It’s now Thursday July 28^th, 2022. Kia ora!

Last night I slept a bit better, waking after 2 am but going back to sleep until 6 am.  Today it’s raining and overcast.  I have a headache again; it’s not a good day and I don’t feel like going anywhere or doing anything. I don’t feel as though I’m getting better – I feel stuck; this should never have happened to me. But it has. Somehow I don’t see myself going on any of my previous “adventures”.

The Ministry of Health says there are 7627 new community cases today. There are 827 people in hospital with the virus, including 24 in intensive care. Nearly 100 people have died with Covid in the past three days as this week shapes up to be the deadliest of the pandemic to date. Since Monday the Ministry of Health has announced the deaths of 99 people with yesterday proving one of the grimmest days of the outbreak with 45 deaths alone.

I listened to the second part of the Battle of Stalingrad podcast on The Rest is History. I found it very affecting. No doubt it was a dreadful time, even if it has been somewhat mythologised.

It’s now Friday July 29^th.

Yesterday was not a good day. Last night I had a racing heartbeat, feeling as though I’m on steroids, which I aren’t, any more. I’d had no caffeine either. This morning I leave a message for Access, cancelling my scheduled “cares”.  I actually slept all right last night; this morning I listened to the Bulwark podcast, where Charlie Sykes was talking to Admiral Stavridis; I have a lot of time for “Supremo”, it was interesting to hear him talk – about the war in Ukraine, for the most part.  I also listened to The Rest is Politics, where Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart answered some listener questions; there was more talk about “charter cities”, which are, you’ve guessed it, another right wing idea for wealthy people to escape the clutches of the tax department.

I also listened to a Lawfare podcast about the Secret Service and the missing text messages.  President Joe Biden’s poll approval is even less than Trump’s (which never went positive, by the way), but as I see it he’s a simply wonderful president, and Americans are lucky to have him. Even democrats don’t want him to run for President again!  So who’s going to beat Trump, then?  It will be interesting to see how the famous mid-term elections go, and whether Democrats will increase their mastery of the Senate.  It seems to me that Biden is an outstanding president, and the views of the severely right-wing Supreme Court should give Democrats another advantage.  

The polls universally ask is America on the right track?  No one ever asks what the “right track” might look like. Really, somebody or something should knock some sense into these folks.

This morning a dear friend drops off some beautiful daffodils and chocolate cupcakes.  I shower and dress, change the towels, and put two loads of washing on.  Earlier I had tidied the kitchen and put the dishwasher on. Later, I have crackers and cheese and quince paste and a cupcake with a cup of coffee for lunch. I fear that Covid 19 has caused my heartbeat to be rather erratic, but there’s a fat chance of getting anyone to check it out.  I am still very weak, and extremely unsteady. In bed, I think of things I should be doing, but then I get up and they’re way beyond me.  I can taste and smell, however, I guess that’s something to be thankful for. It’s fine and sunny now, too, and this week’s Listener has turned up – for television listings starting tomorrow! One of the front page headings is Blue Blood: How Luxon pulled the Nats out of a toxic tailspin. It’s accompanied by pictures of John Key, Simon Bridges, Judith Collins, and Chris Luxon; no mention of Bill English or Todd Muller, then. Luxon is probably their most effective leader to date, but already some of his public statements have irked many people, not just me. And as for pretending to be in Te Puke while he was on holiday in Hawaii: inevitably comparisons will be drawn with his erstwhile Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison (recently defeated in an election), and US Senator Ted Cruz going off to Cancun in Mexico during the severe Texas snow storm and power crisis, when some people froze to death..

It’s weird: I feel as though I’m in a strange kind of bubble, where everything passes me by, and further things are scraped off the list of things I would very much like to do.  I’m trying to lose weight (the covid curve), but will I ever dress up again? Wear a pretty dress? Put on makeup?  Life was an effort before this happened, i.e. before I caught Covid 19.  Now I feel it’s almost over.

The Covid 19 report today is terrible, again, with 7,605 new community cases, and 799 people in hospital. 25 of them are in Intensive Care. But there’ve been 41 further deaths reported today!  That’s horrendous, during the earlier phase we had less than 60.  Dr Bloomfield makes a final statement, telling New Zealanders to keep up their good work. Ha! Nice one.  I tried, desperate to avoid this plague, and now I’m in a hole.

There are now a total of 1479 deaths confirmed as attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor. We’re not told where the deaths occurred. Actually we are told – sometimes you have to search the various websites to find this information.

Of today’s 41 deaths, one was aged in their 50s, one was in their 60s, eight were in their 70s, 12 were in their 80s and 19 were aged over 90. Of these people, 22 were women and 19 were men.

Fourteen of these people were from Auckland region, three were from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, three were from Lakes, two were from Hawke’s Bay, one was from Taranaki, two were from MidCentral, two were from Whanganui, two were from Wellington region, seven were from Canterbury, three were from Southern.

Cases in hospital include: Northland: 21; Waitematā: 100; Counties Manukau: 51; Auckland: 93; Waikato: 97; Bay of Plenty: 35; Lakes: 16; Hawke’s Bay: 44; MidCentral: 48; Whanganui: 13; Taranaki: 21; Tairawhiti: 5; Wairarapa: 7; Capital & Coast/Hutt: 45; Nelson Marlborough: 17; Canterbury/West Coast: 129; South Canterbury: 13; Southern: 44.

This afternoon I have a coughing fit – something I haven’t had for a while. I’ve also had a bit of a runny nose. It’s disconcerting to have symptoms, like a headache, or an irregular heart beat, reappear. Will I ever be free of this scourge? I had pneumonia several years ago, and it took me weeks to get over it.  Although “community spread pneumonia” is infectious, it’s much harder to catch than Covid 19, I think. I still feel really wary about going out anywhere.

It’s now Saturday July 30^th, and I am determined to go shopping.

This morning there were 3 big things on my “radar”: Joe Manchin’s about-turn on Biden’s big Act to combat inflation and take some climate measures, amongst other things. Then I look up the NZ Herald website, which claims that Brian Tamaki drove dangerously, crossing the centre line and crashing into a car and injuring two elderly people. The other item is a very shady real estate deal, where a LIM was doctored, removing leaky building information, and then an auction was brought forward, meaning that the successful bidder did not have time to call for a building inspection. The buyer only discovered the omission when he went to sell the property, and again obtained the LIM (which contained the deleted information).  The fraudulent seller became a real estate agent for Barfoot and Thompson; the original real estate agent has gone to Australia. The couple, who originally owned the house, may go to jail for up to 10 years.  This looks bad for all concerned, but especially bad for Barfoot and Thompson, wo, I think, would claim to be one Auckland’s more honourable agencies.

I listen again to The Rest is Politics podcast about David Trimble, and the part he played in the Northern Ireland Peace Accords (for which he shared the Nobel Peace prize). Then there is an obituary in this morning’s Dompost. What a remarkable man, and what an amazing agreement, ending years of sectarian troubles. I still marvel at this achievement. There were enormous challenges involved.

I shower and dress, and make a shopping list. Then I wait for JD to have his shower, I wonder if I am up to this trip, but we head off to Thorndon, and it goes quite well. The New World supermarket is very busy, but the crowds lessen off as we move through the store. There are no raspberries, and no potato-topped pies, but I get most other things on my list. Tomatoes are $15.99 per kilo, so I give them a miss. I did get some pre-cooked meals, coffee beans, tonic water, salads, cheese, yoghurt, soup and bread. We don’t have to queue up to check out; I have plenty of bags, but I’ve spent so much money that I have to enter the PIN on my pay-wave card. Fortunately I remembered it correctly. We drive home in the rain, and eat pies for lunch.  It was nice to get out, but boy, I am tired afterwards.

Today’s Covid 19 report is better, in that there are fewer new cases (6,232), and fewer people in hospital (769, with 18  in Intensive Care), but there are 67 deaths reported, including 6 people in their 20’s. 67!  That’s crazy. Apparently New Zealand is over the peak, say the experts.

In a statement, the Ministry said the 67 deaths include people who died between 12 May and 30 July, and only 25 were in the past week.

The 67 people who died with Covid-19 included six who were in their 20s, as well as three in their 30s, five in their 40s, four in their 50s, six in their 60s, 10 in their 70s, 22 were in their 80s and 11 aged over 90. Twenty-seven were women and 40 were men. Nine were from Northland, 16 were from Auckland region, seven were from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, two were from Lakes, one was from Hawke’s Bay, four were from Taranaki, six were from MidCentral, three were from the Wellington region, eight were from Canterbury, one was from West Coast, seven were from Southern.  Covid 19 seems to be like what used to be called “old man’s pneumonia” – you’re close to death, but Covid 19 adds the finishing touch. And you may have a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order on your file, which is then obeyed. I think you have to have one when you enter a rest home. At least this plague is knocking elderly people, in the main. It would be truly horrific if children and more young people were dying. Thankfully, there’ve been few so far.

On that cheery note, I’ll end; once again, I feel that so many more things I would like to have done are removed from my to-do list.  Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Tuesday July 26^th, 2022. Kia ora!

Several things come to mind, as we circle in a kind of doom loop of despair. Last night I didn’t sleep well; it rained heavily, but is dry here now today and a bit warmer; I finished my course of prednisone this morning, and I still cough, have a sore chest, and shortness of breath. When I use an inhaler, I struggle not to cough, not really inhaling the necessary medicines.  It’s not a good day for me. JD wants to take me out to lunch, again; I quip that perhaps next month on our wedding anniversary might be a good date to aspire to. That’s still several weeks away.

There are several issues arising from the January 6 Committee hearings:

• The missing Secret Service texts. It is really hard not to see a sinister sub-plot here.
• Josh Hawley running away from the rioters, after cheering them on – to the Benny Hill theme, or Chariots of Fire. This video has been widely circulated online. I think I prefer the Benny Hill theme.
• Mike Pence’s imminent danger, increased after Trump’s tweet; I have yet to hear a republican voice concern about his life, although I think someone did in giving testimony;
• Trump’s refusal to act as Commander-in-Chief, raising questions about who was in charge: did Vice President Mike Pence (still alive) have authority to call out the National Guard?
• Are republican minds being changed about Trump?  I heard a very depressing line on Sarah Longwell’s Focus Group podcast, from Wyoming: “If these were Trump supporters, where were the guns?”  Where indeed? Many of Trumps supporters came armed and prepared to Washington DC on January 6, and Trump urged for them not to be screened by the magnetometers.

In Ukraine news, Russia agreed that some exports of grain could go ahead, and then went and bombed Odessa, meanwhile assuring African allies that grain exports would go ahead. In Myanmar, the junta has carried out some executions. In southern Iran, there’s been flooding again. Wildfires are still raging in parts of Europe; it’s a naughty, selfish and very upset world.  Thankfully I’m here, and whatever my problems, I’m not in a refugee camp, or on Manus Island.

I am also listening to readings of Tom Bower’s book Revenge read by H G Tudor. These are annoyingly addictive.  They come up in a piecemeal fashion on my Youtube feed, not in any particular order.  I really should stop listening to them. But three particularly salacious revelations stand out to me. Just saying.

What else is happening? In the UK, the Tory leadership contest is between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, an unsavoury combination if ever I saw one. They both favour Home Secretary Priti Patel’s solution of sending unwanted immigrants, i.e. desperate boat people crossing the English Channel, to Rwanda.  I believe this policy was recommended by their Australian friends, the Manus Island solution for boat-people having worked so well for them (for whom, I wonder?). I posit that Truss will win for now, and then when she inevitably fails, Sunak will take over.  I trust this gives the boring Sir Keir Starmer some joy; it surely ought to. Certainly he lacks magnetism, but he has a fine name, and he’s much more electable and less toxic than the odious Jeremy Corban.

In Aotearoa/New Zealand, it’s another sad day, with flooding in parts of Christchurch, and wild weather in the South Island.  In the North Island, several school have received bomb threats, and some are in lockdown. This is New Zealand!  Crazy stuff, crazy actions, and crazy protests have taken over here, as is predicted after a plague.  And I’ve held out for two and a half years, and have it Covid 19 now. It feels like a doom-loop of crazy things happening.

JD alerts me to a video by Dr John Campbell, who, in his credulous way, has taken on board a horror story of a woman whose father died in hospital. She claimed he was euthanised.  I am very disinclined to believe this story. While elements of it may be true, some of what Dr John says comes across as quite untrue. I resent our being compared to Australia, and seen as doing worse than them. Covid is soaring over there again, too, and while our health system is undoubtedly under pressure, I guess it’s coping as well as it can under the extreme circumstances.  We still have a lot of people sick with a very contagious disease, but no one is on a ventilator; and I think if an ED were short-staffed, and a choice was to be made as to dealing with me first or a much younger person in good health, I’ve have no doubt about who should get priority.  As for funeral parlours and cemeteries being under pressure, the number of death notices in the daily paper isn’t any more than usual.

Today’s Covid 19 report is pretty dire. The Ministry of Health has reported 9,256 new community cases of Covid-19 and 822 current hospitalisations, including 24 in intensive care or high dependency units. In the past seven days there have been an average of 17 deaths confirmed each day as being attributable to Covid-19. Wastewater testing indicates there are probably far more cases of Covid 19 than reported. There were 430 cases of Covid 19 at the border. We aren’t told how many deaths are being reported today. Meanwhile, the travel vultures are out in force again, advertising cruises, locally and overseas, bike riding tours, walking tours, and trips abroad; the cost of flying has increased on pre-Covid 19 levels. Will I ever go overseas again? I doubt it somehow; my last trip to Napier was exhausting. To be honest I don’t feel like going anywhere right now, not even in New Zealand.

