I was very fortunate that our business trip to the UK ended up coinciding with Wales playing New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium. Once I found that this was on I was determined to see the match and thanks to eBay and the nice people at Ticketbooth Derek and I managed to get tickets.

I have been a Welsh rugby fan since the 70s and spent quite some time in my youth and uni days on the terraces of Cardiff Arms Park, with old friend Julia. It was lovely that she was able to travel over from Llandeilo with her son and that we spent the day together as they also had tickets. However it was an odd feeling- I am now at the stage where for 364 days a year I cheer on the ABs and I found it very hard cheering against them. So in the end although it would have been lovely if Wales had finally done it (and Alyn Wynn-Jones nearly did!) I cheered on everyone, and sang all the anthems.

It was very special being back in Wales on match day and singing the Welsh National anthem (Hen Wlad fy Nhadau) with 74,000 other people (rather than on my own in my lounge in the middle of the night when watching Welsh rugby from NZ). The sound in the new stadium was amazing, and although the crowd I thought was quieter than usual (in terms of their singing throughout the match) it was a memorable experience and one I am very glad I had the chance to participate in…. and Derek and I are still talking which is a good sign.

The American Club of Christchurch organised the event which took place at the Firefighters Reserve in central Christchurch at 11am today. The central city fire brigade whose station is next door to the reserve were out early preparing the site and blocking the car parking off with their engines. It was ironic that at 10.55am there was a fire shout and the firemen (and women) had to dash off once more to handle an emergency.

The Mayor, Bob Parker made a brief speech, before a statement of remembrance was read for the New York firefighters and others who lost their lives when the World Trade Centre was destroyed on September 11, 2001.

Fifty white doves were then set free in Christchurch as part of the release of over 4,000 doves in cities and towns across the world.

I visited the “Ground Zero” site when in New York last in 2007 and found the experience very sobering. Looking at the site it was hard to imagine the atrocities that happened there, it truly seemed unbelievable that such huge towers, buildings that I had visited on past trips to NY, were just no longer there. We also the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, a place where members of the September 11th community could connect with the thousands of visitors who come to the site daily by offering exhibits and walking tours. It is scheduled to remain open until the permanent WTC Memorial and Museum are completed. Any tributes left at the WTC site are removed daily (for safety reasons as it is now a working building site) and some are rehoused in this centre. I found this an incredibly moving place- it documents the events of Sept 11th from the perspective of both emergency workers and people who worked in the area. The wall of “Missing” posters and then Gallery 4, where photos of the victims are displayed, really brought home to me the enormity of the event. Before it had been about a place, the Twin Towers, but seeing this memorial personalised it, this was not about buildings, it was about the 3,000+ people who lost their lives that day. I must admit that a few tears were shed there, as I looked at the photos and saw the lives and families of those victims.

Each day on my way to work I drive past the Firefighters’ Reserve and look at the amazing “Tribute to Firefighters”, which was fashioned by NZ sculptor Graham Bennett, out of girders from the WTC and which was commissioned to mark the opening of the World Firefighters’ Memorial Games, held in Christchurch in 2002.

After seeing the site and visiting the centre I feel deeply proud that New Zealand was gifted this piece, and that a memorial has been created where every day people can honour firefighters around the world who risk their lives daily for our safety and security.

To live is to suffer,
to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering

(Roberta Flack)

Back in the office this week after a great 3 days with our CORE whanau at Mt Vernon Lodge.

Reminded me once again what awesome staff that we have and what a very special company I work for.

Just weeks after NZ was named as the best place for British expats to make a fresh start, people are realising that in fact NZ is also suffering from the global recession and that jobs are not as plentiful as expected.

What is very interesting is the fact that the Daily Mail (who sees itself as the People’s Campaigner) is bemoaning the fact that NZ appears to be encouraging jobs for New Zealanders first- which is exactly what they have been campaigning for with Jobs for the British!

For those not in the know, Air NZ has made a safety video for its domestic routes which shows a pilot and cabin crew dressed only in body paint made to resemble their normal uniforms.

As the crew go through the motions, showing passengers what to do in the event of an emergency, their private parts are obscured by well-placed oxygen masks, life jackets, seat belts and luggage.

