It's their party; you can cry if you want to

The $9.8 million Cloud at the Rugby World Cup "Party Central" in Auckland will host trade displays for New Zealand industries while Cup revellers are left out in the cold.

Details of the business focus of the taxpayer-funded structure became clear yesterday after it was revealed that a $2 million plastic waka was planned for Queens Wharf to promote Maori culture.

Rather than being a party venue, the opaque-roofed, steel and glass Cloud will house displays touting New Zealand's agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

In which Party Central becomes a trade fair, after all that was said by Nice Mr Key; after that vast, unwieldy and unprofessional pseudo-competition for the design, after all that utter bollocks from our Government, what we get is something we cannot have, not that we would want it. Droves of leisurewear-clad businessfolk we be able to browse the aisles and enjoy the hospitality, while the rugby fans will be kept outside, in winter, watching the games (which they cannot afford to see live across town) on monster TV screens.

In other words, they don't call it Business Class for nothing.



There is a busker on K Road who sets up his amp, his guitar and a mic in the morning, to catch the commuter traffic. He thanks his non-existent audience between songs. This morning he was playing this, one of the best songs ever, so badly that it was almost unrecognisable. Thanks, busker, for spoiling my morning.