Last night we arrived home from a week’s holiday in Paihia.

80 weeks ago we also arrived home from a weeks holiday in Paihia, but when we went to bed that night we had no idea of how much our lives would be changed by a violent awakening at 4am.

The square was opened today and many people took the opportunity to see the cathedral, which is to be demolished because the cost of restoring/rebuilding it is prohibitive. We were there at 10.30 and already 3000 people had been through the barricade to look, take photos and ponder on how life has changed for us all.

As with all of the earthquake damage I find it positive that progress is slowly being made and the way cleared for a new Christchurch to be built. We can’t change what has happened, but we can choose to move forward and make the most of the situation we are in.

After 1000 blips I can’t imagine not taking a photo every day, but creating an image to share can be a challenge. However we face many challenges in our lives and it is satisfying to meet them head on, adapt to the situation and learn something new every day.

Thanks Jo, and Jo’s team, for the opportunity to learn so much about photography from the wonderful blip family you have created.