The area which is adjacent to our subdivision (housing estate) has won an environment award. Nine individuals, businesses and organisations ­from Kaitaia to Otago have been honoured for making an outstanding contribution to protecting the environment at the annual Green Ribbon Awards announced recently.

The Green Ribbon Awards are presented by the Minister for the Environment to recognise the outstanding contributions of individuals, organisations and businesses to sustaining, protecting and enhancing New Zealand’s environment. “These awards pay homage to those who have contributed positively to addressing environmental issues and inspired others to take action,”

The Travis Wetland Trust’s received a Green Ribbon award from the Minister for the Environment Nick Smith. The Urban Sustainability award recognises the Trust’s work in saving and restoring the wetland. The award was presented at a ceremony in Wellington on June 4th 2009.

Prior to the award ceremony the Minister for the Environment Nick Smith and Aaron Gilmour MP visited Travis Wetland to meet Trust members and park rangers. Nick Smith expressed his admiration for the commitment of the Trust and for restoration work achieved in partnership with the Christchurch City Council.

Info about the wetlands from the awards presentation:Winner: Travis Wetland Trust

Awarded for the Trust’s outstanding efforts to preserve and develop a wetland as a nature park in an urban area.

Since 1983 a group of volunteers have worked to save Travis Wetland – the last large freshwater wetland in Christchurch – from encroaching urban development, with the ultimate goal of setting it up as a nature heritage park for the education and enjoyment of both the local community and the city. The Trust’s volunteers and workers organised by the council, have worked to remove willows and weeds to ensure the wetland is protected.

Planting has been carried out under a restoration plan and 57,000 plants have been planted over 10 years.  Planting native species is carried out by the council, schools, community groups and residential developers.  The park is used for recreation – walkers, joggers, amateur ornithologists and families share the track around the wetland.

The wetland has scientific benefit for the City’s universities and research institutions as a research site. Funding from the Community Trust has provided for an on-site education centre with lab and classroom facilities and a visitor information centre.

It was also good to see that CORE itself made it in at, Naketa Ferguson (one of our Early Childhood Facilitators) and Suzie Vesper (ICTPD and TakingITGlobal Facilitator) all in the 100-150th spots, and that there were edublogs, inclduing a number of Early Childhood ones on the top 200. Well done all.

Thursday/Friday this week saw the staging of the latest KidsCongress conference. This is the 9th event to be held in Christchurch, and was one of the best I think.

The two-day conference challenges the children (and their teachers) to take part in fun, problem solving workshops using cool software and technology. The unique thing about this conference is that it organised by the children themselves.

For each event the ‘host’ schools pick a class of Year 5 and 6  students to take on the enormous task of organising and managing the event from venue hire, website development, information and marketing, database management, equipment provision, budgeting and catering. The kids committee get a real buzz from doing this valuable and rewarding real-life work experience, and always do an amazing job.

Waimairi and Windsor Schools were the two primary schools jointly involved this year, working alongside my colleague Matt Tippen.

This year’s theme was ‘Adrenalin Pump: Sport, Recreation and Fitness’, and the conference was held at QEII Stadium in Christchurch, the site of the 1974 Commonwealth Games.

From what I saw a great time was had by all, and the children and teachers were buzzing last night as they showed off their achievements to parents at a celebration at Windsor School. Check out the official Kids Congress website which will be updated with photos etc.

The Dyslexia Discovery Exhibit is an outdoor gallery experience open to the public located at 21 Worcester Boulevard (near the Arts Centre).

It has a number of exhibits created in collaboration with Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop), Mackenzie Thorpe, Ron Davis, and the Britten family on behalf of John Britten.

The exhibits are designed to support of the work of the Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand, and “provides knowledge, inspiration and encouragement for all dyslexics by showcasing the artistic, engineering, creative and business achievements of these our leading picture thinkers”

Their website notes “By telling the stories of four gifted individuals we demonstrate the ability of the dyslexic mind and offer an alternative view to those that are engaged in the struggle either directly or as parents, caregivers, teachers and friends”.

Based on international statistics, approximately 10% of New Zealand children are dyslexic. This is over 70,000 children and young people aged 5-18 years throughout New Zealand.

Dyslexia has been most widely assumed to be a disability or more exactly, a specific learning disability – however dyslexia is now understood by leading researchers to be an alternative way of thinking and perceiving the world. It offers diversity to the human race and thus needs to be respected and nurtured.

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