The levels of lockdown in New Zealand have made time pass strangely. Sometimes it seems like an age between the old normal and now. Sometimes it seems to have happened so fast. But in the passing of the years, it seems time definitely accelerates.
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I've just finished reading The Dark Island by Benjamin Kingsbury (thanks, Celia Allison), an account of the leprosy colony that was on Quail Island/Ōtamahua in the early 19th century. One of the figures who stood out in that book was Dr Charles Upham, who looked after the leprosy sufferers for years, despite the stigma the disease had at the time. I've always loved the Lyttelton clock and appreciate it even more knowing it was built as a memorial to Dr Upham.