It’s now Anzac Day, Monday April 25^th. Kia ora.

Actually it’s now Thursday April 28^th. I’ve not been writing lately.  Monday was a quiet day, with shops not opening until midday; accordingly, I walked to the local supermarket at midday to get croissants for lunch. Because Monday was a kind of holiday, I didn’t get my latest Listener delivered, but it did come the next day. I must admit I don’t have huge feelings for Anzac Day; thankfully, nobody close to me died in any war, although JD’s father was in the British Army (and was quite severely affected by his experiences, in my view). From my side of the family anyone who was called up would have been a conscientious objector, bearing in mind the fifth of the Ten Commandments, Thou shalt not kill.  Of course, we now monitor each day the dreadful “progress” of the unprovoked war in Ukraine, and again are thankful that none of our loved ones is directly involved. There are advantages to being here at the bottom of the world, although I would still love to go to Ukraine.

On Monday evening we watched a very affecting film version of Journey’s End, on Māori television.  I was especially moved by the men being so kind to each other. 

On Tuesday I went to town to Unity Books to get a present for my eldest granddaughter.  My loyalty card came due, so I got a copy of Anne Tyler’s latest novel.  I do like her books, and perhaps I can lend it to a friend after I’ve read it.  I was going to have lunch at Smith the Grocer in The Old Bank Arcade, but not only was there nowhere to sit, there was a long queue there.  Instead I went to Sierra Café, a spacious one, where there was a queue too, but there were empty tables.  It’s good to see these places busy again.  I went to Whitcoulls to buy a copy of the Economist and a padded envelope, then walked to Lambton Square and took the escalators up to the Terrace to find a lab to have a blood test.  I walked back down, and then called in to Farmers, to check out their specials on nightwear.  I didn’t buy any nightwear but upstairs they had good specials on woollen jerseys with roll-neck collars. Just then JD rang and offered to pick me up. I gratefully accepted, but he said, Oh, by the way, get me something to eat.  Well, that posed problems. I walked back to Lambton Square where there used to be a Muffin Break, where I’d bought him lunch before. It was no longer there.  I figured sushi wouldn’t cut it for him, and I was really tired by this time, and carrying the books I’d bought too.  I ended up going to a Mr Bun café in Waring Taylor Street. There was a flight of stairs, with no handrail, and then another, this time with a very sticky handrail. I bought him some pre-packaged chicken, avocado and lettuce sandwiches and a blueberry muffin. Then I sat down to wait in Midland Park, where, thankfully, it was mild and sunny, to get picked up.  It was busy-ish on town with perhaps 70-80% of people wearing masks.  Some places still have QR codes to scan, others do not, although I am habituated now to keeping a record of where I’ve been, adding a manual entry to my Covid ap if necessary. At no time did I feel unsafe. In the evening we watched another episode of The First Lady. Gillian Anderson is pretty good as Eleanor Roosevelt, and Michelle Pfeifer is wonderful as Betty Ford, but disposed as I am to admire Viola Davis, I do not like her presentation of Michelle Obama.  It’s still quite an interesting series, though, although it jumps around in time. Sometimes you wish they wouldn’t do that.

On Wednesday I was due to go to hymn singing at 9:15 am, and I wanted to post my parcel afterwards.  Singing was lovely, of course: we sang the Easter Hymn, and When I Behold the wondrous Cross, amongst other things.  I had a friend coming to visit in the afternoon, so I scampered around trying to tidy things up, and feeling quite inadequate.  JD had an appointment but on his way back managed to get a potato-topped pie from Nada in Tawa, so that took care of dinner – we had it with some salad.  In the evening we watched some of The Score on Māori television, starring Robert de Niro and Marlon Brando. He seemed slightly more together than he did in the Godfather, but it was his last movie before his death, and the story goes that he was extremely difficult in the movie.  We watched for a while and returned to videos about US politics.

This morning I went into town again – to check out the Farmers specials. After telling myself I had quite enough clothes already, I decided I wanted to check out this sale.  And it was worthwhile: I got some more corduroy trousers, and a woollen jersey, and got the savings on the two items.  I’m pleased with that. Afterwards I had coffee and a toasted cheese scone (the best!) at Smith the Grocer, and then caught a No 14 bus up Molesworth Street to near the New World supermarket. It was very quiet in the big store, so I shopped at leisure, having arranged that JD would pick me up there. Panic set in when he finally answered my call at 2:10 pm, saying he had a 3 pm appointment, and, by the way, would I get him something to eat?  I gritted my teeth, got him a croissant, and bought raspberries, lettuce, brussels sprouts, salads, tonic water, another potato topped pie, and bread, knowing I would have to pack all this myself – the checkout staff at New World Thorndon don’t do packing.  As it turned out I needn’t have rushed; I ended up waiting for him outside, again sitting outside in the mild, sunny weather.

So, what’s been happening?  On the Covid 19 front, Covid 19 is still very much with us, but not as serious now in Wellington or Hawkes Bay – more serious down south. I did another RAT test yesterday before my friend came to visit, being slightly nervous about our activities last Saturday (the movie, the Borough in Tawa), but thankfully it was negative.  I have messages from Manage My Health about the blood test results, but they are confusing – I’ll have to go and see my doctor for an interpretation.

Today’s numbers are as follows: 9.047 new community cases, and another 13 deaths. There are 484 people in hospital, and 15 of them are in Intensive Care.

Two of those who died were from the Auckland region, three from Bay of Plenty, two from Waikato, one from Taranaki, one from MidCentral, one from Hawke’s Bay, and three from Canterbury. Two were in their 50s, two in their 60s, one in their 70s, three in their 80s, and five were over 90. Five were women and eight were men.

There were new community cases in Northland (276), Auckland (2519), Waikato (550), Bay of Plenty (335), Lakes (129), Hawke’s Bay (281), MidCentral (344), Whanganui (108), Taranaki (215), Tairāwhiti (137), Wairarapa (95), Capital and Coast (589), Hutt Valley (236), Nelson Marlborough (358), Canterbury (1505), South Canterbury (185), Southern (1,065), West Coast (113), and seven in unknown locations. Officials also reported an additional 80 cases at the border.

There were 9830 new community cases reported on Wednesday – an increase of 3450 cases on the day prior.

It seems that Covid 19 is always a step ahead of us. We obediently get used to scanning, vaccine passes, and mask-wearing, when now most restrictions have bee lifted.  There’s a new drug to treat Covid 19; mask-wearing is still pretty common here, but sometimes you’ll search to find a QR code.  We put huge effort into getting vaccinated, and then it’s not a sure thing that you won’t get the virus – but you probably won’t be hospitalised or die of it. That said, there’s still an alarming number of deaths here. 

In the US, Dr Fauci claims that probably half of all Americans have had the virus. Almost 1,000,000 people have died from Covid 19 thus far.  Some have had a second booster. Here, there’s no medical recommendation to have a second booster shot.  In the US, many well-known Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Adam Schiff, and Attorney General Merrick Garland have caught Covid 19; there was a Gridiron dinner where many people supposedly caught the virus. One has to wonder if this was some dastardly plan. President Biden has had his second booster jab, although his press secretary Jen Psaki and her deputy, Karine Jean-Pierre, have it too.

China is pursuing it’s Covid-zero policy, despite protests in Shanghai; now there are community cases in Beijing, and everyone here is to be tested for the coronavirus.  There are reports that officials can’t tell President Xi news that he doesn’t want to hear; that with omicron, lockdowns don’t work in limiting the spread of the disease. China’s economy is in a bad state, with the Shanghai lockdown further worsening it.

In the US, Kevin McCarthy is in a whole world of pain, as more and more recordings are released, and text messages to Mark Meadows, Trump’s former Chief of Staff, showing how scarily close Americans came to losing their so-called democracy during the riot on January 6, and the period before and afterwards.  Fox News’s Tucker Carlson has come out against McCarthy, for being a closet Democrat (PS I don’t think they’d have him!); meanwhile, at a rally, republicans cheered for him.  It’s kind of strange to see republicans in disarray. I wonder if the Democrats can capitalise on this.

The war in Ukraine drags on, US Secretary od State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin having visited Kyiv; Austin spoke very well, and they’ve achieved major success in unifying opposition to Putin’s invasion of Russia.  Russia has announced a boycott of oil supplies to Poland and Bulgaria;  he’s also threated “immediate retaliation” to any nation that supplies arms to Ukraine, in an even scarier threat. What does it mean? Who can say? Russian Foreign Secretary Lavrov is calling this a real threat, but the Russians have lied so many times, who can tell what Putin intends?  We’re all scared, but down here, perhaps not quite so scared. We have other things to be afraid of.  There have been disasters for the Russians, too – not just inside Ukraine, where sabotage of their equipment continues, but some events in Russia that no one’s yet claimed responsibility for, like a fire at a defence depot.  Putin is not seen awarding medals for bravery, or even visiting the wounded, or bereaved parents.  There are concerns that he’s making inroads to Moldova, too, and there’s the strange and complicated case of Transnistria. Thousands of people have been killed on both sides. President Zelensky continues to amaze the rest of the world with his strong, proud demeanour. He looks exhausted, but we don’t see him wearing some amazing uniform with lots of medals, he’s simply dressed, usually in fleece, sometimes in a bullet-proof vest. More and more the rest of us realise that the brave Ukrainians are fighting on all of our behalf.  We salute them, and unite behind them.

Here in Invercargill, four young men were killed in a dreadful car crash. Elon Musk us going to buy Twitter, a move which causes despair in most people. Some wit thinks people on the Right will buy Tesla electric cars, in response. Will Trump be allowed back on Twitter? He’s set up Truth Social, which is apparently not a success.  I think Musk should use his undoubted intelligence to do something far more useful. JD pointed out that there’s a waiting list for Tesla cars.  Oh, and Madison Cawthorn was nabbed for trying to take a loaded gun on a plane in North Carolina.

In Australia, there’s an election coming up soon, and predictably, there’s anger about a proposed deal between China and the Solomon Islands. There’s some very scary war-mongering statements from Australians, including from Peter Dutton, their Defence Minister. In my view, they should have done more to help the Solomons.  Although we’re four hours’ flying time away from Australia, I don’t doubt that we’ll be lumped in with them, regardless of how much we/I disagree with many of their statements and policies.

This morning the mail came really  early. It included a new issue of the LLRB dated 7 April. It has a very moving article written by a British reporter who went to Ukraine.

That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Nga mihi.

It’s now Saturday April 16^th, 2022. Kia ora!

Today we get a Covid 19 report. There are 13,636 new community cases of Covid 19, and there’ve been 30 further deaths.  It’s reported that today’s community cases included 7763 on Good Friday and 5748 today, while the 30 deaths, included 20 on Friday and 10 today, the ministry said in a statement. There are 500 people in hospital including 15 in ICU.

Among the new cases today 638 are in Northland, 869 in Auckland, 1079 in Waikato, 532 in Bay of Plenty, 266 in Lakes , 460 in Hawke’s Bay, 556 in MidCentral, 244 in Whanganui, 429 in Taranaki, 120 in Tairāwhiti, 121 in Wairarapa , 822 in Capital and Coast, 522 in Hutt Valley, 451 in Nelson Marlborough, 2255 in Canterbury, 325 in South Canterbury, 1747 in Southern, 137 in West Coast and 14 cases yet to be classified.

Saturday is a very quiet day.