Cases in hospital include: Northland: 19; Waitematā: 99; Counties Manukau: 60; Auckland: 89; Waikato: 100; Bay of Plenty: 41; Lakes: 12; Hawke’s Bay: 35; MidCentral: 49; Whanganui: 14; Taranaki: 14; Tairāwhiti: 3; Wairarapa: 15; Capital and Coast: 28; Hutt Valley: 27; Nelson Marlborough: 14; Canterbury: 149; West Coast: 1; South Canterbury: 12; Southern: 41. You’d certainly expect those numbers to be coming down, but they’re not. In the US, Joe Manchin has tested positive for Covid 19. Here in New Zealand, students returning to school for Term 3 are advised to wear masks.

Today I take a shower and change my pyjamas, but I do not get dressed.  It’s a great saving on clothes, anyway! I get emails from my favourite cinemas, the Penthouse and the Lighthouse, telling me what’s on. I won’t be going there for a while, either.

Last night we watched a documentary on Te Whakaata Maori (formerly Maori Television) about the late Alexander McQueen. What an amazing and innovative designer he was!  How sad, too, that he was so talented, but then got into drugs, got Aids, and took his own life.  What a splash of talent he was! And how sad that once he got on the bandwagon of success, he found that he couldn’t get off. It wasn’t for want of admiration, or encouragement.

It’s now Wednesday July 27^th.

Again, I didn’t have a great night. After listening to several podcasts, I put on a long Youtube recording of the beautiful voice of late great Sir John Gielgud reading Brideshead Revisited. This has the convenience of not stopping: while I often go to sleep through podcasts, I tend to wake up when they stop. Some of the podcasts on Apple keep going, but not all, and you want them in the right order. I wake up and wonder just where we are in the story (which I’ve read more than once, and watched the sumptuous television show).

This morning I zoomed into a Stroke group session which had two young people speaking about their personal stroke experiences. I find this quite depressing. I don’t ask anything (!) It strikes me that over 10 years on, nothing much has changed in terms of anyone taking you seriously. The two young people who spoke were very eloquent: but many of the things they were experiencing echoed with me, things like losing one’s ability to concentrate, getting very tired, being unable to run after young children, losing some movement in odd places although still looking pretty normal. Unlike these two brave souls, my eyesight and speech have been affected. Some advice from recent stroke patients was to pray, and keep trying; older folk might advise acceptance, since in my experience things have got worse, not better.  It also struck me that everyone experiences stroke differently in terms of ability to read, write, use a computer or a mobile phone, while looking pretty “normal”. Another frustration is losing one’s friends, since one now lives in such a totally different world: it’s as though your former friends don’t understand the new world you inhabit (as you don’t either). Everything has changed, and basic “recovery” can take six months, or up to two years.

There’s wild weather across New Zealand, but not in Wellington; there’s been flooding in Christchurch and some houses in Dunedin have been evacuated, and many roads are closed. I remain safe and warm, if very frustrated, as I continue to cough and feel quite weak.

Today’s Covid 19 report is predictably bad. There are 8730 new cases of Covid-19 today and 808 people are in hospital with the virus, including 25 in Intensive Care. There’ve been 45 deaths! The total number of people who have died with Covid-19 is now 1427. They’ve stopped initially publishing the daily number of deaths recorded. Apparently there were 38 deaths notified yesterday – no wonder they’ve stopped reporting them; I think that’s the highest daily total yet. Dr Ashley Bloomfield gave his final media update.

Of the 45 people whose deaths were reported today, three were from Northland, eight were from Auckland region, one was from Waikato, three were from Bay of Plenty, two were from Lakes, one was from Tairawhiti, one was from Hawke’s Bay, one was from Taranaki, two were from MidCentral, three were from Whanganui, four were from Wellington region, five were from Nelson Marlborough, eight were from Canterbury, three were from Southern.

One was in their 40s, three were in their 50s, five were in their 60s, eight were in their 70s, 12 were in their 80s and 16 were aged over 90. Of these people, 25 were women and 20 were men.

Today’s hospitalisations are in Northland (14), Waitematā (114), Counties Manukau (54), Auckland (108), Waikato (89), Bay of Plenty (38), Lakes (13), Hawke’s Bay (35), MidCentral (51), Whanganui (14), Taranaki (14), Tairāwhiti (four), Wairarapa (11), Capital and Coast (26), Hutt Valley (14), Nelson Marlborough (18), Canterbury (137), West Coast (one), South Canterbury (12) and the Southern region (41).

In Ukraine, the HIMARS are making a difference to the Ukrainian forces. Putin has threatened to greatly reduce the gas supply to Europe, mainly affecting Germany. In the US, the Department of Justice is investigating Donald Trump’s actions around the events of January 6.  In the UK, David Trimble has died – one of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement (signed at Leeds Castle) settling the ghastly political and religious violence in Northern Ireland.  There’s a good podcast on this on The Rest is Politics.  This was Alastair Campbell’s proudest moment, and I don’t blame him – it was a huge achievement, now, sadly, largely forgotten. I have been to Leeds Castle in Kent; it’s well worth a visit. A proud moment for me too.

In the northern hemisphere the heatwave continues, and in Europe and Great Britain they try not to use air conditioning, for fear of its effect on the environment. As with any crisis, those most affected just try to survive.  Meanwhile, some continue to deny the effects of climate change as it sweeps the earth.

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

Today is Thursday July 21^st, 2022. Kia ora!

I’m still coughing today, despite using cough mixture and inhalers. This morning JD manages to sleep through it.  I ring the medical centre soon after 9 am, but my GP is fully booked today and only has one appointment free on Monday. I arrange for someone I’ve never encountered before to ring me at 1:15pm. No, you don’t want me to come in – I have Covid 19.

Meanwhile, it’s wild and stormy in Wellington, although you wouldn’t know it here. There aren’t planes flying overhead, thank goodness. It rained heavily during the night, and it was still raining when I went up to get the paper – I had to put a raincoat on over my dressing gown.  There are big swells I find when looking at the photos: a high tide in Lowry Bay, in Oriental Bay, at the Petone Foreshore, and all flights in and out of Wellington have been cancelled. A Bluebridge ferry cannot dock, and is circling the harbour. The train line between Johnsonville and Wellington is affected by a slip (again!), and trains have been replaced by buses. Roads are closed around New Zealand. I am thankful to be warm and cosy here, if a tad frustrated. We are not cold here. The heaters have been kept on, we are warm and comfortable, and I hope there’ll be no power outage.

I listened to a Guardian Australia podcast about recent damage to Australian ecosystems – this environmental report, although received, was not even tabled by the outgoing Coalition government. We all knew Australia was very lax about the environment; this report is even worse. The new Labour Government is facing an uphill battle getting environmental concerns addressed; there’s a lot of support, but a lot of opposition too.  Meanwhile, they continue to export Kiwi-born criminals here, and consequently there are shootings here more days, especially in Auckland, and the level of crime is up. As well as shootings, there are ram raids, and some knife violence.

After 1:15 pm a doctor rings me – I don’t know his name, but eventually agrees to prescribe me a course of prednisone, and fax this through to the chemist in the Johnsonville Shopping Centre. He does not ask about my peak flow reading, or if I’m running a temperature. He does ask if I have a sore throat, which I don’t, thankfully. I will get JD to pick it up later on this afternoon. I did manage to find a peak flow meter reader, but I don’t have a spacer, which I am supposed to use with this particular inhaler.

Today’s Covid 19 report is out: there are 9,953 new cases, and 32 further deaths. There are 767 people in hospital, and 20 of them are in Intensive Care. There are 383 cases at the border.

In the US, the Arizona republican party censure Rusty Bowers!  He’s the dude who testified to the January 6 Committee, and defied Donald Trump. So what was he supposed to do? He still intends to vote for Donald Trump – unaccountably. (Later I learn that Bowers does not intend to vote for Trump in 2024 if he’s the Republican Party’s nominee for president).

It’s now Friday July 22^nd.

I felt much better during the night, but not so good this morning, with lots of coughing.  I duly started on the prednisone, but don’t see much difference as yet. I do another RAT test, and it has a second faint red line. Access woke me up with a call early this morning, but I didn’t manage to answer the call, and they didn’t leave a message.  After my RAT test, I left a message for Access to cancel today’s help.  On looking up the site, I was the carer was “to be announced”, so perhaps the usual person was unwell. Anyway, it’s cancelled for today. Even if I’d tested negative, I don’t feel up to doing the usual things I do for preparation. I still feel very weak.

In Wellington, the weather is milder today: aeroplanes are flying again, and many who live by the sea are assessing the damage from yesterday’s storm. In Lennel Road, Wadestown, there’s been a huge slip, causing the road to be closed. There is actually another (upper) road into Wadestown; perhaps this could be used in the meantime.

I listen to more excerpts from Tom Bower’s new book, Revenge. H G Tudor is now reading chapter sections, rather than abridged versions.  I had thought the January 6 Committee in the US was doing a presentation last night, but in fact it’s to be tonight – Thursday night in the US, so I still have that to anticipate perhaps, rather than look forward to.

Actually the hearing is on Thursday evening in the US, so it comes online here from early afternoon. It’s gripping viewing, as expected.

This afternoon I get a text from the Medical Centre reminding me of my second booster appointment on Saturday morning (tomorrow). I duly ring and cancel the appointment – how annoying that they don’t seem to have any coordination between their various systems. I’m advised to “get well soon”, not asked how I’m feeling.

It’s now Saturday July 23^rd.

I’m still coughing, and weak. I realise it’s an achievement to take a shower, out clothes on, make the bed, go for a walk outside (once I test negative), and then perhaps go shopping, or go to church, and take up Term 3 activities.  While I am still coughing, I don’t dare go anywhere.  This is a peculiar kind of isolation – no one can come and visit, no medical people are in touch; the unknown doctor who prescribed me the Prednisone didn’t even ask what my peak flow measure was. I had dug out my two peak flow meters, but no matter. Covid has hit me very hard.

Last night I didn’t sleep. I listened to lots of podcasts – The Rest is History, the Rest is Politics; I also listened to We Have Ways of Making you Talk podcast about Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, and the war in the Atlantic. I try to listen to the complete latest January 6 Committee hearing, but it’s not available until early morning.  Chairman Bennie Thompson has Covid, but he does a very nice introduction via zoom to the latest hearing.

The hearing is riveting, of course, and I learn distressing new things, but I also learn that Steve Bannon has been convicted for his defiance of Congress.

In New Zealand, Brian Tamaki has organised protests – one of which is on the Auckland motorway. What is there left to protest, one wonders? These folk are protesting against the government. Goodness knows, there are plenty of things one could protest about – like insufficient measures to address climate change, the war in Ukraine, child poverty, pollution in our waterways.

Today’s Covid 19 report is as follows:

There are 7746 new Covid cases in the community today and 22 people have died with the disease. There are 759 people in hospital with the virus, including 19 in intensive care.

The seven-day rolling average of community cases now sits at 8703 – continuing a downward trend. It was 9984 on the same day last week.

Out of today’s new cases, 353 were among people who had recently travelled overseas. The 759 people with Covid in hospital are located in: Northland: 19; Waitematā: 94; Counties Manukau: 62; Auckland: 97; Waikato: 65; Bay of Plenty: 41; Lakes: 13; Hawke’s Bay: 32; MidCentral: 38; Whanganui: 11; Taranaki: 18; Tairāwhiti: 2; Wairarapa: 8; Capital & Coast: 33; Hutt Valley: 29; Nelson Marlborough: 13; Canterbury:137; West Coast: 0; South Canterbury: 12; and Southern: 35.

Among the 22 people who died with Covid: six were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, three were from Bay of Plenty, one was from Lakes, one was from Hawke’s Bay, one was from Taranaki, one was from MidCentral, one was from the Wellington region, two were from Nelson Marlborough, two were from Canterbury, and three were from Southern. Two were aged in their 50s, one was in their 60s, five were in their 70s, six were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. They included 10 women and 12 men.

The seven day rolling average of reported deaths with Covid is 25. There has also been 1976 people who’ve died with Covid since the pandemic began.

I didn’t give yesterday’s report – to be honest, it wasn’t much different. We have no real good news as yet.

In the afternoon I showered, washed my hair, dressed, and then changed the sheets and towels. I found myself feeling much better than I had done for several days.

It’s now Sunday July 24^th.

Last night I slept much better than I had done. I woke about 6 am, but went back to sleep.  I zoomed into the church service, again without video.  It was a lovely service – about prayer, and the value of the Lord’s Prayer – which we can say when we don’t know what to say in prayer. One of the hymns was What a Friend we have in Jesus. I joined into this, finding I can still sing, if weakly; what a sad life the writer had, and what a beautiful hymn it is. I feel quite heartened by feeling better – I hope it lasts.

Today there are 5535 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today – and a further 14 Covid-related deaths. It was reported that there are 720 people in hospital with the virus, including 21 in intensive care.

Of the 720 people in hospital with the virus, 18 are in Northland, 96 are in Waitematā; 63 are in Counties Manukau; 82 are in Auckland; 60 are in Waikato; 40 are in Bay of Plenty; 11 are in Lakes; 32 are in Hawke’s Bay; 40 are in MidCentral; 13 are in Whanganui; 16 are in Taranaki; two are in Tairawhiti; six are in Wairarapa; 61 are in Capital & Coast/Hutt; 11 are in Nelson Marlborough; 132 are in Canterbury/West Coast; 13 are in South Canterbury and 24 are in Southern. The average age of those with Covid in hospital is 66. I feel we are in a holding pattern with Covid 19: the news has been fairly steady for several days, if not weeks, mirroring my own situation.

I do another RAT test, and I’m negative for Covid 19, but still coughing, and still very weak.  I certainly don’t want to go to hospital, but where’s the care, I wonder? Let’s face it, you just have to look after yourself.

