It’s now Tuesday December 7^th, 2021. Kia ora!

Today JD and I just got back from Napier. Mostly, we drove through heavy rain, with the temperature much cooler as we headed south. The rain was heaviest between Levin and Otaki, but I couldn’t find any news about the weather on the stuff or the rnz website, although I did hear a report from a woman who lived in Te Horo and was stuck in her home, since the road to it had been closed because of flooding. Naturally, I was quite anxious, and wondered if we should look for a motel in Otaki. But we got home just fine, after driving through what turned out to be the worst of the rain.

On Saturday we had headed north to Napier, for our daughter’s birthday. We had both had Covid 19 tests, as requested, on the previous Thursday afternoon, and we each got a text message just before we left Wellington to say we’d tested negative.

We stopped for lunch at Otaki – my choice, although the café was quite busy, and although we’d ordered cabinet food, we had to wait a while to be served, after having our vaccine passes photographed.  Then we headed north-west again, arriving in Napier late afternoon.

The motel where we stayed was a huge disappointment. I had stayed there some years ago with my eldest son, and my daughter had been evacuated there when she still stayed at Clive, so I was disposed to think well of it. I’m sure I was quoted a lower price than we paid, too. I booked through Wotif, which seemed to be the only option – and unsubscribed from their endless emails. (They’re still sending me emails. Grrr! How was check in?)

The motel had beautiful gardens, but tight and limited parking. Our studio unit was small, with no bath, and a very small shower. I joked o JD that it was a good thing he wasn’t any larger, and, by the way, he’d have trouble falling over in this shower. There wasn’t much room to put our sponge bags in the bathroom. In the bed-sitting room, there was a queen-size bed, a desk with one chair, a luggage rack, a wardrobe, and two armchairs – with no cushions and no headrest.  There was a breakfast bar with two high stools – no table to sit down at.  There was a fridge, hot water jug, microwave, and two elements, but no free toiletries in the bathroom, and no shower cap, despite the shower not having a hand-held unit like most modern showers do. This was not a place we wanted to spend a lot of time with our daughter, although they did have a playground, a pool, a spa pool, a pool table and table tennis table, and a guest laundry.  You’d think twice about using shared facilities at this time of Covid 19, though, especially with our vulnerable daughter.

The first night we had dinner at Portofino.  They have plenty of room there. They photographed our vaccine passes, and were happy to feed us. I had very nice bruschetta and salad, and my favourite veal in marsala sauce, with vegetables. I even had a glass of a very nice prosecco, that wasn’t too sweet.

I had a pretty bad night the first night, waking up after I’d been asleep for about an hour, and having trouble getting back to sleep. It was very hot, and I couldn’t get comfortable. That day we picked up our daughter, and she spent the day with us. Fortunately, she had a mask-wearing exemption, but no vaccine pass, so we had to cancel the lunch that we’d planned with her flatmates. We had to keep a detailed diary of everywhere she went. I had planned where we would go, so this worked out well. Fortunately, we were able to sit outside one of the cafés and have lunch – they didn’t require vaccine passports, and we sat outside and listened to the bells of Clive Square playing Christmas carols. We also heard Christmas carols playing in Whitcoulls; otherwise, there was a man playing Abba’s Fernando on a portable keyboard. Town was busy but not crazy busy – there were people around, but not enough to be threatening.

After lunch, we played mini-golf, and then went for a swing – the park where we went was deserted!  Then we went back to the motel, which was now a bit cooler.

The second night I woke again after a short sleep, but found it easier to get back to sleep again.  I had thought about staying somewhere else, but couldn’t really be fagged moving everything.

On Monday it rained! I was so relieved that we’d spent the previous fine day with our daughter.  We picked her up in the afternoon, and had her birthday “party” at our motel: fish and chips (at her request), raspberries and ice cream, and birthday cake. We sang the birthday song, but were careful to put the candles for her to blow out in her portion, rather than the whole cake.  I greatly admired the lovely book her brother had given her. Then we took her back to her house, and said goodbye – outside the house. What a strange and memorable birthday, and a sad goodbye.  We had planned to come here for Christmas again, but we won’t this year. Consequently I had to organise all the Christmas presents that we were leaving behind – wrapping and labelling gifts for my daughter and her carers and flatmates. There’ve been no statistics that I’ve seen about special needs people having covid 19, but I sincerely hope that none of these folk get it. People like her seem very vulnerable.

On the third night we both slept much better, for some reason; it was a bit cooler, we were more used to the bed, and our surroundings, and it was quiet.

The next day I bought some Danbo cheese at the Hohepa Shop, and we headed back to Wellington.  We usually stop in Woodville for lunch, but we didn’t want to this time; and we didn’t want to go to McDonalds in Dannevirke, either, although it’s one of the better ones. We stopped at a café – not a very good one, but there was no one else eating there, and they didn’t require vaccine passports there. I guess that tells you something, too. I was looking for a café where we’d been before, but perhaps this hadn’t survived two lockdowns. There were very few parking spaces in Dannevirke. Then we drove back to Wellington, where one of the first things I did was to turn on our coffee machine.

On Tuesday there were 98 new community cases: 74 in Auckland, 10 in Waikato, 8 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Taranaki, and 5 in Nelson/Marlborough.

It’s now Wednesday December 8^th. I slept well last night, and got up early to go to hymn-singing. It was lovely, as always; we finished by singing “O Holy Night”. None of us is Pavarotti, but I think we sang it rather well. We certainly enjoyed singing it. There’s one more session before Christmas, and then – who knows?

The weekend, on reflection, was quite a challenging time, in many ways.  Having the Covid 19 tests, urgently, on Thursday afternoon, was a novelty, although I didn’t find it bad at all. On Friday, someone was supposed to come from Access to do some housework. This was only the second time this person had come, and she was supposed to come at 11:40 am. I got ready and waited (i.e. I changed the towels, emptied the rubbish, put washing away, tidied up the toys, and did some other tidying up), and then I saw the rostered time had been changed to 12:30 pm.  Still no show, so we had lunch and went shopping.  Back home, I was just settling in for a rest, with a cup of tea, when she turned up. Poor woman, she’d had a really busy day, not getting to me till around 4 pm.  The next day we headed off to Napier.

I’m pleased about the rules Hohepa have put in place to protect people like our daughter. And I respect them. The fact that these rules inconvenience me at times is really irrelevant, although I have to admit that I sometimes struggle to know just what to do with her and her Dad, other than drink coffee and eat cake!  The Aquarium was out of bounds this time, as was the Warehouse and the golf driving range. Everywhere one is thinking: how many people will be there be, and what are the rest rooms like? Will they require vaccine passports?

Today I was in town in Wellington. I went to one of my favourite cafés, where I had to show my vaccine passport. The person on the counter just looked at it, she didn’t photograph it.  I had to show this at a Wishbone outlet, too. I’m a bit wary of (a) losing my mobile phone, which has my vaccine passport on it, and (b) having it photographed: it has my date of birth on it, and who  knows what’s on the QR code?  Will my booster shot record be on there, when I’m eligible? Is my covid 19 test record on there?  I had hastened to explain to the Medical Centre that I wasn’t feeling unwell, and I hadn’t been in contact with someone with Covid 19; I was having a test because Hohepa required me to. Between Covid tests, Mask mandates (and exceptions), and vaccine passports, all of which seem to have happened quite quickly, I am a tad discombobulated and concerned. Now that I’m home, everything’s different again. When I’m away, I enjoy not having to make my bed or  cook my dinner, but there are other challenges; now that I’m home, I’m sleeping better in my own bed again, but there’s no one to make it for me, or cook my dinner.  I’m operating at a different level.

Today in Covid 19 news the double-jabbed rate equals 88%; there are 90 new community cases and there are 74 people in hospital.  In an aged care facility in Ellerslie, a staff member has Covid 19; in a Catholic primary school in South Auckland, there’s been a positive diagnosis. Another person at a primary school in Nelson has been diagnosed positive.  There are several school affected by this delta outbreak – a cause for concern, since children under12 can’t be vaccinated until January 2022.

Overseas, Covid 19/omicron continues to infect many people, and infest many communities. There’s stings in its tail, too: there’s a “stealth” version that’s harder to track, and having had Covid 19 previously is no guarantee that you won’t get the omicron version too.  As for vaccines?  Omicron, like delta, appears to laugh in their faces: remember last Christmas, when it was “Hold on, vaccines are coming!” and now it seems Covid 19 says:  “Hold my beer, I’m still winning this race, I’m not done with you yet!”

More tomorrow. Each day brings new news. Ngā mihi.

Today is Thursday December 2^nd, 2021. Kia ora!

Last night I heard more disturbing news about the movement of the omicron variant of Covid 19. There is now a case in Japan. There is a case in California. There are apparently several cases in London: it seems they just don’t really care too much. An Israeli doctor has been diagnosed with Covid 19, and claims he caught it at a medical conference – in the UK. It seems more than ever that while two South African doctors first raised the alarm about this concerning new variant, which they’d diagnosed, it was already doing the rounds in Europe. It has now been diagnosed in West Africa and the Gulf (where’s that, exactly?) This morning I read that California has diagnosed its first case. Dr John Campbell claims there are now 222 cases in the UK.

In response, many countries have rushed to put in place stricter border protections, enforcing greater quarantine and testing for travellers from South African countries. They are seeking to make vaccination compulsory. So far, Covid 19/omicron has presented as a disease with mild symptoms, leading to the hope that while it may be very infectious, it may be a mild disease. Still, no one really knows.  While there is a certain fatalism amongst many, most of us would definitely prefer not to get it, or risk exposing our family and friends, especially people like my daughter, and my grandchildren. It seems that tweaking the vaccines will take a while: Moderna says it can’t do a clinical trial until March 2022.

 In New Zealand, two schools in Nelson (an Intermediate and a primary school) have closed, after someone being diagnosed positive with Covid 19/delta. Friends of mine are planning a trip to Motueka, going via the ferry.  Another friend has cancelled her family’s proposed holiday in Rotorua.  At least in new Zealand, everywhere is beautiful, and wherever you are, there’s somewhere nice to go. My cousins are planning to spend a few days in Nelson next week – it is a special anniversary for them.

In Wellington, there are two locations of interest, both in Kilbirnie.  Evidently a guest who stayed at the Brentwood Hotel later tested positive, and this person had also been to Farmers Department Store in Kilbirnie.

It’s been a busy day for me. I had singing this morning, and then a covid 19 test so we can visit our daughter at Hohepa. In the afternoon, I met with a dear friend.  All our arrangements for Christmas and January have defaulted to staying close to home – around Wellington – around family and friends. That way we don’t have to cancel anything. 

In Africa, the omicron variant of Covid 19 is fuelling an exponential rise in cases, reports the UK’s Guardian.

In New Zealand, at 1 pm it was reported that there were 172 new community cases of Covid 19, including ten in the Nelson area.

The Rhythm and Vines gathering has been postponed till Easter next year.

There are three cases in New Plymouth, and a school has been closed.

