Island Life by David Slack

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Island Life: One sleep to go

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  • andrew llewellyn,

    I had lego, but I remeber that Lincoln set. Also have no idea what it was called.

    We've got a dusty Humdinger set under a bed somewhere, ready for when kids visit...

    What i really wanted was a Johnny 7 gun. Ah... those less enlightened times. I could've aided Napoleon & Ilya in their fight against... whatever it was they were fighting against. Commies, most likely.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Idiot Savant,

    She doesn't watch the TV news as much as I did at her age, although her child's bat antennae can pick up a news item about the smacking debate from four rooms away, and she will scamper to the source to hear more.

    Would it be rude to ask what her opinion of the law is?

    Children have been pretty silent over s59 (hell, they're pretty silent
    on most political issues - and who can blame them? When you're a kid,
    there are usually far more important issues, like playing with not-Lego
    :) , but it would be nice to see what the people most affected think about it.

    Palmerston North • Since Nov 2006 • 1717 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    hmmm... parents should assemble an anti-terrorism set.

    you will need.

    1x New Zealand flag, large.
    1x megaphone, to trumpet freedom (optional: may be substituted with trumpet to trumpet freedom)
    1x anti-terrorist fridge magnet. should identify at least three types of known terrorist hats.
    1x banner stating "freedom ain't free"
    1x copy of "i've been thinking" by richard prebble.
    1x magnifying glass, large (optional: actual directions to the wmd)
    1x box of band-aids, extremely large.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Wild Land,

    The marketing folk at Lincoln were very clever. I remember one campaign (with associated products, of course) that had many of us using a "secret code" by writing and pronouncing words backwards - "yob ho yob, a nlocnil yot!" Well, they were Cold War days, and secret agents featured highly on TV ... The Man from U.N.C.L.E. etc.

    Hooning around in Bata Bullets saying words backwards was, er, trendy.

    Wellington • Since Apr 2007 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • David Slack,

    Would it be rude to ask what her opinion of the law is?

    She's never been smacked, and she believes you should never smack kids. I'm not sure that she's formulated a clear position on what role the State might take in that : ) I can see what she has to say, if you like.

    Devonport • Since Nov 2006 • 599 posts Report Reply

  • Idiot Savant,

    Hooning around in Bata Bullets saying words backwards was, er, trendy.

    Unless you're a musician, in which case its evidence of Satanism.

    Palmerston North • Since Nov 2006 • 1717 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    david, hint at whether she needs an anti-terrorism kit too?

    i'm sure they could be assembled by a dedicated team of toy-makers here in wellington for.... oh.... $119.99? (+gst and p/h).

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Hadyn Green,

    I remember getting my first bike. A red "Panther" BMX (it was the 80s). As my grandparent's house was small there was no place to hide it, so my parents said that my Popa was "hiding it for a family across the road". I remember staring at the bike thinking "that kid is SO lucky".

    When they actually gave it to me I didn't believe them. Took me about a year to be sure it was actually mine.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report Reply

  • Hadyn Green,

    Che: can I replace the magnifying glass with some kind of devining rod? Then who needs a map?!

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report Reply

  • David Slack,

    Che, you'd have to take out the flag.

    Devonport • Since Nov 2006 • 599 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    You can probably get an Arts Grant to assemble that anti-terrorism kit, Che.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    Children have been pretty silent over s59

    Wasn't there a photo of some cute kids opposing the bill on the front page of the DomPost :)

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    you'd have to take out the flag.

    but... with what will she drape herself, a la pauline hanson?

    <disclaimer>david's daughter in no way resembles that lunatic hanson</disclaimer>

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    make it a theatre terrorism kit for the grant.

    nice post David. bata bullets were cool, but they used to stink-up pretty quick after a few weeks' solid wearing.

    Hadyn i like the story about the hiding the bike by saying it was for someone else then taking a year to believe it was really yours. i desperately wanted a 'Grifter', the cool proto-BMX of the day. it was a shit bike and instead i eventually got a much better quality, but less marketed bike instead - so i remained disappointed it wasn't a Grifter.

    i hope your daughter has a lovely birthday. it's nice that she prizes your old toys, or parts thereof.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Llewellyn,

    "i desperately wanted a 'Grifter', the cool proto-BMX of the day"

    I wanted a Chopper, but I'm fairly sure (unless my memory fails me) that I got Andrew's old Raleigh 20 instead .......

    Mt Albert • Since Nov 2006 • 399 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    yeah, the Chopper preceded the Grifter. also very covetable, it had the styley 3 speed gear shift mounted on the crossbar. my mate's big brother had a brown one i sometimes got to scrounge a ride on. it was heavy as lead, handled like haggis, completely dysergonomic, and totally cool to those with childish tastes - a bit like american sports cars.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    the Raleigh 20 was a bit more like The Ride of Shame

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    heh. my brother "knew a guy", so we used to get "recycled" bike parts. i must have had the only ten-speed with ape-hanger handbars and a tiny front wheel in all the bay of plenty.

    but most memorable present? plastic model of a lancaster bomber. built that sonabitch and had it hanging from the ceiling in my bedroom before christmas lunch. stayed there for years.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    but I'm fairly sure (unless my memory fails me) that I got Andrew's old Raleigh 20 instead .......

    I don't think I had a raleigh 20, maybe Sue did?

    I had an old Healing I think, or similar, later pimped with a cheap banana seat & apehangers. The epitome of cool.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • hamishm,

    Didn't Lincoln make a toy called The Screaming Me me which was used as a name by an Auckland band? Or are some synapses getting crossed?
    I also had a friend who owned a chopper and he let me ride it a couple of times. We lost contact about 30 years ago but I suspect he is in a spinal ward somewhere. Dysergonomic is the word.

    Hope the 8 year old has a good day.

    A bit more input from kids would be a good idea. Does it strike anyone else as surreal that Keys doing this stuff while the trial of the two parents who have been charged with killing their 3 year-old is going on and witnesses are saying that smacking was commonplace in that household.

    Since Nov 2006 • 357 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    I remember getting my first 10 speed (also a healing). I'd have been about 25 :) Hitech!

    Had it till last year actually, when I donated it to the salvation army.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Well, my kids (11 and ten-yesterday) are opposed to smacking children, oddly. Also, y'know, they don't get taken out of school to go to protests... They also don't like the way the smacking debate makes Mummy yell at the television.

    They've never been smacked and I was never smacked as a child, although my brothers were. Though they all got choppers and I got a Raleigh Twenty, so maybe it evens out.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Didn't Lincoln make a toy called The Screaming Me me which was used as a name by an Auckland band?

    That was the Screaming Meemees. Is Simon Grigg in the house?

    BTW, Maori folks were known to be highly amused to hear tell of a group called the "Screaming Mimis" ...

    A bit more input from kids would be a good idea. Does it strike anyone else as surreal that Keys doing this stuff while the trial of the two parents who have been charged with killing their 3 year-old is going on and witnesses are saying that smacking was commonplace in that household.

    Are you some sort of commie? Don't you know that there's a clear bright line between "good" smacking and "bad" smacking, and that parents who practice "good" smacking never, ever lose the plot and veer into "bad" smacking? Why, they're practically different species.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    the "Screaming Mimis"

    yeah, i had a Dutch friend who used to find it funny that dairies here sold 'Hot Pies' (Mao mimi = Du pies).

    a clear bright line

    clear as rich and poor

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    Emma, i think it was the Choppers that made your brothers naughty, thus necessitating their smacking. the sombre Raliegh 20 on the other hand clearly made you a good child. it's all in The Book.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

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