Must have been a rubbish Christmas to not get a blog?!

So the regularity of my postings is gradually diminishing. So am I so busy doing stuff and having a great time that I just can't find the time to blog - or is life so dull and boring that I have nothing to tell you about? Two extremes, neither of which is true. Probably somewhere in the middle is the truth. So what has been going on since the last blog? Crikey, December the 4th, that was a long time ago! So the training regime kicked in for forthcoming LA challenge just as the end of year BBQ and party schedule ramped up here in Chch. I did my best to be good, but reconciled myself to the fact that I did need some carbs at least to fuel the exercising. The events seemed to keep coming - PTA Xmas do, Simply Lean Xmas do, Fulton Hogan SQTE Dept party, Fulton Hogan Admin Division do, Maria's Works do, Chamber of Commerce, Business Mentors.....it was great! Chris also started his new job as Shift Supervisor in training at Wendys (Old Fashioned Hamburger) - and there was a friends and family opening night there too! Anything off the menu...gratis! Probably was the most calorific of all the pre-Xmas troughs if the truth be known. Their thick chocolate milk shakes (with extra whipped cream on top) are enough to clog anyone's arteries. Nice though! We also attended Sarah's School's Prizegiving Ceremony at the Town Hall. This was a really grand occassion - full of pomp and ceremony. It was on a different level to anything I had ever experienced back in Stockport or Derby. There was a great sense of tradition and occassion. Unfortunately, the week before Christmas saw me finish my contract with Fulton Hogan. A bit disappointed to tell you the truth. I think that there are still plenty of things that I could help them with given a bit more time. There were a few comments made before I actually finished that maybe we haven't seen the last of each other - so fingers crossed for the new year. So as of 18th December, I became a professional triathlete! The prize money now took on added significance...LOL! The Sunday before Christmas saw Maria and I head up to the Mud House Winery at Waiapra to see Blondie and The Pretenders in concert.

A great evening of entertainment indeed! A beautiful warm sunny evening and a blast down memory lane - I had forgotten just how many Pretenders' song I knew. We had been auctioning Brendan's campervan on Trade Me - at his request - and had been hoping that no-one would buy before Christmas - as it had featured as a key component of our Summer holiday plans! Bad move really - as it was sold on Christmas Eve! We spent a sunny Christmas Day on the beach at Taylor's Mistake with my 'training partner' - Rob Sherman - and his family before returning back to Desmond St for a evening of champagne, cray-fish and chocolate strawberries. Delicious.

And late night swimming!


Once the girls had had their Boxing Day Sale's fix - which actually included a 5.1 earthquake at 10am in the morning - we headed over to Akaroa for a few nights under canvas - taking Sarah's pal Molly with us for company.

Despite a rather claustrophobic pitch, noisey neighbours and some inclement weather on the second day (we spent most of it in a restaurant having a very long lunch with Matt & Lou) we did have a pleasant time of it! Maria's boss - Chops - has a bach over there and invited us around for a drink or two one evening (the wet one!) and then out on his motor boat for the afternoon the following day.

We also got to crew for his pal Rob in the evening Yacht Race around the harbour - a great experience. We didn't win, but didn't come last.

We definitely had the best post race buffet - cray-fish, salmon blinnies and fizz - consumed in a reasonalbe quantity aboard the boat as the sun gently set over the Bank's mountains. And once it did set, the temperature suddenly dropped by about 10 degrees - almost immediately. So off to Rob's bach overlooking the harbour with fab views of the environs. What a life these guys lead! We headed back to Christchurch for New Year festivities. Maria and I headed into town for a few drinks with Steve and Viv Frodsham whilst Sarah hosted a gang of her school pals at our place - for a pool party! We actually headed back home to see the new year in - plus to check that all was OK back at the ranch - and witnessed a mass pool-bombing by the girls at midnight! (Poor old Chris - he was at work serving burgers to late night revellers until 4 in the morning!). Maria had the week after New Year off work - most of Christchurch is on holiday for at least a week too - so there's barely no work to do unless you are in retail or hospitality! We spent the week chilling in and around Christchurch - no campervan, you see!



