A Black Friday
It’s now Wednesday November 15, 2023. Kia ora!
On Monday I was supposed to go to a friend’s house for lunch, but she was caring for her granddaughter, as it was a “teacher only” day. JD took me to Lower Hutt, where I planned to do some shopping. I found Number One Shoes – not in Queensgate, but nearby. There was a very helpful person there who told me where things were and looked after me while I tried on a pair of sandals and a pair of shoes. Hannah’s kept sending me very attractive advertisements for cheap shoes, but when you find a store, they’re not there as pictured. The shoes were both full price, but I bought the sandals, which are kind of “dressy”. I couldn’t find more open slip-on shoes; the ones I tried on had laces, which is not that convenient.
Afterwards I went to Queensgate. I went to Farmers, where they have an amazing selection of women’s clothes. I wasn’t going to buy anything, but they had good discounts, and I found a beautiful skirt there. Then I wanted to try it on, but couldn’t find the woman’s changing room, or a female assistant. Eventually I found the right place, tried on the skirt, and decided to buy it.
Then I went looking at Whitcoulls for a Christmas present for one of my grandsons. I found it, and also a present for his sister. Then I had lunch at the Butler’s Café – beautiful: a club sandwich, a beautiful lemon cake, and a latté.
Queensgate seemed a total maze: eventually I found a way out, and back to the bus stop. I’m sure there was a faster way to exit! I caught the bus that was there back to Wellington, and went to the Whitcoulls in Lambton Quay to get my granddaughter’s other Christmas present. Then I caught a bus home. I know what they want, but the things they want are very popular!
That night, I think it was, I heard that British Home Office Secretary Suella Braverman had been sacked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. I guess many are pleased, but he’s brought David Cameron back as Foreign Secretary! That pleases no one: the author of austerity and the Brexit referendum is welcomed back? I think not. There is an air of scandal about Cameron, too: Winskill, I think.
On Tuesday morning there was lots of reaction to the sacking of Suella Braverman. The Rest is Politics did an emergency episode on this on Youtube, and of course James O’Brien on LBC radio spent a morning on it. Braverman’s “resignation” letter in response to her sacking has now been published, and it’s fair to say she’s not best pleased. Did she expect loyalty in politics? Fancy that!
On Tuesday morning I went to Bible Study (Matthew 25, don’t hide your talent(s) under a bushel!), and then a friend drove me into town, where Unity Books were holding a book for me: Jan Morris; Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere. I didn’t need this book, but it’s really interesting and it’s nice to have my own copy. Afterwards I caught a bus home.
This morning I got up early for hymn singing again. It was lovely, of course. This afternoon we looked after our three-year old granddaughter. We arranged a treasure hunt: a bit of thought went into this. JD got down some little ornaments which had been placed up high when our daughter went through a phase of throwing everything out the window. I had also bought a small packet of chippies, which she was allowed to eat. I wrapped the items, and JD hid them. It was surprisingly difficult to find things, although the hiding places weren’t complex! There was no hiding things in cupboards! She’d brought some items, too, and I hid her wand and then we couldn’t find it for a while.
Meanwhile, the war in Israel continues, with terribly brutal attacks on Gaza, on an asylum centre, and hospitals, amongst other sites. Intelligence claims that Hamas uses such sites for arms and their own shelter, so in Israeli eyes, that makes them suitable sites for bombing. There are huge marches in lots of places calling for a ceasefire: some claim this would give Hamas time to rearm. But JD pointed out that nothing can be taken in or out of Gaza, so I doubt that they can. Others, including President Biden, are calling for “pauses” in the fighting, so that aid can be delivered to the Gaza strip. It’s all desperately sad, and people like Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former British Home Secretary Braverman do nothing to help in the aim for peace, instead seeming to stir up more hate.
It’s now Sunday November 19th.
On Thursday morning I went to my other singing session; on Friday someone came from Access to do some cleaning. Before she came I managed to change the sheets as well as the towels. In the evening we looked after two of our grandchildren.
On Saturday we went to New World in Thorndon to do some shopping. Although we’d picked up things during the week, we still managed to buy lots of things. On a good note, we got Jersey Bennie new potatoes, raspberries, coffee beans, salads, and pies. It was not busy at the supermarket.
Afterwards we went to a Persian Rug shop on Thorndon Quay. JD demurred, but I really wanted to go, to get a mat for the area between the front door and the steps down to the main living area. In the event, we bought a circular rug, which not only fits the space nicely, but is similar to an existing rug over the new carpet. I want to protect the new carpet, needless to say. It was a sudden decision, but it’s a good Christmas present to ourselves.
This morning I went to church. It was lovely, of course. The texts were from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.
It’s now Wednesday November 22.
Other than that Sunday was a quiet day, but on Monday morning I met two friends for coffee. It was lovely! Afterwards, JD drove me to Spotlight where I bought a zip for a jacket of my daughter’s. The jacket is just fine, but the zip is broken and needs replacing. I should very much like to get it repaired and add it to my stock of jackets. It’s grey with a pink fleece lining, and I presume it’s waterproof. We had lunch at La Cloche.
On Tuesday I was due to meet an old friend for coffee at Smith the Grocer Café. Before that, JD had a meeting with his accountant, and he wanted me there. He wanted me to find receipts for charitable donations, and, frustrating as it was, I was able to find them. It’s a challenge because I put so much stuff away before the new carpet was laid, and it’s been really hard to find things again. But I found them, and they’ve duly been recorded!
