School gala loot

It’s our local school’s gala today. The rest of the family has headed down there to get their loot; mostly books. I’m happy with my favourite; coconut ice lollie. Yum.

Te Matatini competitions

I’ve spent the past couple of days watching Te Matatini competitions on TV and have been blown away by them. Such stunning performances from the the groups. Our whole family has thoroughly enjoyed them; even my elderly sister told me this morning how much she loved them.

Like many Pakeha I hadn’t watched them before and regret not doing so.

Next year you should all watch them; you won’t regret it.

I’m really enjoying watching the national kapa haka Te Matatini championships on TV. I don’t have much time left on this Earth and this...

I’m really enjoying watching the national kapa haka Te Matatini championships on TV. I don’t have much time left on this Earth and this is a genuine pleasure.

New Zealand public radio makes me feel at home

For the past couple of months (maybe more as my health has deteriorated a bit) I’ve spent quite a bit of time lying on the bed with the dog, listening to the radio. My favourite station is RNZ National, which has changed a lot since I worked there in the 1980s!

Why is it my favourite? It’s probably because it is strongly New Zealand in style. The announcers are New Zealanders, even the migrants with names and accents that are clearly from overseas. New Zealand news and culture feature strongly all day, although we hear plenty of news and culture from overseas.

This past week’s coverage of Te Tiriti o Waitangi celebrations has really brought that home. This would be the only country where te Reo Māori (the Māori language) would feature in broadcasts to the extent that it has, and it would almost be bilingual many times. I don’t speak te Reo Māori, but I have never felt excluded. Neither would the many Pākehā (New Zealand Europeans), including my old employers from many years ago who I know were there and do not speak te Reo.

We normally get lots of coverage of Te Tiriti this week in February, but this year it has been stronger as a result of the Act Party’s Treaty Principles Bill provoking a massive public response against it.

This afternoon I have been listening to the Culture 101 programme. Four hours of mostly contemporary music including a lot of New Zealand music. This is how to keep up with the latest releases, and it’s my weekly dose of contemporary culture. At the other end of the timeline are Saturday night requests; a tradition many radio stations have continued for decades. Although, these days Phil O’Brien pushes the envelope and has a loyal audience of people who I reckon must be like me aged in our mid-60s.

Community Garden celebration

A couple of weeks ago our local Community Garden and Food Forest group held a celebration for establishing the garden. We had a good turn out: people bought seeds, cuttings and bunches of flowers.

I was one of the people involved in setting it up years ago, but my health prevents any active involvement these days. They have done a tremendous amount of work; planting fruit trees, setting up an irrigation system and a compost system, moved an old train station shelter onto the site, and built raised vegetable beds.

They also told the story of the establishment of the garden using an old fashioned technology; a Cranky;

Their next project is to create a Rongoā Maori – a traditional Māori healing garden. They are getting qualified advice from experts. I hope it is a success. This is knowledge we need to keep alive in this country.

Jury duty

So, guess who got a summons for jury duty in the post yesterday? It’s only for March, but given my myeloma might have finished me off by then, it was a bit optimistic. OTOH, the Ministry of Justice are unlikely to know that.

I baled out on account of my age (65+). There didn’t seem much point in getting my GP to write a medical certificate for me.

In one way it’s a shame. I’ve only been on a jury once (a minor assault charge for some young people in a complicated three-way relationship — old boyfriend and new boyfriend). It was interesting seeing how the system worked and how seriously all the jurors took the case, given the consequences of a guilty verdict.

I just had my first ride in a Tesla this morning, and what would you know; it was a taxi!

I just had my first ride in a Tesla this morning, and what would you know; it was a taxi!

I was looking at the news last nights at the terrible disaster and destruction in the Californian fires. They are so big I reckon they could...

I was looking at the news last nights at the terrible disaster and destruction in the Californian fires. They are so big I reckon they could wipe out some home insurance companies. Then everyone looses: claimants, investors, premium holders, etc. It could be a major financial disaster.

