[source]

The man is gone. The photographer is gone. The building they were in is gone. The model they were looking at – under construction at the time – survives in the form of a decaying palace, steps away from where they were then.

The man is Grigore Gafencu, Romanian minister of foreign affairs, seen here in February 1940 (a proper portrait), at a time when he was desperately trying to avoid the imminent collapse of interwar Romania. The disaster would hit the country that very summer, following the fall of France in June. Gafencu resigned at the beginning of June 1940, when Romania couldn’t any longer afford neutrality and the very weak guarantees he himself fought for and obtained from Britain and France on 13 April 1939. He would become ambassador to Moscow after the Soviet ultimatum of 26 June 1940. On 24 June 1941, Gafencu would present to Molotov the reasons for which Romania entered the war against the Soviets. After that, it is exile (and books). He is condemned in absence in a communist mock trial (begun on 29 October 1947) that took out the last remains of democratic opposition, notably its moral leader, Iuliu Maniu. Nine years after the photo above, Gafencu looks like this:

[source]

The photographer is Margaret Bourke-White, of Life, the best known female photojournalist of the era. She was sent to take the pulse of Europe, as it prepared for war. And perhaps for a bit of espionage. In Romania, she was interested in refineries and fortifications, but also, it seems, in ministers and urban architecture. In Moscow – as the first western journalist allowed to shoot in the USSR – she would photograph Luftwaffe night raids from the roof of the US embassy and a spontaneously smiling Stalin. Years later, she would become known as Maggie the Indestructible in the Korean war, and she would end a last interview with Gandhi just before he was shot.

The place is the Sturdza Palace, a strange part of the old Victoria Square, built in the last years of the 19^th century by Iulius Reiniqke for prince G.M. Sturdza. It was a controversial edifice from the beginning, symbol more of a taste to impress (with one’s fortune) than of taste. Bourke-White photographed it too:

[source]

Though people rediscover it in dusty photos and include it in their admiration for everything old, I don’t like it. It was bombed in 1944 and demolished a couple of years later. Victoria Palace came right behind it as part of a plan to remodel the square. The war-time bombings and then communist urbanism completed the tak of concocting what is perhaps the ugliest urban nucleus of Bucharest.

The model is of Victoria Palace, designed then as headquarters for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a secondary building in a never completed plan for Victoria Square. Construction began in 1937 and was completed in 1944. The site was just behind the Sturdza Palace (were they planning to tear it down?). The architect, Duiliu Marcu, left a significant trace in Romanian modernist architecture and Victoria is, I think, a very nice accomplishment, though it too was bombed in ’44 and then poorly rebuilt (reopened in 1952 with no Cararra marble and no bas-reliefs). Today it hosts the Government and it needs repair work.

[/source]

So you’ve never been to a pōwhiri before? Or perhaps you’ve been to one before, but not for a while, or not outside of a marae, or not away from home.

Pou in Victoria Square

Haneta Pierce, who is the manager of Māori Services at Christchurch City Libraries and heads the Bicultural portfolio for LIANZA 2009 Conference, has helpfully put together an explanation of what a pōwhiri is, what you can expect and where to meet.

Why have a pōwhiri? The primary purpose of the pōwhiri is to bring together two groups of people – the hosts (mana whenua) and the visitors (manuhiri). This is a step-by-step process, observing Māori tikanga, that allows the two groups to become sufficiently comfortable with one another, so that they can then mingle with each another and together undertake the business of the meeting, which, in this case, is the annual LIANZA Conference.

Where is it being held? The pōwhiri for this year’s conference will take place in Victoria Square, which is a very short stroll to the conference venue.

What to wear? Tidy dress, just as you would wear to work, or to a conference. There is no specific requirement for skirts for women. It may be cool, or it may be hot, so we suggest you dress in layers to adapt to the weather conditions.

