NOT THE FRONT PAGE BUT
THE GOSSIP PAGE
There is a brilliant definition of news, though I apologise in advance to forgetting whom to attribute it to. "News is something, that someone, somewhere, doesn't want known. Everything else is advertising." We could say the same for gossip, witness the rise of the gossip magazines and televised infortainment.
Whatever definition you give it news/gossip/information is widely sought and avidly devoured. It's dissemination is one of the pillars of democracy for those who hoard information, for whatever mistaken idea, should be rejected by all fencers who believe a bout is a free and frank conversation between two equals - a conversation of the blades!
So this column encourages the spreading of information/news/gossip as long as it can pass the basic tests for slander - truth or reasonable personal belief!
If you have something to say about anything to do with fencing or what is posted on this site then this is the place to say it. Like Letters to the Editor, submissions should be concise, pertinent and may be subject to editing.
27/1/2012: Question: Should Bob and his mob be worried about this afternoon’s meeting with Nick Smith.
Answer: Nuh! They’re our folks and we voted them in so its our problem, not the rest of the country’s, and up to us to deal with them – how about a couple of thousand ratepayers turning out for next Wednesday’s gathering of the helpless against the hopeless at the Council Hutch??
Don’t hold your breath for the art of affirmative action of the Viet Nam War or the Springbok Tour kind is strictly the preserve of the young and not the moaning oldies left in quake City.
As one café-goer said this week; “If a couple of thousand people turned out to use the shops and toilets at Christchurch International Airport that would tie things up and make a great stink by pissing off local and international air travellers.” Apparently it happened in the States where just the threat of the gathering was enough to get the city’s mayor and his cohort to do the will of the people.
Another affirmative action suggested would be to dump bags of quick-setting cement in the toilet bowls of the Council House – use your imagination for the consequences that would have.
See what the quakes have done to the former Council House.
Read what the moaners and whiners are up to in today’s copy of THE PRESS
26/1/2012: The war of words.
I don’t want to say, “I told you so”, but most people in Quake City could see the looming boil-up over communication, or the apparent lack of it, in our struggling city. So the war of words between EQC and The Press was to be expected.
Now a former journalist from The Press is to undertake a review of the Christchurch City Council’s communications while the spin-doctors from other organizations with a vested interest in the city seem to have gone quiet – are they still on holiday?
If you consider the Christchurch City Council, Sayrah and EQC and their groupies, as the “three estates” and the news media as the “fourth estate” in quake City and count up the number of media manipulators each has you’d be surprised! What's the Fourth Estate?
Christchurch City Council has ten full-time media slaves and two who titivates the web site, though some say it is more like 23 when you add in the waifs and strays from other sections of the bureaucracy. Sayrah has about eight including those on secondment. EQC have two in Christchurch and five in Wellington. That’s around 27 for the three. Plus around another 15 or so for the groupies determined to put their own spin on things, (By groupies I mean those ‘other’ organizations with an interest in Quake City). Giving a rough total of 42.
in Quake City, we have about 23 on the print front: The Press has 14 media slaves, the Star five. Mainland Press have four. On the Television and Radio fronts there are about 20. TVNZ would not divulge the number of media slaves they employ in Christchurch, for safety reasons they said! CTV has three and TV3 has five plus two Campbell Live reporters. As for radio, goodness knows, I only listen to it when the shit hits the fan and then it is mostly talkback, and they do an excellent job with their immediacy. However Radio New Zealand has four plus a vacancy, so if you are looking for job, get in touch. That’s a total of 43.
So the sides are reasonably matched for the ongoing battle. But having said that, an un-armed man (which is what most of us normal people in Quake City are) should not get on the piste (fencing strip) between two armed fencers but stay on the sidelines and cheer for their man, or woman.
Cummon the Fourth Estate!!
Anyone want to borrow a sabre or two?