It’s now Monday July 25^th.

I am feeling a little better today, but I am amazed when JD announces he’d like to take me out to lunch, or would I like to go shopping? I find his relentless positivity really annoying. I would like to go out for lunch, but I’m still coughing a great deal, and don’t feel well enough to walk up to the local shops. It’s cold today, too, so going out of the house is not a good option. Furthermore, it’s very anti-social to cough in public.

I am quite intellectual today. I finish re-reading Philippe Sands’ East West Street, centred around the city of Lyiv (Lvov) in what is now Ukraine. His Jewish forebears came from a small town outside of Lyiv, and suffered very badly during the Second World War, with most of them being exterminated.  How fascinating that Lyiv is now again a focus of Ukrainian conflict and culture. I would love to go there, but Ukraine is likely to be a dangerous destination for some time.

I also finish reading my last LRB, and find a review of a new book by Jonathan Parry very interesting: the book is called Promised Lands: the British and the Ottoman Middle East. The library don’t have it, but perhaps Unity Books do. I look forward to browsing there again.

I need to read more of Mikhail Bulgakov’s White Guard, which is due back at the library later this week.

I have been listening to more of H G Tudor reading Tom Bower’s new book, Revenge, although I’m finding it a bit boring and repetitive now. As with Trump, the more I hear, the more my earlier sentiments are confirmed; I haven’t heard anything to make me change my mind, just to confirm how awful some people can be.

I listen to a Guardian podcast about homeless people in Los Angeles being forced into the Mojave Desert, where it is far too hot for people to survive without basic amenities. In Los Angeles, there is a huge contrast between extremely wealthy people, using massive and scarce resources to water their lawns and gardens, despite a water shortage, and those who have nothing – not even a home. The city of Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, has a republican mayor, who has evidently called for homeless people to be arrested – and told not to loiter. Of course, some loiter, others don’t.

Then I listen to a new The Rest is History podcast about the Battle of Stalingrad. This is very interesting, too; part two will be published later this week.

There are 6910 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, and a further 16 Covid-related deaths. There are 836 people in hospital with the virus, including 27 in intensive care.

Of the people whose deaths were reported today, one was from Auckland region, one was from Waikato, two were from Lakes, one was from Tairawhiti, one was from Hawke’s Bay, four were from Taranaki, one was from Whanganui, two were from Wellington region, three were from Southern. Six were aged in their 70s, five were in their 80s and five were aged over 90. Of these people, five were women and 11 were men. IN the US, President Biden has Covid 19. He’s double-boostered, and is said to be responding well to Paxlovid.

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

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

Last night we watched the 2011 film of Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy.  John le Carré had a hand in this. To my way of thinking, you can’t beat the 1979 7 part BBC television series, but they certainly had an all star cast for this, and it’s a great movie, even if it takes some liberties with the book. To my mind it would be very hard to follow the movie if you didn’t know the story.  I can’t quite get used to Gary Coleman as George Smiley – I much prefer Alec Guinness, but the other actors, including Colin Firth as Bill Haydon, were excellent.

Today it’s fine, and I slept quite well, but I don’t feel so good today. My cough is annoying, and although I don’t quite cough up phlegm, my chest feels a bit tender and sensitive, and my taste is off.  I have that annoying post-cold feeling of being able to taste the phlegm; I felt better than I had done, but I’m not over it yet. I still feel ashamed, at having avoided getting Covid 19 for so long, and now having succumbed. JD should be clear on Sunday and me next Thursday (next Tuesday according to Access), but I’m wondering if I’ll feel up to zooming into my church service tomorrow morning. We are lepers, and we aren’t yet fit for human consumption.

Today’s Covid 19 report is out. There are 9,241 community cases, and there have been 29 further deaths.  There are 761 people in hospital with Covid including 15 in intensive care.

Of the people whose deaths are being reported today, three were from Auckland, four from Waikato, two from Bay of Plenty, three from Lakes, two from Hawke’s Bay, two from MidCentral, two from Wellington region, three from Nelson Marlborough, four from Canterbury/West Coast and four from Southern. Two were in their 60s, three in their 70s, 16 in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Nineteen were women and ten were men.

The 761 people in hospital with Covid are in Northland: 25; Waitematā: 130; Counties Manukau: 54; Auckland: 102; Waikato: 56; Bay of Plenty: 38; Lakes: 17; Hawke’s Bay: 28; MidCentral: 30; Whanganui: 20; Taranaki: 16; Tairawhiti: 4; Wairarapa: 9; Capital & Coast/Hutt: 57; Nelson Marlborough: 8; Canterbury/West Coast: 118; South Canterbury: 11; and Southern: 38.

When we do get over this bug, and feel it’s safe to go out again and participate in the real world, how safe will we be? Will people shun us? Will we want to shun them, given that almost anyone could be the source?  I guess we’ll continue to be really careful (in my case that means limiting my exposure, touching as little as possible, and frequently washing my hands), and hope we don’t get it again – ever. 

JD has just taken another RAT test, and he’s still positive (and still coughing, by the way, with two red lines. Will he test negative tomorrow? The day he’s technically free to be released from hibernation (and performing some maid duties for me?)

I don’t feel well today, but I really need to change my pjs and the towels. I have a shower, and change the towels.

It’s now Sunday July 17^th.

It’s not a good day for me. I zoom into my church service, without video, so no-one can see me. I read some more of White Guard, by Michael Bulgakov. I don’t quite have the intellectual stamina at present to really get into it. I watch more of Sherwood on my laptop. There are no more episodes.

Last night we watched the new movie Persuasion on Netflix. As a reviewer said, think cross between Bridgerton and Bridget Jones’ Diary.  Jane Austen would never have written much of the dialogue, and I fear she’d be turning in her grave at this movie. Having said that, it was quite fun to look at, and some of the more outlandish visual aspects reminded me of the recent film of Emma. It was fun to watch, although I really don’t admire the way so much current entertainment is just plain weird.

It’s now Monday July 18^th.

Tom Bower’s book Revenge is almost (?) out, and some excerpts have been printed by the Sunday Times. They are conveniently read by one H G Tudor, an establishment voice if ever I heard one. Tom Bower is a British author, and H G Tudor is an expert on narcissism.  Already many commentators are picking over the entrails. It’s not looking great for team Sussex, but I find it quite diverting.

I’ve also been listening to more podcasts about the January 6 Committee hearings – still interesting and absorbing. It seems more are more that someone was coordinating the work of the two militias – the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers – advising them what to do and where to go. There’s a kind of prurient interest in how awful this whole set up was, comprising Trump’s huge efforts to stay in power.

And then there’s Boris Johnson’s (as Britain’s Foreign Secretary) meeting with Alexander Lebedev in Italy at the time of a NATO conference, after the Salisbury poisonings.  It seems that reporting on this has been hushed up. Here’s a link:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/16/carole-cadwalladr-boris-johnson-lebedevs-prime-ministers-defining-scandal

Today – I’m still coughing, I still don’t feel like doing anything. I feel kind of protected – no one dares come near me. I’m in my bubble; no medical people have rung or texted me since last Thursday, although I’d like a doctor to listen to my chest. It feels a bit tender and fuzzy. But how does a doctor listen to your chest in a video or phone consultation?  JD is a bit better than me, but won’t take a test. So here we are – doomed – for how much longer? I’m aware we have refunds for flights to Christchurch that expire on 31 August, but I certainly don’t feel up to using them. Will this ever end?

Today’s Covid 19 report is out. There are 7,612 new community cases, and 767 people in hospital, including 20 in Intensive Care. There have been a further 22 deaths. Five of the people whose deaths reported today were aged in their 60s, two were in their 70s, seven were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Nine were women and 13 were men. Five were from the Auckland region, two were from Waikato, one was from Bay of Plenty, three were from MidCentral, one was from Whanganui, four were from Wellington region and six were from Canterbury/West Coast.

The patients are being treated in Northland (27), Waitematā (135), Counties Manukau (54), Auckland (91), Waikato (64), Bay of Plenty (43), Lakes (19), Hawke’s Bay (32), MidCentral (31), Whanganui (20), Taranaki (13), Tairāwhiti (six), Wairarapa (seven), Capital & Coast/Hutt (55), Nelson Marlborough (13), Canterbury/West Coast (138), South Canterbury (10) and Southern (39).

That seems to be all we’re told today.  So it’s more of the same; keep on coughing and keeping on, and keep on waiting to rejoin the real world.

I worked so long – and prayed – for none of my immediate family to get Covid 19, and not to get it myself.  I’m thankful that it’s not worse, and that we’ve been vaccinated and boosted (once); but now two of my sons and their families have had it, and JD and I have had – and still have – it.  There’s a warning in today’s newspaper about getting it again, as it may cause organ damage. The criteria for being prescribed Paxlovid have eased, but the medics have reservations about it. So there we are. I’d love to see Benediction – the new movie about Siegfried Sassoon, but the last showing is on Wednesday. Even if I test negative for Covid 19 by then, I don’t want to be coughing throughout it, that’s very anti-social behaviour.

In the UK, the leadership contest grinds on, uninspiringly with a US-style candidate “debate”. In the US, some are still wondering if Trump can be charged, and when he might be. In Ukraine, the war grinds on – with the death of a beautiful little 4 year old girl with Down syndrome.

It’s now Tuesday July 19^th.

I’m still coughing. I relent and take some cough mixture, which I’m reluctant to do, seeing I hate to swallow medicine.  Perhaps it helps – it’s hard to tell.  This morning I had a messenger chat with my son in the UK, where they’re experiencing an extraordinary heat wave: temperatures of up to 43 C are expected. I ask him if there is air conditioning at his university, and he says no – it’s part of their sustainability effort not to have it. Normally, you wouldn’t need air conditioning in the UK, but I quip to him that sustainability means sustainability of human life, as well.  You have to feel really sorry for people like Yeoman guards and those who wear bearskins in this weather.

JD has tested negative, so that’s good. Now I can expect so much more of him (ha ha!). Today the outgoing Director-General of Health, Dr Bloomfield (who can’t wait to get away) announces that deaths will be reported differently (again!). Today there are 10,772 new community cases of Covid 19, and 788 people in hospital. There are 21 deaths to report. One out of every 20 people reporting to hospital has Covid 19.

Dr Bloomfield said from public surveillance testing, including wastewater results, it was estimated that half of all positive Covid cases were going unreported.  I find it really annoying that reporting a test result does not give you any opportunity to enter the reason for testing – experiencing symptoms, isolating because you’re a close contact, going to a special event, such as a concert or a funeral, or testing to determine if you’re free of Covid 19, i.e. have recovered; or even if you have Covid 19 for a second time.

Case rates and wastewater rates indicated that cases were increasing across the country. The current surge is thought to be mainly the BA.5 variant. The Ministry of Health will now report Covid deaths as people who died because of the virus or as a contributor, rather than a death having occurred where the dead person is found to have the virus.  There seems to be some confusion in the way these information is reported, and we’re not told where the deaths are, or where the new case numbers are. I guess we’re all sick, isolating, recovering, or at risk of getting sick…It’s said the deaths for New Zealand would have been around 10,000 had not strict lockdown measures been taken.

It’s now Wednesday July 20^th.

Today it’s overcast and raining, although not too cold. I have to be thankful, as in the UK and parts of Spain, France and Portugal it is swelteringly hot – up to 43 C recorded in the UK; I don’t think they’ve broken 40 before. Fires have broken out across London and parts of southern England; some planes can’t land; trains can’t run – it’s a case of survival. So at least we’re here, where it isn’t too hot, and there aren’t any alarming fires.

Early this morning I get a text telling me my isolation period is officially over. Tell that to the cough, I think; then when I get up, I take a RAT test and it’s positive – still.  I don’t even bother to record this result. I am still coughing – badly. I would go to my GP at this point, and my now-retired GP would have asked if I’d like a script for Prednisone? Which I would. But I can’t go anywhere at the moment. The thought of calling an ambulance, trying to justify that, waiting for it to come, and then waiting to be seen at the hospital (which is probably at least 30 minutes away) does not appeal.  I decide that if I’m still coughing on Sunday, (that will have been a week on taking my inhaler 2 puffs three times a day, and taking Prospan three times a day, I will ask for a remote consultation on Monday. Then I figure out it’s only Wednesday today, and I ponder whether I should ask for a consultation today. I look up Manage My Health to find which days my current GP works, but they’ve removed the option to make an appointment. So I’ll continue coughing. I find an old inhaler I was prescribed in 2019, and wonder if it’s safe to use this as well as Symbicort. Strangely, I feel awful, but I don’t wish to die – from an overdose, or being unable to breath. I don’t get wheezy in this situation, I just find it really hard to breath.  I am a bit shaky, very unsteady, and I have a sore chest. So be it.

Today’s Covid 19 report comes out. It’s not great: there are 10,320 new community cases and there’ve been 34 deaths; there are 744 people in hospital, including 17 in Intensive Care.

Today’s reported deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 1,904 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 24. Of the 34 deaths reported today 12 were from Auckland region, two were from Waikato, three were from Bay of Plenty, one was from Lakes, one was from Tairawhiti, one was from Hawke’s Bay, three were from Taranaki, three were from Whanganui, one was from Wellington region, three were from Nelson Marlborough, one was from Canterbury, three were from Southern. Two were aged in their 50s, two were in their 60s, seven were in their 70s, 13 were in their 80s and ten were aged over 90. Of these people, 17 were women and 17 were men.

It’s reported that the gracious and gentlemanlike Bennie Thompson, chair of the January 6 Committee, has tested positive for Covid 19. Thank goodness he has a good deputy in Liz Cheney. One my not like her conservative policies, but she’s been masterful in any pronouncements she’s made. I hope Bennie Thompson recovers soon.

