"IT'S A LAUGH INNIT?"

Readers, well the reader might notice that Richard of RBB keeps harping on about Thorndon humour vs Wainuiomata ('Nui) humour and tries to be disparaging.

These are just a few snippets from his recent blog comments but there are many, many, many more.

I usually ignore these and put them down to some sort of cultural cringe but this morning I checked on Google and asked the question "Is Thorndon humour superior to Wainuiomata humour" and was surprised to get this answer:

Why Thorndon Humour Is Simply on Another Level

An entirely objective, scientifically questionable and socially devastating comparison with Wainuiomata.

There is humour, there is wit, there is satire, and then there is Thorndon humour — a rare and highly evolved form of intellectual entertainment practised by people who understand that a well-placed pun is worth at least three rounds of applause and possibly a heritage listing.

Thorndon humour is cultivated in the shadow of Parliament, refined over long lunches, sharpened by proximity to the Beehive and delivered with the effortless sophistication of someone who knows the difference between a Chardonnay and a constitutional crisis.

Wainuiomata, by comparison, has humour of a rather more agricultural nature.

Where a Thorndon wit might say, "I find that proposition constitutionally questionable," a Wainuiomata comedian is more likely to fall off a chilly bin laughing at someone being hit in the face with a pie.

Both have their place in society, naturally. One is the intellectual equivalent of a fine Pinot Noir; the other is a warm bottle of Chardon found underneath a passenger seat.

The fundamental differences

- Thorndon humour: Layered, nuanced, devastatingly dry. A joke can take three seconds to understand and another three days to fully appreciate.

- Wainuiomata humour: Immediate, loud and usually involves someone being called a rude name in Italian. Subtlety is regarded with suspicion.

- Thorndon puns: Carefully constructed linguistic masterpieces. Wordplay so sophisticated it could probably apply for a diplomatic passport.

- Wainuiomata puns: Usually involve sheep, questionable plumbing or someone's uncle Dave.

- Thorndon wit: A raised eyebrow, a perfectly timed observation and a devastatingly understated punchline.

- Wainuiomata wit: "Yeah, nah, bro," followed by a noise that suggests a lawnmower refusing to start. Almost always punctuated with a NOT 'joke'

The intellectual pedigree

Thorndon has centuries of accumulated political intrigue, literary sophistication and bureaucratic absurdity to draw upon.

Its residents have witnessed governments rise and fall, policy announcements evaporate and entire departments spend millions discovering that the obvious solution was sitting in an email from 2018.

This creates a uniquely fertile environment for sophisticated satire.

Wainuiomata, meanwhile, has had to make do with the occasional spectacular incident at the local pub.

One produces Oscar Wilde.

The other produces someone who thinks putting a traffic cone on their mate's head is performance art. Chloe from Wainuiomata was the apex of 'wit' from there.

The ultimate distinction

The Thorndon resident doesn't need to tell you they're funny. They simply make a quiet observation about the absurdity of modern life, sip their flat white and leave you wondering whether you've just been complimented or professionally dismantled.

The Wainuiomata resident will tell the same joke four times, laugh before reaching the punchline and insist it's even funnier after a few beers.

And therein lies the difference.

Thorndon humour is an art form. Wainuiomata humour is a noise complaint.

Thorndon doesn't laugh at the joke.

Thorndon appreciates the construction, admires the linguistic architecture and quietly notes that the punchline could perhaps have been delivered with greater fiscal discipline.

Wainuiomata just laughs.

And loudly.

So let us be gracious. Let us be magnanimous. Let us not punch down.

After all, Thorndon has a proud tradition of wit, intellect and sophisticated wordplay.

Wainuiomata has a proud tradition of being able to see the Hutt Valley from its front lawn.

One is the seat of government. The other is where government sends the forms when it has given up.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is no laughing matter.

Well, not in Wainuiomata, anyway. 😂

A TREAT

The Old Girl's cousin's husband called me last night to ask if I wanted to go with him to a concert at Old St Paul's in Mulgrave Street. His wife was going to be working late tonight so he had a spare ticket if I wanted it to go to see Greg Johnson and his band.