Now for a bit of light relief:
This duck has joined soldiers in manning an entry/exit point in the fenced-in and locked-down Red Zone in central Christchurch. The gates keep a check on the number of looters and Black Ops in the abandoned buildings still standing after nearly 10,000 earthquakes. Black Ops is a term locals use to describe the actions of former central city business people in recovering posessions, paperwork and goods generally without permission from Sayrah. Wots Sayrah? Now what happened to that electronic hotel booking system that was turned down by a local second-hand dealer, but ended up being sold elsewhere by looters?
(Apologies, I keep forgetinng that many readers of this page are from overseas and are not locals so I forget the who, what, where and when mantra of sucessful caption writing. The Duck is manning the Manchester Street, bridge over the Avon River, gate on one side of the Avon River, not far from where protests against the Vietnam War were held in the 1960's!)
21/1/2012: Psst, wanna see some amazing images? Have a look up this SKIRT!!
or here: Skirting the action
Or here: 
It was there on the 19th - have a look, but not now.
Or this huge truck-borne knock-it-down backing its way slowly up Gloucester Street - that's the Manchester Street parking building on the right.
19/1/2012: SMOKO time in Quake City:
Even the smelly knock-it-downs need a break – this one squats on the remains of old Sydenham Post Office. RIP 1911-2011!
Kate and Paul await customers at their central–city Kea Coffee Cabin on the korner of Manchester and St Asaph streets. They serve the local workers returning to businesses slowly coming back to the area and a surprising number of sightseers traipsing round the Red Zone fence-line.
Central-city workers enjoy their smoko in the shade.
18/1/2012: A wander round the fenced-in Red Zone in central Christchurch is a highlight for many tourists. In talking to them most have NO idea of what really happened and what was there and what is coming down. Just as well as nobody lives there now otherwise the Letters to the Editor page of the nation's top newspaper would be filled by anti-rubbernecker rants.
Knock it downs about to get to work in Kilmore Street - Above: this is what happens if you didn't leave your office in a tidy condition - everyone can see it.
And, below, if you get your road rules wrong in Madras Street? No worries, no traffic.
And still on Madras Street, the birth of a new stream in Quake City. Or is it a water leak?
16/1/2012: What do you do on a Saturday night in the quake-flattened Eastern suburbs – break into an abandoned house and make music!
A New Brighton couple were woken early Sunday morning not by the 5.1 earthquake just off-shore, but the tinkling keys of this piano in the deserted house next door. A call of, keep it down chaps, by the neighbour saw the music lovers leave, but without them sweeping the floor clean or repairing the wrenched door before they left.
Looting and squatters have been a constant problem in the empty buildings and homes of Quake City, but this musical soirée is a new thing – music while you quake. The Police were informed but appeared disinterested. Perhaps they didn’t like the music? I know, I know, two horrible puns!
15/1/2012: This building at 123 Victoria Street meets its end this week.
As did these frig/frezzers last week.
13/1/2012: Its Friday the thirteenth and here are a couple of zany views to show that things are still functioning in Quake City.
Open for business in Christchurch.
Looting! 
Bet there are no looters in this Police vehicle seen escaping from its hutch outside the court house in the central city yesterday. Read John Royle’s letter to the editor on page A9 of yesterday’s The Press. The Sumner resident highlights the bizarre dichotomy between the Justice handed out to looters in Quake City by our courts, and the bizarre threat of huge fines for those staying in their read-stickered homes ostensibly to protect them from LOOTING! Weird, is not the word.
And now the threat of STRAWBERRY POLICE says Joe Bennett in the nation’s top newspaper.
God Botherers!
You have to admire them. With most of their brick and stone buildings damaged and many flattened – they have not given up.
11/1/2012: A door too far?
Or a door to nowhere – the front door of the former Sydenham Post Office on Colombo Street AND here's what is behind that door - a grumbling, stinky knock-it-down.
And for those with a musical bent, doors of another kind beckon: RIDER ON THE STORM a hit from forty-odd years ago is most appropriate for those 360,000 folks in Christchurch riding out their very won personal storm of earthquakeS.
