Back to Normal?

We are still a little behind with some emails but up to date with the processing and shipping of all orders.

Although there is still a lot of 'one off' work to do in order to completely get back to normal we are now ready to resume our regular blog items and weekly newsletters.

I would like once again to sincerely convey our appreciation on behalf of all staff for the gracious way that our customers handled the delays in their orders, and of course for the overwhelming number of letters and emails of support.   It has really given everyone a real boost and offset other aspects of the earthquake which we have all had to some extent from totally destroyed houses to 'liveable' damage.

For those readers who have been following the blog entries I am sad to say that David's wife did not survive the earthquake.  We all feel deeply for him.

Other than this personal tragedy we have got through this event relatively unscathed...Unlike other businesses in the CBD which have been totally destroyed and many livelihoods lost.   But, then the devastation that we have witnessed is small in comparison to the events that took place in Japan soon after ours.  Most of the rescue teams had finished their rescue work in Christchurch and were in the recovery mode so they were able to be sent immediately to Japan to help in rescue efforts there...

There is no doubt that events such as this certainly cause one to sit back and reflect.  We read about these types of natural disasters and see them on TV and they are usually in some third world country and we watch them unfold in the comfort of our lounges.  But, when it hits in your own back yard it certainly gives you a better understanding of what people in these other countries who are affected have to go through, particularly those with a less developed infrastructure and rescue systems.

I personally never used to be too concerned about maintaining a 'survival kit' but I confess I will now put together the basics.  So many things we tend to take for granted...such as power, water and sewage, but these services can easily be lost through a natural event.  If you live in an area which has a potential for a large earthquake, tsunami or some other natural disaster it would make sense to have on hand some non-perishable food in cans and a decent store of drinking water.

Perhaps consider a small generator which you could at least plug your freezer into so you don't lose your frozen food and can provide some lighting.  Before last Sept we here in Christchurch never considered that we would ever see devastation in the scale that we have it...so, you never know.

The future for Christchurch?  Personally I think that it is better than ever, and it was always good.  Although the CBD is destroyed there is a chance to now build something really good.  The majority of Christchurch people are positive and the rebuilding is getting underway.

Hopefully the devastation in Japan will be the last we see in the world for quite some time...but, nonetheless be conscious of what could happen and do your best to be as prepared as practical.

We have had a number of customers call us asking about Potassium Iodide tablets for radiation protection.  We will do an article about this shortly...but, basically unless you are likely to be subject to massive amounts of radiation there is no benefit in taking them and the protection only lasts for 24 hours.  There is no risk of massive exposure in the US as a result of what is going on in Japan at the moment.