It was lovely to see my old friend again later in the afternoon: her older sister was a very close friend of myself and of JD, and he was at boarding school with her husband, now a widower, so we go back a very long way. She has just been to Europe, and we loved many of the same places.
This morning I got up early to go to hymn singing. It’s much easier to get up early in the morning now it’s so much lighter! It was really warm this morning, too, and I was brave enough to wear summer clothes. Hymn singing finished early, and there were 30 minutes till the Te Reo class, so I had morning tea at one of the local cafés: an oat milk latté, of course, and a cheese scone. It’s slightly illogical to order these two items, but the nice lady serving me said these were the things she’s order as well.
The Te Reo class was enjoyable. We talked about greetings and food. It’s revision for me, but that’s no problem, as it’s good to feel more sure about expressions in Te Reo Māori. Hymn singing was lovely, too.
Afterwards JD picked me up, and our granddaughter came from 1 till 3 pm – another treat.
In Israel, dreadful slaughter continues in Gaza, with hospitals and refugee camps attacked. Marches demanding a ceasefire are ignored; the Biden administration asks for a “pause”; negotiations to release more hostages are ”very close”; meanwhile, brutality continues with men, women and children being killed and injured. It’s all terribly upsetting, and even more so to see President Biden and Sir Keir Starmer losing support.
It’s now Saturday November 25th.
Sometime in the last few days a pause was negotiated between Israel and Hamas, whereby Hamas would let some of the hostages they’re holding go in return for Israel letting some Palestinians go (including women and children) that they are holding prisoner. Also, much needed humanitarian aid will be allowed into Gaza. The Guardian claims this arrangement is a “truce”; I think that’s going a bit far; some are calling it a ceasefire, but the IDF are claiming that fighting will continue. Perhaps this has just been a “pause”, as President Biden has asked for. I gather some hostages have now been released, to the great relief of their families. There is said to be a very young child whose parents were both dead.
On Thursday I went to singing, and met a friend afterwards. Although it did not start till 11 am, I had a last minute rush, and then we had several holdups: a walking party crossing the road in Johnsonville, a stoppage, and then lights and a barrier at the Khandallah Railway Station.
On Friday I was due to post a parcel of Christmas presents to my grandchildren in Taiwan. I was to give my granddaughter a copy of John Mulgan’s Man Alone, an iconic New Zealand novel. I did manage to finish reading it. We walked up the road to Simmer Café for lunch (a shared pizza), and then we drove to Khandallah to buy two models to slip into the parcel. Then the question was where to post it, since the Post Shop in Khandallah was now closed. We drove out to North City, where there was indeed a NZ Post outlet – in the Paper Plus store, downstairs and about as far away from the main entrance to the shopping centre as possible. JD ran into someone we both knew, but keeping my eye on the time, I went downstairs to complete the process of sending a parcel. I was filling out the customs declaration, with some difficulty, when JD joined me. Although the parcel was small, and not heavy, it cost $38.33 to post it! And that after the effort of wrapping and labelling the parcels, finding a packet to put them in, and finding the address! Thankfully we’ve met the concierge at the small block of apartments, so he will take care of the parcel if my son and his family are away.
The other big thing that happened was that coalition talks between Luxon, Seymour and Peters have ended, at last, and a government has been formed, with Peters and Seymour sharing the Deputy Prime Minister role (Peters first, then Seymour – when the next election is due). Peters will also be Minister of Foreign Affairs; Crusher (Judith) Collins will be Attorney-General and Minister of Defence, amongst other things. Peters distinguished himself by calling the media “morons”. While many may agree, it’s surely unwise to use such an emotive word for people who you surely want to be on your side. That’s enough for me – the three (Ami) Egos have agreed on some things.
I greatly fear this new government. Several commentators have said that they plan to undo everything the Labour Government did. Already they’re introducing so called “No fault” evictions, where a landlord can get rid of any tenants they don’t like without giving a reason. There’s consternation about the influence of Te Reo Māori, and I suspect there’ll be much undoing there, although there are already lots of Māori placenames ( as there are many placenames in Gaelic in Wales). One of their priorities is to extend the parliamentary term to four years. They have promised to increase the speed limit. And do on. No mention of child poverty, or the climate. I fear for Hōhepa.
There is a ministry for Disability, but it relates mostly to people in wheelchairs, many of whom have active brains. But many of our children don’t look too bad, but can be really difficult to manage, needing 24/7 care for their incontinence, unpredictability, inability to take meaningful decisions, inability to speak, in many instances. They have special abilities, but they have special needs as well.
This afternoon we went to see the film Maria Callas at the Penthouse Theatre. What a wonderful film! The sound was great, and it was the film of an appearance she made in Paris in 1958. She sang from Norma, Il Trovatore, and the Barber of Seville, demonstrating a wide range of singing styles and acting ability. The second half of the concert was devoted to Act 2 of Tosca. Well, it was quite wonderful. Afterwards I was really hungry, but the Salty Pidgin in Todman Street was closed till 4 pm, and what used to be the Brooklyn Deli was now an Argentinian Restaurant. We looked at the menus and cabinet food at the Penthouse, but they were clearly very busy, and I’m afraid the food and the menu didn’t appeal to me. JD suggested we go home where he would make lunch, but although we went home, and I was really hungry, guess who ended up doing all the work and putting things away afterwards.
That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi nui.
Classic Barbarian 