A few bike rides to Tai Tapu, a run up the Harry Ell track, a trip to the pictures with Sarah to watch the Young Fockers....and all sober....no booze for a week...how very 'un-kiwi' I hear you say! And then the holidays were over. Maria headed back to work and I started to look for work. I did find some quite quickly, TBH. Helping out at Business Mentors again. It's not the long term solution but will keep me out of the shops and pubs until I get something more finacially rewarding! So just as my swim times and run splits were starting to look impressive, LA pulled out of the event! All that training I had done - in vain?! He had a sore knee apparently. So I pulled out to. Anything you can do.....! Mid-January saw Mike Moran and his wife Dawn visit us, along with son Jack. We spent a pleasant afternoon touring the sights of Chch and hosted them chez-nous for a BBQ and a few cheeky ones (yes, back off the wagon by then!). They actually got to experience a big aftershock the following morning - a 5.0 shook the city from their beds at just after 6am. A few more during the day resulted in one of the shakiest days for a while. The BBQ is actually a recent purchase - we decided to host a few pals around here early in the new year and invested in a gas-powered model - so my days of charcoal-dirty fingers and waiting for the coals to glow before cooking are possibly behind me (just like a final-salary pension scheme!). So now I have the new toy, most food over the past few weeks has been BBQ'd!


Last week was a busy one in Chch. It was World Buskers Week plus the City hosted the World International-Para Championships.



Though we didn't make it to any of the athletics, we did go to see a few of the Buskers events - notably 'The Boy with Tape on his Face' at the Art Gallery. A great show. Despite not competing in the Roturua triathlon, I am continuing the train quite hard. Further more, I foolishly let the beer talk at one of my Saturday BBQ's - in the presence of witnesses - that I secretly wanted to do the Wanaka Ironman next January. I think Rob was a bit bevvied too and we now find ourselves 'committed' to the Christchurch Marathon in June, the Ashburton Half-Ironman in November and the previously mentioned Wanaka Challenge this time next year. One of these days I'll learn to keep my ideas to myself! Hope that's got you back up to speed. Just off to do a couple of laps of Hagley Park......not really....I'm actually going to fire up the BBQ....honest. It's been 35 degrees here today - absolutely sweltering. And today of all days I decided to take Maria on the 80km Long Bays cycle ride. Probably not the greatest of ideas. We did get round - eventually. It took a few coffee stops and a few walks up a few of the hills (not me, of course!). But hey, it was done. And now it's time to cook the meat to go with the Salad Nicoise that I have prepared and I guess we will swill it down with the fizz that I put in the fridge to chill about 3 hours ago. What a life these guys lead!

What, no November postings?!!

Sorry for the delay - was too busy growing my Movember 'tash to do any blogging during my birthday month. Actually, I was so busy pruning it every day that it just never took hold!

Anyway, glad to be back on Blogger - even if Maria thinks it's a waste of time!

It's actually been a busy few weeks, as you will no doubt see if you bother to read the rest of this post....

End of October saw me build up the mileage again on the bike in preparation for the Sourse to sea event. I had a couple of 100+ km rides - one with Maria for the first 70km before heading over the Summit Road for a punishing 40km back-end and then a 125km Rangiora/Oxford loop with the 'S-2-S team'.

I also squeezed a 1-Day i2i course in on 30th October. My proposed venue fell through at the last minute but landlady Nicky came to the rescue and we held the event in 'The Studio' - the other house on this section, with an atrium-style, full glass fronted place on the banks of the Avon. It was a perfect setting and the course went well.

Early November saw Maria organising a couple of teams from Solid Energy to run in the Corporate Challenge 5km event at Hagley Park.


The men's team won the team event, and one of the guys - Rowan - actually won the race.

We also hosted Chris and Veronica Ashworth for dinner - Maria's uncle and aunt - who are over visiting Matt and Lou for a month or so. We introduced them to Hell's Pizzas - not quite the same as Jack's homemade efforts - but tasty and convenient in the circumstances.

