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 […]
Tag: fiction
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. […]
Lockdown Diary 07 April 2020
Rāhui Day 12 (14): Prepared for an online team meeting this morning but it’s actually tomorrow. Spent a lot of today rewriting handbooks for work. Pretty pleased with them really. Then started a governance report for a board I’m on (Archery New Zealand) while Cushla shopped. Talked to a gorgeous human on Skype. She’s getting […]
Akróstichis #3 ~ Where I Drew Some Blood
Just as it always was, that’s how it is Before you came I didn’t know you, or dream of you Now that has changed June and July, never months of joy Or sweetness, more like months of drudgery and grind Midway to winter’s sallow end and Ploughing the flurry of some imagined deep regret Welcome […]
Lockdown Flashback – Rāhui Day 10
Rāhui Day 10 (12): Body clock chimed all day. Saturday is Youth Archery & club shoot day but not today. A good smattering of nostalgia between the funny Facebook quizzes, some long overdue cleaning, and all that Twitter hate. I give as good as I get on Twitter and I’m actually much funnier than most. […]
Earworms at Midnight
Thinking about Billy Bragg and the sad, youthful illusion of hope. Thanks for that ear worm at 11.30 at night, Billy. ‘I saw two shooting stars last night I wished on them but they were only satellites It’s wrong to wish on space hardware I wish, I wish, I wish you’d care.’ A New England […]
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 […]
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 […]
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