Mana Whakahono ā Rohe. Racism. "Quite frankly I despise them bc of it" @crosspartylines on ya Finlayson. satisfying for us to watch but lifelong Nat voters won't know this podcast exists. a shame, bc he's persuasive af & able to plant a seed of doubt come election time (not his goal ofc, but mine)

FFS. I knew the New Plymouth mayor is a twat. I just didn't realize he was that dim. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3610...

How funny that a big National Party billboard went up a few weeks ago on my road to town, boasting that they slashed inflation in half.

Today's new #garden post. jury.co.nz/2026/07/19/n...

Today's new #garden post. jury.co.nz/2026/07/19/n...

Interesting - or maybe not - that TV One covered Winston's ferry names but omitted reference to his 'snivelling wokesters'. Personally, I think his verbal abuse is more of a story than his presser to announce names for boats that may arrive after he is dead.

The light this morning, as I looked out the bedroom window, was pretty amazing. Not my choice of colour combo but the zoom brings them closer together than they are in reality.

I think this means "We have communicated with poultry farmers. We must prioritise The Economy. Endangered native birds are a drain on The Economy. Will nobody think of the poor chicken farmers", accompanied by crocodile tears (but no funding).

I was cleaning the bookcases and found this, which only people of a certain age will remember.

A sad day. We are farewelling our Dudley at 4pm. He is an SPCA rescue, nearing 16 and we have had him for over 11 years. There is so much wrong with him now that we agreed his time has come. He has been such a good boi.

Churches don't come much plainer and more utilitarian than the Anglican church in my local town of Whaitara but look at how beautiful this Magnolia campbellii is in the church grounds.

Dear New World, I do not in any way find grocery specials erotic. In fact, your advertisement is a total turn-off as well as being tasteless.

Amusing myself by hoping that Paul Henry gets elected but the left bloc wins. He will hate being an Opposition backbencher newbie.

"I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure". ~ Clarence Darrow, 1932

It is a perfect mid winter day here in Tikorangi.

There has been a silent murder beside me since I sat down to my muesli.

"New Zealand's wages were 6.4 percent below 2021's in real terms." I think that is measured at minimum wage level, so the poorest and most vulnerable.

Mānawatia a Matariki. The snow arrived just in time.

Dance All Around the World playing on RNZ. Distinctly sentimental from Corbyn Simpson and Blerta but it is so anchored in our personal memories from our uni days in Palm Nth. The organist, Alan, was a personal friend and one we have always been sad that we lost contact with.

So the country that gave us Boaty McBoatface may now elect Count Binface, a comedian wearing a rubbish tin on his head as an MP, being preferable to electing Farage??? I do appreciate British humour.

Was ready to confirm solar contract when I found they require 70% up front to confirm and there is a 9 to 10 week delay b4 they start. So $28k paid well in advance as an unsecured creditor and no negotiation. Is this normal for the industry?

'I don't think I have ever seen a flower that is larger than my head,' said our gardener of the banana flower.

I briefly confused Michael Lhaws (note the h - reference to his Whanganui days) with Matthew Hooten, wondering whether he was bored with The Post already and I think that may be an understandable mistake,

Podgy pidgie is barely letting the magnolia buds open before tucking in.

Te maunga today. The snow, it be a-meltin' fast, especially on the the western flanks.

I have 3 quotes for solar with battery. All 3 landed on the same size of system - 24 panels and 18kw of battery. Also all use the same battery and inverter gear and all ended up with a quote with a range of $300 between them. Still eyewateringly expensive but that seems to be fair price.

So any and every policy Labour announces will be greeting by 'how are they going to pay for it' as the stock response from the right? It is as though the opposition is not allowed to reprioritise or propose anything that costs money.

It snowed on te maunga! It is melting already but at least I could get a start on my seasonal photos of te magnolia me te maunga.

The storm with no name. New #garden post. jury.co.nz/2026/06/28/t...

New #garden post: jury.co.nz/2026/06/27/t... Pruning the pear tree, astounding epiphytes and why I do not trust AI as an accurate source of information.

TV1 News doing a story about roadside drug testing. Based on my personal experience, older pakeha women driving a late model EV mid morning on a weekday should beware. You too may be targeted by a cack-handed copper spending 20 minutes testing to find you negative.

Well there we were, hatches battened down, water carried, car in position with fully legal discharge cord and plug, multi board and extension cords, lamps and candles placed, dog dinners prepared for later and more - and power was restored. Bit of an anticlimax but thanks Powerco.

Boiling the jug for a cuppa. Now relocating the car to the back door so we set up for the evening with no mains power. At least we can run a multi plug so up to 4 plug ins indoors.

I shall try sardines on toast for lunch, I thought with fond memories of days past when I used to eat this. And promptly cut my finger quite badly on the sardine tin. Sardines dressed with blood may be a one-off.

When you phone the power company to report a power outage on your water pump and it turns out to rather more major than the usual pole fuse. We got a bit excited at getting traffic lights.

Te maunga June 21. 2026 - this very morning in fact. Same day in 2022 and 2018. It seems this winter so far has indeed been very mild.

I feel men's fashion has gone backwards since the bold 1970s. pulptastic.com/70s-mens-fas...

Today's new#garden post has a controversial question. Are clivias really just like agapanthus but with social pretensions? jury.co.nz/2026/06/21/r...

Made pork and bamboo wontons for the freezer and dinner. Worked out about $12 for 45 wontons which seems a bargain to me. Bamboo shoots home harvested last spring, blanched and frozen.

Shocked but not surprised, I was, to learn last night that the well site consents issued here by local councils have no requirement for companies to reinstate the sites when they decommission. That is a negotiation between the company and the landowner.

Somewhat of a tangent but the placard the bigot is holding makes me think that there should be "haughty spirit" parades as well as pride parades

I went to search the spelling of the NZ vernacular for epiphytes (gigi) only to find that AI, muscling in ahead of all other sources, already recognises me as the leading authority on this topic.

The flowering bulbs of May and June. jury.co.nz/2026/06/16/t...

Just $5 for a jar of pineapple and mango chutney wearing a cute yellow polka dot hat at the Inglewood market. Bargain.

Facebook just suggested I may wish to be friends with Barry Soper and I think I said OMG aloud. His profile pic is of him and Heather and I would rather poke out my eyes.

Held up at a random drug and alcohol test out the back of an industrial area because the policeman who is learning to use the tester thinks an old lady might be a drug user? He claimed it was a random stop but I doubt it.

I heard our sloganeering PM, he who wants more, more growth, more dairy, more mining, more tourism, more, more, more. Shame that means more emissions, more climate change but the need for MOAR GROWTH takes precedence for Mr More Luxon.

Living with Ralph is like living with bloody Goldilocks. He knows the only furniture he is allowed on is the window seat but, in a house full of bedrooms (5) with unoccupied beds, I swear he has tried every single one of them except ours. And we have never caught him on one.

I have been puzzled why we hear so little about the low NZ currency value. It is not volatile, it is low. But of course, a low dollar means considerably bigger returns for farmers and party donors who are exporters.