It’s now Friday December 3^rd. Today New Zealand moves to the traffic light Covid 19 system, and consequently the rules change, depending on whether you’re in a Red, Amber or Green designated area. So far, every area is either Red or Orange. In Wellington, we are Orange, and so is Hawkes Bay, but Taupo, Wairoa and Auckland are red, as are many other North Island areas. More significantly, vaccine passes are now required to be shown at many places, or service can be denied.    This is tricky for some people. I had tried to load my vaccine pass on my mobile phone, without success. Yesterday I was successful. My husband has a printed pass. So we’re both good to go. Sadly, my daughter and her friends don’t have their vaccine passports yet. They’ve all been vaccinated – I think they were in group 2, and there was some behaviour modification to get over fear of needles and general reluctance, but, of course, they don’t have the technology smarts to tackle downloading their own passes. We’re dependent on others to do this. This discrimination also begs the question, that if you find somewhere that will serve you without seeing your vaccine pass, does that mean they’re lax about vaccinations – of staff or customers? In that case, do you wish to or feel comfortable about eating there?

In the US, there have been 5 cases of omicron detected in New York State. One person (now in Minnesota) claims he picked up the infection at an Animé conference in New York. Omicron is very prevalent, but we don’t yet really know how dangerous it is.  Many people are appalled that on the animal channel, a commentator compared Dr Anthony Fauci to Dr Josef Mengele.  In other news, Americans (and others) are reeling from the news (not a surprise, really) that Trump had tested positive for Covid 19 before his first presidential debate with Joe Biden, potentially endangering the presidential candidate.  Tim Miller has written an article for the Bulwark claiming just this, that the former guy was trying to kill Joe Biden. Then there was the event in the Rose Garden to honour Amy Coney Barrett – the event to honour the pro-life Supreme Court Judge was a super-spreader event, where several people caught Covid 19.  We don’t know if anyone died, but several people were certainly ill, some extremely so – former Governor Chris Christie was in Intensive Care. Some journalists and secret service folk became ill. How does this work?

It is now one week since we first heard about Covid 19/omicron.  At least we heard about it on Friday, but on Saturday I realised that it had the potential to be a very serious issue.  One week!  This has changed everything.  Before this, many places thought that Covid 19 was behind them, and people could do “normal” things again, providing they were fully vaccinated (and boosted, in some cases); sadly, no. In Many places, Covid 19/delta continues to cause problems. In New Zealand, I think we can be proud again to have restricted its development and effects. But there is a feeling that here we go again, this time on steroids.

Today there were 92 new community cases of Covid 19.  That’s a welcome lower figure than we’ve had for the last few days. As previously, most are in Auckland – 80 – where several schools and pre-school centres have been hit hard. Meantime, Auckland opens up again under the traffic light system – after being in lockdown for 107 days – for ages.  The rest of the community cases are across six regions:  2 in Waikato, 1 in Northland, 5 in Bay of Plenty, I in Lakes (that’s Taupo), 1 in Nelson, and 2 in Taranaki.  People must get around, as the case totals when given out don’t always match up with the news previously released.  There are 79 in hospital, and 9 in Intensive Care.  On the West Coast of New Zealand, a wedding has had to be postponed: the stag party was held in Nelson, and a close contact has tested positive, and there are consequent numbers of people isolating.  This raises all kinds of questions about the activities at the stag party, but one can only sympathise with the intricacies of delaying a big event like a wedding – including travel.

There is evidence of Covid 19 detected in wastewater in Gisborne and Matamata.

That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

It’s now Monday November 29^th. Kia ora!

This morning there’s no new bad news locally, but overseas, it’s a different story. The two covid 19 cases in Sydney, that flew in from South Africa, have been determined to have the new omicron variant of Covid 19.  Thirteen people who came off a flight in the Netherlands are determined to have it. This afternoon, it’s reported to have been detected in Canada (in Ontario, two cases, coning from Nigeria).  For pandemic times, that’s a lot of flying!  One doctor in South Africa reports mild symptoms – severe fatigue and a headache; the rest of the world watches nervously as we wait to see how serious this one will be. There’s a view that the wealthy nations should have chosen to vaccinate the poorer countries, i.e. African nations, where vaccination rates are low; widespread vaccination would have made it less likely for a variant like omicron to develop.

I have forced myself to learn more about this omicron variant. Dr John Campbell has explained it quite well: it seems there are 32 mutations on the spike protein.  There were much fewer on the delta variant.

I go to my last Tai Chi class for the year. Some have brought food; some have stayed away. I am the only person who keeps my mask on, and I don’t stay for the party afterwards.

Today there are 182 new cases of covid 19, and 93 people in hospital, including 10 in Intensive Care. The new community cases are in Auckland (167), Waikato (10), and Northland (5). There is a new case in Nelson, which will be included in tomorrow’s total.

There is a press conference at 4 pm, outlining the country’s move to the traffic light system from Friday December 3rd. The entire South Island will be in Orange. Auckland and a clutch of other regions in the North Island with lower vaccination rates will start at red. Those are: Northland, Taupō, Rotorua lakes districts, Whakatāne, Kawerau, Ōpōtiki, Gisborne, Wairoa, Rangitikei, Whanganui and Ruapehu Districts. Wellington and Waikato will be Orange.

Thankfully, health officials here are considering the potential impact of the omicron variant being diagnosed here in New Zealand, and whether the borders need to be strengthened as a result. Dr Bloomfield has announced that the Government’s approach was to “keep the virus out for as long as possible in order to learn more”. Changes made so far include limiting travel to New Zealand citizens travelling from nine countries in Southern Africa who then have to spend two weeks in MIQ isolation and quarantine and undergo five tests.

It’s now Tuesday November 30^th.  Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…

This morning I learn that omicron is moving quickly.  There are six cases in Scotland, and a further two in Sydney. There are also cases in Spain and Sweden. In the US, Dr Fauci said two weeks were needed to assess its potential impact, and what changes should be made, if any. I suspect the cat will be well and truly out of the bag by that time, given the daily announcements of its spread.   Australia is now reconsidering its decision to open up its borders. Many countries have, and continue to impose, travel bans.  Here in New Zealand, as we move to the traffic light system, with some trepidation, the Hon. Grant Robertson has promised some financial relief to Auckland businesses, affected by lockdown since the middle of August.  Meanwhile, omicron is coming here – surely – and we’re still dealing with delta.  The situation changes every day.

In the US, of course, they’ve other fish to fry: Lauren Boebert has made another slur against Representative Ilhan Omar; Marjorie Taylor Greene has railed against Kevin McCarthy, and men are encouraged to be monsters, by Josh Hawley and Madison Cawthorn, whatever that means. Kyle Rittenhouse is being hailed by the right—wing as a hero (the teenager who shot two people dead and wounded a third).  On the animal channel, it’s claimed the Democrats caused omicron, which will somehow help them in next year’s mid-term elections.  Huh?

In New Zealand, two people are contending for leadership of the National Party: Simon Bridges (a previous leader), and Christopher Luxon, formerly CEO of Air NZ and member of an evangelical Church.  I dislike both of them.

In New Zealand, Hohepa is assessing its plans for the future on a daily basis: will some folk go home for Christmas?  How will they travel, and where will they stop on the way? How many staff will be needed – can leave plans be broken?  I know we’re done this before, but it has lost its novelty value.  The uncertainty is unsettling, to say the least.  We plan to go and see our daughter for her birthday – perhaps we should take our own refreshments, instead of stopping somewhere like we normally do. Every day, what is the news overseas? What are the latest numbers here? This Christmas will certainly be memorable. As prime Minister Ardern has said, it’s really hard to plan.

Today there are 134 new cases of Covid 19. There are two new cases in the Nelson area, but these will be included in tomorrow’s tally. Other than, that spread, there’s nothing too alarming here, apart from the number of people in hospital: 89, and 9 in Intensive Care. That’s a new high, I think – no, I’m wrong, Monday’s total was 93, and this is down from that. The new community cases are in Auckland (116), Waikato (eight), Bay of Plenty (nine) and Northland (one).  That total is rather lower than previously, which has to be good news.

This morning I packed a parcel to send overseas.  That’s quite a task, now!  It includes gifts and cards for Christmas, a birthday, and Chinese New Year. It’s reported that many food outlets (including McDonalds) require a vaccine pass to be shown, so I really must download mine – again!

The UK’s Guardian reports that omicron has been detected in “at least” a dozen countries: Portugal and Singapore should be added to the list. Japan has said that only Japanese citizens may enter the country; Israel has closed its border to visitors.  Almost everyone is on the edge of their seat, it seems. Omicron is certainly spreading fast – it won’t be delta for Christmas – it’ll be OMC (omicron). In the UK, masks are now mandatory in most situations.

The UK has shortened time for booster shots of the vaccine to three months after the second shot; here, in New Zealand, you can book a booster shot two months after your second jab – from yesterday, so that’s a relief.

It’s now Wednesday December 1^st. There are still no Christmas carols playing, or none that I’ve heard, thus far.

Last night I heard that Japan had recorded its first case of Covid 19/omicron. This morning I learnt that in fact it was in the Netherlands before two South African doctors issued a warning about it.  The US President Biden is saying to be concerned, not alarmed, about it, but suffice to say we are all pretty alarmed already. Last Christmas, vaccines were coming – the great hope!  This Christmas, it’s not just delta we should be afraid of, it’s omicron too. What will its effects be? Who knows.  Most countries are reacting in serious ways to curb travel and movement, and increase vaccination percentages. Will the current vaccines be effective, or do they need tweaking? We don’t know yet.  In the last Sunday Star Times and in the Dompost n Monday Hawkes Bay was advertised as a great holiday destination.  I’m saying – don’t do this! Don’t go there!  What about vulnerable people like my daughter?

We were due to go to Hawkes Bay for my daughter’s birthday, having decided not to go there for Christmas this year, but anyone visiting now needs a negative Covid 19 test beforehand.  Accordingly, JD and I will be tested. He’s been tested once already, before we went to a funeral in Auckland in September last year, and after he’d had a cold.  This is frustrating for us and our family, but totally understandable in the present circumstances.

Today the government announced that children aged 5 to 11 can now be vaccinated from January. I’m sure that will come as a relief to many of us.  Today there are 145 new cases of Covid 19 in the community: There are new cases in Auckland (124), Waikato (14), Bay of Plenty (four) and one new case in Nelson-Tasman region.  A cluster is forming at a Bay of Plenty school, where everyone is a Covid 19 contact. There is a location of interest in Nelson: a brothel!  It’s called Secrets Gentlemen’s Club. I wonder who’d admit to going there.

Apparently Waitangi Day (February 6, 2022) celebrations have been cancelled because of Covid fears.  Evidently Christopher Luxon is anti—abortion., as well as belonging to an evangelical church, and owning 7 (!) properties. He thinks house prices should fall, but not too much.

In the US, there has been a shooting at a school in Detroit, leaving three dead and eight injured.  Mark Meadows, chief of staff to the former guy, is now said to be cooperating with the January 6 Select Committee. Chris Cuomo has been suspended indefinitely from CNN, on account of his involvement with his now disgraced brother, Andrew Cuomo, former Governor of New York, whose sex scandals finally caught up with him. There is great fear that the Supreme Court in the US will in effect overturn the Roe v Wade decision regarding a woman’s right to abortion. Are we going backwards, then?  I dislike abortion, but I think it should be safe and legal, if a woman wants to have one; In my view, anyone having one will have to answer to God; it’s surely a private matter, in which the state doesn’t play a part. I think that folk who are so anti-abortion should see to it that every child’s life (and its mother’s) is worth living. I just cannot understand how people can be anti-abortion and pro-guns. It seems that killing a potential child before birth is a great sin; shooting them afterwards is acceptable if you’re Kyle Rittenhouse. How is that fair or just? The senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, touched on this in speaking with frustration about this incident, yet another school shooting.