Mammals

We’re watching the new David Attenborough TV series on mammals. First episode is on mammals in the dark; most hunting, or being hunted. Apparently, a large majority of mammals hunt at night, making use of excellent night vision or hearing.

It is coming onto dusk and our Jack Russell terrier is proving the point by exploring the garden, looking for something to eat. She’s much more active at night than during the day.

We just had a family outing to see the new Paddington movie. There were no children in the group and we all enjoyed it.

We just had a family outing to see the new Paddington movie. There were no children in the group and we all enjoyed it.

Dame Tariana Turia has died

I’m very sorry to hear that Dame Tariana Turia died this morning, after suffering a stroke earlier this week.

She was a principled politician who resigned from the Labour Party and set up Te Pāti Māori in 2004 because she opposed the foreshore and seabed legislation the Labour Government introduced.

Between 2008 and 2014, with the Māori Party in a support arrangement with the John Key-led National government, her ministerial portfolios included Whanau Ora, Disability Issues and the Community and Voluntary Sector.

The Whanau Ora policy, which devolved social policy delivery to communities and whanau and aimed to support families rather than individuals, was seen as her proudest legacy.

She was widely admired, including by some very conservative people in my family. Both my older brother and my wife’s uncle, who were and are pretty racist, thought highly of her.

Obituary on Stuff site

After hearing many stories about Keith Jarrett’s experience when playing the ‘The Kӧln Concert’ I had to have a listen. I have...

After hearing many stories about Keith Jarrett’s experience when playing the ‘The Kӧln Concert’ I had to have a listen. I have several of his records, but not this one. It is as good as I have been led to believe.

The rain has suddenly arrived

With a bang and a crash, the forecast rain, thunder and hail has arrived. The daughter had to rush out to bring in the laundry, and the dog is hiding under the bed. Dog hates loud noises – Guy Fawkes is the worst day of the year, weather comes a close second.

TBH, I quite like lying on the bed listening to rain on the roof. I find it relaxing.

Wife’s birthday celebration

Today we had a very smooth road trip to celebrate Kate’s 62nd birthday. It was a day around so much could have gone wrong to ruin it. Although there were problems, it went very smoothly.

It was supposed to be last Sunday, but she organised a meeting that day to start drafting submissions on ACT’s racist law to change the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Also, I was in hospital for several days with an infection. We delayed for a week.

We managed to keep the activity a secret, but we went to Masterton to see our friend, Keren Chiarone’s, paintings in the art gallery, complete with guided tour by her, followed by lunch at The Screening Room.

These were two things she had wanted to do over summer so we beat her to it.

Kate was very happy.

Watch out for bees in the kitchen

I’ve just been stung by a bee. That’s nothing unusual for an ex-gardener, although I got pretty good at noticing them before they got too close to me.

But this one was on the dishcloth in a container on the kitchen bench. What on earth was it doing there?

It reminds me of when I put on a workshirt on a Wednesday, to be stung by a wasp caught up in the shirt. I realised then that it had been there since I’d done my laundry on Sunday. It was not a happy Hymenoptera!

We’ve just been to Te Whaea School of Dance graduation performance. We’ve been going with friends for more than ten years and it never...

We’ve just been to Te Whaea School of Dance graduation performance. We’ve been going with friends for more than ten years and it never disappoints. A good mixture of classical and contemporary styles.

Our community newsletter: Kōrero

If you want to check out what we are up to in our little neck of the woods, have a look at our two-monthly newsletter, Kōrero.

My wife, Kate, edits it with the support of a small team, and they do a great job.

Despite what organisations normally do with newsletters by putting them online, we print about 740 copies of each of the five issues per year and hand-deliver them to all the letter boxes in Puekrua Bay. That way we guarantee to reach nearly every household in the village. The feedback is that they are well-read, and we have had only three or four people who only want them digitally.

