The harshest European winter for over one hundred years and there I was in a short-sleeved blouse in Warwickshire. Stratford to be totally accurate and staying at the Greensleeves Guest House just over the bridge to the north of the town. In the afternoon of the first day of my stay I visited the church […]
Tag: books
‘Are you a girl who used to be a boy’, then the follow up ‘are you Finn’s Mum?’
Rāhui Day 29 (31): Shit, it’s those odd numbers again. Oh well, just have to live through them, I guess. Hard to believe it a month since I sat in one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs at Maungakiekie and watched my Cushla coaching, our Finn shooting arrows, and George Corbett trying to strangle me. I […]
I’ve never seen myself as a number. Ever.
Yesterday I took the coward’s way out and said nothing about ANZAC Day and the mindless jingoism that surrounds this faux commemoration. My news feed was filled with blood red poppies, sepia photographs of young men in uniform, long dead heroes smiling at the dead eyes of thousands of long-dead cameras. We deny the conversation […]
Lockdown: Rāhui Day 26
Rāhui Day 26 (28): Had difficulty connecting the comms apps on my Methuselah autographed work laptop and a replacement was organised within no time. Not delivered yet – couriers are swamped. A loose-endsie sort of day during which I slowly crumpled under ‘flu-like symptoms, outcome of the jab I guess. Finished a lot of tasks […]
Lockdown: Rāhui Day 28
Rāhui Day 28 (30): a 13 hour working day. Cushla took me for a wee walk. I behaved … for the most part. Walking sticks are useful (reminder to self: not with Mr Bridges). Coffee in the sun on the lawn watching some pretty classy shooting. Media given $50m and bitched that it wasn’t enough. […]
Being a survivor – The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
Kāti rā, ā te tākiritanga mai o te ata, ā te huanga ake o te awatea, kia tau he māramatanga, kia ū ko te pai, kia mau ko te tika. Koinei ko te tangi a te ngākau e Rongo, tūturu ōwhiti whakamaua kia tina, tina! Hui e, tāiki e! (And so, as dawn rises, and […]
University of Auckland IDEA Brain Study
We had a couple of young wāhine come to our door and ask whether there were any ancient people, antiquaries almost, geriatrics, in the whare. Cushla said yes, as apparently, I qualify. The two young wāhine were academics from the University of Auckland who introduced me to a major study that was being undertaken through the University […]
RymanHealth ‘Senior New Zealander of the Year’
In early December, I was contacted by the people who run the New Zealander of the Year Awards and informed that I was, once again, a semi-finalist (top 10) for Senior New Zealander of the Year yet again. I must admit I was really chuffed as it’s a nice acknowledgement of the work I do […]
The All Blacks v The Wallabies
Early in the year, Cadbury ran a promotion celebrating volunteers. This involved submitting the name, a brief CV, and a photograph of the person you were recommending as a top volunteer and Cadbury would turn this into a cute, animated cartoon video featuring that person. This seemed like fun, so I submitted details for both […]
Friendships – old and gone
It’s been an odd year for friendships. I’ve reconnected with people I went to primary school with over seventy years ago, and I’m constantly astonished at the longevity for some of my friendships. I guess the other natural result of a prolonged existence is that, on quite a regular basis, one or other of my […]
dykiegirl 