Admitted to a different bar
Former local barrister John Matthews, who shifted to Christchurch last year, was due to be sworn in as an associate judge of the High Court in the Garden City two Fridays ago. With that ceremony postponed due to the quake, Matthews took off for a brief respite in Queenstown, where his step-daughters run The Spire boutique hotel. To fill the void last Friday, local lawyer Warwick Goldsmith invited legal colleagues to a function at The Spire bar in Matthews’ honour. So it could be said he was at least admitted to one bar.

Rotary raffle thief
The Christchurch earthquake was the very indirect cause of $100 in car raffle proceeds being swiped from The Mall last week. Local Rotarian Simon Stamers-Smith and wife Mary were selling tickets beside the first-prize Kia Cerato vehicle when they ducked inside it to follow coverage of the quake on the car radio. Someone then took advantage of their inattention to steal the money.

Queenstown – in reverse
Jetstar’s in-flight magazine has a lovely six-page spread on Queenstown in its latest issue. Trainspotters, though, will notice the main image of the resort, taken at night, has been reversed out so Kelvin Peninsula lands up where Fernhill normally is.