Late in March we had our annual holiday with six women friends, all of us growers and farmers. This year, our tenth get-together, Jenny and Lesley from Pokaiwhenua Tree Farm near Putaruru organised our stay in the the old homestead on Clearview Estate at Te Awanga, in Heretaunga (Hawke’s Bay). We had a comfortable house, a variety […]
There and back
April 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
On our way to Heretaunga… …we stopped at Te Aroha in order to ride a part of the Hauraki Cycle Trail, currently running from Thames to Waihi via the Karangahake Gorge, with a branch to Te Aroha. (see http://www.haurakirailtrail.co.nz/ for information about this family-friendly cycle trail). Te Aroha is an attractive Art Deco township with hot […]
Good news for Auckland, and Aotearoa
April 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
On Saturday we went to the opening of a new theatre in New Lynn – Te Pou, Aotearoa’s first tikanga Maori theatre. A most exciting evening, with performance excerpts from the last 50 years of Maori theatre. The performances began with George Henare (singing It ain’t necessarily so from Porgy and Bess). Rachel House played a Maori […]
Multicultural Mount Roskill
April 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The day after our return from Heretaunga we spent some hours enjoying the enormous diversity of Auckland today, especially in dance, drama, sport and food. There were recycling centres staffed by young volunteers who explained what went where, and good humour and respect was evident everywhere.
On the home front..
April 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Pavement artists outside our door… Kumara harvest… Yuki harvesting old heritage variety Taputini the MAD team… high school students Making A Difference at Earthsong during their special holiday programme Autumn bounty…a day’s harvest at Earthsong
Anzac Day: Celebrate or Commemorate?
April 19, 2015 by 4 Comments
I’m alarmed about the extent of the commemorations of Gallipoli, which are beginning to verge on celebrations. Celebrations of what? Of men from New Zealand going to Turkey to try and kill other men they’ve never met and have no personal reason to hate? Of their bravery in the face of death? Of their loyalty to […]
Sky City Melt-Down?
March 17, 2015 by 1 Comment
Sky City melting? the long hot summer, women’s rage, a new anti-gambling government? or is it just time to pull that hypodermic syringe out of the sky?
Women’s Days …
March 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Every day we see strong women, creative women, women changing the world for the better. Almost every day we’re also confronted with images of women demeaned or brutalised. So for International Women’s Day, March 8, we are featuring some of the women we’ve seen this month. The appalling… Franklin Plumbing – which used to be a strong New Zealand […]
Earthsong Eco Neighbourhood
Public Good