Christchurch

It was Monday morning and we woke to find a text saying that Christchurch had had another earthquake and that it was bad.  Harry and I spent quite a lot of the day looking through the news on the internet and came to realise that one of our favourite cities and the lives of those who live there have been devastated. We are amongst many New Zealanders over here who feel so terribly sad for our fellow kiwis.  So, the week was spent scrolling through the videos, trying to find out how all our friends and old workmates are,  and wondering how we so far away, can support those living in Christchurch. One thing is for sure - we aren't alone in the way we feel.  When we went to Brill in the weekend we stopped at a pub to watch England vs France - the much awaited game of the top 2 teams in the 6 nations.  At the beginning was a one minute silence for those in Christchurch (it apparently happened in all 3 6 nation games that weekend).  The whole pub went silent - it was a very emotional time for the two kiwis sitting in the middle of the crowd.  The people over here have been very supportive and asking us if all the people we care about are o.k.  And at Westminister Cathedral a service was held for New Zealanders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the earthquake. I only wished we knew it was on as we would have been there.  Apparently it was attended by over 5000 (mainly kiwis), with Richie McCaw speaking and Hayley Westenra singing and also a message from John Key. 'Not many dry eyes' I read.