Today is Friday December 31^st, 2021. Kia ora! It’s New Year’s Eve.

Some reflections this morning: Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty on 5 out of 6 charges, and will probably get jail time for this. She stood alone in the court:  all the rich and famous men who were “friends” of Jeffrey Epstein: Trump, Prince Andrew, Alan Dershowitz, Bill Clinton and others were nowhere to be found, and so far have not paid any legal penalty for their shady actions.  Their reputations are mud, but then I think many of us had our suspicions, anyway.

In the UK, British people will not be able to transit through France to get to their homes in the EU.  So they won’t be able to drive through the Channel Tunnel. Perhaps they could take the Channel ferry to the Hook of Holland.  I find this mildly amusing, although it does reek of pique, somewhat. Later I read that this rule has now been suspended. Overseas, records for new case numbers are being broken, more flights are being cancelled, and quarantine tines are being shortened. In the US, heaps of people are in hospital, including many children. This applies to Australia as well as the US, the UK, and European countries. I don’t think governments should sit on their hands and wait for things to get bad: they’ve gotten bad very fast, much faster than anyone expected.  This might (hopefully) be the coronavirus’s dying gasp, but Covid 19 has bee very hard to eliminate – anywhere. It may not be finished yet, however much we’ve had enough. I fear that coming impacts of climate change will be like this: change will suddenly be upon us and impacting many more people than it’s already having an effect on.  And if it’s a mild disease, how come there are so many new cases each day?

In New Zealand, there is a new case of Covid 19 in Napier. That’s not good news. There are two new locations of interest in Wellington:  the Rydges Hotel in Featherston Street, and an apartment on The Terrace.  Apparently the DJ Dimension had been granted 3 exemptions to get into MIQ.  Many New Zealanders, whose family members can’t come home, can’t get a place, or even an exemption, so that’s not great news, although perhaps the administration was trying to help the arts and the hospitality sectors.

In China, disgraced covid rule-breakers have been paraded through the city of Jingxi, reviving a practice of public shaming that had been abolished for a time. In New York, one of the subway lines is closed because of lack of staff availability. In another US city the fire department is closed. There is a Washington Post story about someone who “did everything right”, but still got the coronavirus. In the US, all the states are red (with case numbers). I don’t think people realise just how contagious this latest variant of the virus is. It’s airborne, which is an added challenge.  I don’t fear so much for myself, catching it, but I would hate for my daughter, or my school-age grandchildren to get it. The vaccines are good, but some are now saying you need another booster (that would make four jabs), or three injections a year!  You only get one flu jab each year, by comparison.  People here seem to be relying on vaccine passes (for two jabs); while they provide a shield of sorts, they don’t give complete protection. One can’t help feeling we’ve come so far, and yet so little distance, in terms of how much we know about this coronavirus.

On the pods, The Rest is History dealt with the Battle of Wakefield, in 1460, and the fall of the Duke of York, and Karl, the last Habsburg Emperor, crowned in 1916, towards the end of World War 1. I must confess I know little about either of these episodes, although I did see the movie Mayerling, about the murder/suicide of an heir to the Habsburg throne, and of course I know about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, an event which precipitated the start of World War 1. The movie is famous for its inclusion of the Elvira Madigan suite, a movement from one of Mozart’s Piano Concertos, No. 21, 2^nd movement, think.

Today’s news (NZ Herald) tells that there are 62 community cases of Covid 19. A few minutes later, the Stuff website advises that there are 49 new community cases, and no new omicron cases in the community, although there are 10 at the border. There are 46 people in hospital and 8 in Intensive Care.

It’s now Sunday January 2^nd, 2022.

Yesterday was New Year’s Day, although I think that here as for Christmas Day, celebrations have been pretty muted. It’s been fine and warm, even hot, in Wellington. I haven’t felt much like doing anything, although I did go to church this morning – in Wadestown.  It was fine and warm there, although there weren’t many of us; very different from what I’ve come to be used to. Afterwards, I waited for JD to pick me up. I find this heat really enervating, although it’s nice, of course. This morning I had my morning tea outside, at my home, and again I find the sun, although “lovely”, is quite intense.

We are hanging out for having our booster shots of vaccine, and thinking we’ll see how the queues are at the Johnsonville Shopping Centre once vaccinations reopen. I tried to do as my cousin advised and book a time, going on the advertised website, but when I entered the date of my second jab, it said this date could not be in the future (ha ha! 2021 in not the future). Obviously the website hasn’t been fixed yet. Or tested, perhaps.

Yesterday there was no Covid 19 news, it being New Year’s day, except to say that Covid 19 had been found in another retirement home, one in Mt Albert this time.  Today it’s reported that there are 105 new community cases, none of them omicron, thankfully. There are however 2 new cases of the omicron variant in MIQ.  There are 43 people in hospital, and 5 in Intensive Care; there have been 2 further deaths. Sunday’s new community cases reported from the past two days are from Auckland (71), Waikato (7), Bay of Plenty (22), Lakes (Rotorua) (4), and Hawke’s Bay (1). The Hawke’s Bay case was first announced on Friday after the reporting cut-off but was officially included in Sunday’s tally. There’s lots of traffic on the roads – why, one wonders? Since the next two days are public holidays.

It’s been quite boring, really. I’ve been reading John Le Carré’s latest novel. Silverview (a Christmas gift), and quite enjoying it. Edward Avon refers to W G Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn, which I’m proud to say I have read; in fact, I have a book about Sebald out of the library.

I’ve also been listening to lots of podcasts – more about Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos (the trial is currently being held, in fact the jury are still deliberating); what a piece of work she is/was!  I’ve also listened to Harsh Reality, a series about reality television, and a series about Enron.  I do find the incessant ads and promotions in these podcasts very annoying.

I’ve also been listening to The Rest is History podcast special for the 12/13 days of Christmas. These are not cheerful!  There’s lots of mutilation and massacres. On New Year’s Eve I listened to one about the African Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa, and the coronavirus; yesterday’s topics were Byzantine: the four emperors of Rome, and a battle that led to the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Although I know about the four emperors, this episode was pretty obscure to me. I have also been listening to more In Our Time BBC4 podcasts about The Rosetta Stone, Herodotus, the Congress of Vienna, and so on. I do enjoy listening to serious conversation.

In Australia, you can see what happens when the official attitude is to live with the coronavirus. The other day, NSW had over 7,000 new cases; today it’s 18,278. It’s reported they’ve been flying in medical staff – where from, I don’t know. A doctor in ICU in Wellington thanked the public recently for their part in heling keep this outbreak under control, so that the health system is not overwhelmed. Queensland has 3,587. Omicron is now Victoria’s dominant strain as new cases number 7,172. Apparently the Australian government have determined that “close contact” means you were in contact with another Covid 19 case for 4 hours!  That would rule out a lot of casual contacts, I think.

It’s now Monday January 3^rd, 2021. How dull these hot days are!

The Covid 19 news here today is really rather good, though There are 27 new community cases of Covid 19, and 24 at the border – but none of them is the omicron variant. There are 44 people in hospital, and 5 of these are in Intensive Care. Cases at the border have arrived from the following countries: Australia, the United States, Canada, France, Qatar, United Kingdom, India, United Arab Emirates and Singapore. In other words, from all over. 12 of the community cases are from Auckland, seven from Waikato and Bay of Plenty and one new case in Rotorua. Close contacts of international DJ, Dimension – who tested positive for the Omicron variant and was in the community – have returned negative tests. In Auckland, a rest home in Mount Albert has several residents and a staff member infected.

Overseas, it’s a different story with hospitals being overwhelmed, operas being cancelled, more flight cancellations, very high testing rates, when you can get a test, and lack of staff availability. It’s said that anti-lockdown protesters are going to south America.  But there are few lockdowns to protest: heaps of things just can’t happen because there aren’t staff available who aren’t sick or haven’t been deemed close contacts. In the UK they’re talking about reducing the isolation period from 7 days to 5 days, so that asymptomatic people can get back to work. Some close contacts can’t get tests that would allow them to get back to work.

In the US, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has tested positive for Covid 19.   Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been suspended from Twitter. Thank goodness for that!  In Israel, the government is offering fourth booster shots to those over 60. And, by the way, tis morning I listened to an interview between David Axelrod and Prime Minister Ardern (on the Axe Files podcast). How intelligent she is!

People are finding that although this may be a “mild” disease (some experts’ terminology), there is ensuing chaos over the lack of availability of tests, queues of ambulances at hospitals, and an overwhelming number of positive tests: in Victoria and in NSW, one in five PCR tests are positive. Here in New Zealand, Prime Minister Ardern has done rather well, I think.

On Saturday night we watched Fiddler on the Roof on Māori television. Last night we watched the new Olivia Colman masterpiece, The Lost Daughter. What sad stories they both are!  It is indeed very hard to be joyful at present. Still, there is much to be thankful for.  We’re still doing all right, here. Ngā mihi.

Today is Wednesday December 29^th, 2021. Kia ora!

Today there are 46 new community cases of Covid 19. There are three new cases in Northland, 30 in Auckland, six in Waikato, four in Lakes, two in Tairāwhiti and one in Canterbury. There are 48 people in hospital and 7 in Intensive Care. So that’s pretty stable, really. There are no major concerns. At the border, however, it’s another story: the Ministry of Health said a total of 71 Omicron cases have been detected at the border. Yesterday, they said the total was 54. Doing the math, as they say, would mean there are 17 new omicron cases detected at the border.  This poses a huge risk for New Zealand. If one of those cases requires hospitalisation, the risk of community spread (mistakes, improper PPE use, all health care workers have their own networks of family and friends), becomes far greater. The word from overseas seems to be the equivalent of “just suck it up”: we’ll all get it, so why try not to?  And by the way, we’ll achieve herd immunity, so why take precautions?  Well, no one wants to be sick, and I certainly don’t want my family and friends to be sick. I think most of us still want to avoid Covid 19, in any variant. Once again, we are an isolated island nation (two actually, the Main Land and the North Island. There’s also Stewart Island/Rakiura, of course).

So what have I been listening to?  The Rest is History have been doing daily podcasts for the twelve days of Christmas; they do sound rather well-lubricated, but hey, it’s Christmas. I do have to wonder about their long-suffering family members, since they must spend a bit of time investigating these topics. They tag team, with each presenting a topic they’ve chosen. I must say I find them very interesting. The one on Boxing Day was about the coronation of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor (yes, I must find out much more about that), and the second topic was about the resignation of Mikhael Gorbachev, and the breakup of the USSR and formation of the Russian Federation, and the formation of Ukraine as a separate nation (evidently a referendum was held, and the majority wanted Ukraine to be a separate nation).