When and where to gather. The pōwhiri is scheduled to begin at 8.30am, on Monday 12th October, so please start to gather near the bridge in Victoria Square from 8.15am. There will be folks around to guide you about where to stand before the pōwhiri begins, and where to move after the wero (formal challenge) and karanga (ceremonial call) have happened. The seating on the manuhiri side is intended for pōwhiri speakers and overseas guests.

Information for the day. As mentioned above, there will be folks on hand to guide you. You will also receive a pōwhiri booklet when you register to explain the process (so if you can register before 8.15am, that would be useful!).  Mana whenua will speak first, then the manuhiri will reply. There will be various waiata (songs), including the LIANZA waiata, Ko nga kete wananga e rapuhia e Tane. To familarise yourself with this waiata, have a listen to the tune and learn the words here.

After the formal proceedings. Once the harirū (pressing of noses) between the mana whenua and seated guests is completed, we will enter the Town Hall and make our way to the air bridge upstairs to cross to the Convention Centre for morning tea.

What if it rains? In the event that the weather on the morning of Monday 12th October isn’t favourable, a decision will be made to engage our “change of venue” plans by 7.30am. The process remains the same, but the venue changes to the main hall of the Convention Centre. There’ll be folks on hand to make sure you know where to go.

Some of the challenges to holding the pōwhiri in Victoria Square. In holding the pōwhiri outside of a marae setting, there are some challenges posed as it acquires an additional purpose, that of making a symbolic statement about the identity of the local, regional or national community and the part Māori have within that, as well as an introduction between two groups. It also acquires a different audience, one whose members in most cases do not understand or speak te Reo Māori. This can present the presiding kaumātua (elders) with a dilemma, as speaking in only te Reo Māori may mean that many of those present do not understand the speeches, miss out on the information contained therein, and, instead of enjoying, endure the ceremony. However, through discussions with Te Rōpū Whakahau and tangata whenua representatives, in this case Ngāi Tahu, and structure and guidance from the LIANZA Conference Handbook, we’ve worked together to ensure that the pōwhiri achieves the goal of bringing the two groups together, observing tikanga and welcoming our overseas manuhiri appropriately.

I recently met with Terrisa (aka TKG) from the Bicultural sub-committee and together we put our heads together to take a look at the programme from a bicultural perspective.

It all begins on Monday the 12th of October, when we start with a powhiri in Victoria Square. You can see a glimpse of Victoria Square at the end of the CSI – Conference Scene Investigators video here. And you can learn the waiata here.

Pou in Victoria Square

We’ll be sharing more specific details about the powhiri next week, where to meet, what the expectations are, what to wear, what the wet weather provisions are, but for now, all you need to remember is that it will take place on Monday 12th from 8.30am.

So, onto the ins and outs of the LIANZA 2009 programme through a bicultural lens.

Starting out on Monday October 12th, we are privileged to have, as our opening keynote speakers, the father and daughter team of Sir Tipene O’Regan and Hana O’Regan. They will be discussing the growth and future of Generation Ngai Tahu.

Later on Monday afternoon, at 2.30pm, Terehia Biddle will outline the different ways that Archives New Zealand has undertaken to ensure the success of iwi-related projects in her presentation Kei hea te taunaga mai o aku kupu?  Where will my words lie?, including the digitisation of materials to creating successful partnerships with Māori responsible for hāpu-iwi archives.

Moving through to Tuesday October 13th, we see that Anahera Morehu from Te Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau will be busy on this day as she is co-presenting two sessions, and it’s rumoured that she may also be chairing a session. Phew, talk about a busy conference exprience indeed!

First up at 11am, Anahera Morehu and Eddie Neha, from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, will address the issue of Mātauranga Māori in relation to Professional Registration. If you want to explore what Mātauranga Māori is and how it relates to you, and what types of training could you undertake to improve your understanding, then this session is a must.

