Some Canterbury schools are so full that one is looking at holding lessons on the grass, while another is converting a storeroom into a classroom to manage its growth.
When Marianne Whyte of Rangiora received confirmation her three boxes of donated knitted items had finally arrived in the Ukraine, she burst into tears.
After it languished in his garage for 24 years, a Canterbury hot rod enthusiast decided to make a concerted effort to finish his project car - a 1950s-era Ford Popular van.