Yesterday Tom Holland talked about Childermass, the Massacre of the Innocents, as told only in Matthew’s Gospel. I had forgotten about this incident, but it’s reminiscent of the Flight of the Israelites out of Egypt, led by Moses. Herod was so afraid of the new-born Messiah, so he called for boys two years and under to be killed. Consequently Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus into Egypt to escape from Herod, and stayed there until Herod was dead. Before the Israelites left Egypt, the last plague was the death of all the first born; the Israelites’ children were spared if they put blood on the door from a lamb they had killed and eaten: this was the Passover, when God passed over the houses of the Jewish people, and touched only the Egyptians’ children. After this, Pharaoh begged the Israelites to go. Matthew quotes from the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt have I called my son”.  So it’s all very meaningful, and reminiscent of the dangers that existed even when Jesus was a little baby. His parents knew overcrowding, poverty, being in danger, and being refugees. Mary had just given birth, and I doubt if she felt particularly energetic at this time.

After this Dominic Sandbrook spoke about the Tay bridge disaster in 1879, when the new Tay bridge in Scotland on the way to Dundee was affected by stormy weather so that the train going over it crashed, and there were no survivors.  74 or 75 people died. William McGonagall wrote a rather bad poem about this disaster.

Lawfare has done a series of podcasts about the Russia/Ukraine crisis. 

In NSW, there is an eye-watering total of new Covid 19 cases: over 11.000! So reports the New Zealand Herald.

This afternoon the NZ Herald reports as follows: “The first community exposure in New Zealand to the highly infectious Omicron variant has been confirmed. The Ministry of Health says whole genome sequencing had detected a border-related case of Omicron who had briefly been active in the community. The person was a recent arrival who returned a positive result on day nine of their self-isolation period. The ministry said they had previously returned three negative tests for Covid-19 while completing seven days of managed isolation in an Auckland facility.” So – it’s here. We don’t know where yet – could be Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or Rotorua; of course, this person may have flown around the country, too. 

More information has been released: the Omicron-infected person arrived on a flight from the United Kingdom via Doha on December 16 and was fully vaccinated with the mRNA vaccine, said the ministry. So far no other Covid-19 infections had been identified from the person’s flight.

They were active between December 26 and 27, visiting five locations of interest in Auckland, including central city nightclub Impala and Commercial Bay Precinct. 

To resume: the case recently arrived from the United Kingdom via Doha on December 16 and tested positive on day nine in their self-isolation period. So why weren’t they isolating in MIQ? Why? Why? Why? All you people that wanted home isolation…perhaps you just ruined summer for us?  How will I feel safe to do anything now? Evidently Minister Hipkins is to hold a press conference at 11 am tomorrow.

Just as well then that we went to see the Hilma af Klimt exhibition at the Wellington City Art Gallery (the building that used to be the Wellington Central Library).  This exhibition is extraordinary! Having said that, I don’t know that I want to see it again. She relied heavily on mathematical symbols, and on symmetry; some of the paintings are extraordinarily detailed.  Looking at them, you see more figures in them. The colours change, too. There are some odd signs and symbols that keep recurring – it’s very hard to interpret these.  There are different styles of paintings and drawings; I was tempted to say to her, Just relax!  It seems she relied heavily on the occult, and on séances, and on the companionship of other women – the Five. Apparently she showed some of her paintings to Rudolf Steiner, the father of Anthroposophy as practiced by Hohepa, and he did not particularly like them. They are quite intense; they’re not restful paintings, although I really liked some of the watercolours.

We had to show our vaccine passes, and sign in.  It took a long time to buy tickets and get organised. I’m glad we saw it before omicron becomes active in the community:  I fear that we’ll be very nervous about going anywhere once it’s widespread.

News has broken of the death of Senator Harry Reid, Democratic leader of the Senate for several years. He was a devout Mormon – now that I didn’t know. Also in the US, it transpires that Peter Navarro, Trump’s one-time trade advisor, has admitted to endeavouring to keep Trump in power.  These continuing revelations are shocking, horrifying; and yet the impulse is to ignore the silliness. But you can’t, really. 

It’s now Thursday December 30^th.

I’ve learnt more information about the omicron case. It turns out it was a famous DJ (known as Dimension) from the UK, who was scheduled to play at the Rhythm and Alps music festival in Wanaka.  The Rhythm and Vines festival, I think normally held in Gisborne, was cancelled; but subsequently resurrected as Rhythm and Alps in Wanaka.

Dimension arrived from the UK via Doha on December 16 and spent 7 days in MIQ. This was to be followed by 3 days of home isolation. He returned three negative tests before testing positive on December 27 – the result of a test taken on day 9, which was December 25. He was active in the community for Boxing Day and the day after that, when he shouldn’t have been. A close colleague of his, the DJ known as Friction, played at Hagley Park in Christchurch, but is now isolating.  Other people assumed to be close contacts have tested negative. It’s not clear just how many places he visited, when he was infectious, or how many are regarded as “close contacts”. Both DJ’s have pulled out of the starting line up at the Wanaka festival, which has already started. So now we know. It’s now December 30^th, and we were told on December 29^th. That means that two days elapsed when we didn’t know.  That’s not great for engendering trust.

In other news, two people in Tairawhiti/Gisborne have tested positive, one of them a school-age child.

So omicron is here, in the community – right between Christmas and New Year. Apparently Dimension is “devastated”. So are we, so are we, dear boy.  You may be truly upset, but you did break several rules. You were trusted to comply with the rules.

The Wellington-based Phoenix team have recorded positive cases amongst several players and a member of staff.

Unfortunately I missed Minister Hipkins’ press briefing at 11 am. Apparently there were at least 47 people regarded as close contacts at the Impala Night Club attended by Dimension. Apparently his case is not related to other cases of omicron in MIQ (does this make sense to you?) Six locations of interest in Auckland have been published.

Auckland is set to move from Red to Orange status under the traffic light system, at midnight tonight. My reaction is: So what?  What difference is that going to make?

In the US, Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

Last night I listened to another episode of The Rest is History podcast on the twelve days of Christmas, this time about Saint Thomas Becket, and the Battle of Wounded Knee.  I found both very moving, especially as I have visited Canterbury Cathedral (twice), have studied T.S. Eliot’s verse play, Murder in the Cathedral, and studied Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. So it was good to hear the story again, and it reminded me of Chaucer’s wonderful prologue to his great poem:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licóur

Of which vertú engendred is the flour;

Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne

Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,

And smale foweles maken melodye,

That slepen al the nyght with open ye,

So priketh hem Natúre in hir corages,

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,

And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,

To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;

And specially, from every shires ende

Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,

The hooly blisful martir for to seke,

That them hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

It’s so ironical that Chaucer wrote this poem in a time of plague (I read about this

in the LRB); and also, that while King Henry II wanted to get rid of Becket, in fact

he became a famous Saint and martyr; pilgrimages began, and St Thomas Becket

is probably more famous than King Henry II.  Murder in the Cathedral is a very

fine play, with elements of Greek drama, as evinced by the Chorus. Tom Holland

is familiar with it, too.

The story about Wounded Knee is very moving too. Who has not heard of the

book, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee? It was made into a film, too. Again,

there were some very questionable dealings here, and there was much death at

Wounded Knee, as US forces sought to eliminate Native Indians. Again, there are

martyrs. This mini-series is so interesting. I wonder what they’ll do next.

Back to Covid 19, here in New Zealand.  Over 100 people are isolating as a result

of being close contacts of DJ Dimension. There are 60 new community cases of

Covid 19, 6 omicron cases in MIQ, and another MIQ-related case of omicron. This

second case of omicron in the community is an Air NZ crew member who worked

on a flight between Auckland and Sydney on December 24. They were tested as

part of routine testing on December 27. This case is linked to 3 other omicron

cases on the same flight. They’ve been moved to MIQ, and there are no known

locations of interest.  It’s not known how Dimension caught the infection:

s, 20 are in Auckland, 28 are in Waikato, eight are in Bay ofPlenty and there is one each in Northland, Lakes, Tairāwhiti and Canterbury.

As we draw near to New Year’s Eve, there are all kinds of crazy predictions about

what 2022 may bring. As usual, I ignore them, and try not to be too anxious

about everything: the coronavirus, climate change, US politics, and the threats to

Ukraine and Taiwan etc. I would love to travel again.

That’s it for now!  Ngā mihi.

It’s now Boxing Day, Sunday December 26^th, 2021. Kia ora!

I had a lovely day yesterday, despite not getting much sleep the night before. I had church in the morning – it was like Easter, with Friday/Saturday/Sunday church. We had a video call with our daughter in Hawkes Bay, although it took a wee while to master the intricacies of this. We watched her open some Christmas presents we’d left for her when we went there for her birthday, earlier in December. 

At church, the organ played again, and we sang more Christmas carols. The beginning of John’s Gospel was read: In the beginning was the word. And the word became flesh, and dwelt amongst us. It uses that wonderful Greek word logos, making one think of logic and reason, permanence and meaning – a different angle from the story in Luke’s Gospel of Jesus’ birth. Afterwards, I accepted a piece of Christmas cake.  I waited to be picked up at the library – there’s seating there, and although it was overcast, it wasn’t raining.  Some children were there wearing tutus and trying out their new scooters (no helmets, mind, although their older brother did have a bike and a helmet).

Once back at home, I called my son in England (he’d called while I was at church), and there were various calls with family members. We had a rest before preparing salads to take to another son’s house later that afternoon. I even got to lie down with my book for a bit – magic! And I wasn’t cooking a turkey – a big relief.

I got up, got changed and we went to my son’s house, where we had such a nice time, and video-called our eldest son and his family.  It was a very low key, but very enjoyable day.

That evening we watched a charming film on Māori Television based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and I had a whiskey – Laphroiag.  Then I slept rather well.

This morning was Boxing Day, but it was Sunday, so I went to church again.  There were very few people there! The New World supermarket across the road was open, and it was sunny, although quite windy. I bought fresh croissants for lunch.

