The clean up begins.

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your messages of love that we have all been receiving since Feb 22nd. It is now Mar 5th and all of us are back in our own homes with power, water and either toilets or portaloos. Sarah and the boys are still in the North Island with friends. The devastation in the city is horrendous, especially in the CBD and the loss of life is heartbreaking. Only 38 of the dead have been identified so far - TV programmes such as CSI gives such an erroneous idea of the speed of the procedure.

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people. The rescue service personnel from all over the world who are working tirelessly in the rubble, the student 'army' and the 'farmy army' who are helping to clear silt in gardens and roads around the suburbs, the unsung heroes of the utility companies who are working so hard to restore power and water and the road menders. The photos are of Beach Road - such a contrast to last week. The surface isn't perfect but it is driveable. A friend, Darrren (another Suffolk lad!) has been busy making chimneys safe over the city and coming home very dirty each evening to a house without water and power. One night he was hosed down by the water tanker man! Well done Darren! Food banks have helped many who cannot get to the shops. New Brighton is a sad place but, thankfully, few of the shops have been condemned so, hopefully, with the reconnection to the power supply the businesses will begin to open.

The weather has been extreme. Temperatures of 30C and very high winds. We are now expecting a change to Southerly winds and temperatures more likely to be 16C and colder at night. Wearing a mask if on a bike is the height of fashion. Also the comment that something is 'munted' (meaning destroyed) is a common utterance -even with the mayor!

Personally, I am beginning the clean up - starting with the kitchen. Annie chipped the dried muck off the floor with a wallpaper scraper a few days ago. Many of the food containers, tins and unbroken items of china are coated with a brown gunge, made up of Bailey's cream, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and curry paste. Tastefully mixed with gin and brandy. Lovely!

So, back to the cleaning now, off to Katherine's for lunch tomorrow and going on my bus trip to the N Island on Thursday. Don't want to work too hard, now do I? Thanks again everyone for keeping in touch.

All my love Carol xxx