Old Christchurch

    As I walked to work through the remains of the city, I felt that I was in a much older town. It seemed almost European, like walking out into Florence or Rome. And I realised why. It's the smell. Christchurch now smells like an old city; it smells of old mortar-dust, damp bricks and brackish water, with a hint of bad drains and sewage. And freshly brewed coffee from the few remaining outposts of coffee-culture. Sort of comforting, really. Rome is still standing, still a city. And we will be too.