Posts by Jackie Clark
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I love reading your summation of things, Robyn - so much I agree with. Every year, I think maybe I should buy a ticket to the BDO just to experience it. I used to love Sweetwaters, how different can it be? (apart from the fact that BDO isn't a weekend affair in the middle of nowhere so you have to spend an entire three days crammed in a tent, not washing..........) and I know, intellectually, that it is very different to BDO. I never know who most of the bands are, and if I do, they're too loud for me. ( And after all, that's what BDO was, a rockfest, n'est-ce pas?) Or I don't get them. But still. I would like to go just once. Maybe next year, I will.
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Oh yes, dale, yes. And those toilets that are only big enough for the loo, so that when you sit down, your knees almost touch the walls? I don't think so.
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Have an edifying and good sounds filled day, Russell, Graham and David. And behave yourselves!
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Tuwhare - love him very much. And as for Sir Ed, I did shed a tear when I heard he died. Not for him, really, but because it reminded me of my dad's death. Silly as it may seem, Craig, all this eulogising, as much as he may not have liked it, is really something that his family will appreciate, in the future. You may think that some of the stuff written in the national media, has been a wee bit over the top. Possibly, that's somewhat true. But it never hurts to let people know what you think of them, and when someone dies, it's nice for the family to hear how that person affected others, and what others thought of them. You know, the good stuff. When Dad died, they ran an item on the news about his death, and covered his funeral. That made us feel good. Not everyone is in a position that their death is newsworthy, but I would argue that everybody likes to hear nice things about their loved one who has just died. It's comforting. Good for you for supporting the Himalaya Trust - absolutely that's what he would have wanted. There's no harm either in letting his surviving daughter and son and wife know how we all felt about him. IMHO.
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On the subject of iconic people breathing their last, sadly....Hone Tuwhare, whom I adored. Lovely, lovely writer.
And about beaches, and the joy of them, a group of us took our dogs, and ourselves, to Long Bay for a play. It was serene, and the beach is so big that there was plenty of room for all the dogs and people that were there. Kite flying, dog walking, swimmers of all ages, the lovely sky, the warm water,old people just sitting and watching the goings on, young foreigners playing their flutes, and the sun setting pink and orange. I had forgotten how good Auckland beaches are. -
There seems to be two sorts of cat lovers - people who love them because of their aloofness and independence from, nay disdain of, their humans, and those of us who are more dog people but have cats and love ONLY our particular cats because our particular cats are supercuddly, and we treat them like dogs anyway. I'm like that. My cat's a superslut - when she was younger, she was the bitchcat from hell. A hissing, spitting child of Satancat. Now, though, I've trained her - as much as you can train a cat - and she's a smoochy mama. I like a smoochy mama.
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London in February is a good idea I reckon. Because then you get to see the caterpillar before it becomes a butterfly
There is that, Damian, there is that. I first arrived at Gatwick in February, 1987, and it was something I will never forget. I left in November 1990 for the last time, and I won't ever forget that either. It wasn't as dismal as when I first arrived, or maybe I had gotten used to it. And welcome home, by the way. Watching the news about Pakistan in the last couple of weeks, I have thought that you got out at a really good time.
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London in February begs the question - why?
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I’m quite stoked with the accident of birth that sees me living here
Agree, yay verily. Just been down to Napier for five days - lovely, lovely, lovely. Fresh fruit and vege from the side of the road; gourmet bits and bobs from the Hawkes Bay Farmers' Market, and the Black Barn Market; forays to excellent local producers of fine food like the lovely Telegraph Hill Olives people.......oh, and not to forget lunches like the one we had at the very swanky Terroir restaurant, under stunning blue skies overlooking the fabulous Te Mata peak, at the very chichi Craggy Range vineyard. The Hawkes Bay might have it's problems but by god, it's a beautiful place. And I, once again, thanked the Goddesses for the kindly act of producing this very lucky place we live in.
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quote>Haven't honours always been for sale?
Aren't they an adult version of Santa Claus, bringing gifts to the boys and girls who have been good?
And doesn't the size of the gift depend on how many mince pies you've left out for Santa? (And which of his elves you've greased up to?)</quote> Or conversely, they may just be a way of honouring people who have given muchly of themselves over a longish period of time. My father had a knighthood - bestowed by Paul Reeves in about 1984, I think. He thought it was a great joke, but it was an honour, so he accepted it. He didn't fling money around, there wasn't any to fling. I don't believe he made any huge financial contributions to political campaigns. I do know, however, that his services to business and yachting were many, and that's why he was knighted. I can see how many would think that it's just the rich that get these honours, but honestly, it isn't. A man who donates $500,000 to the Labour Party - he's a philanthropist, and as Russell says, he hasn't lived in NZ for 40 years. So he wouldn't have expected an honour at all. And what about all those worthy people who give and give and give and are rewarded by a Member of the Order of Merit? Deserving, lovely people who do great community work unsung forever and a day, and what a wonderful thing it must be for them to recieve recognition and get to have a big day out, and meet the Governor General. Maybe I have a slanted view on all of this because of my Dad, but I remember his investiture. I got to meet Sam Hunt, who I have loved forever. And the room was filled with people who had spent their lives looking after other people, and others who had been contributing to our society in really important ways. Music, poetry, science.........I think it's great that people are rewarded like that. And I'm not at all cynical when someone gets an honour, especially when they have been a great contributor, largely unsung, for a lot of years.