On Sunday morning, it is Easter Sunday.  I don’t go to the 7 am service, but I do go to church at 10 am. We sing Thine be the Glory, This is the Day, In Christ Alone my hope is found, and Te aroha.  The texts are from Acts 10, where Peter preaches the first sermon, and from John’s Gospel chapter 20.   It is quite wonderful. Afterwards I wait for JD to pick me up outside the library, where it is sunny. The only places open are the dairy and one café.

In the afternoon, our youngest son and his wife are to come and see us.

The 1 pm Covid 19 report is so-so: there are 5,933 new community cases, and there have been a further 10 deaths. There are 537 people in hospital, and 20 of them are in Intensive Care.

On Monday evening we went to Wellington Airport to farewell our loved ones. It wasn’t too busy there. We managed to park in the “right” (convenient) area.

It’s now Wednesday April 20^th.

Today I got brave and went to a movie in Brooklyn with a friend. JD took us in, and we had coffee afterwards and talked about the movie, Nowhere Special.  James Norton was the lead actor, sporting an Irish accent; he acted very well, and the child was superb.  It was such a sad, but uplifting story.  We caught a bus to Wellington Railway Station, and then another bus to the Northern Suburbs.

On Tuesday there were 8,270 new cases, and 5 deaths reported, with 305 people in hospital – marked reductions.

The Covid 19 report is as follows: 11,217 new cases, and 13 further deaths. That’s up a bit from the previous two days. There are 547 people in hospital, and 14 in Intensive Care. It’s reported that the locations of those who died include Nelson-Marlborough (1); Auckland (1); Hutt Valley (2); Northland (1); Hawkes Bay (1); Whanganui (2); Canterbury (2); Waitemata (1); Mid-Central (1); and Taranaki (1).

It’s reported that the cases in hospital are split between Northland: 41; Waitemata: 92; Counties Manukau: 82; Auckland: 83; Waikato: 38; Bay of Plenty: 22; Lakes: 7; Hawke’s Bay: 17; Taranaki: 9; Whanganui: 4; MidCentral: 12; Wairarapa: 4; Hutt Valley: 18; Capital & Coast: 15; Nelson Marlborough: 9; Canterbury: 49; South Canterbury: 4; West Coast: 1 and Southern: 40. There are no people with Covid-19 in hospital in Tairāwhiti on Wednesday. There are still an alarming number of people in hospital.

In Ukraine, the brutality continues.  Another Russian general has died; the Ukrainians have taken out another expensive Russian missile; a friend of Putin has been found dead in his Moscow luxury apartment, along with his wife and younger daughter; their bodies were found by the elder daughter, all shot with his pistol. The Russians have been bombing Lyiv, and seven people were killed;  the Russians have concentrated forces in the Donbas region, and the battle has already begun. It’s reported to have been raining in Eastern Ukraine, thus creating muddy conditions for Russian tanks and troops. Besieged Mariupol has been asked to surrender, twice, and has refused.  In some cities, there is no food or water and conditions must be dreadful. The early “romance” of sheltering in underground railway tunnels has long lost its lustre, as we continue to see the brutality of Russian troops: their theft, and their cruelty. Europe is trying to avoid its dependence on Russian gas and oil, but this is in doubt if Marine le Pen wins the French presidential election.  In her show today Rachel Maddow outlined what a dreadful person her father was, and emphasised her friendship with Putin.

It’s now Friday April 22^nd.

I have not been writing recently. I am rereading the novel Stalingrad, by Vasily Grossman (translated), a book which so impressed me when I first read it during our first lockdown two years ago. How naïve we were then! To think that life would “go back to normal” any time soon. The first lockdown was a circuit breaker, and a welcome relief to many of us, who were so relieved that the government was taking action to protect us, and there was a wage subsidy too. I don’t doubt that many people were severely affected, but few complained, back then; furthermore, we saw the results of our efforts, with numbers of Covid 19 patients steadily falling, and pretty soon we could get back to doing things here in New Zealand again, like going to church, movies and concerts, eating out, and travelling within the country. Children could go back to school, and by and large we were free from fear, as we watched the  dreadful scenes in overseas hospitals of ambulances queuing to unload their patients, refrigerated morgues for the dead bodies, and people on ventilators. But twas not thus here: we were protected; the dreadful scenes overseas made us thankful, or at least less complaining, about the fact that we couldn’t go anywhere outside the country.

I have also been listening to podcasts, many about warfare and history. They seem to go together, somehow. I’ve also been listening to the Collapse Surfside podcast, about the collapse of the Champlain Towers apartment building.  It’s most interesting to me to hear how the disaster unfolded, and the individual stories of how different people and their families were affected. You would think, well at least they’ll get the insurance, but that’s where it gets complicated. As in so many of these sad stories, building and maintenance was shoddy, and while you might have paid handsomely for your lovely home, it probably wasn’t worth much when disaster struck.

Now in 2022 here things are very different. Thankfully, vaccination rates are very high, but there are still an alarming daily number of deaths. We have just been through what was for us hopefully peak Covid 19, with the infectious omicron variant at large, affecting many of us, and many services. Thankfully, with being doubly vaccinated and boostered, it’s hoped that most of us won’t be ill enough to go to hospital or die with it, should we get it. But no one anywhere wants to get it!

Today a friend visited in the morning, bringing us some fruit cake (yum!); late this afternoon, someone from Access came to do some housework. Thankfully I feel better today, and it wasn’t such a struggle for me to have a previously unknown person come to “help”.

Today’s Covid 19 report tells me there are 9,390 new community cases, with 56 new cases identified at the border, and 522 people in hospital. There have been a further 13 deaths, including a person between 10 and 19 years old. Other than that, they were older folk – all over 70. Yesterday there were 10,294 new community cases, with 66 identified at the border. There were 524 cases in hospital, and there had been 18 deaths. The death total is now 646. It’s still a scary time, and you can get Covid 19 more than once (some people just don’t get it – which is still unaccounted for).

This virus is still very much with us, and people are still dying – here, in Australia, in the UK ad the US, just not nearly as many as previously. In Australia, the Labour Party leader, Antony Albanese, has tested positive, as has the premier of Western Australia.

In China, in Shanghai they are seeing their first deaths; it seems the lockdowns have been somewhat relaxed, after people rioted because they couldn’t get food.  Some have been quarantined – many are covid 19 positive but asymptomatic, and they complain of lights being on all night, and no hot showers. In Taiwan, the numbers of community cases of Covid 19 are increasing now, but they won’t do a lockdown, they’ll continue to take sensible precautions.

In Ukraine, the conflict grinds on. Satellite images show a mass grave in Mariupol mass grave; the steelworks there are still being bombarded; and some say Mariupol will be the resounding image of this war. Evidently the Russians rejected the suggestion of an Easter truce (they don’t need a risen Saviour, then); in Moscow the chief exec of Lukoil has resigned after speaking  out against the war in Ukraine. There was some more scare-mongering from Putin, but the US i.e. President Biden announced another $800m aid package.

On Saturday we went to a movie in Pauatahanui, Everything Everywhere all at Once.  It had a very good review, but it was very long and not really my cup of tea, with lots of sci-fi adventure and kung fu. I think JD enjoyed it more than me. The theatre was by no means full, but we weren’t asked where we’d like to sit, and discovered that there were couples seated either side of us, with no gap in between. I was reluctant to move, not knowing how many seats had been sold. So that was a little strange. The movie lasted so long that most cafés had closed or were about to close, so we went to the Borough in Tawa to have something to eat. They advised they could offer us pizzas and bar snacks only; that was fine, but the flies were alarming!  We were handed dirty menus, and ordered a pizza and some fries. I ordered a mocktail, but it wasn’t very enjoyable, and fortunately not very large, as it came in a sticky champagne flute with no straw, and was quite difficult to drink. I decided I will have a RAT test before a friend visits during the week.  We went home for coffee.

Saturday’s Covid 19 report was alarming, with 19 deaths, including 2 children under 9. There were 7,930 new community cases, and 494 people in hospital, including 15 in Intensive Care.  One assumes that young people who die with Covid 19 are immune-compromised in some way, or already living with major health issues. It’s mostly older people who die – from 50/60 upwards.

It’s now Sunday April 24^th.

This morning I went to church, and was happy to hear the organ played again. It is Low Sunday, apparently – the first Sunday after Easter.  There weren’t many there – perhaps almost 40, but the Wadestown congregation joined us too. Of course, I have no idea how many were on zoom.  Today’s theme was about spreading the good news of the risen Jesus.  It’s again a beautiful sunny day with little wind. Afterwards, I went shopping at New World, but there were no raspberries today. I consoled myself with buying some more feijoas.

This morning I listened to Preet Bharara talking to Bill Browder, on his podcast, Stay Tuned with Preet; and The Rest is Politics podcast, with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. I’m not disposed to like Alastair Campbell very much, but I am interested in what they have to say, seeing as they’re both intelligent and well travelled! I am realising how limited we are here in terms of travel abroad. In the earlier one it was very interesting to hear Bill Browder again. The oligarchs, far from being Putin’s best friends and this likely to influence him, operate at Putin’s pleasure and discretion, and daren’t annoy him. In fact, there’ve been a number of unexplained deaths recently of seriously rich and influential people close to Putin.  One doesn’t believe the Russian police stories about their deaths, especially after they were spectacularly uncooperative with British police after the painful death of Alexander Litvinenko from polonium poisoning.  That death caused a scare in London for potential radiation poisoning, as did the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury (they later recovered). 

Today’s Covid 19 report is as follows: there  are 5,662 new community cases, and there have been 9 deaths.  The XE variant of omicron has been discovered (in an overseas arrival, I think), and is not thought to pose much of a problem. I must say most of us wouldn’t have a clue whether we had it or not, since most of us are using RAT tests at home. Presumably some of the PCR tests are further analysed for BA1 or BA2 or XE (which I gather is a combination of BA1 and BA2).  There is still a lot of Covid 19 about here; it’s very infectious, whatever variant it is. In the UK, one in a hundred people have died from Covid 19! People are still dying in the US, and in Australia. Here, there are presently 490 people in hospital, and 20 in Intensive Care. It’s reported that Of the nine people who have died one was in their 50s, one in their 60s, one in their 70s, one in their 80s and five people were over 90.

The locations of today’s cases are in Northland (203), Auckland (1455), Waikato (365), Bay of Plenty (223), Lakes (85), Hawke’s Bay (187), MidCentral (196), Whanganui (68), Taranaki (152), Tairāwhiti (50), Wairarapa (53), Capital and Coast (355), Hutt Valley (191), Nelson Marlborough (224), Canterbury (978), South Canterbury (128), Southern (666), West Coast (81), Unknown (2). The total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 is now 674.  These numbers would have freaked us out a few months ago; in fact, I still find them alarming, although they’re slowly dropping.

In Ukraine, the sad saga continues. Putin claims to have taken Mariupol; Zelensky says troops are holding out there. The Ukrainians are damaging much Russian equipment; the Russian soldiers’ morale is still very poor. It seems Russian troops have captured several small towns; there are more reports of mass graves; yet Zelensky is still willing to negotiate.  Meanwhile, brutality continues. A baby has been killed in Odessa.  On it goes.  Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Wednesday April 13^th 2022. Kia ora!

