Posts by Rachel Prosser
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The aftershocks affect people differently.
They don't seem to bother the people around me - we knew from the start they would happen -always do after an earthquake, and that they were unlikely to be worse than what had already happened.
The people around me haven't had severe damage, so that may make a difference.
My niece aged 4 and nephew aged 7 seem unfazed.
I've escaped to Auckland - a day later than planned - and notice my nervous system calming down, and I'm beginning to lose my "sealegs". A hot shower was heaven (I've discovered why cleanliness is next to godliness).
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The Blitz spirit.
Exactly! It felt similar in London after the bombing (the 7 July and 21 July ones)
Re the old teachers college. I haven't seen it but my Dad has - he and Mum studied there and he said it was badly affected. -
The other thing I noticed was that it felt like Christmas in some ways.
Lots of people on the street chatting and friendly and no traffic - people couldn't shop or watch TV so they talked to each other - lots of phone calls from people checking in.
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I'm going to be quite interested to find out how many facades have collapsed in heritage buildings which have been strengthened in recent years.
My impression from a walk around the centre city yesterday morning - as cordon was being put in place - was that those buildings that have been strengthened held up well - the MED substations and the old Canterbury Provincial Chambers (now the Environment Court) seemed untouched, as did the Cathedral - lots of work has gone on there.
Our church - Durham St, the oldest stone church in Christchurch (older than the Cathedral) hasn't come off so well. Not too obviously damaged - but a big crack in the north tower. Dad went inside (he's the steward) and said that there's a 2 inch gap between a supporting beam and that which it supports.
St John's Latimer Square (stone) lost a tower, and the brick hall was badly affected.
Churches and unstrengthened victorian brickwork have been worst affected.
(By the way - we kind of knew we should stay at home (Cambridge Terrace) but with all that adrenaline in your system that's really hard. Walking and cycling around at a safeish distance was our compromise)
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There are some awful experiences in Canterbury, and buildings down but let me also mention other experiences which don't make One Network News.
-Our lovely neighbours knocked on the door to check we were OK - as did many other people's.
-Lots of people were walking around talking to their neighbours, chatting and smiling - it was a peaceful pleasant scene in many ways - old fashioned neighbourliness.
- Most houses have minor damage because our building codes now are so strong.
- Most commercial buildings in the centre are also built to code and apart from the brick ones which fell down, most stayed standing.
- Most of the town has power back already.
- - It has been a beautiful sunny, clear spring day and many people have already removed and tarpaulined over chimneys and the "number 8 wire" mentality isn't completely dead.
- Our Council workers have been great - they were on street putting out cones outside our house where the road had subsided.
- We have a well-organised and rehearsed Civil Defence team have got information out so we know not to flush our loos.
- I cycled over from my home in Edgeware to my parents in Cambridge Terrace and their neighbour had a houseful of people for coffee (one person bought cake), and people have been chatting on the streets in a very friendly way.It's not an ideal situation, and we may find a lot more sewerage issues. However, although some people may be feeling trauma (in my experience - only ones I've seen on TV, not ones I've met on the streets) there has also been a lot of neighbourliness and goodwill and support.
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Actually the curfew area is smaller than you think.
I cycled down Kilmore St - the northern boundary, and then turned north onto Colombo where Whiskey Galore is.
The boundary is Madras/Kilmore/Montreal/St Asaph. (The one way system)
We're 2 houses down from the Madras/Kilmore intersection, so can move about at will... subject to bumpy roads.
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For you Russell...
Have just cycled to Whiskey Galore - 2 blocks away.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31541937&l=5ce4dcd3a6&id=1021937984
and
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31541938&l=ae066968de&id=1021937984
Hope you can see these.
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I'm about 2 blocks from Whiskey Galore. Before the road was closed we walked down Kilmore St and didn't look specifically that way but didn't notice anything. Would have noticed a catastrophe I think.
Cafe Metro looked fine - just closed, and it's about 4 doors down.
That said, if the building is OK, the bottles may not me.
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<quote>If there is a circle of hell for this heinous crime, I'm sure it's still several rungs farther from the bottom than the one where the designer of PowerPoint is going to be spending eternity.<quote>
Loudest LOL ever at a PAS Post - thanks Giovanni.
I don't think it's the designer of PowerPoint *TM* that is going to hell, so much as whomever designed the default templates.
They're what encouraged people to write speeches on PowerPoint and doomed so many presentations to the onslaught of bullets, and the full death-by-powerpoint experience.
That said, I suspect the use of bullets in general prose and formal writing went up as a result of the commonality of bullets in ppt - my instinct is that we see more now than we would have 20 years ago when "proper sentences" were expected in formal documents (like formal letters/cabinet papers and so forth)
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Last time I was in Wellington in June I took a bus, and the mix of travellers seemed to be the same as it was 11 years ago - students to people with plenty of $.
Back then you'd see High Court Judges - not sure if his honour David Baragwanath still takes the bus every day now he's on the Court of Appeal (I think they get a driver as of right)