I took a day's leave on my birthday and headed out to complete the real Long Bays ride for the first time - just before the Southerly blew in and turned it very autumnal for 24 hours or so. I headed out to Darfield - epicentre of the recent Earthquake - for a lunchtime rendezvous with Maria. Lovely bakery-com-cafe there - I'd recommend it. Maria and I headed to the Twisted Hop in Litchfield Lanes for a few bevvies and fish and chips. Perfect. Added bonus was watching Canterbury Rugby win the ITM cup on the TV - bonus being the fact that we hadn't bought tickets and had to sit in the freezing cold and rain!

The following week was 'Cup Week' here in Christchurch. I suppose it's the Canterbury equivalent of Ascot week. Last year, I had been invited to the races by Ashley Cooper and had met quite a few people who I have remained in contact with since and who have proved useful work contacts. As a result of one of those contacts, this year I was working - so didn't get to see any racing!

Friday 12th was Canterbury Anniversary Day - another Bank Holiday here in Christchurch - as well as Chris' 19th birthday. After an early morning bike ride with some of the 'S-2-S' boys, Maria, Chris, Sarah and I headed north to Kaikoura for a couple of nights with the Ashworths.



We had hire a bach just north of the town centre, not far from the beach and had made plans to go on a fishing trip on the Saturday morning.


The fishing trip was fantastic - although there were a few of the party that might not describe it quite so positively. Maybe it was their regurgitated and vomitted breakfast that attracted the fish towards our boat and helped us catch plenty?!



After the nautical experience, I took the 2 Chrises and Vron up to Ohau to see if the seal cubs were still in their 'training pool'. Unfortunately there was only 1 pup that had not ventured out to sea yet - but he was doing his best to entertain the crowd that had assembled.

Dinner, of course, was a BBQ with our freshly caught blue cod and perch on the menu, plus a couple of cray fish that we had also pulled out of the sea.


After dinner, we headed down to the beach and lit a bonfire - a week late, but great, nonetheless. A truely fantastic day. And even then there was more, as we watch NZ beat the Aussies in Rugby League (on TV), literally with the last attack of the match!



During the weekend, Chris also heard that he had been offered a new job as Shift Supervisor in training at the new Wendy's 'Old Fashioned Burgers' Restaurant opening soon in Christchurch. A pleasant birthday 'gift' for him.

The following week saw Saz getting her head down for a few exams at school - which she did very well in - plus she was putting a few more hours in at the dance school she attends in preparation for an end of term show plus a 'Tour of the West Coast' with the troupe! She also had an end of term piano recital on the 20th Nov - but unfortunately I missed it - because it was finnaly Source to Sea weekend!

8 of us - 6 competitors and 2 drivers - headed up to St Arnaud on Friday 19th ready for the 160km ride on the Saturday. 'Captain Carlos' was quite alarmed that I was prepared to have a couple of beers in the bar the night before the event. It was only then that it became clear that the other 5 of us were intended to be his domestiques so that he could get a sub-5 hour time for the event.




As it happened, he didn't need our support as he latched on to a much faster bunch than us and achieved a 4 and a half hour time for his efforts. Much to my surprise - and elation - I wasn't that far behind him at the end - coming in at 4 hours 37 mins. Even more suprising was how strong I felt at the end - managing to hold off my bunch of 14 or so for the final sprint in to the line at Westport and then feeling that I could pull on the trainers and head off on the final leg of a triathlon (OK, I missed the swim leg, but I think you get the idea?).

That weekend had been when the Pike River Mine tragedy occured - just down the road neat Greymouth. The following Monday I was booked in for a couple of days of work at the Fulton Hogan depot there. It was a very strange and sad experience indeed. Due to the small size of the town, 'everybody knows everybody' and it was clear that everyone had been affected one way or another. It was obviously on everyone's mind all the time. There was still hope of a recovery whilst I was there - it was only after I had left that there was a 2nd explosion in the mine. It must have been dreadful for them all.

It was whilst I was in Greymouth that I heard the news that Lance Armstrong was planning to come to NZ to compete in a sprint triathlon in Rotorua on 30th Jan. Only one thing to do, for sure. Be on the start line with him! So once Maria had confirmed an entry for me, my training regime kicked up a step! Damn - I'd need to go swimming again - after 3 years out of the pool! More swimming in treacle!

