Every dentist appointment and family gathering; every awkwardly silent moment that to everyone but me begs for Smalltalk seems to herald the arrival of the same question these last few months: ‘so, what are you…
Every dentist appointment and family gathering; every awkwardly silent moment that to everyone but me begs for Smalltalk seems to herald the arrival of the same question these last few months: ‘so, what are you…
There are journalists and there are reporters. And there are reporters masquerading as journalists. Sadly, television in this country has a preponderance of the latter. And there are invited opinion writers like me who have…
Local bodies around the country responded to the Covid outbreak by turning to digital media. Meetings were held using the Zoom app, and more and more were livestreamed for the public to watch. A consequence…
Hello again, as I write, I am one of the many who have succumbed to the winter flu (luckily not Covid19). Doctors say it is very prevalent at the moment, so I hope that you…
Matariki is upon us and along with the various celebrations, it brings a new public holiday for 2022. If you are taking advantage of the long weekend and going away, remember that car roadworthiness and…
Youth offending is my first focus this week. We have seen an increase in youth crime – burglary, thefts, wilful damage, assaults, graffiti and general disorder. Sometimes teens act differently when they are in a…
We recently had reports of boy racers causing problems in the Karāpiro road area. With good community support and information, we were able to identify a few vehicles involved and have already impounded two of…
Te Pāti Māori has handed over to Parliament its petition calling for the country to be named officially, ‘Aotearoa.’ This coincides with our recent postings on namings here in the Waipā District, and also the…
I realise I have written at some length about living with teenagers but they are the source that keeps on giving and so I shall do it again. The 18-year-old recently passed his driving test…
I am sitting at my desk on a still Sunday afternoon listening to laughter outside accompanying the clack of croquet mallets on the adjacent lawn. All is peaceful in this quiet backwater of senior citizens….
