Quinns may be battered and broken but they, and the stores around them, are open for ‘business as usual’ …………. maybe not usual, more like ‘open for business in our new normal’. How quickly our expectations can change.

I had to go to Merivale today and passed through sections of the city I haven’t seen for a long time. Everywhere I go the picture is the same – bricks, blockades and broken. It is heart breaking to see the devastation.

It is almost 8 months since our first big quake, and at 3am this morning we had the 8th strongest tremor since this nightmare started in September. The sudden jolts are always unexpected, eventhough we know they will continue to hound us for months to come.

However we will not be beaten and the great Kiwi spirit will get us through this ordeal, and will ensure that we restore the heart of our city to be more beautiful and vibrant than before.

If you view this in [url=large]BIG[/url] you can see the stacks of shoeboxes, probably containing very expensive shoes, which are obviously on public display, but are definitely in ‘do not touch’ territory.