About THE DOORS! and their music.
Talking of doors, here’s the front door of the Christchurch Casino this morning. Rumour is that they are going to build a new frontage! 
7/1/2012: A public relations exercise for bureaucrats or facts for the ratepayers? The quakes keep rumbling on even shaking up a technical briefing yesterday by quake scientists for Mayor Bob, City Councilors, Sayrah, Members of Parliament and the Media, but not ratepayers and citizens of Christchurch, who were excluded. Does it (the closed meeting not the quake) provide more evidence of a breakdown in communication between the recovery bureaucracies and ratepayers highlighted in Thursday’s posting?
Will Mayor Bob, City Councillors, Sayrah, Members of Parliament and the Media turn up for the February 1 st peoples meeting at the Christchurch City Council’s offices?
Here's a good news story.
Amanda and her three-year-old son had two rented houses, one in Kaiapoi and one in Woolston, flattened in the September and February quakes. The pair then moved to the North Island near Taurangi, but the grumbling of the near-by mountain saw them return to Christchurch determined to stay. Their Richmond house was damaged in June’s quake but the pair are still here! Peace!
Finally, well done Peter. You named most of the Kiwi fencers in the photo (below). The Choccy fish is yours and will wing it’s way to you in Melbourne under a plain wrapper to avoid quarantine problems - like our Kiwi apples.
5/1/2012: And now for some fencing news:
- Epeeist Brett Davis gets married to Kelly tomorrow in Christchurch.
- Christchurch Sabreur Luke Robertson has proposed to partner Shona and they plan to tie the knot in Fiji.
- Sabreur Jonathan Chan and partner Nikki are in Christchurch for a visit. The pair are living and working in Germany.
- The current Fencing New Zealand officers, President Ken Claridge , Secretary Vicci Lamb and Treasurer Robert Gestaldo-Brac are willing to continue in their positions for 2012.
- 2012 Competition list (so far).
February 4 – 6 New Zealand Masters Fencing, Dunedin.
April 13 – 15 New Zealand U15 and Cadets (U17) Championships,
Fencing South (Dunedin).
21 – 22, Fencing Central Championships, Wellington.
21 – 22 Australian U15 and u17 Championships, Sydney.
June 2 – 3 North Island Championships, North (Auckland).
July 7 – 8 Fencing South Championships, Dunedin.
13 – 15 Oceania Junior Championships, New Caledonia.
August 18 – 19 New Zealand Junior (U20) Championships Central
(Wellington).
September 1 – 2 South Island Championships, Fencing South (Dunedin).
22 – 23 Fencing North Championships, (Auckland).
27 – 30 Commonwealth Veterans Fencing Championships,
Singapore.
October 4 – 7 Australian Junior (U20) Championships, Brisbane.
26 – 27 Asian Junior (U20) Championships, Bali.
December 8 – 9 New Zealand National (open) Championships, MidSouth
(Christchurch).
7 – 11 Australian National Championships, Canberra.
(Awaiting dates and/or organisers are the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships, and the Asian U23 Championships.. Plus a plethora of other regional or club comps including the University of Canterbury Fencing Club’s Eccleston one-hit Epee – contact your club or regional organization for details.)
Bob Anderson, the British fencing coach who staged many movie sword-fighting scenes, has died aged 89. More about Bob at: DARTH VADER! He also published some well received books on fencing – see Books to Read section.
Recognise anyone in the above photo? You could win a chokky fish by being the first to correctly identify a member of this great Kiwi fencing team living it up in ……..? (Nelson epeeist David Eccleston was the Kiwi fencer who made it through to the second round of the foil event at the 72 World Fencing Championships - See pix posted 9/11/2011).
5/1/2012: 
Today Sayrah erected a fence round the soggy gable end of the old Primary Teachers College building on Peterborough Street (see pix posted on 2/1/2012).