This morning I learn that the mayor of Mariupol claims there are 20,000 dead in his city; somewhere else I read it’s 21,000. There are fears that Russian troops have used chemical weapons in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainians have damaged a rail bridge; and Putin insists his aims are in Ukraine are noble; that there is really no alternative. Well, Russian troops retreated from Kyiv, didn’t they?  Remember the miles long convoy of tanks that was headed for Kyiv?

There’s also been a horrible mass shooting in the New York subway. I’ve been on that subway, several times. The culprit evidently flooded a carriage with gas, before letting loose with ammunition.  Over 20 people have been injured, and 10 have been shot (but not dead).  How is it that really bad shootings happen under democratic presidents? And that many think that violence at the end of a gun is the answer to any disagreement?

I also listened to a podcast explaining that a significant branch of conservatism was against President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, which helped America through and out of the Great Depression of the 1930’s.  For a nation that is supposedly a godly one, there are some very unchristian attitudes there towards anyone less advantaged than yourself.

This morning I get up early to go to hymn singing.  One normal attendee has a sore throat, so there are very few of us. I sing quite well to start with, then get a frog in my throat that I can’t get rid of. Afterwards, the organist and I clarify when the services will be held over Easter. There is a service on Good Friday in the evening, not at 10 am, so I may be able to go. I have a family gathering on Friday morning. Then I go shopping at the supermarket, and there is hardly anyone there. But they do have cheese scones, after a long absence. It’s always tricky finding what I want at a store that’s not so familiar to me. JD doesn’t always get my texts, so I need to ring him if I don’t get a text reply.

The Hon. Chris Hipkins gives the Covid 19 update today. The entire country is to move to the Orange setting at midnight tonight, meaning there are no limits on numbers at gatherings. There is confusion about masks – they’re still recommended, I gather, but not compulsory.

Today’s the statistics are reported as follows: ​9495 community cases; 551 hospitalisations; 27 in ICU; 15 deaths. The OCR has risen by 50 basis points to 1.5%.   There seems to be no further information.

It’s now Thursday April 14^th.

This morning I went to a committee meeting for our Thursday singing group at a café in Khandallah. It’s not too busy there, and it’s wonderful to see everyone again. It’s another lovely fine day in Wellington.

I listened to two alarming podcasts this morning. One had Ruth Ben-Ghiat being interviewed by Charlie Sykes, talking about “Gambling for Resurrection”; well, Putin will certainly be remembered as a tyrant, given that he’s more and more resembling his predecessor, Stalin, in his disrespect for human life, his cruelty to Ukraine (which has no right to exist, by the way), and his paranoia. It’s reported that not only is his spy chief now in prison (he was formerly under house arrest), but Putin has had 150 FSB agents arrested. Another dissident, Vladimir Kara-Murza, has been arrested in Moscow (after being interviewed by Ali Velshi on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC). Meanwhile in Ukraine a pro-Putin person Viktor Medvedchuk has been arrested, and may be used as a bargaining chip (the Kremlin says No to that). Evidently more bodies are being discovered in Bucha, and 9 Ukrainian women are pregnant as a result of being raped by Russian soldiers. It’s reported that 765 civilian bodies have been found in Kyiv. It’s also reported that the Russians are claiming that more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines have surrendered in Mariupol. This claim has not been verified and is being treated with a degree of suspicion.

But I also listened to Samantha Power being interviewed by Rachel Maddow; she’s been to Ukraine three times recently, and she’s helping them to document the war crimes being committed there. She looks weary, and much older than how I remembered her. President Biden has accused Putin of genocide.  Although for some reason the US does not belong to the ICC (are they scared of being prosecuted themselves?), it’s hoped and expected that Putin will face justice for these terrible acts, just as after the conflict in the Balkans ended, some of the crimes of ethnic cleansing were prosecuted.  It’s hoped that this acts as a deterrent. 

Apparently Putin addressed Russia yesterday, claiming what he called noble aims in Ukraine, but some recorded that he didn’t seem particularly well at the time, unlike previous appearances. Finland and Sweden are on track to join NATO, (after previous reluctance), and it’s recalled how bravely the Finns defended themselves and their country against Russia, their much larger invader towards the end of 1939. A Russian ship is evidently on fire: the UK’s Guardian reports that the ship that was engaged at Snake Island at the beginning of the war is now on fire and seriously damaged after a strike in the Black Sea.

Today’s 1 pm Covid 19 report features 9,563 new community cases, and 16 deaths. There are 528 people in hospital, and 28 of them are in Intensive Care. Again, while numbers of new cases, and numbers hospitalised continue to fall, there are still significant numbers needing Intensive Care, and alarming numbers dying. It’s noted that the latter includes people who died and were found to have Covid 19; presumably in most cases they had pre-existing conditions that compromised their health.  It’s reported that of the deaths two people were in their 60s, six in their 70s, four in their 80s and four were over 90. It’s mainly older people dying with Covid 19.

Of the new community cases, it’s reported that 258 were in the Auckland region. The rest are spread across Northland: 37; Waikato: 43; Bay of Plenty: 17; Lakes: 9; Tairāwhiti: 2; Hawke’s Bay: 11; Taranaki: 7; Whanganui: 4; MidCentral: 22; Wairarapa: 1; Hutt Valley: 25; Capital and Coast: 7; Nelson Marlborough: 6; Canterbury: 42; South Canterbury: 4; West Coast: 1; Southern: 32. That’s definitely far less than the numbers we’ve been seeing for Hawkes Bay and Wellington.  Numbers in Auckland are still quite high, but then Auckland’s a big place.

This evening I went to the Maundy Thursday service at church. I have to admit I had never been to one before, although I had been to a Good Friday Midnight Mass at St Mary’s in Wellington when we were first married. It commemorates Jesus’ betrayal, the commandment to love one another, and the Last Supper.  It was very moving. We washed each others’ hands with (hand sanitiser), sang hymns, celebrated communion, and then went into the main church where there were readings from Matthew’s Gospel, and the candles were extinguished, leaving us to contemplate in darkness the solitude and suffering of our Lord before his crucifixion.

It’s now Good Friday, April 15^th.

It’s confirmed that a flagship of the Russian fleet, the Moskva, which was anchored in the Black Sea has now sunk. It was on fire yesterday – evidently armed. It’s thought there were between 500 and 700 sailors on board. The Ukrainians claim to have attacked this ship; the Kremlin has admitted it was sunk. Ironically the ship was built at the (now) Ukrainian port of Mykoliav, in Eastern Ukraine; even more ironically, this ship asked Ukrainians to surrender at the beginning of the war at Snake Island, too be met by the response: “F— you”.  Well, now the ship is well and truly f___ed. 

Back here, the biggest concern is how the new Transmission Gully road will cope with Easter long weekend and school holiday traffic.  I guess there’ll still be a bottleneck somewhere – just further north, maybe, between Otaki and Levin.

There’s no Covid 19 report today.  This morning we had a very nice family gathering, where we spilled outside, drank coffee, and ate very nice vegan gluten-free buns. In the afternoon we had a lovely chat with our daughter. What a beautiful smile she has. Easter is usually a lonely time for me, when most of our family go away to their in-laws, and we avoid going away, i.e. avoid the traffic, the crowds and the high prices.

In the UK, Johnson and Sunak have been fined over what is now known as the Partygate scandal. To distract from this, the UK has a plan to send migrants coming across the Channel trying to come to Great Britain to Rwanda instead. Which is the worse scandal? As with Trump, take your pick. It’s easy to forget the excruciating number of scandals, with new ones piled on. This seems a very cruel solution (maybe they got the idea frim Australia’s treatment of “boat people”.

It’s a strange day, with most shops closed, but there is a service at the church I attend in the evening (which is also on zoom). It’s hard to hear the recordings – zoom has its limitations, but the church is steadily darkened as the service of songs, readings and prayers continues. I get the feeling there aren’t many there, although the minister doesn’t give us on zoom (perhaps 4 of us), a view of the interior of the church. I listen to Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion again.

That’s it for now. The Russians are very displeased at the loss of the Moskva. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Sunday April 10^th, 2022. Kia ora!

This morning I continued being brave and went to church. It’s Palm Sunday, and there are services all week up until and including Easter Sunday, although I think gremlins have been at work and some of the dates are wrong and confusing. There aren’t many physically there; there’s no communal exchanging of the peace. Nevertheless, I’m pleased that I went.  The sermon talks about the war in Ukraine, amongst other things, and about religion being used to justify terrible deeds like Jesus’ crucifixion, and Christians killing Christians in Ukraine. The minister noted that the Russian Orthodox church, unlike most others, has not condemned this conflict. The time of Easter reminds us that death is not the end, however we die.  Palm Sunday points up the immense contrast between Jesus’ triumphal procession, and what then happens to him. There is beautiful organ playing today, and we sing All glory, laud and honour, At the Name of Jesus, and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

This morning I learnt that Boris Johnson had made a surprise visit to Kyiv and to President Zelensky, in a show of solidarity, promising more armaments. Ursula Von der Leyen of the EU has been there too, promising to fast-track Ukraine’s membership of the European Union. The Kremlin have acknowledged the number of casualties Russian forces have sustained; apparently Putin has appointed a new general to lead the next part of the invasion.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan has been deposed – the confidence vote went ahead, against him. What does this mean? I gather  the military are again in charge of the nuclear-armed nation.  In France, Macron’s re-election is by no means a certainty, with opposers such as the left-wing Mélenchon and the far-right Zemmour (who is Jewish, but takes some strange positions), as well as his old rival, Marine le Pen.

Today’s Covid 19 report is mixed, with only 6,718 new cases. There are 604 people in hospital but 22 in Intensive Care. Sadly, there have been 12 further deaths.  It’s reported that eight of those who died were from the Auckland region, two from MidCentral, one from the Lakes DHB area, and one from Hawke’s Bay. One was aged in their 40s, one in their 50s, three in their 60s, two in their 70s, two in their 80s, and three over 90. Six were women and six were men. People are still dying from this virus – it certainly ain’t over yet, much as we would like it to be.

This afternoon I play Bach’s St Matthew Passion. I’m reminded of the time  when I took my eldest son to a live performance in Wellington’s Town Hall with its wonderful acoustics.  The Orpheus Choir were performing. It was memorable, and a solemn occasion.

It’s now Monday April 11^th.

Last night we met our son and his wife at a Thai restaurant in Porirua. This was a sudden invitation!  There were all food options there, both eat-in and takeaway, but the large restaurant we went to was very busy, with three birthday groups.  The food was beautiful, but I was a bit disconcerted by a man without a mask who entered with us, and the busyness!  Still, it was lovely to go out, and most unusual for us. The menu was quite complicated, different from other Thai restaurants I’ve been to.

