It is now Boxing Day in both Sydney and Dunedin. I have been reading the Dunedin News.
An article http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/192275/festive-season-holds-little-joy-christchurch written by a Dunedin journalist currently with family in Christchurch is quite sad.
" I pass the abandoned church where Christmas carols will not be sung "this happy morn". I pass the Postshop from where no Christmas cards were sent and a row of shops whose eftpos machines were silent this holiday season. I pass, also, the place where in February a man, quietly eating lunch in his van, was crushed to death."
Then I read about Christmas day in Dunedin http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/192272/cruising-through-yuletide. There were 2 cruise ships in port and the Taieri
Gorge Railway carried 520 cruise ship passengers ( a record number)and other tourist sites recorded high numbers.
Comments (after finding many shops closed)
""But it's a beautiful place, and we'll be back," she said."
"This stop is a chance to get a decent cup of coffee, because you don't get it on the ship.
"We planned this to be a relaxing day, just sitting here, looking at the Robbie Burns statue."
While so proud of Dunedin and so thankful to be living there, I feel so sorry for Christchurch.
Jan Porter, of Brisbane, agreed. She was happy just to sit and admire the city's beautiful buildings.
"I even appreciated the seagulls - they're cheeky."
November Vignettes
1 day ago