Day 8, 6pm – inside the Christchurch cordon

I had a very brief shower today (went from frozen to boiling in 20 seconds), and managed to flood part of the bathroom.  We have a ‘wet floor’ shower and flooding has sometimes happened when there’s been an airlock in the pipe.  Today there was definitely no airlock, and the drain is working perfectly.  I wondered whether the bathroom floor (which is concreted straight onto the ground) has moved?  Stephen says it could be the drop in water pressure and that ‘water moves in mysterious ways’.

They’ve started chlorinating our water.  I appreciate this is necessary for health reasons, but we’ve been proud to be the only major NZ city without chlorination.  They say they are committed to untreated water and the chlorine will be removed once the water supply is secure and waste water damage under control, which may take a number of months.

The House Manager says he’s now able to access the phone system, and I’ve asked for the VolCan phone to be redirected to my home number. 

We just had another quake, only 3.4, and there were several this morning.  My quakecatcher is still functioning.  I hope the people at Stanford University are grateful for all the info we’re sending them.  I suspect there’ll be a few catchers in Christchurch not working since last Tuesday.

Two different friends have told me that TV One news last night showed Barbadoes Street and they saw our cottage.

Some of the commuter cars parked nearby have moved.  The driver arrives in a police car, then drives out with a police escort.  They are being so careful about who comes inside the cordon.

We’ve turned our pond pump back on.  It uses very little electricity, and birds were hovering seeking their usual drink and bath.  They like the shallow dishes of the waterfall, and with the river contaminated they may have nowhere else to go.  As we walked back with our ‘Press’ this morning we saw a monarch butterfly in its death throes on the footpath.  I wondered whether it was suffering from contamination or whether this was the natural end of its life.

My separation anxiety must have lessened.  I went door knocking this morning for a couple of hours by myself, to tell people about our gathering for the two minute silence.  I still wouldn’t be keen to drive anywhere on my own.  The Ministry of Social Development are holding a meeting on Thursday and I’ve been told I should be there.  Stephen has kindly offered to take me and wait outside – this is noble as it could be a three hour meeting.  A friend who went ‘outside’ to the supermarket today said the traffic is horrific and she was glad to come back to the peace and quiet inside the cordon.   She lives in Oxford Terrace and previously had to park her car at some distance because of the state of the road.  All the big trucks, etc, moving around have compacted it and today she could park her car at home.

It’s been a very hot afternoon – 28 degrees.  I’ve got plenty of stored boiled water and have been drinking lots.  I feel so sorry for those who can’t, and those who are trying to pacify thirsty children.

“Another day has come and been
with very little change of scene.”