For the 4th week running, I failed to complete 5 full days of work as I took the Friday off to head up to Auckland with Maria to see U2 on their 360' Tour. We stayed at the Stamford Plaza Hotel downtown and enjoyed a great 24 hours in the City of Sails. The concert - out at Mount Smart Stadium - was stupendous! Fantastic light show and great sound. We had to put up with a bit of Jay-Z and his Auckland fan club - but it was worth it.






It seems that party season is now upon us in full earnest. Saturday after the U2 show we were back in Christchurch and at a BBQ with my immediate work mates. We then were out for dinner the following night with the Ashworths - at the Poseidon Restaurant on the beach in Sumner. Tuesday was then the PTA end-of-year bash at Winnie-Bagoes Pizzeria in Ferrymead.

Tuesday was not a great day on the work front, unfortunately, as I was informed that Fulton Hogan were not planning to make the role (that I have been working) permanent going forward. So as of 17th December, I'm back on the market. But as one door shuts, another door will surely open. So maybe not that bad?

Maria was out with the local branch of the NZ Occupational Health Group on Wednesday - whilst I was cycling up over Summit Road trying to burn off some of the previous evenings Pizza - and then a 'farewell BBQ' at the Ashworths on Thursday to say cherrio to Chris and Vron who headed back to the sub-zero temperatures of the UK on Friday!

And so to last Friday. I woke up and headed straight for the lap-top to see if England had been awarded the 2018 World Cup. It was Russia....and Qatar for 2022?? Not quite a tragedy on the same scale as the one in Greymouth the fortnight before, but a tragedy nonetheless! I was banking on a ticket for the Final from Andy Anson!
No-one at work seemed to understand my malaise. I think they all thought it was due to my impending 'redundancy'! Besides, they were probably still reflecting upon the memorial service that had been held the day before for the Greymouth miners. Besides, no-one had died at Zurich - just the dream. Fortunately it was the department's Christmas Night out that evening so Maria and I got our glad rags on and headed out to an evening of Mousakka, lamb kebabs and Ouzo at Santorini's Greek restaurant!

The rest of the weekend has been quite relaxed. I headed down to McCormack's Bay to watch the finish of the Festival of Cycling Harbour Ride on Saturday morning. Paul Odlin - a guy I have been mentoring for a year or so - was competing - I think he came in around 10th, or so he reckoned yesterday. Sarah has been tied up most of the weekend with final rehearsals for the end-of term dance recital - which we have just attended. Very good it was too.

So Christmas is looming - actually it's accelerating towards us fast. A couple more parties planned next weekend. You need some serious amounts of stamina to keep going - I'll let you know how we get on soon!

Christchurch Bands Together!

It's Labour weekend here in New Zealand - the first 'Bank Holiday' weekend of Spring. The weather is very nice - which is certainly not the norm for a UK Bank Holiday!

The weekend started well with a cycle over the Port Hills with Maria and a few friends and wives. Maria was on the new bike and managed all of the ascents without stopping - with the exception of one where she dismounted to take a photo of a dead possum for her mother (don't ask!!). The ride down Evans Pass was as exciting as usual, though the target of 75 kmph was failed by a couple of 'clicks'!

Yesterday also saw the hosting of a free concert in Hagley Park - called 'Band Together' - a celebration of surviving the Quake and looking forward to the future. It was a gloriously sunny afternoon and over 100,000 people turned up for the event - with quite a few of them turning Desmond Street into a car park.



Maria and I wandered through mid-afternoon to take it in. We decided that a late lunch and a glass of wine at the Arts Centre was in order before sauntering back home. Sarah spent the afternoon at the gig with friends.



We had originally planned for a bit of a getaway today and tomorrow - Tekapo has featured high on the list of possible destinations - but our plans were scuppered by Sarah waking up with a severe attack of tonsillitis. So instead the morning was spent by Maria and Sarah at the 24/7 docs with the afternoon spent lazing around the house. There's now talk of another bike ride tomorrow for Maria and I, which should be fun.

Talking of which, let's see if I can recall any exciting experiences from over the past 4 weeks or so......!

Of course, the main topic of news has been the continued post-earthquake rumblings. We have had aftershocks up to 5.0 on the richter scale which have opened up more cracks around the house plus caused wider damage around the city. Whilst nowhere near as scary as the Shake on the 4th Sept, the aftershocks can be a little disconcerting at times. Most Cantabrians have now become quite adept at guessing the size of each tremor - and then heading straight to GeoNet.com to check out the accuracy of their guestimate!

