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Day one of 90 started with a squeeze.
Outside the Christchurch High Court, a series of television cameras lined the footpaths. A group of photographers set in a huddle a short distance from the court's front door, with their lenses trained down an empty street. The rest stood wired, metres from the entrance, constantly spinning and checking their shoulders for any stray parties who might try to outwit the media throng.
Just before 9.30, David Bain and his team appeared .
Striding down the previously empty street, Bain and his long-time supporter, Joe Karam, made no effort to avoid the waiting pack.
It's hard to describe a media scrum as anything but it truly is a unique experience. Every man and his cam will briefly forget everything but getting the best shots possible. That generally means the closest shots possible, but with so many cameras present, within the space of a few seconds the subject of the scrum becomes a temporary black hole of bustling snappers.
It's evident this trial will have a massive public following. The judge himself described publicity surrounding it as near-unprecedented by New Zealand standards. Already the effects are obvious in court - the whole lower tier of the public gallery has been stripped, replaced by desks housing members of the media. About 30 journos are in court, and of course when you factor in their laptops, recording equipment and cameras, etc, you can appreciate it's pretty cosy.
The first Bain trial lasted 16 days. There were 60 witnesses.
This trial will have in excess of 150 witnesses, and I think there are a few scrums still to go.
