Moncks Bay lies on the main road that runs between the suburbs of Recliffs and Sumner in the Avon Heathcote Estuary.
The Clouds above the Estuary are the Nor’west arch or Canterbury Arch, a weather pattern particular to the east coast on New Zealand’s south island and is caused by weather systems moving over the southern alps.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor%27west_arch
Scarborough Beach, Sumner, NZ. Looking back along the beach towards Cave Rock – a stony outcrop formed from volcanic rock that makes up much of the geology of the area.
In the Avon Heathcote Estuary, Sumner NZ stands Rapanui Rock aka Shag Rock, prior to the Feb 22nd 2011 quake it stood an impressive 11 metres above the sea at low tide now it is considerably smaller and the far side if the stone lies a pile of rubble from where it fell.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapanui_Rock
Today TBK had an unexpected day off school (long story), and as ever when he is off school not through illness or inset day we set him some work to do at home, Maths, Art and some Literacy. TBK wanted to just make up a story, but James wanted something factual. and more structured. So he got thinking.
Anyone who follows us on twitter (or read my previous post) would know a large part of our time has been taken up recently keeping up with events the other side of the world. More specifically the Christchurch earthquake. Not only do I have family in Christchurch we are also due to fly out to see them in just over 5 weeks time. We’ve discussed the earthquake with Jordan and what that means to our trip and our family out there but we wanted to see how much he had taken in. James wanted to set him the task of writing about it. After some discussion a compromise was reached and it was decided that TBK would, using his knowledge of the earthquake, write a fictional first person account from someone caught in the quake.
He’s only 11 – this is what he wrote:
The Christchurch Earthquake: My Experience
I was minding my own business walking through the park when all of a sudden the ground started shaking, buildings started collapsing and liquefaction started coming up out of the ground. Every where felt like jelly, I was being tossed and turned, I couldn’t move, I knew straight away we were having another earthquake.
It stopped.. Everything had been destroyed. Car alarms were going off, buildings were on fire, I didn’t know what to do! Of course, the first thing that crossed my mind was to run home but there was no one at home, my wife was at work, my children were at school and my mom and dad passed away three years ago.
I quickly ran to my children’s school and they were both luckily fine, I picked them up and ran with them to my wife’s work, it had been completely demolished.
My phone rang, I answered it, it was fuzzy and I couldn’t hear properly, it was MY WIFE I was filled with joy, she had left work for her lunch break thirty minutes ago, she was fine but then everything went silent and I could no longer hear my wife.
I walked with my children to my house, it had not been demolished, only a few tiles were cracked and several chimneys were on the floor in pieces. All the power had gone, I went into the garden to find my wife clearing up the liquefaction, we were all relived to see each other again. We set up our tents in the back garden, as all water supplies were disabled we had to use portaloos, a fire and all the water we could get to ration out between us.
Its been almost a week and we have now got electricity, phone signal and internet connection. The toilets and water supplies are back in business and things are slowly returning to normal, although due to the mess we have still got a lot of work to do.
“Massive earthquake in Christchurch NZ!!! At 12:51 it hit, 6.3 and there’s 65 dead!!!!! Put the news on!”
That was the news I woke to from my sister on the morning of the quake, My heart sank – I simultaneously reached for the remote control and the land line turning the news on and dialing the international code for New Zealand, I felt sick so many things were racing through my mind as I was watching images on the television of buildings falling and women screaming….
The phone seemed to take an age to connect
Tuesday 22nd February, 12:51 local time an earthquake struck the south island of New Zealand measuring 6.3 on the richter scale, It was devastating homes, businesses, families and many many lives . I was sitting 12,000 miles away from the earthquake stricken city of Christchurch, I wasn’t in New Zealand at the time of the quake and I wasn’t even aware of it at the actual time it was happening but yet for a week it seems to have consumed so much of me, I’ve worn myself down until I am physically ill – I have family who live in Christchurch, In fact they live in the Burwood/New Brighton suburbs, one of worst affected areas of the city. The city is their home and their home has been shaken to the core.
I’ve devoured news articles and blog posts, I’ve followed and retweeted countless twitter accounts – I’ve worried my way through every after shock of which here has been hundreds and I’ve been doing everything I can to educate myself on how every piece of news I read could or has affected my family.
