In a small town, he worked for 23 years in a government post as a 'magician' with a salary of $ 16 thousand a year: what did he do

City Hall of Christchurch (New Zealand) terminated a 23-year contract with a local "wizard". A year of his work cost the city budget $ 16 thousand, writes Independent.

Photo: Shutterstock

88-year-old Ian Brackenbury Channelnell has been providing "magic services" to citizens for 23 years.

He will receive his last salary in December, and then the contract with him is terminated. For all the years of work, the city paid the man $ 368 thousand, writes Correspondent.

Mayors say the "wizard" no longer matches their advertising vision of a "modern city." Channell responded by calling them "a bunch of bureaucrats with no imagination."

Deputy City Council Leader Lynne McClelland said: “We met with the 'wizard' and sent him a letter thanking him for his services to Christchurch over the past decades and informing him that we were finalizing our formal contract agreement. Christchurch's advertising landscape is changing with new and different advertising programs that will increasingly reflect our diverse communities and showcase a vibrant, diverse, modern city - attractive to residents, local and international visitors, new businesses and skilled migrant workers.

Englishman Channell first began performing his “magic procedures” publicly in 1974, shortly after moving to New Zealand from the UK.

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Attempts by the council to prevent him from entering Cathedral Square were met with public outrage, and in 1982 the Board of Directors of New Zealand Art Galleries appointed him a Living Work of Art.

According to his personal website, he appeared as a mysterious wanderer in The Starlight Hotel, was head of his own cosmology department at the University of Melbourne from 1971 to 1974, and hosted his own podcast.

The Enchanter describes himself as "a theorist and practitioner of post-feminist male roles and post-nuclear family structure."

Upon learning of this decision by the authorities, the magician said: “They are not thinking about ways to promote Christchurch abroad. They just create an image of bureaucrats drinking coffee. Their image of Christchurch has nothing to do with the city's true heritage. I am the original image of Christchurch."

But, contrary to the decision of the city council, the “magician” does not intend to stop his performances: “It does not matter. I will continue anyway. They'll have to kill me to stop me. "

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Channel has already been the subject of controversy this year when he stated in a TV interview that women "are using cunning to get men."

“I love women, I forgive them all the time, I have never hit one of them yet. Never hit a woman because she bruises too easily - that's the first thing they'll tell their neighbors and their friends. Then you will have big problems,” he said then.

Despite such statements, supporters of the "wizard" remained loyal to him and filed a petition demanding that the council reinstate him in public service.

The petition states: “The Wizard of Christchurch is an iconic symbol of the city. Children and adults love it - it is unique for the city. No other city in New Zealand has its own “wizard”. Please save the “wizard.”

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