tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85771286104464515052024-03-14T20:57:50.029+13:00NEW ZEALAND DIARYMargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-37968472442221288282013-08-30T11:08:00.001+12:002013-09-11T08:09:17.134+12:00PROUD TO BE A KIWIAs a nation New Zealand tends to be a great sporting nation and we succeed way above our weight if you consider our population. When I was younger the description Rugby, Racing and Beer was synonymous with being a Kiwi, perhaps less so nowadays. The racing referred to is horse racing and there will not be many Kiwi's who have never placed a bet. Of course our friends across the ditch in Australia were sometimes better than us but there are a few arenas where we have excelled above anything that Australians can do. Rugby Football is one of those sports.<br />
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On Saturday our All Blacks secured the <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/9083563/All-Blacks-just-too-strong-for-Wallabies" target="_blank">Bledisloe Cup.</a> This is a rugby football competition between Australia and New Zealand.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">If you're starting to take this All Black dominance of Australia for granted, banish those thoughts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">New Zealand's vice-like grip on the Bledisloe Cup - and Wallaby rugby minds - is now so absolute it should be considered a national treasure.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Steve Hansen's All Blacks tonight secured the Bledisloe Cup for an 11th consecutive season as they despatched the Wallabies for the second straight week with another very impressive performance, winning 27-16. <a href="http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/rugby/kiwi-view-bledisloe-cup-belongs-in-new-zealand-as-wallabies-fall-short-again/story-fnhq65ja-1226703643322" target="_blank">NEWS ITEM </a></span></div>
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On Sunday, 25th August, we finished off the Louis Vuitton Cup and the Team New Zealand boat lines up to do battle with Oracle for the America's Cup starting on September 7th 2013.<br />
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Here is a link to <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/americas-cup-2013/08-18-video-5538339" target="_blank">the first race</a> with a very dramatic moment 45 minutes into the video.<br />
Today's race was in fog and must have been quite a challenge in light winds. Luna Rossa, the Italian competition got lost more than 3 minutes behind to the finish..<a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/americas-cup-video/team-nz-presented-louis-vuitton-5543910" target="_blank">The Presentation.</a><br />
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And 15 year old <a href="http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/golf/news/article/-/18652250/ko-goes-backtoback-canadian-open/" target="_blank">Lydia Ko</a> has shown her remarkable golfing prowess again.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQwwTgS65aJOjf5V7bMhFkwxtBTZ93Cgw9aKPzn7iOwaE-Cu7WzXwWRUxD1EardOkBYrQEJv-ibKQ8k0XSgQDSnzLFSsFkCpOGRgo_7oXNT-Fbz9Hso3ZlaP9UpY_pzkpj3C2y9CEKxg/s1600/gwar01-lydia-ko-profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQwwTgS65aJOjf5V7bMhFkwxtBTZ93Cgw9aKPzn7iOwaE-Cu7WzXwWRUxD1EardOkBYrQEJv-ibKQ8k0XSgQDSnzLFSsFkCpOGRgo_7oXNT-Fbz9Hso3ZlaP9UpY_pzkpj3C2y9CEKxg/s640/gwar01-lydia-ko-profile.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">PHOTO BY GRAEME MURRAY, AUCKLAND DEC. 16TH 2012</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Golf: Lydia Ko wins Canadian Golf Open</span></h2>
<span class="date printer-date printer-source" style="color: #999999; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 1.22em; margin-bottom: 10px;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Newstalk ZB - August 26, 2013, 9:59 am</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Kiwi amateur Lydia Ko has romped to a successful defence of her Canadian women's Golf Open title at Edmonton.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">She's won by five shots, finished with a stunning birdie putt on the 18th to card a final round six-under 64.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">The 16-year-old finished on 15 under for the tournament.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frenchwoman Karine Icher finished second.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Motor Racing is a sport both Australians and new Zealanders tend to excel in. For a few minutes we thought Scott Dixon was well on his way to winning another championship with a win at Sonoma Raceway. A controversial ruling when he hit a crew pit member from another team put paid to his chances. Sometimes it's tough to be an elite sportsman. <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/9087564/Late-penalty-costs-Scott-Dixon-a-shot-at-victory" target="_blank">NEWS ITEM</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.22em;">Valerie Adams, four times world Champion with Shotput was robbed of her gold medal at last year's Olympics when the Belarussian drug cheat made an incredible throw. Since then the wrong has been righted and Valerie has been showing Europe that she is definitely the best. This event was actually two weeks ago but who's counting when Kiwis are top of the sports ladder. </span><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/5529314/Valerie-Adams-takes-World-Champs-gold" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.22em;" target="_blank">NEWS ITEM</a> Incidentally her younger brother, Stephen has been selected to train with the NBA<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">None of these people got where they are without hard work. They all were persistent at working toward their ultimate goal and at times they became single minded in their pursuit. Money plays an important part in getting to the top but guess what? New Zealanders do not begin with big budgets. They get there with persistence and a 'Never Give Up' attitude.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In New Zealand we are proud of them. I am not terribly sports orientated but these people make me proud to be a Kiwi.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">EARLY MORNING VIEW FROM THE HOUSE WHERE WE ARE KITTY-SITTING</td></tr>
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MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-42810410326857465962013-05-01T16:46:00.000+12:002013-05-01T16:46:02.329+12:00WELLINGTON: THE FOURTH TOP CITY IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO LONELY PLANETEvery now and then I see something I that belongs right here.<br />
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Sadly this blog has been seriously neglected but I will come back to it full time one day in the future. For the time being my energy is going into my weight loss and family life. There are not enough hours in the day to do justice to my NZ Diary.<br />
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In the meantime take a look at this video which captures the spirit of Wellington. <a href="https://vimeo.com/63500144">Here is the link </a>to the website at Vimeo.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-69434371061440682852012-01-16T13:54:00.000+13:002012-01-16T13:54:50.077+13:00A PHOTO WALK AROUND MATARANGI<a href="http://withgodnothingistoohard.blogspot.com/">Go to Growing Old Gracefully</a> to see photos and a little comment on houses. The photos are all holiday houses but you can find similar dwellings in most towns. The beach does bring it's own flavour of architecture.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-7535471986763019512011-09-30T22:56:00.000+13:002011-09-30T22:56:52.655+13:00ON OUR WAY TO CHRISTCHURCH<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPlbDv0F1uNEfk092r6iGqzTV2c6vYr7O_zBVp1DJJQdOTX2LvH-OTEALx8tSW-ISs2sJG9PjIfOe0S6iCiVQn4Yjti25s0ghYfGK29xelR76YxGmI5oJyuyFRdXote_nKeiURxoUGeFk/s1600/DSC04172-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPlbDv0F1uNEfk092r6iGqzTV2c6vYr7O_zBVp1DJJQdOTX2LvH-OTEALx8tSW-ISs2sJG9PjIfOe0S6iCiVQn4Yjti25s0ghYfGK29xelR76YxGmI5oJyuyFRdXote_nKeiURxoUGeFk/s320/DSC04172-1.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Friday evening.<br />
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We began our drive to Christchurch about 11 am yesterday. The weather stayed fine so we were able to get our last minute laundry, sheets and towels, on the line early and dry enough to fold and leave in the hot water cylinder cupboard to thoroughly air. We steadily worked at all our last day tasks and I was happy we left the house in good order for guests who have booked the house for Labour weekend, 23-25th October.<br />
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We did have a few more things to do than was ideal but we'd spent the previous day with Mum, not arriving home until after 8 pm.<br />
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Packing the car is an art and John did a great job considering there was so much stuff we thought we would need. We expect to be away 6-8 weeks so need clothes for snow or freezing, swimsuits! ... and everything in between. It's a pity our bus is not roadworthy. That would have made packing a lot simpler. We even have the breadmaker!!! I promise we did not pack the kitchen sink but I did fill the back seat of the car with a heavy case of books which my daughter-in-law is going to help me sell on TradeMe.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBzRZ8IaDUYXEYwFFeKkix5agmsoYp8sh4BuGHF6lky_ncpPDcOxnsFw6WzOAoPW5tIL3pB3XoV4k86o7LVB63tIhokMjLVWAhf3N75HRqGwaGkXZTEAMMZ-1obOQpEqr00vYi2yiWV-u/s1600/DSC04158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBzRZ8IaDUYXEYwFFeKkix5agmsoYp8sh4BuGHF6lky_ncpPDcOxnsFw6WzOAoPW5tIL3pB3XoV4k86o7LVB63tIhokMjLVWAhf3N75HRqGwaGkXZTEAMMZ-1obOQpEqr00vYi2yiWV-u/s320/DSC04158.JPG" width="320" /></a>We stopped briefly at Mum's to drop off a couple of forgotten things then stopped again at Colenso, a roadside cafe with awesome food and coffee. It was just on 4 pm when we got to Rotorua and found Greg at the Community Centre where he has recently become a volunteer. We met some of his friends and had BBQ sausages, steak and pork with a variety of Korean style salads. The only thing I liked was a pickled vegatable which might have been cucumber and onion salad in a sweet sour dressing spiced with chilli. We were tired when we finally were able to go to bed at Greg's in a comfortable bed.</div><br />
Crossing the Thames at Kopu on the old one way bridge controlled by lights. This bridge is 500m long, built in the 1920s. The centre span pivots to allow tall boats to navigate. The new bridge alongside is almost completed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRB-1Dv1Zo0o9LVUsN8AODc0T750-bXt1Emg3Lb_8pyyil_aftJpj_aMAK3Au4oQFZksJ5hXmJIVF1upUPUrZy9mZoDrr6xQSV8SH-9t5qZjTrs7sEZqFUnieFh0utamGk9Ls4z7BRwhPN/s1600/DSC04165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRB-1Dv1Zo0o9LVUsN8AODc0T750-bXt1Emg3Lb_8pyyil_aftJpj_aMAK3Au4oQFZksJ5hXmJIVF1upUPUrZy9mZoDrr6xQSV8SH-9t5qZjTrs7sEZqFUnieFh0utamGk9Ls4z7BRwhPN/s320/DSC04165.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg and his Chinese flatmate</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVb1nXVahp-Epx3w6IJ19MNEFC_8oBl9uCbqdGgkJ6xGejyV1OnFcpnBPkywMQrbHLxykrV5Awf0Z3zJl-vWllhidPeZ_WDURhndSOsvTZ2R1-L3QyYUCUYc8G9V-y7rFMUZbgmwT_Fwod/s1600/DSC04163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Crossing the Thames at Kopu on the old one way bridge controlled by lights. This bridge is 500m long, built in the 1920s. The centre span pivots to allow tall boats to navigate. The new bridge alongside is almost completed.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPlbDv0F1uNEfk092r6iGqzTV2c6vYr7O_zBVp1DJJQdOTX2LvH-OTEALx8tSW-ISs2sJG9PjIfOe0S6iCiVQn4Yjti25s0ghYfGK29xelR76YxGmI5oJyuyFRdXote_nKeiURxoUGeFk/s1600/DSC04172-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPlbDv0F1uNEfk092r6iGqzTV2c6vYr7O_zBVp1DJJQdOTX2LvH-OTEALx8tSW-ISs2sJG9PjIfOe0S6iCiVQn4Yjti25s0ghYfGK29xelR76YxGmI5oJyuyFRdXote_nKeiURxoUGeFk/s320/DSC04172-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UYzAZyXOs_Jq17XqtPRae6HEr7mVM5q49TgFv-Bv9jD_ktAmXeT3U08ihjjGxpjbTupaQbUYNRKbtsCCMptPhpyc-F_RuVovODYUM_GWSIbyYZPexrjRlol3fJBmiHqVhMm5xx93F5-j/s1600/DSC04175-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UYzAZyXOs_Jq17XqtPRae6HEr7mVM5q49TgFv-Bv9jD_ktAmXeT3U08ihjjGxpjbTupaQbUYNRKbtsCCMptPhpyc-F_RuVovODYUM_GWSIbyYZPexrjRlol3fJBmiHqVhMm5xx93F5-j/s320/DSC04175-1.JPG" width="320" /></a>.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppq8GQaZUd-Cws7gMPNtTtbm9R6LhEvGq8bnLrSChlw9ZFUMfsuLHL0rHuxaJpHaXWT1n-TiUcIVc7qoJdgCTwC5RyNhDJFMEQfGny0RP_PgZHIuHaKZljUX0iYK_FdqhvUQzvwKHzt0k/s1600/DSC04184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppq8GQaZUd-Cws7gMPNtTtbm9R6LhEvGq8bnLrSChlw9ZFUMfsuLHL0rHuxaJpHaXWT1n-TiUcIVc7qoJdgCTwC5RyNhDJFMEQfGny0RP_PgZHIuHaKZljUX0iYK_FdqhvUQzvwKHzt0k/s320/DSC04184.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjZvGqzl9EJOE8Yz1wdP5Omxx86jE-VRF1oQd2pYBJhI42z2J3UPcB77H0jrhAs3-ZHX54s30kI65nLZDTLPMukyFeLU7d5d1vY6hBLHnfGfk8tNHVO4HI4W9s6anLZbbw-1Vs76BbaAn/s1600/DSC04185-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjZvGqzl9EJOE8Yz1wdP5Omxx86jE-VRF1oQd2pYBJhI42z2J3UPcB77H0jrhAs3-ZHX54s30kI65nLZDTLPMukyFeLU7d5d1vY6hBLHnfGfk8tNHVO4HI4W9s6anLZbbw-1Vs76BbaAn/s320/DSC04185-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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We stopped briefly at Mum's to drop off a couple of forgotten things then stopped again at Colenso, a roadside cafe with awesome food and coffee. It was just on 4 pm when we got to Rotorua and found Greg at the Community Centre where he has recently become a volunteer. We met some of his friends and had BBQ sausages, steak and pork with a variety of Korean style salads. The only thing I liked was a pickled vegatable which might have been cucumber and onion salad in a sweet sour dressing spiced with chilli. We were tired when we finally were able to go to bed at Greg's in a comfortable bed.<br />
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This morning there was more time to talk to Greg before he headed off to an appointment with his ACC, Accident Compensation, case manager. Today it's 19 years since his motor bike accident when he sustained a serious back and less serious head injury. I'm guessing that in another 10 years injuries such as Greg's will be repairable. He had a crush and fracture at T12 and is termed a partial paraplegic because there is some muscle recovery and some nerve response but apart from being able to stand with crutches he is for all intents and purposes a paraplegic living from a wheelchair.<br />
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First we went to the supermarket and bought salad and rolls for lunch. There was enough for our tea tonight and still salad for tomorrow. It was about 11 am when we left Rotorua. It's been a beautiful day following a good frost, only a few fluffy clouds in the azure sky. We enjoyed driving on good roads with light to medium traffic. It was a pleasure after our narrow winding Coromandel roads. The mountains, Ruapehu, Ngarahoe and Tongariro were well dressed in gleaming snow, as were the Ruahines to the east of us. The atmosphere was so clear the mountains seemed almost close enough to touch. I think it was one of the nicest drives I've had across the Central Plateau. We had intended to stop along Lake Taupo for lunch as there are so many beautiful scenic spots but we were making such good progress we decided it was too soon to take a break. Finally we stopped at the Waiouru Military Museum. Plenty of parking. beautiful timber tables and seating, sunshine, mountain background and conversation with an English Rugby World Cup follower/tourist all made it a good stop for lunch. Our rolls were fresh and crunchy and yummy as we filled them with our personal choice. We didn't have time to go into the Museum but we have been before and can recommend it as it covers all of New Zealand's military history from the first settlers to now. This is our National Military Museum and being a small country other museums only have snippets of stuff.<br />