On that note, I’ll post this.  Talk again soon. Ngā mihi.

Today is Thursday November 25^th, 2021. Kia ora!

This morning I learnt that Judith Collins, leader of the National Party, had demoted Simon Bridges (a former leader) on account of a complaint about sexual harassment 5 years ago.  I assumed that (a) she was wanting attention, and/or (b) she didn’t want to be leader any longer.

I went to singing in Khandallah. It was lovely, as always, but, although I’d practiced singing in the shower, I got the hiccups and had a frog in my throat, and struggled with the high notes.  There was quite a bit of discussion, along the lines of: why do we have to have a catered lunch for our end of year breakup – the rules are ridiculous! Ranging to why does the government appear to have abandoned the notion of protecting us?  You can’t have it both ways: you may consider different organisations’ rules to be ridiculous, but at least there are rules, and most people do not want to get Covid 19.

After singing, I learnt that Judith Collins has been rolled as leader of the National Party, and that Shane Reti is the interim leader. He was to address the nation.  One feels that the leadership is a poisoned chalice, that nobody really wants, at this point in time. Who’s left then, other than Christopher Luxton, Muller look-alike, waiting in the wings – he’s not yet ready to lead this mess.

There are fewer new Covid 19 community cases today: 178 and 77 in hospital.

It’s now Friday, November 26^th.  Today there are 173 new cases of Covid 19, across 6 regions: there are new cases in Auckland (154), Waikato (15), Northland (one), Bay of Plenty (two), and Lakes (one). There is also a case in Christchurch, who could not be included in yesterday’s total, a close contact of an existing case who was already isolating. 78 people are in hospital and 7 in Intensive Care.

It seems to me now that the Government is concerned about protecting the health system, as its first priority, and I wonder where that leaves mentally disabled adults, and other vulnerable people. Hohepa have taken very good care of our daughter up until now; the traffic light approach leaves us all scratching our heads, and wondering just how it will affect us, and more to the point, our daughter.

Meanwhile, one is doing Christmas shopping, and changing priorities as one must in these challenging times. Even during the so-called Black Friday Sales, and a rush for some good bargains, there are not that many people about, and most are genuinely polite and thoughtful. Thankfully, we don’t have Christmas Carols playing in the shops just yet, although most have Christmas trees up.

In the US, three men have been found guilty in the case of the Ahmed Arboury killing. That comes as a huge relief to many.  In the US it is Thanksgiving time again. This, to me, is a somewhat crazy ritual, like their Halloween (pronounced Hollow-een), accompanied by some very scary parades and decorations.  I listened to a Bulwark podcast, but they always get on to why can’t the Democrats be more like Republicans, be less liberal, less progressive, and by the way, inflation is terrible. I have to turn this off, I can’t bear to listen. I do agree with Charlie Sykes – we can be grateful that Trump’s not president.  There are many guides about surviving Thanksgiving with people you disagree with: why invite them? Why eat with them? Why punish yourself? Why buy a turkey, and then do the whole thing again in one month’s time for Christmas? Why, indeed.

There’s a new variant out of covid 19/delta, that’s been discovered in South Africa. Should we be afraid? The Hon. Grant Robertson says no, but apparently South Africa is to be put on the UK’s “travel red list” for this.

It’s now Saturday November 27^th.  It seems that the new variant of Covid 19, now named Omicron, first observed this month, is indeed something to be very afraid of. Even Sajid Javid the UK Health Secretary, is calling the alarm. It’s been unheard of to date for the Brits to take much notice! There is wide spread alarm about Omicron.  It originated earlier this month in South Africa, but has already been found in Israel, Hongkong, and in Belgium.  Vaccinated people are not immune. The World Health Organisation has met, and says not to limit flights, but many countries are doing just that. The stock market has fallen. Meanwhile, in the US, there are alarming surges of Covid 19/delta in many places: most seriously in Michigan, but also in New York. We don’t yet know what the US Thanksgiving surge will be; that there’ll be one, is pretty certain. One wonders again, why do so many Americans put themselves through this? You have the perfect excuse to avoid travel and large gatherings.

Dr John Campbell has broadcast again, saying that we all need to be proactive about facing this; it’s complicated, but the variant seems to have several spikes within it; it’s potentially very infectious, but we don’t yet know if it makes people really ill.  Perhaps the vaccines can be tweaked to address this variant, and delta, too.  We were alarmed about the spread of delta in New Zealand, as borders are to be reopened, the fateful MIQ reduced (although it has done a great job of keeping us safe); one of my daughter-in-law’s parents are thrilled to be able to return to New Zealand from Australia, where they have been marooned for far longer than they intended.  This relaxation of restrictions was going to be good for some people, but still pretty scary for people like my daughter. More walks, more swings, any one? Now, with the coming of omicron, all bets are off, I fear. Certainly, the coronavirus hasn’t finished with us yet.

In other news, the US networks have been very quiet over the Thanksgiving break. The stores are advertising Black Friday sales (which actually last for several days). In the English Channel, a perilous stretch of water (I know, I’ve sailed on it twice), a dinghy carrying several desperate refugees sailing to England from France capsized, and 27 people drowned, including children and pregnant women. In New Zealand, the Reserve Bank raised – by 0.25% – the OCR (Official Cash Rate) – it’s now 0.75%. The Guardian duly reported that in NZ the Reserve bank had hiked the cash rate. That is a gross exaggeration, like much of the talk of that other bogey man, inflation. Go on, hype it up, why don’t you? One can see how people get angry with the media.

Yesterday the Hon. Grant Robertson claimed there was no reason to be alarmed about omicron; today, he’s reported as calling it a “wake up call”. We’ve all been woken up, I think: this is potentially worse than what we’ve seen to date.  What about special needs folk? We’ve had coronavirus, Covid 19, the sequel (delta variant); now it looks like omicron, the prequel, is coming.

Today it was announced that there were 145 new community cases of Covid 19, and a further death.  There are still no further cases in Wellington or Hawkes Bay.

On Saturday afternoon we went to North City Shopping Centre, to buy a Christmas present for one of my granddaughters, and a new toasted sandwich maker – we wanted to take advantage of the Black Friday sale.  It was very busy there – that Food Court must have the potential to be a super-spreader location. They tried to enforce queueing, but I doubt that had much effect. In the Farmers department store, it was quite busy. I managed to find store attendant who looked unsuccessfully for what we wanted; in the meantime, of course, JD found other things to buy. There weren’t many toasted sandwich makers left, either – I suspect the advertised ones had gone, but we did get one, and I later bought the present I’d been seeking online. It was not a great experience, going to North City – I won’t repeat it for some time. Actually, like Queensgate Shopping Mall, it’s not enticing at the best of times. It’s a place you don’t want to be.

On Saturday evening I learnt that there is a case of Covid 19 in Kawerau, a town in the Bay of Plenty.  Many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have put in place some kinds of restrictions on passengers from South Africa and several African nations.  There are no direct flights here from Africa, so it’s a bit dicey to know just where people arriving her have come from.

It’s now Sunday, November 28^th.  It is quite a bit cooler today, after being very warm yesterday.  This morning I learnt that two cases of Covid 19/omicron had been diagnosed in the UK. Cases have also been diagnosed in Germany and Italy.

This morning I went to Church. It’s the beginning of Advent, and a little girl was to light a purple candle for Hope. The candle wick failed to ignite at the first attempt, and then flickered hopefully (ha ha!) when it did ignite. That seemed appropriate, somehow.  In church, they’ve apparently taken my advice (!) to allow seating in every second row, but unlike in an Anglican church we went to, where it was quite clear where one could sit, they’ve marked rows with little stickers that aren’t that easy to read:  rows  where one can sit have a beautiful red floral decoration, and alternate rows have a small sticker saying Please don’t sit here. I sat down, well away from others, but people came and sat rather closer to me than I was comfortable with.

After church, I went grocery shopping; it was really quiet when I went there, but soon filled up with people.  I got raspberries! And some apricots. The summer fruit is starting to appear. I didn’t get coffee beans – my bad.

Before lunch I learnt that there is another case of Covid 19 in Hawkes Bay.  This person went to the ED at Hastings Hospital, and was diagnosed positive. There are several locations of interest, which are gradually being published. Napier Pak’N ’Save is one of them, but in the evening – I don’t think our guys would shop there in the evening. Nevertheless, it’s alarming.  Two people landed in Sydney from South Africa, and were diagnosed with Covid 19. It’s not known yet whether it’s omicron or not. Meanwhile, Covid 19/omicron has been diagnosed in several countries.

The 1 pm briefing tells that today’s total of Covid 19 cases is 144; there has been another death in Auckland, this time of a woman in her 80’s. A child in Canterbury has been diagnosed positive: this child seems to have flown alone, and then caught a flight from Auckland to Christchurch; this is being regarded as a border case. Of the 144 new cases in New Zealand there are cases in Auckland (127), Northland (two), Waikato (nine), Bay of Plenty (four), Hawke’s Bay (one). There are 82 people in hospital, including 8 in Intensive Care.

There is still so much that we just don’t know about this virus. It seems that omicron has different symptoms, from the Covid 19 we’ve become used to, that it’s very infectious, and that young people catch it easily; other than that, we just don’t know how much of a threat it represents. We struggle on, trying not to take unnecessary risks, but feeling more than ever that we’re stumbling through a maze. There’s a lot of prayer; and I’m ashamed to say rather more fear than peace. That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Friday November 19^th, 2021. Kia ora!

Things aren’t looking good.  I learnt this morning (last night?) that there is a new case of Covid 19 at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School. Today, leading up to the 1 om Ministry of Health release, there is talk of a case in the Wellington area, thought to be a construction worker, with locations of interest in Porirua and Lower Hutt.

It turns out that this case is a weak-positive: the person is asymptomatic, and has been vaccinated, which begs the question why get tested?  He must have been in contact with someone else who diagnosed positive.

Today there are 189 new community cases of Covid 19, across 6 regions, including 152 new cases in Tamaki Makaurau. So that’s pretty scary.  There are 76 people in hospital including 6 in Intensive Care.

It’s now Saturday November 20^th. There’s a nice map in this morning’s paper showing where the cases are.  There’s another protest (the 4^th!) in the Auckland Domain, and the Auckland Museum has closed its doors. Vaccination rates are inching upwards, much more slowly now, but it seems a vocal minority are objecting to vaccines, while the rest of us are more than grateful to have some level of protection. Overseas, it seems that Covid 19 is just ploughing on, finding vaccinated and unvaccinated. Germany is in a bad way; the UK situation is still distressing, although not as serious as it was this time last year; some European countries are considering lockdowns again. It certainly won’t be much of a Christmas for many. It looks to be even more poignant than last year’s Christmas.

