Thank god that’s over
I can’t claim to speak for all the Wellingtonista, but I have to say it: Sevens weekend is horrible. There’s a lot of gushy talk in the main media outlets about how colourful and vibrant and alive the city becomes, but one could say the same about a nasty fungal rash. Many of us who live in the central city can attest to how colourful and vibrant and alive the city is most of the time, and in an appealing, organic and independent way, but we found the CBD close to unbearable during the weekend.
What is it that appals us so much about this spectacle?
We can’t has riceburger?
We see that there are ‘For Lease’ signs in the window of Chilli Jam on Adelaide Road, and that their website is no longer existing. Anyone know anything more about it?
Wine from the other side of the world
We’re regulars at Cellar-Vate’s Winemakers’ Dinners, because we love meeting the winemakers, we love New Zealand wine, and we love having it matched with tasty tasty food. But we’re not just patriotic racialists, oh no. We’ll drink wine from anywhere! And that’s why we’re excited about the upcoming European Wines Tasting in the Cabinet Room above the Backbencher next Wednesday October 22 at 6pm:
The thriving wine industry in New Zealand and Australia has provided us with a vast array of superb wine to savour or cellar, but it’s easy to forget about the ancient viticultural traditions of Europe. As imports of European wines grow steadily, there is now a great selection available. However, the regional denominations and classifications can be intimidating, and the New Zealand wine industry’s focus on single varietals means we are often cautious about buying European wines because we don’t know what they are made from. This is a shame, as European wines often represent great value, and due to their food-friendly nature are great to enjoy with friends and family. This tasting is an opportunity to learn about some unfamiliar grape varieties, which grapes you should expect to find in wines from different regions (and therefore how the wine should taste), and to navigate some unaccustomed flavours.
Tickets are $40 for seven wines matched with six small courses with matched wine, and bookings are still available if you email becs[at]cellar-vate.co.nz. We’ll see you there – we’ll be the ones holding out our glasses for a top-up.
UPDATE: Here’s the menu for tomorrow:
James Bond is bound to be skulking around Wellington
With the mega (not ‘super’, MEGA) boat Twizzle currently moored up to Queens Wharf the following must happen:
- Dark suited henchmen with Russian/Asian accents will be walking the wharf
- A bald headed chap is currently deep inside stroking a white cat make plans for world domination
- Cars with tinted windows will start to drop off “the associates”
- Bond will either:
- Be currently seducing the “female companion” to ensure an invite to “the meeting”
- Donning his wet suit (tux underneath) in preparation for the placement of underwater timer limpet bomb things
Really, it’s true … go check it out before it gets raided, destroyed or just ups-and-leaves under mysterious circumstances.
Le Parkour Wellington
Ever been wandering around town and seen a group of youngsters behaving like a bunch of naughty monkeys? Whaddya know.. they’re probably doing parkour.
Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or or “free-running” or l’art du déplacement (“the art of displacement”) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body.
Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop your body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency. It is also practiced by many as a form of entertainment or as a pastime.
As I hinted above, there’s a thriving parkour scene in Wellington; especially in and around the urban/recreational areas of the waterfront and Civic Square.
Interested? There’s more after the jump..
Waterfront Update
I must be a sucker for punishment, since on Monday night I attended the latest Waterfront Development Subcommittee meeting. Some people would consider that the study of local government consultation belongs under governance or public policy studies, but I’ve come to realise that it’s a branch of psychopathology. The range of social dysfunction, paranoia and anger-management issues on display would fill several chapters of DSM-IV-TR: and that’s just among the councillors. Those in the public gallery are worse, and I include myself as an obvious textbook example of chronic masochism.
Nevertheless, it’s the only way to get the latest updates and gossip, which I’ve combined here with my usual other sources (public notices, real estate advertisements, unsubstantiated rumours, peering through windows) to update my previous post on current and upcoming waterfront developments.
Waterfront update
Last night, I once again forced myself to sit through a Waterfront Development Subcommittee meeting. While it was full of enough procedural tedium and political pigheadedness to make sitting in broken glass during a Celine Dion concert seem like a pleasant alternative, it was worth it to get the latest updates and to see an inspiring presentation from UN Studio’s Holger Hoffman (since Ben van Berkel had to miss it due to illness) about the processes behind their design for the transition building.
Here’s an update on progress and plans, mainly based upon reports from the meeting, but with a few other tidbits.
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Whares? No worries.
When they were first proposed, the Wharenui and Wharewaka at Taranaki St Wharf were among the least controversial developments on the waterfront. Even Waterfront Watch seemed to cautiously approve, given that these were low-rise cultural facilities rather than medium-rise buildings with commercial components, though some of their members managed to find views that would be blocked. However, that quickly changed once the rowing clubs realised that they might have to lose some parking space, and the dispute has only just been resolved.