VICKI ANDERSON offers a few highlights of events in Ōtautahi Christchurch this weekend and beyond. Last Saturday, Lieutenant Guisung Lee, a top bloke and genuine hero who once saved someone’s life, took me on a guided tour of the HMNZS Canterbury. She (ships are she apparently) was in port at Lyttelton 10 years ago when the earthquake struck, and her crew provided immediate support in Lyttelton at the time. Up and down a dizzying array of stairs we went, traversing the Moorhouse Ave wing to Fitzgerald Ave, I met wonderful people, saw incredible views and learnt interesting things (they spend $9000 a month on sweets and have an ace basketball net). I somehow got a bruise on my knee in the shape of Australia on a fake fire made of cardboard used for drills. A passing man in uniform found it amusing (it was) and, lifting his eyebrows, asked if I was OK.
Vicki Anderson offers a few highlights of events in Ōtautahi Christchurch this weekend and beyond. Oi Manawa, the earthquake memorial along the riverside, is a special place. Whenever I am passing, I like to stop and run my hand across the smooth pounamu, especially at night when the moon bathes it in a warm glow. It is a beautiful tribute to the sad events of February 22 and those who died in the 2011 earthquake. Aside from the civic event to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of that day, people throughout Ōtautahi are holding events. Connecting together as a community matters at these times.