We are fortunate to know Mei Hill, artist, of Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara, and Kaitiaki Toi at Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei . We have just installed this beautiful acrylic work of hers, called “Whanau”, in our living room. It sits beside Nic Moon’s “Ancient Woman”, hand crafted paper and acrylic work (1996).
Our first week in the city…
March 19, 2018 by 9 Comments
We moved into our new urban apartment- in Ockham’s Isaac Newton project in Grey Lynn on Saturday 10 March. We feel very lucky to be here. The environment is exciting and stimulating; The apartment is white, crisp, modern and lovely- our challenges include remembering how to use our “swipe keys” for entrances and exits, […]
A Summer Like No Other..
March 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Christmas 2017 in the Waitakeres We spent Christmas week 2017 with our friends Farida and Shila in the Waitakeres, being treated as honoured aunties and fed delicious meals from many different cultures. On Christmas Day we drove to the waterfront together and walked from Kohimarama to St Heliers and back, enjoying the vast crowds […]
Celebrating Women’s Music in Aotearoa
March 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
We have been to two outstanding women’s music events this year- a reunion of 1980s women musicians on February 9, and an Auckland Arts Festival commemoration of Mahinaarangi Tocker and her music on March 16 and 17. Bags of hags […]
Te Kura Whare
March 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Ever since we saw the film Ever the Land in the 2015 film festival we have been wanting to visit Tuhoe’s new tribal development centre, Te Kura Whare. The only “Living Building” in Aotearoa, and one of only a handful in the world, it is made wherever possible from local resources by local people, uses non-toxic materials […]
Captain Cook’s Arrival: 250 years ago
March 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
I’m all in favour of our remembering that Captain Cook and his crew arrived here in 1769, provided we also remember that Maori had been here for at least 700 years before him, and had developed a complex culture using and protecting the resources of the land and sea, and dealing with misbehaviour among themselves. […]
Rēkohu
December 18, 2017 by 2 Comments
In the midst of our house sorting and packing process, Tanya woke up one morning with a dream of escaping to the Chatham Islands for Christmas. After a little research, she found that although there were no touism activities over Christmas, there were two places left on a small group “Forget-Me-Not” tour for a week […]
Orua Bay
December 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
After venturing onto the eastern-most island of Aotearoa – Rekohu – with its unfamiliar landscapes and communities, it’s very comforting to drop back into our favourite seaside cottage- Lupin Lodge, at Orua Bay on the northern tip of the Awhitu Peninsula. We’ve been coming here together for short breaks for thirty years, beginning when we […]
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