OUT & ABOUT
Wizards & fairies It's no secret that the Wizard of New Zealand has an affection for little children and this was certainly evident during the celebration of his 182nd birthday at The Tannery in Woolston.
know how to party
ADDING A LOVELY TOUCH OF COLOUR WAS A BEVY OF FAIRIES, WHO JOINED THE WIZARDS IN DANCING AND MINGLED WITH THE CHILDREN, SPRINKLING BLUE FAIRY DUST ONTO THE HAIR OF SOME ENCHANTED GIRLS.
T
he festivities began on a recent Saturday afternoon with the presentation to the Wizard of a gigantic birthday cake, which he then began to systematically cut into slices and present to dozens of children in The Tannery's atrium. To one side of the Wizard were five of his henchmen, all dressed in black and with conical hats, who were presenting the kids with balloons – and it was obvious that these children were loving every moment of the wonderful things happening around them. Adding a lovely touch of colour to this was a bevy of fairies, who joined the wizards in dancing and mingled with the children, sprinkling blue fairy dust onto the hair of some enchanted girls. Even Alasdair Cassels, the head of Cassels and Sons, who initiated the development of The Tannery, was right in the middle of it, thoroughly enjoying himself while handing out chocolate bars from a big cloth bag. Of course, the celebrations took many other forms, with a surprisingly large number of other people from all walks of life taking part. On first entering The Tannery at about 3.30pm, there was a group of children singing around a grand piano. It turns out that these
By Hans Petrovic
were the choir from the Rudolf Steiner School in St Martins. Towards the other end of the atrium was the Woolston Brass band in full blast; while a group of straw-hatted Morris dancers took every opportunity to jig around. Even the wizards played some blues on guitars and other instruments. For the record, the other five wizards at this event were Ari and Kierin, now full wizards; Barrie, an auxiliary; and Nick and Daniel, both apprentices. The head guy, who is known to his friends as Jack, had himself promoted to ArchWizard at another festive occasion held up at the Gondola a couple of months ago.
Although Jack admits his 182nd birthday is a bit of an exaggeration, he is already planning to take part in other special upcoming events. Metropol January 15, 2015 23