We went to the opening of Mulame in Objectspace Gallery in Rose Road, Ponsonby. The exhibition, curated by Ane Tonga, comprises a series of framed, embroidered panels by our friend Lema Shamamba, depicting aspects of life in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is powerfully political. Since she came to Aotearoa ten […]
A Fearful Future…?
October 19, 2019 by 1 Comment
Canadian writer Margaret Atwood has just published The Testaments, the sequel to her 1985 classic The Handmaid’s Tale, to great acclaim- including a nomination for the Booker Prize before it even arrived in the shops! We went to the Bridgeway in Northcote to see the English National Theatre film of an interview with Margaret Atwood […]
Spring Round About…
September 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Alcohol and Drug Court supporters’ dinner We’ve heard about the great work of Auckland and West Auckland Alcohol and Other Drug Courts for a while now. But Justice Department money doesn’t cover all the costs of court clients…such as rental deposits, transport costs for appointments with potential employers or Work and Income, repairs for damaged […]
Grieving
September 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
In the last two weeks, two of my special friends and colleagues from Auckland Girls’ Grammar School have died. Both joined the staff of AGGS in 1966, and were in senior positions with me during 1978-88. Elaine Craig was my deputy principal for ten years, and stood in for me as principal four times when […]
Best Book, Best Writers, Best Bookshop…
August 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
(Charmaine’s unabashedly personal views…) A Teaching Life, by Carol White, has just been published by The Cuba Press. It has been eleven years in the making, since Carol retired from her position as Co-Principal of Selwyn College, in East Auckland. I was delighted to be asked to write a foreword to it, and then to launch […]
And finally, a celebration… a political activity…and a great writer
July 19, 2019 by 1 Comment
Charmaine celebrated her 77th birthday on Thursday 11 July, and Tanya had organised a lovely day- a cuppa in bed and a beautiful gift, breakfast at a cafe in Grey Lynn, and a surprise outing in the evening- all Charmaine knew in advance was to be ready for an Uber at 5.40pm. We went outside […]
.SAME BUT DIFFERENT!
May 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Another film worth seeing! A very feel-good film- funny, romantic and true- a real-life love story between two women – Rachel (Pakeha), and Nikki (Samoan)- the two have been together for some years now, and decided that their own story was a good one to make into a film, with two other great women playing […]
Earthsong Eco Neighbourhood
Public Good