Wizard gone

Catching up again. From NPR last autumn:

Christchurch, New Zealand, is parting ways with its official city wizard after more than two decades. His offensive remarks about women and the local government’s new tourism strategy reportedly spelled his doom.

Ian Brackenbury Channell is known as The Wizard of New Zealand, apparently even on official documents like his passport. He’s been on the Christchurch City Council’s payroll since 1998, receiving an annual salary of $16,000 NZ (more than $11,000 in current USD) to “provide acts of wizardry and other wizard-like-services – as part of promotional work for the city of Christchurch,” according to the New Zealand news site Stuff.

But that job title will soon become — like many wizards before him — a thing of legend.

“The council has 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 are bringing our formal contractual arrangement to a close,” said Lynn McClelland, the council’s assistant chief executive. She said the final payment will be made in December.