Christchurch South Island New Zealand

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Arrived in christchurch South Island yesterday, I was met a the airport by my cousin Patsi and her husband Chris. From here we drove through a devastated city which two years on from the quake still remains like a war zone. There are huge areas which once housed shopping precincts, libraries, offices etc which are now flat desolate and meaningless. Some of the more recent buildings survived one the art gallery with a glass facade did not have one broken pane of glass. A tribute to modern technology and architecture. It's as though the city has lost it's soul, it felels like a ghost town and even people like Patsi and Chris who have lived here for long periods automatically look for landmarks which are no longer there. People were without sanitation and water for a long time and even now not all things are back to normal.

So at christmastime spare a thought for people less fortunate than yourselves and be grateful for small mercies. Have a very Happy Christmas and New Year and give a thought for those who are nehelp and need help.

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