It has been a relief to have a break from the local covid 19 news. And today the news isn’t too bad: I had learnt there were new cases in Taranaki (one, related to the Eltham cluster), and two in Gisborne. Today there are 126 new community cases of Covid 19, this total being spread across two days, and 7 omicron cases in MIQ (there are 3 non-omicron new cases at the border).  There are 47 people in hospital, and of these 7 are in Intensive Care. The 126 community cases were in: Auckland (88), Waikato (17), Bay of Plenty (6), Lakes (13), Taranaki (1), Northland (1). So it seems we got through Christmas with no major Covid 19 disasters as yet; there have been some serious road accidents, however.

Overseas, it is quite a different story. In these grim times, one’s view narrows so much that it becomes all about myself and my family, and their safety and well-being. The last three days I’ve been happy to go to church; many people overseas cannot, as places of worship like the Washington National Cathedral have been closed to patrons. Thousands of flights have been cancelled, as in many cases not only are there not enough passengers to make it worthwhile, but the flight crew are sick themselves. It occurs to me that those who are against lockdown may find themselves in just that situation, if the people who normally serve them are ill themselves, or close contacts of infected people. In this situation, contact tracing becomes really hard work, and potentially a lot less useful.

NSW in Australia is in the grip of another deadly wave, with 6,394 new cases; South Australia has 774 new covid 19 cases, with 17 people in hospital (weren’t they keeping it out before?) Queensland has 714 new cases. And so on.  Prime Minister Morrison again seems tone deaf, as he does about so many issues – remember the severe fires this time last year? He was holidaying in Hawaii with his family. He says Australians will make rational decisions. It’s hard to be totally rational when your government is doing little to protect you.  I think more people are happy to have some rules to follow, even if they’re highly inconvenient at times.

In Melbourne, there were record numbers of people seeking tests; in Sydney, 400 people who tested positive were wrongly told they were negative.  Someone complained there was no triage at a testing clinic, as in do you have symptoms? Are you a close contact of an existing case? Have you recently travelled? Or are you just one of the worried well?

In China, although the large city of Ti’an has gone into lockdown, new cases of Covid 19 are being discovered.  Here, at least, we got through Christmas day without any major disasters. But Covid 19 says, hey, not so fast…

It’s reported that partygoers who attended an Otara Christmas party are being asked to self-isolate and immediately get tested after a guest tested positive for Covid-19.

A Christmas party held on Thursday December 23 at East Tamaki Community Hall in Otara has been identified as a new location of interest. Anyone who attended this party has been identified as a close contact. The Ministry of Health is asking anyone who attended this Christmas party between 4pm and 11pm to self-isolate, test immediately and on day 5. “Self-isolate, test immediately and on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest”.

This afternoon we went to see the Rita Angus exhibition at Toi Art at Te Papa. I was a bit cross when we got there, because they asked to see our vaccine passes, although they didn’t have a notice warning us of this. Then we had to hand-sanitise, and then scan or sign in. I think this is in the wrong order: I think one should scan the QR code, show one’s vaccine passport, and then hand-sanitise.

Never mind. We made our way to the exhibition, which had been well-curated and was very worthwhile. There were a few others there, but it certainly wasn’t overcrowded. What a strongly individual woman she was! Her independence shines through her beautiful paintings. What a strange life she had! She displayed an amazing use of colour in many of her landscapes. They are very detailed, even when showing hills or plains. There are also tricks in her works: remember that famous boat scene at Island Bay, with Taputeranga in the background? The boats actually look pretty flimsy, a bit like paper boats in a bath tub, yet it’s a iconic painting.

On our way home, we stopped at the New World supermarket in Thorndon. Thankfully it was much less busy than it had been before Christmas – there was hardly anyone there. We had new potatoes with mint and salad for dinner. I had forgotten how delicious new potatoes can be, Afterwards, we tried to watch the original West Side Story movie with Natalie Wood on Māori television, but I found it very long. I have to admit I don’t really enjoy musicals.

It’s now Monday, December 27^th.

Today it’s reported that there are 34 new community cases of Covid 19, and ten border cases in MIQ, four of them being omicron (there’s a total of 49 omicron cases, still confined to the border). There are 41 patients in hospital, 8 of them being in Intensive care.

The locations of the new community cases reported on Monday are: Auckland (21), Waikato (7), Bay of Plenty (2), Rotorua (3) and Canterbury (1). There’ve been no  concerning wastewater testing results over the past 24 hours.

So well done, New Zealand: the storm hasn’t hit just yet; perhaps it’s lying in wait? Who knows.

This afternoon the NZ Herald informs me that NSW has recorded its first omicron death, that cases are surging, and it’s reimposing restrictions. Masks are now compulsory in all indoor, non-residential settings, including for hospitality staff and in offices, unless eating or drinking. Venues and patrons must also now follow the one person per two square metres rule indoors at pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes.

It’s now Tuesday December 28^th.  There’s no bad covid 19 news here, so far.

Overseas, it’s another story. The UK recorded 113,638 new Covid 19 infections on Christmas Day, but Prime Minister Johnson won’t impose restrictions. In France, the time delay between the second vaccine jab and the booster has been reduced to three months. In the Chinese city of Ti’an, Covid 19 cases continue to rise; although Chinese officials there face punishment for failing to prevent this latest surge.

In Australia people are complaining about testing; in Sydney, another 800 people were given false negative results of their tests; and there’s huge frustration.  Essential health workers are now having to isolate for 7 days instead of the usual 14, if they’ve been in contact with a Covid 19 case, because the health workers are needed.  They’re throwing shade at New Zealand’s approach, but New Zealand, I think, has been wise, as long as omicron stays out of the community.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has died at 90, and there are huge plaudits for him; Joan Didion has just died, too, and there are plaudits for her, especially for her book, The Year of Magical Thinking, which explores he grief at her husband’s sudden death. Her adopted daughter sadly died, too. Both were elderly. Reclusive Booker Prize winner Keri Hulme has died at 74, not that old, really. It hasn’t been said what she died of. Her one novel, The Bone People, was a hard read. I have a copy, but I haven’t reread it.

In New Zealand, the Covid 18 news is not bad. There’ve been some tragic road accidents, so far so normal, but today there are 18 new community cases: of these, 13 are in Auckland, three are in Waikato, one is in the Bay of Plenty and one in the Lakes District. Sadly, another person has died – a woman in her 70’s. There are 54 people in hospital, including 8 in Intensive Care. At the border, 16 new cases have been identified, including 5 of the omicron variant.

In Australia, in the UK, in the US, the omicron variety of Covid 19 is rampant, it’s out of control.  Quarantine times are being reduced, because of the shortage of well healthcare workers.  This variant now surpasses cases of the delta variant; it causes some hospitalisations and some deaths, but it seems futile to oppose it, in many places. Tests, where you can get them, have a high positivity rate. Some have concluded we just have to live with this. It’s airborne, too, so is very easy to catch. Many cases (with few or no symptoms) are probably undetected.  Still, I think one wouldn’t want to catch it, or for any of one’s children or grandchildren to catch it.  How long will New Zealand keep it out? We seem to have good news on the delta front, with reduced case numbers; on the other hand, it’s the holiday season so there have been reduced numbers of tests. We have yet to get through New Year.  That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

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Today is Wednesday December 22^nd, 2021. Kia ora!

Nothing too horrendous today, really.

At 1 pm we learn that there are 56 new community cases of Covid 19, and 6 new omicron cases at the border. The big news is that there’s a case in Lower Hutt (not Wellington), and there are five locations of interest in the Hutt Valley.

The location of today’s new community cases are: Auckland (33), Waikato (6), Bay of Plenty (11), Lakes (4), Taranaki (1), Hutt Valley (1). There are 51 people in hospital, 7 in ICU as of today.

Overseas, omicron has rapidly become the dominant variant of Covid 19, (73% of all cases in the US), although a delta outbreak is still raging in many places.

Covid 19 has been detected in wastewater from Napier and Whitianga.

It’s now Thursday, December 23^rd.

So nothing much happened yesterday, although I did get into an email discussion with a podcast provider. The issue was, I was listening to a series which drops a new episode each week. The new episode was loaded, but it was the wrong one: they loaded an episode from an earlier series. Anyway, the correct episode was duly loaded, and I listened to it with interest.

Today again there are 56 community cases of Covid 19, and 3 new cases of the omicron variant in MIQ. So that’s probably good news.  I’ve seen really scary news stories overseas about omicron’s terrifying rate of increase, and that it’s rapidly becoming the dominant variant, even replacing delta, which is still causing problems. There are 48 people in hospital, including 7 in Intensive Care.

The new cases are located in Auckland (42), Waikato (four), Bay of Plenty (six), Lakes (two), and one each in Tairāwhiti and Taranaki.  Late this afternoon I learnt that there are 4 new cases in Murupara, a town that was devastated during the unemployment crisis of the 1970’s, and with a low vaccination rate. So that is a worry.

In the early afternoon we went to New World supermarket in Thorndon.  It was nice to come here, but it was very busy. I managed to get most of the things I wanted in strange places. (Where are the cucumbers? kiwi fruit? where’s the salad dressing?) I bought pâté, brie, grapes, raspberries…and we got pies to eat later for lunch, and a donut, of course.

I’ve learnt that some rich countries are recommending a second booster jab of vaccine, i.e. two vaccine shots and now two boosters!  Forget about vaccinating Africa, or India, then. Our survival now depends on multiple doses of boosters, and we struggled to get the vaccines. I’d have to acknowledge that New Zealand got off to a frustratingly slow start with vaccines, but they’ve done an amazing job, and now I believe over 90% off eligible Kiwis have had two injections.

It’s now Friday December 24^th – Christmas Eve. It’s a fine day, and the shops are quietly busy, but not madly busy.

In the US, Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland and Rep. Jim Clyburn have covid 19 infections. Later I learnt that Vice-Admiral Tim Laurence, the second husband of Princess Anne, has the coronavirus. In China, the city of Ti’an, a  city of 11 million people, has been locked down for 127 covid cases. New York has scaled back its New Year celebrations.

The January 6 Committee is delving ever deeper into those dreadful events, and they want to speak to politicians: Scott Walker and Jim Jordan, so far. It seems that republicans did everything they could do declare Joe Biden’s election invalid, and keep Trump on as President.  The death threats, and the acceptance of violence (and lack of condemnation by republican leadership) is frightening indeed. Those threatening such nasty violence seem to have no conception of it being done to their own loved ones. There are many situations where there’s a lack of discrimination as to who gets hurt, when things are really out of control.