Elsewhere...Sarah recently took part in a dance competition hosted by the Garden City Tappers here in Christchurch.


The dance school she attends on a Saturday morning entered 'a team' in one of the categories - they performed a dance to a track from the Lion King - and they won their category! Well done them. She is now busy rehearsing a piece for the end of term show.

I took part in a 6 hour mountain bike relay event at McLean's Island last weekend - with fellow Fulton Hugan colleagues. (I had been out to the course a couple of weeks beforehand with a group of colleagues to practice and took a nasty fall off my bike - cutting my arm and leg plus getting a whack fom the pedal behind my knee, which basically put me out of action until the event!)


There were over a thousand competitors in the 6hr and a 12 hr event. I was in a team of 3 so we ended up riding 2 hours each - which was pretty exhausting - in 5 bursts of 25mins around a 10km loop. There was a fair bit of inter-Company rivalry going on between some of the better teams - but my team didn't really feature in that event! We probably managed to eat the most sausages!

My preparation for the Source to Sea ride next month has not been as good as I had hoped with me missing out on a few recent rides with the 'gang' due to my MTB accident. We did do a couple of rides over the Summit Rd - which I think featured in the previous blog - which were quite fantastic - once the Bas#$@d Hill had been conquered! I have 3 more weekends to get some mileage in - though one includes a trip to Kaikoura with the Ashworths for a fishing trip and having fun! Maybe I should cycle there?!

I have had a few pleasant trips out with work over the past few weeks. I headed off to Alexandra for a couple of days doing a Quality Audit and ended up in and around Queenstown on a beautiful, sunny and warm day at a part-built hotel complex called the Essence of Queenstown. The flight back from Queenstown was fantastic - the pilot had his elderly father in the jump seat and must have decided to take the scenic route home to Christchurch as we ended up buzzing the top of Mount Cook. People pay good money for flights like that!

I also had a drive over to Greymouth for a days work at the Fulton Hogan depot over there. We had gone across on the TanzAlpine earlier in the year, but this was the first time that I had driven over through Arthur's Pass. It truely is a fantastic journey.

A few weeks ago, Maria, Sarah and I headed up for a Saturday night supper on the Port Hills in Brendan's Campervan. I cooked some chicken in white wine and once again we sat and watched the sun slowly fall over the distant Southern Alps - supping the wine that didn't make it into the pot! Priceless.






Maria clicked another birthday over this month. We actually went out as a family - all 4 of us - to Budda Stix on Riccarton Rd. It was very pleasant indeed. Maria asked for a new camera as a birthday gift so since the 13th she been out snapping pitures of the flaura and fauna in Hagley Park plus a few of the new post-aftershock cracks in walls and ceilings!

Getting back to normal?

2 weeks on from the quake now and we are still getting aftershocks - some around 4.5 on the richter thing! So whilst we hope that the worst is over and we look forward to getting back to some semblance of normality, we are constantly reminded of what we have all been through and there is always a slight doubt that the Big One is still to happen!

My previous blog probably made out that there had not been much in the way of damage or suffering - but as the dust settled and the aftershocks continued, it was clear that certain parts of Christchurch had taken a real battering. The city centre was cordoned off for best part of 2 weeks whilst engineers painstakingly checked every building for damage, etc. Quite a lot of the older buildings suffered damage and have been condemned and are already being pulled down.

Out on the East side of town where some new housing estates had been built on reclaimed land, they have experienced severe damage to properties. Matt and Lou have also discovered that despite their house remaining upright with only slight damage, the ground on which it stands has been declared unfit - so it's got to come down and they have to find somewhere else to live!! We could be having some lodgers?!

It still is remarkable that no-one died as a result of the quake. The timing played a key role in that fact. Any time during the daytime would have resulted in lots of casualties, no doubt.

Anyway, it was back to work for me on the following Monday - trying to help with organising the Company's response to the emergency - though it soon became eveident that had an emergency plan in place and it wasn't long before I was back to 'business as usual' - whatever that is?!