Te Rōpu Whakahau (TRW) is meeting at 1.15pm. Call by the TRW exhibitor’s stand for further information. You’ll be wanting to drop by the TRW stand anyhow, to buy a raffle ticket and find out about the upcoming 2010 Hui-a-tau in Ōnuku Marae.

Later on, at 2.30pm, Anahera Morehu is joined by Kim Gutchlag, Charlotte Stretton and Teri Ta’ala for a workshop-style session titled Ngā Ūpoko Tukutuku : Advance the Future. This session will begin with a brief background to the development of Māori Subject Headings (MSH) and then move into a group discussion about where to from here in terms of MSH. Check the session abstract for an idea of the questions that will lead into this discussion.

On Wednesday October 14th at 11.45am, Te Rōpu Whakahau Tūmuaki (President) Jackie Te Roe (Haki) Tahana will report back from the International Indigenous Librarians Forum (ILLF) 2009 in his session Maku ano i hanga toku nei whare.

Other aspects of the programme on Wednesday14th October that could be of interest are Penny Carnaby’s address at 9.15am A new equity emerges : citizen-created content powering the knowledge economy, Jessica Dorr’s keynote session at 9.45am, Libraries building communities : communities building libraries, and Loriene Roy’s session at 11.15am on New National Indigenous Library Services Iniatives.

We will end our conference with the poroporoaki at 3.10pm on Wednesday October 14th. This is a farewell ceremony to formally close the conference, with an opportunity for the manuhiri (guests, in this case, the delegates) to reflect upon their experiences and to show thanks to the tangata whenua (hosts) for their hospitality.

The worst of the Winter weather is over, so we are back to 8am-12noon.
See you there!!

Authenticity: Getting the name right – it’s Victoria Square.

source: Athens Indymedia

A special police operation against immigrants street vendors took place on Saturday at 12:00  Victoria Square and Patission Street in the center of Athens.

During the operation, which lasted 20 minutes, and which was done in collaboration with the municipal police of Athens, the vendors left their merchanidise left their goods, and the cops confiscated them and transported them with 3 trucks to the warehouses of the City of Athens – probably to be shared among the uniformed employees of the mayor.

Christmas time at Victoria Square, Adelaide

It’s been widely reported that the Victoria Square Fountain leaks. The council are spending an estimated £70,000 on finding and repairing current leaks.

What really annoys me, almost daily, when I walk to work the fountain is on, bubbling away & leaking water.

Who makes these decisions? How do they make these decisions? How much is it going to cost to repair? I intend to find out.

I’ve made a freedom of information request and I’ll report back what I find out.

Cambridge Farmers’ Market moved to the western, Dick Street, side of Victoria Street Cambridge this sunny winter’s Saturday morning the 25th of July 2009.

Winter Hours 9am -1pm
Cambridge Farmers’ Market
Rain, Hail or Shine!

Check out the Cambridge Farmers’ Market website or better still get along to Victoria Square next Saturday.

Cambridge Farmers’ Market

After it being a good year since last visiting Adelaide, the arrival of a football game between my friend’s team (Hawthorn) and my team (Adelaide) in Adelaide seemed like a good excuse to go back.

It was a difficult trip, with the Skybus to Tullamarine leaving from Southern Cross at around 5am, requiring a ridiculously early start on our part! The trip to the airport, checking in and the flight itself were all very smooth – especially considering we were flying with Jetstar!

Adelaide at 7am was fairly cold, but we managed to find the bus (which was running on a Saturday morning) and get into the centre of town. Finding the hotel was no problem, but check in wasn’t until 2pm, so we had some time to kill. Luckily we could leave our big bags in the hotel while we explored the early morning city. After walking up Rundle Mall, Rundle Street and looping back around on North Terrace, we stopped for a bite to eat (brunch?) at a small cafe called ‘Not Coffee’.

