Thursday, March 10, 2011

"Down Under" - Shaken - not Stirred

Location, location, location. That's the adage that makes a success out of the place you call home and/or the house you own  - or so some folk would have you believe.

It sure is true for Nutshell, located as we are in the North of New Zealand. Unlike those Kiwis living three hundred miles away in Canterbury, in the warmer climes of Auckland we do indeed count ourselves fortunate for our location - beyond belief and an overwhelming sense of relief.

The result of those 'quakes in Christchurch has just stunned us, as a nation, into a strong sense of inevitability; que sera, sera; the ceaseless media coverage at the local level has left us speechless and somewhat like stunned mullets. An endless and ongoing outpouring of heart-felt grief at the senseless loss of life and destruction that took place at lunch time, 12:51 pm on February 22, when the ground shook, violently, in the heart of a bustling Christchurch, one of the South Pacific's most picturesque of cities.

http://canterburyearthquake.org.nz/

As the event sinks ever-increasingly into the background clutter of time and history, the news from the aftermath continues to overwhelm us locals; more than 10,000 properties now are to be abandoned and knocked down; destroyed. Entire suburbs swallowed in the relentless ooze of 'liquefaction'; their families and residents relocated 'someplace else' - like Auckland.

As the assault-by-media dies down we know way better than many other Kiwis that there is a world outside the immediate environment; we count ourselves very fortunate to have our customers living 'someplace else'. We have been heartened by the condolences that you have sent us; the notes and responses we share often containing a small mention of the disaster down South. It is appreciated.

As a New Zealand exporter of high quality, locally made leather products we want you all to know that we are fine; our piece of "down under" is intact. Life goes on.

"How may we help you?"

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