This morning I listened to the latest The Rest is History podcast again featuring Rachel Morley, from the Friends of Friendless Churches charity, talking about her top ten Christmas Churches.  I was surprised and delighted to here that St Mungo’s Cathedral in Glasgow was number 7 on her list! I have been there, and I loved it too; it had a purple stained glass window, and reminded me of Blackadder, the television series.  There was a lot of talk about charities and collection boxes, and also some quite naughty acts!  You’ll have to listen to it yourself to find out!

The 1 pm announcement tells that there has been another death from Covid 19: person in their 50’s, who had been in North Shore Hospital since December 11. There are 45 people in hospital, and 8 of them in intensive Care. Meanwhile, 62 new community cases were reported on Thursday, in Auckland (37), Waikato (5), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (five) and Canterbury (one). There are nine new cases in MIQ, including 7 with the omicron variant of Covid 19.

After lunch we went briefly to Johnsonville, where I picked up two reserved books from the library there. I grizzled about having to show my vaccine pass, which can be time-consuming, but later went back and apologized to the nice security guard who was photographing them; after all, he doesn’t make the rules, and they’re there to protect us.  I’ll know to have my pass ready next time I’m there. We then called at Whitcoulls in the Johnsonville Shopping Centre, where they helpfully had lots of inexpensive gift suggestions.

I picked up two reserved books from the library. One is a book about of W. G. Seward called “Speak, Silence”. It’s a large tome. I remember reading Seward’s books several years ago, and I found them most interesting. In fact, based on ‘Austerlitz”, I tried to go to the Austerlitz Railway Station in Paris in 2016; there were lots of armed police there, and evidently it was no longer a railway station but was being turned into something else.  Despite the huge police presence, there was no obvious terrorism threat. I was disappointed not to be allowed inside the former Station. Railway stations can be quite wonderful, memorable and intriguing places.

The other book is Prisoners of Time, by Christopher Clark.  I don’t remember requesting this book, but it is so interesting. Christopher Clark is Regius Professor of History at Cambridge University, and he compiled this book during the Covid 19 lockdown of 2020.  It may have been referred to in a podcast I listened to, or he may have been a guest.  At the moment I’m reading a chapter about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, as retold and interpreted by Daniel, in the book of Daniel. Chapter 2. I have read the preface, and the chapter about Colonel General Blaskowitz, who committed suicide before his trial at Nuremberg, but who showed elements of resistance to atrocities against civilians by the Nazis during World War 2. When he tried to highlight these, he was demoted, although he always stood up for the army as a non-political body. Of course, he was conflicted about its role and purpose and responsibilities. He did some bad things, and some good things, although it seems he could expect to be acquitted at the Nuremberg trials after the war. His suicide came as a surprise, but perhaps he fell into deep despondency about the terrible things that had been done.

JD and I went to a lovely candlelit service on Christmas Eve. He came in because there was really nowhere else for him to go.  We heard the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, and sang lots of carols. The church looked really beautiful in the flickering candlelight. There were lots of people there, although in that church no one’s uncomfortably close. Then we went home and tried to sleep.

What a strange time this is, and how fortunate we are to  be here.  The world is a very troubled place, with Russia threatening Ukraine and China threatening Taiwan, and the coronavirus threatening all of us.  For Christians, it is truly a time to be thankful, and joyful, and put aside frustrations and concerns.

The historian Christopher Clark has a podcast, The History of Now. While he writes very well, and I am reading more of his book, I don’t find his voice great to listen to.  It’s interesting to me just how important this is – the voice (or voices) have to be good to listen too, in my view, as well as having interesting subject matter. I listened to an episode where he interviews John Henderson and Jane Stevens Crawshaw entitled: Quarantine, Isolation, Lockdown: The Plague in 17th Century Venice and Florence. I found this episode most interesting, partly because I had read a review of Henderson’s book, Florence under Siege, in the London Review of Books. I was so interested from reading the review that I wanted to borrow the book from the library, but Wellington Public Library doesn’t have it, and it’s really expensive to buy.

The essence of what he’s saying is that in Florence the authorities saw to it that the poor were well fed during a lockdown, that they had wine, and basically the Italian authorities saw that it was important to be kind at this time and help people get through it.  I found this approach really interesting, similar to South Korea’s approach (which was successful, initially), and to Prime Minister Ardern’s here, where we were so well looked after during the nationwide strict lockdown of 2020, which was a bit of a novelty, and a circuit breaker. Sporadic localised lockdowns followed, generally of a fairly short duration, and the borders were closed, imposing the dreaded MIQ system. This was modified, and has protected us all really well, until it didn’t, and people couldn’t get a place to come back for a funeral, and our loved ones couldn’t come home to visit. The government has made some modifications, but now we’re all threatened by the omicron variant of Covid 19, and restrictions are being put back in place.

It’ll be a very strange Christmas here, for sure. More to come! Stay tuned. Ngā mihi.

Today is Monday December 20^th, 2021. Kia ora!

This morning there is more news from the UK: Liz Truss is to replace Lord Frost in the Brexit negotiations; there’s a photo of Boris and his wife and friends enjoying wine in the 10 Downing Street garden in May last year, when everyone else was in some kind of lockdown; (it certainly doesn’t look like a business meeting; perhaps it was the business of wine testing); and on Sunday 48,071 new coronavirus infections were reported, today 82,886, an increase of 72% on Sunday’s total. Omicron is the dominant variant of Covid 19 in Ireland, and there’s talk in the UK of the British government being recommended by their scientific advisers to impose a new lockdown as a “circuit breaker”.  Dr John Campbell claims that omicron is 60% of new cases in England. A new lockdown has been suggested by Sajid Javid, the new health minister, but Boris Johnson has not approved it yet; no wonder, for people like Lord Frost and some other Conservatives despise restrictive measures. It’s been a continual battle throughout the pandemic, between those in authority who would seek to preserve human life (like the Labour Government in New Zealand and some democratic governors in the US), and right wing people who think business is more important. Here, there’s a heading on the Stuff website that reads: “Pessimism reigns as New Zealand ponders 2022 Economy without elimination strategy”. Really! Wasn’t business desperate to reopen?  Haven’t there been protests about restrictions, about limitations on personal freedoms? You can’t have it both ways. Again, I see why people distrust the media. During 2020 someone made the point that you can’t have a healthy economy without healthy citizens (and that would include citizens who aren’t terrified for their friends and family members). In NWS in Australia, there’s a surge again of cases, including 266 omicron cases.

In the US, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker have both tested positive for Covid 19, despite being fully vaccinated and having had booster shots.  The January 6 Committee is reportedly (via Adam Kinzinger) announcing that it’s considering whether Trump committed a crime. Another report tells that it  was Ivanka Trump who encouraged he father to stand outside the church in Lafayette Square in Washington D.C., holding a bible – evidently Mark Meadows has related this in his book.

In New Zealand at 1 pm there is, again, mixed news: there are 69 community cases of Covid 19; cynics would say that the number may be reduced because Aucklanders holidaying in the Coromandel may be too far away to drive to a testing station; but there are 9 new cases of omicron in MIQ! This takes New Zealand’s total to 22.  Surely it’s only a matter of time before it gets out into the community. There are 62 people in hospital, and 7 of them are in Intensive Care. The new community cases are as follows:  Auckland (59), Waikato (7), Bay of Plenty (2), Taranaki (1).

At some point the length of the MIQ visit shortened from 14 to 10 days, or perhaps to 7 days? This fact has eluded me. Apparently the Cabinet is to meet virtually today to discuss new developments regarding the spread of omicron, and whether the booster shot can take place less than 6 months after the second vaccine shot. I went shopping this morning, thinking again I may as well buy what I can, while I still can.

In Sydney, a young man evidently attended a night club, after receiving a text saying that he’d diagnosed positive for Covid 19. Consequently, about 150 people are having to isolate.

It’s now Tuesday, December 21^st.

Today there are 28 new community cases of Covid 19, and 57 people in hospital and 7 in Intensive Care. There are 22 new cases of Omicron in MIQ! That’s nearly as many as there are delta cases in the community! 22! That’s just crazy.  Of the new cases, 21 are in Auckland, 5 are in Bay of Plenty, and 2 are in Taranaki; none in Waikato or Northland today. It would seem that New Zealand is licking this delta variant, but then omicron comes along, and we’re all super spooked by the situation.  The Hon. Chris Hipkins is due to front at a press conference at 2 pm, and is expected to announce any changes to the booster vaccine rollout, and to the proposal to open up external borders.

The announcement, when it comes, is very interesting.  I don’t think I’ve heard Minister Hipkins speak this well before. He had with him the MOH Chief Science Advisor Ian Town and a Maori paediatrician (Dr Danny Delore).  He said that the time for booster shots is being reduced from 6 months after your second jab to four months. JD and I had a our second jabs on 26 August, so we’ll be eligible for boosters from Boxing Day!  Minister Hipkins says at first you can just rock up to a vaccination centre; later they’ll get the revised “Book my vaccine” site up and running.  Records of booster shots are to be added to vaccine passports; they’ll issue new ones from the middle of next year. Workers who were required to be vaccinated will also be required to have booster jabs.

The other changes he announced relate to time spent in MIQ, and external border reopening. He also stressed the unpredictability of the omicron variant of Covid 19, and that the traffic light system may be used to make certain areas red again.  The temporary change to MIQ requires everyone to stay for 10 days; apparently this had been reduced to 7, with a further 7 days isolation out of MIQ.  Everyone on an international flight where someone tests positive for omicron is to be regarded as a close contact. Negative departure tests will be required 48 hours beforehand, rather than 72 hours, which is the present requirement. Vaccines for children aged 5 -11 are to be rolled out from January 17, before school goes back for 2022.

There are also changes to border reopening: the self-isolation date is to be moved back from January 17 to the end of February 2022.

On the whole, I think this is good news: the government’s strategy is to keep Covid 19/omicron out of the community for as long as possible, and, of course, they’re getting daily advice on what’s happening overseas, and what steps should be taken here.

That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

It’s now Friday December 17^th, 2021. Kia ora!

