Over the last 2 years I have read 2 books written by people I once knew about people I once knew. One of these is A Good Batch of Scones, by Alison Melotti-Cormack. It’s a moving story of a daughter visiting a mother who is nearing the end of her life. The visit is made […]
There’s been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on social media (Facebook) recently. I’m old enough to be alarmed. There were, in my community in the 1950s, adults and children with polio. Isn’t it great that it has almost been eliminated? And who wants to see a baby with whooping cough? It’s not that I […]
I retired 6 weeks ago and so far it’s been good, if a little bit of a financial rollercoaster. The superannuation is not easy to live on and for the first 2 weeks I duly noted every damned thing I spent money on. By the third week I was bored and no richer. I have […]
Gordon Walters became ‘infamous’ for his koru paintings. Let’s just get that out of the way. His name became synonymous with appropriation: the koru symbol appropriated from Māori, for personal gain and fame. These images are everywhere. Less well-known are his other images. I was lucky enough to have a book loaned to me: Francis […]
This is the start of my education, circa 1956. It’s odd to think that I end my working life in the education system. I never meant to but some jobs I had made me feel I needed a little more of a challenge than stripping mould frills off soap (McLeods), straightening labels on coffee jars […]
And today I got to see A thousand ropes. What can I say? It’s disconcerting and comforting to see the familiar places in Wellington and hear the accent; it’s wonderful to see faces that seem familiar (and some are); to see Leon Narbey’s photography and more great work from editor Annie Collins. That’s before we […]
It’s a while since I bought light bulbs and visiting Mitre 10 on Saturday was a bit. Um. Mind boggling. It was really helpful to have the large signs above each type of light explaining the relationship in lumens and watts. I now have in my house: Eco classic bulb in the loo LED in […]
