CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE 4 SEPT 2010

THE WESTON HOUSE…..  SHAKEN – NOT STIRRED…

CHIMNEYS DOWN - GRANDFATHER CLOCK SPARED -
WINE SAVED - WINE O'CLOCK RESCHEDULED 
(to start earlier!! ) 

RE- OPEN THE END OF OCTOBER

Initial reports , from a competitor no less- no names mentioned , were of Peterborough Street covered in our bricks – but they were from the chimneys which aren’t structural but are very prone to earthquake damage.

A lot of roofing slate is damaged but we are getting priority from our slater in return for prompt payment for previous work.

Did I panic ....hell, yes! Len kept saying don't waste a good panic...but that wasn't going to work...He got very deep and meaningful regarding his racing car though... unscathed -  just dusty.

And where exactly were we when we heard , one of ‘those’ moments , we were sipping wine in Portofino  , Italy. Not particularly good (the wine) and far too expensive (everything) - gorgeous place though.

Having established that our family were safe- including our new granddaughter Jola (and they are far more important than anything else)

.......our thoughts immediately turned to our beloved home.

Of course, we cut short our holiday by a month, as you do…and were amazed that after such a huge trauma very little damage was sustained by either the building or the contents!

There is no structural damage whatsoever.

No, I am not about to become a minimalist and repairs are mostly minor but will be irritatingly fiddly and time consuming …in fact it would take less than 2 days to make the small repairs necessary in the guest suites.I hate cleaning up after tradesmen - although our plumber is a gem - even offered to make me coffee once!!! I was so stunned I said 'no thankyou' ...but then I figured he had worked that out for himself!

I had previously ascertained that wine,perfume and shoes were all ok - the wine wasn't really a problem as we had depleted most of it before we left for the UK and Europe!

We envisage being open again for business by the beginning of November ….why so long?…well, we insist on the best of tradesmen- after all our Historic Places Trust Category 1 Listing means that a very high standard, having been attained must be maintained – the Travel Tradeand our discerning guests throughout the world expect no less from The Weston House and we will be working very hard to keep our reputation intact.

I am so grateful that we are all okay and even more grateful we weren't here on the day.. but would I leave Christchurch ...not likely.

I would rather have shakes than snakes...and today was beautiful and sunny and in spite of all the Media hype the damage to the city is not too bad.We have not been flattened ...a few buildings are missing but we still have plenty left....and the locals have become even nicer...

PS ...have you any idea what comes down the chimney when you have an earthquake?

Well it isn't Father Christmas -that's for sure!! ...and to think I cleaned before we went on holiday!