This morning there’s a whole lot more news: a photo of Boris Johnson at a Pizza party in May 2020, when the country was supposed to be in “lock down”; I put this in inverted commas, because lock down means different things to different people. In Tasmania, 4 children (and later a 5^th, in hospital) have died when the bouncy castle they were playing in was picked up by the wind and dropped; Her Majesty the Queen has cancelled her pre-Christmas lunch, for the second year running: a tradition where the family would get together just before Christmas; and the UK has recorded 88,576 new cases of Covid 19.  There is great confusion, in the UK and in Australia, between going liberal and dropping restrictions, and making them more restrictive, amid a scary rise in Covid 19/delta cases, and a rapid rise in omicron cases. As a medical person in the UK pointed out, even if the omicron variant is a milder disease, the fact that it’s growing so rapidly means that probably many will need hospital treatment in any case. People are advised to get booster jabs of vaccination, but many can’t get an appointment, it seems.  In Australia, and the UK, governments rely on vaccination to protect people, but this seems “ae fond wish”.  Two jabs plus a booster may offer some protection against omicron, but there’s difficulty in getting the booster.

In New Zealand news, there are 76 new community cases of Covid 19 today; we assume they’re all the delta variant. There are 51 people in hospital and 5 of these are in Intensive Care. Forty-seven of the new cases are in Auckland, 15 in Waikato, 10 in the Bay of Plenty, one in Lakes and three in Taranaki, taking the total number of active cases to 2104. The last time Auckland had this few new cases was two months ago on October 17. The Ministry of Health has also confirmed that a person died in MIQ on November 2, and that a child under 10 years of age has died from Covid 19. Also, three more passengers, who were on the same flight as New Zealand’s first omicron case, have tested positive for Covid 19.   There has also been Covid 19 detected in the wastewater of Gisborne, again, and people are urged to get tested if they have symptoms of Covid 19. The total death toll in New Zealand from Covid 19 is now 49.

MIQ offers a good defence against the Omicron variant of Covid-19 at the border, but there are concerns it will eventually escape into the community.

People infected with Omicron have much more of the virus in their cells than Delta cases. Omicron is also better at bypassing natural and vaccine-induced immunity to the virus, new evidence suggests.

New Zealand’s first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 arrived on December 10. There are 82 close contacts of the case, most of whom are in managed isolation in Christchurch.

As a result of climate change, the world’s axis has changed, and it’s not quite so stable on its poles as it was. In Antarctica, the Thwaites Glacier poses a huge threat, as its break-up could cause a sudden major increase in sea-levels.

In the US, things are truly weird, as people and journalists and talking heads digest the huge news of the texts received by Mark Meadows, surrendered to the January 6 Committee and read out by Liz Cheney. Boy, is she an effective communicator!  I have to say she puts many of her Democratic colleagues to shame.  It’s evident that Jim (Gym) Jordan of Ohio played a huge part (he admitted it!) even before the January 6 certification in encouraging Meadows and Trump’s colleagues to overturn Biden’s win in swing states. It’s also evident that the Fox News hosts were not at all a-political in their texts asking Meadows to ask Trump to call off the insurrection: they feared it would make them look bad! Last night Chris Hayes spoke to Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lawrence, who were supporters of Trump and had offered to organise the protest and manage the crowds. Although they were then ardent Trump supporters, they did not support the insurrection and invasion of the Capitol, or the march down Pennsylvania Avenue, and became seriously disgruntled with him. These two have been asked to testify, and are now cooperating with the January 6 Committee. It’s evident that all the folk texting mark Meadows believed that only Trump could call off the insurrectionists, and that he failed to do, for over 185 minutes.

In the evening I learn that there are three more cases of Covid 19/omicron in New Zealand, in MIQ in Rotorua. These people flew from Dubai to Auckland, and have since been transferred to the Jet Park isolation facility.  Given how transmissible omicron is, I fear this is just the tip of the iceberg. What about the other people that flew with them? The bus driver? The airport employees and police on duty? I guess we’ll learn more tomorrow.

It’s now Saturday December 18^th.

Last night we went to a party for work reasons. I was loth to go, but JD thought it was an important choice. We had to sign in, and our vaccine passes were photographed, but there were no masks in sight; there may have been hand sanitizer at the door, but the people serving weren’t wearing gloves.  We didn’t know what kind of party it would be; we hardly knew anyone there, but they were about to serve (a seated) dinner, so we didn’t interact with many others. After we left, I learnt that there are 3 further omicron cases in New Zealand, not connected with the first case, and discovered in MIQ in Rotorua. I feel very nervous about all this.  There were some gaps at the dinner – I figured out why! I took an unnecessary risk, and I rather wish I hadn’t.

This morning the UK Guardian reports that there are 93,045 new cases of Covid 19 in the UK, Is that double yesterday’s total? It’s a large and scary number. Omicron has completely changed the equation. It’s as scary as climate change, which is still scary, by the way.

In the US, there’s all kinds of news. Jeffrey Toobin is back on CNN; presumably he’s done something to redeem himself.  It seems apparent that some of Trump’s Republican colleagues (Jim Jordan, Rick Perry) expected to turn the presidential election for Trump even before the vote was called for Biden by simply not recognising the many democratic voters.  It just gets worse and worse.

The 1 pm statement today is most interesting. There are 39 new community cases of Covid 19 – that’s much lower than it’s been for ages; but there are 4 new omicron cases at the border.  There are actually 10 new cases in MIQ, and four of these are omicron, bringing New Zealand’s total to eight. Of the 39 new community cases, 25 are in Auckland, 11 are in the Bay of Plenty, two are in Lakes and one is in Taranaki. Of the 11 new cases in the Bay of Plenty, eight were in Tauranga and three were in the Western Bay of Plenty. There are 49 people in hospital, including 5 in Intensive Care.

Two Omicron cases arrived in New Zealand from Singapore on separate flights – one travelled on a flight to Auckland on December 13 and the second case was on a flight to Christchurch on December 15.

Of the eight Omicron cases, two were in a bubble but the other six cases were unrelated to each other suggesting no cross-contamination or cross-infection either in-flight or within MIQ facilities, the ministry said.

“We are carrying out whole genome sequencing on all new border cases of Covid-19 to rapidly identify any new cases of the Omicron variant,” the Ministry of Health said.

In the UK, Ireland has imposed an 8 pm curfew on hospitality venues.  That would be pubs!  Boris Johnson and the Tories are smarting from a convincing defeat to the Lib Dem candidate in a by-election, in North Shropshire, a seat that had been a Tory party stronghold. Boris Johnson’s popularity is now waning. To many, this will be a relief.

In the US, information just keeps emerging about the January 6 riot at the Capitol. It seems that at some point it transformed from a legal, managed protest, to being an illegal, shocking and highly violent insurrection. Who ordered it? It’s evident that only one man, Trump, could call it off as witnessed by the many text messages to Mark Meadows.

It transpires, too, that Trump delayed responding to the Covid 19 pandemic early last year, not allowing the CDC to report (according to Dr Deborah Birx).

Wales new restrictions have been impose. Rachel Maddow reports that the Republican party paying Trump’s legal bills, even though he’s no longer a politician.

It’s now Sunday December 19^th.  There was no bad news overnight; well not  here, anyway. I went to church, and figured out that Christmas Day is next Saturday, not Sunday. There’ll be a Christmas Eve service, at 11:15 pm, then church on Christmas Day, then church again on Sunday, Boxing Day. After church I learn that in the UK Lord Frost has resigned – the Tory minister who was responsible for the Brexit negotiations.  It’s another nail in Boris Johnson’s coffin, I fear; to mix metaphors further, the knives are really out for him now. What a mess for someone else to clean up. Whatever the new parliamentary priorities, they won’t please everyone. Just look at the US, where poor Joe Biden is prevented from doing good things for people, and is unfairly being held responsible for the rise in Covid 19 cases and the rise in inflation, and he’s not really liked by millennials, either. The coronavirus isn’t his fault!

The 1 pm news release here is mixed: there are a further 5 omicron cases in MIQ (don’t these people have to have a negative Covid 19 test before they come?), and 55 new community cases:  there are 56 in hospital, and 6 of these are in Intensive Care.  There are now 13 cases of omicron in New Zealand in MIQ; thankfully, no community cases as yet. There are new community cases in Auckland (41), Waikato (four), Bay of Plenty (three), Taranaki (seven).

Overseas, the Dutch are going into lockdown before Christmas; in London, the mayor, Sadiq Khan, has called a state of emergency; Germany has been added to the list of countries that do not welcome British people there. Omicron is running rampant, and even if it’s not such a serious illness for most people, its being so infectious means that some people will still get sick and need hospital care. Games have been cancelled, and there are worries that there won’t be enough well people to provide essential services. This morning I learnt that there are more than 10,000 omicron cases in the UK. It’s spreading really fast.

Back here, we just had a lovely afternoon tea for family in Wellington. My vegan Christmas Cake tasted good, and all the Christmas presents went down rather well.  I had been appalled to find that one gift I had ordered online had come in the wrong colour, but my granddaughter made an adjustment and I think it will be acceptable. Wow, we’re really winding down towards Christmas, now. It’s been a beautiful sunny day, here, although rather windy.

A sixth child has died from the bouncing castle tragedy in Tasmania. No Messiah live performance for me, this December; no Hohepa Christmas plays. That’s it for now. Ngā mihi. À bientot!

It’s now Wednesday December 15^th, 2021. Kia ora!

This morning I learnt that there is a cluster of covid 19 infections in Eltham, a small town in Taranaki – there are 11 new infections based in one primary school.  Actually there are 15 new infections, and it’s understood that 11 of them are students at the primary school. In the UK, Prime Minister Johnson is seen on television wearing a mask. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear a mask before. In Australia, Covid 19/ delta infections are on the rise in Sydney and Melbourne, and they are still having deaths; in Sydney, many people are isolating after exposure to a Covid 19/omicron case in two bars.  It seems that rather than the delta variant being replaced by the omicron one, you can now have both; the delta variant is still very strong in many places, and omicron is right there almost alongside it. Scandinavian countries are imposing further restrictions, for fear of omicron. In some places, Covid 19/omicron is the dominant variant, and cases are rising very fast. Already in the UK there are difficulties staffing schools, because so many people have come into contact with an omicron case, and are isolating.

Christmas here seems strangely muted, this year. There are Christmas decorations around, but few traditional Christmas trees. And quite a lot of silver tinsel. Silver seems to be the theme colour this year, and there’s a lot of red about – Pohutukawa and poinsettia.  And very few Christmas carols:  this morning I went to our last hymn-singing session for this year, and we sang some beautiful carols: All Poor Men and Humble (I don’t think I’ve sung this since I was in college), O Holy Night, In the Bleak Midwinter (it was cold, bleak and wet this morning), Angels from the Realms of Glory, and In Dulci Jubilo. It was just beautiful. It being the last session for the year, four of us had morning tea together afterwards. Who know when we will sing together again?