This morning I listen to several podcasts, and among them I hear Fiona Hill speaking to Ezra Klein. She speaks about the image of Putin riding a horse, shirtless; and then she talks about the Four Horses of the Apocalypse:  War (conflict in Ukraine), Sickness (the coronavirus pandemic), Famine (Ukraine was a prime grain-growing area), and Death, (present and yet to come).  It’s a scary image.  There is a general air of fear of the coming battle in Donbas, where Russian troops are massing, there’s (another) huge tank convoy, Putin has appointed a new General Dvornikov, who commanded the brutal Russian operation in Syria, and Ukrainian citizens have been advised to evacuate. It feels as though we’re (they’re) gearing up for a major battle between good and evil; and meanwhile, in the French election, a run off between Macron and Le Pen is envisaged. The consequences of a Le Pen win are greatly feared: she is known to have been a friend of Putin, although she hasn’t supported his current military exercise; and perhaps France will leave NATO.  Will Macron be re-elected? His valiant efforts to prevent the invasion of Ukraine by speaking directly to Putin failed. On Ukraine’s side, Slovakia is providing an Air-defence system to Ukraine, and the UK and the US are promising more arms. I guess it’s frustrating for anyone who wants to do things in secret when every move on any side is photographed and analysed on multiple news and social media sites. It’s very powerful to have such images shown almost contemporaneously with the events being filmed and recorded.  It’s been pointed out, too, that whatever Dvornikov’s strengths, the troops he will command are demoralised and have demonstrated very poor form thus far, showing degrees of ignorance and brutality that remind one of the terrible stories of the Soviet army entering Berlin in 1945. It feels apocalyptic, and let’s hope the brave Ukrainians keep up their spirit and determination not to be dominated by Russia.

Back here, it’s reported that Hawkes Bay hospital in Hastings is really struggling with the coronavirus. Hawkes Bay has been very hard hit, and it still continues for them.  The 1 pm report follows a trend now, of fewer reported cases, but still an alarming number of deaths: back in the first wave, there were only 60-odd deaths in all, and they were all elderly folk. It was a big event when somebody died from Covid 19. Today there are 11 new deaths reported; a total of 7,582 new cases; there are 640 people in hospital, and 23 in Intensive Care.

Of those whose deaths were reported on Monday, three were from Auckland, three were from Waikato, one was from Hawke’s Bay, one was from Taranaki, one was from Wellington, and two were from Canterbury. It’s reported that vulnerable people have been left without care, given that so many support staff are sick themselves, or isolating.

There were new community cases reported in Northland (312), Auckland (1378), Waikato (667), Bay of Plenty (309), Lakes (150), Hawke’s Bay (284), MidCentral (350), Whanganui (138), Taranaki (248), Tairāwhiti (69), Wairarapa (89), Capital and Coast (549), Hutt Valley (332), Nelson Marlborough (270), Canterbury (1286), South Canterbury (153), Southern (937), West Coast (68), and three in unknown locations. In New York, mayor Eric Adams has tested positive for coronavirus.

This afternoon it’s reported that Prime Minister Ardern is to send 50 Defence Force staff and a C130 Hercules to Europe, to assist with distributing supplies. They will not enter Ukraine.

It’s now Tuesday April 12^th.

Today we had lunch with two of our sons at a café in Porirua. It was very busy out there, and we had trouble parking, but the café had plenty of room and we sat at a corner table with a bench. My daughter’s day 7 RAT test was negative, thankfully.  Evidently someone at the craft studio she goes to had tested positive for Covid 19.

Afterwards, I check the 1 pm Covid 19 report. Today there are reportedly 11,063 new community cases of Covid 19, and there have been 16 deaths.  A third person (a teenager) has died as a result of the vaccine. There are 622 people  in hospital, and 23 of them are in Intensive Care. There’ve now been 516 deaths from Covid 19. It’s worth remembering that while we may have passed peak Covid 19, in terms of numbers of new cases, many people and still very sick and some dying from it.  While some get it lightly, most speak of the shock of being very sick and utterly exhausted with it.

It’s reported that six of the deceased were from Auckland, one from Waikato, two from Whanganui, one from MidCentral, three were from Wellington, two from Canterbury and one was from the Southern district health board area. One was aged in their 30s, two were aged in their 50s, three in their 70s, six in their 80s, and four were over 90. Five were female and 11 were male.

There were new community cases in Northland (559), Auckland (1984), Waikato (965), Bay of Plenty (536), Lakes (214), Hawke’s Bay (474), MidCentral (534), Whanganui (225), Taranaki (370), Tairāwhiti (111), Wairarapa (137, Capital & Coast (683), Hutt Valley (355), Nelson Marlborough (404), Canterbury (1813), South Canterbury (250), Southern (1331), West Coast (108), and 10 in unknown locations.  So while the numbers are down, thankfully, from what they were, they’re still alarmingly high, and causing staffing difficulties in many care areas.

It was reported that there were an additional 47 cases at the border. ESR is genome sequencing cases detected at the border, and no cases of the new XE variant had been found so far.

The committee of my singing group are to have a meeting on Thursday morning to consider singing again (we cancelled singing in term one).  My son, over from the UK, suggests taking a RAT test before each event, as they do in the UK (and have been doing for some time). I’m not sure people would buy that, but I think it’s worth suggesting.  I feel that people will come if they feel it’s safe to do so, but for many of them it’s a social get-together as much as a singing session, and they’re unwilling to be very socially distant during morning tea.  The problem, as I see it, is we all have family and friends, and some of us are more immune-compromised than others.

In Shanghai, it was reported that there were 25,000 new cases, but the lockdown was being relaxed. There were reports of desperate folk in their apartments shouting that they had no food.

In Ukraine, the Chancellor of Austria has visited Putin in Moscow, and had a serious talk. He’s opposed to the war. The Ukrainians are still seeking more weapons.

That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Friday April 8^th, 2022. Kia ora.

This morning was a toss up between going to Art Group or having someone from Access come and do some cleaning. I wasn’t feeling great, so opted for the cleaning, rather than going out. Because she had also come last Friday, I didn’t have to do so much preparation beforehand.

The situation in Ukraine is just devastating. It seems that while the Ukrainians are having great success in blowing up and damaging Russian equipment, especially tanks, and blowing up Russian helicopters – the British NLAWs are particularly effective here – the extreme brutality of Russian troops, in not just bombing cities like Mariupol, but cold-blooded killing, rape and torture more than matches the bombing of civilian sites like hospitals.  Putin has declared that Ukraine has no right to exist – and so must be destroyed. The irony of his using Nazi methods to root out Nazi elements in Ukraine – which now includes everyone, not just armed forces, is rationalised, by him, in some weird way.  The Nazis used similar methods to justify the Holocaust, by claiming Jews had no right to exist; they were dehumanised; thus, too Ukrainians have no right to exist.  It’s definite that war crimes have been committed; Zelensky’s claims of genocide takes this a step further. How many dead bodies count as a genocide?  While the Russian troops have yet to take a major Ukrainian city, it seems that in several towns near Kyiv they’ve committed major atrocities before withdrawing. It’s thought they’re preparing for an assault on the East of Ukraine. Any discussion of peace negotiations seems to be off, as the world wonders what Putin will do next. The UN has rejected Russia from its membership of its Human rights Council.

I’ve listened to a lot of Tim Snyder lately. He has a lot of useful things to say about this war, including the ability to speak two languages.  Many, like Zelensky, are fluent in both Ukrainian and Russian. Meanwhile, the US are supplying more equipment; Zelensky, still speaking well, is clearly frustrated with the West’s slow response. And it’s complicated: while sanctions have been effective to a degree, the Russian economy seems to have bounced back from its earlier demise, and there are still customers for its gas.  In Hungary, Viktor Orbán, an ally of Putin, has been re-elected. 

There are big fears about food shortages now; not only will there be a shortage of grain from Ukraine, given that there’s nobody much to harvest the existing crop, the next one needs to be planted, too. The world’s main suppliers of fertiliser are Russia and Ukraine; the effects of sanctions on Russia go far further than damaging the Russian economy. The effect on world hunger is likely to be extreme, in ways we haven’t thought about yet. There are many reasons for this war to be over quickly, and for Putin to give himself and his supporters some reason to declare victory and move on (and let the rest of the world get on with their lives).

While the photos of Russian actions in Bucha are terrible (over 300 killed), it seems there are worse reminders in a town called Trostianets.  While terrible things happen in war, there’s a kind of code of half-way decent behaviour: of not targeting civilians; of allowing safe escape routes; of not using rape or torture; of course there will be killings and death, but it’s assumed that those who enlist to be in the armed forces recognise this as a risk. There’s talk of cyber attacks on Ukraine being prevented by western endeavours. While Russian troops have retreated from Kyiv, they are regrouping in the east, and people are warned to evacuate.

We’ve been watching the series Servant of the People starring Zelensky on Netflix. It’s a very good series, although I find the subtitles a bit annoying. It’s nice not to see displays of ostentatious wealth, and to see realistic people.

It’s now Saturday April 9^th.

This morning I heard of the dreadful rocket attack on a railway station in Ukraine – at Kramatorsk.  There were about 4,000 people there, desperate to get away. At least fifty people were killed, including 5 children, and a hundred injured. The bomb carried a chilling message: For the Children. The Kremlin initially claimed a successful strike, and then denied knowledge of it, and claimed the Ukrainians had bombed their own citizens to make the Russians look bad.   How dreadful this conflict is, and how tragic. It seems Putin is using starvation as a weapon of war, just as Stalin did causing the Holodomor (the man-made famine in Ukraine in the 1930’s). It seems Putin will do anything to sap the morale of people who in his view have no right to exist.

I decide to be brave and go to the movies this afternoon. I want to see the art film Napoleon: in the Name of Art, narrated and presented by Jeremy Irons. JD takes me to Brooklyn, and to our amazement we’re in a queue on the Wellington motorway, to go through the tunnel, and I get there just in time. But no worries – it’s shown in a large theatre, and I think there are 4 other people there.

I enjoy the film, although I can see why JD finds Jeremy Irons annoying.  It shows a lot of the beautiful cathedral in Milan, some of the Louvre, and not nearly enough of the Pinacoteca di Brera (which I’ve been to, by the way). It does show Mantegna’s The Dead Christ, which I remember seeing.  It shows film of Napoleon in Egypt, when the Rosetta stone was discovered; he was an avid reader, had good taste in art, and was probably ADHD.  He reminded me of Emperor Augustus, although this analogy is not drawn in the film. Generals he admired were Hannibal and Julius Caesar. There’s no doubt that while he did some good things, he caused many deaths, and there was a great deal of looting. One very large painting by Veronese, the Wedding at Cana, was cut into eight pieces so it could be transported to the Louvre. What sacrilege!  I listened to a podcast about Napoleon in Egypt; I must listen to it again (The Rest is History).  I did enjoy seeing the beautiful paintings and sculptures by Canova, who was one of Napoleon’s favourites (mine too), although Canova didn’t like his benefactor’s looting.  The score to a Te Deum had been found,  that was performed when Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in this magnificent Cathedral in Milan. He crowned himself, by the way – no modesty here! But he did wear a beautiful green velvet robe, and the crown was beautiful too. There was a wonderful soprano singing the Te Deum – what an instrument her voice is!

Afterwards I had a cup of coffee and a lamington.  It was not crazily busy there, just nicely busy. They apologised for being short staffed.  Afterwards I caught a bus to the Wellington Railway Station.  The next bus to the northern suburbs was cancelled, so I contacted JD and he picked me up. There’s a Super rugby match on at the Stadium, and lots of people are going. The Railway Station is quite busy. We went to New World in Thorndon.  Feeling slightly insecure about food, I bought lots of it, including salads for dinner, and Ukrainian biscuits (they’re the ones we used to call “fly cemeteries”; they taste good and come conveniently packed in packets of four within a larger package).

Today’s numbers are not too bad. There are 8,531 new community cases, and there’ve been 11 further deaths. 635 people are in hospital, and of these 15 are in the Hutt Valley and 16 in Wellington. It’s reported that four of the deceased were from the wider Auckland region, one from Waikato, one from the Lakes DHB area, one from Hawke’s Bay, one from Whanganui, two from the Wellington region and one from Canterbury.