Things I’ve learnt this week, the meaning of the Moari phrase Kia Kaha, what liquefaction is, the geography of New Zealand’s eastern suburbs and the geology of earthquakes.
I know about kiwi power companies and their telephone infrastructure, about school closures and recovery programmes. The names of council officials, streets, businesses and hotels, The layout of the parks and water supplies.
I know so much about Christchurch and how to try and help my family from afar, I know where they can get food supplies and clean water. I know where the nearest working public phone is to their house – but I also know that in 2 months I’m scheduled to fly out there with my sister, my partner and my son. And I don’t know yet how I feel about that.
There’s no question that I’ll be going even if the very least I can do is shovel silt but to take my 11 year old into a disaster zone, knowing the risk of aftershocks – can I do that?
There’s nothing like a natural disaster to accelerate learning and knowing.
When I was in school I used to love art class but when it came to my GSCE years and we  had options the choices offered to me were Music, PE , Art OR Drama.
P.E was out straight away – choosing to spend the final 2 year of my life as the most unsporting person I know in the company of a PE teacher I hated (ahem,  Miss Dickie) oh no no no no that wasn’t going to happen. Music there was no chance I can’t hold a tune to save my life and the coordination to play a musical instrument….forget it, so that left Art or Drama, I went with Drama. I love Drama (being somewhat of a drama queen) and enjoyed being on stage, performing in several shows extra curricular to my school activities, where as in Art I really only ever drew when I felt like I WANTED to draw, when I really felt like I was really interested in the subject and I got to choose when that happened, so I let it slide – sometimes I wished I hadn’t.
Sometimes I wished I’d kept it up and had the skills to capture the images I take with my camera and turn them into something special with pen and paper – sometimes I wished I’d tried harder….
So last year I did.
Leaving work on my lunch one cold wintery day I spotted a leaf on the ground and did what every sane person would do I picked it up and carried it around with me until I returned to the office and snapped a photo of it with camera phone – I don’t know why I just felt like it, it’s not the most spectacular image in the world but I kept it all the same I then threw the leaf away.
That photo sat on my phone for ages……
A few months later I spotted a drawing book on sale in The Works and bought it, I still had a set of nice drawing pencils at home and I had half an idea that I would draw something , I just didn’t know what – then I started looking through the photos on my phone and inspiration struck, I knew there was  reason I’d picked that leaf up on that day, I just didn’t know what until I had my pencils in hand….
It’s not the most spectacular drawing in the world, it’s not even a true likeness of the image on the left, but it’s my drawing,  it’s the first I’d properly attempted since opting out of art class for drama when I was 14 and I was kinda happy with it.
That was over 12 months ago now. My pencils have sat in the box since un-thought of until today when I came across the photo of the leaf again and I thought it about time I gave them another airing. I’ve sat and pondered for a while about what I could draw and after a while I realised I was wasting my time….
…30 year old me is still suffering from the affliction 14 year old me suffered and maybe it will be another 15 years before I pick up my pencils again. I can’t think what I want to draw, what I’d be able to draw so I don’t and as what I draw isn’t as good as what I’d like it to be anyway I think I’m better off staying hid behind my camera lens instead after all I could never recreate this image with my hand!
Restraint and diplomacy are not my stronger points, in fact neither are a trait I would say most people would attribute me with.
I’ve lost track of the amount of times I’ve opened my mouth when I should have just bitten my tongue or when I’ve said completely the wrong thing in the most inappropriate of settings. I have to admit it’s not my most redeeming quality, it’s not something I do deliberately and it’s probably why I’m struggling right now.
You see, I know something.
I know something that is not for me to share, nor is it for me stick my nose in, but in knowing this thing I’m frustrated and angry and I want to do something to change it. I also want other people to know what I know and be equally as frustrated and equally as angry and for them to want to change it too, But, I know if I share this thing, or if I do stick my nose in there is a 50:50 chance I’ll do the wrong or say the wrong thing and make it worse, I know people will be upset with me so instead I’m practicing restraint and writing a frustratingly ambiguous post instead.