I am missing Christmas carols this year. It’s usually a bugbear, but the only time I’ve heard a take-off of Mariah Carey is on the Bulwark podcast; I did hear “Joy to the World” this morning, but where’s Feliz Navidad?  This reminds me of an earlier Christmas, when one group I was singing with couldn’t stand Feliz Navidad, and another wanted to sing just that. It takes all sorts, I guess.

Later in the morning I went into town, and made my way to Commonsense Organics’ new store near the top of Tory Street. I found what I was looking for, a vegan Christmas cake; I then went to the Warehouse and bought some picture frames. Then I went to Moore Wilson’s and got some gluten-free mince pies. By now it was very hot, and although I’d taken my jersey and raincoat off, I was still overdressed. I walked down to the bus stop at the St James Theatre, and caught a bus home.  Those shops are seriously difficult to get to!  You certainly don’t want to be carrying much weight if you have to walk back to the bus stop.

My computer is running extremely slowly today, and it‘s very frustrating.  We are still reeling from Mark Meadows’ text records, especially the ones from Fox News anchors – who have since minimised the violence shown on January 6.

At midnight last night Auckland borders opened, and there were people striving to get out in their cars – at 11:59 pm!  Down here we are bracing for the influx, but thankfully wherever I’ve been today was not busy – the Commonsense Organics store was probably the busiest.

Today there are 74 new cases of Covid 19, and there has been a death, in  Tauranga, of a man in his 30’s. The family have asked that no further details be released. There are 61 people in hospital and four in Intensive Care. Journalist David Farrier has had Covid 19, in Los Angeles. There are new cases in Auckland (56), Waikato (9), Bay of Plenty (7), Lakes (one), Canterbury (one).

It’s now Thursday December 16^th. There’s lots of news this morning, mostly, if not all, bad; some weird.  A photo has surfaced of a Tory party held last December for the London mayoralty candidate, which shows platters of food, including canapés, and a group of people, unmasked, standing very close together, for a photograph. Some wore party hats. Meanwhile the Guardian reports 28,438 new Covid 19 cases.  In the US, over 800,000 people have officially died from Covid 19. Congress has voted to hold mark Meadows in contempt, as recommended by the January 6 Committee; the texts he handed over to this committee, as read out by vice-chair Liz Cheney, are still shocking; perhaps the most shocking is the one from Don Jr asking Meadows to call the insurrection off ASAP.  He evidently didn’t have his father’s cell phone number.

The front page of the Dompost highlights that the Hon. Grant Robertson is promising to give money to the health sector: $4m hospitals boost, the front page reads.  I think this is not actually a great deal of money: I heard last night that the figure promised was closer to $4 billion dollars; then I read the article, which says “Two of Wellington’s hospitals will get $4m worth of infrastructure upgrades”. Still, the heading is extremely misleading. Stuff, you have to do better than this! Then I read a headline on my google news feed claiming Christmas is cancelled!  This told of how two planeloads of Australians flying from Sydney to Queensland would have to isolate because of exposure to a Covid 19 case – deemed an over-reaction. All this was before I had my breakfast.

I then watched Dr Campbell’s talk on Youtube, which claimed, unlike his earlier optimism, that the omicron variant was like a light flu, and/or that it would replace Covid 19/delta, a very dismal outlook, saying that omicron is 8 times more infectious than delta (certainly not twice as infectious, as was earlier reported; NHS hospitals are being emptied out in preparation for an influx of Covid 19 patients; footballers are isolating, and there’s fewer people left to drive tube trains or lorries and there’ll be some shortages. A football game has been cancelled!  While Covid 19/omicron may be a mild disease in South Africa, that is very different from the UK and much of Europe, which is heading into winter and very short, cold days. The Ashes series is being played, but the new Australian captain will miss the second test because he has to isolate, having come into contact with someone who later tested positive for Covid 19. Well done, bro!

I go to the last singing session for the year. It’s lovely, of course, and we sing several Christmas carols, including Feliz Navidad. We also sang Silent Night( in English and Māori), O Come all ye Faithful, Away in Manger, and Jingle Bells. Then we enjoyed a very nice lunch, with savouries, sandwiches, cakes, fruit, and a savoury platter with cheese, crackers, olives and so on. Most people aren’t going away for Christmas – sadly, we’re staying here in wellington, in case anything happens. It’s going to be a very muted Christmas.

While we were singing, there was an Anti-Vax protest in Wellington, organised by Brain Tamaki’s daughter.  The marchers were joined by the Mongrel Mob, of course. They were due to march from Civic Square to Parliament – which closed for the year yesterday.  One of my singing colleagues’ nephews warned her about it – he caught a train into Wellington from Paraparaumu, and it was full of rowdy protesters. Others warned about traffic and transport disruption in the city. It seems a shame that these loud voices drown out the majority of quiet, civil, respectful, law-abiding citizens, who really care about their children, grandchildren and their friends.

Here the weather’s still terrible; actually it’s not terrible, but it’s drizzly and overcast, although not particularly cold.  It’s certainly not summery, although we don’t have gale force winds, which I guess is something to be grateful for.

Ironically, what is now State Highway 59 is blocked in both directions ar Pukerua Bay, because of a slip. The rain must have been quite heavy up there. SH59, by the way, used to be State Highway 1 – the main route north. The new Transmission Gully road will become SH1, when it opens. This closure must be so frustrating for people – anything to keep those Aucklanders away!  Actually, I know why they have to get away – it’s the humidity!

I’m reading this afternoon that the variants delta and omicron may merge to create something more deadly, more awful. Meanwhile it must be a southerly wind, because planes just keep flying overhead. I find it quite annoying.

Today the total number of community cases in New Zealand is 91, and there are 58 people in hospital with 4 in Intensive Care. Aotearoa is 90% fully vaccinated, the stuff website claims. I hope this claim isn’t guesswork. Apparently the paediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine has been approved here by Medsafe for children aged 5 to 11 years. There are new cases in Auckland (55), Waikato (7), Bay of Plenty (10), Lakes (1), Taranaki (16 – 15 of which were announced Wednesday).

I also read that the first case of omicron has been diagnosed in New Zealand – now that’s a shock. It’s in managed isolation (MIQ) in Christchurch, I gather from Stuff. The Ministry of Health is to address the country at 4:20 pm about this case.  I expect it had to turn up sooner or later.  Apparently the person had been double-vaccinated. I listen to the press conference, which is fronted by Dr Bloomfield. He looks a bit rushed, and his hair is not quite as tidy as usual. He’s reassuring, as ever; the timing for booster jabs is being reconsidered: he’ll be recommending somewhere between 1 and 6 months gap (Ha Ha!). This case travelled from Germany to Auckland, and then travelled in a group by charter plane from Auckland to Christchurch; everyone is regarded as a close contact and is isolating blah blah. There may be localised lock downs in future. For the rest – wait and see.  I later learn that this case has been in the country for 6 days. Am I surprised? Not really. I remember saying we’d be told sometime that omicron was in New Zealand, and, by the way, it had been here for a few days.

In NSW, delta cases are on the rise again. Perhaps delta is jealous of omicron!

Britain has recorded nearly 79,000 new Covid-19 infections in a single day amid warnings that the United Kingdom would continue to “break records” in the weeks ahead as the Omicron variant rampaged through the country. That’s a lot more then I reported earlier from the Guardian; perhaps the lower number was for London, or for a particular area, not the whole of the UK.  It’s also reported that in the UK infection rates are doubling every two days.

That’s it for now. There’ll  be more news tomorrow, no doubt. Ngā mihi.

It’s still Monday December 13^th, 2021. Kia kaha!

This morning I went to see the film The French Dispatch at the Lighthouse Theatre in Wigan St. I had to show my vaccine pass, and they recorded my name and phone number against my booking. I had a couch to myself and felt quite safe there.  But I did not enjoy the movie. It was seriously weird, and not about a French newspaper but a Kansas one. I should have read the review praising it first. It was directed by Wes Anderson. I had to see it, but I should have known better. Thank goodness I didn’t take JD. He would have wondered, loudly, just what we were doing there. If we’d been watching it at home, I would have recommended watching something else. I wasn’t brave enough to walk out. Frances McDormand was wonderful in it, of course, but she wasn’t on for the whole movie, which was a series of vignettes.  It was very theatrical, with scenery being slid on and off-screen as though it were a play or an opera.

I’ve later remembered the artist who was discovered in a lunatic asylum, and his art was made to become famous. This has a close connection with an issue of the London Review of Books that I read recently, which featured a very long article about the Neuherne Mental Hospital in Ireland, which was not closed until 2013. The author’s mother had worked there, and had seen various changes in the ways that mentally ill people were treated. One of the treatments was the use of art therapy, and the discovery that many people who could not function well in the “real’ world were in fact wonderful, if untrained, artists.

When I came out of the movie, I stopped at a café for lunch. The kitchen was closed, but they served cabinet food. I was really hungry by this time and had a very nice little mince pie that had dried fig in it as well as my sandwich and coffee. I then caught a bus home and JD picked me up in Johnsonville.

While I was having my lunch, I caught up with the news. The South African Prime Minister, Cyril Ramaphosa, has Covid 19. In the UK, Prime Minister Johnson has called an emergency – cynics would claim it’s partly to distract from his other problems, that are getting worse, not better.

The figures today, at 1 pm, are not too bad: there are 101 new cases of Covid 19, and 61 people in hospital, including 4 in Intensive Care. Ninety-seven of the new cases announced were in Auckland, while new cases were also reported in Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Nelson-Marlborough and Canterbury.

At 4 pm there is a press conference, fronted by Prime Minister Ardern. She announces that on 30 December, most of the country, including Auckland, will move to Orange status. Northland is to remain at Red – I suspect at the request of Maori kaumatua. There are grizzles, of course – why can’t Auckland move earlier? I think that’s wise, though. The strategy is still pretty risky. The next  review is scheduled for January 17, 2022, and Prime Minister Ardern said she is aware of the threat posed by the omicron variant, and the government may make changes to proposed relaxation of MIQ rules, i.e. fully vaccinated people will be able to isolate at home for 7 days;  the implication being that this requirement may be changed. January 17 seems a long way away, for now.