I have enjoyed watching two movies on Neon that I hadn’t seen (and I hope that Benediction, about Siegfried Sassoon, will come on one of the streaming services soon). Perhaps “enjoyed” is not the right word, but they were absorbing. The first was Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, and the second was Supernova, starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci. Both feature gay couples, and both were moving and well acted.

The war in Ukraine grinds on. According to the Telegraph’s weekday podcast, the Russians are doing rather well. According to JD, they’re doing quite badly. Whatever is happening, Ukrainian cities continue to be struck by missiles, with  several civilians being killed each day, as well as the casualties in the armed forces.

That’s it for now, she said, ending on a rather gloomy note. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

Today is Thursday July 14^th – Bastille Day. Kia ora!

Last night I slept a bit better than the previous night, but I had a pretty sore throat. I have a cough but I’m not coughing much at this stage. I took another RAT test this morning, and despite feeling a little better than yesterday, the two red lines are very visible on my RAT test recorder.  The most annoying thing is the feeling of nausea. My voice is more gruff – another sure sign of Covid 19.  I feel a range of emotions: frustration at having avoided Covid 19 for so long (2 ½ years), I succumb now; I’m very ashamed, of course; I guess now that JD and I both have it I don’t need to be careful about avoiding anything he may have touched. I think he’s had this far worse than me: he still has a heavy cough, and severe runny nose. Yesterday my son that tested positive last Wednesday took another test, and it was negative, so that’s good. I duly recorded my test result on the required website, but no one has rung me yet from Healthline. The only person who’s rung is my other son who lives locally, who has again offered to shop for us, and is going to make us some soup.

Just before midday I get a do-not-reply text from my doctor, advising me to get in touch if I need anything. She has been notified that I recorded a positive test result for Covid 19. So that’s nice. I will have to defer our booster shots on 23 July.

Having endured another night where there wasn’t much sleeping, I listened to several podcasts: The Rest is Politics, about the leadership contest for the Conservative party in the UK; The Rest is History, the Love Island final; the next episode in the British Scandal podcast about the Hitler diaries; the last episode in the American Scandal series about the WACO standoff – an interview with a reporter.  Then this morning I listened to Charlie Sykes and Bill Kristol on The Bulwark Podcast, which was a recap of yesterday’s evidence presented by the January 6 Committee. I found the sound bites at the beginning really scary, there’s so many expressions of violence.  Again, they, like me, are wondering why these folk did not speak out about Trump’s efforts to stay in power until they were compelled to. And apparently the dog has gone back to its vomit: Brad Parscale has gone back to working for Trump.

I listen to a Lawfare podcast, again doing a recap of the January 6 Committee evidence.  To my amazement, Ben Wittes does not rate this hearing highly, and his panel are divided about its effectiveness.  It does seem strange to me that a black man can be imprisoned for years on the basis of very flimsy evidence, and strange plea-deals, but the Department of Justice cannot seem to prosecute Trump for several instances of breaking the law, and encouraging others to do so. The Lawfare podcast deals, somewhat predictably, with the legal ramifications of charging a former president with having committed a crime. May I express my extreme frustration with American forbearance here (as ever). I think they’re looking for a “smoking gun”; I suspect that if Trump confessed under oath to his crimes, lawyers would claim he was an unreliable witness because of being a known liar.

Back to Covid 19. Someone from Healthline rang me, and when she heard I was asthmatic she got a nurse on the line. I was very impressed by how thorough they were, and how kindly they’d dealt with my frustration. They agreed contact tracing wasn’t appropriate in my situation, since when I went shopping last Friday I probably wasn’t infectious. I thought about the two Bluetooth alerts I got, and how frustrated I was by them!

Today there are 11,382 new community cases of the virus (although this figure is probably under-reported), and there have been 23 deaths, one of them being a child under 10. There are 765 cases in hospital, including 11 in Intensive Care.  Dr Ashley Bloomfield warns that case numbers could peak at 20,000 per day, with up to 1,000 people in hospital. The government is to make RAT tests and masks free – up till now, you could only get free RAT tests if you had symptoms of Covid 19 or were a close contact of someone who had it.  The traffic light setting remains at Orange, and I believe the rules for eligibility to the funded drug Paxlovid has been relaxed. Masks and vaccinations remain the best defences. There were 334 new cases reported at the border.

Of the deaths being reported today, four were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, one was from Bay of Plenty, one was from Lakes, one was from Taranaki, one was from Hawke’s Bay, two were from MidCentral, one was from the Wellington region, two were from Nelson / Marlborough, seven were from Canterbury, one was from South Canterbury and one was from Southern. It was reported that a child less than 10 years old had died, while five other people who died were in their 70s, nine were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Of these people, 11 were women and 12 were men.

We’re not told where the cases are located, or how many and which DHB’s have hospital patients.

Today I had a shower and washed my hair; it was exhausting, as expected, but it felt better to have done so.  Another of my sons dropped off some soup, some biscuits, more coffee beans, and some lovely fruit.  That’s so heartening, I hope I don’t relapse tomorrow. It’s good to feel a bit better.

It’s now Friday July 15th.

Thankfully I slept much better last night, sleeping through until a bit before 6 am. I didn’t cough, or not enough to wake me up, anyway.  It’s cool but not too cold. I was quite comfortable. My head is still clear – a far I haven’t had the brain fog that seems to be a feature of so much Covid 19.

Before having breakfast, I listened to several podcasts. The Rest is History had a really interesting episode about George Orwell.  Then I listened to The Rest is Politics podcast about the leadership race for the Tory Party in the UK; I realised I had listened to it before but no matter; I also listened to the question time episode following.  I find the leadership contest extremely depressing, as does Alistair Campbell; none of the contestants care about the Northern Ireland protocol, poor people, or the climate – or even the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme, to cite my major concerns. So it’s more of the same, with perhaps fewer scandals. The whole situation is very depressing. The UK had austerity, before Brexit and Boris Johnson; things in US politics were pretty depressing before Trump became president. There’s a lot of diversity (which means more non-white faces), but it’s upsetting how conservative these diverse folk, and how they’re prepared to be extremely hard on black refugees. No one votes for the next Prime Minister except members of the Tory party! How democratic is that?   It’s not as though going back to what they were before is any great achievement; not that you can go back. Hopefully there will be less corruption, more serious candidates, and more consideration for poor and struggling people. Sadly, there’s talk of making benefits even harder to get, as if people receiving benefits in some way take away from the millions lavished by wealthy people – often on luxuries many of us would see as not particularly useful.

This morning my daughter rang on a video call to see how her dad is – I had told the SAMS auditors of the house where she lives that her dad had Covid 19. Unfortunately all I could do was cough! Every time I tried to say something, I coughed. She looked quite concerned, and I sent her a message on Storypark to say thanks for her call and that I was feeling better now.  I must ring her again when the cough has gone.

I also listened to a Bulwark podcast about Michael Flynn.  Journalist Bart Gellman posited that Flynn was demented; I suggest that he has some kind of dementia. He speaks badly, without a sense of pausing for applause. It seems he has been totally consumed by conspiracy stories. His brief period as Trump’s National Security Advisor (37days?) was spoken of, but there was no mention of Sally Yates’ warning, that the Russians had “kompromat” on Flynn.  Sally Yates was briefly Acting Attorney General – she lasted 10 days – before being sacked by Trump. Flynn admitted lying to the FBI, but was pardoned by Trump, and is now a darling of right-wing republicans. He was one of the attendees at the deranged meeting on 17 (?) December; there were reports that he had encouraged Trump to call for martial law. There was also no mention on the podcast that Michael Flynn’s brother Steve was at the pentagon on January 6 during the insurrection. Does anybody care? Does treason not matter any more?

There was a story in the Guardian about New Zealand being the 2^nd worst place to move to. This upsets me. Certainly there are problems here, but we are fortunate not to be in the US or the UK. This is a much calmer country than many  – would you rather be in Russia, Ukraine, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Yemen, Ethiopia, Venezuela, or almost  any African country? At least there is a social safety net in place here. The health system here is overwhelmed; there is a mental health issue, bullying is rife, and there are terrible stories of abuse inflicted by churches and government agencies. As there are in many places. Bullying is continued, as people continue to criticise Prime Minister Ardern. Dr Ashley Bloomfield spoke recently of his concern for the extreme unpleasantness of anti-female slurs and insults. So yes, but where would you rather be?

Students are struggling to get by. Twas ever thus.

This morning I rang Access to cancel today’s home help session. To my surprise, a real person answered my call straight away.  I had wondered whether to tell them we had Covid 19; in the event, I mentioned it as a reason for cancelling what they like to call my “cares”.  The response, to my amazement, was along the lines of “whatever”.  I wasn’t asked if I’d like to reschedule, if I was coping all right, how sick I was, whether I was on my own, or whether I needed any help with shopping or collecting meds – which I do, as it happens. It’s just as well I’m not dying, then.

It’s after 2 pm now, and today’s Covid 19 report from the Ministry of Health has still not been issued. It comes at 2:22 pm. There are officially 10,470 new community cases today, and there’ve been 16 deaths. There are 773 people in hospital, with 14 of them in Intensive Care. While I am assessing this, someone from Access rings me, to check on my Covid status, what kind of help I usually receive, to see how I’m feeling, and to assure me that I should be all right for T to come next Friday as scheduled, and to ring 111 in need. She also makes sure that I’m living with my husband, and I relate the chain of events (a son testing positive, then my husband testing positive) to establish that I haven’t been in contact with anyone over the past few days. She tells me that based on my symptoms, I should be clear come next Tuesday. So that’s all good. I do have a bit of tightness in my chest today, but nothing too serious. Once again, I’m glad we’ve had vaccinations and our first booster.

It seems that although I nearly died, and my life changed completely when I was ill with an SAH ten years ago, I’m “impaired but not handicapped”, and not immune-compromised. That’s good to know, then.

It’s reported that today’s 16 reported deaths took New Zealand’s death toll to 1776. Of the people whose deaths are reported today, three were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, one was from Bay of Plenty, one was from Lakes, one was from MidCentral, two were from Whanganui, five were from the Wellington region, one was from South Canterbury, and one was from Southern. One person was in their 60s, one was in their 70s, six were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Of these people, four were females and 12 were males.

The 773 people with Covid-19 cases in hospital are in Northland: 22; Waitematā: 141; Counties Manukau: 56; Auckland: 102; Waikato: 63; Bay of Plenty: 38; Lakes: 16; Hawke’s Bay: 24; MidCentral: 31; Whanganui: 18; Taranaki: 15; Tairāwhiti: 4; Wairarapa: 12; Hutt Valley: 29; Capital & Coast: 30; Nelson Marlborough: 13; Canterbury: 102; West Coast: 1; South Canterbury: 14; Southern: 42. We’re still in the grip of Covid 19 here.

I’m having big trouble with the computer today – everything’s extremely slow.

In Ukraine, the war grinds on, with more Ukrainian civilian casualties. The weapons supplied by the US are being used, and are effective, but it’s a long hard slog as nations that were dependent on Russian oil and gas try to figure out how they will keep warm next winter, and we all cope with inflation and rising prices – some of us more affected than others.

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

It’s now Monday July 11^th, 2022. Kia ora!

It’s rubbish day here, and JD has put the rubbish out. It’s time for the crate of used glass bottles this week – after a break of two weeks, glass for recycling is to be collected again.

I do another RAT test, and it’s negative, thankfully. I don’t feel great, but then I hardly ever do; feeling well is not part of my brief anymore. I arrange for a doctor to ring JD at 11:30; his regular doctor isn’t in today. I send the other of my sons who lives locally a shopping list, with some helpful photos of things I’d like him to buy for me.

The doctor duly rings JD. He doesn’t qualify for funded Paxlovid, although I suspect a script would be written if he really wanted it. I’m pleased that he’s spoken to a doctor.  He advised leaving the kitchen and the bathroom for ½ an hour after he uses them, which is sensible advice, really.  Our kitchen is quite large, but has only a noisy range hood for ventilation. I am trying to persuade JD to shower downstairs: there’s a very good shower down there, although it doesn’t have a hand-held hose like the shower in the ensuite bathroom does. It’s still a great shower – I’ve used it several times myself.

I am looking forward to next Sunday, when we can officially come out of purdah, as long as I continue to test negative.  It is just so hard, trying to keep utensils separate! But then I really hope I don’t get Covid 19! I’m an asthmatic. So perhaps I’d qualify for Paxlovid. I listened to Kim Hill interviewing Dr Anthony Fauci on her Saturday morning show.  He said he had to have two courses of Paxlovid, and initially his Covid 19 symptoms were worse. So that’s given us pause. He was doubly boostered, and has completely recovered now, fortunately.  Kim Hill is such an intelligent interviewer!  What a joy she is.

With regard to Hōhepa, I can now see the huge value in keeping the house/the home covid-free. We have picked up our daughter from the gate to her house, the last few times we’ve been to Napier, instead of going inside the house. This continues to make such good sense.  While JD and I are “safe” in our bubble, there is considerable anxiety nevertheless about trying to keep as separate as possible. Yet again, I’m thankful to have a large house, where it’s much easier to keep separate. But really, I can’t go anywhere! I can’t take a risk by going shopping, or catching a bus; I’m stuck here, with my books and my podcasts, being thankful for what I have, and realising, again, that I have lived my life, and it doesn’t really matter if I get Covid 19. Who will look after me?  ah, that’s another question. If you have an infectious disease, nobody wants you. This is a situation that I hadn’t anticipated. Fortunately I’m a reasonably calm person, but it could drive someone mad, being isolated, yet not sick with Covid 19.