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We continued our drive and finally stopped for the night in Palmerston North where we booked into a Motel in Fitzherbert Street. There is a group of Georgian Rugby tourists and anther smaller group from Argentine. New Zealand is in the grip of World Rugby cup fever and although we are not "Rugby Mad," we aare lying on our comfortable bed watching Samoa play South Africa. It's a hard game but the score is all going South Africa's way.<br />
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This is a great way to end a wonderful travel day. We've had a soak in the spa bath and showered washing hair and now it's nearly time to go to sleep. We still have 2 hours to drive to Wellington tomorrow to catch the Ferry to Picton. It takes about 3 hours to cross Cook Strait and we are hoping for more good weather. On Sunday we will complete our drive to Christchurch. We haven't driven down for four years so while very familiar it all seems very fresh. Spring is springing and the green paddocks are decorated with ewes and lambs, so cute, and cows and calves. Willow trees are delicately green and blossom trees show off in pinks and white. Other seasons can be stunning but I think spring is the prettiest. <br />
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I never travel in New Zealand without being in awe of our landscape. We are truly blessed. It's been wonderful that our weather has been mostly good whily Rugby World Cup followers are touring. Makes one feel proud to be a Kiwi.<br />
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I'm sorry this is not up to my usual editing standard. It's taking too long to sort out.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-7116238968241577162011-08-16T09:05:00.002+12:002011-08-16T11:09:09.633+12:00DISAPPOINTED. SNOW EVERYWHERE BUT NOT HEREThat will sound odd to some folk but we live in a mainly sub-tropical climate with the odd frost between late May and October. New Zealand has been subject to an icy blast and Auckland experienced a flurry of snow for the first time since 1939. There is a dusting on the high spots of the ranges but nothing down here on the coast.<br />
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Christchurch is a different story. There was a video on the news of someone skiing in the snow on Sumner Beach. Our daughter-in-law is supposed to fly to Wellington today. I don't fancy er chances. We have so little snow disruption that it's not cost effective to be fully equipped with anti freeze and snow equipment. We use grit trucks and sweepers on the most likely to be affected busy/essential roads but where snow is a rare occurrence the roads are simply closed.<br />
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Snow in Wellington is also unusual. Enjoy the video link.<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/27709878">http://vimeo.com/27709878</a>MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-6792913273233795712011-07-02T21:24:00.000+12:002011-07-02T21:24:48.202+12:00HAPPY HOLIDAYS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ1Hk0sfuu536VwhgSQg_elPJRRsJg_XhFVVRyUFtTCIaU1a3D_AjquscEaxEZrKnqPZM4BUCKSgF45Rsl76q7AXqCDlTZzD0qKOM6CBBOkqwFIYYXOkgDFz6P39pD7UZfB7PiPoMQQMG/s1600/C_DAYFireworks2006_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ1Hk0sfuu536VwhgSQg_elPJRRsJg_XhFVVRyUFtTCIaU1a3D_AjquscEaxEZrKnqPZM4BUCKSgF45Rsl76q7AXqCDlTZzD0qKOM6CBBOkqwFIYYXOkgDFz6P39pD7UZfB7PiPoMQQMG/s400/C_DAYFireworks2006_1.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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Wishing all my Canadian friends a belated happy Canada Day. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1fccScj4BC09WdY4kLVteH42_vSAo50NILsb7iIyisMQ95x6k5xbp9ch47LkV2bcS9w49Og1pobIrbpcp_nGZu8dAEWpeHkigci0mf1uF0dai7qYTVKBkBoqu0vvEHmThJfpSk7B9349/s1600/vintage-american-flag-long-may-it-wave-clip-art1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1fccScj4BC09WdY4kLVteH42_vSAo50NILsb7iIyisMQ95x6k5xbp9ch47LkV2bcS9w49Og1pobIrbpcp_nGZu8dAEWpeHkigci0mf1uF0dai7qYTVKBkBoqu0vvEHmThJfpSk7B9349/s320/vintage-american-flag-long-may-it-wave-clip-art1.png" width="204" /><br />
Wishing my American friends a wonderful time of celebration<br />
</a></div>MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-26887698435079842232011-07-01T12:53:00.001+12:002011-07-01T13:01:17.525+12:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIlh4DSYQwMHIPt_3yYMVUuZjacyCYWTIrsdppIxtyIXGyRTxCdcFL6FhI4NMyMz0eieXWNONumo5EYqnTAtuTMxWT4VW77-zK77I3Ad8_BLTdEgrxAPQTVbhz30kKczkxm9tbCAiQ8F4/s1600/ARTS+CENTRE++GREAT+HALL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIlh4DSYQwMHIPt_3yYMVUuZjacyCYWTIrsdppIxtyIXGyRTxCdcFL6FhI4NMyMz0eieXWNONumo5EYqnTAtuTMxWT4VW77-zK77I3Ad8_BLTdEgrxAPQTVbhz30kKczkxm9tbCAiQ8F4/s400/ARTS+CENTRE++GREAT+HALL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
To date there have been 7760 shakes in the Canterbury region. 25 were 5.2 and stronger with 3 major quakes. Based on the Richter scale there was a 7.1 on September 4th, 1010. 6.3 February 22nd, 2011, and another 6.3 on June 13th.That's a whole lot of shaking. <br />
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It has been a trying time for residents, city administration and everyone involved in infrastructure recovery.<br />
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This week the official Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Cera, has released a map depicted the zones where people can rebuild or must demolish. The Red Zone has 5100 houses which are to be demolished in the next two years and the area will not be rebuilt on for many years if ever. Houses in the green zone are repairable The orange zone is still to be decided as is the white zone. Both areas need further investigation by scientists and engineers.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbKZjgOn1JVNohrOtZwiNkcreeBjItXJL_uht0vnLec7sAimHHqc37pnsrFDaL1allu9JDQvJKxiNow74QOG_gibejZfrB-WQARBPyizYImGQM2J8N9SoyNJT7aF4uy4pMsmxDXa-o3sz/s1600/CHRISTCHURCH+APRIL+%252711+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbKZjgOn1JVNohrOtZwiNkcreeBjItXJL_uht0vnLec7sAimHHqc37pnsrFDaL1allu9JDQvJKxiNow74QOG_gibejZfrB-WQARBPyizYImGQM2J8N9SoyNJT7aF4uy4pMsmxDXa-o3sz/s400/CHRISTCHURCH+APRIL+%252711+002.jpg" width="400" /><br />
Wayne and Amanda's house</a></div>It's hard to see the damage in this photo but the ridges have slipped and there was a big slump in the roof making it no longer waterproof. The roof has been covered with tarpaulins twice. The first time wind ripped them loose. While we were there, late May, two heavy duty tarps were delivered and put in place, all done under EarthQuake Commission, EQC, a Government organisation working with individual property insurance.When we take out property insurance a portion of the premium is paid to EQC. It works for us although it does mean another layer of red tape.<br />
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Our city son and his parents-in-law are in the green, less than 500m from the red zone. We expected this. Wayne and Amanda have a new roof courtesy of EQC. The tiles have been replaced with grey colour steel and looks very smart. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv-5dImpiPBrCki30C2DM65bxvh4S6lNCUyWIL9o7bkXy4m9xXTFJNMSs9Y_r9VKhDZRkdlBJdYTq98EGjaKeeb_9Dvc84KwDGcwMOBc_dETjx9RqZrPKdiwOeLZ553NgABdVfe3K0lcO/s1600/CLEARED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv-5dImpiPBrCki30C2DM65bxvh4S6lNCUyWIL9o7bkXy4m9xXTFJNMSs9Y_r9VKhDZRkdlBJdYTq98EGjaKeeb_9Dvc84KwDGcwMOBc_dETjx9RqZrPKdiwOeLZ553NgABdVfe3K0lcO/s400/CLEARED.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Many older buildings are being demolished. It's so sad and there will be gaps in once busy streets for years to come.<br />
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Christchurch and some other Canterbury civic Councils are having trouble renewing their Insurance. It's proving almost impossible and is very costly when they do find limited insurance.<br />
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The following is an excerpt from Prime Minister Key's address when the official earthquake damaged zones were announced.<br />
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<div style="color: red;">"To put this in context, Treasury has estimated the combined cost of the first two Canterbury earthquakes to be equivalent to about 8 per cent of New Zealand's GDP.</div><div style="color: red;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red;">Damage from the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan was just over 2 per cent of Japan's GDP, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 cost about 1 per cent of US GDP, and March's Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster was an estimated 3-5 per cent of Japan's GDP.</div><div style="color: red;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red;">This has been a major event and the government is committed to getting things right for the people of Canterbury. We're moving as quickly as we can to give some certainty to those affected," Mr Key said.</div><div style="color: red;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red;">"Based on conservative assumptions, Treasury has estimated the net costs to the government to purchase all of the around 5000 properties currently in the residential red zone to be between $485 million and $635 million."</div><div style="color: red;"><br />
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The earthquakes have been compared to eight or 9 Hurricanes Katrina. That's a huge impact, socially and economically on a small city, by world standards, and our nation.<br />
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But there's lots of good news too.<br />
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There are many heartwarming stories. The SPCA is re-homing pets, many are going outside the quake hit area to live in peace again. There have been some substantial donations. The latest is 5 million dollars to be used exclusively for the benefit of children in the hardest hit areas.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb5iYp1TgpSL30WCevrsMA5X542gYvp1p0I_J6bslGfBJdKrx47Zn7AP1KXhzyqiGQ0vxGu__Mq_vlhQlbDYZn2ALIft_xmENFG0gejOav0zLVa0Bgc2C3W_ebJ_AeQOF-W3Uayig-t_xG/s1600/5216967+tom+Bisset+Timaru+Herald+1st+July+%252711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb5iYp1TgpSL30WCevrsMA5X542gYvp1p0I_J6bslGfBJdKrx47Zn7AP1KXhzyqiGQ0vxGu__Mq_vlhQlbDYZn2ALIft_xmENFG0gejOav0zLVa0Bgc2C3W_ebJ_AeQOF-W3Uayig-t_xG/s400/5216967+tom+Bisset+Timaru+Herald+1st+July+%252711.jpg" width="400" /><br />
Photo by Tom Bisset Timaru Herald</a></div><br />
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These women are having soooo much fun.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ballantynes.co.nz/">Ballantynes,</a> an iconic Christchurch department store, a little like Macy's has found a fun way to keep it's customers happy. They have a shopping bus twice a week transporting people, mostly women, to their Timaru store, about 100 miles or 165 km from Christchurch.<br />
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<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5216874/Hallelujah-for-Ballantynes-retail-therapy">Read more here</a>MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-45110570640870021492011-06-28T18:02:00.001+12:002011-06-28T18:10:31.490+12:00ANIMAL STORIES ARE ALL THE RAGE LATELYFirst is was the sad story of <a href="http://newzealandmyhome.blogspot.com/2011/06/only-in-new-zealand.html">Shrek the merino sheep</a> which was euthanased due to failing health and old age.<br />
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HAPPY FEET</div>Photo is from <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/image.cfm?c_id=2&gal_cid=2&gallery_id=119798#7758123">here</a> taken by Mark Mitchell<br />
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This week we have penguin stories. A young Emperor Penguin was found on a popular beaches on the Kapiti Coast, near Wellington. These penguins belong firmly in the Antarctic and he was soon sick with unaccostomed warmth and lack of proper food. He filled his stomach with sand and sticks. Wellington Zoo rescued him and first pumped most of the sand out of his/her stomach. Yesterday a gastric surgeon came to the rescue with an endoscopy and other tool and removed a heap of sticks and dried tangled roots from HAPPY FEET'S stomach. Today he seems to be recovering while a committee is formed to decide on the best way to release him back into the wild. I hope you can view the videos <a href="http://nz.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/25738631/">TV news a couple of nights ago</a><br />
<a href="http://nz.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/25738631/">Latest news</a> <br />
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Should he/she be dropped off at Bluff and left to swim back to antarctica or should the offer of of one of NZ's philanthropists deliver him by boat or maybe he can be flown down on one of the Antarctic shuttles next summer? Big and important questions.<br />
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And then there is this <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/5202799/Morgan-takes-the-plunge">little</a> fellow. Morgan, a little penguin was found wandering and disorientated on a farm. He was taken to the Antarctic Centre in Christchurch but refused to swim. After 56 days he's now doing what penguins are supposed to do. I hope you can watch the<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/5202799/Morgan-takes-the-plunge"> video</a>. Too cute.<br />
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On a curious note, for some reason no-one is able to sex the Emperot Penguin. Not sure whether it's because he is young and maybe immature but I think they are waiting on DNA testing to determine the sex of Happy Feet.<br />
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Today a helicopter was out searching for a Humpback Whale which had apparently freed itself from a lobster trap it had been seen caught up with. <br />
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Our daughter is going to Christchurch for a holiday with her brother and sister-in-law in a few weeks. There are many traumatised pets needing to be re-homed away from the earthquakes. I'm thinking of asking her to see if there is one for us. <br />
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On the political front there is another crazy scenario playing out. Democracy in New Zealand means we have a multitude of parties and now Maori have split their votes again. It's quite fascinating to watch but also maddening as these 'worthy' MPs, (Members of Parliament), vie for popularity. We have Conservatives, extreme right and centre right, Socialists, extreme left and centre left, Greens, and at least three flavours of Maori from activists and somewhere left of centre to those who want to completely control NZ. Recently our local TV picked up this<a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-june-13-2011/intro---new-zealand-politics"> of Jon Stewart on the Daily show </a>fell of his chair with boredom at the mention of NZ politics. I thought it was really funny but then he doesn't live here. It might be insignificant in World terms but New Zealand politics are fascinating.<br />
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I guess if I'm anything, it's conservative, but more important to me is the character of the man/woman. Good governance needs people of sound principles. We can but hope that all the various colours and flavours keep whoever is in the Government honest without choking it with political correctness. This is election year so whatever shenanigans go on it is important we make wise choices as we are pretty much stuck with them for the following three years.<br />
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I'm just happy to cosy up to our heater for the evening watching Tv between Blogging.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-89388098203395131452011-06-26T11:26:00.001+12:002011-06-26T13:49:43.948+12:00A LITTLE FUN<div style="color: red;">*</div><div style="color: red;">*</div><div style="color: red;">*</div><div style="color: red;"><br />
</div>This morning I decided to have a little look around one of my favourite 'go to' sites<br />
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<a href="http://llerrah.com/campground.htm">LINK:- I thought all the campers out there would enjoy this.</a><br />
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BlessingsMargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-51432646464494828522011-06-23T11:08:00.002+12:002011-06-23T15:05:37.020+12:00MEMORY LANE FLORIDA KEYS 2005. <br />