Sarah's school was shut for a week - along with more or less all schools in the area. They didn't experience too much damage - just some ground shift under the music department which has resulted in setting up some temporary music rooms.

Chris reported that McDonalds saw it's greatest takings on the day of the quake! I think it was because no-one has water or power for so long - so they all stopped of for cheeseburger and chips on the way to the safety of the mountains!

Talking of mountains, I don't think I got to mention that I actually got up to Mount Hutt again the week before the quake - to do some skiing. Chris was working so couldn't get there - Maria and Sarah were still in the UK - so I went along with Rob Sherman and his son Drew. Apart from a wipe-out (which hurt!) we had an enjoyable time. The drive up to the slopes was not as scary as last time - must be because Maria was at the wheel previously?!

I've decided that I'm going to do the Source to Sea bike race - a 160km effort along the Buller gorge at the end of November - along with a few work colleagues. We have had a few weekend outings in preparation. Last weekend saw us ride a 140km circuit around Kaiapoi (badly hit by the quake), Rangiora, Ashley Gorge and Ohoka. It was a 5 hour grueller - quite flat - but just long. I was exhausted at the end. I have often wondered whether I could do an Ironman Triathlon....well after getting off my bike after only 140km I could barely walk to the bathroom, nevermind run a marathon!

There are plans tomorrow for a bit of a hilly ride - Long Bays with a trip out to Purau Bay tagged on, plus a Summit Road finish as Sumner Road is closed due to quake damage. Apparently the climb from Gebbies Pass up to the Summit Road is known locally as 'Bastard Hill' - because it is one! I'm looking forward to that treat - NOT! I've actually bought a new (2nd hand) bike today to help me with the hill climbing - a bit lighter and a compact front gear.

Maria has headed up to Kaikoura this weekend to help Nicky prepare Shearwater Lodge for the forthcoming season. There's a small possee gone in - I think it will be a work hard and play hard weekend! I hope the storm that has been forecasted hasn't hit the high country and spoilt there weekend.

Living in a Disaster Zone!

OK, so we knew we were going on an adventure, but we didn't count on being caught up in the biggest NZ earthquake for a few decades!

4.35am on 4th September - unlikely to forget that bit of information in a hurry - plus the 7.1 richter measurement bit - plus the 2 minutes of shake, rattle and roll!

It was seriously scary :-0

I've heard a few descriptions from people interviewed on TV of it sounding like a train hitting the house and of then spending a couple of minutes in a very noisy tumble dryer. I think that more or less captures it.

There were a few expletives as we jumped out of bed. I shouted at Maria to get under the bed quickly - then realised we wouldn't fit! Maria went off in search of Sarah who was shouting out - probably only marginally more scared than us! Remember, it's half 4 in the morning - pitch black - the power is off - and your being thrown around the room. Actually, good job it was dark as I was stark naked and I'm sure not a pretty sight for our impressionable daughter, despite the predicament we found ourselves in!

So as the girls met on the landing and then headed downstairs towards shelter under the sturdy dining roon table, I dived into the underpant drawer for emergency supplies and then quickly followed!

We huddled under the table whilst the earthquake did it's best to shake the house down. It failed, thank God! So after 3 wintery months of complaining about the lack of double glazing and central heating in these wooden frame dolls-houses that Kiwi's call home, I'm thankful for the lack of rigid brickwork of a sturdy, well insulated UK style house - which would probably have come crashing down on top of us!

The shaking stopped and we wondered what to do next. Then it shook again, but fortunately not as violently this time and for not as long.

A bit more calm and we suddenly realised that we were cold - so I made a dash for some blankets from the bedroom. More shaking as I returned and I quickly resumed my position of hugging the table leg (Maria and Sarah has secured the central section of the underside of the table and left me perched at the edge - a sort of women and children first set up I suppose!).

Still pitch black remember.

The tremors started to subside a little and the gaps between them were lengthening. I pulled one of the sofas over to the table to provide further shelter - plus we grabbed the cushions for a bit more comfort.

We probably stayed under there for the next 20 minutes or so - discussing how bad our emergency prepartions had been - no torches to hand, limited supplies packed 'in case' (despite constant reminders from Government via TV ads, etc!) - and going to bed naked (too much detail, I know!).

