Four Paws and Whiskers

New template

I am having to take some time off work to recover from surgery and as Google wants me to update the template to make it easier to read on mobile devices, I felt like I had some time to look into what needed doing - so I hope this new format works for anyone actually reading it. I quite like the options for letting the reader display the posts in different ways - your feedback on the experience is always welcome.

I have been in two hospitals this week - private and public. I started out on International Nurses Day, 12th May, and during the week got to experience the newly opened Emergency Department, courtesy of St Johns Ambulance. It is certainly a fabulous, but very busy place, seeing 300 people every day, often more. It was a long night - but the medical teams were very helpful.

Feb

Ten years on

I have had little desire to write here for a few months - somehow dealing with the pandemic has been of more importance, and reading about elections, both here and watching the scenes from America too.

I know we have been lucky here in New Zealand - physical distance, being an island, good management, luck, and having well-managed isolation and tracing systems has shielded us from much of the Covid 19 impact.

May

Level 2 - Life in New Zealand

Lockdown is over and New Zealand is currently in Level 2 ... ( https://covid19.govt.nz/). We came out of a month at Level 4, with very limited bubbles, down to Level 3 for two weeks, then cautiously started to venture out again last Monday. Now the government is waiting to see if there will be a new influx of cases.

Apr

Christchurch Lockdown Life

Just found these videos today.

I wanted to save them for future viewing - the diary of events this blog seems to be at the moment. I guess for the people of Christchurch this emptiness is eerily familiar from our post-earthquake lives in 2011. Just the army tanks and the roadblocks missing.

My mother lives on the West side, I work in the centre, and live on the East side..in the East video, all the shops at the start of the video are where I shop.... and the Avon river where I walk.

Feb

Christchurch - Nine Years on

Nine years...

We knew it would take a long time, probably 20 years, for Christchurch to recover from the impact of this day in 2011. It seems a long time ago - but the memories run deep. Even this week, when I was teaching evacuation procedures, I reminded my new class of students to keep phones, keys, and money on them at all times - to make sure they could get home if we had another big one. I guess it is positive that I feel they will get home...

Jan

Always interesting to see how Christchurch is viewed internationally

as I live on the outskirts of Horseshoe Lake and the Red Zone, I thought this was a good article. You can see my area in the picture below - I live on the outer loop of the top Horseshoe shape along the small river that leads down to The Avon.

Jan

Australian Bush fires - a New Year's Reminder

As the New Year begins, we can only read the news on the state of the inferno of bush fires in New South Wales and Victoria with increasing horror. The images of the fiery red skies, the smoke, darkness and thousands trapped on the beach at Mallacoota have reminded us all of the grim reality of drought, climate change and the need to consider how we live and travel.

Dec

The Last Decade in Christchurch

As the year draws to a close, we have been reflecting on all the changes here in the last 20 years - where were you for the Y2K New Year celebrations? For me, it was friends and fireworks around the brazier at our home in Yaldhurst, with my parents newly arrived to live here from the UK. Simple, happy times when the children were all children. Before the "troubles' started.

Today there was a good article in the paper on the events that have affected Christchurch so much in the last 10 years.

Apr

Reflective Day

I have felt particularly tearful today. On one hand so pleased that Prince William has visited Christchurch, again. To quote the Duke, "A good friend doesn't pick up the phone when people are in need, you travel to their place and put your arms around them".

This is his third visit, maybe even the fourth, since the earthquakes.

Mar

Two weeks on

The memorial service was held yesterday for the victims of the Mosque shootings.

The full article is here;

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111655875/new-zealands-reaction-to-shooting-exceptional--cat-stevens

And I feel this montage video captures the mood of the city and hopefully the country.

I am shocked and saddened by the events that have happened - but there is hope.

Four Paws and Whiskers

Vets, pets, education, family, education and life in Christchurch, Aotearoa, New Zealand.