It’s now Tuesday December 14^th.  This morning I listened to a podcast announcing that the Steele Dossier, in particular the famous “pee-pee tape” has been discredited; i.e. the source for this information, which could not be independently verified, is a Russian living in the US who has been charged with lying to federal investigators.  Naturally, this is being used by the Right Wing of American politics to discredit the Russia investigation.  It was pointed out in the podcast by New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt that offences charged as a result of the Mueller Report had nothing to do with the Steele Dossier. There were many things to be concerned about, from well before Trump became President.  Trump himself is said to have answered then FBI chief James Comey, “Do I look like I need hookers?”  Not a great reply, but his concern that Melania might find out was proved to be valid when it was later shown that he had paid off sex workers with whom he’d had affairs, fearing that this wasn’t a good look. So that’s disappointing, but it doesn’t invalidate the rest of Mueller’s findings, or indeed the concerns that many of us had.

I learnt this morning that someone with omicron has died in the UK;  meanwhile, a South African doctor is telling us not to overreact. The omicron variant is now the majority of cases in many European countries. It has even reached China. Prime Minister Johnson is very concerned. He has lots of things to be concerned about.

This morning I also listened to the Bulwark podcast. It featured Charlie Sykes talking to Damon Linker of The Week, who usually features on Mona Charen’s Beg to Differ podcast.  I think he’s the centre-left dude. Anyway, I thought he spoke quite well. until it came to the matter of Ukraine’s defence. Like so many others, he seems to have forgotten that the US and the UK guaranteed Ukraine’s defence if they relinquished their nuclear weapons. Now they stand to be invaded by their larger neighbour, Russia, and President Biden has said that while there may well be other sanctions, the US has no intention of sending troops there. While the situation is complicated, I do feel that there’s an obligation to the West to defend Ukraine. It really upsets me to see the US seeming reluctant to accept their obligations here, although of course one doesn’t want to see any military situation escalate. 

Back In New Zealand, Aucklanders are waiting with eager anticipation for their borders to open at midnight tonight. The rest of New Zealand waits with trepidation! Air NZ has put on extra flights, for Aucklanders (12,000!) desperate to get away. Poor things, I hadn’t realised that Mangawhai Heads and beach are north of the Auckland border. Meanwhile, the weather is terrible: it’s raining in Wellington, and there’s been some flooding further north. Many flights have been unable to operate as scheduled. Who’d want to go anywhere in this downpour? Everywhere one does go, one’s thinking – are many people there? If so, perhaps I should avoid it.  I find that I am forgetting my mask sometimes.

There is a new poll out, in which the National Party has gained at the expense of Act, not Labour.

Today there are 80 new community cases of Covid 19/delta, a welcome new low. There are 62 people in hospital, and four in Intensive Care. There are new cases in Auckland (51), Waikato (21), Bay of Plenty (seven), and Lakes (one). A large proportion of the Waikato cases are in Te Kuiti.

Several members of a flight crew have been identified as close contacts of an Omicron variant case in Australia, the Ministry of Health announced. These crew members arrived in New Zealand last night and are in a MIQ facility, as per standard international air crew arrival procedure. That news is pretty scary.

There is also an additional case in Christchurch, which was reported after the cut-off so will be officially recorded in Wednesday’s case numbers.

Aucklanders are warned to expect gridlock on the roads, as they escape the confines of their spacious city. Meanwhile, Wellington traffic causes problems too: JD was supposed to go to a training session in town, but it’s been postponed because the presenter was stuck in traffic. Last Friday, someone else couldn’t come to our last Art Group session for the year because she was stick in traffic in Petone. Really!  It’s doubtful that the new Transmission Gully highway will open before Christmas. I’d say it’s especially unlikely, given the amount of rain we’ve been having, but it’s tantalising to see it looking almost ready from the north Wellington end, with new signs covered up, and the road smoothed out. For so long we’ve been travelling at reduced speed over a bumpy surface in preparation for the big opening. At the northern end, the Waikanae expressway is wonderful, and it seems to inch back towards Paekakariki, and forward to north of Otaki, each time we head to Napier. I guess in future we’ll have to get off this lovely new road to stop at my favourite café in Otaki. I am not always in favour of new roads, but this one is quite wonderful, I think, and much safer, being dual carriageway.  One time we stopped off in Paraparaumu, another in Waikanae, and it was still really busy there off the motor/express way. But there’s no rush to open the new road.

In the US, Mark Meadows, former Chief of Staff to the former guy, has been held in contempt by the January 6 Committee for defying their subpoena to testify to this Committee. He joins Steve Bannon in this (dis)honour. Correction: the January 6 Committee has voted to hold him in contempt of Congress. The Congressional vote is to follow. Before the vote, Liz Cheney read more text messages to Mark Meadows, including ones from Fox News Hosts and one of his sons, (Don Jr!) begging the then president to call off the rioters who invaded the US Capitol. These are truly shocking. I have watched a number of news clips, each showing Mark Meadows in a worse light as newly revealed information comes to light.  It is shocking, indeed; the insurrection on January 6 was shocking, but the information being revealed now is even more so. Apparently he wanted to keep the national guard on hand to protect the rioters, not the politicians or the police struggling to hold the line.

After these requests, the Fox News hosts went right back to their usual right-wing blather. By the way, Chris Wallace has left the animal channel. Just like that!

That’s it for now. I’m sure there’ll be more news soon.  Ngā mihi.

Today is Sunday December 12^th, 2021. Kia ora!

This morning I went to church. Today, on Gaudete Sunday, the Advent theme is Joy. Gaudete is a command, it’s in the Latin imperative mood: “Rejoice!” There seemed to be fewer people there than usual, both physically and on zoom, although the rules have been relaxed: we can now pass the peace of Christ (some shoulder bumps!), and they were having morning tea afterwards.  My friend Malcolm played the organ, and that was beautiful. ”It was raining quite heavily today, and it’s quite a bit colder than it has been.

There’s been no bad news overnight, but today there are 103 new community cases of Covid 19, and there are 61 people in hospital, including 3 in Intensive Care. On reflection, frustrating as this outbreak is, I think the New Zealand government has managed it rather well, keeping the numbers of those in hospital limited, and limiting the number of deaths. Are the vaccines making a difference? One hopes so. The new cases are in Auckland (86), Northland (two), Waikato (nine), Bay of Plenty (three), Canterbury (two) and Lakes (one). One case in Taranaki and one in Nelson-Tasman were also confirmed, but would be added to Monday’s total, the Ministry of Health said.

Back here, Dr Michael Baker, ever a voice of caution, advises against opening borders (presumably overseas ones) as advised by the government, given the presence of the Covid 19/omicron variant overseas;  Aucklanders are apparently desperate to be anywhere but Auckland. In Australia, people are now advised to get a booster shot of vaccine 5 months after their second shot; in New Zealand, the advice was considered, and remains – after 6 months. In NSW, it was reported today that there are 11 cases of omicron, and one of those is in hospital.  Perhaps the hope that it wouldn’t make people so sick is a pipe-dream. 

Last night, again on Maori television, we watched the film Learning to Drive, starring Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. This film too was about relationships, and their challenges, especially marital ones. It was a good film.

Tonight on Māori television we watched Lilting, a charming film about the relationship between the partner of a gay man who dies by accident, and his partner’s non-English speaking Chinese mother, who did not know that her only son (Kai) was gay. The former partner engages a young woman fluent in Chinese and English to translate, and sometimes navigate, between the mother and her romantic relationship with another man, and between Kai’s mother and himself.

I am reading another novel by Elizabeth Strout called Oh William! This was recently published, and I reserved it from the library. I had read the first book in the series called My Name is Lucy Barton.  The book I’m reading is quite intense, focussing as so many modern books do on family relationships, and their ups and downs. Lucy is somewhat fortunate in that although her second husband David, whom she really loved, has died, her first husband William, father of her two daughters, who remarried twice after she left him, and is now alone again, turns to her for support. Now they have a different relationship, now that they’re both more mature and they have adult children, but aren’t grandparents, yet.  Reading this book has forced me to re-evaluate many of my own relationships, and see them in a different light. It has also struck me how different things are when lack of money is not a concern, and doesn’t affect all the decisions one makes. One of the interest questions it explores is to what extent we marry our parents. 

It’s now Monday December 13^th. What a lot has happened! Here in New Zealand, a new case of Covid 19 has been diagnosed in Rotorua. There is to be a press conference at 4 pm, where Prime Minister Ardern is expected to announce any changes to New Zealand’s traffic light system. It’s reported that Auckland will be deserted over the holiday break: people are desperate to get out of there, although it’s a big place with lots of beautiful beaches.

Overseas, it’s reported that several cases of Covid 19/omicron are now in hospital in the UK So much for it being a “light flu”. I remain sceptical.

In the US, there has been a devastating series of tornadoes, wreaking havoc through several mid-western states, and cutting a swathe of destruction. Some of the worst damage has been done in the Kentucky town of Mayfield. While the odd house is still standing, the scenes of devastation are shocking.  Someone asked about going door-to-door to offer help: but there are no doors! The power and the water are off, of course. Yesterday it was reported that 70 people had died; today they’re saying at least 100.  There were terrifying cries for help from people who had sheltered in a candle factory in Mayfield. This isn’t hurricane season; tornadoes like this in December are very unusual.

Also in the US, and the UK, damaging information just keeps leaking out.  Both about the January 6 riot in the US, and the Christmas Party at 10 Downing Street in December 2020, when Christmas was cancelled for most people.  I saw somewhere that information about this event would keep coming out, and so it has. Now there is film of Boris Johnson holding a quiz show at this meeting where no rules were broken.  One can’t escape the conclusion that there is one rule (or perhaps no rules) for Tory MPs and another set of rules and expectations for everyone else. Far be it that Tory MP’s and their PM should lead by example. Boris Johnson continues to face more heat on this issue.  Many other issues are being brought up, like, for example, the British leaving Afghanistan recently, when the Foreign Secretary was on holiday, and apparently pets (i.e. dogs) were given air priority over desperate Afghans.  No one is covered with glory by this withdrawal.  Most agree that it’s a good thing that the US war against Afghanistan (that never should have happened, in my view), has ended, but the withdrawal was chaotic.  Now the Taliban are in charge there; woman cannot go to work and girls cannot go to school; there have been ghastly reports of random killings and violence; and now there is a grave humanitarian crisis, where people don’t have enough to eat.  This poses a further problem for those who would help: hunger is hunger, whoever’s in charge, and however badly they’ve managed the situation.