There’s unrest in many places, and some very sad situations, such as the one in Belarus, where the dictator there seems to be using refugees as political pawns.  The bad guys, i.e. illiberal would-be dictators, are in power in many places, and they club together. It’s not always clear what they do stand for, apart from muzzling the press,  imprisoning any opposition, and usually keeping women under some kind of male domination; and, of course, they’re not accountable. In the US we see people defying legal subpoenas to testify to Congress’s January 6^th Select Committee. In the US, the Republican Party management will only censure someone if they stand up against Donald Trump. Anything else goes unpunished, including threats of death and violence.  This contagion, like the coronavirus, has spread around the world. In Victoria, Dan Andrews has tried to protect Milburnians and other residents of Victoria from the worst ravages off Covid 19. There have been deadly protests in Melbourne, against such measures.

I wrote earlier about the government’s intention to open up Auckland boundaries on 15^th December.  To leave Auckland, you have to have either been vaccinated, or had a negative Covid test.  So there are some loopholes there, and no doubt some will avoid/evade whatever regulations are in place, as they have tended to do to date. Should we be afraid?  Probably in Wellington we’re safer than in other places.

We await the 1 pm report of today’s numbers of new cases.  Meanwhile, it’s noted that a Wellington Countdown supermarket (the one next to Cable Car Lane ) is now a location of interest. I walked past it yesterday, but I seldom shop at Countdown.

Today there are 172 new cases of Covid 19 across 6 districts, including a confirmed case in Wellington. There are 148 in Auckland, 12 in Waikato, 4 in Northland, 4 in the Lakes District, 3 in the Bay of Plenty, and the Wellington case.  Residents of the East Cape are warning holiday-makers not to come there! There are 70 people in hospital, with five requiring Intensive Care.

In the US, teenager Kyle Rittenhouse has been exonerated of shooting at three people, killing two of them. He took an AR15, a firearm he wasn’t old enough to own, into Wisconsin’s Kenosha, and was hailed by some on the right wing for his vigilante justice, and for “helping the FBI” (I think that’s what he said). By anyone’s account, he shouldn’t have had the gun, and he shouldn’t have shot at anyone, and he certainly shouldn’t have killed two people (The third victim was wounded).  That is manslaughter, if not murder.  Some people are saying that now you’ll be able to shoot at protesters (as Trump wanted to do), assuming the law will be on your side. The trial of the people who killed Ahmed Arboury continues, but objections have been raised to black pastors’ being there to support Ahmed’s family.  Michael Moore made the point that whatever one’s frustrations with the Democrats, they won’t shoot protesters.

It’s now Sunday November 21^st.

Last night I learnt that there is a positive case of Covid 19 in Hawkes Bay. This person had travelled from Auckland, having obtained permission to travel, and then tested positive for Covid 19. This morning I went to church. It was lovely, but there wasn’t a great crowd there.  There seemed to be more than usual tuning in on zoom.  Now that Covid 19 is in Wellington and Hawkes Bay, it seems that here people are being more careful. We also went to visit a friend in Titahi Bay – another treat. Having seen her house I don’t feel so bad about unhung pictures at my house.

Today we are warned about another protest – by farmers, I think. It seems an Extinction Rebellion climate protest initially attempted to halt the farm (and other) vehicles. Then it rained on the parade – in Wellington, at any rate. It seems to me that the climate crisis and the covid crisis are impossible to ignore, and one wonders why people fail to see the obvious.  It also seems that the protest was hijacked by “professional” protesters, resulting in mixed messages.  The (not so mighty) All Blacks were defeated by France (40 – 25), after being trounced by Ireland recently.  My brother in law always send a message “Go the ABs” from Broome, often at wildly inappropriate times. When the ABs are playing in the middle of the night, I must remember to put my phone on airline mode.

The numbers today are not so bad. There are 149 new cases of Covid 19, and 83 people in hospital.

It’s now Monday November 22^nd, and today there are – shock – 205 new cases of Covid 19. A man in his 40’s has died at Middlemore Hospital. That is by far the youngest death to date: previously it was a man in his 60’s. There are no new cases reported in Wellington or Hawkes Bay. 85 people are in hospital, and of these 6 are in Intensive Care. Of the new cases, 175 are in Auckland, 20 in Waikato, 5 in the Bay of Plenty, 4 are in Northland and 1 in the Lakes DHB are. I’m told the Wellington case was a worker who was double-vaccinated and asymptomatic, but underwent regular testing. 

There is a press conference at 4 pm, fronted by Prime Minister Ardern and Dr Bloomfield. It’s announced that the whole country is expected to transition to the traffic light system from 3 December. Auckland will move into Red, the rest of the country into Orange. No area is expected to be Green for the time being.  In Auckland, hair salons and barbers will be allowed to operate, but not hospitality. Hair salons and barbers will be expected to use vaccine passes, and take bookings only – no walk-ins.

It’s now Tuesday November 23^rd, a busy day. This morning I met one of my sons and a granddaughter, and we went to Oriental Bay. It was really warm this morning, but quite windy at the beach. Afterwards we had coffee.

In the afternoon I met a friend for coffee, and we had a good chat. It was lovely to catch up. Afterwards I went to Whitcoulls, but I didn’t find what I was looking for.

Today and yesterday have been eventful, marked by the use of a vehicle as a weapon in the US state of Wisconsin. The SUV drove into a Christmas Parade, killing 5 people and injuring at least 40 (the next day it was reported that a sixth person has died).  Today, more subpoenas have been issued by the Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack, including to two high profile people: Roger Stone and Alex Jones.

Today New Zealand broke records for new community cases of Covid 19 with 215 new cases across six regions, and another death – another man, this time in his 50’s.  As yet, there are no new cases in Wellington or Hawkes Bay. In Melbourne the NZ Breakers team is rocked by 4 positive tests.  They had all been double-vaccinated. The new cases are in Auckland (196), Waikato (11), Northland (four), Lakes (two), Bay of Plenty (one) and one in MidCentral, the latter of which was announced on Monday.

It’s now Wednesday November 24^th.  I had hymn-singing this morning – always good. We finished with on a high with the beautiful Lo He Comes with Clouds Descending to the tune of Helmsley.  We discussed the Covid 19 situation, which is getting worse in Europe, and what the Auckland border opening scheduled for 16 December may mean for activities in the new year.

After that I went to town and bought Christmas presents, checking out Lego and books.  There seems to be a dearth of good books for my very advanced 9 year old granddaughter, but I got a selection of stories by Katharine Mansfield. So many “iconic” New Zealand books, thinking here of Man Alone by John Mulgan, The Story of a New Zealand River by Jane Mander, or The God Boy by Ian Cross, are very dark, too grim I think for a 9 year old. I expect she’ll have plenty of time to contemplate humanity’s darker, as well as its lighter, side. I made my way to Toyworld – always a rather dangerous spot – and back to Whitcoulls, where I bought Lego for one of my grandsons and a great-nephew. Then, exhausted, I caught a bus home.

I decided during the night that perhaps we should go to Hawkes’ Bay for my daughter’s birthday (which is before Auckland borders are to open), but not for Christmas. I suspect some Aucklanders will go to Hawkes’ Bay – indeed, why wouldn’t they?  It seems now that in New Zealand we have a different approach to Covid 19/delta: we have to live with it, and continue to try to protect the more and the most vulnerable.  Vaccination is being seen as the doorway back or forward to some kind of “normality”; in this situation, I can choose my exposures, but for my daughter, who cannot really choose – what kind of life will she have? She loves to go to cafés; I guess in the hot Hawkes’ Bay summer you can sit outside mostly, but it’s still a tricky situation, where rather than playing by the rules, perhaps we have to use a bit more discrimination in choosing just where to go and what to do.

Today there are 215 new community cases of Covid 19 – but still no new ones in Wellington or Hawkes Bay, so that’s a relief.  There are 181 cases in Auckland, 18 in Waikato, 12 in the Bay of Plenty, 3 in Northland, and one in Canterbury – a historical case, no longer considered infectious.  A strip club in Mount Maunganui is a location of interest. There are 87 people in hospital, including 8 in Intensive Care. So that’s that, I guess: could be better; could be worse. MIQ rules are to be relaxed, and international borders to be opened – gradually. I haven’t gone into the details yet. Some are thinking we’re all doomed to get Covid 19. I certainly don’t want to get it, and I don’t want any of my children or grandchildren to get it either. That’s it for today. Ngā mihi.

Today is Saturday November 13^th, 2021. Kia ora.

This was a quiet day, recovering from Friday, and knowing Sunday would be a busy one. There were 175 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today. 159 of the cases were in Auckland, eight in Waikato, five in Taranaki, two in Northland and one in Taupo. Later I learned that there were 4 cases in Taupo, one of whom had been in the Wairarapa. There were also suggestions that a sex parlour was involved.

There were more protests today. In Auckland and Wellington, there were plans to cause traffic “gridlock”. These plans may have been foiled by the bad weather, including heavy rain. Phil Goff, Mayor of Auckland, called the protest behaviour “stupid”. In Christchurch, there was a march on foot. It’s suspected that the Destiny Church is behind this unrest, but I suspect that others have been involved too.  These protests command media attention, but I expect that amongst the confusion, many continue to support Prime Minister Ardern and her Labour Government.

We have been watching a series called The Borgias on Netflix.  I don’t really enjoy it, but there isn’t much to watch at present. There was a rather good film of Great Expectations on Maori Television, but I couldn’t bear to watch that again.

It’s now Sunday November 15^th. I went to church in the morning – always a treat. My friend Malcom played the organ and we sang “Immortal, invisible”. After that, things were pretty busy. We had a late lunch at Urban Eatery in Tawa (they didn’t close till 4:30 pm). I had a very nice vegetarian quiche with spinach, courgette, mushrooms and tomatoes, and my second coffee for the day. I brought my passionfruit doughnut home to share later.

This morning I learnt there were four new cases of Covid 19 in what was called Tararua and the Lakes districts.  This included someone who went to the Emergency Department at Rotorua Hospital, and was found to have Covid 19. So Covid 19/delta is inching ever closer, and we’re warned that it’s coming to Wellington, but actually it was here, back in August – and then died out.

The official briefing at 1 pm (more like 1:40 pm most days) tells there are 207  community cases – the highest daily total yet. Sadly, there has been a death, at North Shore Hospital, of a woman in her 90’s who lived at the Edmonton Retirement Home in Henderson. Evidently she had other health conditions, and it was not suitable for her to be on a ventilator. Of the new cases, two are in Rotorua, and consequently 12 police are isolating), two in Tararua, seven in Waikato, and two in Northland. The rest are all in Auckland. 90 people are in hospital.

Locations of interest have been published in the Wairarapa and Tararua, which includes Woodville.

It’s now Monday November 15^th. There weren’t any horror stories last night, but this morning I learnt that journalist Duncan Garner thinks he has Covid 19. Today there are 173 new community cases of Covid 19, again with most in Auckland but there are cases in 7 in Waikato, 2 in Northland and one in the Rotorua Lakes District. including one in Masterton (a first for Masterton, and probably the furthest south so far). There are 90 patients in hospital, and 7 of these are in Intensive Care.

