~Welcome to Christchurch...The Garden City of New Zealand... My Hometown~

I am very proud to say I was born & brought up in the City of Christchurch known as the Garden City & loved by locals for its stunning old buildings, parks gardens & the beautiful Avon River where rowing has always been a popular pass time. For me there were two very specials places I loved most in my City..... the Canterbury Musuem but mostly sitting proudly smack bang in the centre of the City & Cathedral Square.... my beloved Christchurch Cathedral..... As a teenager Friday nights were spent catching a bus at Sparks Rd (sitting in the back seats with my friends & giggling & yacking all the way into town)getting off outside Ballentynes & after quite a bit of window shopping heading for the square where we would spend the night catching up with more friends & perving on the boys. We were of course (it was the 70's) dressed in our best flared jeans & in my case wearing my 6" wooden platforms... haha we must have looked a sight! At the end of the night we would catch the bus outside Beaths Department Store & giggle & yack about the cute guys we met all the way home. I can remember climbing the narrow wooden stairs of the Cathedral all the way up to the top where the view all over Christchurch was simply amazing.....

                                                 How the ChCh Cathedral now looks.....

So yesterday when a friend rang to see how my family were doing back home in Christchurch I was a tad stumped for an answer... *fine I answered, then came the question *WHY*..... on gosh Lyn haven't you heard, there has been another massive earthquake, you need to turn your TV on. I felt sick watching the images on TV (ironically the first was the now ruined Cathedral) not really taking it in until my brain got back into gear & head for the phone to ring home. My Mum & Dad had moved back to ChCh just a month ago after 35 years of living in Nelson & dread & panic set in when there was no dial tone on the other end of the phone even more so when the same happened when I called my sister. My darlin' walked in the door & I just broke down I didn't know what to do I think the worst feeling I have ever felt. After finding my Dads cell phone number I rang & heard the sweetest voice on the other end.... my Mum sounding very shaken but telling me all my family were safe & all at their home.

                                                  The Carlton Hotel... before & after...

                                                 Charlie B Backpackers...before & after..

                                                The Regent Theatre.... before & after...

                                           Christchurch Catholic Cathedral.. before & after..

                                               The Pyne Gould Building... before & after....

                                                  The CTV building... before & after....

The pics above show just how much damage has been done, in the CTV building above my sister has two close friends now among the 15 presumed dead...
There have been so many people rescued from the rubble & to me the hard workers who have risked their owns lives trying to save others are nothing more than hero's, I cannot imagine sifting through all the rubble while even more earthquakes are occurring.... since the quake of Sept 4 last year ChCh has had nearly 5000 quakes..... yesterdays being the worst because although only  a 6.3 compared to the 7.1 in Sept it was only 5km under the ground & in the middle of a working day... since this quake hit at 12.51pm there has been 168 quakes .... to me it is time Mother Nature gave my City a break... they have had enough...
As I write this 75 people are dead... 300 missing... in the past 24 or so hours I have considered myself very lucky that the people I love most in this world are still here... but who knows until names are released it could very well be someone I once called a friend... a relo... who knows...
This is a long post for me yesterday I had nearly two months worth to post about... that will come later... right now I like every Kiwi who walks this earth no matter where they live, who like me are PROUD to call ourselves KIWIS especially if like me Christchurch is their hometown, are mourning our loss of lives & our loss of our City BUT  like fellow Aussies (Anzacs) we are tough, we will get through this & when the quakes stop (predicted in 2 years) my City will be rebuilt, maybe not how it was when I was growing up there will be many lost old buildings which will break my heart but in the end ...it is the people that make a place, a home, a City, a Country...
So I have just got off the phone to my Mum & Dad after a two hour confo... they were the ones who consoled me as I shed all my tears... my Dad trying to tell me not to worry about them.. how can I not when they are too far away to give a cuddle & see that they really are alright.. not going to happen... So... tonight my reason for posting this apart from getting my grief, worry off my chest is to thank everyone out there in too many Countries to mention who have arrived in Christchurch to help rescue & hopefully find alive the 300 still missing... Believe me I know how the families of all these men/women must like me be worrying about them as they see on the telly just what their loved ones, like my loved ones are living through, they too deserve a bloody medal...
So I am finishing this post with more photos... you may not like them but they show the reality of the damage that Earthquakes in my beloved, beautiful country called New Zealand (the youngest country on this earth that Rangi raised out of the ocean) can do & at the same time you will see why Kiwi's are tough & just so bloody passionate about their homeland, why New Zealand will always be home... my home...

   

 The Bell in Lyttelon where the epicentre was.. last time I was home my Dad & I took a photo of us standing under this.. now to be pulled down..

                                                                     Brighton Road

                                                     Houses sitting on the brink at Sumner

                                                 House below that chopped it from above...

                                                                           
                                                                           

                                                                                   
                                                                            

                                                                            
                                               The last two photos well they are.. close to me...
                                          A Tram in front of the Christchurch Cathedral as it is falling down...

                                          When I found this photo all it said was Hoon Hay... which is the suburb I grew up in.. so am guessing this photo was taken in Sparks Road... the main entrance to my  Primary School ..Hoon Hay Primary School.. flooding... just another throw back from a Earthquakes...  

So I know everyone who has been watching worldwide what is happening in my City has like myself shed tears, like myself still shedding tears, I want to say on behave of all Kiwis a huge thank you to the many countries who have sent rescue teams over,,,, it really means sooooo much to us... to the Governments who are donating money... thank you, thank you sooo much... I just don't know what else to say... except PLEASE say a pray for Christchurch tonight,,, 75 dead... 300 missing...

Thank you from the bottom of my heart..
Lyn xxx