... Just a blog so you all know I'm well:)

Hi Everyone... due to the extreme circumstances in Christchurch, the place I just left, (and due to there being f**k all to do in this little port town of Picton) I thought I should post... So maybe you've heard that there was an earthquake in New Zealand at 1pm local time... It was 6.3 on the Richter scale but had great destruction because it was shallow at 5km from the surface and focused only 10km from the city center... Its significant for me because I left Christchurch at 7am on the train to Picton, a little port town from where I get the ferry to the capital Wellington on the North island tomorrow afternoon... ... ... The destruction looks pretty bad in Christchurch with the steeple of the cathedral falling down, cars and two buses crushed under falling rocks, and people getting pulled out of buildings... there have been reports of deaths but they are not confirmed yet... I am a lucky boy to have left when I did... ... ... even though a perverse part of me wonders what the earthquake would have felt like, I am well aware that I am very lucky and will treat myself to a beer to toast my luck tonight... I hope no one worries, these things happen sometimes, I'm lucky but others are not so lucky... although people might start worrying that I'm over here in a country susceptible to earthquakes, remember that NZ is remarkably less dangerous crime-wise compared to many parts of Bristol, so its really swings and round abouts regarding the relative danger I am in here... basically, there are risks all over the world... I luckily missed the earthquake... but we can't live fearing where such things might strike next... we'd never enjoy life if we did... so please don't let this earthquake scare you on my behalf... I'll be fine... :)

... As I woke up this morning at 5am to get a shuttle to the train station the three other people in my room were just crawling into bed after (I assume) a night on the booze... if we are going to worry about anyone let's worry about guys like them... I hope they are OK even though I didn't know them... ... It's a bad day for NZ... I hope the families of those affected are OK and I hope as few people are hurt as possible...

... OK, that was a bit heavy but well, I just needed to get that out... In my hostel in Picton there are people who live in Christchurch discussing the damage to their house as they've heard from friends over the phone... they were keeping their chin up though and going to treat themselves to a beer and a steak... I guess what else can you do... running back down to Christchurch is going to do them no good at this moment... ... as for me, I get the ferry tomorrow to Wellington where I will meet Matt (who I met in Vietnam)... he has a sofa with my name on it and I'm looking forward to being in a big city once again (Picton really is a one horse town... and that horse bolted out of sheer boredom!)...

... This is just a short post but I want to end more up beat... so I'll just put in a couple of my stupid observations... I'm currently reading a book called 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat' which is basically loads of anecdotes about weird and interesting neurological disorders (yay, fun;)... its interesting but I think the doctor who wrote it has got a bit carried away with himself and got a bit too lyrical... either that or her can read faces a hell of a lot better then I can... in one section he described a man as follows:

"His expression contained anger, alarm, bewilderment and amusement - bewilderment most of all, with a hint of consternation."

I believe this was also the facial expressions required of the actors in Home Alone. Then on the next page he describes the same man:

"He gazed at me with a look compound of stupefaction, incredulity, terror and amusement, not unmixed with a jocular sort of suspicion."

I don't know what some of those words mean let alone how to portray them! ... My other weird observation is the general lack of quality in the book swaps here in NZ (and indeed in Oz), it seems that rather then being a place for travellers to swap books, the hostel owners have just raided the local charity shop and filled their shelf with all the unwanted crap... my current hostel has a shelf dedicated to Mills and Boon books (not exactly your travelers choice)... I noticed a theme running through the books with some of the titles:

'Vet in demand' by Carol Wood

'Vet in a quandary' by Mary Bowring

'A dedicated vet' by Carol Wood

You'll notice two books by our girl Carol, it seems she has a bit of a vet fetish (A "Vetish"?)... I'd hate to be Vet who has to treat her Pomeranian! ... All the Mills and Boon books reminds me of when I used to write my PhD thesis in the library and one woman came in and returned about 20 Mills and Boon and took out another 20... crikey!

... Anyway, I think I should go now... oh yeah, and to top off how boring this town is, it's pissing it down! ... humpfh... back to reading about neurological disorders I guess ('His face was all at once quizzical and whimsical with a slight emphasis of stoicism in the corner of his mouth';)

Love to all... don't worry about me, I'm all well:)