I've posted <a href="http://withgodnothingistoohard.blogspot.com/">here</a><br />
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Last week and again this week our skies have been charged with volcanic cloud from the Chilean Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption. Mostly the ash has been high in the atmosphere and Air NZ has continued to fly most routes, most of the time at a lower than usual height, but still well within safety limits. Today Quantas and Jetstar cancelled flights again.<br />
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The cloud has given us some interesting skies although much of the time the weather has been non-co-operative as well.<br />
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Here are a few photos. The first three are shots from last week on the beach at Mum's and the rest this morning from our deck.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-56387909049860098652011-06-22T15:23:00.002+12:002011-06-22T15:34:43.421+12:00EARTHQUAKES ARE ALMOST TOO COMMON TO BE NEWS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdR8B7wB2XUOcBuPI68E8xz_462Wmm4EFikesu_sSBWUR8FywVnFrjBPMIZBaMxRHeEVhmkf2lsrYyQADId7m5eufFryZb6j7_53NvXiUGgvPjjArgA2QnEhvqsZJyj9rr13soV3NLtgT/s1600/BASILLICA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdR8B7wB2XUOcBuPI68E8xz_462Wmm4EFikesu_sSBWUR8FywVnFrjBPMIZBaMxRHeEVhmkf2lsrYyQADId7m5eufFryZb6j7_53NvXiUGgvPjjArgA2QnEhvqsZJyj9rr13soV3NLtgT/s400/BASILLICA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I've written a <a href="http://withgodnothingistoohard.blogspot.com/">new post here</a>. It's a little more personal. I find myself being fearful of so many things. In particular I am anxious about Christchurch and the ongoing earthquakes.<br />
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The severe earthquake last Monday caused more damage to the Catholic Cathedral. The cross on top of the dome has now been removed and the dome in being cut up so it can be removed. Prior to last Monday the work had begun to remove the copper dome in a single piece. Men working from the crane above watched the dome shake like a jelly. <br />
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Last night we watched an elderly couple on <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/Where-will-the-people-of-Chch-go/tabid/817/articleID/215917/Default.aspx">Campbell Live,</a> who do not want to leave their home and community. They live in a beautifully furnished place which once had a garden, now covered with liquefaction silt. Terrible situation for elderly, infirm and young families.<br />
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Tomorrow there will be an official announcement about the areas that are going to be abandoned for housing. It is going to be heartbreaking for everyone from our Prime Minister to the least able to cope.<br />
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So many people face tough times. But people are generally resilient. Out of the ashes the Phoenix will rise is a <a href="http://www.lgic.org/en/phoenix_rise.php">story from the Lebanese Mountains</a> which describes a people who would rebuild more beautifully than before,everytime they suffered at the hands of invaders. This will be Christchurch and the surrounding area towns.<br />
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<a href="http://samdonna-5thwheelvagabonds.blogspot.com/">Sam and Donna </a>warned me that my comments are not working. I've done all I know to do and still cannot ake it possible for you to leave a comment. Until I can fix the problem you can email me, it's on my profile, or leave a comment on my other <a href="http://withgodnothingistoohard.blogspot.com/">Blog </a>where I can be found more frequently than here.<br />
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Well.... Whadayah know? The comments thing is back. Halleluia!<br />
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Look forward to hearing from y'all. <br />
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BlessingsMargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-56978614383554745182011-06-14T08:57:00.015+12:002011-06-14T18:04:42.876+12:00NOT AGAIN ..... NEW 6.3 QUAKE, SAME AS FEB.22ND<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQiFb-o_k8r4xuINHzPp1-0Zq9O5cGOKyXcAMSb_INLWFlQlQ3J9TWwhVdZhJZhIsbWJ-CXthCGbK4Zl2cCo9rREbQk2fLZqXF13rvuUWj0TKa7uFX6oWxAkYXvhPCRdMqdxnGEHaPtno/s1600/chchquake4nzpa257.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQiFb-o_k8r4xuINHzPp1-0Zq9O5cGOKyXcAMSb_INLWFlQlQ3J9TWwhVdZhJZhIsbWJ-CXthCGbK4Zl2cCo9rREbQk2fLZqXF13rvuUWj0TKa7uFX6oWxAkYXvhPCRdMqdxnGEHaPtno/s400/chchquake4nzpa257.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617815951888417250" border="0" /></a><br />I'm so glad we were home before the latest <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5139229/Don-t-leave-Christchurch-after-quakes-PM">Christchurch earthquakes.</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In spite of the Prime Minister's encouragement many people will want to leave Christchurch although most of the city is barely affected.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesWFxPXlSHaBaaCW9zTo32p1nsDhS3riRdDdx5S-ohQwQnVOOP2bHoVt54s3OkFPsYZGqSeZPHPqnGJP8OkQKIsjyXjghwnbQicEqzQp5Mg5F_z5QJYU8KlsRjqOLa_Oo5uf8G3tdY2Wa/s1600/quake3getty257_16vcrs3-16vcs13.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesWFxPXlSHaBaaCW9zTo32p1nsDhS3riRdDdx5S-ohQwQnVOOP2bHoVt54s3OkFPsYZGqSeZPHPqnGJP8OkQKIsjyXjghwnbQicEqzQp5Mg5F_z5QJYU8KlsRjqOLa_Oo5uf8G3tdY2Wa/s400/quake3getty257_16vcrs3-16vcs13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617815950095987858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It's all getting too much for most people.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0DukKiqokSaUXnTslsnSOVG9HbhCgI1teG1qDPJtRtR8OZCvJ04tfu-lQ1ZoixCkkJCPSwFLNtmjBbQCNXL7sd_SCG3uo_MvqP7EGCdqi9vJccsAr8OogP9Lul6__m7Q6fvo6bBtSlwY/s1600/quake9getty257_16vcrs3-16vcs13.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0DukKiqokSaUXnTslsnSOVG9HbhCgI1teG1qDPJtRtR8OZCvJ04tfu-lQ1ZoixCkkJCPSwFLNtmjBbQCNXL7sd_SCG3uo_MvqP7EGCdqi9vJccsAr8OogP9Lul6__m7Q6fvo6bBtSlwY/s400/quake9getty257_16vcrs3-16vcs13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617815959033609378" border="0" /></a><br />Our family is safe but their road is trashed again and they have some damage to their business stock. It's so hard to know you are starting from scratch again. Power is being restored section by section to the affected area but water and sewerage are a mess again. Portaloos are in action everywhere.<br /><br /><br />It is so difficult to comprehend.<br /><br />I want to write about something different here but all I can think about is how this once beautiful city is suffering.<br /><br />The scientists are saying yesterday's quakes are from a brand new fault.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-58488791649346617582011-06-06T20:15:00.008+12:002011-06-06T23:30:02.540+12:00ONLY IN NEW ZEALAND.SHREK THE SHEEP GOES TO HIS ETERNAL REST<br /><br />Many times we have said, "Only in America!" Today we have a story that could only come from God Zone aka NZ<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageTeyjjfrm63I/AAAAAAAACiw/Uc7bQtnmvWw/s1600/shrekfluffy3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5r3CzYTwGmsQ116X6T1nMCdqQIZwEnyGtZaVO-5gF0WZ5F5G4YZ93S8WnWepaKFKoSejOgpuOOj2FQLcVau2Q2Rsl__22LpjRYXESmx2f1jRgx3Bp9pfIZeI2LCBQJNTkroVKRJ3fQ9Z/s400/shrekfluffy3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615042665619319666" border="0" /></a>About 7 years ago a merino sheep was found in the South Island high country. That's not news. Merino sheep are farmed in the area. This particular animal had escaped the muster for six years by hiding out in a mountain cave. The <a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/sheep-farming/5/4">shepherd</a> who found him thought he'd discovered a monster. The sheep was brought in and more than 27 kilo or 60 pounds of wool was removed in front of TV cameras with hand clippers. What a job! He was given a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/1460596/Shrek-the-runaway-sheep-is-a-shear-celebrity.html">red coat</a> to keep him warm after losing his fleece.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT03cX5-Yb34Nb5hDoZ9MJnl8-5C0diunhRQ-0jTm6hRMFZ7UHveQqaYASrTZaf2RPgD8mpxWBoUxh6WSMgW6pZ7gjzoBrTJ-G9fIhBiAYYMu4C2kaofuZZObXnte6bV5hFu3Zd9PUdg8/s1600/shrekqueenstwn.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT03cX5-Yb34Nb5hDoZ9MJnl8-5C0diunhRQ-0jTm6hRMFZ7UHveQqaYASrTZaf2RPgD8mpxWBoUxh6WSMgW6pZ7gjzoBrTJ-G9fIhBiAYYMu4C2kaofuZZObXnte6bV5hFu3Zd9PUdg8/s400/shrekqueenstwn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615042663870642930" border="0" /></a><br />The animal, a wether, that is a castrated male sheep, was named Shrek. Despite his years of isolation he proved to be extremely placid and very good around children. He helped put Bendigo Station on the map and became world famous for his extraordinary photo shoots and charity work. He was visited by VIPs and celebrities including Helen Clark when she was Prime Minister.<br /><br />The children at tiny Tarras School wrote a <a href="http://www.nzine.co.nz/changes/sheepshrek.html">book</a> and he was always there for fundraisers.<br /><br />Owner John Perriam has also written two books with royalties going to the <a href="http://www.curekids.org.nz/index.htm">Cure Kids Charity</a>. I understand Shrek raised tens of thousands of dollars for Cure Kids. His legacy will linger as long as the story of Shrek the Sheep fascinates.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRFa42UGt5k5cyKMiSrkMgIdDZOdw2cxKHqU1kiPTSaAfFYZ2oeyUrfBWwOs_cOfBQv1nJWHGgdj5lkCbaa44l8U6d02XuAWkvBtrHjVYS7NrrMc9gbxoyB2U_NgZ4ijZ2glIQZ7s_Jrl/s1600/ACFZGAVlaOJ1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRFa42UGt5k5cyKMiSrkMgIdDZOdw2cxKHqU1kiPTSaAfFYZ2oeyUrfBWwOs_cOfBQv1nJWHGgdj5lkCbaa44l8U6d02XuAWkvBtrHjVYS7NrrMc9gbxoyB2U_NgZ4ijZ2glIQZ7s_Jrl/s400/ACFZGAVlaOJ1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615042665759700722" border="0" />A publicity stunt. Shearing Shrek on an iceberg off the southern coast</a><br /><br />The wool industry reckons his pictures were worth over 100 million dollars to our international export trade. There was also a spin off to tourism.<br /><br />Today there were emotional interviews with John Perriam and Josie Spillane from Cure Kids. The aging sheep was euthanased this morning as he was beginning to suffer pain. He even had his own care-giver over the last few weeks. Shrek was almost 17 years old, at least 90 in human terms.<br /><br />Shrek has only been pushed off the top of our national headline news by two substantial earthquakes, a 5.5 and 4.5 near Christchurch today There have been about 19 other quakes today on the same fault as well. It's been a big news day. The first weekend in June is a three day holiday to mark the Queen's Birthday. It is also the time for a variety of honours some from the Crown others purely New Zealand. There are 2 new Dames, 4 Knights and a huge list of others including community/social helpers, a gossip columnist and various sports people.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0AoAkaRIuyTo6EJt9SPKUFn9iXBFfB1YOHgMe0kea7zj6hpdeKmoOU-NzhiwOQDIZIFoFi5Xd237JkNkICk91lnN6l96UQ4pvmpG2NSZXF1SQC4xDUOE5KA7dBRJ3imTV2iX2mXTJNUN/s1600/shrek_the_sheep_2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0AoAkaRIuyTo6EJt9SPKUFn9iXBFfB1YOHgMe0kea7zj6hpdeKmoOU-NzhiwOQDIZIFoFi5Xd237JkNkICk91lnN6l96UQ4pvmpG2NSZXF1SQC4xDUOE5KA7dBRJ3imTV2iX2mXTJNUN/s400/shrek_the_sheep_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615042673939895650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0AoAkaRIuyTo6EJt9SPKUFn9iXBFfB1YOHgMe0kea7zj6hpdeKmoOU-NzhiwOQDIZIFoFi5Xd237JkNkICk91lnN6l96UQ4pvmpG2NSZXF1SQC4xDUOE5KA7dBRJ3imTV2iX2mXTJNUN/s1600/shrek_the_sheep_2.jpg">RIP</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=bendigo+station+new+zealand&daddr=Tarras,+Otago,+New+Zealand&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=31.617584,77.871094&ie=UTF8&ll=-41.112469,174.287109&spn=11.583463,18.676758&z=5&output=embed" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" width="425"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=bendigo+station+new+zealand&daddr=Tarras,+Otago,+New+Zealand&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=31.617584,77.871094&ie=UTF8&ll=-41.112469,174.287109&spn=11.583463,18.676758&z=5" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br /> The little town of Tarras is marked if you click to enlarge the map.<br /><br />I should have photos of Tarras but I can't find them. We stopped for coffee enjoying it beside a lovely fire in the country Cafe. We had come from Wanaka and were on our way somewhere. We parked the bus in a quiet spot nearby and listened to bird scarers from early morning. There were extensive vineyards on the rugged, dry hills. Had we turned left we would have been on a route toward Mt. Cook, our highest mountain. We turned south east, stopping at Lawrence and Kaitangata near Balclutha in Southland.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-7922417299229901782011-04-13T12:11:00.006+12:002011-04-13T13:56:15.370+12:00OTAMA BEACH HIDEAWAY AND THOUGHTS ABOUT NORTH AMERICAIt was lovely to wake up this morning with the gorgeous view of the sun peering through the clouds over Otama Beach. I'd had a broken night so wasn't energetic enough to get up and take photos. They will come later today.<br /><br />In the meantime I made coffee and turned on TV. We have Sky here and that's a change for us. I went to the travel channel and watched an Englishman's tour of part of the Civil War Trail. Washington, Maryland and Virginia. This aspect of US History always makes me want to cry. The second program was in Utah, Salt Lake City, not too much, a Cowboy Ranch and the amazing Arches and Monumental Parks. <br /><br />I felt quite emotional. I have a heart connection with USA. Where did it come from? I've no idea. I just know that as I come to a place of peace regarding the non-possibility of us ever returning to follow our travel dream there, I still love all things North American. It's a little bit weird but I don't mind. There is another place I have this heart identification with. It is the country of my Great Grandfather, Poland. I can become very emotional when Poland is in the news and identify with the people there. I guess it's part of my heritage but that is not the case with North America. There my connection is more spiritual through some terrific churches such as Bethel in Redding, Ca and Catch The Fire in Toronto, Canada. Funny how other aspects of my heritage do not have the same hold. Another Great Grandfather was Swiss, and then there are the English and Irish.<br /><br />We still hope to travel USA but I'm at peace as to whether we do or not. We've even decided which RV brand, (Lazy Daze), if the opportunity to travel overseas opens up. We are interested in the various trails, eg, Oregon Wagon, Trail Of Tears, Route 66, wild flowers when the dessert blooms, Deep South, Tennessee, North West Coast, Canada, Friends all over, and much more just to give ourselves some kind of focus so that we don't wander aimlessly. On our first trip we kept our "Must Do," agenda small so that we could wander in between as we heard about other places we might like. Our list was small. Grand Canyon, Flamingo in the Everglades, Kennedy Space Centre. Key West became possible as did the Indianapolis Raceway, Santa Fe, Pagosa Springs, Lake Havasu for a giggle and Joshua NP. Our other two trips were shorter so we had to be fairly specific to make the most of our time without exhausting ourselves driving too far.<br /><br />My RVer's Blog list is far too long but mostly I keep up. I keep telling myself not to add another but then I come across one that's too good to bypass. There are so many wonderful writers and photographers. I can travel along with them whether they be at home, in between trips or Full Timers on the road. It's all interesting and important information is being gleaned for our maybe future trip. Following Blogs is filling a gap and rather than making me more restless is satisfying my need to know more about North America.