We get out of purdah officially next Sunday, July 17^th, as long as I don’t test positive in the meantime. If I do, it’s “go directly to jail”, and don’t collect $200. Our purdah will be extended.  I have not experienced this kind of isolation before.  Lockdowns were very different from this – JD and I weren’t trying to keep apart from each other. At least I don’t have to clean up after him – thinking of diseases like cholera or bubonic plague.

Today’s Covid 19 report is as follows: there are 8,395 new community cases, and a further 17 deaths. There were also 28- cases at the border. There are 689 people in hospital. Including 13 in Intensive Care – a significant increase. These figures were nearing the record levels seen back in March, when there were 1000 people fighting Covid-19 in hospital. Those numbers were dropping steadily to about 300 last month but have since shot back up.

Today’s reported deaths include one from Northland, seven were from Auckland region, one was from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, one was from Taranaki, one was from South Canterbury, three were from Capital & Coast/Hutt and one was from Canterbury/West Coast. Five were aged in their 70s, five were in their 80s and seven were aged over 90. Of these people, 10 were women and seven were men. We’re not told where the hospitalisations or the new cases are located.

It’s now Tuesday July 12^th.

I am so sick of this. I don’t feel great today, but I don’t feel like taking a RAT test either, although I realise the later I test positive, the later I’ll have to isolate.  It feels very cold today: it’s stormy, it’s raining, and actually I don’t want to go out. I just want to feel better, and not to have to be so careful about keeping distant from JD and anything he may have touched. And, of course, he can’t bring me toast, or even a cup of coffee!  My computer says it’s 10 degrees C today. It feels more like 3C.   The wild weather is wreaking havoc with travel arrangements, and its being school holidays makes it worse. Many roads are affected by flooding.

I am listening to the Persona podcast, about Gilbert Chikli; at the same time, information is being revealed about Uber and its unethical practices – the Guardian is doing a three part podcast on the Uber revelations. Truth to say, there are similarities, and at times I have difficulty keeping details separate.

The Covid 19 report is terrible today. It’s reported that There are 11,548 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today. There are a further 19 Covid-related deaths.

Of today’s deaths one was from the Auckland region, three were from Bay of Plenty, one was from Taranaki, two were from Whanganui, one was from Hawkes Bay, four were from MidCentral, one was from Lakes, three were from the Wellington region, two were from Canterbury, and one was from Southern.

One was aged in their 40s, two were in their 60s, three were in their 70s, five were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Of these people, 10 were women and nine were men. The total number of virus-related deaths is now 1707.

There are 710 people in hospital with the virus, including 17 in intensive care. Those in hospital are being treated at Northland: 16; Waitematā: 141; Counties Manukau: 59; Auckland: 85; Waikato: 58; Bay of Plenty: 36; Lakes: 9; Hawke’s Bay: 25; MidCentral: 26; Whanganui: 13; Taranaki: 13; Tairawhiti: 4; Wairarapa: 11; Capital & Coast: 37; Hutt Valley: 27; Nelson Marlborough: 16; Canterbury: 78; West Coast: 2; South Canterbury: 17; Southern: 37.

I make a sandwich for lunch. I can’t be bothered to mash a hard-boiled egg, or cut up a tomato or an avocado.  After me, JD goes to make his lunch. I get an alarming text: he can’t smell the coffee; or the Dettol on the chux cloth, or the mustard. I joke that I can feed him garlic now if I can be bothered cutting it up.

He was feeling better this morning, but now feels a bit worse again. I am trying to fight off an imminent sore throat, sore chest, and a cough. I have these symptoms all the time, so I usually assure myself I don’t have Covid 19. Now I’m not so sure.

I read some outstanding LRB magazines, and then listen to the second part of the Uber files podcast on the Guardian’s Today in Focus. A senior executive of Uber has turned whistle blower, and is spilling the secrets of the sometimes aggressive Uber drivers.  We are learning some of the exploitative secrets behind the (formerly) cheap hire-car rides. I do have an Uber account, and I have used it occasionally, with mixed success.  Twice I had to cross our busy road to get in the Uber; however I do like the way it’s so easy to order, and I can see the progress of the car coming to pick me up.  In these Covid 19 times, there’s some risk with catching an Uber, or a taxi, or getting on a full bus or train for that matter.

It’s now Wednesday July 13^th.

Last night we had cheese on toast for tea. I didn’t feel like cooking anything else. During the day yesterday I felt as though I was fighting off a sore throat, a sore chest, and a bit more coughing than usual.  Last night I feel I hardly slept at all. I had a bad headache, although not the type of headache when I had brain bleeds.  I do get headaches, so it wasn’t necessarily ominous.

This morning I took another RAT test. It was negative, to my surprise, but ID saw a faint red line after the requisite 15 minute wait. There is a faint red line, barely visible; it doesn’t show up in the photo I took, and I duly recorded a negative test on the website as required. I don’t feel like breakfast – I just have a piece of toast and a cup of decaf tea. JD makes me a cup of coffee, I guess I’m not being so careful about avoiding infection now. There are all kinds of implications of this result:  I don’t want to go to hospital, but I don’t feel at all well either. I don’t feel like doing anything at all.

I listened to a podcast about Commander Hugh Dowding’s use of radar and Chain Home stations to manage the RAF during the Battle of Britain. It was called The Dowding System.  I was amazed at the intricacy and cleverness of this system, which I must admit I’d totally taken for granted. Well done, Britain! I also listened to American Scandal, which had the last episode about the Waco, Texas disaster; I must have gone to sleep during this because the podcast ran on into episodes about Watergate. In the early morning, news came through of the January 6 Committee in the US holding a live hearing.  There is more explosive testimony, needless to say. It’s all shocking. Once again I am impressed by Chairman Bennie Thompson’s old-fashioned grace, respect and good manners. I cannot imagine him shouting, swearing, or hurling insults.  This evidence focusses first on a strange meeting in the White House in December 2020, between Trump, Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn and Gabriel Byrne; Giuliani was in a separate room; this caused alarm, evidently there was lots of swearing and angry voices. Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, rushed to be there. There was other evidence on Trump’s speech at the Ellipse, and use of social media to fire up his followers, especially the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys – these groups were heavily armed and had plenty of food, apparently.  It seems they were in it for the long haul. It was not a spontaneous riot, although it was supposed to appear spontaneous.

This evidence is alarming and explosive, and thank goodness some brave folk stood up to Trump, why ho why didn’t they testify earlier? It seems that Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony encouraged some others to come forward, like Pat Cipollone, but it seems to have been like pulling teeth to get this explosive evidence made public.

I listen to more podcasts about Covid 19/omicron. Cases are increasing around the world, not just in New Zealand and Australia.  The BA.5 subvariant seems to be very contagious.  If one does quality for Paxlovid, it’s quite hard on people, I gather. In the US, Chuck Schumer has tested positive for Covid 19.

Today’s Covid 19 report is out, with 11,464 new community cases, 29 deaths, and 729 people in hospital, including 18 in Intensive Care.

Of today’s deaths seven were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, one was from Tairawhiti, two were from Taranaki, one was from Hawkes Bay, one was from MidCentral, two were from the Wellington region, two were from Canterbury, two were from South Canterbury, and eight were from Southern. One was aged in their 50s, one was in their 60s, seven were in their 70s, ten were in their 80s and ten were aged over 90. Of these people, 15 were women and 14 were men.

The patients are being treated in Northland: 14; Waitematā: 145; Counties Manukau: 49; Auckland: 93; Waikato: 56; Bay of Plenty: 49; Lakes: 13; Hawke’s Bay: 25; MidCentral: 25; Whanganui: 13; Taranaki: 16; Tairawhiti: 4; Wairarapa: 10; Capital & Coast: 30; Hutt Valley: 29; Nelson Marlborough: 10; Canterbury: 90; West Coast: 1; South Canterbury: 14; Southern: 43.

So that ain’t great at all.

What is good news though is that my son who had Covid 19 is now returning a negative test result (one week later); his children are still showing faint red lines.

Having watched some of the testimony on Youtube, I am now watching digests of it, mainly on MSNBC. Several scary pieces of news emerge:

• How did Powell, Flynn and Byrne get into the White House for an unscheduled meeting? This was a huge security risk. How did they get in here for an unhinged meeting that lasted several hours, where the shouting and expletives were audible outside?
• The riot was supposed to appear spontaneous, but was in fact carefully planned.
• The 2 right wing militia groups, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, had not previously worked together, but they came together for this. Trump spoke directly to them!
• Trump was in touch with a witness after Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony;
• People came to Washington DC because Trump asked them to
• Steve Bannon’s prediction – “All hell will break loose” was true;
• Mark Meadows knew that Trump had lost the election, and there wasn’t sufficient fraud to overturn the result of the election. He then searched for a constitutional loophole to keep Trump in power.
• People Trump had pardoned, like Flynn, Bannon and Roger Stone, far from being abashed, were actively involved in the insurrection.
• Brad Parscale was upset about people getting hurt and even killed, and felt guilty about having managed Trump’s election campaign (until he was sacked). I did not have great esteem for Steve Parscale, but his concern for human life, and feelings of guilt, are heartening.

I have a distressing cough – fortunately, not very often. That’s it for now. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

Today is Saturday July 9^th 2022. Kia ora!

Today we (and many others) are digesting Boris Johnson’s so-called resignation, which is not exactly what many people were looking for. He has resigned as leader of the Tory Party, but he has not resigned as Prime Minister, until another leader is appointed. So there you have it. Shock, horror, and he’s not gone (yet). In his speech announcement, after almost a half-century of ministerial resignations, he was heard to say, without an ounce of apology, Them’s the breaks.  I have been listening to many podcasts – The Rest is History, The Rest is Politics, The Bugle, the Guardian’s Today in Focus with Jonathan Freedland, and they all condemn Boris except for The Rest is History podcast, where Dom and Tom don’t take sides, but you can read between the lines of their super-intelligent discussion. Then I listened to a NZ Herald podcast, I don’t remember what it was called, but it was narrated by a woman in a very pluty British accent with very right-wing views. That came as a shock to me, seeing as most people I’d heard were more than happy to see Boris go.

Trump and Boris are alike in many ways, as pundits have pointed out; as it turns out, getting rid of them is no easy task. When the self-styled leader has no shame, it’s everyone else that’s wrong, not him.  There are differences, of course, but both populists had an amazing ability to command a crowd (and many staff and would-be loyal followers) with their lying oratory; both somehow appealed to working class voters, although neither had the faintest experience of being unprivileged.  Family woes – ex-wives and odd relationships with just how many children – did not deter their loyal following, whether it be rich or poor, religious or atheistic.  They’ve each left an enormous mess – which they’re still influencing, as Boris remains Prime Minister (for now), and Trump is about to declare his candidature for the presidency in 2024, despite his legal troubles.  They leave an indelible mess, and I fear it’s impossible to put this genie back in the bottle. Trump has aroused huge division in the US; Johnson’s Brexit is proving to be disastrous economically for the United Kingdom; somehow to go forwards or backwards amongst such deep division is fraught with danger, either way. Totalitarian leaders like Putin and Xi have different problems on their hands, but they don’t have to deal with much internal division. It’s their way, whatever the cost.

Still and all, at least Johnson can’t be accused of cosying up to Putin, unlike Trump, although he can be accused of cosying up to his friend Russian oligarch Evgeny Lebedev, now a Lord in the House of Lords. He also met an ex-KGB agent, Alexander Lebedev, in Italy in 2019 after a NATO meeting. Despite London grad conflicts, whatever government is in power in the United Kingdom will reliably continue to support Ukraine, one hopes.

Former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has died after being shot while campaigning. The world is mourning his sad ending – shootings like these are extremely rare in Japan. Prime Minister Arden paid him a lovely tribute in an entry in Instagram.

And so to Covid 19 news here. JD tested positive for Covid 19 this morning; I tested negative, but I’m a household contact of his and so we’re pariahs until next Sunday (July 17^th), according to Healthline (I reported JD’s result).  He’d had a heavy cold; in fact it turned out to be Covid 19.  My hands are pretty raw, since any time I touch anything he’s touched I feel bound to wash my hands.  So again everything is put off. At least it’s school holidays for the next two weeks, so term-time activities won’t be running.  I received a newsletter from Hōhepa, saying that seven of the residents they support have Covid 19. I know their staff (and their families) are badly affected with flu as well. Still, it was nice to hear from them.

Today there are 9,307 new cases reported, with 22 deaths (including a child under 10). 251 of these had recently travelled overseas. There are 570 people in hospital, including 9 in Intensive Care.

Of the people whose deaths have been confirmed today, six were from the Auckland region, four from Waikato, one from Bay of Plenty, one from Lakes, one from Hawke’s Bay, one from MidCentral, two from the Wellington region, four from Canterbury/West Coast, and two were from Southern. One was under the age of 10, three were in their 50s, three were in their 60s, five were in their 70s, seven were in their 80s, and three were aged over 90.

Of the cases in hospital, 11 were in Northland, 124 in Waitematā, 39 in Counties Manukau, 56 in Auckland, 57 in Waikato, 29 in Bay of Plenty, 14 in Lakes, 20 in Hawke’s Bay, 20 in MidCentral, six in Whanganui, 12 in Taranaki, three in Tairawhiti, six in Wairarapa, 59 in Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley, 13 in Nelson Marlborough, 62 in Canterbury and West Coast, 18 in South Canterbury, and 21 in Southern.

A new subvariant of Covid 19/omicron has officially been named BA.2.75, and nicknamed “centaurus”. The subvariant has been reported in 10 countries so far, including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, the US and UK. The bulk of cases, however, have been found in India. As of yet, the WHO has not named it as a variant of concern.

It’s now Sunday July 10^th.

