A French Market

Christchurch's French Market started life in an obscure, hard-to-find location in SOL Square. In what I can only assume to be a bid for higher visibility, it has shifted to Poplar Lane and you'd have to be blind to miss the proliferation of red, blue and white signs that point the way. It's a good thing the signs are there, because again, they have opted for the most out-of-way part of the laneways - perhaps it's more sheltered there?

I've visited this market several times over the last year and I must say that I always come away disappointed. Apart from a few crusty sticks of bread, there's little that I can find that is genuinely French. Herbs grow anywhere; imported scarves (not French) can be purchased from a shop; whitebait is much more iconically Kiwi than it is French; and we can all make our own muffins, or buy them at any cafe. In its old location there were at least French macroons and French antiques. I wonder what happened to them? I think it's all a bit of a missed opportunity really.

Outside Art

We're TRYING to create a little slice of Melbourne in Christchurch - in developing the back lanes that run off Lichfield, High and Manchester Streets. Once a tangle of back alleys that gave access to hefty brick factories and old shops, both areas have been re-developed to include cafes, bars, restaurants and boutique shops. It's not quite Melbourne. For one thing it's only a tiny area by comparison; but I like the way that both areas - SOL and Poplar Lanes - have encouraged the spread of graffiti, street art and whacky creations. It's a stretch to call some of it art but at least it's on the right track.

I was wandering through Poplar Lanes last weekend and was delighted to see the brick walls outside Vespa Cafe (near the French Farmers' Market - featuring here tomorrow), have been adorned with someone's artwork. I like the injection of colour and visual interest. Just a pity they haven't labelled the works with the artist's name; I for one, would like to know more.

Thinking of Japan

Last weekend when I was cycling around the inner city, I took a side track down Poplar Lane and was delighted to find this Japanese chef at work outside a new 'hole-in-the-wall' Japanese restaurant and sushi bar. A number of people, including me, stopped to ask him what he was making - cheese balls as it turns out, which seems decidedly un-Japanese to me but who am I to quibble? I was just delighted to find something new and interesting in the area. For all the good that Poplar and SOL Lanes have done to invigorate the city by night, they are, more often than not, empty, cold and uninviting by day. I've never seen a crowd in there yet....well.....maybe in summer but that's only at the bars; retail foot traffic is virtually negligable. In the end, I forgot to note the name of this little Japanese place, which is a perfectly good excuse for me to go back there today to sample the food. It reminded me of the cute little eateries that filled the back lanes in Japanese cities. No matter where I went, I was never far from a tiny restaurant or sushi bar where I could almost guarantee tasty food and attentive service.

Art in the Back Lanes

Christchurch. August 2009. Ajr

Further to my post about Korean artist, Sukjoon Yang and 'art in the streets' earlier in the week, here's some more new art (of a different kind) in the streets. These two pieces have beeen created in Poplar Lane and I love the injection of colour set off by the rust-red brick walls. I'm not going to prattle on about the beauties of street art; I always seem to be doing that. Suffice to say I am celebrating the placement of these two works.

Poplar Lane Re-Visited

Poplar Lane, Christchurch

Another View

Of Beautiful Brick Warehouses

In Christchurch's Poplar Lane

An area now colonised by bars, cafes and boutique stores.

New Life For Old Architecture

Poplar Lane, Christchurch, Dec. 2008. Ajr

Everytime I wander through the old lanes and back alleys off and around Manchester, High, Tuam and Lichfield Streets here in Christchurch, I feel a warm glow of happiness that all these great old brick warehouses have not been torn down to make room for some modern ugliness. No, instead they're being developed into a network of bars, restaurants, cafes and designer/boutique stores that make shopping and wandering so much more of a pleasure. This is a summer bar scene snapped a couple of days ago in Poplar Lane. I was drawn to the 'upside-down' umbrella and the towering brick facade.