<br /><br />Sometimes I wish we'd discovered the RV world when we were younger but Life has it's own seasons and looking back we have needed to be within calling distance of our family. We have found freedom and yes, happiness, within this constraint. Not many New Zealanders have been able to travel to the degree we have, or even see as much of New Zealand. We have paid a price. Our finances for now are Zilch but what memories.<br /><br />I'm going to start a series on a trip we had in the South Island. I think it was 2008. I need my diary to get it right. It seems like yesterday but a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since that trip. (This too will have to wait until we are home again. See note below.) <br /><br />Now I will save this until after I've been for a photo walk. <br /><br />Later:- Ooops! I forgot I'm not using my laptop but a friend's PC and have no idea how to add my photos. They'll have to wait until I can use my wireless internet again.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-88225589280268557662011-04-11T09:59:00.011+12:002011-04-11T13:22:48.100+12:00IT FEELS LIKE WINTER<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0a6fwk322zHX1j7pbzac0Hf4pvBsTsrEhOQhN5Zlc-dHTYiF8EjgaKkh9JWAIItP4h-b1GukuKHKA3WG0aldxr5JEqpbjdSGmrJa5I3_Myx5DE0oUDzZ9dlYvXXOOuAkTrOmjfNiBYBy/s1600/home+March+30th+to+be+sorted+064.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0a6fwk322zHX1j7pbzac0Hf4pvBsTsrEhOQhN5Zlc-dHTYiF8EjgaKkh9JWAIItP4h-b1GukuKHKA3WG0aldxr5JEqpbjdSGmrJa5I3_Myx5DE0oUDzZ9dlYvXXOOuAkTrOmjfNiBYBy/s400/home+March+30th+to+be+sorted+064.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594082041227371394" border="0" /></a>Our mornings are decidedly chilly. We are supposed to be having sunny days but there's a weird thing happening. The high pressure area over New Zealand is bringing us cool cloudy weather. I love autumn but not this kind. It takes a long time for the sun to burn through ... then it's lovely.<br /><br />We're getting ready to go over a to a friend's place to baby sit the cats and dog while they have a holiday. It's a view to die for and only 15 or so minutes from home.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY78PMYeHCVC_mSWGfaxR6tIqUK74yhYuYO4fMrV6djVk7UAiLZ2dxMVQaCfHGNpdG55C-0LksqZWw8AVbKMYb1NIGk4d0dWpugdregmVnYH3_pUa6LVcz5ARtlTCkzWdRyQOvpO6AbU7V/s1600/5471663273_fab63f0384_m.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY78PMYeHCVC_mSWGfaxR6tIqUK74yhYuYO4fMrV6djVk7UAiLZ2dxMVQaCfHGNpdG55C-0LksqZWw8AVbKMYb1NIGk4d0dWpugdregmVnYH3_pUa6LVcz5ARtlTCkzWdRyQOvpO6AbU7V/s400/5471663273_fab63f0384_m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594088314240302162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Last night I had a chat with one of our South Island sons. D lives in the country S.E. of Christchurch. He drives for a local transport company and this last week was carting fertiliser from the Lyttleton Wharf to a depot. It's a job that has to be done as quickly as possible so the ship can be turned around. It's all trucks on the road, or as many as are available and D was called back to work on the last day of his holiday. I asked him about the roads because I'd been reading a news item. He said the road is very rough. They have to go over the Evans Pass Road which is quite steep. Not sure why they can't use the tunnel because it's open in spite of the damage. He also said that while the Ferrymead Bridge has been strengthened he has some reservations about the approaches. I have spent far too much time making a map and losing it and trying to source a photo of the Ferymead Bridge. I know there are some goo one's on line but where????<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUAC8iMlLjACL4eyvxaTothwsBqpnnLTjnasgDqJhgd0rotVKM4VVTZejh6-YiCW89sN2ZxVoQye8xlKHvwvlzjGvuB9WVDym7G7yh0q42_MJSJMS7L3VeBbjRXNUcqXk3oWYrtRS-WOV/s1600/5469769673_c7730988a7_m.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUAC8iMlLjACL4eyvxaTothwsBqpnnLTjnasgDqJhgd0rotVKM4VVTZejh6-YiCW89sN2ZxVoQye8xlKHvwvlzjGvuB9WVDym7G7yh0q42_MJSJMS7L3VeBbjRXNUcqXk3oWYrtRS-WOV/s400/5469769673_c7730988a7_m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594088306328378130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XbZHgUMR7fqX1TigfbKkp1aemus2sofiWAC4TZ69J5BZSf_bi4fXh4Aoseq3Q_8-hIdI3MM_PF9uoyaloh-sSRU356r3APoQdeIVk0wqTm9kbYSPCgh3PlR98N-5ODkleGDBh4unIYEN/s1600/New-Christchurch-Earthquake-Photos.jpg-60-568x320.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XbZHgUMR7fqX1TigfbKkp1aemus2sofiWAC4TZ69J5BZSf_bi4fXh4Aoseq3Q_8-hIdI3MM_PF9uoyaloh-sSRU356r3APoQdeIVk0wqTm9kbYSPCgh3PlR98N-5ODkleGDBh4unIYEN/s400/New-Christchurch-Earthquake-Photos.jpg-60-568x320.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594091984848717234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It's difficult to live in a city where 150 years of development is destroyed in a minute. Thank goodness it was only a portion of Christchurch but 0f the 2000km of road 1000 km is damaged. The earthquake on September 2010 caused about 1200 road defects. After February 22nd 3800 cracks, slumps, humps need repair, not to mention the cordoned off area in the centre of the city.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGO8nClSiuo_pm649hFA5KOQ89AzCGszCL5pSHuxQBDiodQreLZIXIwr8nv4cp1clgRvN6qALnx6NffmoNUmis1-r_XQVyeKp9d8-nXC8p-oyl4xSofxHhFFco5Dcor7xFY2-mX1E1pkd4/s1600/4868721.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGO8nClSiuo_pm649hFA5KOQ89AzCGszCL5pSHuxQBDiodQreLZIXIwr8nv4cp1clgRvN6qALnx6NffmoNUmis1-r_XQVyeKp9d8-nXC8p-oyl4xSofxHhFFco5Dcor7xFY2-mX1E1pkd4/s400/4868721.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594088303854971554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9QPupwt246PE2RxoNgQzReYNdlZviWs5-KC_l05-TI4TfiXD-qaKuMlSwHErKggdZx1VgfMaqHtuQFtMb06HQwg00I9pGy1A5OH3Hh3W3DosIvvSKNzSu5XrDg-QeBLbP8tFlB_BZPNg/s1600/4870218.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9QPupwt246PE2RxoNgQzReYNdlZviWs5-KC_l05-TI4TfiXD-qaKuMlSwHErKggdZx1VgfMaqHtuQFtMb06HQwg00I9pGy1A5OH3Hh3W3DosIvvSKNzSu5XrDg-QeBLbP8tFlB_BZPNg/s400/4870218.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594088304221507794" border="0" /></a><br /><br />People are becoming angry and frustrated with the rate of progress but the reality it that it's going to take a very long time to rebuild or restore. You don't just pick up 150 years of growth and put it back in place. There is planning and organisation and money and manpower required. There is an order which is not always apparent those far off let alone those close up. My heart goes out to those who are badly affected but the truth is they have to find a way to pick themselves up and get going again even when they cannot access information, records and other stuff they want.<br /><br />The building is the Carlton Hotel, an historic building. Everyone in Christchurch who drinks beer is likely to have been in this Pub.<br /><br />I hope I don't get into trouble for pinching these photos from various places. I do look for copy write but it's not always obvious.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZomkpo6sWtk_yBwSJCBOA2qbmPaLYayr-0q1h5V9xamUNNWy4GUkyteJfVCsLC-ZssHY4aJUKT_yzNCdVD9M7vUhoNC3FIecx6UCOCSU3sV-xYCVLn_dYE8lXWMSktJmcEPh9CgKbR0Od/s1600/MATARANGI+11TH+APRIL+%252711+011.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZomkpo6sWtk_yBwSJCBOA2qbmPaLYayr-0q1h5V9xamUNNWy4GUkyteJfVCsLC-ZssHY4aJUKT_yzNCdVD9M7vUhoNC3FIecx6UCOCSU3sV-xYCVLn_dYE8lXWMSktJmcEPh9CgKbR0Od/s400/MATARANGI+11TH+APRIL+%252711+011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594124969865794642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmneqdBTCgLlzX3nYZy0bvcbhyX5CV9NLLhyphenhyphenwkMWtTXHLyZQ_b-LSbDIcJzGTU68bCuuGXLlYTkioeZOX1R44gMGYcnTam7QFsdIOLGCfE6EJsBBd7VXsRC9VGDqA6BDxXWY0HonfS0xh/s1600/MATARANGI+11TH+APRIL+%252711+003.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmneqdBTCgLlzX3nYZy0bvcbhyX5CV9NLLhyphenhyphenwkMWtTXHLyZQ_b-LSbDIcJzGTU68bCuuGXLlYTkioeZOX1R44gMGYcnTam7QFsdIOLGCfE6EJsBBd7VXsRC9VGDqA6BDxXWY0HonfS0xh/s400/MATARANGI+11TH+APRIL+%252711+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594125691037101266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAOrbHSl7wfQSKMjDKIn1VrNAmYqjRFvLmV5TOQBsWL8PzBRDOPIAqCumEMx-l0i7OZeRqvegnQI5tF9SidMvrZTJ8M3cy0HTJtnxPv_ni7jQwQvFy3MlUVnH_EQdmUdFey5NUIvglMmR/s1600/MATARANGI+11TH+APRIL+%252711+007.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAOrbHSl7wfQSKMjDKIn1VrNAmYqjRFvLmV5TOQBsWL8PzBRDOPIAqCumEMx-l0i7OZeRqvegnQI5tF9SidMvrZTJ8M3cy0HTJtnxPv_ni7jQwQvFy3MlUVnH_EQdmUdFey5NUIvglMmR/s400/MATARANGI+11TH+APRIL+%252711+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594124976016329426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Time to hang the washing on the line and here's today's sky to brighten things up.<br /><br />Not the prettiest sky so how about the cows over the road from us. We watch them from our kitchen.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-44676665842352943642011-04-04T22:49:00.003+12:002011-04-04T23:06:11.416+12:00LUNCH IN WHITIANGA<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5ypgJT1HpTAOjDHROBDj462tza3fF1mmBoNzNMzkw0MSmE7uMjCqxOUf8OHEtVX2dsQLLQWNNBmlNjUwdURwRypNAA_1n6AVmUdcPE-VtQ91UD-N92IZPk26z2yM7l9JHSctM-l1jBpV/s1600/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+014.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5ypgJT1HpTAOjDHROBDj462tza3fF1mmBoNzNMzkw0MSmE7uMjCqxOUf8OHEtVX2dsQLLQWNNBmlNjUwdURwRypNAA_1n6AVmUdcPE-VtQ91UD-N92IZPk26z2yM7l9JHSctM-l1jBpV/s400/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591597982583092738" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dmIrHHpUT62uqKuGjkS7yBriSEvRah2CIORXnJ97KD_F0gjnIZSKLtSEE2o6hAUdDwhXOq-YMSTn7G48Unjvn4Ygw6aWXkHfpoJ1-XTtvmv8WbnjWgh03Z2QR-VFJdywmbsQvusJjM7c/s1600/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+032.jpg"><img style="float: left; 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margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqv04Cfb7p9eWFYaaNX9Ploh1QLXT00hebjlrgUAd2wb48yOpcF3PfAZkKrhna96OzIMDC2Z1Zq6FEl2LnrHeruqhFFmGTONV3BhZNQnxSlz2Exc0t3UYbVmptBrLV1UqQ4Tltfhqj-y6/s400/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+024.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591594012121968002" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hC-z7_Rc8E0bnYuS_WZM_4NEc9xWWlGocPcPVW_uedgp5v1cuEWrHE7eRdnGheJbN1wNci5agRX-xGBH0uP0iH8rwV8EktXuqAwp-R9j_QIb-rIts9iIeL05UC-Z15yEeeYi0k5TA2S3/s1600/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+029.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hC-z7_Rc8E0bnYuS_WZM_4NEc9xWWlGocPcPVW_uedgp5v1cuEWrHE7eRdnGheJbN1wNci5agRX-xGBH0uP0iH8rwV8EktXuqAwp-R9j_QIb-rIts9iIeL05UC-Z15yEeeYi0k5TA2S3/s400/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591594002515016258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gtJj2z2fLQVIe5dZNfCP_DIaVXvJhXxFSmn-iZFAqoxecMKq8jnfWQR-8tRRyLV9vYIx16p2umNWXde2lPjoVdHE817TIsmwLMQyKSb2zcWtNjNQdnHzcitaFLcJ5e94h23Gv0PZwi9f/s1600/Katy+had+an+exhausting+morning+on+the+beach+to+keepher+off+the+table+15-06-09.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gtJj2z2fLQVIe5dZNfCP_DIaVXvJhXxFSmn-iZFAqoxecMKq8jnfWQR-8tRRyLV9vYIx16p2umNWXde2lPjoVdHE817TIsmwLMQyKSb2zcWtNjNQdnHzcitaFLcJ5e94h23Gv0PZwi9f/s400/Katy+had+an+exhausting+morning+on+the+beach+to+keepher+off+the+table+15-06-09.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591682179991602642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJpG09c3-s_uds6x34FT4z7bPepzFEphTMJwENve0sd9_j8AYihfOv0H5wsXTB7kqCE2dxdD2PKktG56Vd8SciV33MgVSd9rNjCv1nhv46SAyAfQAVPmuuwwO-GBK-B2QjBBOWXSpBhp4/s1600/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+036.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJpG09c3-s_uds6x34FT4z7bPepzFEphTMJwENve0sd9_j8AYihfOv0H5wsXTB7kqCE2dxdD2PKktG56Vd8SciV33MgVSd9rNjCv1nhv46SAyAfQAVPmuuwwO-GBK-B2QjBBOWXSpBhp4/s400/WHITIANGA+WHARF+31ST+MARCH%252C+%252711+036.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591682171230112194" /></a><br /><br /><br />Last week John and I reached a mini milestone To be precise March 30th was our 48th Wedding Anniversary. How on earth did that happen? I can't say it feels like yesterday, there's too much living, a lot of joy and some grief for that to be possible. Even so the years have kind of crept up on us<br /><br />We don't usually make a big deal of anniversaries and this one was no different but we did make it an excuse for a leisurely lunch. Wednesday was our designated shopping day this week so we chose one of the Cafes near the wharf. The day was pleasant enough to eat outside and we were pleased to find a table with warm sun filtered through the green leaves of an overhanging tree. John ordered a hamburger. It was huge and filled to the brim with healthy salad and trimmings with lovely fresh fries on the side. It looked delicious he didn't leave a morsel. My meal was a tasty but a not quite satisfying beef hotpot with s tiny side salad. We completed our meal by ordering cappuccinos and dessert. We both chose affogato, vanilla bean icecream with a hot double shot of espresso to pour over, drowning the icecream. Talk about a caffeine hit.<br /><br />After lunch John wanted to get his hair cut. I decided to sit and wait in the sun. It wasn't long before I realised I needed our camera. I enjoyed the short walk back to the car. The time flew by while I watched boats swing on their moorings, seagulls squabble, and passengers embarking and disembarking from the ferry. There really should be a bridge but the population is just too small warrant the cost. Instead a small passenger ferry plies back and forth. People who live or work on the otherside often keep a car both sides of the estuary. Our daughter is one of those people. She begins her work day on the other side so she parks her car and catches ferry. On the otherside she collects the work car from the carpark where it has been left the previous night by another nurse. The two nurses job share, working different days. They are on call one weekend a month because they share weekends with the nurses from Whangamata, the next town south.<br /><br /> John returned looking somewhat shorn and we wandered over to the wharf intrigued by the collection of masts standing tall above the wharf. It was a few minutes before the penny dropped. These yachts were part of a flotilla on their way to Gisborne to protest against off shore testing for oil. <br /><br />In June last year our Government announced it had made an agreement with international giant Petrobras to test for oil off the East Coast of New Zealand. The Brazilian company is the first exploration company to be awarded a permit to test the Raukumara Basin off East Cape. They have been awarded a five year permit to explore this area which was identified by Crown Minerals as having large reservoirs. Yesterday the Orient Explorer, a Petrobas ship left Tauranga harbour heading for East Cape, where it will begin seismic testing to explore the ocean for oil sediments. <br /><br />Greenpeace and local Iwi, (Maori), have joined forces to protect our waters from this oil exploration. I'm no researcher so I only find what is there for all to see. The little I did find is either hilarious or extremely disturbing. I found this <a href=" http://uriohau.blogspot.com/2011/03/flotilla-gathers-for-petrobras-protest.html">website</a> today. It is subtitled Revolutionary Colonialism and Anti Capitalism in the Pacific. Apparently the call went out from Greenpeace for the protest ships to gather. While I have reservations about the wisdom of deep sea oil drilling I do not believe aggressive protest is the answer. Perhaps I'm a hypocrite. I am happy to keep New Zealand nuclear free and without deep sea oil drilling but I don't have much time for protesters. Maybe there's a place for them but don't ask me to join them.<br /><br />The oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico almost a year ago, should make us very cautious. My confidence has not been improved by the decision not to install a tsunamograph because the cost is too great. This fairly sophisticated device, which helps in the forewarning of Tsunamis not only costs lot install but is high maintenance. We are a tiny island nation with limited resources. But this seems an extremely shortsighted decision especially when you consider it in the light of our vulnerability to earthquakes and Tsunami. It seems pretty stupid to risk spoiling the clean green image for which we are known around the world. <br /><br />Politics aside the yachts made a pretty picture.<br /><br />We ended our day by having a roast chicken dinner with Mum and our daughter. The cats, Lexie and Katie are fine and decorative too.