This morning I went to Tai Chi. There are two more classes scheduled this year, and they want to have a shared meal at the last class, and reconvene on Monday January 31, 2022 (Monday February 7^th is a Public Holiday for Waitangi Day). I don’t feel comfortable about this, so I won’t stay. At my singing session on Thursdays we are addressing the same problem. My feeling is that if you have catered food, it all comes from an inspected premises, there will be rules around food preparation, there are annual inspections, and you know where the food has come from. I think it’s all a matter of what one feels comfortable with.

At 4 pm there’s a press conference with Prime Minister Ardern and Dr Bloomfield. I am pleased to know that you can book booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine from November 29, providing it is 6 months since your second jab. Waikato will move to level 2 from midnight on Thursday. Auckland’s situation is to be reviewed by Cabinet on Wednesday. From today, anyone involved in education must have had their first dose of vaccine. Health workers are to follow.

Monday was a bad day for me. I was very tired. We had pizza for dinner, followed by a trumpet for pudding. For some reason, I was really hungry.

t’s now Tuesday, November 16. I spent time with one of my sons and a granddaughter this morning. We went to Te Awe in town, and had a lovely time. She is almost two and quite active. Fortunately, the Brandon St door was closed – that can be a relief! She was quite delightful and made lots of friends.

In the afternoon I saw an orthoptist.  They were ultra-careful about Covid 19, and where to sit, and I had to keep my mask on, but they did not have pay-wave!  I paid by credit card, but because it’s a chip card, I had to key in my PIN number. I much prefer pay-wave, or using a mag-stripe card where you can use the card to press the key-pad, and not touch it. Never mind. Afterwards we struggled to find a café that was still open to have a late lunch.

Today there are 222 community cases of Covid 19. That’s the biggest number yet. Today’s total was released close to 1 pm. There has been a further death – a man in his 70’s in Auckland City Hospital.  Of the new cases, 197 are in Auckland, 20 are in Waikato, one is in Northland, two are in Wairarapa, and two are in the Lakes District Health Board area. Duncan Garner has been diagnosed positive, as has a teacher at Auckland’s Baradene College. So this is not good.  While I respect the unvaccinated, I would not want anyone unvaccinated to be teaching my grandchildren or caring for my daughter. A poll released today shows that 74% of those polled support the vaccine mandates, i.e. that you cannot continue to work in health or education without being vaccinated. Despite the protests, a significant majority support vaccination.

In he US, the political violence and threats of violence are truly terrifying. Steve Bannon surrenders to the FBI.  The former guy told Jonathan Karl that he didn’t care about the threats to hang Mike Pence, his Vice President; the former guy’s followers erected a noose; the threats were very real. And shocking. Alex Jones has to pay parents of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. That’s almost 9 years ago! The judge has summed up in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. Will he be acquitted? Who knows.

On Wednesday I had an early start with hymn singing at 9:15am. It was lovely, as always. After that I had morning tea and caught a bus into town.  I managed to buy a book for my grandson that he has already! I really should keep a list of the presents. One thinks one will always remember, but it rapidly becomes a blur. I’m hoping to change the book.

On Wednesday there were 194 new community cases of Covid 19. There was a new case in Christchurch, and it was reported that three children of a woman who tested positive were taken into MIQ there. Evidently a gang party – a patching ceremony in the Wairarapa – is thought to have caused more infections.

It’s now Thursday November 18^th.  This morning I had my larger singing group. It was lovely, as always, although the distancing is hard. We are planning to have a catered light lunch at the final session for the year. We’re permitted to do this, but catering is preferred, rather than “bring a plate” of food to share. In my view, that’s a safer approach.  In terms of my daughter’s birthday and Christmas, that’s up in the air as we monitor the situation.

Today there are 167 new cases, and there’ve been two deaths (two elderly people in Auckland). There are 85 people in hospital, including 6 in Intensive Care. Of the new cases, 142 are in Auckland, 17 are in Waikato, five are in Northland, one is in Bay of Plenty DHB, one is in Lakes DHB, and one is in Canterbury. Before lunch it was reported that there was a case in Palmerston North (in the suburb of Ashurst – now I didn’t know Ashurst was a suburb of Palmy); and that Covid 19 had been detected in Wellington’s waste water.  Evidently there’s two cases in Woodville (in the Tararua district). Now it’s been reported that there’s a case in Levin, and one in Tauranga. There’s evidently a case in Thames. There’s a second case in Christchurch. We are having ongoing discussions with Hohepa about what it may be appropriate to do later this year.

There’s a traffic light system due to be introduced here later in November. I’ve been trying to get to grips with what this means, but I can’t see that it has much, if any, direct bearing on me.  It seems to matter most to event organisers, how many folk they can have, indoors or outdoors, and whether people must be vaccinated. It seems you can download a vaccine passport or verification on your mobile phone, but I haven’t gone there yet. The Auckland borders are to open from December 15^th, but there are rules around that too. Will that make it less safe for the rest of us? Who knows. Let them go to their summer homes in the Coromandel for Christmas and New Year,

It seems that in many places you need to be vaccinated to be able to do things, or go anywhere. In Austria, the unvaccinated have to be in lockdown, and are only allowed to leave the house to buy food, I’ve heard.

This morning the Dompost published three corrections. It’s good to see they’re being held accountable: it’s very frustrating when they get things wrong, especially as one’s often reminded of how many stories one’s read online recently, and asked for money. I already subscribe for daily delivery, and the costs just went up, again. It’s very annoying when I’ve supported the daily newspaper for much of my life.  A recent story claimed that we face a bad season of flu and Covid 19. Well, excuse me, but the flu tends to be prevalent in the winter here, not the summer. That just doesn’t make sense.

Talking of corrections, I listened to the TRMS podcast yesterday, and some items I’m sure I’ve heard before: the sizable crowd in Dallas waiting on the “grassy knoll” for the resurrection of John F Kennedy (jnr), and the person who voted in his dead wife’s name  (sadly, she’d died of breast cancer); he then lied about this, calling it fraudulent behaviour, when he in fact had caused the fraud. Consequently the law caught up with him, and he was prosecuted. I felt sure this was an old story, but then there was some bizarre new information about Gina Haskel, Trump’s Head of the CIA, needing to be rescued out of Germany. The situation around the 2020 US Presidential Election, and the former guy’s determination to hang onto power, just gets worse and worse, with the revelations from Jonathan Karl’s book, and other revelations. I know many in the US are concerned about this, but, hey, we in the rest of the world are too! We’re all affected by whoever’s in charge there; we’re all deeply affected. Covid, climate change, the Constitution – they’re all vitally important. If Trump gets re-elected and withdraws from the Paris Climate Accord again, as seems ever more possible, what hope can there be for any of us?  It’s all very well for Peter Thiel to have a beautiful bolt-hole in Wanaka; we’re all vitally dependant on what happens in our neighbour Australia, in China, in the Pacific, and everywhere else. The world is a small place when it comes to dealing with climate change, international alliances, and environmental issues. No matter how much money you have, we all have to breathe.

I’ve been listening to another  podcast in The Rest is History series, this one about the oil crisis in 1973-74, which led to the Three-Day Week in Britain – ironically, when we made out first trip overseas, arriving and taking off from London’s Heathrow Airport.  I found this very illuminating, but was rather surprised that they didn’t mention the terrorism at that very scary time, when an airliner was blown up at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, the Red Brigades were at large, Italy was about to elect a communist government, and so on and so on. We almost cancelled our trip – thank goodness we didn’t.

In many countries, Covid 19 is still causing degrees of chaos. We are by no means free of this scourge just yet. Still, where in the world would you rather be? There’s still much to be thankful for.  That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Saturday November 6^th, 2021. Kia ora!

Yesterday in the early evening the NZ Herald reported that traces of Covid 19 were found in wastewater samples in Gisborne and Napier.  So that’s not good.

Today there was a record number of new cases – 206. Of these, 4 cases are in Waikato and two in Northland (in Kaitaia, I think). There are 73 patients in hospital.  This afternoon the NZ Herald reports a new case of Covid 19 in Northland.

This afternoon we went to see the annual watercolour exhibition at the Fine Arts Gallery.  Usually this is a treat, and I take photos of several paintings, and rate my favourites (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd), and my next best – including my wished-for Christmas present. This time, however, I had no favourites. I found many of the paintings very dark, and I wondered if the Covid 19 presence and lock downs had influenced the artists, in a negative way. We also went to the shop, and bought nothing there. We need to buy a gift, but we didn’t today, although we went to the Wellington Museum shop and the Te Papa shop. Then we visited Toi Art: always a treat. (Note: it seems the annual water colour exhibition was cancelled, but the  pottery one, Ceramicus, went ahead).

It’s now Sunday November 7^th. This morning I went to church – always a treat. I enjoyed the organ playing, again. This afternoon we went to Pataka and had afternoon tea and a look at the lovely shop there.  It turned into a beautiful, calm, sunny day – so much so that JD was brave enough to sit outside at the Kaizen Café. I missed out on the rhubarb shortcake: I was going to order it, but the customer before me bought the last piece, so I had a very nice muffin instead.

Today there are 113 new community cases of Covid 19. That’s over 100, but a lot less than yesterday’s 206. Of today’s new cases, there are 3 in Waikato, and one in Northland – the rest are in Auckland.  74 cases are in hospital, and 7 in Intensive Care.  Auckland has almost reached its goal of 90% having had their first vaccine jab.

It’s now Monday November 8^th, another beautiful fine, calm, warm day in the capital city.  This morning I had a Tai Chi class, and then went in to Johnsonville. Today there are 190 new community cases of Covid 19, including one in Northland, seven in Waikato, and the rest in Auckland. Apparently there are a further four cases in Northland, which will be added to tomorrow’s (Tuesday’s) tally. There are 81 people in hospital, (up from 74 on Sunday), including 7 in Intensive Care. Evidently someone with Covid 19 has died in MIQ at the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Auckland, and a patient at Auckland City Hospital who tested positive for Covid 19 died in Saturday night. It has not yet been determined whether his death was due to Covid 19. There is to be a press conference at 4 pm today with Prime Minster Ardern and Dr Bloomfield to announce what changes, if any, there are to be in alert levels. A Destiny Church member who has been charged with organising an anti-lock down protest has tested positive for Covid 19.

The press conference announced that restrictions are to be eased in Auckland. Meanwhile, a pupil at Mt Albert Grammar School has tested positive, and the college has decided to close for the rest of the year. This seems early, but if they only have seniors attending, they were probably due to close soon for the year anyway. In the Edmonton Rest Home in Henderson, 20 residents have tested positive, and four staff members. Seven residents are in hospital. The first case was fully vaccinated. All the staff are vaccinated.

I asked my doctor about booster shots of the vaccine. Evidently, according to current wisdom, you have to be six months out from the second jab of the vaccine. That would put us out to February 2022. There’s no shortage of the vaccine now, thankfully.

It’s now Tuesday November 9^th, another fine day, although not quite as nice as yesterday.  I have discovered some recordings of John Le Carré (and other) novels on Youtube. I’ve listened to part of A Perfect Spy and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. There’re very good recordings. In addition to The Rest is History Podcast, I have plenty of good recordings to listen to.

