In With The New!

You may remember the High Street Mannequins standing restless, looking on, locked up, no place to go - redundant under the flashing neon lights. Time has moved on, they have gone to other shops or perhaps are tucked up in a box, all we know is they are no longer there.

We have been waiting for news on our only department store, when will the issues between owners, insurers and EQC be resolved.....well as you can see there is progress.

Slowly the demolition team are stripping the store, walls are being knocked down and discoveries are being made, a fireplace tucked in the back of the shop is one of those discoveries. The building dates back to approximately 1919 and covers 5900 square metres which is fairly substantial for a small town. It had a back entrance, a side entrance and four entrances along the front. Some were modern with self opening doors and vinyl floors while others had steps to the door, a big heavy glass door inside a timber frame which you had to push with all your might and once through the floors creaked as you walked. Slowly through the years the store was modernised in some parts, but still retaining old rustic charm in others.

To understand the importance of this store to our community you need to know a little about what the store had to offer. Farmers is New Zealand owned and operates over 55 department stores in rural and city locations around the country, offering shoppers an amazing range of women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear, underwear, accessories, and health & beauty. Plus, you’ll find homewares, manchester, appliances, electronics, communications equipment, furniture and beds in many of the stores. It was easy just to pop into Farmers for so many things, be it large or small whereas at present we are travelling to Christchurch where the stores are jammed packed with stock.

Farmers department store is committed to coming back to our small rural town and hope to open a new two storied store with five speciality shops early 2016. This is a huge development to the future of High Street businesses and the community of Rangiora, we all say:

'Get rid of those fences and 'In With The New'! 'Let's get those High Street mannequins back into action!'

Hubby and I are flying tomorrow, off to Wellington to be with Daughter A who is having surgery on Thursday. I'll be taking my trusty SX50 and my tablet so fingers crossed I have things sorted and will be able to blip.

Keep well blippers :)

PS Another one for my journal, thanks for yesterdays comments on The Church on the Corner, our town is changing quite quickly all of a sudden - I'm having to keep my eyes and ears open as I've already missed the Roman Catholic convent for the Sisters of Notre Dame des Missions, the building was dated 1910, quite disappointed about that one.......