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-25078815541564644442011-04-04T00:54:00.005+12:002011-04-04T02:26:57.294+12:00TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE ICE-AID CONCERT IN DENVER, COLORADO, FOR REBUILDING CHRISTCHURCH<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GKe5xPQ1GGmrmLvo7WauSRHucyG-c3qT8GgeiO3tQZ1I94-noCdsEkKgjYTYJl9IdP75-4x3jcypB3qzEKfkuQwDv3OQ852cVB0oRt4US5eIWsxdMgTVT4UionU3sFSQtk7mRW3aovB-/s1600/capt.1b89b75025924f75981f8940dec2aeca-1b89b75025924f75981f8940dec2aeca-0.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GKe5xPQ1GGmrmLvo7WauSRHucyG-c3qT8GgeiO3tQZ1I94-noCdsEkKgjYTYJl9IdP75-4x3jcypB3qzEKfkuQwDv3OQ852cVB0oRt4US5eIWsxdMgTVT4UionU3sFSQtk7mRW3aovB-/s400/capt.1b89b75025924f75981f8940dec2aeca-1b89b75025924f75981f8940dec2aeca-0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591358610756479746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEd0oT0RNnk_0ZXggEJR6t1IGOScFTopfjiQkw7ohyphenhyphen4EqdZl6QO_KNunR9_3ioFH9P5QFmji3slXTOfEHzEZ1lGao_CyvkkeyPseFhnKgeMIxuLoYibxzG2A4lZIlg93HZPCBPB5Lz08j6/s1600/capt.photo_1300933112315-1-0.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEd0oT0RNnk_0ZXggEJR6t1IGOScFTopfjiQkw7ohyphenhyphen4EqdZl6QO_KNunR9_3ioFH9P5QFmji3slXTOfEHzEZ1lGao_CyvkkeyPseFhnKgeMIxuLoYibxzG2A4lZIlg93HZPCBPB5Lz08j6/s400/capt.photo_1300933112315-1-0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591358610954007762" border="0" /></a>From the Top:-<br />1. Dust over a ruined city<br /><br />2. Re-aligned<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2KVTCw3DywWj4sp6UZY7-xfef3yKyeH3KgREQkjun1pTY9ejw0Dc3aLd8qcyNN4vB850J6ybFU-97BMJSu4Cvbu11Etoc6_IztOJI4pZiynPIjMNSTlwZjOg-6-svrVlwniTpdxu7rKw/s1600/capt.f9276fc5433e4ebaba0382fdea6565e5-f9276fc5433e4ebaba0382fdea6565e5-0.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2KVTCw3DywWj4sp6UZY7-xfef3yKyeH3KgREQkjun1pTY9ejw0Dc3aLd8qcyNN4vB850J6ybFU-97BMJSu4Cvbu11Etoc6_IztOJI4pZiynPIjMNSTlwZjOg-6-svrVlwniTpdxu7rKw/s400/capt.f9276fc5433e4ebaba0382fdea6565e5-f9276fc5433e4ebaba0382fdea6565e5-0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591358630819898210" border="0" /></a>3. Prince William stands before Christchurch Cathedral after the Bell Tower was demolished<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvcTREPPwKkpE7uqXGo5okFxNCkJVNckMlmZv6x1-CD48gIy_SgKn22Bamk9hIJpPknsSxkfVeldMcDHPuOcGeoMVNZ01v8HnXz52KaEEY3u4v49JeoGL0VmuuzYMGkzo6mxrVV9Eac4e/s1600/capt.46e202019004409ba5028b6d9371efd9-46e202019004409ba5028b6d9371efd9-0.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 365px; height: 344px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvcTREPPwKkpE7uqXGo5okFxNCkJVNckMlmZv6x1-CD48gIy_SgKn22Bamk9hIJpPknsSxkfVeldMcDHPuOcGeoMVNZ01v8HnXz52KaEEY3u4v49JeoGL0VmuuzYMGkzo6mxrVV9Eac4e/s400/capt.46e202019004409ba5028b6d9371efd9-46e202019004409ba5028b6d9371efd9-0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591358617630465170" border="0" /></a>4, Prince William plants an oak tree of hope watched by Prime Minister John Key.<br /><br /><br /><br />Prince William spent time visiting Christchurch, families of earthquake victims and the families of the <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/4381393/Pike-River-Our-darkest-hour">Pike River Mine Disaster</a>. He also spoke heart felt words at the big Memorial Service in Hagley Park and shook hands with hundreds of people before planting the tree. He then went to Australia were he visited the recent flood stricken area.<br /><br />Many Americans are involved in making donations to rebuild Christchurch following the February 22nd earth quake.<br /><br />There has always been a variety of connections between New Zealand and the United States. For many years Christchurch has been the final stop before flying personnel and equipment to the Antarctic Base. Following the earthquake a group calling them selves Ice-Aid for Rebuilding Christchurch was formed. Now a concert is being planned in Denver, Colorado. You can read all about it <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20onblur=%22try%20%7Bparent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully%28%29;%7D%20catch%28e%29%20%7B%7D%22%20href=%22https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyjlNNobgzQpmG7l_PY_2GX1S0Yz6_nMyo1Qf6z1TNOf5ZuCu5-vKZOTk5-fhhLt16sMMS8Bqh2s1gCNkmL-gsgQGFTyD_9SaNNMWqCRfok5A7CNzbg-ohYCGoV78I4N_IOR12CvWEZXq/s1600/index.jpg%22%3E%3Cimg%20style=%22float:%20left;%20margin:%200pt%2010px%2010px%200pt;%20cursor:%20pointer;%20width:%20188px;%20height:%20196px;%22%20src=%22http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-StBNpoIyglc/TZhi7CzzDUI/AAAAAAAACYk/BhgN3u01mSs/s400/index.jpg%22%20alt=%22%22%20id=%22BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591327703886400834%22%20border=%220%22%20/%3E%3C/a%3E">here </a>on FaceBook. I hope you'll pass this on to as many people as you can and they in turn will pass the message on to anyone they know in Denver.<br /><br /><table class="uiInfoTable mvm profileInfoTable"><tbody><tr><th style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="label">Time</th><td style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="data"><div>Saturday, April 16 · <span class="dtstart"><span class="value-title" title="2011-04-16T17:00:00"> </span>5:00pm</span> - <span class="dtend"><span class="value-title" title="2011-04-16T23:00:00"> </span>11:00pm</span></div></td></tr><tr style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="spacer"><td colspan="2"><hr /></td></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><th style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="label">Location</th><td style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="data"><div class="location vcard"><span class="fn org">The Bug Theater</span><div class="adr"><div class="street-address">3654 Navajo St</div><div class="locality">Denver, CO</div></div></div></td></tr><tr style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="spacer"><td colspan="2"><hr /></td></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><th style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="label">Created By</th><td style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="data"><div class="uiCollapsedList uiCollapsedListHidden organizer" id="u519962_4"><span class="visible"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ice-Aid-for-Rebuilding-Christchurch/205507769465436">Ice-Aid for Rebuilding Christchurch</a></span></div></td></tr><tr style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="spacer"><td colspan="2"><hr /></td></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><th style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="label">More Info</th><td style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="data"><div class="description summary">Doors open at 5 p.m., with the concert beginning at 5:30 p.m. There will also be a short live auction before 8 p.m. Cover is $10 cash, with proceeds from ticket sales and auction to benefit the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal. Continue to monitor this page for more details on the benefit, band lineup and auction items.<br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Concert and Auction Press Release</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">by Ice-Aid for Rebuilding Christchurch on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 2:56am</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Benefit concert and auction to raise money for Christchurch rebuilding efforts</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Denver, Colo. – It started with an email.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">“Cookie” Jon Emanuel sent a simple message to Jay Fox a couple of weeks after the Feb. 22 earthquake that destroyed much of the central business district of Christchurch and left nearly 200 people dead.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">We should do something, Emanuel wrote. Maybe some sort of benefit concert.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">On April 16, at the Bug Theatre in Denver, Colo., more than a half-dozen bands will take the stage to rock the roof</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> off and raise money for the <a href="http://www.christchurchearthquakeappeal.govt.nz/">Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Fund (www.christchurchearthquakeappeal.govt.nz).</a></span><a href="http://www.christchurchearthquakeappeal.govt.nz/"><br /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">“It’s going to be totally off the page,” said Fox, one of the chief organizers of the event who, like many of</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> those involved in the charity fundraiser, has traveled through Christchurch numerous times en route to Antarctica in support of the U.S. research program there.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">The concert will mainly feature bands and musicians who have performed on the Ice, as those who work on the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> continent refer to Antarctica.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Among the headliners is Monroe Monroe, a local Denver band fronted by singer-song writer Frank Abbatecola, who</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> has also worked in Antarctica. Denver folk band Bone Orchard Revival will also perform. In addition, a live auction will be held during the evening, with items donated from around the world.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">“It’s really awesome to see the Ice community rally around this event,” said Emanuel, who worked as the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> executive chef at the South Pole Station before becoming the executive chef at the Denver area nonprofit Project Angel Heart in 2005. “Christchurch is like a second home for so many of us.”</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Doors open at 5 p.m., with the first band scheduled to take the stage at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">For more information, see the Facebook page, Ice-Aid for Rebuilding Christchurch.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Contact:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Peter Rejcek </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">720.298.4294 </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">prejcek(at)yahoo.com</span><br /><br />There's less than 2 weeks to spread the news.<br /><br />It warms my heart to see how all kinds of people have set up a huge variety of projects to help this city. The damage is serious. Beyond anything New Zealand has previously experienced. Insurance companies are going to be stretched to meet their commitments. The city infrastructure will be years in the rebuilding. New satellite cities may develop and it is hard to imagine the CBD ever becoming the wonderful mix of offices, boutique shops, hotels and restaurants again. So many people have had their lives changed forever and now the redundancies are pouring in as some of the larger companies realise it might be years before they can function again.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-24830304935434149862011-03-14T09:23:00.002+13:002011-03-14T09:57:09.831+13:00WHAT CAN ONE SAY?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpEaguJlaucSVZa6YANINdjU_hh491u6PRJa8tCH6oIezCvcLdcQ3904h6dpdPk1XfmR6fAzhOhS8ZBAqJo0aZt19W0G0yF63eMyuhBGWjGZVOnp_zrYLMCsAf9Ya46SRYzfahTEllIs-/s1600/BLUE+SKY+AND+BUTTERFLIES+011.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpEaguJlaucSVZa6YANINdjU_hh491u6PRJa8tCH6oIezCvcLdcQ3904h6dpdPk1XfmR6fAzhOhS8ZBAqJo0aZt19W0G0yF63eMyuhBGWjGZVOnp_zrYLMCsAf9Ya46SRYzfahTEllIs-/s400/BLUE+SKY+AND+BUTTERFLIES+011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583671448189697250" border="0" /></a><br />New Zealand is shocked and saddened by the earthquake and it's aftermath in Japan.<br /><br />My heart goes out to all those who are waiting and watching for news of family and friends.<br /><br />The film footage and photos are horrifying. In the midst of it we had our own little drama.The Tsunami advisory had many people on edge. We knew the risk was minor, our officials confirmed this was so, but we still kept watch. In the event it was little more than minor tidal surges with minimal damage to one or two moored boats.<br /><br />We were well informed and we received phone calls and texts from so many people it was almost embarrassing. It's so nice to know that we look after each other.<br /><br />It seems petty to complain about our lot but if you're living without running water and sewerage in an urban area, as so many are in Christchurch, you are either deeply affected by this tragedy or you are numbed by the sheer scale of it. Panic is not far away as we discovered when one family member became almost hysterical when we refused to evacuate my mother. We have discussed this many times and our choice is always to wait and see, if that's possible. We had 10 hours to decide on the level of danger and 15 minutes gets us to safety, with emergency supplies, if necessary. We were prepared.<br /><br />We are not blase or careless as some told us. We are very aware and alert, just as people on the West Coast of America were, but we had a lot more time. Having said that our emergency kit is not ready to grab in an instant. That's something we need to work on. In the past I haven't worried because we have all we need in the bus ...... but it's not mobile right now. The brake line is severed and we haven't wanted to spend any money on repairs. I think we need to re-consider this decision.<br /><br />I am 'kind of' glad our TV is on the blink. Something wrong with the aerial connection and we are waiting for the 'man who fixes' to have another job in the area. He will take approximately 10 minutes to fix if last time is anything to go by. We are reduced to the internet, isn't it a marvellous tool, and a smal screen TV in the old bus. This gives us a very poor snowy picture on one channel. Because we rarely use it we haven't worried about setting up a better system.Why spend money on something we rarely use. I don't miss it very much but John grumbles a lot. I find I'm in overlaod from disaster news. I don't want to bury my head in the sand but I don't want to watch that Tsunami of water turning cities inside out and upside down.<br /><br />We have a glorious sunny day with a bit of an autumn feel. I love these clear blue skies.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-4267209227549124172011-03-11T11:31:00.014+13:002011-03-11T14:58:01.914+13:00KIWI CAN DO<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_p-IqoVnriWw9CXbw4ofuBIyXCzt5yAG1PcflJJVvCS_lmdDOVMUR7OCNw_S5fwM26Vk9K3en7KntWaepMNKvAE_Bm-cRHmsbHzmkyE5T7vSsFy8D9sS_8IsnWFey5c4eeKD6w-JZiKo/s1600/what_the_-406964850-1299119323.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 363px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_p-IqoVnriWw9CXbw4ofuBIyXCzt5yAG1PcflJJVvCS_lmdDOVMUR7OCNw_S5fwM26Vk9K3en7KntWaepMNKvAE_Bm-cRHmsbHzmkyE5T7vSsFy8D9sS_8IsnWFey5c4eeKD6w-JZiKo/s400/what_the_-406964850-1299119323.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582570424863108770" border="0" /><br /><br />REMEMBER THIS ROCK</a><br /><br />It was auctioned online at <a href="http://www.trademe.co.nz/">Trade Me</a>. It raised over $60,000 with a final last minute bid by New Zealand Ski Lodge and the Rock, estimated to be more than 25 ton, will grace the car park at <a href="http://www.nzski.com/mountain.jsp?site=mthutt">Mt Hutt</a> ... when they can move it. All the proceeds go to the the Earthquake Fund and the seller, past owner????? plans to take the comments from the TradeMe site and Face Book to make a book. Rocky's earning capacity knows no bounds.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYW7betHDtINYbUWfaKWVxFtWuHDBlohpzO5BU0zbuIkBfGWGFaB8IYk4hqlnzN67noFnAOVZ6ntFwyyMBeooRmFNyZftriLrq4MJG4cl7f8plZxqHX4BU-8u5AnKnHnDyiZXwnLzG_eT/s1600/hay-thats-fit-for-a-king-420x560.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYW7betHDtINYbUWfaKWVxFtWuHDBlohpzO5BU0zbuIkBfGWGFaB8IYk4hqlnzN67noFnAOVZ6ntFwyyMBeooRmFNyZftriLrq4MJG4cl7f8plZxqHX4BU-8u5AnKnHnDyiZXwnLzG_eT/s400/hay-thats-fit-for-a-king-420x560.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582570417506345474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnB8X2Wp6P0Y4yQZe9iW_l1Bzfas9QmgrSFDpoAPQ6YKtbhwJW-5xTAtWiBqRLNJKOj2an7bemwSOjT3YE9SyY5IVJnTjLDXl0Lt_wn1V63SxM0-A_H8S8lhVBBJNViSoHHk8QKSeZg9r/s1600/Lamberts-Lavatory1-420x560.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnB8X2Wp6P0Y4yQZe9iW_l1Bzfas9QmgrSFDpoAPQ6YKtbhwJW-5xTAtWiBqRLNJKOj2an7bemwSOjT3YE9SyY5IVJnTjLDXl0Lt_wn1V63SxM0-A_H8S8lhVBBJNViSoHHk8QKSeZg9r/s400/Lamberts-Lavatory1-420x560.