Nothing, like something, happens anywhere.

Post date: Mar 14, 2014 10:43:37 PM

Hi all,

Life has settled down back to normal in Melbourne, though I am reminded of just how beautiful the city is in Autumn... we've had a couple of rainy days but otherwise the temperature has been pretty steadily between 20 and 30 degrees, which I think we can all agree is pretty much perfect. Here is a hot air balloon I saw on my way to work on Thursday:

Just to the right of the shot is the largest flag I have ever seen - I will take a photo next time I am feeling patriotic.

Aside from things with Gran, the main thing I have taken back with me from Christchurch is a sense of dismay at the state of the central city; I visited with mum & dad for the first time since the earthquake. It reminds me of the famous Phillip Larkin poem 'I Remember, I Remember' about the devastation of his home town during WWII; his famous phrase 'nothing, like something, happens anywhere' is never far from my mind at the moment.

I have no idea what the plan is with the Christchurch rebuild but it definitely feels wrong that I see more cranes and construction on my block in North Melbourne than I did in all the parts of Christchurch that I visited.

Anyway, on a lighter note here is an Onion article that you might appreciate: do you think Lily feels like this about us?