Posts by Jackie Clark
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Never been to a BDO, as many of us haven't. Not my demographic, and if I want to see heaving masses of teenagers in all their exuberance, I could just stand outside Mangere College. (Which I don't.) Music festivals are anaethema to me now - and even as a young woman, I only ever went to Sweetwaters once or twice. (Ah, Taj Mahal. Ah, the Psychedelic Furs.) I have sympathy for teens though - the first time many of them will have felt that crowd hivemind will have been at BDOs over the years. And I know that in every home with teenagers, there will have been discussions over the years over how old is old enough. "And why can't I go? All my friends are going." I vividly remember my now 30 year old niece, being stuck on Kawau Island with us, at the age of 14 and having a shit fit because all of us adults were very firmly of the opinion that it was no place for her to be. But where else do these kids go if they want to experience that heady combination of independence for the day, and rock music that they can bang their heads to? It seems to be that Splore is a family oriented festival, Laneways is firmly aimed at the older demographic or people who like more alternative stuff, Parachute's about christian kids getting out of the house and having a bit of naughty........is there anything at all that kids of 14-18 can get along to that has that same mix as BDO has provided over the years?
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Capture: Cats Love Cameras, in reply to Isabel Hitchings,
Once you've made this decision, it's still hard, but I know what you mean about that period of time where you have to think about the right thing to do. In all our animals' deaths, we have been very lucky, I think, in that they had made the decisions for themselves - for my Lady, and Genghis, they suddenly were ill to a point where life was no longer sustainable. And with my beloved Cleo, we had spent many months, after her initial diagnoses, keeping her happy and relatively well. And once again, she was able to be happy and active with the vet's help, right until her body could no longer keep going. Grief for pets, in my opinion, is very often the only times in our lives when we can mourn the loss of one we love with such purity. There are no complicating factors, often times. No words left unsaid. No unresolved feelings. As they love us so uncomplicatedly, and without reservation, in life, so we give that love to them in return.
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Hard News: Te Rerenga Wairua, in reply to Joe Wylie,
There isn't a day goes by that I don't think of her. She and Don both left very very large amounts of emptiness.
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Hard News: Te Rerenga Wairua, in reply to Joe Wylie,
Don Selwyn was a lovely, lovely man. I knew him briefly, but he was a very good friend to dear Mahinaarangi.
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Capture: Cats Love Cameras, in reply to Jos,
Welcome Jos and the very beautiful Hazel.
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Capture: Cats Love Cameras, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,
I hope you note that I have resisted the dog photos……for if there is one that Ruby is not, it is a lover of cats. They're smaller than her, and thankfully when she encounters them, she's always on a leash. Ian and I are firmly of the belief that she was a birding dog on a Scottish estate, or a pig hunting dog, in a former life.
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Capture: Roamin' Holiday, in reply to Chris Waugh,
I’ve never heard of Firth’s castle – or Clifton House . Maybe it's this one? I’m not sure where it is.
But yes, Algie’s Castle is on Hurstmere Rd down the Milford end. Because I was born and brought up in Takapuna, it was a fairly large part of my childhood. Although we always used to call it The Castle, I think we always knew that was a bit of a misnomer.
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Capture: Roamin' Holiday, in reply to Islander,
It wasn't that flash 3o yrs ago but I loved it. It was the first time I'd ever thought about the existence of servants, and all the staff required to run a big house. I was particularly fascinated by the bell system that it had to ring "downstairs". We started going there in 1974, 7 years after the current owners' bought it, so it was still a work in progress. I would love to go there again.
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Capture: Roamin' Holiday, in reply to Cecelia,
Very interesting history, that place. On our sojourns around the Sth Island, from the time I was a young girl to my young adulthood, Larnach Castle was a regular stop. You could feel the ghosts, I swear.
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Capture: Cats Love Cameras, in reply to Gudrun Gisela,
I just played that entire song through in my head.