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So, we haven't emailed for a while and perhaps you've been wondering what's happened to Hemingway Fine Wines? Well, we're not looking so 'fine' anymore and business isn't quite what it once was! Saturday 14th May was just the second time we had been able to get into the shop since that fateful earthquake date of 22 February. The first time had been just three weeks after the earthquake when we 'snuck in' for 10 minutes and got the computers out, and then last Saturday week when we were granted access for an insurance loss adjuster, a structural engineer, a safety consultant, etc - only after filling in 13 pages of declarations and disclaimer forms and going through photo ID formalities, etc., all orchestrated by Wellington bureaucrats who have to justify their jobs by making life as difficult as they can for the people who used to spend each and every working day in the Christchurch CBD. We witnessed the protests and frustrations of Red Zone business owners and I emphathise with all of them.
The future of Hemingway Fine Wines is uncertain. We have always been CBD focused during our 11 years and a relocation to the suburbs looks to be a poor option as a business model after all things are considered. Our immediate aim will be to retrieve what we can when we can in terms of stock and shop fittings and deal with our insurance company on that basis. The pictures below will give you some idea of our present predicament. We are still in the restricted Zone 6 and my inderstanding is that our designation will not alter until there's some action on the Copthorne Hotel - politics are playing their part in the demolition of the hotel and nothing will change for us until it comes down. We are close by and are in the 'drop zone.'
That's not the only problem we have. Radio NZ House where we are located was yellow stickered. However, there is further damage that's only now being determined after a second look by engineers. The report has not been released yet but the worry is the stability of the soil to underpin repairs to the foundations. From the Harcourts Property Manager we have been told that even if repairs were carried out there can be no guarantee they would be successful.
If you look at the picture of the counter you may detect it is sitting about 6 inches higher on the wall side and the counter top is no longer level, listing forward about 15 degrees - due to liquefaction which is consistent throughout the shop floor. Repairs at the minimum would mean digging out the floor to the foundations and repouring the concrete floor slab.
We accept that life in the Christchurch CBD will never again be the same. The character of Christchurch has been partly lost and will be replaced by something else - what and when it will be is anyone's guess. Everyone wants a say in Christchurch's reconstruction and the ego of every architect has been whetted. Let's hope the powers that be don't listen to the likes of Ian Athfield from Wellington who wants to get rid of one-way streets, trams and buses while he advocates people come into the CBD - no explanation of how they will get in there.
We hope all our customers who were similarly effected by the earthquake are now making a good recovery and getting on with life. Our condolences go out to the families of those who lost their lives including Paul Dunlop, our good friend and customer who died removing the organ from the Methodist Church next door to our shop, and our friends who perished in the CTV building where we did a weekly advertising slot late in 2010. Thank you for reading this; we will bring you up-to-date when we have some more positive news at a later date.
Brian de Lore
Christchurch, Dorset, UK
(where there are no aftershocks)
We are still available on email should you wish to write:
hemingwayfinewines@xtra.co.nz
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