Once it seemed to have settled down, we headed back to bed. Suitably dressed this time! I sent a few texts - one to Chris - who was at work - making sure he was OK. He was. Plus I let my bro' John know as I guessed he may pick up the news on the web.

There continued to be small after-shocks, but nothing as severe as the first shake. We managed to sleep a little until around 7am when it quickly went light. A few texts came in from fellow Christchurch dwellers asking if we were OK. Nicky - the landlady - enquired about our wellbeing plus any property damage. We didn't know - we were still in bed! We do like our Saturday morning lie-ins, earthquake or no earthquake!

Once we had got up we surveyed the scene. Some plaster damage and debris on the carpet in the living room, kitchen drawers open but contents all OK....in fact all looked remarkably OK on first inspection. A wander outside was soon to reveal that there had been some damage to the house structure plus a lot of ground shift. In a nut shell, it looked as though the extension (garage and overhead bedrooms and bathroom) had tried to detatch itself from the original house.



There was a large crack uo the side of the house - at the join - plus a similarly large crack along the garage floor. Looking at the ground around the house, it also appeared that there was a fault line running straight through the line of the extension join - which continued across both neighbours properties with quite startling effects - one involving a rather contorted swimming pool and the other the strange sight of scaffolding dangling unsupported over a deep void! A sizeable gap had also appeared in the wall between our properties.


We still had no power and the water supply was off too. So we decided to get on the bikes and head for town - in search of some hot coffee and information! That in itself was an trial - the garage door is electronically controlled - so I had to fumble about in the dark searching for bikes and helmets and then wheel them through the house.

There was some noticeable damage to some of the houses in the locale, mainly stemming from falling chimnies. One of our neighbours had a stack that had not toppled but resembled the end-game of a round of Jenga!

Some of the paths through Hagley Park were cracked and buckled plus there was quite a covering of silt in places which had been washed over from the nearby boating lake - a mini tsunami must have taken place!

We spotted a bit of damage to the Arts Centre and the Canterbury Club - mainly due to falling masonary.


Nothing too severe though. Cathedral Square seemed unscathed but the police had cordoned off a nearby area of the CBD where there had been some more serious damage. We couldn't find a coffee and there wasn't much information to be had too, so we decided to head on back to Desmond Street to get the camping stove out!

We actually spent the next hour in the campervan - drinking coffee and listening to the radio - where we first learned of the extent of the quake and what was happening about thye place. A State of Emergency had been declared - not sure what that meant - but it sounded good! We sat there commenting upon the fact that you usually observe these types of events from the comfort of your own home via the miracle that is TV (not actually a miracle - being an engineer I can explain how TV works but I won't at the moment whilst I talk about the quake - if that's OK!) - but here we were - right slap bang in the middle of it! Gulp!

Anyway, we then thought we should go and do some panic buying as we didn't have a pantry full of provisions like we were supposed to and headed off to Pak'N save at Riccarton. Shut, of course. There had just been an earthquake - hadn't we heard?
We did manage to find a petrol station that was open on the way back home and decided to do a panic fill-up, plus buy a few bottles of lemonade just in case we ran out of water!

And then as we passed along Riccarton Road we spotted that the Sushi bar and GFC cafe were open. Whoopi - real coffee! Well, you wouldn't have thought that there was a State of Emergency in there! Very relaxed - apart from the hard working kitchen staff who were busily trying to prepare all the brunch and coffee orders. No, definitely no State of Emergency there!

So, armed with Sushi and Flat Whites, we headed back to Desmond Street again to decide upon our next course of action.

It actually turned out to be putting the kettle on - power had been restored - as Matt and Lou turned up and we decided that a good cup of tea was the order of the moment - very British!

The aftershocks continued throughout the afternoon, but again, very small in comparison to earlier. With power regained, we were able to vacuum up the plaster debris plus we caught some of the TV coverage of the quake - it certainly looked impressive on the news!

I discovered that we had a mains water leak which explained our lack of running water - it's still out now on Sunday afternoon - we're waiting for a plumber to come and look at it!

