Christchurch

This is the face of the central city. The tall blockish buiding on the right is the Grand Chancellor Hotel. It's on a lean but it's hard to see because it's leaning towards me. It's slowly being dismantled.

That's Gibbon Plumbing on Madras St being demolished front left and the remains of Poplar Lane behind. Demolition is in full swing in there.

How do I feel walking across a vast space with scattered parked trucks and the odd bit of twitsted metal or crushed car to gaze at a slice of my city?

Numb.

It's surreal, like watching a movie. It's still incomprehensible.

But it's reality and it's how it is. Which is why I go within 100m of the army boys at the cordon to buy my coffee. You just do it.

Then half a block down the road to the Mediterranean Food warehouse. I parked on the street. Plenty of room these days as most of the surrounding businesses were too damaged and have gone.

The street is also a good idea as part of the outer structure has come down and it feels safer. Presumably it's ok but you have to wonder and I like to know what might fall and where the get aways are.

These days the Mediterranean Food Warehouse operates from a corner of their original premises. I asked how the rebuild was going. It's not. Nothing has happened since the land they're on (part of the central city) was zoned white. More work is needed to determine if their land will become red (bad) or green (good) and nothing can happen while it's white.

Home via the Sallies (if something new comes into the house, something has to go). Major dodging and negotiating major work on the sewer in a nearby street.

Another day in what has become normal.

The weekend is here. Enjoy :-)