As we weren’t staying with my Grandma this time, we went to see her later on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the buses were over an hour apart so we ended up getting a taxi out into the inner suburbs. As my friend is vegan, I had baked some cookies to take with us to save my Grandma stressing over finding something vegan. As it turned out, she did have some other biscuits in her cupboard which were milk/animal-free, but little else!

Back in the city, we got off the bus and went in the Central Markets for a look around – not much has changed – and then back up through Victoria Sqaure. Many a photo was taken.

Thankfully after that we could check in and had a little nap so that we wouldn’t crash too early that night. Our hotel was the Adelaide Paringa Motel, which despite the old decor, was clean, cheap and cheerful. The receptionist was quite amusing too, making sarcastic comments about the ’sights of Adelaide’!

We went out just as the sun was going down and went down to the Torrens, opposite the Festival Centre to scope out potential night-shooting places; unfortunately we came up with very little and didn’t go back down there later.

Dinner that night was at a delicious Thai joint in Hindley Street called Mekong Thai. The prices were reasonable (especially for booze), the food delicious and service fantastic. I’m still trying to establish what was wrong with it!

That evening we headed down to Rundle Mall to take some night shots. A surgical mask on the pigs covered the hilarity of the swine flu panic, and then the balls and some other long exposures were enough to cover a night shoot in Adelaide. The idea of a warm hotel room and a good nights sleep was just too tempting, so we had an early night.

Sunday; the day of the footy. Without too much before the early afternoon game, we took a quick walk down King William Street to do some shooting before catching the bus out to the game. I’m still in awe that the public transport is so readily available and civilised.

The game itself was OK – we played well, but could have played better. Hawthorn didn’t deserve to win, but we could have fought a lot harder and won by a bigger margin. Overall though, very happy result and a great atmosphere for the game. The little bit of rain was only a little off-putting but thankfully didn’t last too long.

After catching the bus back into the city (still in awe), we headed back for a rest at the hotel and then out for an early dinner again. Again we settled on Thai, but this wasn’t as impressive (down on Rundle Street), and then a couple of (dirt cheap) pints at the Exeter to keep us warm before walking back down to our hotel.

Monday morning was free for us until around 1pm, so we took a last walk around the city for photos. A loop took us up onto North Terrace, through the museum/university area, back around down Frome Road, down towards Victoria Square and back along Rundle Mall to our hotel. By this time, we were both ready for a sit down! The journey back was uneventful other than a 20 minute delay on the flight, and we managed to get home between the light showers of rain.

8am-12Noon today. Winter hours (9am – 1pm) begin next Saturday the 6th of June 2009.

Cambridge Farmers’ Market

It’s so cold early in the mornings during Winter. A few of us had some near misses on black ice driving into town last week. From 6th June we will be open 9am-1pm. We hope that the winter hours will help you get to the market in time. Look forward to seeing you there!

Cambridge Farmers’ Market hours are back to normal this week…. 8am-12noon every Saturday at Victoria Square, Cambridge

Feijoa at Cambridge Farmers’ Market this afternoon.

Launched today CambridgeFarmersMarket.co.nz.

Good morning. We are here! We hope you enjoy visiting us – more importantly we look forward to seeing you at Victoria Square on Saturday for lots of yummy treats. Please remember, this Saturday (25 April) only, Cambridge Farmers’ Market is being held during the afternoon between 1-4pm because of Anzac Day.

Please note: On Anzac Day – this Saturday – Cambridge Farmers’ Market is being held on Victoria Square between 1-4pm. Normal hours resume on the following Saturday 2 May 2009.

Kerryn Jensen manager of Cambridge Farmers’ Market this morning, Saturday the 18th of April 2009, at Victoria Square, Cambridge, New Zealand. Selling hours are from 8am until 12pm – indicated by the ringing of the market bell. There is no selling before or after the bell is rung. Kerryn and I have been working on Cambridge Farmers’ Market’s new website which we hope to launch this Wednesday morning (22/04/2009).  

Easter Saturday 2009 at Cambridge Farmers’ Market.