Gardens of Fire
Registered by Lytteltonwitch of Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on 3/15/2005
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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...
^ ^
00
=+=
v
You've seen the size of my Mt TBR, Lytteltonwitch, but I promise I'll put this near the top...
^ ^
00
=+=
v
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.
^ ^
00
=+=
^
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.
^ ^
00
=+=
^
I borrowed this back from Lytteltonwitch to lend to TopKat.
^ ^
00
=+=
v
^ ^
00
=+=
v
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.
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.
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.
^ ^
00
=+=
v
Given to another bookcrosser at tonight's meetup.
^ ^
00
=+=
v
Brought home for a read. The reviews from previous journallers look promising. I've enjoyed other books by this author.
Released at an informal meetup at the Espress Yourself Cafe in Darfield.
picked up at a mini-meet-up at a cafe in Darfield :)
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.
Have given this book to marcienz to release as we didn't have enough room in our luggage to take it back to Oz!
Thanks, Mim.
Journal Entry 17 by marcienz at Cashel Street in Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Saturday, January 21, 2012