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582570402561305138" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaBP55D8d8h2J4iKA6yymM67q3wmGE2CWDr61hzOzZHx4RSkyWcT3OMS3qjmEoav9VWoEDE5R23WZNN7VqylJzfux4SYWOk8cDMiXLWAKr5xEt7euRwGK6nuzYrnnpyl77e2K3LohImwU/s1600/Luxury-at-the-beach-420x560.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaBP55D8d8h2J4iKA6yymM67q3wmGE2CWDr61hzOzZHx4RSkyWcT3OMS3qjmEoav9VWoEDE5R23WZNN7VqylJzfux4SYWOk8cDMiXLWAKr5xEt7euRwGK6nuzYrnnpyl77e2K3LohImwU/s400/Luxury-at-the-beach-420x560.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582569764384433458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDGjPX7FvmphcYwoPQD0HKwuXZugPxPM5WnAEiWmd_YrSZfq3b7VntLMqtZzFE-J2TKTMIhhqW5W2srG84BLi2wX31QbqcsF3BIQneYkB5KjB3YkhUVMMj8JzwWrYVoGRBksSyKFkLpGRN/s1600/Our-Sanctuary-560x420.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDGjPX7FvmphcYwoPQD0HKwuXZugPxPM5WnAEiWmd_YrSZfq3b7VntLMqtZzFE-J2TKTMIhhqW5W2srG84BLi2wX31QbqcsF3BIQneYkB5KjB3YkhUVMMj8JzwWrYVoGRBksSyKFkLpGRN/s400/Our-Sanctuary-560x420.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582569752251740706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Earthquake news has been the main feature here for more than two weeks but there is plenty of humour amongst the grim reality. It dominates my thoughts and as each day dawns I think of my son and his wife who live in Christchurch. Their home is livable but damaged. They bought a chemical toilet early last week. Their business has stalled. Amanda was also a part-time Nanny but her family have taken the children to Auckland, but Wayne has a job which will last forever. He's one of the road safety contingent employed by Fulton Hogan, a road construction company. He does lollipop duties but is also responsible for much more. It carries a lot more responsibility and stress than meets the eye.<br /><br />10.000 homes will probably be demolished. Some areas may never be built on so the Government is possibly looking at building a satellite town.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4_k00C5hXwczo244t5jURszK_LB1V4AYd9lV_uIFIwjdd9hKOWRVkJa2-J5ZozcLI9Vb5eJfGq6KiqsORD6EC_FvjcIskVbIdZwODRgZYYDPbCrwT_GzrHZqLbN9YvrMIsA1ANbuzxV6/s1600/The-Shed-560x420.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4_k00C5hXwczo244t5jURszK_LB1V4AYd9lV_uIFIwjdd9hKOWRVkJa2-J5ZozcLI9Vb5eJfGq6KiqsORD6EC_FvjcIskVbIdZwODRgZYYDPbCrwT_GzrHZqLbN9YvrMIsA1ANbuzxV6/s400/The-Shed-560x420.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582569746248938834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolpnDpcaSLzmnKbctmVZK3wfNNteC2is5wlXKi7VD0drdVJvMUppVOaWKb7M7qtnl2GQchjKgVbI7_Rv7lzqZPFIbmk_259GkJzOeyzwuM4ZemmOv5w09upBVcYU2LKigu3LqDnjk1Awc/s1600/The-Mahogany-Seat1-560x420.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolpnDpcaSLzmnKbctmVZK3wfNNteC2is5wlXKi7VD0drdVJvMUppVOaWKb7M7qtnl2GQchjKgVbI7_Rv7lzqZPFIbmk_259GkJzOeyzwuM4ZemmOv5w09upBVcYU2LKigu3LqDnjk1Awc/s400/The-Mahogany-Seat1-560x420.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582591916051480738" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4nFku2FGG4wj_5K7o7IeexifQQ2gS1_WgW6CrJ51S8GAyea8V6tdbd9HTkc0frwpTYsGA1t_QroR9F9BC7chgZ7IcrVu9xuGcjrhrRwKJE4NnQlUOzjQ9_0ft1hA1fT3213Kz5y1mwen/s1600/Pukka-Wharepaku-560x420.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4nFku2FGG4wj_5K7o7IeexifQQ2gS1_WgW6CrJ51S8GAyea8V6tdbd9HTkc0frwpTYsGA1t_QroR9F9BC7chgZ7IcrVu9xuGcjrhrRwKJE4NnQlUOzjQ9_0ft1hA1fT3213Kz5y1mwen/s400/Pukka-Wharepaku-560x420.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582591911156377202" border="0" /></a><br />Sewerage is a problem throughout much of the city. People who do have water are being asked to flush as little as possible. Imagine tens and tens of thousands of people without flush toilets. People are being very creative with their solutions. There is a website dedicated to photos and one of the TV channels is running a competition for the best longdrop or Dunny.<br /><br />Enjoy this sample and <a href="http://www.showusyourlongdrop.co.nz/">go here for more</a> and <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/Home/tabid/1125/articleID/201595/Default.aspx#2">here</a>. Reminds me of when I was a child. Both my grandmother and a great aunt had longdrops, or outhouses, (wharepuka in Maori), down a garden path surrounded by trellis and flowering climbers. They kept them spotless and the smell of creosote based disinfectant (Jeye's Fluid) was strong, along with the other stinky smells.<br /><br />Christchurch has apparently stripped the world of porta-loos and chemical toilets. China is making chemical toilets and delivering them as fast as they can. (See note at end of post). There are tanks being planted in the street for people to empty their chemical toilets into. About 1500 portaloos and nearly 5000 chemical toilets have been distributed. There are more on the way. Even the ground tanks are having to be manufactured as all available are being used.<br /><br />It sounds like a nightmare both for the authorities and the residents. Bathroom humour is at it's richest in Christchurch. A common topic of ribaldry is being caught sitting down when an aftershock hits.<br /><br />Columnist Vicki Anderson says it all in yesterday's Christchurch Press under the heading <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/4751804/Its-time-to-dry-those-tears">It's Time To Dry The Tears</a>. She has written some amazing articles including <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4693057/The-day-the-earth-roared">this one </a>on the night of the Big Earthquake. Vicki Anderson is a powerful writer and while her passion may be with music she is far too talented to remain a music critic. Not that I think being a music critic is light weight but that there will be many more opportunities for Vicki to exercise her talent beyond her chosen field. Surely her career will move forward with the possibility of a global audience. A positive result from a terrible event.<br /><br />Meantime we are enjoying a beautiful early autumn day with brilliant blue skies and crisp cooling breeze. We are preparing our house for weekend guests who will be going to a wedding tomorrow. We get to sleep 2 or 3 nights in The Purple Bus. It's becoming routine but it's a lot of work. We take extra care with cleaning and tidying as we think our guests deserve the best we can offer for their money.<br /><br />Lunch calls and I can't leave everything to John.<br /><br />There has been an earthquake in China in the last 24 hours. I'm not sure if this will affect our supply. There are supposed to be many porta-loos and chemical toilets coming from USA and many have already arrived from Australia. So much going on it's often hard to keep the facts reasonably accurate. We do know some USAR teams have gone home although the search for bodies continues as the rubble is cleared and dangerous buildings demolished.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">STOP PRESS 2.30PM TODAY</span><br /><br />The number of chemical toilets in Christchurch has doubled with 5000 additional chemical toilets arriving from China.<br /><br />They're being distributed today to Avondale, Westhaven and Bromley.<br /><br />Another 7500 chemical toilets are due in the next few days and 5000 are due next week.<br />In all, more than 30,000 chemical toilets have been ordered for Christchurch residents.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-61678495079259994472011-03-06T20:18:00.006+13:002011-03-06T23:14:47.253+13:00LIFE IS STRANGE - HEART ACHE AND A GLORIOUS SUNRISE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnuapuEatbq95p6QNV_syx737qSQk57tFzSKRZHnNuLhG5Cuujsm0WTvrbyiq3fgx3oIchyphenhyphenRaWvct8lES5B8zDXCXT4cR3adQWIh1uWOaObF1S1PgehGFtmibk7FgamuqifWmS1U7-mlP/s1600/DSC03607.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnuapuEatbq95p6QNV_syx737qSQk57tFzSKRZHnNuLhG5Cuujsm0WTvrbyiq3fgx3oIchyphenhyphenRaWvct8lES5B8zDXCXT4cR3adQWIh1uWOaObF1S1PgehGFtmibk7FgamuqifWmS1U7-mlP/s400/DSC03607.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580896267302934178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFummVh4OXRnTKLtQUIWywp6Om6ONoopELG0vyVyZYoYrPaQHQSTkyfpKuLGKisY3nQ6yqX0__V6zc9YRkKLu7X_26FDlBiBDWIH690wem3POiDknF4uHP8bhH_dHskxE4pdsexqfy6Jz-/s1600/DSC03608.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFummVh4OXRnTKLtQUIWywp6Om6ONoopELG0vyVyZYoYrPaQHQSTkyfpKuLGKisY3nQ6yqX0__V6zc9YRkKLu7X_26FDlBiBDWIH690wem3POiDknF4uHP8bhH_dHskxE4pdsexqfy6Jz-/s400/DSC03608.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580896263253789714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbNHf37PPkm9A9pkoknb4CxKoNObAbbDV3AHvRN7k6jatEIpn4IWS3FRpNFlAv9UWgnSNApgySf-5YuwBNDed35LrifgZeHRI0de2bL8MPlnpCXaMP1FsKApmekcTrDTTuBGu0QGCq3ho/s1600/DSC03612.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbNHf37PPkm9A9pkoknb4CxKoNObAbbDV3AHvRN7k6jatEIpn4IWS3FRpNFlAv9UWgnSNApgySf-5YuwBNDed35LrifgZeHRI0de2bL8MPlnpCXaMP1FsKApmekcTrDTTuBGu0QGCq3ho/s400/DSC03612.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580896260642837618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RLj9aI6KYmwTO4Zb2EYVjEStAN4s7n69orR7WKE-ers_TqOdorlbCqOoHE3al1EncbEhJF9ZHTjNcgR5uGb9Kd2zWCoK_GPkw7y-AOXo4VoQ4xAPSrXpTHw_bIp-BiKJYuFc2ot-X1Fi/s1600/DSC03613.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RLj9aI6KYmwTO4Zb2EYVjEStAN4s7n69orR7WKE-ers_TqOdorlbCqOoHE3al1EncbEhJF9ZHTjNcgR5uGb9Kd2zWCoK_GPkw7y-AOXo4VoQ4xAPSrXpTHw_bIp-BiKJYuFc2ot-X1Fi/s400/DSC03613.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580896275271547202" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigIfPZrz6FLVoRb6E_I5PaG5a3p0Md9WDOYjYprwPO3Vay9No3vUPNk7xQfHegP0FLWpx3hKHoWbphLqY3hSCrDN2VZSYvIhStxoYyegBFL2U-uEB5ScNgII7wTGPWQ8KWnA2c3COAgrJd/s1600/DSC03615.JPG"><img style="float:left; 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margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGhjzRIhPri-YjXMIukJcB8sewkWGclVLeBJ0p4WNvEGaqsLnTd9y-GqLv6HsEC4xqAmLDqLJNrTlwzl0Hdu9-rjqvhKUWY2KzK7M6n8nesUhKLiCrMKp_0O8x1noFngkE5STDjC68k_j/s400/DSC03620.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580894808339959778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiRlIXdESYcnVH54gR8rKcAXeW9VjY9kpemMHor1fTgsqdhMzbAcJ05URWiFKpJqQ_quA5I6o-VU37bAvF7doW8xRsbExgHZ2KJ90Cjsk4ilNTQ2yz1uT_soY0XZGd0ZgUOXKBUTN_1U5/s1600/DSC03622.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiRlIXdESYcnVH54gR8rKcAXeW9VjY9kpemMHor1fTgsqdhMzbAcJ05URWiFKpJqQ_quA5I6o-VU37bAvF7doW8xRsbExgHZ2KJ90Cjsk4ilNTQ2yz1uT_soY0XZGd0ZgUOXKBUTN_1U5/s400/DSC03622.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580894806025308722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG33NktsfgbYyD709xUA2FdPNJ1mRQXtQSFIZhoE7wj_iCC-ewCORfr1PGmnfM12cHW4Co5MkbvA__UikUota8ACqfHnHKNQyoTckHhhxlRSHBWub86lVC7qmW8fchYaSvvQJSSQjLDRaA/s1600/DSC03624.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG33NktsfgbYyD709xUA2FdPNJ1mRQXtQSFIZhoE7wj_iCC-ewCORfr1PGmnfM12cHW4Co5MkbvA__UikUota8ACqfHnHKNQyoTckHhhxlRSHBWub86lVC7qmW8fchYaSvvQJSSQjLDRaA/s400/DSC03624.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580894801376596434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish1luZMARico5SL_53DWkahSB7a1nYbzCzIK_b2LfEDlBmxVu_Qkf0-OgHk1vV47dlKXmVy6oUu8WCQmlugb9-NOzTapoYIBgmil28wAwk5zuQy69xRXcfyWSf09-eatzc3Z9-EY062DE/s1600/DSC03626.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish1luZMARico5SL_53DWkahSB7a1nYbzCzIK_b2LfEDlBmxVu_Qkf0-OgHk1vV47dlKXmVy6oUu8WCQmlugb9-NOzTapoYIBgmil28wAwk5zuQy69xRXcfyWSf09-eatzc3Z9-EY062DE/s400/DSC03626.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580894796485028690" /></a><br /><br /><br />I want to write something different but all I can think about is the terrible earthquake in Christchurch. The city is recovering as best it can. Many people have stayed in their homes in spite of having no water, sewerage or power. Twelve nights and days gave passed and there are so many stories of wonderful people helping each other and communities trying to rebuild. In one area where the shops are still closed they had a large Farmers Market. One grower said he was delighted to have somewhere to sell his produce because with so many restaurants and shops closed he'd lost his normal market. <br /><br />Another group of volunteers was the Farmy Army, a take on Britain's Barmy Army of Cricket supporters. The Voluntary Student Army, mobilised via internet, shovelled silt and mud that covered roads and garden leaving streets lined with metre high banks. One of the things the Farmy Army did was help remove this grey dust and sludge until the 450 contractors could take over. It's estimated that 220,000 tons of this stuff has been carted away from the suburbs to a landfill, with more to come.<br /><br />Our son's street is one that is not yet cleared. Wayne thinks there may be a broken sewerage pipe nearby. Wayne and Amanda are back in their home so they can keep an eye on their neighbour's house while they have a break away from it all. They have bought a porta pottie. The Civil Defence are now distributing porta potties to affected homes.<br /><br />There are 10,000 houses without electricity and at least twice that many without sewerage.<br /><br /><blockquote>"People are being allowed into a section of the Central City which was cordoned off.<br />Shellshocked Christchurch residents and business owners finally returned to their broken properties in the central business district nearly two weeks since a deadly earthquake devastated their city.<br /><br />The empty streets were suddenly clogged with traffic as residents rushed to check the damage to their buildings during the 6.3 magnitude quake that struck on February 22.<br /><br />Police at 2pm lifted the cordon in areas of the CBD, allowing the public to retrieve any cars left behind before the quake."</blockquote> copied from NZPA<br /><br /> We are being told that that there are about 800 buildings which need to be demolished. <br /><br />About half the schools will be open tomorrow. Some schools are having to double up and share buildings.<br /><br />The shaking continues with some strong enough to be alarming and cause further damage, It must be nerve wracking.<br /><br />When one looks at the devastation it's amazing to see the progress toward normal life. Apparently the earthquake on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd could be the largest force experienced at ground level in the whole world. I can't find the source but I'm sure I heard that the peek force at ground level was equal to 1 G horizontally, the greatest that has even been recorded in a built up urban area. This was in an interview with Engineer, Dr. Charles Clifton<br /><br />We enjoyed several beautiful sunrises last week. I'd love to put up the whole series of this morning but it might be to many at one time.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-7380741027695968522011-03-02T10:11:00.003+13:002011-03-02T11:02:27.833+13:00"Christchurch fell down. Christchurch is crying."THIS IS A COPY OF TODAY'S POST ON <a href="http://withgodnothingistoohard.blogspot.com/">MY JOURNAL</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEtWiM34WoymbmJtzsWjJzpX5LlAi59c8eBFHsX_GKpN5HlBFjBA6cKRJ6oWlz1pPvLHYfe9N-f2jNN3zJMT4UVw2ZbM7svb3rt6DU4riW96_TZrOLfffHdTGveqvzJIu3yRfsIjr6H0L/s1600/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+010.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEtWiM34WoymbmJtzsWjJzpX5LlAi59c8eBFHsX_GKpN5HlBFjBA6cKRJ6oWlz1pPvLHYfe9N-f2jNN3zJMT4UVw2ZbM7svb3rt6DU4riW96_TZrOLfffHdTGveqvzJIu3yRfsIjr6H0L/s400/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579198415696189874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiOWlduZByLp9rNgCm3thIase_CSwEdHqmgL7aEKcHG9cz07b_b7i-zlQcy_cMCLesJHQdAvGyE6f0RvpnG3CAPFH6CFWd_XLMlaydr3r1h-pC7nmLDMfRJkjEYmXOybflOOJy7OHoJfW/s1600/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+012.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiOWlduZByLp9rNgCm3thIase_CSwEdHqmgL7aEKcHG9cz07b_b7i-zlQcy_cMCLesJHQdAvGyE6f0RvpnG3CAPFH6CFWd_XLMlaydr3r1h-pC7nmLDMfRJkjEYmXOybflOOJy7OHoJfW/s400/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579198407658365826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluVtRrN_KuV8IlyhuYYo1zULixOW0wZDbmIl6q_DcxJELPmU6ImVOwp-Vskyaol290l8mEDFofLAKPtXLRJPyuD3C77wEljNnBqMIjwgIHl6fyu0w3PB_qNmM_NLONRf2KpM1F6lhQZKv/s1600/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+022.