This morning I zoomed into the church service. I found that I could throw a jersey over my pj’s, and have the computer on my lap in bed.  The sound was problematic, but eventually I could hear most of the service.

JD’s not feeling great. He’s had no calls or texts today, either from Healthline or the medical centre. I am wondering if he should be on Paxlovid, to treat Covid 19, but no one medical has been in touch. I presume a script could be faxed to a chemist, for my covid-free son to pick up the medicine, and drop it at our front door, but this has not happened. I am increasing fearful about touching anything he has touched, such as the fridge, the china cupboard, or the cutlery drawer. I asked him to put dirty dishes in the sink and run water on them; instead he put a mug full of water on the bench, which I then tipped over.  We have run out of chux cloths – I feel that I should use a second one, and so am re-using a washed one. I feel I need to wash my hands all the time, and they’re getting quite rough and sore. I’ve run out of decaffeinated tea bags. There are quite a few items now to go on my shopping list for my covid-free son. JD cannot make lunch now, as he normally does. I fear that if I get Covid 19 too, it will be hard for us to cope at home. Although if I get it too I won’t have to be so fussy about trying not to get it.

Today’s Covid 19 report is as follows: there are 7,461 new cases, 8 deaths, and 622 people in hospital – a significant increase. Of these, 13 are in Intensive Care.

Of the deaths reported today, four were from Auckland region, one was from Bay of Plenty, one was from Hawke’s Bay, one was from Canterbury/West Coast, and one was from Southern. One was aged in their fifties, five were in their 80s, and two were aged over 90. Of these people, three were female and five were male. This brings the total number of deaths to 1,671.

It’s reported that those currently in hospital are being treated at Northland: 14; Waitematā: 137; Counties Manukau: 56; Auckland: 68; Waikato: 55; Bay of Plenty: 32; Lakes: 13; Hawke’s Bay: 31; MidCentral: 27; Whanganui: 10; Taranaki: 12; Tairawhiti: 3; Wairarapa: 7; Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley: 68; Nelson Marlborough: 13; Canterbury and West Coast: 74; South Canterbury: 20; Southern: 22. Hawkes Bay: 31!  That’s alarming. I think of all my friends who have surgery scheduled – I fear it will be cancelled, or postponed. We’re not told the locations of the new cases.

Church today was “Café Church” – in the Hall rather than the church itself, with coffee and croissants available. I have to say I don’t really agree with mixing worship with so-called carnal pleasures of eating and drinking;  it’s physically complicated for me to eat or drink, in any case. Looking on zoom, there didn’t seem to be a lot of people there, and many were wearing masks.  On trips to Europe, though, I loved the way church was part of everyday life in Europe: in Rome, in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, and in a beautiful church in Barcelona services were going on as we visited. We sat down and enjoyed them – and enjoyed so much hearing Italian, French or Spanish, and having some understanding of what was being said. The church in Rome had the famous statue of Saint Teresa (and her vision); in Notre-Dame a black priest was saying Mass; and in Barcelona there was a baptism, where I recognised that “El Senor es mi pastor” was Psalm 23. It seemed very fitting as we began our journey back to New Zealand – and there’d just been a coup in Turkey. Having said that, I never saw anyone bringing a takeaway coffee or eating food in a church.

The unravelling over Boris Johnson’s demise continues, as the rest of the world looks on, as it did after Trump’s losing the presidential election, with a mixture of fascination and distress. How did it come to this? That Britain’s Brexit was carried out (and what a shambles that continues to be), and Trump was elected president in the US.  Both events were only just won, and were won on a series of lies. How sad, and what dreadful consequences they’ve both brought. Not only have they wrought huge changes in British and American society, they both handled the coronavirus pandemic really badly.  Now we’re all living with the consequences of both, and the deep divisions between right and left wing politics in every country. There seems to be no more of wanting what will be best for most of the people.

I find the newspapers so annoying here too. While I realise they want to shock, really some stories are just so silly.  People want to be happy – what has gone wrong with New Zealand? Well, you can be grateful to be here, for a start; it’s lamented that house prices have fallen – after saying they were much too high;  then people are complaining about there being more housing in their neighbourhoods.  New Zealand needs more housing, and, guess what, more housing is being built. So your neighbourhood is changing? And that’s a bad thing? I continue to maintain that we are so fortunate to be here. The health system is under pressure? When was it ever not under pressure? Some things don’t change.

That’s it for now. The world is indeed a strange and oftentimes a scary place. I’m thankful to be here in Aotearoa. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

Today is Thursday July 7^th, 2022. Kia ora!

Today JD and I are both staying at home, but neither of us thinks we have Covid 19.

Of the people whose deaths are reported today: four were from Auckland region, five were from the Wellington region, two were from Nelson / Marlborough and four were from Canterbury / West Coast. Three were in their seventies, nine were in their 80s, and three were aged over 90. Of these people, five were women and 10 were men. There have now been 1619 deaths from Covid 19 in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The breakdown of cases in hospital is as follows: Northland: 15; Waitematā: 123; Counties Manukau: 38; Auckland: 48; Waikato: 52; Bay of Plenty: 31; Lakes: 15; Hawke’s Bay: 13; MidCentral: 16; Whanganui: 5; Taranaki: 12; Tairawhiti: 2; Wairarapa: 4; Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley: 56; Nelson Marlborough: 15; Canterbury and West Coast: 63; South Canterbury: 13; Southern: 33.

Across the country it’s reported that there are large numbers of new cases in Waitematā, 1445, Auckland 1051, Canterbury/West Coast, 1603 and Capital & Coast/Hutt, 1279. The location of new community cases over past 24 hours are as follows Northland (271), Auckland (3,458), Waikato (683), Bay of Plenty (445), Lakes (187), Hawke’s Bay (448), MidCentral (360), Whanganui (163), Taranaki (273), Tairāwhiti (103), Wairarapa (125), Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley (1,279), Nelson Marlborough (324), Canterbury and West Coast (1,603), South Canterbury (131), Southern (849), Unknown (8).

Those numbers are quite staggering, really; especially in the Wellington area (1,279) and Hawkes Bay is up to 448.

Meanwhile, all medical systems are under extreme pressure, with a surge in omicron cases, flu and RSV – a childhood respiratory disease, that was prevalent here last winter. Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75  has been detected, although if you’re using RAT tests, you wouldn’t know which sub-variant you had. Evidently the Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahua has tested positive for Covid 19, and is working from home.

On a personal note, one of my sons rang yesterday to say he’d tested positive for Covid 19 (with a weak second red line).  That has thrown arrangements into confusion. At first I thought, I’ll be all right (having had a negative RAT test on Tuesday – after the Saturday workshop), but then I realised that he and my husband were working together closely on the previous day (the Tuesday), and so JD may well be infectious, and thus, me.  It’s so frustrating!  I hope he and his lovely family will be all right. We’ll do RAT tests again tomorrow.

I’ve cancelled today’s singing (and lunch to follow), a friend’s visit tomorrow, and I’ll cancel Access sending someone tomorrow too. We were going to visit another old friend on Saturday – that’s off too, as is going physically to church on Sunday. By next Wednesday we should be clear to associate with other people again, providing we continue to test negative for Covid 19.

This morning I booked our second booster shots of the vaccine. They’re not until July 23. Of course, if we do turn out to have Covid 19, I’ll have to reschedule. They’re doing these shots at the Johnsonville Medical Centre, unfortunately; it’s not a great venue, given its small, cramped rooms. It seems the vaccination centre in the Johnsonville Shopping Centre is going to stay closed.

In the US, they are obsessed with US politics, and seemingly oblivious (apart from Mehdi Hasan) to the UK political crisis (more on that to come).  They celebrated Independence Day (July 4) with fireworks and parades (Parades were cancelled because of Covid 19 for the past two years), but there was yet another mass shooting in a city called Highland Park in Illinois, where the people were celebrating an Independence Day parade. 7 people were shot dead, and I think 41 injured, to say nothing of those traumatised by this incident. One little boy lost both his parents. The shooter, was, (you’ve guessed it), a disaffected young white man, armed with an AR15 gun, which was obtained legally, despite plenty of “red flags” being raised about the young man. Needless to say, this is extremely upsetting, coming as it does after the Buffalo shooting, the Uvalde school shooting, and the Ohio hospital shooting. How does being angry about something give you the right to shoot people? How come people that go to utmost lengths to protect the unborn, have so little respect for other people’s lives once they’re living (and supposedly enjoying) them?

Actually this young man was evidently into rap music and conspiracy theories, and had plenty of affirmation; he dressed up as a woman, since women don’t do mass killings. Evidently he intended to shoot on another parade. Americans are terrified – where can one be safe? Where, indeed, since churches, hospitals, schools, and even patriotic parades aren’t safe.

I listened to The Rest is History podcast which devoted four episodes to the US Civil War, and then their latest one to Gone with the Wind. What a conflicted, strange and violent society the US is!  What a sorry, sad, place – where a black man became president, only to have hate unleased in the form of Trump leading the charge. On reflection, it did not suggest an improvement that he became president (and survived), but it was an interruption of otherwise continuously bad behaviour on the part of Republicans, with many displaying overt racism, sexism, love of guns (why?), God and babies, all in the same breath. Lauren Boebert even had the temerity to suggest Jesus should have had an AR15, so that he could fight back at his accusers. It reminds me of Jeff Daniels’ line in The Newsroom television series, where he compared some republicans to the Taliban, and the Taliban were offended. This was before Obama and Trump, but the Trump-ism was ever there.

I found Gone with the Wind extremely frustrating, both the book and the movie. The book was a page-turner, but oddly unsatisfying – Scarlett O’Hara was such a stupid minx.  But then that’s America, I guess – wilfully misunderstanding situations, and displaying a gross lack of insight and intelligence. Listening to the podcast, that’s just so American – the search for the perfect actress to play Scarlett, the exclusion of black actors from the opening viewing in Atlanta, and the fact that so many Americans love it! The kind of indulgence accorded Scarlett is simply not realistic. It makes me realise though how someone like Phyllis Schlafly (now embodied to some extent by Amy Coney Barrett) was so successful. You could get your own way by being coquettish and feminine – in other words, by playing games, not by being sincere.

In other news, yesterday we heard that Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and Senator Lindsay Graham have been subpoenaed by the District Attorney of Fulton County in Georgia, Fani Willis; that Pat Cipollone, White House Counsel, is to testify to the January 6 Committee; and that the January 6 Committee is to hold a special hearing next Tuesday.  And it still seems that more and more people are shocked and disgusted by Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony. They’re arguing over which bits shocked them the most. It seems, though, that for a while there the fate of the free world hung in her hands, Cipollone having instructed her to see that Trump didn’t go to the Capitol (as he wanted to do).

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in a whole heap of trouble, still (as I write this on Thursday afternoon) hanging desperately on to power. We heard that Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Sajid Javid (Minister of Health) had resigned, then late last night I heard three more ministers had resigned. Then today Michael Gove was demoted (because of disloyalty) and the Welsh Secretary had resigned; Patel and Shapps tried to intervene (whatever that means); then mid-afternoon that over 30 ministers had resigned. This follows the scandal about multiple parties being held at Downing Street during Covid 19 lockdowns; the scandal of trying to find his wife Carrie a job for at least £120,000 a year (doesn’t she have two children with Boris?), and his odd statements about a party whip called Chris Pincher. This person was credibly accused of sexual harassment, and unwanted touching; he lived up to his name, it seems. I’ve probably omitted some scandals. There was the vote of no-confidence.  The attempt to prorogue Parliament. The issue of sending refuges to Rwanda. The recent resignation of his ethics advisor, Lord Geidt, and Boris musing about whether to replace him. Oh, of course, there was Brexit, and the English treatment of Northern Ireland. And the interactions with the Russian oligarch Lebedev. And the handling of the pandemic – and then Boris being in Intensive Care after he contracted it. I watched a BBC news clip about someone trying to get the tranquilliser gun into Boris, and still finding it impossible. (I was somewhat surprised to hear this on a BBC news clip!) This man, like Trump, has no shame, and is very careless about everything – except staying on as Prime Minister. President Zelensky of Ukraine is grateful. I doubt that anyone else is, seeing Johnson attempt his Churchillian moment. I’m sure another trip to Kyiv is in order, right now, although Boris needs to stay home, right now. Now, at 6 pm, more than 40 ministers have quit. I have not heard of many of them. Sajid Javid made a good speech in Parliament, accusing the PM of lying, among other things. This has made quite an impact. So what is the last straw for the conservatives?  The Pincher issue (Pincher by name, and Pincher by nature, Boris was heard to opine), or the Northern Ireland protocol? JD thinks the latter is the prime issue. I doubt if these people have this much intelligence. I think the Good Friday Agreement, over Northern Island, negotiated by then Prime Minister Tony Blair, was a huge achievement; I doubt that many others remember it.

Bojo’s foppishness, lies and carelessness will certainly be remembered long after his passing. Sir Keir Starmer, on the other hand, will be remembered (among other things, I hope), for two rather good jokes: The charge of the lightweight brigade, and The sinking ships fleeing the rat. Even at this most serious of moments, Johnson just can’t take this seriously. Whatever is he smoking, I wonder? I apologise for saying Americans aren’t interested – I’ve just(been allowed to) read a long story in WAPO (The Washington Post) about Johnson’s political woes.  Chris Hayes has mentioned the crisis surrounding Prime Minister Johnson in his All In show. Sky News is maintaining a helicopter above 10 Downing St. Now (at 6:30 pm) 41 ministers have resigned. “Does the Prime Minister think there are any circumstances under which he should resign?” asked one wit in Parliament. There’s lots of Hear, hear!  When the Poms turn on you, they really turn. It seems, though, that Johnson enjoys the attention, even if it’s bad attention. Tonight there was a delegation to 10 Downing Street, but it seems he hasn’t resigned yet.

