Gardens of Fire

Registered by Lytteltonwitch of Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on 3/15/2005
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Lytteltonwitch from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Story of a true event of a terrible fire in Christchurch in 1947.The day the Ballantynes department store burned and many people died.
Will offer this book up as a bookring.
Sherlockfan - Wellington
Futurecat - Christchurch
lytteltonwitch - Christchurch

Journal Entry 2 by Sherlockfan from Upper Hutt, Wellington Province New Zealand on Saturday, March 19, 2005
Arrived yesterday, 18th March, thanks and I am really looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for the little surprise included with it.

I was protected from reading about the horrors of this story because my parents made sure there were no newspapers in our house while the graphic stories and perhaps pictures were Stop Press news. I think that probably made my imagination run riot and make the whole event worse than it was. Could it have been any worse? We shall see.

And, on a completely unrelated topic - how horrid that Mundoo had her mobile phone stolen so few short hours after arriving in our country. Just not cricket!

Journal Entry 3 by Sherlockfan from Upper Hutt, Wellington Province New Zealand on Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Not sure why it took a while to finish this book. The author has obviously done huge amounts of research and has created an ambience of quality service to Ballentyne's wealthy customers, of painstaking production of top quality merchandise often by hand, and attention to detail resulting in an image the accords with the reputation that the emporium had developed. While I found parts of it perhaps a little too detailed the whole operation of Ballentynes became crystal clear in my mind.

However, once the fire had taken hold the descriptions of staff trusting entirely in the judgement of their supervisors and the casual way in which the inferno was able to develop without the evacuation that should have occurred if proper fire drill procedures had been in place is quite rivetting.

The graphic and horrific descriptions of the victims after the fire leave no doubt in my mind why the newspapers had been kept away from the eyes of a young girl.

It is a story that needs to be told and remembered. It should act as a graphic reminder to all employers, managers and supervisors of the need for constant vigilance and repetition of fire drills no matter how much staff in this day and age might complain about unnecessary interruptions to work flows.


Journal Entry 4 by Sherlockfan from Upper Hutt, Wellington Province New Zealand on Wednesday, April 20, 2005
RELEASE NOTE

Well, not really a release, returning it to Lyttletonwitch
today 21 April.

Journal Entry 5 by Lytteltonwitch from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Friday, April 22, 2005
Book returned from it's journay to Wellington,will be handed on to FutureCat at tomorrow's breakfast.

Journal Entry 6 by futurecat from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Sunday, April 24, 2005
Received from Lytteltonwitch at this morning's meetup.

You've seen the size of my Mt TBR, Lytteltonwitch, but I promise I'll put this near the top...

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Journal Entry 7 by futurecat from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Thursday, April 28, 2005
We studied the Ballantyne's fire in social studies at primary school (along with other NZ disasters like the Wahine and Mt Erebus), so I knew a little bit about it - I remember the teacher telling us that that many of the staff died because the doors were locked - but it was fascinating (and horrifying) to read the details of just what it was like to be in the building that day, and how it wasn't just one factor to blame, but a whole string of mistakes and incompetencies. I suppose if the inquiry was held today, they'd call it "systemic failure"...

What seems really incredible is that "Bally's" is still going strong, and is probably associated more in most Christchurch people's minds with the Fendalton set and "ladies who lunch" than with the terrible events of 60 years ago. Yet for some elderly residents, the memories as they walk past the shop must be all too real.

I don't normally like novelisations of real events - it usually irritates me that the author has put words into the mouths (and thoughts into the heads) of real people - but in this case it was actually pretty sensitively done.

Thanks, Lytteltonwitch, for the chance to read a really powerful book.

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Journal Entry 8 by futurecat from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Tuesday, June 14, 2005
I borrowed this back from Lytteltonwitch to lend to TopKat.

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Journal Entry 9 by Lytteltonwitch at Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Saturday, July 11, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (7/11/2009 UTC) at Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Given to a fellow bookcrosser as I don't have time to release it myself before I leave the country.

The Christchurch bookcrossers meet up on a regular basis,the information is on BCNZ Yahoo NZ The main organizers are FutureCat and myself and we welcome new members to our very friendly group.





Journal Entry 10 by futurecat at Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (7/14/2009 UTC) at Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Given to another bookcrosser at tonight's meetup.

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Journal Entry 11 by marcienz from Kimbell, Canterbury New Zealand on Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Brought home for a read. The reviews from previous journallers look promising. I've enjoyed other books by this author.

Journal Entry 12 by marcienz at Darfield, Canterbury New Zealand on Friday, September 17, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (9/16/2010 UTC) at Darfield, Canterbury New Zealand

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Released at an informal meetup at the Espress Yourself Cafe in Darfield.

Journal Entry 13 by aussie-rose at Darfield, Canterbury New Zealand on Friday, September 24, 2010
picked up at a mini-meet-up at a cafe in Darfield :)

Journal Entry 14 by aussie-rose at Darfield, Canterbury New Zealand on Friday, January 7, 2011
Unfortunately I was only able to read about a 1/3 of book and then 'life' got in the way. Unable to take it back to Oz with me so have passed it on to marcienz to release.

Journal Entry 15 by aussie-rose at Darfield, Canterbury New Zealand on Friday, January 7, 2011

Released 13 yrs ago (1/7/2011 UTC) at Darfield, Canterbury New Zealand

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Have given this book to marcienz to release as we didn't have enough room in our luggage to take it back to Oz!

Journal Entry 16 by marcienz at Darfield, Canterbury New Zealand on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Thanks, Mim.

Journal Entry 17 by marcienz at Cashel Street in Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Saturday, January 21, 2012

Released 12 yrs ago (1/19/2012 UTC) at Cashel Street in Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Released in Ballantynes, since its their story. I found a stand and propped the book up under a display.

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