24th Feb - Christchurch earthquake

Before we collected the van we went into Christchurch City centre to see the effects of last year's earthquake. It is amazing how concentrated the damage is. Just a short way out of the city there is very little evidence of any problem. However even 12 months on, progress is slow on dealing with the damage to the taller buildings.

What was really encouraging to see is the innovative approaches being taken to re-establish life and business in the city through temporary structures. There is a whole shopping area that has been created using portacabins - and these have been arranged imaginatively and painted in bright colours. The whole effect is very good and we had lunch at one of the restaurants there. It's going to take a long time before regeneration is complete but already it feels as though confidence is returning.