Yesterday they came and painted some orange lines on the driveway of the 25-apartment complex next door, this morning they came and erected the fence blocking both the overground and underground car parking of the apartment’s occupiers. It was only when some occupiers complained that they needed to get their cars that Cera relented and will allow occupiers until tomorrow to rescue their vehicles before they chain up the fence so it cannot be moved. They have also promised to contact the occupiers to let them know what is about to happen.
This action highlights the lack of communication tween Quake City’s residents and those (supposedly) in control, be it City Council or Sayrah:
- The gable end crumbled on December 23 (see pix of the rubble posted on 25/12/2012) and people and vehicles have been going in and out since then – that’s nearly two weeks. Why so long to react? There was mention of urgent work in the central city red zone, but nobody lives there!
- Given that it is SO dangerous for the occupiers of the nearby complex why were they not informed of the restrictions until AFTER the fence was erected today? Many are on holiday and will return to find their cars trapped while others will have to find parking on the nearby streets thus cluttering up the streets and provide rich pickings for the City Council’s Parking Nazis.
Residents don’t count is what appears to have been demonstrated. Lack of communication is the other. Strange, perhaps Sayrah needs to increase it’s media and public relations staff ? I know two locals who are up to the job. It is rumoured Sayrah has 28 to the CCC’s 12 media slaves?
4/1/2012: The Law never sleeps in quake-torn Christchurch even when most of the court is still behind bars, or fences in this case!
Court security guard Tony was on hand for 2012’s first sitting in the slightly rumpled central city Court House today. The special Arrest Court, for those miscreants arrested over the holiday period, was presided over by Judge Saunders. Normal courts resume next week.
2/1/3012: 
If 2011 in Christchurch ended with a jolt or two then 2012 has got off to a flying start this morning by waking up much of the South Island between Ashburton and Kaikoura with a couple of early morning low fives, I mean real low fives and not your usual exuberant high fives, so there were a lot of tired looking café-goers today, but strangely, not grumpy ones as could be expected. In fact the atmosphere reminded me of this New Zealand flag still flying atop the former Primary Teachers’ College building in Peterborough Street since 2010 when the quakes began – a bit grubby, a bit tattered, a bit faded, but bugger me it’s still flying above central Christchurch!
More about the New Zealand flag HERE or HERE!
And here's a shot of the old building still standing, but a bit bendy at the top.....
29/12/2011: Insurance Hoopla. 
Café talk last week seemed more interesting than ever. Perhaps café-goers were relaxing into Christmas mode – one even driving all the way from New Brighton to Sydenham for his cuppa on Boxing Day. Perhaps it was the culmination of a year of stress or, perhaps people are coming to the boiling point – will YOU be turning up to the protest meeting in the foyer of the Christchurch City Council building on February 1 st? Anyway, apart from the Marryatt debacle, I can tell you what six of the major points of interest will be in quake-torn Christchurch in 2012.
- Insurance.
- Insurance
- Insurance
- Poor communication and the growth of PR speak.
- Christchurch City Council intimidation of rate-payers.
- Engineer and technical reports.
Forget rugby, forget quantum physics, forget Mayor Parker and his council, forget Gerry and the Wastemakers, insurance will be the talking point in 2012.
The Insurance and Savings Ombudsman in Wellington has a dedicated phone line for inquires and complaints from Quake City residents plus an downloadable information sheet on their website for those affected. YES, I wnat to know more about insurance matters.
Iain, who is in charge of earthquake matters, said that there have been over 400 inquires so far since the quakes began, but only 16 complaints. That will change in 2012. Some café-goers were talking about legal action and said they know of dozens of others in the same boat – they are just waiting for “deadlock”. Deadlock being the final hoop in the insurance circus. Another hoop is that the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman cannot rule on cases over $200,000 unless the insurance company agrees to it. Hoopla!!
If you are wondering what a photograph of a bee's arse is doing at the head of this posting, just bear in mind not only can it sting, but it can crap all over you!
Enjoy 2012 wherever you are!