Today there are 125 new community cases of Covid 19. There are 79 in hospital, and Covid 19 has been detected in a resident of another rest home, in Avondale.  Of the 125, most are in Auckland, but 5 are in Northland and 2 in Waikato.

Today there was a big anti-lockdown protest in Wellington. Why, one wonders? We’re pretty free here. There have been protests by teachers who refuse to be vaccinated. What are they teaching their pupils, I wonder?

The six-week old baby who was in Whangarei Hospital with Covid 19 has now gone home.

At midnight tonight Auckland moves to level 3.2, or step 2 within the level 3 framework as outlined previously by Prime Minister Ardern. I do feel very sorry for her with the Wellington protest: why? One wonders, again. We’re not doing it hard here. She said the protest outside Parliament was not representative of the bulk of New Zealanders.

It seems to be a season of protests, though, against vaccine so-called mandates, and against the media. Looking at the protests, it seems crowds have been brought in to enhance the resentment. I am reminded of a James Dean film (before his tragic early death), when he was asked what he was unhappy about. The answer was “What have you got?” There are certainly mixed messages, with some gangs and some iwi leaders urging vaccination, and other like Destiny Church members railing against it. The media does make mistakes from time to time.

It’s now Thursday November 11^th.

Yesterday was quite a busy day, with an early start – hymn singing. After that, I had morning tea in town, did some other stuff, and visited a friend in the afternoon. It was again a fine, warm, still day; I found it quite muggy.

Yesterday there were 147 new community cases of Covid 19. Of these, 14 were in Waikato, 2 in Northland and the rest in Auckland..

Today there are 185 community cases of Covid 19, in Auckland, Waikato and Northland, and an additional death in Auckland (this is the subject of a police investigation, and there’s no further comment at the moment). Of the new cases, 8 are in Northland, 25 in Waikato, and 152 in Auckland.  The three suspects in the Grey Lynn Motel shooting case earlier this week all have Covid 19, and are in isolation. Consequently the police who arrested them are having to isolate as well.   Last night it was reported that there’s a new case in the Northland town of Kaitaia.  There are 84 people in hospital. In Auckland, the shops are open again. No doubt they will have their own rules about mask-wearing, numbers of customers, entry and exit routines, and card/cash protocols. I hope there are rules – at least those in charge will have thought about protecting their customers, if not their staff,

It’s now Friday November 12^th.  Lots of things are happening, most of them not good. Last night I heard that there were 6 cases of Covid 19 in Stratford, and one of them in hospital. Stratford is a nice town, I’ve been there several times. They have a beautiful craft shop there, and it is near Mt Taranaki. You can sit down at the library, it’s a welcoming place, as libraries should be. So Covid 19 is edging closer. It’s reported that these folk did not want to get tested. That’s understandable, but other people need too know.

Overnight, there’s more sad news. I listened to a podcast about Remembrance Day, and read the story by Rudyard Kipling, The Gardener. It is just so sad.

Then I read the Guardian website: the dictator of Belarus is threatening to close of the gas supply to EU countries, if his country is sanctioned over the migrant crisis between Poland and Belarus. This is just such a sad situation. I don’t believe anyone leaves their home unless they think they have to.  The Guardian reports that Prime Minister Ardern’s support is slipping – according to two recent polls. There’ve been protests here about vaccine mandates – actually, you don’t have to have the vaccine, but you won’t be able to work in certain places (like health, caring and education) if you aren’t vaccinated. Many countries are introducing such requirements. This is not unusual. There’s lots of talk about freedoms, but surely many of us expect our government to protect us too: if you really care about freedoms, how about living in China, Hong Kong, or a communist country? We enjoy plenty of freedoms here, in my view. We’re pleased to have been looked after so well. I’m sure everyone, including the government, is frustrated by the current situation with Covid 19. We all are. But I ask again, where would you rather be?   There are still few deaths and hospitalisations so far.

In terms of climate change, the world (some people) is trying to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees. It’s heavy going. The Chinese Communist Party has applauded Chairman Xi. In the US, there are extreme death threats and threats of political violence – it seems that it’s being normalised. I think violence is never all right!  But the Republican congresspeople who voted for Biden’s Infrastructure Bill are being attacked and receiving death threats, for themselves and their families!  This is outrageous! How come infrastructure spending is bad for anyone?  Inflation is rising, and there are shortages, of various things. It’s a war, people; it’s only been going just under two years, so far. It’s so ironic that the US, which has suffered a huge number of deaths (759,000), still has people against the vaccine – their potential life-saver.  We are all so over Covid 19, but hey, it’s a war, and we don’t have to fear bombings, or nuclear radiation. In the main, we don’t have Covid 19 sufferers bleeding or vomiting. Some day, it will not be such a crisis as it is now.  Where is the patience?

This afternoon we went to our Art Group.  That was nice. I was very tired, and we had trouble parking, but it was wonderful to see everyone again. There was a big turnout – 12, I think. JD had to go off to an appointment, but came to pick me up afterwards (from a café).  We had a good discussion, but there is huge frustration with the Covid and vaccination situation.  I think most organisations are trying to keep everyone safe, but their move sometimes misfire, and may be misinterpreted. I think you should be vaccinated unless you have a medical reason not to do so, and rather than a denial of freedom, it’s an act of love and respect to be vaccinated. My daughter is in care, and while I respect those who don’t want to be vaccinated, I want everyone caring for her to be vaccinated, just as I would hope my grandchildren’s teachers would all be vaccinated.

Today there are 201 new community cases of Covid 19, and traces of Covid have been found in the wastewater systems of Taupo. Taupo! That’s quite close to home. I know people who were looking forward to going there. I know people who live there.

Of the 201 cases, there are 181 in Auckland, 4 in Northland, 15 in Waikato, and one in Taranaki. The other 5 cases in Stratford will be included in tomorrow’s total.  All cases in Taranaki are linked, and there’s a link to an Auckland cluster. There are 85 people in hospital.  It’s been suggested that Taranaki go back to Level 3, but this is unlikely.

In other news, not noted already, it transpires that the Tory government in the UK is again enmired in sleaze; Meghan Markle has admitted lying about her input to the book Finding Freedom, and an Appeals Court has temporarily granted Trump the right to withhold documents from the January 6^th Select Committee. So none of that is good. Much of it is not surprising, but it’s still not good. The Kyle Rittenhouse trial is proceeding; it’s feared he will be acquitted, despite killing two people and wounding another. The Ahmed Arboury trial is proceeding in Georgia, long after he was killed. It seems that accountability in the US is a rare commodity. Sadly, there are suggestions of book-burning in the US.

That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

My apologies to Samuel Beckett. I have seen this play in London, and also in New Zealand, at the St James Theatre, where I have to say the New Zealand audience really enjoyed the play, and responded with enthusiasm. I’ve also seen a wonderful film at the French Film Festival where a French actor staged this play with a group of prison inmates.

Today is Saturday October 30^th, 2021. Kia ora!

Last night I heard that there were two new cases of Covid 19 in Northland, and that now Tonga has its first case, from someone who flew there from Christchurch. This person had a negative test before departing, and was fully vaccinated.

At 1 pm we are told there are 160 new cases, including a new case in Christchurch, who had recently returned from overseas, was fully vaccinated, and had returned negative tests while in MIQ. There are seven new cases in Waikato, one in Northland (two were reported yesterday – people do get around!), and the rest in Auckland. Now seven residents and a staff member at the Henderson Rest Home (where a resident was reported as having tested positive yesterday) have tested positive.  It seems the case that flew to Tonga had several close contacts, who are now isolating, including two who flew to Wellington. That’s just great. Poor Tamaki Makaurau!  The good news it that fewer than expected numbers of cases are in hospital. I put this down to increased vaccination – which does seem to reduce the likelihood of serious disease.

This morning I listened to part of the Beg to Differ podcast, where the guest Jonathan Chait, endeavoured to explain the appeal of Joe Biden and the Progressive Caucus’s “socialistic” ideas that are commonplace in many societies, and are extremely popular.  He was a lone voice amongst the howls of why don’t the Dems just settle for less, runaway inflation, financial irresponsibility, the dreadfulness of Bernie Sanders and AOC, and so on. And, by the way, shouldn’t they be safeguarding democracy while they’re at it? And, goodness me, they can’t agree on taxing the rich!

Yes, it’s all very frustrating. It’s a shame that Joe Biden’s poll numbers are falling; it’s a shame that Terry McAuliffe isn’t perceived as being a better candidate for Governor of Virginia. There’s a great deal for Democrats to do. But I think, on the whole, they’re doing a good job. I too wish they’d do more.

It’s now Sunday, October 31^st. Yesterday JD and I went for a walk in Wilton’s Bush. How it has changed since I was a child, and often used to come here! It was a good walk, and there were quite a few people there. The pathway, although muddy was quite even.

This morning I went to church. It was lovely, as always, and nice to be there. In his sermon the minister spoke about showing Christian love towards those who don’t believe in vaccines; not writing them off, but keeping the conversation going. That can be quite a challenge, but the vaccination rates are inching up, here in New  Zealand.

Today there are 143 new community cases of Covid 19, and no new cases in Christchurch.  There are six cases in Waikato, two in Northland, and the rest in Auckland.

It’s now Monday November 1^st.

I heard that there was a case of Covid 19 in Ngaruawahia (a town in the Waikato), a pupil at Mt Albert Grammar had tested positive, and a staff member at MacLeans College. The total community cases today is 162, the highest yet. Of these, one is in Northland, five in Waikato (including two more in Otorohanga) and the rest in Auckland. There is to be a press conference at 4 pm.  There are no new cases in Christchurch, but Covid 19 has been detected in wastewater samples in the southern and eastern parts of Christchurch.

News today tells that President Biden’s lovely press secretary, Jen Psaki, has tested positive for Covid 19; the Cop26 climate conference opening in Glasgow has been plagued by stormy weather – oh, the irony! And New Zealand’s commitment to reduce harmful emissions looks pretty pathetic, too. 

It’s fine and warm here, but it was quite cold this morning. I was in town for several hours, but am now totally exhausted, and a bit cynical. 

There was a press conference at 4 pm, and I think that restrictions were to be eased somewhat in Waikato, and in Auckland.

It’s now Tuesday November 2^nd.

I read on the stuff website that there are 18 (!) new cases in Otorohanga.  The NZ Herald says 4 new cases in Waikato, and one in Kaitaia. Apparently the NZ Herald is now reporting this too.

At 1 pm we learn that there are 126 new cases today, including18 in Waikato, one in Northland and the rest in Auckland. The Prime Minister visited Tai Tokerau in Northland, to encourage vaccination, and was heckled, leading to a shut down of the press conference. Later this afternoon we were told that Chris Hipkins was to hold a press conference at 5:30 pm.  He was supposed to be on leave, but instead announced that the far North (i.e. the northern part of Northland) would go into level 3 from midnight tonight. A barrier will be put in place. The reason for this is that an earlier case of Covid 19 cannot be linked to existing cases.

It’s now Wednesday November 3^rd.

