you are dealing with aftermath. Your city looks beautiful.
Most of the artwork is splendid. The people who are creating it are wonderful.
For sure!
What a wonderful collection of art around the city…it makes me wonder what is right near me…what have I been missing?
I had read a lot about the various art installations in our city but this was the first time that I was able to get a good look for myself. Now I am wondering what art might be around your area…do tell when you find out.
When I have a few moments…I will take a explore…right now my schedule is a bit full,,,but it does sound like fun!
Yes, when you are ready; and the rain doesn’t drench you. 🙂
so heartening to see CHCH coming to life again, fun and pleasure, just what we all need!
There is some life and fun. I had some selective vision for this post 😉 .
which is only right!
🙂
Lovely city darling. A big kiss.
Thank you. Not quite as beautiful as your Florence, unfortunately, but we do our best.
I am buckled up…go!
I like to see these playful things (art works?) and playgrounds or parks around town/city. They give personalities to the place. They do this around town here too and the town seems to replace them quite often which makes me concern about spending a bit.
A nice ride today 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the ride today. These things (art works etc) do add personality and interest to the city scape; they soften the edges of the built environment. I am not sure how much money is being spent on the art initiatives around town but there will certainly be budget constraints.
The ballerina appears to be taking her bows ( or is she just plain exhausted?lol) 🙂
She could be exhausted; can’t be easy balancing on a wall. 😀
Okay, you got me! duh 😳
😀 😀 Actually, she probably is taking a bow because the ballerina is the final act in the street art festival that we have had in Christchurch over recent months. I would say it was exhausting putting her up there, too!