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluVtRrN_KuV8IlyhuYYo1zULixOW0wZDbmIl6q_DcxJELPmU6ImVOwp-Vskyaol290l8mEDFofLAKPtXLRJPyuD3C77wEljNnBqMIjwgIHl6fyu0w3PB_qNmM_NLONRf2KpM1F6lhQZKv/s400/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579198398348649682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaF4vINUIgQXrQvWwYPP1xUGO5vZaTx5ICPh5lE8Blo7hLotRwH20y47T9lXl8sIRIDc9NHwVhHsSPjNrKlFUG1pIvQPGq6yFSZ6it_owf_K8vQv7qNSCCCj3xBpztdruJcojv6MKbVLX/s1600/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+015.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaF4vINUIgQXrQvWwYPP1xUGO5vZaTx5ICPh5lE8Blo7hLotRwH20y47T9lXl8sIRIDc9NHwVhHsSPjNrKlFUG1pIvQPGq6yFSZ6it_owf_K8vQv7qNSCCCj3xBpztdruJcojv6MKbVLX/s400/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579198396819609298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDvmD0jsKIK2sLXJZVADQVnDBu43Ev_ToY2sPFzBl0pJQVr_ZEPy6WoKZIDK666x7Sho3tGuzAN3o9WVib_j5MbDNgrV00hwX-A67d3EjO5sT69JpN9bPW3cgcfjpRpimjfcls6yySLQq/s1600/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+023.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDvmD0jsKIK2sLXJZVADQVnDBu43Ev_ToY2sPFzBl0pJQVr_ZEPy6WoKZIDK666x7Sho3tGuzAN3o9WVib_j5MbDNgrV00hwX-A67d3EjO5sT69JpN9bPW3cgcfjpRpimjfcls6yySLQq/s400/5TH+DAY.+FEB+28TH+023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579198386743202386" border="0" /></a><br />The spire of Christchurch Cathedral lies smashed on the ground. Two-and-a-half-year-old Aucklander Sophie Longstaff sees it on TV, turns to her mum and says: "Christchurch fell down. Christchurch is crying."<br /><br />I needed to take a couple of days off from my laptop. I somehow picked up another dodgy tummy bug and couldn't lift my head off the pillow for 24 hours. Yesterday we packed up at Mum's and came home. For anyone new to my journal, we had been staying with my mother for nearly a week while our daughter took a break. My mother is almost 96 and we make certain she is never alone in the house at night.<br /><br />The good part of being at Mum's is we wake to this.<br /><br />I hope you have had an opportunity to see Amazing Race man Phil Koeghan's items on CBS <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/amazing-race-host-tells-tourists-visit-chch-4042609/video">Click here</a> for an interview with him in Christchurch.<br /><br />We have been heartened by people from all over the world.<br /><br />A Concert in Glasgow at the St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral which is an exact copy of the damaged Christchurch Cathedral raised over $10,000 for Red Cross.<br /><br />Art Agnos, who was Major of San Francisco when the big earthquake hit there in 1989 has praised the rescue and disaster efforts and in particular Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker. Thoroughly well deserved and hard earned praise.<br /><br />The USAR, (Urban Search and Rescue) are from 8 or nine countries.<br /><br />Our Prime Minister is requesting financial help from around the Globe as well as speaking to large New Zealand companies.<br /><br />We need all the help people are able to give. There are 155 people killed with this number expected to rise by another 100.<br /><br />To put this in perspective. The 1989 San Fransisco Earthquake killed 63 people. San Francisco had a population of 736,00 at the time. Christchurch's population was less than 377,000. I write 'was' because it's believed something in excess of 50,000 people have left the city, many forever.<br /><br />While some business has been able to relocate many can no longer function. It's hard for me to imagine the social disruption. Life for us goes on as usual.<br /><br />The major difference for us is concern for family who are trying to continue and rebuild their lives in the city and the continual TV reporting. I must admit that after going one day without news when I felt too ill to look at TV let alone read left me feeling out of touch.<br /><br />Yesterday New Zealand stopped at 1.51 pm for 2 minutes, exactly 7 days after the big earthquake. It was very moving to see many community gatherings on TV.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Dear Lord Jesus, </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">On this 9th day, I pray earnestly for our country and it's leaders. May your wisdom and strength be with Mayor Bob Parker and his Council, Prime Minister John Key, and all his Government, The Civil Defence, Russell Wood and the USAR teams, Fire Service, Police, Red Cross, Salvation Army, other Christian organisations, Medical and other support services too many to name.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Dear Lord I pray earnestly for all those directly affected, thinking of those who have lost homes and incomes.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">I think of all the grief for lost family members, friends and colleagues. May everyone of them know some measure of comfort in the midst of their pain. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">I give thanks that while we far away and see a tragedy of epic proportions, You see each one as an individual with individual needs. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">God Defend New Zealand.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Amen.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL ANTHEM</span><br /><table style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" cellspacing="5"><tbody><tr><td>God of nations! at Thy feet<br />In the bonds of love we meet,<br />Hear our voices, we entreat,<br />God defend our Free Land.<br />Guard Pacific's triple star,<br />From the shafts of strife and war,<br />Make her praises heard afar,<br />God defend New Zealand </td> <td><br /></td> <td><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><br />Men of ev'ry creed and race<br />Gather here before Thy face,<br />Asking Thee to bless this place,<br />God defend our Free Land.<br />From dissension, envy, hate,<br />And corruption guard our State,<br />Make our country good and great,<br />God defend New Zealand. </td> <td><br /></td> <td><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><br />Peace, not war, shall be our boast,<br />But, should foes assail our coast,<br />Make us then a mighty host,<br />God defend our Free Land.<br />Lord of battles in thy might,<br />Put our enemies to flight,<br />Let our cause be just and right,<br />God defend New Zealand. </td> <td><br /></td> <td><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><br />Let our love for Thee increase,<br />May Thy blessings never cease,<br />Give us plenty, give us peace,<br />God defend our Free Land.<br />From dishonour and from shame<br />Guard our country's spotless name<br />Crown her with immortal fame,<br />God defend New Zealand. </td> <td><br /></td> <td><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><br />May our mountains ever be<br />Freedom's ramparts on the sea,<br />Make us faithful unto Thee,<br />God defend our Free Land.<br />Guide her in the nations' van,<br />Preaching love and truth to man,<br />Working out Thy Glorious plan,<br />God defend New Zealand. </td> <td><br /><br /></td> <td><br /><br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <hr style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-76960737256650249242011-02-26T02:30:00.003+13:002011-03-02T10:19:48.888+13:0084 HOURS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKETHIS IS A COPY OF MY POST ON <a href="http://withgodnothingistoohard.blogspot.com/">MY JOURNAL</a><br /><br />Today I have begun to feel more able to function. I'm sure limiting the time I watch the reports from Christchurch has helped. <br /><br />Today I felt as though we were slowly being brought face to face with the full reality of the earthquake. There is public admission that many dead are not only unidentified but unfound. I guess I should have realised that all the USAR, Urban Search And Rescue, teams are here for a serious purpose. While part of me knew many people were killed by the earthquake, somehow my mind refused to acknowledge the awful truth.<br /><br />This will be the most dreadful disaster to ever happen in New Zealand. Not only are many people gone from this world forever but the social and economic impact will be felt for any years to come. I have seen comments that place the financial cost as greater than Hurricane Ivan, (2004). We were in Pensacola, Fl. on the 6 month anniversary of Ivan and saw for ourselves the destruction of Santa Rosa Island and noticed the blue tarpaulin roofs everywhere we went in coastal Florida. If the great United States of America takes time to recover from major disasters we are in for a long and sometimes frustrating time of rebuilding. I've seen figures bandied about that suggest the cost could be as high as $25 billion when added onto the September 4th earthquake. That's mind blowing but I can well believe it.<br /><br />Like all small countries that have developed a successful tourist industry we will be hard hit in that area. We have become very dependent on tourists for income and tourism operators will need to work very hard to keep the flow of visitors into our country. This makes me feel very nervous about our economy. I don't envy people who are responsible for our economic health over the next few years.<br /><br />Personally, we'll stooge along and hopefully keep our heads above water.<br /><br />This is turning into a gloomy kind of post and I didn't intend to do that.<br /><br />I want to celebrate the resilience of people and how New Zealanders are helping each other There are some wonderful stories. The best one by far in my opinion is the following video. I cannot embed the video even if I knew how, because it's from <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/Christchurchs-super-loo-hero/tabid/367/articleID/199903/Default.aspx">TV 3 News and Campbell Live</a>. I do hope you'll have a look at Christchurch's Super-Loos.<br /><br />Another is in this clip about the <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/Volunteer-Army-major-factor-in-ChCh-cleanup/tabid/367/articleID/199895/Default.aspx">Volunteer-Army</a>. It's so heart warming to see this, all done through the power of the internet.<br /><br />And finally one woman's first hand experience. It will touch your heart and might make you cry but so powerful. I shouldn't write anything more but simply give you the link. <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4693057/The-day-the-earth-roared">THE DAY THE EARTH ROARED</a><br /><br />I love this story too, about a <a href="http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/8908649/mercy-missions-fly-in-urgent-supplies-to-quake-survivors/">helicopter pilot</a>. You will also find this link on FaceBook to the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rangiora-Earthquake-Express/153841938005848?sk=wall">Rangiora Earthquake Express</a>. While official efforts are starting to reach out into the suburbs mostly the people have been isolated and it's the Rangiora Express, The Student Army and constuctors of Super-Loos that are their heroes.<br /><br />We've had a busy day. This morning we went back to our house. Matarangi is 20 minute drive from Mum's where we are staying for a few nights, to finish the cleaning. We were preparing the house for weekend guests when we heard about the earthquake. Somehow the house cleaning became unimportant as we hungered for every little piece of information we could glean. We had to come over to Mum's on Wednesday so our daughter could have a well deserved break. After finishing the cleaning and having a lovely soak n my bath, (it soothes my itchy skin), we returned to have tea, (dinner) with Mum then had to go back to Matarangi to greet our guests who arrived about 10 pm. Now at Mum's, John has gone to bed and I'm trying to get this published. <br /><br />Now I've confused all my American readers. The Earthquake was 1 pm Tuesday, we came to Mum's early afternoon Wednesday. Today is Friday, well it was, it's now nearly 2 am Saturday. Still confused ... don't blame you. I think I am too.<br /><br />There has already been one earthquake today, just a very small one but yesterday there were 42 and one in particular caused a lot of concern. About 7.15 pm there was a 4.3 which shook things up a lot and made more buildings at risk of falling. Total since Tuesdays big one, 255 in 85 hours. I'd be a nervous wreck if I lived in Christchurch. <br /><br />I do hope you enjoyed reading and watching some expressions of the Kiwi Spirit. I think the Super-Loos should feature in Home and Garden glossies.<br /><br />Time for bed. Goodnight and many Blessings on you and your family.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-67433621119353120412011-02-24T08:46:00.007+13:002011-02-24T13:16:59.603+13:00EARTHQUAKE IN CHRISTCHURCH 2ND DAY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDiI2BjGjdsLA_eCgF5Ew7Bpp8ePAAciR2W_g83uC2SAgfvjCRV-3Kv3RJF3ns55FYoQTS9TFM14u6nu3_I682JEGEuvGcn6ds3bATmkEml-mQUdr72_CKgVF5OCEFTsdL3aeDvCj9PCz/s1600/ALMOST+DAY.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDiI2BjGjdsLA_eCgF5Ew7Bpp8ePAAciR2W_g83uC2SAgfvjCRV-3Kv3RJF3ns55FYoQTS9TFM14u6nu3_I682JEGEuvGcn6ds3bATmkEml-mQUdr72_CKgVF5OCEFTsdL3aeDvCj9PCz/s400/ALMOST+DAY.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577013147053307138" />ANOTHER DAY DAWNS ON OUR STRICKEN CITY</a><br /><br />My Dear Friends,<br /><br />My heart is breaking. <br /><br />We've just seen pictures of damage in our favourite suburb, Merrivale. The rescue people are now searching for people under the rubble with dogs. <br /><br />The search for survivors has moved into the suburbs and smaller buildings.<br /><br />It's believed that there are maybe 150 lost in just 3 of the larger Central City buildings.That is beginning to sound like the tip of the iceberg.<br /><br />International teams are arriving. They are very welcome. We need them. Everything seems to be extremely well organised. The logistics of feeding volunteers, providing somewhere to sleep and ablution/toilet facilities are mind boggling.<br /><br />There is huge generousity from the community with food supplies for volunteers and other workers, being made free of charge by SuperMarket organisations, today at least. Most of the warehouses are functioning so supplies are not quite as disrupted as might have been. Some areas have eftpos facilities so people can access money again. Rural communities are not badly affected. City people are being offered temporary accommodation by other Cantabrians and people all over the country. <br /><br />The damage is unbelievable. Communities are reeling. The organisation of rescue teams and restoration of infrastructure is going ahead in an orderly way.<br /><br />It sounds as though over 1000 International USAR, Urban Search and Rescue, with specialised equipment are either in the city or about to arrive. Our Prime Minister has a scheduled phone call with President Obama.<br /><br />At last the workers can be put on a roster system of 12 hour shifts. We are being told by media observers this is a well oiled machine. Even the mayor suggested September 4th was a Training Run for this. I must admit I doubt if we would have got things moving nearly as well back in September. There seems to be an extra-ordinary ability to strategise and make the best of all resources and reach areas in good order.<br /><br />It helps that a military exercise was in process as the Navy, <a href="http://www.navy.mil.nz/visit-the-fleet/cant/default.htm">the ship Canterbury</a>, was in port, Army on the ground and Airforce instantly available. The Canterbury is feeding hundreds of people in Lyttleton.<br /><br />Yesterday our city son was out on Road safety. He's in shock. He found many people wanted to question their efforts to keep roads free for emergency services. Where they are using soldiers there is not the same questioning of authority. On September 4th he worked 13 hours straight with little food and water. This time he is going away for the weekend. It's a totally different scenario.<br /><br />Many Christchurch people still have no power so have no idea of the overall damage to their city and the rescue efforts going on. They aren't getting the message to keep off the roads and stay home except for essential trips. They haven't heard that communities, neighbours, need to look after each other rather than depend on the official efforts. <br /><br /><iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.co.nz/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cuffs+Rd,+Wainoni,+Canterbury&t=h&ll=-43.530007,172.639418&spn=0.026447,0.076046&z=14&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.co.nz/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cuffs+Rd,+Wainoni,+Canterbury&t=h&ll=-43.530007,172.639418&spn=0.026447,0.076046&z=14&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />THE FOUR AVENUES DISTRICT IS DEFINED BY DEANS, MOORHOUSE, FITZGERALD AND BEALEY AVENUES<br /><br />Deans Ave is to the left on this map, on the other side of Hagley Park. I'm sorry I did not find a static map of this area to embed but you can get a better idea of the layout of Christchurch by making it larger and playing around with it on Google Maps.