Yesterday I had an eye test. I always find this very tiring, but it didn’t seem so bad this time, until the optometrist put eye drops in to dilate my pupils. She did this when the appointment was almost finished. Afterwards, I found it really difficult to see, especially with regard to depth perception. It was cold and windy, and after closing time for most cafés. I was very relieved when JD picked me up. He then suggested we go to the New World Supermarket in Thorndon. That’s usually a big treat for me, but I couldn’t see very well!  Anyway, JD packed the shopping into my reusable shopping bags  – a first!   I bought donuts for afternoon tea, and more salads.

This morning hymn singing resumed, masked and distanced. It was still really nice to have it, though.  We sang some beautiful Welsh hymn tunes, and Sing Aloud to God our Strength (my favourite hymn for the latest lockdown). Afterwards I had morning tea: a cup of coffee, and a cheese and spinach scone, then caught a bus back to Johnsonville. I spoke to two friends, both of whom expressed concern about what may happen next, and if there’s a sudden lock down again, where one would prefer to be (assuming one had a choice, between one’s regular house, and one’s beach house).  We just don’t know what may happen next.

I had Tai Chi at midday. This was lovely, too, although it’s very different from my “old” Tai Chi classes. The moves are the same, though, and the principles are the same, as is the theory of shifting one’s weight from one side to the other, as one moves one’s feet. we did some good eye exercises.

Today there are 100 new community cases of Covid 19 – 97 in Auckland, and 3 in Waikato. There are 58 people in hospital, and 3 in Intensive care. Now, fifteen residents of the Henderson Retirement Home have tested positive, and four staff members. As I said earlier, vaccination rates are slowly lifting.

It’s now Thursday November 4^th. This morning I went to singing, and it was lovely. We could have morning tea, today. Those of us who wear glasses are frustrated to have them fog up when we wear a mask. Despite various solutions, this remains a problem.  There was a good turnout, including several people who hadn’t been for a long time. It was good to see them again. There was someone new, too!

Today there are 139 new community cases of Covid 19; there are two in Waikato, one in Northland and the rest in Auckland. Wastewater testing in Christchurch has failed to detect Covid 19.

It is still very boring here. Everyone is nervous, and there is a lot of anger and frustration; few are prepared to be calm about the situation we’re in, and that it’s really nobody’s fault. Delta has come, it’s staying a while in Tamaki Makaurau, and, outside of Auckland, where would you rather be?  We don’t know what’s ahead. Wellingtonians fear a bigger outbreak of delta here, but it’s already been here, in the middle of August.

In other news: the four year old girl who went missing in Western Australia has been found, alive and well; in the US the Democrats lost the Virginia gubernatorial election, and Glenn Youngkin was elected rather than Terry McAuliffe; in New Jersey Democrat Phil Murphy narrowly won re-election as Governor. The Cop26 Climate Conference in Glasgow is coming to an end; here, Gisborne is experiencing heavy rain, a state of emergency has been declared, and there have been some evacuations. In England, some people cannot get vaccination booster shots because there aren’t enough truck drivers to deliver the doses. Here in New Zealand a New Lynn primary school student has tested positive for Covid 19, and in South Auckland a person died last night who was isolating for Covid 19. I’m not sure if he was isolating at home because he had Covid 19, or had been in contact with someone infected with the virus. It hasn’t been announced yet whether he died from Covid 19, or there was another cause. Today it was announced that 57 people were in hospital, and four in Intensive Care (I think).  And – it’s very sad news – that a former All Black has been diagnosed with dementia, at the tender age of 41. 

It’s sow Friday November 5^th, Guy Fawkes Day, for those who think it’s a good idea to light fireworks – around where I live, people light fireworks at any time until New Year’s Eve.

This morning it was revealed that Covid 19 has been detected in the wastewater of Stratford, a township in Taranaki close to Mt Egmont. So far, no cases of Covid 19 have been detected there.  A second person with Covid 19, who was isolating at home, has died. It’s reported that he discharged himself from hospital.  Today there are 163 community cases of Covid 19, with four in Waikato and the rest all in Auckland.  It seems (it was reported yesterday?) that 89.6% of the eligible population have had their first dose of the vaccine. That is quite amazing.  Meanwhile, we carry on, with care…getting slightly braver about doing the things we love.

In other news, there have been significant changes in the leadership of Hohepa. These changes, although not voted on by all stakeholders, look good. With regard to the recent US elections, it either spelt doom for the Democrats, to lose the gubernatorial election in Virginia, or perhaps, it didn’t. As usual, it depends on whom you listen to. That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Just get the vaccine, why don’t you? Then the rest of us can get on with booking our booster shots. Supply doesn’t seem to be a problem at the moment.

It is now Thursday October 28^th, 2021. Kia ora.

This morning I heard there are 2 new cases of Covid 19 in Christchurch. One of them had flown from Auckland (why? I wonder), and was unvaccinated. The other case is their household contact. There is also a new case in Otorohanga.

The NZ Herald has a not-so helpful headline: How will our ICUs cope now delta is free? Well, it’s not free. A snap lockdown is being considered for Christchurch; Auckland and the Waikato remain at level 3, and the rest of New Zealand is at level 2. Someone was just asking why the South Island still has restrictions?  I guess we know now. The words used are so important. 

This morning I had singing, and this time we all sang together – sopranos, altos and men. It was so nice to sing together again. We did not have morning tea. It was fine, and we had doors open to the outside. We sang Joni Mitchell’s beautiful “Circle Game”, and I always think, when we sing it, of the carousel I gave one of my granddaughters one Christmas. “The painted ponies go up and down”.  We finished with the beautiful “Hine e hine”. What a treat. We are all nervous as to what the future holds, for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. Each session is precious.

Today there are 89 new community cases of Covid 19: two in Christchurch, 4 in Waikato and the rest (83) in Auckland.  OF the two cases in Christchurch, the one that flew from Auckland had permission to fly home, and had not been vaccinated. They had had a negative Covid 19 test before flying south. The other case in Christchurch is their only other household contact.  Accordingly, Christchurch will remain at level 2.  One of the persons infected is a truck-driver, who may have been infected for several days without knowing it. Neither person was vaccinated. Evidently they were loth to scan locations where they’d been, too.

The Hon. Chris Hipkins fronted a press conference today, where he was asked by a female journalist if he felt guilty about not keeping the people of Christchurch safe!  Well, really, would someone ask Judith Collins that question? He reiterated that vaccination is a key to safety. I would say perceptions of safety, but it seems that it’s certainly key to fewer hospitalisations and deaths.

He also announced that MIQ stays are to be halved from next month for vaccinated arrivals from overseas, who have had a negative Covid 19 test before leaving. They’re expected to isolate for a further week before they’re good to go. That should free up more MIQ rooms, but presently they’re being used for Covid 19 cases to isolate, where it is unsuitable for them to do so at home.

There is great widespread anger at current developments. As usual, the government should have acted earlier/more decisively/been harsher/been less harsh. Everyone should be vaccinated/it’s an infringement of their rights to force vaccination on them. No one is forcing vaccines on anyone, but you may finder it much harder to work or go places if you have not been vaccinated. I expect that the government, like the rest of us, just wish this would all go away, and we could look forward to a new reality where things aren’t scarce, we can come and go as we wish, house and rent prices are reasonable, and mental health isn’t such a big issue; there’s also child poverty and climate change. Well. there has to be something, always, but it would be nice to think that New Zealand’s on the right track (for most of us!).

People I spoke to this morning are scared, apprehensive, philosophical, and happy to be together again. Next week, we can have morning tea, as long as we get our own drink separately, and then take it outside..  For all of us, our thoughts are for our precious children and grandchildren, as well as ourselves – we need to stay strong and cheerful for them, as well as ourselves.

In the US, things seem to get a little crazier.  The lawyer John Eastman, who wrote a legal memo for Trump to declare himself the winner of the 2020 presidential election, and then denied it, was caught on video being interviewed by Lauren Windsor saying he had written it (despite earlier denying it), and that Mike Pence was the blockage to Trump’s electoral win.  An article in Rolling Stone Magazine claimed that several leading Republicans were instrumental in planning the January 6 insurrection. The US Congress has voted to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee formed to investigate the January 6 insurrection; we all await a further response from the Department of Justice, and specifically Attorney-General Merrick Garland, to see what will happen next.

Meantime, Trump has endorsed the leader of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. In Brazil people are begging for him to be impeached, for his reckless handling of the coronavirus outbreak there. Trump claimed at one of his recent rallies that he was impeached twice, “and I got worse” he bragged. For once, he spoke the truth.

The New Yorker has let me read another article about Peter Thiel, by Anna Wiener.  It was interesting, but I’m thinking enough already about Peter Thiel. The less said about him, the better. I find his ideas not only selfish, but seriously weird.

It’s now Friday October 29th.  There is a new case of Covid 19 in Kawhia. A chemist in Tawa has predicted that delta will be in Wellington by November. Well it was here, in mid-August and September, nobody died, people have recovered, and so far it has not reared its ugly head again. No-one knows what will happen, including the government and their health advisors. All authorities are treading a fine line between taking wise steps to restrict contact and thus the spread of the virus, and allowing small businesses like hospitality to still operate, albeit safely, and with fewer numbers. What reassurance is there? None, really.

This morning’s newspaper published a good diagram showing how close the DHB’s are to meeting the 90% vaccination target. Wellington (Capital and Coast) is right up there, next to Auckland. It should be noted that Auckland has three DHBs.

This morning I listened to podcasts featuring Michael Moore, and Charlie Sykes talking to Tom Nichols. I haven’t been listening to Bulwark podcasts lately, I just get so cross. But with both these podcasts, everyone is angry with the Democrats. It seems that with the latest compromise, paid parental leave is likely to be scrapped. How crazy is that?  The US is truly first in many things – including many awful things. Why vote Democrat? Because they’re not Republican. But if they can’t actually deliver much in the way of benefits, which would be quite normal in most western and civilised countries.  Yet again, it looks as though many Americans will swallow Trump’s Kool-Aid, and believe his empty promises.  The Democrats hold, not without difficulty, the White House, the Congress and the Senate (tightly!)  It seems ironic that they have difficulty delivering basic benefits (parental paid leave, drinkable water, a health system that works better) to their voters and supporters.  There are just so many faults with American democracy, and then many of them don’t even value what they have!  By the way, in terms of awfulness, Michael Flynn has been comparing the much respected Dr Anthony Fauci with the Nazis’ Dr Josef Mengele. One tries to ignore the awfulness, but every now and again I am forced to take notice. The one from the televangelist pastor about God not being able to hear us pray through a mask, is still my “favourite”.  I figured once that many of us must be praying at any one time, yet I feel as though it’s my individual voice speaking to the Lord. He knows many languages, too!

I have been listening to podcasts about Australia and climate change.  The Australian government has agreed, not without difficulty, to limit methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Actually they haven’t agreed that. Their climate spokesman claims Australia is a great place to invest in “gas, hydrogen and new energy technologies” (whatever they may be). This is their commitment to the upcoming Cop26 Climate Conference in Glasgow. In trying to verify just what they have agreed, I looked up ABC News on my phone, but there’s no mention of it there. Have they no shame?  It seems really hard to get any kind of commitment out of them that will benefit our planet in good time. Meanwhile, they endure terrible fires, and floods.

