Snow shuts down Christchurch in New Zealand...

    This was the view from my house when I arose this morning. Never seen it before in Diamond Harbor where I live (close to Christchurch).

    Snow is pretty rare in Christchurch and I have never seen it down to sea level here...but, we have lots at the moment.

    I know that our North American, Canadian and European customers will be bemused by this news but our Head Office and Factory in New Zealand was disabled yesterday by a severe snow storm. Virtually all businesses were shut and the police were warning to keep off the roads unless for emergencies.

    Personally I think that the warnings are a little over the top...but, as we know things have changed somewhat over the last 40 odd years.

    Anyway, in anticipation of the storm which was expected to hit on Monday (and it did) some of our distribution staff came to work on Sunday to process orders received over the weekend for shipping out on Monday...but, all that was in vain because the trucks couldn't get to our facilities because of the ice.

    Today we managed to get most of the staff to the office, factory and warehouse by arranging a small fleet of four wheel drives...but, even though we had a small mountain of orders ready to be shipped out today the trucks were not able to collect them. We have been assured they will be picked up tomorrow and things should be back to normal.

    So, I am sorry to say that some customer's orders will be delayed by a couple of days. They have been processed and packed but are still waiting to be picked up by NZ Post. I do apologise for that.

    Why was the city disabled? Very simply...we are not geared up for snowfalls and ice like we have just experienced. We are ready for most things including earthquakes but snow storms are not one of them. The positive aspect of it is that it was a new experience for many people and it gave the children a chance to learn how to build a snowman.

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