Soon after our return from Wellington we went for a few days to North Piha to stay in the lovely Forest and Bird house, Tai Haruru, again. It’s a very restful place in the bush, old-fashioned and well-furnished for five in the house and another four in a separate self-contained flat. Tanya had her 40th […]
Waitangi Day on Awhitu
February 19, 2019 by 1 Comment
For almost thirty years we’ve spent Waitangi Day on the Awhitu Peninsula, mostly at Tahuna Pa, near Waiuku, for a celebration of Ngaati Te Ata young people’s achievements, and sports and music. This year was very different. We were invited to the opening and blessing of an ancient path at the Manukau Heads at 5am […]
Friday 8 February
February 19, 2019 by 1 Comment
34 years ago today Tanya came to dinner for the first time at Charmaine’s little cottage in Clarence Street, Ponsonby. And that, as many of you know, was the beginning of our relationship. We still share strong political beliefs and values in common, and mostly enjoy each other’s very different strengths. So we happily weave […]
Round and about in the city
February 19, 2019 by 1 Comment
Tom Scott, New Zealand cartoonist and writer, has scripted two plays about his parents. We saw The Daylight Atheist, a one-man portrayal of his alcoholic and abusive father, and Joan, a two-person somewhat kinder presentation of his mother’s life, a few hours apart on Saturday 16 February at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. We both found […]
Summer in the City
January 18, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Walking… Christmas Day was a fine, cool day for a walk, so we set out to explore the Westmere coast. A bus to Meola Road, and then we took the new boardwalk through the mangroves to Weona Reserve. Glimpses of Meola Reef across the water, until we climbed to a clifftop and saw the wider […]
Exploring our city’s stories
January 18, 2019 by 1 Comment
We’ve had another lovely day exploring different aspects of our city with Taiga, our 9-year-old friend from Earthsong. We found a beautifully produced booklet called Te Paparahi, Toi Maori: Walks in the City , produced by Maori artists and designers and supported by the Auckland Council and ATEED, the Council’s tourism and events organisation. It […]
Rainbow…
January 18, 2019 by 1 Comment
..How better to finish our summer story than with a rainbow…promise of some showers for our thirsty gardens…the most spectacular, complete double rainbow we’ve seen from our top deck since we’ve been here, arching over the whole of the central city area from Ponsonby to Mount Eden for a few precious minutes… .
Isaac…around and about
January 18, 2019 by Leave a Comment
We have been getting to know some more of our neighbours in Isaac apartments by having the odd gathering at our place to welcome newcomers. At a recent one, our new co-building-manager, Jo, talked with us about the blasts of noisy music from 7am onwards blaring out the huge doors of the local panel-beating workshop […]
Earthsong Eco Neighbourhood
Public Good