Sunday, June 6, 2010

So long and thanks for all the fish


This is my last post on this blog.  The only fabric in this post is the fabric of my life.  The only stitches are one perfect row done by a hilariously sweary man.  My time in Christchurch is over and with it this blog.  I am going offline and I may be some time...  so time to euthanise this blog to make way for another sometime down the track.

So here is one of my children's favourite songs to be going out on: "So long and thanks for all the fish".  Hopefully I'll depart gracefully and gratefully just like the creatures singing that song.  The second line of that song - "So sad that it should come to this" - is apt, as while our whole ten years here have been a pretty wild ride, the past few months have been especially bumpy. 

During the ten years I've lived in Christchurch, I've lost a parent, had one child diagnosed with a brain tumour (there are those perfect stitches), and the other child with juvenile arthritis; all this while my partner had a job that saw him alternating between being away from home for months of one year then literally working every waking moment for six months of the next.  (When that came to an end last year, I have to admit I focussed on the aspects of Christchurch I've always really disliked, but now I don't give a darn.)  This year my partner has lived and worked out of town and I've prepared for our move to Australia. 

Despite all this, and thanks to our wonderful family and friends, we leave Christchurch happy, well, sane, together and excitedly looking forward to building a great new life in a new place.

These pictures of my family were taken by an amazing artist called France Herve who was in Christchurch during the 2009 Christchurch Arts Festival staging her show "My heart is a beast". The photo session was her way of saying thank you to my partner.  We are Deidre, Guy, Matilda and Harvey.

So long Christchurch. Be good.

(PS My new blog about my new life In Mandurah, Western Australia, is called Pearl E Queen and it lives here.)

7 comments:

  1. Oh look, we've lived in Christchurch for the same amount of time! That's if you don't count the year I spent in London, doing the obligatory OE. You'll be missed in the crafting scene, and I'm sure many other scenes you were part of. Bon Voyage, I hope Perth is good to you.

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  2. So long Deidre, thanks for the laughs, insight and dry humour.....hope to track you down in the ether at some stage.

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  3. Trying to be both last poster on this blog and first on your new one - (yes, it doesn't take much to thrill us SAHMs who spends far too much time online!) Thanks for all the fun, creativity and plain bloody hard slog you've joined me in over the past few years at school! We will keep in touch with you all in your exciting new adventure - and will be thinking of you often Haere Ra! xxx Sarah and Joe

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  4. oh well... nice to put a big fat ribbon of finality around some things eh...a big bon voyage then.. thanks for the ride.. I'll be following you over there on pearl E.. where the title come from?

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  5. Thanks Gretchen. The title is derived from London's Pearly Queens and Pearly Kings who wore and wear button-covered suits as sported by The White Stripes on the cover of Icky Thump and reinterpreted by various artists including Ann Carrington. Just a garment I like, a name (Pearl) I like and in this climate I guess it'll take some effort to stay my usual pearly white!

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  6. Hi Deidre, just found this post now, hope the trip over the ditch and desert went well and you are settling in ok...I'll pop on over to your new blog to read all about it at some stage! Thanks again for the blackboard, the kids think it is fantastic. And also the wee cupboard, I glued the top down today and I am planning my attack on it as I type! I'll let you know when it is finished :)
    xx Karen

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  7. Hi. I regularly visit your blog.
    Your story makes me fun and I can't wait the next update!
    I'll write soon.

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