On Friday (yesterday) there were 9,906 new cases reported and 10 deaths. The numbers are dropping, but there are still far too many deaths, and obviously some really sick people out there. Having heard from many people who’ve had it, most don’t dismiss it as a mild disease. There also seems to be a nasty kicker, in that many feel better after a day or two, but then feel far worse as the disease returns.  In the US Nancy Pelosi has it.  Many people who have evaded it up till now are now getting it. It’s too soon to let one’s guard down, I fear. In Australia there are still an alarming number of deaths. There’s frustration at airports, too, as people try to check in for Easter flights. Social distancing is ostensibly to blame – or people not being used to travelling? I suspect short-staffing, for whatever reason. People are probably still sick.

In the UK heaps of flights have been cancelled, due to sickness. There’s been some IT glitch causing huge queues at Dover for anyone wishing to cross the English Channel.

In Shanghai, in China 21,000 new cases were announced on Friday. Testing, and strict lockdown measures continued. There are stories of people being locked in their homes. There are also stories about old people dying in hospital because their carers have been diagnosed positive, and taken away.

On Sunday morning I listened to the podcast again entitled Napoleon in Egypt. So why did he go to Egypt? He wanted to invade Great Britain, and someone told him that was a really bad idea. Then he decided to take the ideals of the Revolution to Egypt. It’s most enlightening, making one’s way through art and history.  The podcast filled in many parts missing from the film’s record: the English (under Admiral Nelson) defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Alexandria, and as part of the reparations, demanded that they take the Rosetta Stone, discovered by Napoleon, to the British Museum. Ironically, it was deciphered by Champollion, a French man.  There was a lot of discussion in the podcast about colonisation as opposed to discovering culture, and the way Napoleon really opened up Egyptology and its marvels to a wider world. He was seriously into Arabic, too, taking an Arabic printing press to Egypt. Egypt was hot, and plague-ridden, and there’s talk that the Emperor’s touch could heal the sick, while the emperor himself did not get ill.

Last night we watched the movie The Duchess on Māori television, with Keira Knightley as the ravishingly beautiful duchess, and Joseph Fiennes as her very rich but seriously cruel and nasty husband, the Duke of Devonshire. He does not love her, despite her beauty and intelligence and interest in politics. Her mother is played by Charlotte Rampling, who keeps assuring her that she has very little in the way of choice: if she wishes to keep contact with her children, she must put up with whatever degradations he commands, whether it be caring for his illegitimate child, or putting up with his on-going affair with her best friend in her own house. She does bear him a son (and heir), as a result of his raping her; a reminder here, if one were needed, that women (i.e. daughters) could not inherit.

That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Monday April 4^th, 2022. Kia ora.

This morning I walked up to the local supermarket. It’s fine and warm.  There is still no hand sanitiser in the container at the entry.  The stone fruit is all but gone – there are a few plums, but kiwifruit are back, both green and gold, and mandarins. There are feijoas, at a much more reasonable price, but after watching a woman handle and squeeze each one, I decide not to buy any. I buy strepsils for JD, and I go to buy croissants for lunch, but there are none baked today, so instead I buy Kaiser rolls.  Of course, I buy too much, and it’s quite heavy to carry home. At the supermarket two old dears stand far closer to me than I am comfortable with, while I am waiting for a free checkout, and then while I am at the checkout. They don’t have a trolley, either. I tell the chemist about my recent Covid 19 alert and test recording experience, but she is no help. I make bookings for us to have the flu vaccine, at the Johnsonville Shopping Centre, on Wednesday afternoon.

When I get home, it’s almost time for the 1 pm Covid 19 report.  Today there are 9 deaths, and 10,205 new cases, with 734 people in hospital and 25 in Intensive Care. Of the nine new deaths reported, one person was from Auckland, three were from Waikato, two were from Lakes, two were from the Wellington region, and one was from the Southern region. One person was in their 50s, one was in their 60s, one was in their 70s, two were in their 80s, and four were over 90. There are still 16 people in hospital in Wellington. We’re not told whereabouts the new cases are.

From 11.59pm on Monday there will be no requirement to use My Vaccine Pass, and the vaccine mandates will mostly be eased except for some public and healthcare sector jobs.

From Tuesday some government vaccine mandates for workers will also be removed. Those still covered include health and disability sector workers, including aged-care workers, along with prison staff and border and MIQ workers.

I had an email from Hōhepa, hoping for a Covid 19 update, but the “Good News” subject of the message indicates that they’ve won several awards for their wonderful cheeses.  That’s good news, although I’d be interested to hear how they’re coping with the coronavirus.  New Zealand is to remain in the Red traffic light setting until it’s reviewed again on April 14.

Overseas, the news isn’t good. The UK has coronavirus – now 1/13 people. And there is a new variant XE which is a combination of the BA1 and BA2 variants of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.  Apparently the XE variant is 10% more transmissible.  I think the government here is considering whether adults may need another booster; that would make two jabs to be vaccinated, plus two booster jabs. 

In Shanghai, a city of 25 million people and China’s largest city, there are two lockdowns (now a single lockdown) as authorities battle Covid 19. On Sunday  13,146 new cases were reported. The streets are eerily quiet, in what looks like a scary and complicated motorway system.  That’s the most new cases that have been reported since the initial outbreak in Wuhan, just over three years ago.

In Ukraine, the dreadful war drags on. Since we can see news within hours of its being reported, it seems like it’s been going on for ages, although it’s only a few weeks.  There are fears that Putin’s regrouping his troops; meanwhile, it’s apparent that the parts for fixing tanks and much Russian weaponry are made in Ukraine.  There are dreadful scenes in Bucha, a town near Kyiv, of dead bodies, apparently shot with their hands tied behind their backs. There are fears of mass graves there. It seems that the Russian troops are displaying some Nazi tendencies of their own. And there have been sexual assaults and rape as well. A Ukrainian journalist released 8 days after being taken by Russians talks about his ordeal, and his torture. And for the Russian troops things aren’t much better: evidently they’re shot if they desert, and there’s no medivac system to try to treat their injuries and keep them alive. There’s also a report of Russian soldiers being offered poisoned piroshki by Ukrainian villagers; I can’t find the story now, but at least one Russian died (two, actually), and almost three dozen were taken to Intensive Care in a nearby hospital.

I listened to a podcast this morning that discussed classical history – the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, where Octavian (later Augustus) defeated Antony and Cleopatra and became Emperor of Rome. I’ve also listened to some theorising about Putin, claiming that he’s not going after money now but wants to leave his mark on history by conquering Ukraine, and who knows what else? His war is against the US and NATO.  And it seem the sanctions are really hurting. While indeed they hurt the local people, at least they’re not being bombed in their beds, or attacked, threatened, or shot at.  Putin doesn’t really have a circle of advisers; he’s a dictator, and I guess his “mates” try to stay in favour.

In Hungary, the strong man Viktor Orbán (and Putin supporter) has been re-elected; in Pakistan, Imran Khan has somehow avoided a no-confidence vote. How fortunate we are to live here, where things are pretty quiet, on the whole, and our main worry is how our sports heroes perform, now that they can (mostly) play sport again. And what about the All Blacks? We haven’t heard of them in some time.  Meanwhile, in spite of woman’s liberation in some senses, many of them are desperate to play rugby, or learn ballet, or both.  Women, you don’t have to hurt yourselves doing these crazy things!

It’s now Tuesday April 5^th.

The world is outraged by photo of atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine, specifically in the town of Bucha. There are photographs of Ukrainian citizens that have had their hands tied behind their backs, and then been shot. The scenes are horrifying, of atrocities committed when Russian troops occupied the towns. Now they have left.  There’s a feeling that this takes things to a new level of horror.  The Kremlin claims no one was ill-treated; that’s a lie, again; that the killings were staged. How do you believe anything Putin says?

The Covid 19 report today is not as good as yesterday. The official number of new cases is 14,120, and there have been 23 deaths. There are 692 people in hospital, with 30 of them in Intensive Care.  You get the feeling that Covid 19/omicron is hanging in there, and although we may have peaked, there’s still an alarming number of new cases each day.

It’s now Wednesday April 6^th.

This morning I went to hymn singing. It was lovely, as always. We sang My song is Love Unknown, There is Green Hill Far Away, and O Sacred Head Sore Wounded, to Bach’s beautiful Passion Chorale from his St Matthew Passion.  Afterwards I bought some scones for morning tea and went to the supermarket, where I met someone from my Thursday morning singing. Like me, she misses it and hopes we can sing together again soon.  I still quite nervous – having received a second Bluetooth alert on my phone. One of my hymn singing friends says that her daughter and her boyfriend live in a small flat, but one of them caught Covid 19 and the other didn’t.  Another hymn singing friend says he doesn’t have the Covid ap on his phone, and so doesn’t get alerts. Yesterday JD spoke to a friend in Hawkes Bay who has it and is isolating at home; his wife is just going back to work.  My friend at church says he only knows of three people who’ve had it and who are known parishioners.

We met my son and his wife at Kaizen Café in Porirua.  It’s quite mild today, so we were quite happy to sit at a table in the hallway – where it would often be draughty.  I had an omelette and my special – rhubarb shortcake.

I miss the 1 pm report, no doubt enjoying my cheese omelette. I learnt two major things: Dr Bloomfield is leaving his position as Director-General of  Health in July, and, in an interview, Trump admitted that he lost the presidential election in November 2020.  Not that it was his fault, of course; it was rigged. That would seem to be like a public admission of guilt. It’s a shame Dr Bloomfield is leaving before his term is up, but who can blame him? The stress must have been very difficult, over the past two and a bit years. Although he made mistakes, he earned the confidence and trust of most if not all New Zealanders, and he and Prime Minister Ardern made a great tag team, cheerfully fronting up to the podium most days to tell us the latest news, and to cheer us up, especially though the first scary lockdown.

The 1 pm report tells that there are 12,575 new cases reported, and there’ve been a further 15 deaths. There are 654 people in hospital, and 23 of them are in Intensive Care.  It’s reported that there were new cases of Covid-19 in: Northland (619), Auckland (2147), Waikato (1101), Bay of Plenty (604), Lakes (299), Hawke’s Bay (602), MidCentral (678), Whanganui (321), Taranaki (437), Tairāwhiti (128), Wairarapa (149), Capital and Coast (775), Hutt Valley (464), Nelson Marlborough (436), Canterbury (2108), South Canterbury (249), Southern (1368), West Coast (81), and nine in unknown locations.

On Thursday JD and I had our flu vaccinations at the Johnsonville Shopping Centre.  There weren’t many there, to my surprise, although there was plenty of room. The numbers at 1 pm were as follows: there were 11,364 new community cases, and 51 new cases at the border. There were 639 cases in hospital, and there were 13 deaths.  I was upset to get a call from Hōhepa to learn that my daughter had been exposed to someone who had subsequently tested positive for Covid 19.  Accordingly, she will have RAT tests on day 3 and day 7.   This is quite upsetting; Covid 19 is still very much with us. (To follow up: her RAT day 3 test was negative on Friday morning. DV).

On that note, I’ll end for now. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

Today is Saturday April 2^nd, 2022. Kia ora!