There has been much discussion of Facebook’s recent exposure through a whistle blower, and the Facebook papers. Many agree that although we all knew FB’s (and other social media’s) influence was pernicious, we did not realise quite how awful it was.  The pandemic has given many people more free time, and thus more time to spend on social media., where they can soak up anti-vax propaganda, conspiracy theories, and catastrophic fears. Some have likened FB’s influence to that of tobacco, when companies making cigarettes continued marketing them and advertising their benefits, long after they knew that they are addictive and cause great physical harm.  Now, thankfully, the days of smoke-filled bars are over, and most public places don’t allow smoking.  I remember our first trip overseas in 1973, when you could specify a seat in the smoking or non-smoking section of the plane! Thankfully, that is a thing of the past, although it can be disappointing to see young people smoking.  Smoking is quite prevalent in some television series.

Today there are 125 community cases of Covid 19 – one in Northland, four in Waikato, another two in Christchurch (close contacts of existing cases), and the rest in Auckland. The new case in Kawhia is included in the Waikato number. Some folk, after being tested, drove to Auckland. What kind of madness is this? Sadly, someone in a retirement home in Henderson in Auckland has tested positive for Covid 19.

That’s it for today. Nga mihi.

Who will get here first? Santa Claus or Delta?

Today is Monday October 25^th   2021, Labour Day. Kia ora.

Yesterday I heard there were two new cases of Covid 19 in Otorohanga. This is a town on State Highway 3, between Te Awamutu and Te Kuiti, still in the Waikato area. It used to have the distinction of being one of he main stops on the Main Trunk Line, where people would rush into the Railway Station for a cup of tea, which they then took back on the train. I remember the think white cups and saucers.  I believe it’s much more civilised now!

Today there are 109 new community cases of Covid 19, with two in Northland, four in Waikato, and the rest in Auckland. There are 35 people in hospital, and 5 in ICU.  The national nightmare continues, then; there’s no relief coming any time soon. Meanwhile, delta edges closer, being found in Blenheim, near the top of the South Island, and in Otorohanga – the southernmost location to date in the North Island. What kind of Christmas will we have?

It’s now Tuesday October 26^th. Today there were 79 new community cases of Covid 19, that comprising 75 in Auckland and 4 in Waikato. There’s to be a Press Conference with Prime Minister Ardern and Dr Bloomfield at 4 pm. We learnt earlier today that two of the new cases are at a college in Waiuku.

It seems that more than 300 people were diagnosed with Covid 19 over the long Labour Day weekend; sadly, the weekend’s road toll includes 8 deaths. Of course, that doesn’t include the injuries and the dreadful trauma of those involved and their loved ones, to say nothing of those bereaved. Here, many have been deeply affected by the sudden death of Sean Wainui (aged 25, a promising rugby league player), from a car crash.  Although he was recently married, with a beautiful wife and two young children, his death is now being regarded as a suicide.  That is enormously sad.  It’s one thing to be depressed, but this seems to be a devastating mental illness that makes someone blind to the desperate hurt their actions will have on others, while seemingly stopping their own pain.  This young man appeared to have everything going for him. It’s tragic that he failed to see a promising future ahead.

This morning we got a cream doughnut from Nada in Tawa. It was simply amazing! Better than any others I’ve tried (to date). 

The world’s a funny old place. In the US, Alec Baldwin, an actor with a troubled past, has shot dead a woman on set and wounded another, using a gun that was not supposed to be loaded with live ammunition.  I don’t know how you live that down; what a terrible thing to happen. She was married with two young children. There are all kinds of rumours about industrial action by Hollywood gofers, by what practices you should use on any set, about careless people, and so on.  Whatever the causes, it’s a dreadful thing to have to try and live down. This will always be associated with Baldwin, despite his rather good impersonations of the former guy on SNL.

Here, it seems, Covid 10/delta is here to stay for a while; for summer, at least. We simply don’t know what’s to come. At least, Christmas can be pretty low-key here; we don’t get too carried away on the whole, unlike the British and the Americans.  There’s no snow, it’s usually warm, and many people have a barbecue instead of a formal Christmas dinner.

The delta thing is devastating, however. We don’t know whether we’ll be able to travel, or just what we’ll be able to do. Let’s hope we don’t catch this virus. I feel JD and I are now due for our booster vaccine jabs, but, of course, we don’t qualify for that here.

It’s been a big change here, the way delta has changed everything.  It’s spread in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as in Auckland, and that lockdowns don’t work, although they may limit the spread of coronavirus/delta.  Last year, a strict lockdown in New Zealand saw cases of Covid 19 dwindle, and it stayed under control with regional limitations imposed from time to time. These were well accepted, on the whole. We had a nice Christmas in 2020, some celebrated New Year’s Eve, and then New Zealand held the America’s Cup Yacht races in Tamaki Makaurau.  New Zealand won this, too, and celebrated this with many tourists who having been though MIQ, were cleared to enjoy the spectacle.  New Zealand was the envy of the world. We knew how lucky we were; in spite of various levels of local lockdown since then, New Zealand has been very fortunate in escaping the ravages of delta to date. Not so any more – the scourge is now upon us, but thankfully we have not had large numbers of hospitalisations and deaths to date. We were special! Not so special, now, alas.

At the Press Conference, Prime Minister Ardern seemed tired.  She stressed that vaccinations are the key to regaining our “freedoms”; new measures will be introduced to make vaccinations compulsory for many events, and for many employment sectors. You don’t have to have the vaccine, but you’ll be unwelcome at many venues and some professions if you don’t get vaccinated. That’s not hard, really.

It’s now Wednesday October 27^th.

I was reading in the latest Economist a rather admiring article about China’s (successful?) approach to the coronavirus, by quarantining all arrivals and attempting to “stamp it out”. Then the same day I read a Guardian report that in fact cases of Covid 19 had popped up in a number of northern cities, and this was being put down to internal tours of elderly Chinese citizens. It’s acknowledged here that Covid 19 probably won’t be eliminated, but there are still significant restrictions as the government urges people to get vaccinated. There are legal cases about the personal rights of people not to be vaccinated, but I think again, be considerate of your friends and family, your colleagues, and the kind folk who serve you in shops, supermarkets, and cafés, to say nothing of people enjoying leisure or sporting activities with or alongside you. Few of us are complete loners; even if we are, one likes to go to the movies sometimes. I think if there were a cholera epidemic, most people would surely rush to be vaccinated.

In the US, the FDA has recommended approval of a lower-dosed Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 – 11.

Here, today, there are 74 new cases of Covid 19, 68 in Auckland and 6 in Waikato. It’s predicted that in level 3, schools will re-open for all children on 15 November. An anti-lockdown hikoi is progressing from Rotorua to Waitangi n Northland; but Waitangi doesn’t want them. The police are most probably going to stop them at the Auckland border.

Today JD and I went to see a fine film about Vincent van Gogh at the Penthouse Theatre. Although we left early, given there were warnings about glass panels falling off the HSBC Building in Lambton Quay, and possible disruption by Extinction Rebellion, we had a smooth run and got there early. While it must be very frustrating for those running businesses, I really enjoy there being so few people around, and having plenty of space.  The Film Festival booklet is still not out.

The film was very good. It was primarily about a wealthy Dutch woman, who collected van Gogh’s paintings and drawings, and planned a museum to house these works. We had commentators speaking rapid French, Italian and English – and lots of art work.  This woman felt she had a real affinity with van Gogh, in rejecting formal religion and seeking a personal relationship with God, can Gogh though his paintings, and she through viewing them.

On the way home, we listened to a beautiful recording of J. S. Bach’s 2^nd Brandenburg Concerto with Wynton Marsalis playing the trumpet. I didn’t know he played classical music. I then read an interesting article in the New Yorker about Rachel Held Evans and her particular brand of evangelical Christianity.  I often wonder just why people have to be so complicated about Christianity. Silly questions, really; there are different branches of almost all the Christian religions. To cap this discussion off, I have been listening to the BBC’s Songs of Praise, and I was inspired by their 60^th anniversary recording, which took place in Westminster Abbey. I was ever so impressed by Monique  McCann singing Blessed Assurance, accompanied by Yolanda Brown playing the saxophone, and, of course, the organ.  This was recorded quite recently, being the first post-covid time that people could sing together in the Abbey.

The coming Cop26 climate summit on Glasgow is to be chaired by Boris Johnson, whose government has just legalised letting sewage outlets flow into river water.  Previously, councils had to report when this happened. Now of course there’s not enough money to follow EU mandates about safe discharge. This just seems so dreadfully backward – during the hundreds of years leading up to the so-called Spanish Flu at the end of World War 1, it was recognised that clean air, and a clean, aerated environment were essential to combat the miasma of pollution in which the plague and disease festered. Indeed, efficient plumbing and sewerage disposal are a hallmark of a civilised society.

It seems that we are going backwards in so many ways:  cleanliness, good plumbing, basic good manners, provision of electricity, road rules, and an environment safe from violence, abuse and extremes of hot and cold are no longer to be taken for granted.

World leaders are pulling out of Cop26, notably President Xi, of China, who has plenty of problems at home; possibly President Putin of Russia; the Australians again are doing all they can to drag their feet.  Meanwhile, back here, Fonterra (the conglomerate responsible for negotiating dairy prices for New Zealand, is now doing rather well.  Seriously, how many dairy products does the world need? And aren’t cows an enormous burden on the environment?  Here they’ve added seriously to problems of polluted water ways, rivers and streams. The Queen is now not going to Cop26.  You have to feel sorry for Her Majesty; when she shuffles off this mortal coil, as she inevitably must, one day, what kind of mess will the Royal Family descend into?  I admire Prince William and the lovely Catherine, but one feels for them as they are just so busy, and not able to spend much time with their children.  One shouldn’t forget the stress of being always on show, having one’s clothes, jewellery, makeup, hair style, smile and so on analysed no matter how one is feeling, no matter how upset the children are, and no matter whether you’ve just had a marital tiff. They are both quite wonderful, I think, but it must be a strain at times.

Coming back to the climate crisis, I find this really scary. I’m thankful that all my children are very aware of the beauty of and potential damage to planet earth, and two of them are very committed to preserving it.  Personally, I’m glad that I don’t have to do much to deal with it, as I doubt that I’ll be alive, but I feel for my grandchildren and their future. I like to think of this as our nuclear moment. Back in the 1970’s, many young people thought that nuclear war posed the biggest threat to our continued existence on the planet, given the great danger of nuclear radiation. Like Covid 19, you can’t see it, or smell it. Disasters at Chernobyl, Mount St Helens in Washington, and Fukushima in Japan (as well as some hushed up catastrophes) have continued to provide a warning plus the reality of danger. Now several nations have nuclear weapons; there hasn’t been a nuclear war yet, but peaceful uses of nuclear power seem fraught with danger too – has anyone figured out a safe way to dispose of nuclear waste, yet? Many nuclear power plants are now past their “best before” date, and in need of maintenance; unexpected climate disasters have exposed potential risks to nuclear plants.  What a world we live in!  

It seems as though everyone is angry at present: angry that delta has come to New Zealand, and we simply don’t know what’s ahead.  Still, we are well off here, except for those in Tamaki Makaurau.  This isn’t Prime Minister Ardern’s fault! Ngā mihi.