25/12/2011 : 
Happy Christmas and all that. Even a new round of earthquakes on December 23rd did not put too much a damper on things as this fellow in the central city shows. (Yes, Keith, it is a female on the right. She gave her name as Jane then took to her heels after being photographed with Santa!)
French visitors Piat and Marie headed for the hills before the quakes struck.
From the island of Reunion, the couple headed to the Alps for some paragliding.
Leaving poor Jo to mop up the water pouring from her quake-damaged hot water cylinder.
Or, dodging this rubble in Peterborough Street.
Or clearing up the liquifaction - yes, it is the former Lancaster Park (AMI Stadium) in the background!
22/12/2011: PEOPLE IN SYDENHAM!
Hand watering only says the Christchurch City Council so out comes Harry, of Turf Technologies Ltd, to give the cricket pitches at Sydenham Park a drink.
What is this fellow doing? 
And him? 
How about this fellow? 
Andy's garnering a bit of Christmas dosh wheeling baskets of strawberries up and down Colombo Street and using a bit of Irish blarney to sell them - he's from Dublin! The other two have to remain nameless for their own protection
19/12/2011: Noah ( Pete Majendie) and his Ark of Hope are snapped for posterity by The Press photographer Don Scott in Sydenham Square.
Majendie and the Side Door Arts Trust have built the Ark as an interactive art installation - in otherwords you get to walk through the ark and experience all sorts of weird things.... but be quick, it closes this Thursday!
17/12/2011: Old fencers never give up, they just leave the country!
Had a phone call recently from a former fencer from last century (Pre 2000 to you younger blades.) offering his old gear to a good home – a local fencer or club. He took up fencing under coach David Eccleston in Napier in 1966 and stopped in the early 1970’s. He is an aid worker overseas and was back in New Zealand to tidy-up which included passing on his gear – sadly it’s too old and out of date but the thought counts, so thank-you David Wilkinson. Read about what this former fencer gets up to OVERSEAS.
Psst, over thirty and a fencer??
Christoph Büchel, 2011 (source)
How about trying the Masters Games in Dunedin in February 2012? They even have a visual foil competition! More info at: MASTERS FENCING The entry fee is $75 plus a $15 sport fee But there is a special for superannuitants!
13/12/2011: THE BEGINING OF THE END!
Salvage operations started today at the former Sydenham Post Office before the Knock-It-Downs get to work on it's demolition.
12/12/2011: It’s billed as the Ark of Hope – an interactive art installation for all ages. 
Buggered if I know what that means, but boy Sam, left, and Pete where hard at it when I caught them on Saturday constructing the bare bones of the ark on top of a big box. Pete's got a model of what it will look like when finished.
It opens in Sydenham Square, near the old Post Office that’s about to get the attention of the Knock-it-Downs, at 7pm on Friday December 16 th so you’ll have to wait til then to see what it is all about.
Who knows, it might just slow the traffic on Brougham and Colombo Streets long enough to consider stopping to see how the old suburb of Sydenham is going ahead and set to become the new CBD!
9/12/2011: A connectics driver experienced a sinking feeling in Sydenham yesterday.
The team was working on a cleared site facing Colombo Street and parked their van on the former footpath, behind the safety fence, when it gave way embarassing the young driver (face hidden to protect the young)!
No, it has not stopped the rebuild in Sydenham which has become the new city centre!
8/12/2011: GOING, GOING...soon: 
Wow! Someone is listening! Us quake-city survivors have another weekend of central city walkabout: See posting of 5/12, below, on Disaster Tourism.
“”The walkway into Cathedral Square will remain in place for another weekend, instead of closing this Sunday as originally planned. The walkway follows the lowest-risk route along Colombo Street, beneath several buildings that are being prepared for demolition. Roger Sutton, the chief executive of"" (SAYRAH) ""says the work on the largest one - the BNZ building"" (above) "" is progressing well. But as the actual demolition work hasn’t yet started the walkway beneath it can safely remain open longer than anticipated.””