I checked my phone, and Daylight Saving in New Zealand ends at 3 am tomorrow morning.  I did not know this; usually it ends with Easter (or so I thought).  I also check when Easter is, and Good Friday is April 15^th. I needn’t have stressed about posting my daughter’s present after all.

Today’s Covid 19 report, is still better, in terms of new cases and hospitalisations inching downwards, but there are still an alarming number of deaths each day. There are officially 11,560 new cases today, but there have been 23 deaths. There are 678 people in hospital, and 30 in Intensive Care.

Among the cases, most – 1931 – are from Auckland region, followed by Canterbury, which is reporting 1866 positive cases on Saturday. Other regions reporting positive cases include Northland (521), Waikato (1004), Bay of Plenty (650), Lakes (285), Hawke’s Bay (588), MidCentral (663), Whanganui (293), Taranaki (428), Tairāwhiti (141), Wairarapa (97), Capital & Coast (820), Hutt Valley (479), Nelson Marlborough (480), South Canterbury (248), Southern (995) and West Coast (71).

Of the deaths, it’s reported that one person was 30, two were in their 50s, one in their 60s, one in their 70s, 13 in their 80s and five were over the age of 90. One was from Northland, seven from Auckland, two from Lakes DHB, two from MidCentral, seven from Wellington, one from the Nelson and Marlborough region, one from Canterbury and two from Southern. Twelve were male and 11 were female. This brings the total deaths in the outbreak to 378.

We watched a movie on the new free-to-view channel, Eden (formerly Choice).  It has some gems – this movie, Silver Linings Playbook, with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert de Niro; they are also running an Australian series on Thursday nights called The Newsreader.  As I’ve already seen most of the movies on Māori Television, it’s quite nice to have another channel to watch, although the long ad breaks are really annoying and they’ve done something to the very intense primary colours used in the ads.

It’s now Sunday April 3^rd.

At 3 am this morning our time went back one hour. I haven’t changed my watch yet, but my computer and my phone tell me the correct time. This morning I zoomed into an online service with some St Anne’s parishioners – the last in this Lenten series.  Next Sunday, I will either go to church in person, or zoom into its service.  It has been a treat to zoom into St Anne’s services.

The Covid 19 report today is much better, again, apart from the still alarming number of deaths – 18 new deaths. But the new case numbers are down to 4 digits at 8,810; there are 690 hospitalisations, and 26 are in Intensive Care.

Of the deaths reported, two were from Northland, seven were from the Auckland region, three were from Waikato, one was from Whanganui, one was from Hawke’s Bay, one was from the Wellington region, two were from Canterbury, and one was from Southern. One person was in their 30s, three were in their 60s, eight were in their 70s, three were in their 80s, and three were over 90.

On Sunday the new community cases were in Northland (385), Auckland (1,555), Waikato (729), Bay of Plenty (414), Lakes (226), Hawke’s Bay (420), MidCentral (502), Whanganui (222), Taranaki (342), Tairāwhiti (102), Wairarapa (91), Capital and Coast (635), Hutt Valley (389), Nelson Marlborough (364), Canterbury (1,463), South Canterbury (172), Southern (735)and West Coast (57) – while seven were in unknown locations. That’s quite a drop for Wellington and Hawkes Bay.

There’s a stark warning, though: in New Zealand, experts said the second wave of Omicron infections could hit in the next two to three months, and cases could begin to rise again as early as May.

In the UK, almost 5 million people have Covid 19 – the BA2 variant of the omicron variant.  Will we ever escape this thing? 

In the US, Ginni Thomas’s (wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas) access to the White House when the former guy was president is alarming, as are her text messages. Someone in a podcast said he thought she was insane.  She may be, but the extent of her influence, and her access, and the identity of her spouse, is alarming. More of her texts are being revealed and analysed.  It seems that Trump’s involvement in the insurrection is becoming more and more certain as a White House phone log has a significant gap (7 hours 37 minutes), and it’s thought he used burner phones. More and more folk are spilling the beans about that event and the events leading up to it.  It’s all very concerning – and amusing; meanwhile another GOP Senator has echoed Trump’s request to Putin to dish dirt on Joe Biden.  Republicans: I see many off-ramps here. Won’t you take them?

The Ukraine situation is still terrible. The Ukrainians still seem too be amazingly brave, and loyal to their ever inspiring president, Zelensky.  It’s said the area around Kyiv has been liberated by Ukrainian troops, but the retreating Russian troops have left a huge trail of destruction behind them – dead bodies, mines, potholed roads, mines under dead bodies, and general destruction of any buildings.  As it was said in one podcast I listened to, if they surrendered Mariupol, then where would surrender stop?  Meanwhile, although safe passage out of Mariupol has been promised, it does not eventuate.  Shooting and bombings continue.  Putin has called for more conscripts, and it’s feared Russian forces are regrouping for a new attack. 

The Ukrainians seem to be amazingly well organised.  They’re still being supplied by the US, and they seem to be using the stuff they’re getting very wisely.  Every country has some crazy people, but if Ukraine has them, I’m not seeing them to date, despite the huge wave of violence and destruction unleashed by Putin. It was reported on Friday night that Ukrainian forces had struck an oil base in a Russian city; I would have cautioned against such retaliation, but then the irony struck me, of hurting the Russians where it really hurts, seeing that oil is their greatest export, reduced as it is through sanctions.  Not every country has imposed sanctions on Russia.

In most of my lifetime, we have enjoyed peace, or, in other words, no major conflicts. I am truly grateful for this. I was born during the Korean War, but the Great Depression of the 1930’s and the Second World War had had a huge effect on my parents.  For a long time I feared being bombed, until I was old enough to rationalise this fear and realise it was extremely unlikely to happen. Then there was the nuclear crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the war in Vietnam, and much later, the dreadful wars in the Balkans. Then there was the Iraq War, the Syrian Civil War, and the latest war in Afghanistan. There were many other conflicts, of course.  Compulsory conscription ended here not long before we were married; JD was warned that if he joined the Territorials, he would undoubtedly be sent to Vietnam.  I am most grateful that I didn’t have to see any of my sons go to wars or conflicts, although I’m sure they’d have conducted themselves admirably. My father-in-law was in the British army, and the Normandy landings, and I’m sure he was greatly affected by his experiences.  So, by and large, conflict has been at a distance. A friend of one of my sons did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and a nephew from Australia was there; thankfully none of mine were. That’s a particular grief and concern that I haven’t had to deal with.

For me, it’s not that I take this for granted:  goodness knows, we’ve got nuclear conflict, climate change’s devastation, and the coronavirus to be very concerned about, but the conflict in Ukraine does feel like one of those pivotal moments, which changes everything.  We’ve had rather too many lately, Brexit, Trump’s Presidency, and Megxit to name a few; but this latest needless conflict brings new challenges and shortages to an already challenged planet:  while the poor people of Ukraine watch their livelihoods totally upended, their homes destroyed, and many deaths, the rest of us give thanks and worry about the higher cost of fuel and food, and shortages (nothing, really, compared to the shortages in Russia).  It’s a great sadness, that this Easter, when we celebrate our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, we’ll also be thinking of, and praying for, those brave souls in Ukraine, and hoping they can piece their lives together again soon, in some kind of safety and security. 

How does Putin stop this conflict? At some point, he should declare victory and move on. 

It does seem strange to me that in this time when so many people want to relive past hurts, and apologies are seen to not go far enough, many are apparently so unforgiving.  Easter is a time of grace and forgiveness; prime Minister Ardern exhorted us all to be kind; how, then, is there so much unkindness in the world? I’m thinking immediately of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and a certain young man (not so young as to not know better), not going to his grandfather’s memorial service.  I’m also thinking about all the criticism of Prince Andrew’s escorting his mother, Her Majesty the Queen, into Westminster Abbey for this service. Sadly, that became a focus of the service. I still haven’t seen a recording of the actual service, although there’ve been plenty of the British Royal Family arriving and departing. There are many other examples, alas, of such cruelty.

For many of us, Easter is a time that reminds us of the grace, love and forgiveness we have received.  I took a RAT test for Covid 19 this afternoon, and it was negative.  I’m thankful for that too. Peace be with you. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Thursday March 31^st, 2022. Kia ora!

This morning I went to Tai Chi at Mana. It was the last session for the term. It was a lovely, fine, sunny day; yesterday’s fog has lifted.  JD had a RAT test this morning; thankfully, it was negative.  This Tai Chi group doesn’t meet again till May 5, after Easter, school holidays and Anzac Day.  I suspect I won’t be able to go then.

Afterwards, we decided to try out the new Transmission Gully motorway.  We drove north from Mana, on a largely deserted road (I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so deserted!) State Highway 59 (formerly State Highway 1). This morning the Dompost had a really nice lift-out about the new highway; I read most, but not all of it. We drive north to just past Paekakariki, where I assume that we can turn right to head south on the new road, but I am proved wrong: we can drive under the new road, and around a new roundabout, and then head north again, or south back the way we came. This entrance is not finished yet – I assume it will be, eventually.

We head north on the Expressway (Motorway Ends); what I wonder, is the difference between a motorway and an expressway?  We drive north, taking the Raumati Exit; this lets us turn around the roundabout and head south towards Wellington. We aren’t the only ones – several cars turned off at the QE2 Park/McKays crossing turn off; now I know why.

The new Transmission Gully road is amazing. It is quite steep in places; there are three lanes (or a slow lane) in steep uphill places.  It is quite wonderful, although it does need resealing in places.  There’s some confusion with the signage around the Raumati turnoff; but the new road is very pleasing. There’s quite a lot of traffic, but no queues.  Easter will be interesting! I assume there’ll be a queue somewhere, but perhaps not until you get to Otaki, now. A comment has been received: is it faster? What a stupid question. I’d say it would be, since it’s more direct, and there’s no stopping, although if it were really busy the old road might be faster.

We want to go to Nada in Tawa on the way home, so we don’t take the Porirua exit (although there is a sign saying Tawa this exit); I suspect this exit goes to Kenepuru, where, from the Kenepuru end, there is some very impressive construction.  We drive on and find ourselves on the old State Highway One, i.e. the new road (now SH1) merges with the old motorway between Wellington and Porirua. We take the old (existing) Tawa exit, and make our way to Nada.  While they were using a food truck for a few weeks, it’s evident that they’ve made some changes inside to the café, making it feel safer to buy takeaways, with more space for sitting down if you needed to (there are also tables outside).  It’s not a very attractive place to sit, but there is a coffee machine, and china cups, as well as takeaway cups.  There are no cheese scones today, or cream donuts, so I choose salmon and cucumber sandwiches instead.  It seems that eating fish, or taking an Omega 3 supplement, offers some protection against cataracts.

Apparently a police car got stuck in gravel on the new Transmission Gully road, after ticketing several drivers (presumably for exceeding the 100k speed limit.  You’re not allowed to stop on this road; and indeed, why would you? It’s separated, so no head-on collisions; now, the remaining SH1 between Linden and Johnsonville should surely be three lanes each way? There’s a very narrow stretch behind Johnsonville; I don’t know how you’d widen that.

Today’s Covid 19 report is much as we’ve come to expect, with still an alarming number of deaths, while there are fewer new cases overall, and fewer hospitalisations. There are 15,520 new cases, but there’ve been 22 deaths. There are 830 people in hospital, and 28 of them are in Intensive Care.  Today I’ve received no emails from Metlink to say that services are cancelled.