And what of the war in Ukraine? It seems to have reached a stalemate. How does it end? It’s predicted that Russia will run out of armaments before Ukraine does, so that’s kind of hopeful for Ukraine, who are bravely sticking in there, despite terrible casualties and random shelling.  What a sad situation.

It’s now Friday July 8^th.

Last night I saw that Boris Johnson will resign.  Yes, but…Gone but not gone, Boris Johnson quite but still clings to power. He is to resign as head of the conservative party, but will stay on as Prime Minister until a replacement is appointed. All right, so what does that mean?  Still and all, as David Frum said on the Bulwark podcast, he’s unlikely to march on Parliament.

There are “obituaries” for Boris and inevitable comparisons with Trump.  Both are really dangerous men, although there are differences. It’s ironic that many Britons who supported Boris loathed Trump and were ready to mock him. He hasn’t died, and many commentators have said what an awful Prime Minister he was, and what an awful person he is.

Today’s Covid 19 report is worse, with 13,344 new community cases, and a further 23 deaths. There are 587 people in hospital, and 9 of them are in Intensive Care.

Of today’s 23 deaths seven people were from the Auckland region, one each from Waikato, Lakes, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Tairawhiti, Whanganui and MidCentral, two were from the Wellington region, four were from Canterbury / West Coast, and two from Southern. One was aged in their 60s; three were in their 70s, 13 were in their 80s, and six were aged over 90. Of these people, nine were women and 14 were men.

The breakdown of today’s 587 Covid hospitalisations is: Northland: 13; Waitematā: 128; Counties Manukau: 38; Auckland: 35; Waikato: 57; Bay of Plenty: 32; Lakes: 14; Hawke’s Bay: 20; MidCentral: 18; Whanganui: 6; Taranaki: 11; Tairawhiti: 2; Wairarapa: 4; Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley: 60; Nelson Marlborough: 13; Canterbury and West Coast: 90; South Canterbury: 15; Southern: 31.

It was revealed today that about 14,000 New Zealanders are known to have been infected with Covid twice and Ministry of Health figures show 183 people have had the virus three times.

Actually it was later admitted that today’s total is 9,318 (some new cases were reported yesterday). There were a further 245 imported cases.

Of the new cases reported today, 334 are reinfections. Reinfections are cases in an individual who reported a case 29 or more days previously.

A breakdown of today’s (Friday’s)cases by region are: Auckland: 955; Bay of Plenty: 370; Canterbury/West Coast: 1512; Capital and Coast/Hutt: 1063; Counties Manukau: 888; Hawke’s Bay: 378; Lakes: 177; Mid Central: 334; Nelson Marlborough: 258; Northland: 233; South Canterbury: 98; Southern: 658; Tairāwhiti: 64; Taranaki: 204; Waikato: 568; Wairarapa: 104; Waitematā: 1322; and Whanganui: 131. That’s still pretty bad.

This afternoon I went shopping. Since it was raining, JD took me in the car (I sat in the back).  Although his RAT test  was negative, he has a cold with a runny nose and a cough. So it could be Covid 19. Either way, I hope I don’t catch it.

I bought plenty of food, given that Covid 19 numbers are high, and we may both become infected with Covid 19. Since we had the car, I could buy plenty of stuff – that I couldn’t carry if I were walking. I also bought more KN95 masks and some cough mixture for JD.

That’s it for now. After lots of activity (for me), things are very quiet again. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Sunday July 3^rd. Kia ora!

I haven’t written anything for a few days.  They haven’t been uneventful, however.

Last Friday someone from Access came to do some housework.  I didn’t feel too bad, and, and I changed the towels and bedlinen and tidied up some.

On Saturday I attended a singing workshop at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay. This was run by Lala Simpson and Jonathan Berkahn.  It ran from 10 am to 4:30 pm. Lala had tried to run it earlier, but had to cancel because of Covid 19; an other time I would have liked to go, but had something else on.  I knew I was taking a whole lot of risks:  being exposed to people I didn’t know; getting to Island Bay so early (a kind friend drove me there and back); the café there was to be closed, so one had to take any food and drink one might need; and this was going to be exhausting for me.  In the event, it was marvellous to sing with strong voices and to learn beautiful new songs. 

It was really cold on Saturday morning. I woke up before 5 am, and couldn’t get back to sleep; eventually I got up and prepared a sandwich, some crackers with cheese, biscuits, fruit, a flask of strong black coffee and a water bottle. I hadn’t done this for years – not since my university days before I became ill. In the event, I used almost all my provisions except the fruit. Singing is hungry work!

We got to the Home of Compassion, and it wasn’t at all obvious where we should go. We walked and walked, and eventually got to a big room where doors and windows were open. It was pretty cold!  It was a fine, sunny day, and unfortunately I had thought I’d be silly if I wore too many warm clothes.  After the first session, we had morning tea, and then the room warmed up. We ate our lunch outside in the sunshine. Masks came off as we relaxed and made new friends and acquaintances. We sang songs in different languages: Maori, Latin, Ukrainian, Korean, and an Afghani language. There were a few songs in English. I thought I knew Dona Nobis Pacem, and Purea Nei, but wished I’d known them better.

Afterwards, I was very tired, and glad to get home again, but marvelled at how much I’d enjoyed the day, and how I’d love to do it again.  During our time there, I got a message on Storypark (Messenger for Hōhepa) and photos of my daughter wearing a mask to go shopping!  That’s wonderful, that she will wear a mask (for some people!) I need to work harder on my singing.

I looked at the 1 pm Covid 19 report, and it was pretty dire.

This morning I got up early to go to church. It’s fine and sunny again, and not as cold as yesterday. It was lovely, and afterwards I caught the bus back to Johnsonville, and then another one home. The sermon was about Jesus sending his disciples off without scrip, or purse, or sandals, (Luke 10),and greeting homes where they received hospitality with a message of peace, asking did they need healing, and telling them that the Kingdom of Heaven was nigh.  How trusting did those guys have to be! To go off without any money is quite an ask, but without sandals? We also had the text from 2 Kings 5 about Naaman’s leprosy, and his healing.  We were seated in the church, and had beautiful organ music playing. I think we’ll be in the Hall for the rest of July (on the theory that it’s warmer there). Actually last winter I did not find it warmer in the hall I seldom find it cold in the church.

It’s really hard to fine today’s Covid 19 report. Eventually I am successful. Today there are 4,924 new community cases, and there’ve been 11 deaths. There were 165 cases at the border. There are 424 people in hospital including 7 in Intensive Care.

Of those who died, three were from Auckland, one was from Taranaki, two were from MidCentral, two were from Canterbury and three were from Southern. Five were women and six were men. Two were in their 60s, two in their 70s, four in their 80s and three aged over 90.

It’s reported that people hospitalised with Covid are in Northland (7), Waitematā (106), Counties Manukau (33), Auckland (41), Waikato (46), Bay of Plenty (4), Lakes (23), Hawke’s Bay (11), MidCentral (11), Whanganui (3), Tairawhiti (2), Wairarapa (5), Capital and Coast (38), Hutt Valley (8), Nelson Marlborough (7), Canterbury (54), South Canterbury (4), West Coast (2) and Southern (19). Nobody is in hospital with Covid in Taranaki. We’re not told where the new community cases are located.

So that’s that. Again, the numbers aren’t going down as fast as we’d like. JD and I are due for our second booster shots next Friday, but there don’t seem t be many vaccination centres; I suspect we’ll have to go to the Pharmacy in the Johnsonville Shopping Centre – which I don’t particularly like.  It seems there are no restrictions any more – apart from mask wearing. Wellingtonians are still good at that, thankfully. You do feel more protected, wearing a mask, and I do hope I didn’t catch Covid 19 at yesterday’s workshop. While some people I know have had it quite mildly, others have been very sick indeed.

It’s now Monday July 4^th.

This afternoon a friend was supposed to visit, but she has a runny nose and so has deferred her visit. It’s fine and sunny today. I walked up to the local store to get freshly baked croissants for lunch.

Today’s Covid 19 report is as follows: there are 6,498 new community cases, and there have been 8 further deaths. There’s a warning that visitors to hospitals (with Covid 19) are infecting patients. There are 487 people in hospital, including 11 in Intensive Care.

Of today’s deaths three were from Auckland region, two were in Waikato, one was from Taranaki, one was from MidCentral, and one was from Whanganui. All were from the past two days. One person was aged in their 60s, four were in their 80s, and three were aged over 90. Of these people, four were women and four were men.  This brings the total number of deaths in New Zealand to 1567. (Australia has lost over 10,000 people to this virus).

The Covid patients in hospital are in Northland (seven), Waitematā (114), Counties Manukau (44), Auckland (34), Waikato (38), Bay of Plenty (22), Lakes (23), Hawke’s Bay (13), MidCentral: (14), Whanganui (five), Taranaki (12), Tairawhiti (two), Wairarapa (nine), Capital and Coast (40), Hutt Valley (seven), Nelson Marlborough (10), Canterbury (57), South Canterbury (seven), West Coast (two) and the Southern region (27). The average age of patients in hospital is 63. That would be 40 in the Wellington area!

Experts are now warning New Zealand is facing a second wave of coronavirus infections as cases of the Omicron subvariant BA.5 spread around the country. Minister of Health Andrew Little has tested positive for Covid 19 and says he is working from home.  We aren’t told the numbers of new cases in each centre.

In the US, there’s distressing news. The Supreme Court, having struck down Roe, has said that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) cannot dictate for power reduction as it has done and would do under Biden’s climate plan.  The US Supreme Court seems to think it can act with gay abandon, now: these unelected folk are cutting swathes across democratically instituted laws. The cruelty of the ruling to strike down Roe has not escaped others besides me: others, too, have noted the extreme cruelty demonstrated here. Americans are reacting with a mixture of shock, grief and frustration. The Federalist Society has got its way, with the conservative majority on the Supreme Court poised to abolish more hard-earned rights: these folk have not been elected, although many of us are hugely frustrated by the idea(l) of “American democracy”. The traditional separation between church and state is being abolished too.  Access to guns is easier. The current situation, where the republicans are in control of many state legislatures, makes a mockery of their much-vaunted constitution, which many take an oath to defend.  This constitution, in the hands of extreme right-wing fanatics, is not helpful to the majority of the people, some of whom cannot get good health care, are at mercy of polluted air and water, and cannot even get good sewerage in parts of the country. What a sad place this is. One wit said that life begins at conception and ends at birth.  The majority of Americans do not support these draconian right-wing decisions.

One republican from Arizona, Rusty Bowers, who testified against Trump, claimed that he so respected the American Constitution, it’s having been “divinely inspired”. Well, I beg to disagree. To me, the Holy Bible is divinely inspired. I deeply respect many other writings, but they’re not divinely inspired. To my way of thinking, rulings of the US Supreme Court have made a mockery of the US Constitution.

The other matter of enormous concern is Trump’s conduct on July 6.  This is built up from what we knew soon after the day, podcasts like Will be Wild, and then – to trump all this – the overwhelming evidence provided by the public screenings of the January 6 Committee, culminating in Cassidy Hutchinson’s evidence.  It seems that her original testimony was limited, partly because Trump’s legal defence fund was paying for her lawyer.  She exposed the threats, too, and then got her own lawyer, and testified much more fully.

The most damning testimony includes several new things, some of which we may have suspected, others that we didn’t know:  Trump’s temper tantrums; his desire to go to the Capitol, despite the Secret Service asking him not to; his complete disregard for Mike Pence’s safety; his disregard for others’ safety, allowing arms (not allowed in Washington) to be brought into the Ellipse, assuming they wouldn’t be used to hurt him; his concern for crowd size;  Mark  Meadows’ disregard for doing anything useful to address or prevent the violence, because the president didn’t want to do anything; his scrolling through his phone and slamming the door on Miss Hutchinson; attempts to intimidate witnesses; and so on and so on.  Although Tony Ornato has said he would deny the Trump’s physical violence under oath, he is known to be a liar and not a good witness. It’s worth noting that apart from the odd detail. such as Trump’s assault on Tony Ornato, none of her evidence has been denied. It now seems that an acquaintance of Mark Meadows is known to have threatened Cassidy Hutchinson.

So that’s all very scary. What is more terrifying, though, is the reason Trump wanted to go to the Capitol: if you’re doing a coup, and marching on the seat of government with your rag-tag armed army of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, then you need to be actually physically there to stage a coup. That is terrifying, and only a handful of loyal citizens prevented this scheme from being seen through. This coup attempt failed – but at what cost?  And will there be another try?

Although many Americans have tuned in to watch the January 6 Committee hearings, the republican-controlled Texas legislature recently declared they didn’t believe that Joe Biden was the rightfully elected president; many of those running for elected office believe Trump should be president now, i.e. believe what’s known as “the big lie”.

In Ukraine, the war grinds on, with no evidence that it’s likely to stop any time soon. It seems that western-supplied weapons haven’t arrived soon enough, allowing the Russians, seemingly, to take more territory. 

It’s now Tuesday July 5^th.

A new drier was delivered this morning!  Our drier had broken down, we confirmed yesterday, after goodness knows how many years. JD rang an appliance store and they agreed to deliver a new drier today. Fortunately I had had a shower, and I’d just made a cup of coffee when the knock on the door came. The new drier is quite wonderful. It just fits in the existing gap, although the power cord doesn’t quite reach and I have to find a power board to enable it to work. But work it does.

This afternoon we had to go to Lower Hutt. We ended up having lunch at Caffiend – one of my favourite cafés, although I didn’t appreciate the music. But their kitchen was still open. I had Eggs Benedict. My new Listener turned up in the mail. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take me long to do the puzzles now.