<br /><br />There are always idiots, rubberneckers, people going out to take photographs, people who complain about the mayor and his workers and of course looters. There is a report that at least 6 have been arrested and someone who is holding vigil for a loved one trapped in a CBD building has had their house burgled. Not hard when the windows are smashed and the doors sprung open.<br /><br />Our Government declared a National Emergency. This is the first time in New Zealand's history this has been done. It enables the Government to take action to get essential services up and running as fast as possible and make good use of military personel and International offers of help.<br /><br />Our Prime Minister made a Chrurchillian State Speech. We can do this. New Zealanders pull together. We will survive and be strong. <br /><br />He is assuring us that the economic shock will not be as severe as some might think. That said, many people have lost their income and it's almost certain that most buildings within the four avenues will be years in restoration. This is an area of about 3 square kilometres, about 1 1/4 square miles.<br /><br />Our city son will have work for years to come. The company he works for does road construction. But Wayne and Amanda have a business they are growing. It's called <a href="http://www.babyonthemove.co.nz/">Baby On The Move</a> and was growing nicely with a lot of hard work being put in, mostly by his wife, a trained nanny. Many of their clients were tourists or grandparents etc. with visiting families. They have no idea how long before they will be able to operate again. They have a show room at their home. This is closed as the building is damaged. They have no idea how long before their home will be fit to live in as there is no power, no water, no sewerage, damaged roof and walls. It's fine to camp in.<br /><br />Yesterday they moved to Hornby, an undamaged part of the city to stay with friends. They had plans already in place to go to a Baby On The Move Conference in Hastings this weekend. Tomorrow they fly out of the shakey city. They are living day to day and not thinking too much about next week.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/today">Statistics.</a> I've been looking at the Christchurch Earthquake statistics and they are mind boggling. Since September 4th which is now being called the Training Run to prepare us for the Big One. As I write there have been 4000, shakes since September 4th. The last one was less than 30 minutes ago. There have been 30 so far today, 74 yesterday and 63 on Tuesday. That's 166 since the one that brought the city crashing down. At least three of today's quakes have been more than 4 on the Richter Scale. <br /><br />Many people in the damaged suburbs still have no idea of how badly damaged their city is. We were talking to our son last night who was watching TV in the friends home, where they are staying. He was shocked. He had driven around parts of the damaged area during the day in the course of his work. He had ridden his bike around the previous day, shortly after the quake to check on his father-in-law and another relative. Thankfully all were safe. He had seen first hand the damage in the Sept. 4th quake and he'd been getting reports via radio and through his work Radio Telephone. The pictures have shaken him.<br /><br />Our other son lives south of the city in an area that was barely affected although he said it was a nasty shake. He was preparing a batch of concrete to truck further south to Hororata. This tiny rural community was featured in the September earthquake when the historic church was seriously damaged. Both he and his partner will be able to carry on their lives as usual. <br /><br />There will be many people, vulnerable people, disabled, elderly and children who are not coping with this major earthquake. They are all being carried in my heart and prayers. There will be many fathers, mothers and other family providers who are in despair of how they will care for their families this time. I met someone at New Year who was taking a break following the September earthquake. He was struggling, his child would not stay in a room alone, could not sleep in his own bed. This is the hidden toll of such an event that no-one talks about.<br /><br />Some people will carry on as though this is just another disaster and not be affected. We feel shattered. This is the city of my husband's birth. Members of his family have lived there for a century. We are deeply affected and know the places we are seeing which are now broken. Our heart's are sad. We feel for those who have lost loved one's. This is a very personal journey for us. We might live many miles away, 1100 km/683 miles, a journey by car of 13 hours including the ferry crossing of Cook Strait, but this city is dear to our hearts.<br /><br />We've had to turn the TV off. The stories are gripping us and paralysing us. We are limiting our viewing. I does no one any good for us to hover over TV feeling sick with anguish.<br /><br />We are comforted that Christchurch will rise up again. Different but equally beautiful, I'm sure. Why not better than before? We have the examples of San Francisco and New Orleans to give us hope.<br /><br />As I finally publish this post there have been 37 earthquakes today, 1 pm.. The latest was 20 minutes ago, magnitude, 3.7, depth 6km or about 3.7 miles. That's 7 in less than 3 hours, 173 in the last 48 hours. I'm glad I'm not there.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-51642004734057231382011-02-23T10:08:00.005+13:002011-02-23T11:12:08.971+13:00PEOPLE ARE LEVING THE CITY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzsFoFGaPYT2BYcWYyHaIEMIGD7wpimfHjspNaiaHMVF6OxMUhJ-sSNPTqUgJbapuf_NqKnmI5ESwtPoWyLlGRjUDMZJgB1zmNELNiAGB9THHbGVSHmNdAeOt19q1HnlwaCJXiZbbYT3r/s1600/christchurch-earthquakes-500x291.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzsFoFGaPYT2BYcWYyHaIEMIGD7wpimfHjspNaiaHMVF6OxMUhJ-sSNPTqUgJbapuf_NqKnmI5ESwtPoWyLlGRjUDMZJgB1zmNELNiAGB9THHbGVSHmNdAeOt19q1HnlwaCJXiZbbYT3r/s400/christchurch-earthquakes-500x291.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576631745648388546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl-T8rlk_2hOxOhYKd66OQig-f90G_fS8Dxsl5Bp2yrHlfNYtavApuZaHuHMJLDTWZ3EWjoxk3qLkXxcqKlkvMu8744mA2Dii94J-HBdG_W8wKtmWG2YYC7wb_VhMS6XoW2jGkCP5FHHl/s1600/staticmap.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl-T8rlk_2hOxOhYKd66OQig-f90G_fS8Dxsl5Bp2yrHlfNYtavApuZaHuHMJLDTWZ3EWjoxk3qLkXxcqKlkvMu8744mA2Dii94J-HBdG_W8wKtmWG2YYC7wb_VhMS6XoW2jGkCP5FHHl/s400/staticmap.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576631742973321106" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUGxdx5eMa0AzdZEuAOQB7VcC77GtjCmgKkHabTlvxWp5liO2660LeIgNTiCu9niK3YlSQX9j6TImr5lK0Z56tIjj7z8ybY_5fdxyIk4deCg1wBWXJozHdu3D2fADe3RVmBlZOJEIqjPC/s1600/map+christchurch+to+lytleton.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUGxdx5eMa0AzdZEuAOQB7VcC77GtjCmgKkHabTlvxWp5liO2660LeIgNTiCu9niK3YlSQX9j6TImr5lK0Z56tIjj7z8ybY_5fdxyIk4deCg1wBWXJozHdu3D2fADe3RVmBlZOJEIqjPC/s400/map+christchurch+to+lytleton.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576634109673212834" border="0" /></a><br />The first photo is a map of the quake area. Many of the aftershocks are causing damage.The second is the main route from Christchurch Cathedral to my City sons home, about 5 km<br />The second map shows Brighton, and Lyttleton.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">10 am</span></span><br /><br />Those who are able are packing up and leaving the city. I wonder how many will leave permanently. The scientists are in shock and suggest Christchurch. may never be safe again. I guess that's the extreme view and comes out of the individuals own shock and fear. This man said there needs to be a lot of money go into research of the ground structure before there is any rebuilding.<br /><br />The face of the city is changed forever.<br /><br />Some overseas tourists have been evacuated with nothing but what they stood up in and their blanket and pillow given to the to make last night a little more comfortable.<br /><br />At this stage I believe my family will stay put and become part of the rebuilding.<br /><br />There are many USAR, Urban Search and Rescue, on the ground with more coming from Japan and USA. More help is also on the way. The Australians are here.<br /><br />Many people are still trapped alive.<br /><br />Water and sewerage are out and power is out over a large part of the city. We still cannot reach our city son by phone. There are problems with the water supply and any are without drinking water and many SuperMarkets closed so supplies cannot be replenished. Another logistic nightmare to get enough water into the affected suburbs.<br /><br />It's a shock when you here the Minister of Civil Defense say people will have to bury their waste including poos in their back yards.<br /><br />Five people were rescued last night from one of the worst hit buildings. There are also several dead. Right now another person has been rescued alive as I write.<br /><br />It is sounding as though the CBD between the four avenues is wrecked. What stands will have to come down.<br /><br />Rescuers are working through numerous shakes.<br /><br />Outer suburbs are being reached by the army. Ambulances cannot get through.<br /><br />All we have are helicopter pictures of Lyttleton. The route to Lyttleton, the port, is over or under the port hills, a mountainous road which is severely damaged and as far as I can tell the tunnel remains closed.<br /><br />The suburb of Brighton, is cut off from ambulances and the army are there. News outside the CBD is sketchy. I guess we need local radio to get more information. TV seems to be caught in the CBD and again are not getting much footage of other areas.<br /><br />The reporters have said that if they leave they will not be allowed back through the cordon.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">11 am</span></span><br /><br />Just talked to my son who is on Road safety duties out near the sewerage ponds. A damaged area. He is busy so didn't chat.<br /><br />I am supposed to be preparing our house for weekend guests and packing to go stay at Mum's while our daughter has a break. It's hard to leave the TV. The news is gripping and horrifying. Ths is one of our favourite cities and we know it well. I just want to cry and cry.<br /><br />Must get on with my own life. Sitting here is not helping anyone. It's painful day.<br /><br />Will update later today.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577128610446451505.post-72802654096464979362011-02-22T21:37:00.002+13:002011-02-22T21:45:36.597+13:00EARTHQUAKE UPDATE<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">2.30 PM</span></span><br /><br />The pictures are awful. The news is bad.<br /><br />Many people trapped and fatalities.<br /><br />My sons will be caught up in this.<br /><br />We have no news of them as yet.<br /><br />I'm praying they are all safe but no guarantees.<br /><br />We will be glued to TV for rest of day.<br /><br />Our Prime Minister is going down in a helicopter in next few minutes.<br /><br />Much damage.<br /><br />It will be a rough time for the rescue people.<br /><br />Hospital being evacuated.<br /><br />1 pm many people on the street and at work.<br /><br />Communication not good but satellite TV<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">3.30 PM</span></span><br /><br />There are three triage sites. There is at least one serious fire. People are in that building. The firefighters are using helicopters and monsoon buckets as it is impossible to get fire fighting traffic in.<br /><br />Ambulances are being supplemented by private vehicles.<br /><br />The Christchurch Cathedral is severely damaged and the spire has come down. We hope all the people got out but it has been suggested there were people in the tower.<br /><br />Most of the people are out of the Press building but some remain trapped under their desks under loads of rubble..<br /><br />Gas is being shut off. This is the reticulated gas for heating and cooking.<br /><br />There has been a huge landslide at Sumner.<br /><br />I can't imagine what has happened at Lyttleton. This is one of our major ports and was severely damaged in the last quake. This earthquake was centred near Lyttleton. The Navy are there off the ship Canterbury. It sounds as though there is not the same concern for trapped people but buildings collapsed. A reporter who walked over the hills to get there says the people are gathered on their front lawns making a cup of tea on a primus.<br /><br />Again Liquifaction, sand acting like water, is causing serious concern. Roads are a mess.<br /><br />It sounds as though every home will have damage if only the stuff falling off shelves.<br /><br />People are leaving the city.<br /><br />Central city is being evacuated.<br /><br />Many aftershocks.<br /><br />Many people trapped in buildings. Very dangerous rescue work as buildings unstable and much damage and rubble.<br /><br />Buildings that withstood the September earthquake have collapsed. It's a mess.<br /><br />Still poor communication and we have no idea how one son and his wife and her parents are. Amanda's mother was in hospital recovering from a stroke.<br /><br />One son and his wife are safe. Again they were away from the area of serious damage.<br /><br />It's a disaster and I can't imagine what ur other son is having to cope with as he will be out with road safety.<br /><br />Naturally we are anxious. We have other relatives in Christchurch. It's the town John grew up in.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">8.30 PM</span></span><br /><br />Most people seem to have found a place to go tonight. There are several welfare centres. People from the city centre gathered in nearby Hagley Park. This park had marques and buildings being prepared for the Ellerslie Flower Show which begins in two weeks. There are about 1500 people there and the army is organising blankets. It won't be a comfortable night and the aftershocks keep coming.<br /><br />Many of these people are tourists who cannot go to their accommodation and only have what they took with them on their day out sight seeing.<br /><br />It's hoped to open the airport tomorrow, probably a limited number of flights. The earthquake disrupted all flights to and around NZ and there are many people stuck in airports around the country.<br /><br />It is thought there may be 200 or more people trapped in buildings in the Central City and there are officially 65 dead.<br /><br />Specialist urban search people are at work. With help from Australia there will be 200 searchers tomorrow morning.<br /><br />I'm pleased to say all our immediate family are safe. Our city son has quite a lot of damage to his house and liquefaction bogged their cars. Wayne is not able to go to work at this point and the job he would be doing will be down to the police Navy and Army who, by coincidence were in the area. I understand there are about 500 military personnel available. There was also a medical conference in the city. 200 extra Doctors are now helping. The city is virtually closed down.<br /><br />Medical services seem to be well organised. It helped that the Christchurch hospital was not seriously affected and has been able to continue taking casualties while some are being medivac'ed out to other hospitals.<br /><br />Searching will continue through the night. There is now rain to complicate things.<br /><br />It's terrible and very sad to see this beautiful city going through tragedy.<br /><br />TV is keeping us well informed and we will need to turn it off soon or we will never sleep tonight.<br /><br />Our eldest son lives in the country and while they experienced the earthquake they had no damage. We'll contact John's cousin tomorrow night to see how his family are and hopefully he'll have news of other family members.MargieAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05591436464085450834noreply@blogger.com2