In the US, Mark Meadows, former Chief of Staff to the former guy, seems to be very confused; he’s written, and hawked, his book, which tells, amongst other things, that Trump has a positive Covid 19 test several days before he revealed that he’d tested positive.  People are shocked that he put Joe Biden and many others at risk; he was infectious at the dreadful first debate with Joe Biden.   But evidently the former guy did not appreciate this! Meadows was cooperating with the January 6 Select Committee; now he’s not cooperating; he’s suing Congress and Nancy Pelosi; but he’s already given the January 6 Committee many papers, including a power point presentation, that sets out (with many conspiracy theories) how Trump could retain the presidency. Evidently he’s not a wealthy person; he could well be having trouble with legal fees. In what is seen as another legal defeat for Trump, a Court of Appeal has ruled, very quickly for them, in a voluminous report that he cannot withhold January 6 communications with the White House from the January 6 Committee. A news anchor and a commentator were prepared to say this report is scathing, and although this matter is due to go ot the Supreme Court, there is doubt that they would take it up.

In the US, coronavirus is surging in many places, even without the omicron variant, which is hardly surprising after Thanksgiving celebrations. I repeat, again, the Good Lord gave you a brain; perhaps you should use it, and be thankful in private. Give this year’s celebrations a miss – they will probably make you sick. This scourge too will pass.

In Russia, troops are massing on the Ukrainian border, and the world is poised to see if Putin will invade Ukraine.  When the USSR broke up, and Ukraine became a country separate from the Russian Federation, it gave up its nuclear weapons in return for the US and the UK guaranteeing its safety. Does anyone remember this?  Rachel Maddow reminded us during one of her shows last week. President Biden has had a discussion with Putin, but on the animal channel, and other right wing television channels, the anchors are taking Putin’s side against Ukraine’s independence.  Another scene of interest is the nation of Taiwan, where its much larger neighbour, China, is continuing to display some very scary and threatening actions.

So what will happen? Will the January 6 Committee succeed? Will Bojo fall? Will anyone cheer up? Will something dreadful (like the Challenger disaster, the Indonesian Tsunami or the Texas freeze) happen in January? Many times we’ve got through Christmas, and the joy of the Saviour’s birth, even the Boxing Day sales, muted New Year celebrations, and then something dreadful happens. Yesterday we sang Joy to the World; I remember last year in the US people singing “Joy to the polls”! Peace be with you. There is much to be thankful for.  Rejoice! Ngā mihi.

Today is Thursday December 9^th, 2021. Kia ora!

Last night I read that Covid 19/omicron has been diagnosed in Victoria.  They are still having numbers of infections, and deaths there, from Covid 19.

This morning I went to my Thursday singing group. This was complicated by the fact that we on the desk needed to sight vaccine passports, and that most people now needed to pay for the remaining sessions of the year. As well, the Community Centre staff had to photograph vaccine passports. Apart from that, it was lovely, and everyone was very friendly.  It was also colder, and overcast – drizzling at times.

At 1 pm we heard that there are 103 community cases today.  There are new cases in Opotiki and in Canterbury, but these will be included in tomorrow’s total. A staff member at another elder-care facility in Auckland has diagnosed positive – a rest home in Mangere East.

In the US, Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to the former guy, has stopped cooperating with the January 6 Select Committee.  He’s written a very-enlightening book – and has perhaps offended his former boss.  His “fake news” is very interesting, telling tales as it does of Trump’s illness from covid 19. As reported earlier, Trump was much more ill than he let on.

Covid 19/delta is still killing 1,000 people a day in the US, according to Chris Hayes “All in” programme.

It’s now Friday December 10^th – an overcast day, with drizzling rain and very low clouds. It’s not summery at all, although it’s not cold. Is this our punishment for having a mild winter?

This morning, or rather, at midday was the last meeting of our Art group for 2021, so I really wanted to go.  I sorted out what we wanted to take there, amongst the range of paints, paper and brushes, and we set off. However, we were quite late (Grrr! I hate being late), and we couldn’t find anywhere to park, so we went shopping instead. Again, there were no carols at the supermarket. Yesterday I noted missing the nice end-of-year gathering the lovely ladies at the  Khandallah Community Centre usually organise; tonight there is a carol evening at the church I go to, but the weather’s not great for that.

Thankfully at the supermarket they are more relaxed now. JD could come in without his own trolley; they packed my goods (very welcome), and they had lots of lovely Christmas fruit at great prices: I bought raspberries, strawberries and asparagus, fresh bread, and a chocolate snail. I really want to hear some carols, though: I miss them.

On the way home I stopped at the library to pick up a reserved book. Again, my vaccine passport was scanned.  I do find this hi-tech approach a bit scary.

Last night we had a chat with our son in the UK, He’s presently in Glasgow. He and his wife have cancelled their planned trip to Tenerife. Secretly, I’m relieved – the risks posed by the volcano on La Palma island, and the various Covid 19 tests required, to say nothing of the omicron variant, are just too great, in my view.  The British Government, reeling from the Downing Street Christmas Party (that wasn’t) allegations, has put in place a “work from home” order, which my son is not happy about.  Furthermore, their new house is actually very old, and quite hard to heat – although it’s been very cold and they’ve had snow already.

As the Covid times progress, about to enter into their third year, disinformation abounds – mainly about the vaccines. The national party has a new leader, the former CEO of Air NZ, Chris Luxon.  He is very bald, tall, and authoritative, in the way a right-wing guy would be. He has a smiling sidekick, I think she’s called Nicola. At least she’s  not blond. I haven’t heard her speak, or even that she’s been given an opportunity to do so. Judith Collins is now not on front bench. I guess that’s a relief, for now. Todd Muller, briefly a former leader of the Nats, until he had a nervous breakdown, undecided to retire from politics.  Chris Luxon has shown himself to be severely tone deaf over several issues; his worst gaffe, I think was admitting that he owns 7 properties – he’s the elected politician with the most property. He claimed that house prices should fall, but not by too much, since he owns 7. Many people are homeless, other struggle to buy a property, and we struggle to maintain our own house, which surely needs many things done to it.  Housing is a big problem in New Zealand. You’d think that in this wealthy, spacious country everyone could have a sound, warm home and enough good food to eat, but sadly, it ain’t so. Luxon’s apparent greed doesn’t help. He’s also claimed that the Auckland borders should be open, that Auckland should be Green, not Red, and that the traffic light system  “makes no sense”. To this, one is tempted to reply: “do  you need it explained to you in words of one syllable, then?”  The rest of us are quite nervous about the Auckland borders being open from 15 December; some will go to the Coromandel; evidently many will go to Queensland, and some will go to Hawkes Bay; the far North and the East Cape don’t want Aucklanders, and who can blame them?  I suspect (and hope) we’re too boring in the capital for many to come here, although they may wish for less humidity.

In other news, Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, has tested positive in the US for Covid 19. Omicron has advanced in many countries, although, one hopes, not here in New Zealand yet.  We still don’t really know how severe it will be; there is some talk that if you have the Pfizer vaccine, plus a booster shot, you’re well protected.  If it’s less severe – just like flu, really (I always found flu to be quite a severe illness, not usually requiring hospitalisation, but capable of making one feel pretty awful for several days), then presumably there’ll be less testing.  Up till now, I suspect contact, or feeling terrible and unable to breath, or taste things, had caused much of the testing.

Today there are 95 new community cases of Covid 19; there are 54 people  in hospital, and there have been two further deaths in hospital from Covid 19. In the press, there are more dire warnings about the capacity and ability of hospitals to provide care, and intensive care if required. Thankfully, so far, it’s been kept in check. There are 95 new community cases, across Auckland (75), Waikato (11), Bay of Plenty (5), Lakes (one), Nelson-Tasman (one), and two in Canterbury. A new case in Taranaki will be recorded in Saturday’s numbers.

It’s now Saturday December 11^th – another grey-ish day, although not cold. Last night I watched the movie The Nest on Netflix. What a strange, sad film, I’m not a fan of Jude Law; the character he played conformed closely to my view of him.  The story was quite interesting, as it unfolded.

This morning’s paper’s front page says: Capital Waits to Welcome Aucklanders. Really? I suppose the tourism industry would welcome a boost (craft beer tours, anyone?) but many of us wonder why they’d want to come here. We have nice coffee bars, but so do they; they have to be double-vaxxed and have a negative Covid 19 test before they come, but even so, I’m pretty wary. There’s lots of research about the omicron variant of Covid 19, with most not wanting to down-play it too much. It’s agreed that it’s very contagious indeed; while it may not make you as sick as the delta variant, if it infects a lot of people who will be left to do essential work?  It also seems that you need a booster jab of an approved  vaccine to be considered immune; we aren’t eligible until February 2022, having had to wait for our jabs until the end of July. Let’s hope that omicron stays out of New Zealand.

Today there are 63 new community cases of Covid 19, and 60 people in hospital, with three in Intensive Care. This is the lowest number of community cases since October 20^th. It’s very welcome news. There are no nasty surprises; the cases are located as follows: Auckland (53), Northland (two), Waikato (three), Bay of Plenty (one), Taranaki (one), and Canterbury (two).

In the US there is a lot of talk (podcasts, books, newspaper articles, discussions) about American elections, and the threat of losing what they are pleased to call “democracy”.  It’s true that the prospect is terrifying many folk, including me; Barton Gellman of the Atlantic magazine wrote a very scary article about this, which has received a lot of attention, but he admitted that he’s a journalist, and doesn’t know what to do about this situation. It’s maddening, for sure, and, by the way, why can’t the Democrats be more like Republicans? Many people are now asking whether Democrats realise the potential seriousness of the problem. Will Republicans take back control of the House of Representatives (the US Congress) in the id-term elections to be held in 2022? I won’t think about that possibility, for now.

There are always swings and roundabouts in US politics.  The January 6 Select Committee has received a lot of evidence.  All power to them, and their investigation.

In the UK, Boris Johnson is at last facing some pushback from various crises, the main one being the Christmas party held at 10 Downing Street in December 2020, when, for the rest of the Brits, Christmas was cancelled.  Daily revelations about this party, which may or may not have occurred, are deeply disturbing, especially to people who lost loved ones to Covid 19 at this time and couldn’t visit them. Apparently Boris has a new baby daughter – that might explain his rambling Peppa the Pig speech. Lack of sleep, and minding a toddler, will do that to you. In response to the omicron variant of Covid 19. Boris is trying to introduce some restrictions, but many Tory MP’s don’t support him in this.

What’s ahead? Better weather, one hopes, no omicron, and a steadily lowering total of Covid 19/delta infections.  That’ll do me for Christmas. Ngā mihi.