Back to the simplicity of bach life in summer… On New Year’s Day we hopped on a bus downtown, then a ferry across the Waitemata Harbour to Rangitoto Island for a stay in Bach 52, five minutes walk from the wharf. Bach 52 is another small 1920s bach which has been lovingly restored to near-original […]
Trumped! Now Biden- Our Time…
January 22, 2021 by 1 Comment
The last four years have made the USA feel like a foreign country, to us – our wonderful ex-wwoofing friends have been stuck in an alien land run by a psychopath, egging on the sad and the bad to acts of intimidation and violence, and destroying many of the bonds of friendship and solidarity […]
Happy Solstice, we hope…
December 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
We wish you a Happy Solstice, with a colour-full covid-free summer if you are in Aotearoa or the Pacific… …and if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, or in a Covid-infected area, and dealing with lockdowns and deaths, please take care, and know that we are sending our love to you, with our hopes […]
Some Brilliant Things…
December 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Toi Tu, Toi Ora The most outstanding current event in Tāmaki Makaurau is the contemporary Māori Art exhibition in the Auckland Art Gallery – a wonderful celebration of 112 Māori artists (60% of them women) , filling the whole gallery, and ranging from works, several storeys high to tiny exquisite objects, and in many different […]
Stuff, and Ihumatao…
December 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Congratulations to NZ Stuff Media for their courage in taking responsibility for their long history of institutional racism, and making a commitment to change. This is the first time a major media group has acknowledged its bias, with examples, and taken responsibility for the change that is needed – throughout almost all media and other […]
Toys for the Boys
December 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
We are doing our best to ignore all the fuss currently going on in Auckland surrounding the America’s Cup. And the costs… the Government is paying more than $136 million and Auckland Council almost $99 million…and for what? A few bizarre-looking ‘boats’ trying to fly on the Waitematā Harbour… Chris Rattue, in his excellent […]
Farewell and gratitude for a wise elder…
December 18, 2020 by Leave a Comment
We are specially sad to hear of the recent death of Dr Rangimarie Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere. We are hugely respectful of her deep wairua, courage, liveliness of spirit and vision, and her extensive work in education, in Aotearoa and around the world. We have admired her ability to challenge conventional Pākehā wisdom […]
A WORLD AWAY…
November 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
A World Away i te Nota (in the North) Our big adventure this month has been a six-day holiday in Tai Tokerau (Northland). Most of our exploring was around Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe, the birthplace of Aotearoa – one of the very oldest areas of settlement by the Pasifika voyagers who were to become tangata whenua. It’s […]
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