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A day in the life of Christchurch

Photos – Paul McDonald

On the road again – 10.30am – People from all walks of life; mums with babies in strollers, elderly people and workers travel on a Christchurch city bus towards the central city to enjoy a day of leisure, visit friends or travel to their place of occupation.

Not quite state-of-the – art – 11.15am – After the earthquake that struck Christchurch in February 2011, Environment Canterbury (Ecan) needed to create an alternative for their city central terminus which was destroyed in the earthquake.The planter-boxes and lounge area give the outdoor terminus a nice feel to the area, however.

Out for lunch – 1pm - Vicar Matt Watts of St Timothy’s Anglican Church exits Sevantis’ café on Kendal Ave after a lunch meeting. Amidst his busy schedule of sermon writing and meeting with his parishioners, he makes time to share his words of wisdom with a young journalism student.

“Ummm… can I have a…” – 3pm - Papanui High School students queue outside Northlands McDonald’s to take advantage of their value picks range. This photo is taken from the perspective of a McDonald’s employee walking towards his place of work and is instantly concerned by the line that confronts him.

Out to the shops – 8pm – A full car park means more retail for Northlands Mall management.Shoppers out on a busy Thursday night empty their pockets at the popular Christchurch Mall on groceries, electronics or even visiting the movies.

Still lining up for more – 8:15pm – The queue may have died down since the swarm of high-school students earlier that afternoon, but the bright lights and pretty pictures of the food attracts more customers to the fast food chain.It may be dark outside but the lighting inside gives the illusion of sunlight for shoppers and workers alike.

Closing time – 10.30pm – McDonald’s employees (from left) Kieran Doreen and Jack Robertson put their final touches on cleaning the store before returning home after a long day at work.There are no customers left to serve but the young employees must stay alert for security guards looking for people to play pranks on.

Peace and Tranquillity – 11pm – No cars, no people and not a sound can be heard on Sabys Road in Halswell.Despite the business of commuters travelling to and from work, meetings with young journalists and school students skipping class to have a 60 cent ice-cream from McDonald’s, the people of Christchurch rest their heads to recharge, before it all starts again in the morning.