7/12/2011: Amid Sydenham’s rubble the poppies grow, bright red signals of a city’s woes…
with apologies to Lt-Colonel John McCrae.
Inveterate café goer Maureen Fletcher, who died in a nearby Colombo Street café in February’s earthquake, would appreciate the symbolism of these poppies growing in Sydenham. She once ran a popular ashram in the North Island and had a strong belief in spiritualism.
Why are poppies so symbolic? Have a read! 
5/12/2011: A walk in the locked-down red zone on Sunday or, the financial future of central Christchurch.
Back in the early 1980’s Aussie folk group REDGUM had a hit called "A WALK IN THE LIGHT GREEN. It was a song about the horrors of the Vietnam War and it touched a raw nerve among a population that had been overwhelmed by the media coverage of the Asian war more than a decade earlier, but now consigned to history. If we are lucky some Kiwi musician will do the same for the Christchurch quakes - a world-wide hit - and the sooner the better for the financial future of the CBD was evident on Sunday afternoon, tourism – Earthquake Tourism!
With the central city out of action for the next five to ten years disaster tourism has the makings of a profitable business for Sayrah or the Christchurch City Council for on the weekend xxx (waiting for Sayrah’s figures for the weekend’s tramp! About Monday’s posting – I did e-mail Sayrah for an actual count of the number of people who used the Square walkway last weekend, but to no avail – they are usually super fast with their responses - though they did publish a media-speak press-release this morning: Does our Roger speak like this????) thousands sauntered the narrow, fenced in path to the Square and back.
Many were locals out to see the damage for themselves, but many were tourists on an adventure trip to the site of a disaster. We should take advantage of that very human trait – curiosity!
2/12/2011: Here’s a great way to promote our ravaged city world-wide – a last building standing hunt.
Install ten video cameras at various points in the locked down central Christchurch so viewers can watch from a distance and first to spot a live person without a hi-vis jacket and hard-hat wins a vial of liquifaction.
Think I’m kidding? Have a look at this "Hunt The Haggis" site and take note of how widely popular it is.
The options are endless; hunt Mayor Bob, hunt the Liquefaction, hunt the Red Sticker Breakers, etc, etc. In fact CCC and Sayrah could save vast amounts of your hard-earned dosh for they wouldn't need to pay for Private Eyes, busses to take folks through the central city, plastic cones and hi-vis jackets and hard-hats. Is our city worth watching? Read this fascinating story in the nation's top newspaper: "THE PRESS'.
For the three of you quick off the mark asking about the pix, above, it shows how quickly the weeds (and grafitti) are taking over vacant sites in Sydenham. In this case the corner site once inhabited by the wee printing company, Angus Donaldson, who have moved further up Colombo Street on the other side.
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Content prior to this is archived below.
Archived Gossip and Photos: 2011 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007
About the photographs on this website.
Gossip Page: The Front Page of The Press, Christchurch and the South Island's largest newspaper, goes to bed in the good old days of hot metal type; Montage at the bottom of this page, Australian foilist Franki Bartolilo; Three-times world veteran foil champion Maurizio Galvan fronts up for New Zealand television; Epee action from Challenge Australia; More epee action from the 02 Commonwealth Fencing Championships; A famous French fencer captured in Seoul; Attendees at a training camp in Christchurch run by Maitre Galvan in 2007.
About Me Page: Two top epee coaches at the Giardino Club in Milan. Oleg Putzanov, left, and Gianni Muzio, right. Montage; Kiwi fencer, Andrew Kell, demonstrates the new sabre mask - 2004 A Space Oddity - in Madrid; Top Kiwi womens' sabreur Katherine Taylor; Australian Olympian, Bill Ronald, relaxes on Lygon Street, Melbourne; Hot Man - an interesting portrait from the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in Shah Alam; Christchurch fencing physiotherapist Scott Suen bounds in for a hit against a luckless Australian fencer; Kiwi sabreur, Robert Snoep watches the action at the CFC in Shah Alam; A polite discussion takes place among University fencers at the Uni Games circa 1969. Last but not least, a tidy black Morris Minor photographed in Melbourne. A famous Italian Fencing Master and three-times world vets foil champion used my Morris Minor van for his afternoon siestas while running a training camp in Christchurch in 2007. The fact that he went on to win his third title on the trot is no indication of the efficacy, or otherwise, of sleeping in the back of a Morris Minor van named Corrie the Morrie!