This was an important lesson we learned during the first Covid-19 lockdown. We initially hand-delivered weekly printed news sheets to all the households until the Council pressured us to do them in a non-contact way, i.e. digitally. That meant a lot of households with vulnerable inhabitants, particularly older people who aren’t on social media or commonly on the web missed out.

There is normally a theme for each issue, which we get five or six articles on, and we welcome articles, poems, and pictures from anyone in the community on any topic. There would be limits, of course, (e.g. no racists or fascists) but we haven’t been put in that situation yet.

The latest issue has cover art and another painting from a local artist, Christine Ford, who is exploring her Romany heritage. She has an article about this.

We believe it’s important to support our local businesses, which are normally small home-based businesses, out-of-town retailers owned by people who live in Pukerua Bay and are happy to buy a full-page advert, or our small collection of shops in the village, so we take advertising from them. If we lost some of them, particularly retailers, we would have to leave the village to shop in the next town on the state highway or the train line.

And, of course, we advertise community events like fairs and galas, the start of sports seasons when registrations open, and working bees around the village.

Advertising isn’t enough to cover all our printing costs, so we have to get a small grant from one of the local grant organisations in the region. It’s only ever a few hundred dollars once a year, so it’s been reliable so far.

You can read the latest and all the back copies on our Residents Association community website:

Kōrero issues

Domestic update

We got our little bits of carpet and rugs professionally cleaned today. A nice young Samoan guy came and has done a great job.

We had a good long chat about him coming here to live so he can support his family back home. These remittance payments are common in the Pacific as there aren’t many high paying jobs in Samoa.

I couldn’t be at the hikoi in person but I am there in spirit. Even got the T-shirt. A person (me) is sitting in the Kenepuru Medical Day...

I couldn’t be at the hikoi in person but I am there in spirit. Even got the T-shirt.

Hīkoi getting underway

It looks like a huge crowd of people heading into Wellington to join the hīkoi. Lots of people from Pukerua Bay who were also involved in Sunday’s action.

Our children who are in London are at the New Zealand High Commission.

Unfortunately, I can’t go because I need to get a blood transfusion at Kenepuru Hospital.

The little boy next door is very excited that Kate is taking his sign in the hīkoi.

If David Seymour actually has a secret plot to help create a movement that supports the Treaty of Waitangi as the foundation of our nation...

If David Seymour actually has a secret plot to help create a movement that supports the Treaty of Waitangi as the foundation of our nation and acknowledges the particular rights of Māori under the treaty, and is using his Treaty Principles Bill as a smokescreen for it, he’s doing a darned fine job. It must be so clever that no one has noticed what he’s up to. Sarcasm

Just watched the shuttle bus that runs between Kenepuru and Wellington hospitals pull up at Kenepuru park. Not a single person wearing a...

Just watched the shuttle bus that runs between Kenepuru and Wellington hospitals pull up at Kenepuru park. Not a single person wearing a mask!

I’m in the waiting room for the Kenepuru day ward and blood collection clinic. I think we are best described by an old expression of my...

I’m in the waiting room for the Kenepuru day ward and blood collection clinic. I think we are best described by an old expression of my father’s, ‘The old, the sick, the halt and the lame’. I seem to be in several of the categories.

Pukerua Bay still high after yesterday's action supporting Te Tititi hīkoi

Everyone in Pukerua Bay who turned out to support the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti yesterday is still on a buzz this morning. The next move is to get organised for tomorrow’s protest at Parliament. A gathering place is being organised - probably the Backbencher pub before heading onto Parliament grounds for what is intended to be a peaceful protest. Hope to see only locals there if you can make it!

Pukerua Bay supports Hīkoi Mō Te Tiriti

We got a very good turnout in Pukerua Bay in support of the hikoi supporting the Treaty of Waitangi.

This is the smallest group near our house as the vanguard. The unofficial count was at least 160 people spread out on three sites along State Highway 59. Not bad out of a population of 2,000. Fortunately, it was a bright and sunny day and it became a bit of a picnic for the families there.

Lots of tooting in support. I estimated about a third of cars tooted in support, which I thought was pretty good.