Craftwerk #4
Anyone would think I have some kind of vested interest in Craftwerk…
Anyhow, last minute reminder.
Tonight, the Paramount, 5.30-8.30.
Craft, booze, music and big screen Atari.
Hot baby.
Mystery bar number 36
Okay, last week’s mystery bar was way too easy: it’s Electric Avenue in Courtenay Place, which has just opened in the two storey building vacated by Saffron last year. Most bars go for a stealthy approach when they’re under renovation, keeping their windows papered over until the opening, but Electric Avenue took the unusual approach of actually displaying architectural plans and sketches, so we all had a fair idea of how it would look when it opened.
So, now we have an Eighties bar: hooray.
Wheeler’s Luck
You are invited to Wheeler’s Luck fundraising gala.
Come along and support the boys as they take on The Edinburgh Festival.
Two nights only, July 25th and 26th at 9pm Bats Theatre.
For bookings phone 802 4175, or email: book@bats.co.nz
The reviewers say:
“Hugely entertaining and quirkily Kiwi …two brilliantly talented comic actors create not only an entire community with over 400 locals, but also a dance routine, pub brawl, shipwreck and, dizzyingly, a bareback horse race… Energising, hilarious and perceptive, this beautifully honed show is pure theatrical magic” New Zealand Listener, 2006
“The whole story is told in 80 extraordinary minutes through 55 characters and a pet rock, all created with minimalist wit, great ingenuity and monumental talent by Toby Leach and Nigel Collins…. there is no one you don’t know, or know of, in this community.” National Business Review, 2005
“…gloriously performed …rivalling Ben Hur for excitement but much funnier …a sure fire hit.” Dominion Post, 2005
Piss artist
When one thinks of Jerry Collins, one’s mind immediately turns to … elderflowers. That’s because Matterhorn’s “Jerry Collins” cocktail (a version of the classic Tom Collins) incorporates such manly ingredients as elderflower cordial and feijoa vodka. That’s hardly news to Wellingtonians, but its fame has spread across the Tasman and got a whole article in the Sydney Morning Herald’s “Rugby Heaven” (hat tip to Duncan in Sydney for the link).
When I asked the bar staff about it this morning, they hadn’t heard of the article, but they were amused to read their boss’s quote that “When the All Blacks or Hurricanes play in Wellington and feel like going to a bar for a drink they can come to the Matterhorn and nobody will mob them for autographs, or in many cases even know who they are”. They probably get mistaken for members of Fat Freddy’s Drop.
Apparently the name is ironic. Really? I thought it was because elderflowers are a diuretic.
Does Harbour Quays suck?
You’ve probably seen the articles and full-page ads in the Dominion Post by a group opposing the Harbour Quays development, and may have looked at their Vibrant Wellington website. I’ve written about Harbour Quays several times before, and while I’ve always been sceptical of the “office park” concept, I must admit I was a little wary of the opposing campaign, since it seems to be driven by a group of property developers and commercial landlords worried that cheap competition might undercut the soaring office rents that they’re currently enjoying. But last Thursday’s “open letter to the city of Wellington” was also signed by retailers, restaurateurs and three of Wellington’s most prominent architects, so clearly there’s a broader base to the opposition.
Espressoholics – The Final Countdown
Hadyn wrote about the National Barista Awards a few days ago.
At the edge of cutting edge blogging is the intrepid moi to report on action at the scene.
It is tense – well, not really, but it seemed an appropriate thing to say.
It is black. Well the people there are all in black, without exception, competitors and spectators alike.
It is free.
So get down there NOW. Have a coffee (free), listen to the DJ (free). Have a ball (priceless).
Level 3, Te Papa
Back on track: why submit?
Submissions on the North Wellington Public Transport Study close on Wednesday, and while this is obviously of major interest to those who live in that area, everyone else could be forgiven for thinking it irrelevant. However, there are many reasons why other Wellingtonians should care.
Wellington JAFA?
The Generation XY crowd are having a competition to find an equivalent for the phrase used to describe a certain type of Aucklander: the JAFA.
It took about 35 or so comments before someone finally conjured up something for the JAFA’s age-old ally in movie-theatre tooth-decaying crime: SNIFTA (Suited Nominal Intellectual Funding Terrible Arts Snivelling Nerds In Flash Terrace Apartments).
But my personal favourite is…
AGENDA
Another Government Employee Not Doing Anything.
Which naturally leads to the ‘Hidden Agenda’ which are the New Govt Employees that are artificially holding the unemployment rate down.
Brilliant. Add your own suggestions to the Gen XY comments thread over here.
Mystery bar number 35
There are plenty of issues I could be writing about today, such as whether the Harbour Quays development will suck the life out of the CBD, the merits of the new Cathryn Monro sculpture planned to go outside the Musuem Hotel, and of course the endless transport debates. However, I seem to have got into a pleasantly intoxigenic mode this week, so it’s time for another mystery bar.
Craftwerk
Only a week until Craftwerk hits the town.
Where: Paramount Theatre
When: Thursday 13th July, 5.30-8.30
What: Where to start? There will be a fabulous range of craft items created by oodles of clever people. From badges to crochet, from jewellery to a rather special range of children’s screenprinted shirts (bit of self promotion never hurt anyone eh?).
There will be music and Atari games, a fantastic mix tape swap, and all in a licensed venue.
Truly, does life get any sweeter?