Big sigh, as it all comes back to me.....
Parking on Meola Road - I remember getting the Motat II car park sealed about 15 years back, and concrete stairs put in between the upper area and Seddon Fields in an attempt to encourage more soccer players to park there than on the road. It didn't make as much a difference as I'd hoped.

And Lisa Prager's 'activism'... I remember when she moved in to Premier Ave and 'discovered Meola Creek. Great burst of self-rightous anger that NOONE had EVER done anything to clear up the dirty creek and weed infested bush. Gratuitously insulting to myself and every other local who had been quietly chipping away at it. Her firey enthusiasm did result in a few meetings with Watercare though, and at one of them she presented a 'Memorandum of Understanding' where she expected them to pay her some ridiculous sum ($100k ??) to take over management of the stream and riparian strip.

The good news is that Phil Twyford visited Mr Erueti today to give a personal apology for the dreadful impact HNZC's policies and actions had on him and his family. The item on 'Checkpoint' with John Campbell is heartening listening.

At Kowhai Intermediate School they played Nixon's resignation over the loud speaker system..... then turned it off half way through because they thought no-one was interested. I ran straight up to the school office to listen to the rest of it!

I hope all the curmudgeonly old farts who go on about the RMA being a lot of PC lefty nonsense strangling all possible development will check this all out. It was a long and often painful process, but it is great to see that several communities have stood up to The Powers That Be, and said that if a motorway was to go through their 'hood, there has to be planting, landscaping, new playgrounds, replacements walkways and cycleways to ameliorate it.

Look at Grafton Gully and the stretch of the NW motorway that ripped through Newton, then look at this. Worlds apart in the damage they did to the local communities, and how that damage was off-set.

Now back to sports news

Apparently Richie McCaw was asked to comment, but he is still away on honeymoon.

Onehunga – is there still one crammed and not very good cafe on the whole street?

Last time I visited there were TWO good cafes; a step in the right direction, but still not as good as you would expect for the area.

..... just in case anyone was wondering why the Haywood children are trained to do great things with powertools rather than engage in interprative dance or any other stagecraft.....

I’m not sure that the idea that they will use noise control to shut down the Kings Arms is real.

I'm sure our host Russell will remember the details better than I do, but there used to be a very popular live music venue in the old block of shops opposite Meyers Park. When the new apartments went up on the City Road corner the 'we were here first arguement' was used, but ultimately it lost.

What is abundantly clear is that the folks in parliament and the plonker who wrote the editorial can’t conceive of anyone doing their job without having a big stick waved over them. Which leads me to the conclusion that far from targeting health workers we should be targeting Herald opinion writers and politicians because they clearly would skive off home to watch cricket.

I really do with they would - my blood pressure would improve markedly. Good health outcome right there!!