Another beautiful day after gale force norwesters during the night. A lot of damage in the Christchurch area with 10,000 houses losing power for several hours, fires started by broken power lines, trees blown over or branches broken, and roofs lifted in the wind. A challenging night for firefighters and emergency services. Not sure why we are getting norwesters in July …….. it is very strange.

However there is some good news in the city with a celebration in the square as the central city red zone has been removed. I must go there for a look very soon, but on a walk today we went to the old tannery at Woolston which has been developed into an arcade and has just opened a new bar/restaurant, a few boutique shops, with a food market and bakery almost ready to open, and several more business ready to go once the next stage of the development is completed. It is full of beautiful timber and ironwork, with bricks recovered and reused from destroyed buildings in the area. The bars were very busy today so hope it is the beginning of a very successful venture.