Of the people whose deaths were reported on Thursday, one was from Northland, ten were from Auckland, one was from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, two were from Lakes, two were from Wellington, and four were from Canterbury. Two were in their 50s, four were in their 60s, three were in their 70s, six were in their 80s and seven were over 90. Fifteen were female and seven were male. Meanwhile, hospitalisations were declining, particularly in the Northern region. Apparently one third of those hospitalised are children or young people, while the average age of patients remains 56 – it has hovered around this mark. (Correction: about 1/3 of people with Covid 19 are children. Anecdotally, they can be quite sick).

It’s reported that there were new community cases in Northland (662), Auckland (2708), Waikato (1352), Bay of Plenty (825), Lakes (348), Hawke’s Bay (917), MidCentral (812), Whanganui (360), Taranaki (608), Tairāwhiti (201), Wairarapa (146), Capital and Coast (1009), Hutt Valley (587), Nelson Marlborough (729), Canterbury (2379), South Canterbury (305), Southern (1212), West Coast (77); and 13 in unknown locations.

JD and I walked up to the local store in the late afternoon, on this beautiful day. Imagine my shock, on returning, to get another Bluetooth alert on my phone, this time through the Covid tracer ap.  It said that someone had tested positive for Covid 19, and the exposure was on Tuesday 29 March. I checked my Covid 19 diary, and I hadn’t recorded any locations that day.  But I had been on a lovely picnic at a park in Porirua with two of my sons and two of my grandchildren. We were outside the entire time; I suspect my phone must have been close enough to an infected person’s phone to cause the alert. I contacted them both; one wasn’t pinged at all. I think of all the places I’ve been in the last few days – not many, mind, that I would think would be far more risky. The alert tells me to monitor symptoms for 10 days.  I’m already doing that! We all are!  I don’t have to isolate, or be tested this time, although I may take a RAT test. That is just so annoying; every time one thinks I should get out more, something like this happens.  I am missing out in the Pre-Easter Lenten rituals; I guess I am doing my own version of Lent, by not taking part in things I would like to take part in.

It’s now Friday April 1^st.

Someone from Access comes to do some housework. It seems as though it’s ages since anyone came, so that’s nice, although it just gets harder and harder to “prepare”: changing the towels and putting the soiled ones on to wash; changing the bedlinen and putting the soiled sheets on to wash; putting the other washing on; folding and putting away JD’s clean washing; emptying rubbish bins; checking the dirty dishes are loaded in the dishwasher, and general tidying up. Still, it’s good to have vacuuming done and the bathrooms cleaned and the kitchen floor cleaned.  I just find the whole business, which is meant to be a help, very tiring, and I wish it were easier.

The Covid 19 report is improving, in terms of numbers, apart from a continuing high death rate.  The total of new cases today is 13,475, but there have been 17 further deaths. There are 764 people in hospital (a welcome reduction, but 31 in Intensive Care. So that’s still mixed. It’s alarming that people are still dying with this illness. Today I get messages from Metlink to say that some services have been cancelled because of illness due to omicron.

Overseas, some interesting things are happening. Activities around the events of January 6 in the US are heating up, as more and more evidence emerges and the US Department of Justice gets more involved in investigations and perhaps trials. Madison Cawthorn has distinguished himself with his admission of invitations to orgies, and use of a key bump of cocaine. The latter had many of us rushing to google “key bump”. It seems that this has aroused Republican displeasure, and the need for Kevin McCarthy to have a chat with Cawthorn. Well, fancy that!  The head of the CIA has been diagnosed with Covid 19; President Biden has had another booster injection; I am worried that he’s been close to people with Covid 19; he must also be exhausted from his recent trip to Europe, finishing in Poland. Trump also asked Putin for information about  Joe Biden.  Really!  Many people are shocked, including some Republicans.

Meanwhile, with regard to the situation in Ukraine, both GCHQ in the UK and the White House claim that Putin’s not being given correct information about the failure of Russian troops in the war. Well, we’ve all seen that, but I guess it’s official now. It’s said that there’s safe transportation out of Mariupol for its citizens, but I read later that Russians had interfered with 25 buses taking Ukrainian citizens to safety. It seems there are attempts at negotiations, but no one trusts Putin.  Russian troops have evidently left Chernobyl, because the soldiers there were getting sick from the radiation.  Well after the nuclear catastrophe, the area (the “exclusion zone”) remains radioactive, all these years later. Apparently the Russian troops did not know about the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl in April 1986, and wore no protective clothing. It’s also said that Russian troops shot down some of their own planes.  Some Ukrainian areas have been “liberated” by Ukrainian forces, but they fear being re-captured by the Russians.  There are mines, too; in some areas, drones are being used to detect them.

I listen to Charlie Sykes on the Bulwark podcast most weekdays – although I avoid chats that are about how awful the Democrats are – but I have been appalled this past week to hear Charlie advertising cigars.  Surely smoking cigars is a health risk, but Charlie endorses them!  I do appreciate the “free” podcast, and I know most podcasts carry some advertising, some of it more annoying than others; you have to pay to avoid the ads; which I don’t intend to do. I just felt that Charlie had sunk to new depths. Counselling, cereals, vitamins, cheaper insurance etc I’m prepared to put up with.

That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Saturday March 26^th. Kia ora!

This morning I listen to various podcasts about Russian history and US politics. I learn that in New Zealand Canterbury is under severe pressure from Covid 19. The 1 pm report is the worst for deaths so far – there have been 20 in the past 24 hours, including that of someone in their 40’s. The total of new cases is 14,175, and there are 841 people in hospital, with 27 of them in Intensive Care.

Of those who died, one was in their 40s, one in their 50s, three in their 60s, five in their 70s, six people in their 80s, and three in their 90s. Most of the deaths were from Auckland – with six deaths. Five were from Waikato and two were from Mid Central, while one death each was recorded in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Nelson Marlborough. We’re not given details of the locations of the new cases.

It’s reported that today is the first day of the relaxed rules, including no gathering limits for outdoor activities and events, as well as an increased 200-person limit for indoor gatherings. There is also no longer any requirement to scan in or for a business to display a QR code poster. Some of us felt a degree of protection given by these rules.

Yesterday was Sunday March 27^th, a day of rest.

I woke up early and then went back to sleep, not waking until 9:10 am. That’s late for me! Although I was very glad of the extra sleep, I felt quite discombobulated. At 10 am I zoomed into St Anne’s service. It was lovely, and I feel I’m getting to know some of the lovely people there. 

I made some notes, but other than that, I didn’t blog. China Covid 19 cases in Shanghai. UK 1 m cases today. Kherson taken back. Russian troops from Georgia.

On Sunday there were only 10,239 new case reported, and 4 deaths.

In the early evening I learnt that my daughter’s second RAT test was negative, as were the RAT tests for all the residents, so that’s a big relief.

Monday’s Covid 19 figures weren’t so bad: there were officially 12,882 new community cases of Covid-19, 861 hospitalisations and 11 deaths reported.

It’s now Tuesday March 29^th.

I’ve been distracted (by family!)  Today’s Covid 19 is quite bad, after not so bad reports for the last two days – so much so that some organisations are starting up their activities again. Today there are officially 17,148 new cases, and there have been 34 deaths (over the past 10 days). There is now a total of 303 deaths. There are 842 people in hospital, and 26 of them are in Intensive Care. That figure of 34 deaths seems much higher than we’ve been used to. 24 of these people were over 70. It seems that Christchurch is taking over from Auckland as the Covid 19 capital of New Zealand.  I get a newsletter from Radio New Zealand each day, but sometimes Covid 19 is not even mentioned. Schools are still being badly affected by Covid 19.

In Victoria, it’s reported that Daniel Andrews, the Premier, has tested positive for Covid 19.

This morning I learn from the UK’s Guardian that Roman Abramovich, one of the negotiators, thinks he and a Ukrainian counterpart have been poisoned (not in Russia). This story is very confusing – I read the reporting several times, and I’m still confused. Another new website (the NZ Herald) says that Abramovich jetted between Moscow, Istanbul and Kyiv. Well, I doubt if you can fly to Kyiv, even in a private jet, at present; and why would Istanbul (Turkey) be involved? There are more questions than answers here.

It’s now Wednesday March 30^th.

This  morning I went to hymn singing. It was lovely, as always. We sang, amongst other things, O for a closer walk with God, and Love Unknown.  I went to the supermarket afterwards, but there are still several things not available there, so it was a bit frustrating.  It was very foggy in Northern Wellington this morning.

It’s reported that the Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennet, has Covid 19. I listened to a report from Dr John Campbell, where he is alarmed at the increase of Covid 19 cases in the British Isles: in England, 1/16 people is positive; in Scotland, it’s 1/11.  I watched various recordings of Prince Philip’s Memorial Service at Westminster Abbey, and I saw no masks worn there, although Dr Campbell saw one. The odious Prince Andrew escorted the Queen into the church, although he did not sit beside her. Hey, whatever one may think, Prince Philip was his father too.  The person who wasn’t there was Prince Harry (and Prince Philip walked beside him and his brother Prince William at princess Diana’s funeral). The attendance which did shock me was that of the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. He showed up as shambolic as ever. He hadn’t even bothered to comb his hair. And what was he doing last year, when Prince Philip died, and only 30 people could attend his funeral? Oh, he was having a party at Downing St. I’m sure he doesn’t recall it – oh wasn’t there an apology to Her Majesty?  A very poor show, if you ask me.

In Shanghai, a city of 26 million people, there are partial lockdowns and the authorities plan to test the entire city for Covid 19. It was reported on Tuesday that there were more than 2,600 new infections, after just a handful in early March. On the strength of this lockdown, the price of oil fell.

In New Zealand, today, there are 15,918 new cases of Covid 19, and a further 14 deaths. There are 817 people in hospital, and 24 in Intensive Care.  The numbers of new cases were much reduced at the weekend, prompting some organisations to restart their (paused) activities again; but the number of deaths is still alarming, as is the numbers not at school at present. JD and I both got texts inviting us to make appointments to have our free flu vaccinations; I’m wondering where they will hold them, this year. Perhaps in the Johnsonville Mall? Of the deaths, four were from the Auckland region; four from Waikato; one from Lakes, one from Wellington, one from Nelson Marlborough, one from Canterbury, one from South Canterbury and one from Southern. Five people were in their 70s, six in their 80s and three were in their 90s. One was female and 13 were male.

There were new community cases in: Northland (634), Auckland (2691), Waikato (1508), Bay of Plenty (987), Lakes (438), Hawke’s Bay (892), MidCentral (851), Whanganui (399), Taranaki (649), Tairāwhiti (183), Wairarapa (152), Capital & Coast (1054), Hutt Valley (599), Nelson Marlborough (605), Canterbury (2535), South Canterbury (293), Southern (1386), West Coast (55); and seven in unknown locations.

After all the fuss, the new Transmission Gully route is now officially open. A Māori blessing has been performed, and I assume we’re good to go, until the complaints start coming through.  I must admit I find some of the blessings of inanimate objects a little strange (and perhaps unnecessary, to me, anyway).