Matt and Lou remained without both power and water for the day so they decided to stay with us for the night. Essential supplies of beer, gin, tonic and chocolate cake were brought by Matt and Lou - at least the survivors party would go with a swing! Various references to drinking ourselves under the table were made by our UK FB friends once our safety strategy had been explained!

Needless to say, the tremors continued throughout the night, but some of us (me!) had quite a good, gin-soaked night's sleep!

To be continued.....

While the cat's away...

So the cat's out of the bag...and has journeyed half way round the world to be at her parent's 50th wedding anniversary last weekend. Indeed, Maria and Sarah travelled back a couple of weeks ago now, but it all had to be hush-hush so as not to spoil the surprise for those that were none the wiser!

So it's been a bit quiet around here for most of August. Quite tidy too!!! It's amazing how little shopping I have had to do - and the shelves are still quite well stocked. The washing machine only goes on twice a week - one dark wash and a light wash. What could be simpler?!

Not seen much of Chris - he's either been working or staying at friends.

Work at Fulton Hogan remains busy - I'm enjoying it - just need to start making some changes and seeing some real improvements.

I have been out for a couple of bike rides with some of the FH boys. Last week we ventured out to Purau Bay around the Lyttleton Harbour inlet. Around 85km of lumpy terrain. Was probably the hardest cycling I've ever done. Made the Ashbourne Duathlon route seem quite tame in comparison. This weekend we ventured onto the flats around Oxford - a mere 110km! 4 hours in the saddle is about as long as I've ever had to endure! There's talk of taking part in the Source to Sea event in November - a 160km ride down the Buller Gorge - should be fun!

Had a game of golf last weekend with Rob Sherman - a close encounter - all square after 18 holes - a great morning/afternoon in early spring weather - very nice indeed. We went out for a few (!!) beers last Friday in honour of his 50th birthday - Saturday was a bit of a blur!

Also had a trip down to Dunedin for a couple of days with Simply Lean last week. I'm becoming a right 'national turbo-prop setter'!

Still no new pictures to post - must be a sign that things are becoming 'normal'? Mind you, Maria has taken the camera to the UK with her. Maybe there will be some of her piccies to post.

Just heard that U2 are playing in Auckland in November - wahoo! Need to get ourselves sorted for that one.

Pinch and a Punch...

1st of August already - whatever happened to July?!

I started work at Fulton Hogan on 30th June as mentioned in the last posting. It's been good so far. Interesting business. Good people. Lots to do. I hope to be there for some time!

I'm based out at Hornby, on the West side of Christchurch and have been cycling the 10km or so most days - so it's helping with the exercise regime! I've also hooked up with a couple of fellow workers who are keen to do an occassional lunchtime run - so it's all getting rather familiar!

We finally decided upon a trip to the West Coast - Greymouth and Punakaiki to be exact - on board the Tranz Alpine Express as our alternative to our trip to Oz! It wasn't quite Sydney - that's an under-statement - but the train journey was quite spectacular.

Maria had been over there with work the week previous so provided the guided tour of all the hot spots! Actually, it was bitterly cold and grey on the second day so we were quite glad to get back on the train and head back to Christchurch!

Maria and I have had a few active outings around town. We ran the Harry Ell track early in July - only to find ourselves totally over-dressed for the occassion as the winter sunshine sent the temperatures soaring! We also had a cycle around Bottle Lake Forest - on our new trail bikes - with the obligatory stop for coffee in New Brighton at the Salt on the Sea cafe. The four of us were also hosted by Matt and Lou for a great Sunday Roast dinner early July - it was nice to get out as a family for once!

We also headed up the Rapaki Track on bikes - last weekend - though Maria spent a far amount of it pushing rather than cycling. I can understand why - it was probably one of the hardest things I've done - a combination of the steepness of the track, the weight of the bikes (and me!) plus a dogged determination to cycle all the way up! Probably closest to max-heart-rate that I've been in some time.

Sarah is continuing with her dance and acrobatic classes on Saturday mornings. She's not cycled for a while - it was school winter holidays and then she had a week off ill! Chris was also knocked back for a week with illness - bronchitis and sore throat - so his pay has been a bit light recently! He's realising that he can't really afford to run his car so I think that it's going to be appearing on Trade Me quite soon - now it's had it's latest crash damage repaired!