Last night we watched Wild Mountain Thyme on television (Netflix, I think). It’s frustrating to have an Irish setting, a Scottish song, and Emily Blunt with a strange accent, but great acting – but it was suitably sentimental with nice music (Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake was thrown in, together with the lovely song Wild Mountain Thyme). I have also just finished reading Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. It started off rather slowly, but soon I couldn’t put it down. I’m not sure that I’m quite ready for the movie version. I can see why Kya’s family members had to get away. What a sad story, though!

It’s now Wednesday July 6^th.

This morning I got up early to go to hymn singing. JD picked me up afterwards; then I had lunch with a friend, and then we went shopping at New World in Thorndon. They had potato-topped pies, and good salads, although no raspberries. It was nice to go there. I got some rhubarb-flavoured tonic water, but it turned out to be really sweet – probably sweeter than I prefer. I had to try it, though – someone had recommended it in a Sunday paper.

The Covid 19 numbers are getting worse. Yesterday there were 9,629 new community cases, and 24 deaths. There were 495 people in hospital, including 11 in Intensive Care. I took a RAT test yesterday, which was negative, thankfully. I think at least we chose good times to visit our daughter in Hawkes Bay, at the beginning of February, and the end of June this year, before things got much worse, Covid 19 wise.

Today’s numbers are even worse. Today there are 10,290 new community cases of Covid 19. There’ve been 12 further deaths (two in Wellington and one in Hawkes Bay). There are 522 people in hospital, including 10 in Intensive Care.  There are 48 people in hospital in the Hutt Valley/Wellington area. There are 19 in hospital in Hawkes Bay. There are 233 (!) cases of people who’ve recently travelled overseas.

That’s it for now. Interesting things are happening, in the UK and the US. I’ll write about them next time. Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi.

It’s now Monday June 27^th, 2022. Kia ora!

This morning I have been listening to a very interesting podcast about a man whose grandfather was in the Nazi SS.  One of his daughters came to Scotland after world War II, and married a Scotsman; they had a son and a daughter, and the son has written a book about his grandfather’s history, and his relationship with his grandfather (and his mother).

It’s a Monday morning, so the news sources are quiet today, as they continue to digest the latest news: the January 6 Committee hearings in the US; the US Supreme Court’s ruling making abortion illegal in the US; the loss of two by-elections by the Tories in the UK; and the continuing war in Ukraine. Ukrainians are now taking heavy deaths as well as casualties, and there has been a bomb strike in Kyiv, killing one person.

In Russia, Vladimir Putin has appointed a retired over-weight General Pavel, aged 67, weighing perhaps 20 stone over the military operation in Ukraine. The former general Alexander Dworkin (?) is now – where?  There is much mockery of General Pavel, known as General Lunchtime; he certainly doesn’t look fit. We are still to see how effective he’ll be.

It’s now Tuesday June 28^th.

This morning I went out with one of my sons and his daughter. It’s raining steadily, but we went to Commonsense Organics in upper Tory Street. It was a treat to go there, although the prices are steep. I did get some Hōhepa Danbo cheese there. It’s rather nice, and very hard to come by. 

This afternoon, I’m due to go to an afternoon tea for a friend who died recently. Sadly, there was no formal funeral for her.  She was always very proper and beautifully attired; hence I have made some effort over my appearance, wearing a scarf, jewellery, and make up. There were lots of elderly folk there – perhaps 60 people.

In the US, now that the Supreme Court has struck down Roe, stopping a federal right for a woman to have an abortion, protests and discussions continue. Many states have so-called “trigger” laws that now come into effect, making abortion under almost any circumstances illegal in that particular state.  This Supreme Court ruling displays gross ignorance about the often perilous journey to have a child – which, once you’ve given birth successfully, could be black, gay, transgender, abnormal, the wrong sex…as well as being “normal” and being a delight. All kinds of things can go wrong, which would endanger the mother’s life, if not treated. Any pregnancy (and its after-effects) can be an emotional roller-coaster. The cruelty is just beyond belief.  Is anyone talking about (male) vasectomies? No, I thought not. Have they been outlawed? No, I thought not.

You’d think the anti-abortion right wing in America (i.e. the Republican Party, the Catholic Church, evangelicals and others would be pleased. After all, they’ve won a great victory in getting Roe struck down. Bit no, they’re far from satisfied. They want to see abortion completely outlawed in all states. And they’re coming after gays, gay marriage, and contraception too. Woe betide that a gay person has republican parents. As JD says, there aren’t many votes in success; there are far more in outrage. In my view, Americans are so absolute about such matters, where in my experience there are so many grey areas – as many women have noted. There’s the issue of ectopic pregnancies and other failed pregnancies, where mothers need medical care and sympathetic counselling and advice to get through such tragedies somehow. Much of this will be illegal, and those providing such care are terrified of getting prosecuted for “murdering babies.” It seems such a shame to add needlessly to existing sadnesses in this was.

Today’s Covid 19 report isn’t great.  The person who leads us for singing on Thursdays has advised that one of her daughters has Covid 19, and consequently she’ll stay away on Thursday this week. Most committee members advise getting someone else to stand in for her.

Today there are 8,082 new community cases, and there have been 16 deaths, including one of a person aged between 10 and 19. There are 383 people in hospital, including 7 in Intensive Care.

It’s reported that of the people whose deaths were reported today, four were from Auckland, two were from Waikato, two were from Hawke’s Bay, one was from MidCentral, two were from Taranaki, one was from Wairarapa, one from Wellington, two were from Canterbury and one person was from the Southern region. One of the people who died was aged between 10 and 19 years old. Three people were in their 70s, six were in their 80s and six people were aged over 90. We’re not told how many were women and how many were men.

The locations of today’s community cases are: Northland (169), Auckland (2584), Waikato (465), Bay of Plenty (274), Lakes (111), Hawke’s Bay (257), MidCentral (217), Whanganui (76), Taranaki (251), Tairāwhiti (87), Wairarapa (88), Capital and Coast (744), Hutt Valley (301), Nelson Marlborough (281), Canterbury (1,225), South Canterbury (107), Southern (733), West Coast (55). The location of three cases is unknown. There are reportedly 94 new cases at the border.  Those numbers still remain stubbornly high. I bought a new set of RAT tests this afternoon, seeing we have only 3 left; the price has gone up. I looked up the website for obtaining free ones, and you have to either have symptoms yourself, or be a close contact of a positive case. So that rules us out for the free ones. We live in hope, that we don’t see the second red line. It seems you can get false negatives with RAT tests, but if you test positive – you most likely do have Covid 19.  And there don’t seem to be many if any asymptomatic cases here.

The 383 hospitalised Covid patients are in Northland (four), Waitematā (71), Counties Manukau (43), Auckland (56), Waikato (33), Bay of Plenty (five), Lakes (19), Tairāwhiti (one), Hawke’s Bay (nine), Taranaki (10), Whanganui (three), MidCentral (15), Wairarapa (nine), Hutt Valley (13), Capital and Coast (20), Nelson Marlborough (13), Canterbury (32), South Canterbury (four) and the Southern region (23). The average age of hospitalised cases is 63. There are 20 (yes, you read that right) cases in the Wellington area!  And 13 in the Hutt Valley. The two DHB hospitals in Wellington are Wellington Hospital and Kenepuru Hospital, so that’s pretty dire.  The good news is that we should be able to have second boosters – next week – from 8 July (that date being six months since we had our first boosters). The All Blacks team, and their coaches, have been badly affected by Covid 19. I believe they’re due to play Ireland (who beat them last time, I think!)

The January 6 Committee has a surprise session tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon US time. We don’t know what it will be about, but we’re all agog, after previous dramatic hearings. Apparently one of Trump’s lawyers, John Eastman’s phone was seized by the Feds.

In Ukraine, a busy shopping centre in Kremenchuk was hit by a missile; it’s reported that at least 18 have been killed. This was hardly a “military target”.  The Russians seem to be winning some territory, but JD says, as I suspect, that they’re Pyrrhic victories.  They aren’t really winning.

It’s now Wednesday June 29^th.

During the night I didn’t get a lot of sleep. As the night wore on, I saw snippets of Cassidy Hutchinson’s evidence to the January 6 Committee: dramatic and alarming.  Shocking, really. I read about Trump’s letting armed people into his rally; Trump losing his temper and throwing his lunch (not for the first time, evidently); a lot of text messages; and Trump physically attacking (“lunging at the man’s neck”) a secret service officer who tried to prevent him driving The Beast. Mark Meadows does not come out of this well. I look forward to seeing and hearing lots of reflection about this.

Meanwhile, 44 people died in Texas in a truck that should have been refrigerated (and evidently wasn’t), and Texas Governor Greg Abbott has politicised this dreadful incident. Honestly, the pro-life party has little regard for life.

This morning I got up early to go to hymn singing. Thankfully traffic is not a problem at present, as it used to be. We sang Holy, holy, holy, and a beautiful hymn by John Milton (Let us with a gladsome mind). There were familiar and beautiful tunes.

After this I went to catch a 10 am bus into town. There were several of us at the bus stop, but the bus was several minutes late. It wasn’t cancelled, though; my phone told me it was running late, and eventually it turned up. At the Railway Station I caught a bus to Brooklyn, having just missed the one I wanted to catch. I got to the Penthouse just in time to see a French Film Festival film. Maigret at 11 am.

It was a very good film, although I don’t know that I’d recommend it. It stars Gerard Dépardieu as Chief Inspector Maigret, and several beautiful women, including his hard-done-by wife. He is over-weight and not very attractive, although he’s quite sensitive as he goes about solving the murder. Evidently he and his wife lost a daughter themselves – one senses a deep grief there.

Afterwards I had a cup of coffee and a cheese roll, then caught a bus to Wellington Railway Station, and then to Churton Park.

Shortly after 1 pm today’s Covid 19 report came out. There are 7,829 new community cases and there’ve been 15 more deaths. There are 385 people in hospital, including 8 in Intensive Care.

Of the people whose deaths are reported today three were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, one was from Lakes, two were from Bay of Plenty, two were from Taranaki, one was from the Wellington region, one was from Nelson Marlborough, one was from Canterbury, one was from West Coast, and two were from the Southern region. One person was in their twenties, one was in their fifties, five were in their 70s, three were in their 80s and five were over 90. Of these people, six were male and nine were female.

The people in hospital are as follows: Northland: 4; Waitematā: 70; Counties Manukau: 42; Auckland: 57; Waikato: 30; Bay of Plenty: 7; Lakes: 21; Tairāwhiti: 1; Hawke’s Bay: 12; Taranaki: 10; Whanganui: 1; MidCentral: 15; Wairarapa: 7; Hutt Valley: 13; Capital and Coast: 24; Nelson Marlborough: 12; Canterbury: 39; South Canterbury: 3; West Coast: 0; Southern: 27. The average age of hospitalisations is 63.

There are 100 new cases at the border.  I can’t now get the data about the distribution of these new cases, but they’re alarmingly high; higher than they have been in Wellington and Hawkes Bay.  Apparently the B.A.5 sub-variant of omicron is now prevalent in New Zealand.  Along with flu, and Covid 19, and it’s being winter, the health services are under extreme pressure at the moment.

Since I got home, I’ve been listening to Cassidy Hutchinson’s amazing testimony, and US journalists’ reactions to it. I have grown to really enjoy hearing Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the January 6 Committee, introduce each hearing. He is unfailingly polite, and a tad old-fashioned, introducing Deputy Chair Liz Cheney as the “gentlewoman”. At first I doubted this quiet Southern gentleman’s ability to chair this group, but I think he’s been quite amazing, and a good counter-foil to others on the Committee.

It’s now Thursday June 30^th.

This morning I listened to the Hacks on Tap podcast with Sarah Longwell (of the Bulwark), and then to the Bulwark podcast, where Charlie Sykes was speaking to Lawfare’s David Priess. All very interesting. After that I went to my Thursday singing. There had been considerable drama over what would happen, since our leader’s daughter has Covid 19, but in the event we had a stand-in who was very good.  Afterwards I got a lift to Johnsonville with a friend of mine, and then had lunch at the café at the library. I met my cousin there, and then she dropped me at home.

This afternoon I’ve been digesting my new Listener, and listening to – you’ve guessed it -more podcasts. It’s fair to say everyone in the US is still reeling at Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the January 6 committee, which was aired yesterday. She was an aide to Mark Meadows, the former president’s Chief of Staff. Today the White House lawyer Pat has been sub-poenad by the committee. I didn’t mention Trump’s obsession with crowd size, and his readiness for his followers to bring arms to the rally – after all, they weren’t going to hurt him.  Many Americans are saying they thought they couldn’t be shocked any more – but now they have been.

Today’s Covid 19 report isn’t great. There are 7,423 new community cases, and there’ve been 19 further deaths. There are 411 people in hospital, and 6 in Intensive Care.

Of the deaths being reported today, the ministry said two were from Northland, three were from the Auckland region, three were from Waikato; one was from Bay of Plenty; one was from Hawke’s Bay; two were from the Wellington region; one was from Nelson-Marlborough; four were from Canterbury; and two were from Southern. Two people were in their 50s, three were in their 60s, one was in their 70s, six were in their 80s and seven were aged over 90.

There were also 206 new cases at the border. Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson has been diagnosed with Covid 19.

I can’t now see there the individual cases are located, but I know they’re increasing again. Although Aotearoa remains at Orange status, there seem to be very few protections now. Here in Wellington, at least people still wear masks.

At present President Biden is in Europe, and Sweden and Finland are to join NATO, the differences with Turkey having been resolved. The war grinds on, but Putin has achieved greater strength and resolution in NATO.

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