I’ve been insisting on watching The Gilded Age on Tuesday nights, but there wasn’t a new episode last night – there are just 9 episodes in Series One; apparently. I should have realised. Instead, we watched the movie 9 Minutes to Midnight, a preposterous story but evidently based on true events. Really, Dame Judi Dench, why, one wonders, do you lower yourself to do this kind of thing?  On Sunday evening we watched The Straight Story on Māori television, directed by David Lynch.  I had not seen it when it was on release.  What a strange film! Again, it was based on true events, just going to prove that reality really can be stranger than fiction.  The colours were odd, in a Stanley Kubrick kind of way; what upset me the most was the dreadful poverty, especially of Alvin’s brother Lyle. 

I have finished reading The Suitcase again. It’s been nice to borrow the book from the library; I read three excerpts in the LRB, but it’s much nicer (and less confusing) to read the actual book.  What a story it is!  It reminds me how chaotic some European lives were during the two World Wars and afterwards.

This brings me back to the dreadfully sad situation in Ukraine, where, although the Russian forces are demonstrably failing against the Ukrainians, Putin has “won”, in that he holds dreadful weapons – nuclear, chemical, thermobaric – and threatens to use them.  I sincerely doubt that he’s going to rebuild the homes and facilities that he’s destroyed.  So – even if he doesn’t get everything he wants, he’ll no doubt get some of it, and will at some stage declare victory and move on.

There seems to be no doubt that his armed forces were seriously unprepared for what has eventuated: were his people  telling him lies, because that’s what he wanted to hear? He’s lost several generals (6?) and senior commanders; you have to wonder what they were doing, being in harm’s way.  Much of the equipment has been damaged by Ukrainians, and it seems much of it wasn’t in good shape to start with. Evidently there’ve been problems with supplies, food and fuel, and the Russians aren’t even repatriating their dead servicemen, unless they’re generals, of course.  Other nations around Ukraine are worried –  who’ll be next?  And there’s a huge refugee problem.  So how do you stop this machine?  President Zelensky still makes daily broadcasts begging the West to do more to help, but it seems, while suffering is dreadful, the Ukrainians are doing all right against the Russian bear.  It seems the Russians are putting out peace feelers –  and the west is duly sceptical, as well they might be. Last night it was reported that Putin was sending 1,000 mercenaries to Ukraine.

That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Nga mihi.

It’s now Thursday March 24^th, 2022. Kia ora!

This morning I listened to a NY Times podcast (The Daily) which argued that while sanctions against Russian oligarchs have not really hurt them in the past, this time is different. I must listen to it again; sometimes I’m half-listening when I really want to get back to sleep: I tend to miss the really interesting bit, and have to re-hear the whole thing.  I look up ABC news, and there is an alarming headline, along the lines of Russia regarding peace-keeping forces in Ukraine as an attack by NATO?  It sounded ominous, whatever it was. It’s gone now, so I may have mis-interpreted it. A senior Kremlin official, Anatoly Chubais, has resigned over the invasion of Ukraine. Putin is now insisting on what he terms as “unfriendly countries” paying for gas in roubles. What does this mean? I’ll have to ask an economist.  He says they have to “buy” roubles to make payment.  That’ll be better for Russia.

I listened to the Bulwark podcast this morning, in which Charlie Sykes was taking to David Corn, bureau chief of “Mother Jones”, and co-author with Michael Isikoff of the book “Russian Roulette”. This book, which I have read, was published during Robert Mueller’s time as Special Counsel, and explores some of Trump’s links to Russia. He’s just written an article called “How Trump and his Crew Boost Putin’s Disinformation”. Here’s a link:

How Trump and His Crew Boost Putin’s Disinformation

He also broke the story about Russian television requesting replaying of Tucker Carlson’s praise for Putin on Fox News.

I glance at this morning’s newspaper. Others, like me, are concerned about the mandates being lifted. But I feel that I’m living in an alternate universe. Dr Bloomfield claims there is no mental health crisis. 

This morning I went to Tai Chi out at Mana. It was raining, but warm, and there was a great turn out. It was the penultimate class of Term One!  It was lovely, as always. I’m always glad that I’ve made the effort to go. Even the Dr Lam form makes sense to me now.  I see a friend there, who has a daughter at Hōhepa in Otaihanga. Some of the staff there have been affected by Covid 19, and she’s frustrated that family members aren’t allowed to visit at present. Afterwards I wait outside for JD to pick me up. It’s only drizzling now, but the outside seats are too wet to sit on, so instead I lean against a railing while checking my phone for news.

Everyone here is affected by Covid 19.  The 1 pm report is – well- slightly better than yesterday’s; there are officially only 18,423 new cases,  and there have been a further 11 deaths. There are 913 people in hospital, and 28 are in Intensive Care. Of the deaths, two were in their 50s, one person was in their 70s, four people were in their 80s, and four people were in their 90s. Six were men and five were women. Two were from the Auckland region, two from Bay of Plenty, six from Waikato, and one from the Wellington region.

The new community cases were in Northland (674), Auckland (3629), Waikato (1643), Bay of Plenty (987), Lakes (483), Hawke’s Bay (1055), MidCentral (876), Whanganui (313), Taranaki (655), Tairāwhiti (326), Wairarapa (249), Capital & Coast (1200), Hutt Valley (627), Nelson Marlborough (709), Canterbury (3150), South Canterbury (319), Southern (1459), West Coast (57); and 12 in unknown locations. Wellington and Hawkes Bay continue to be very hard hit.

In Hawkes Bay, health services are under extreme pressure, with 1,000 new cases each day, and presently 40 in Hawkes Bay Hospital, with 4 in Intensive Care.  This is “worst case scenario” stuff, with staff being redeployed as needed to cover for others. Taranaki has its first Covid death as cases pass 600 per day. Access were supposed to provide some home help tomorrow morning, but they’ve cancelled, so I’ll go shopping instead.

It’s reported that Tump has rescinded his endorsement of GOP candidate Mo Brooks, saying that he was “too woke”; Evidently Mo Brooks was polling poorly, so Trump dropped him. Brooks got his own back by saying that Trump asked him to rescind the November 2020 election, in September 2021!  I guess that explains the pillow guy’s seemingly absurd claims that Trump would return to the White House.  That has caused some excitement in US politics – Trump had few more ardent supporters than Mo Brooks, who addressed the crowd at the Stop the Steal rally on January 6, turning up in battle gear, and vowing they were going to “kick ass”.  That’s quite a turnaround. His main sin, other than being a loser, was to say it was time to move on from the 2020 Presidential Election.

This morning I listened to some very depressing podcasts, about Putin/Xi alliance, and the US’s belief that Ukraine will lose, they don’t want to start a nuclear war, and a thesis that they could have supplied so much more useful equipment.  It reminds me of so many American tragedies such as mass shootings, where they weep and grieve – they’re such kind people on the whole – but absolutely won’t back any gun control legislation; in fact, they are freeing it up. I know there are loud voices against such moves, but they’re defeated in most places. In the US, they’re free to live with ever-present death, and the so-called “pro life” people are not prepared in any way to improve the quality of the lives they’re determined to “save” by denying abortion rights. This makes me very sad.

Another beef: Israel has an Iron dome, to protect it from Palestinian attacks. Why doesn’t Ukraine have an Iron Dome?  Given that President Zelensky is Jewish, you’d think Israel would be out to help.  But they don’t want to annoy Russia; there are still many Russian Jews, so they’re reluctant to help, fearing worse reprisals.  They’re conflicted, it seems. So are  India and Pakistan, and so is Senator Bernie Sanders.         

It seems that, unlike previously, the current sanctions have more teeth and thus more effect.  Countries are coming up with creative ways to deal with Russian oligarch’s super yachts. But I guess it often becomes an economic issue for those who would service these yachts.  The Russian economy is feeling the pinch (ha! Ha!) since there’s a shortage of sugar.  14,000 Russians are in prison for protesting against the invasion. There’s a story in the New Yorker magazine about many Russians (intellectuals) who left Russia in disgust, only to be greeted with disdain because they’re Russian! 

Russian ship was destroyed by the Ukrainians at Berdyansk! It made quite a spectacle.

This morning we went shopping at New World in Thorndon. It was quite busy there. We bought salad, raspberries, coffee beans, potato gratin, washing powder, tonic water, and bread.  On the way home I picked up a book I’d had on reserve at the library for ages: The Suitcase, by Frances Sarah Stoners. It looks new!  I am looking forward to reading it, after 3 excerpts were published in the LRB. It’s taken a long time for Wellington City Library to buy a copy.

The 1 pm report is better and worse: there are 15,871 new cases reported, but there have been 13 further deaths, bringing the official death total to 234. One of today’s deaths was a person in their 30’s. It’s reported that the new cases are in Auckland (2982), Northland (558), Waikato (1,432), Bay of Plenty (1,024), Lakes (420), Hawke’s Bay (873), MidCentral (814), Whanganui (330), Taranaki (591), Tairāwhiti (224), Wairarapa (251), Capital and Coast (1,063), Hutt Valley (567), Nelson Marlborough (519), Canterbury (2,659), South Canterbury (251), Southern (1245), West Coast (59), and 9 cases where the location is unknown. There are 899 people in hospital, and 27 are in Intensive Care. So the numbers of new cases reported and hospitalisations are slowly reducing, but there is still an alarming number of deaths.

This afternoon new.com.au reports that Russia says that if NATO peace-keeping forces enter Ukraine, that would mean nuclear war.  This echoes a headline in ABC news yesterday.

It has become apparent that Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas, had a text message exchange (29 messages) with Trump’s then chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in which she urged him to overthrow the presidential election, to use one of Trump’s lawyers, Sidney Powell (whose now been disciplined herself), sent a Q-Anon video, said the Biden crime family should be sent to Gitmo, and invoked the name of the Lord (King of Kings) in seeing that this fine work should continue.  She not only had this text message exchange, but also attended the January 6 Stop the Steal Rally. This news has many Americans spluttering. Clarence Thomas did not recuse himself from the appeal to the Supreme Court about the White House records being withheld from the January 6 Select Committee – in fact he was the only dissenter, all his colleagues ruling that such documents should be released.  You would think that of all people, a Supreme Court Justice would understand the legal ramifications of his situation, and when it would be appropriate to recuse himself. People were already shocked at how US GOP Senators had treated KBW’s Senate hearing, by asking her all kinds of ridiculous questions; and, by the way, DJT is suing Hillary Clinton et al for claims that they rigged the 2016 Presidential Election (Hillary should be very afraid), but news of Ginni’s text messages has really knocked all that out of the water. US politics is indeed very messy; let’s get back to more normal partisan bickering (when was that, by the way?)

 In Ukraine, the Russians have bombed a theatre in Mariupol where people were sheltering, and there have been 300 casualties. Apparently Mariupol was originally settled by Greek people! Putin claims that Russia is a victim of “cancel culture”. It’s reported that many Russians are leaving Russia, taking the train from St Petersburg to Helsinki. It’s reported that a Russian soldier was overheard boasting to a mate that his tank had driven over his commander (presumably on a stolen call phone).  It seems, despite all the bombing, that Ukrainian morale is still high (except in Mariupol) and that of Russian troops is severely lacking. I listen again to a podcast about the Barbarossa invasion of Russia by the Germans in June 1941, and all the problems with that, including a lack of morale on the part of the German invaders as they grew colder, realised they were under-supplied, and did not replicate the initial successes of Blitzkreig. It seems that Putin’s forces are now replicating te difficulties faced by German troops when they invaded Russia in 1941. For all the terrible suffering of the Russian people, the Germans did not prevail.

That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.