Christchurch submerged in sea of red

CHRISTCHURCH is a town said to be more English than England itself. Much like the Lions’ Test team really, and with just as many Irish theme pubs.

Yet aside from that there are more clichéd similarities: the city is renowned for its gardens and parks, and the river running through it, the Avon, ferries tourists along its course on punts.

A look at a road map of this city of 330,000 people is like reading a Victorian gazetteer of English towns and Imperial outposts. There are streets named for Madras, Montreal and Manchester; Durham, Hereford and Worcester; Antigua and, yes, Cashel, Tuam and Armagh.