New Zealand has always been a little kooky, haven't they?

I shouldn't be that surprised that the city of Christchurch has had its very own "Wizard of New Zealand" on their payroll for more than two decades.

Sadly, The Wizard, who is also known as Ian Brackenbury Channell, has been swept to the curb and is being taken off the city's payroll.

Magically, he didn't see that coming:

"They are a bunch of bureaucrats who have no imagination,'' he said.

"They are not thinking of ways to promote Christchurch overseas. They are just projecting an image of bureaucrats drinking lattes on the boulevard. Their image of Christchurch is nothing to do with the authentic heritage of the city. I am the original image of Christchurch."

The Christchurch City Council was paying the wizard an annual salary of $16,000 – a total of $368,000 roughly ($258,825 USD) over his 23 years on the payroll.

The city has decided to stop this witchcraft and wizardry as of January because he no longer fits the city's modern image.

I guess the Lord of The Rings tourism must be dying down as well.

The Wizard signed his contract with the city in 1998, which called for him "to provide acts of wizardry and other wizard-like-services."

What exactly are "wizard-like-services?"

I wish I had an answer for you...

You can take the wizard out of the city's contract but you can't take the wizard out of the city.

"It makes no difference. I will still keep going. They will have to kill me to stop me," The Wizard said, "I don't like being cancelled."

This wizard isn't going anywhere and something tells me he will land on his own two feet and his staff. 🧙‍♂️

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