Learn To Fence Page: Youngsters, barely taller than the epees they wield, duel it out in the fencing club at Toledo, Spain; Hitting actions - from beginner to Olympic champion - some example of how to hit your opponent; Kiwi epeeist Natalie Fraser fights into fifth place at a national womens epee competition in Vallalodid, Spain. What every competititve fencer needs - an FIE international fencing license - this one from 1973. A promising young sabreur is given a lesson by one of Spain's top coaches, Luis Jiminez, at the Royal Spanish Fencing Federation's national training centre in Madrid. Aussie coach Mathieu at work; A fencing tournament underway in Adelaide, South Australia.
Books To Read Page: Olympic epee champion Marcel Fischer (Switzerland), Rangi de Abaffy and Willie Upritchard (New Zealand) pose against the ivy after a training session in my backyard in Christchurch. The Montage: Aussie Fencer Sarah Osvath recovers from a tumble; The teams line-up at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in Malaysia; Top Kiwi women fencers Jess and Les fight it out at the New Zealand National Fencing Championships; Remember when? Kiwi sabreur Keith Mann shows how to fleche during a sabre bout in the 60's! Mann, twice President of New Zealand Fencing and who still competes in local tournaments, received an award for his services to the sport in 2007. Bottom, Hamish McCracken limbers up while some tired Spaniards watch Challenge Australia action and Waimaria and Karita think about what book to read!
Fencing Businesses Page: Top. A New Brighton resident enjoys the nation's top newspaper (The Press) in a local cafe; University Students march through Cathedral Square as part of Capping Day celebrations in the 1960's; A view of the Tagus River near Toledo in Spain; Another shot of University of Canterbury students celebrating Capping Day with a float highlighting Government funding cuts to universities; Chris, the head Reader at The Press, scans reporters copy for mistakes before it is sent for setting in the days before computerisation of the newspaper. Bottom: A Kiwi fencer begs for mercy after being disarmed; Top epeeist and coach David Eccleston at a training camp in Wellington; The last page for the next day's paper is sent to the platers; Ioan Pop, The FIE's Technical Director, captured at the World Champs in Seoul; A photographer from the Otago Daily Times captures the action at the 2006 nationals.
Links Page: Corps a corps or head to head - you decide. The power of acting - Christchurch actor and fencer, Simon Young, attracts the attention of a young admirer during a production in the Botanic Gardens. You need a good sense of balance for inline skating as Christchurch sabreur William Cowper found out. They might look like two grumpy old men, but three-times world foil champion Maurizio Galvan and local coach Rob Sheard were focusing on the actions of fencers at a training camp at the Fencing Institute. Kiwi fencers love beating up their big brothers in Australia and this shot shows Christchurch epeeist Hassan Kamel with the medal he won in Sydney; Gruff young Kiwi fencers ham it up at the Fencing Institute in Christchurch. Action in the mens epee at the 2007 New Zealand Nationals in Wellington where 14-year-old sabreur Alex Chan stole a seven-hit lead on former National champion Chris Nokes. Nokes came back to win 14-7 proving that a good Old Un can beat an uppity Young Un. Aussie and Kiwi coaches who took part in a training camp taken by Ioan Pop, the FIE's Technical Director. Action in the womens epee event at the World Champs in Seoul. Two members of the University of Canterbury Fencing Club fight off in the Duel at Dawn which marks the end of the fencing season. The duel is held at different venues each year, in this case it was the Christchurch Botanic Gardens!