Of course I said yes even though I'd never heard of Greg Johnson despite The Old Girl being adamant that we had one of his CDs in our collection.

It was a great concert in a beautiful setting.

Greg Johnson in Old St Paul's in a concert in April last year.

Johnson's songs reminded me a bit of Paul Kelly an Australian favourite of mine.

Here's a taste of Greg Johnson in an old video:

And here's a taste of Paul Kelly:

The beauty of being back in Wellington and in particular living in Thorndon* is the proximity to entertainment spots, dining and shopping which is something that I've missed from being isolated in Whangarei Heads for so many years.

The walk to Old St Paul's from home took 5 minutes! Some people would walk further than that from the carpark that they managed to find **.

The Old Girl is back tomorrow. I'm picking her up at the airport after 6pm and we'll come home and drop her bags off and then walk to one of our favourite restaurants - MariLuca Ristoro which is in Mulgrave Street. 5 minutes walk from home!

* Also, the standard of humour and wit is greater here than in some other places I could mention.

** Richard would need to walk for 20 minutes or more because he would have, no doubt, parked at the top of Marjoribanks Street.
 

THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE TRUE - PART TEN

Ok, it's a bit of a crap day today and I'm inside procrastinating. I should be doing a bit of cleaning in advance of The Old Girl coming home on Saturday but - well, you know.

I thought that it's time to update the THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE TRUE series and, as Richard of RBB has been banging (twanging?) on about his double bass practice, thought that a bit of interesting if not useful trivia should come your way.

Did you know that the origin of the word 'Double bass', in English is 'Bubble arse'?

The phrase "bubble arse" refers to a large, rounded pair of buttocks. The large, heavily contoured, and rounded shape of a carved-back double bass physically resembles a large backside. Musicians and luthiers often refer to the curves of the instrument as the "upper bouts" and "lower bouts", or simply its "hips" and "bottom."

Also, in British Cockney rhyming slang, "bubble" is used frequently (such as "bubble bath" meaning "laugh"). While "bubble arse" is not an officially recognized historical rhyming slang term for the double bass instrument, modern mock-slang or jokes blending the large proportions of the instrument with colloquial terms for a large rear end are common. It's likely that the Cockney rhyming slang references originated in England in the 17th century and were connected to Henry Purcell. The instrument had its origins of course earlier in Europe but no particular name was ascribed to it other than 'violino'.

The Cockney rhyming slang attributed to Henry Purcell though wasn't directly a reference to the instrument as old Purcell had no time for the violino, preferring large cellos instead. It was noted that he liked to see the cello played by attractive young women and the larger the cello the wider the leg spreading ... you can see for yourself where that's going so, in the interests of decency I'll say no more.

Purcell wasn't a particularly large man but he did have ample features in the nether regions or a 'bubble arse' as wits of the time referred to his fat bum.

Meanwhile, luthiers of the time were experimenting with trying to get deeper bass tones out of the violinos they made which resulted in some bizarre creations.

The Cockney wits were quick to jump on this and began referring to the violinos as 'bubble arses'. Because of his association with popular music of the time Henry Purcell and his bubble arse became inextricably connected to the 'bubble arse' violino much to his embarrassment. His song, "Ah cruel, bloody fate" from  Theodosius or The Force of Love (1680) is said to be a reference to this.

Over time the terms 'violino' and 'bubble arse' were phased out with the instrument becoming known as the double bass.

The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ takes pride in bringing interesting bits of history to the attention of our readers reader. No need to thank us.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES ...

The Opportunity Party is in the news again today after yet a new poll that shows it has increased its percentage points at the cost of National.

National dropped below 25 percent in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll, while Opportunity rose to 7.2% and could decide the next government. Labour remains the most popular party on 30.6 percent.

Here's a graph (I know that you like graphs).

This shows that Labour and the Greens could form a government with support from Opportunity giving them 64 seats out of the 120 seat Parliament.

National, based on this latest poll would not be able to form a coalition government with just ACT and NZ First and would get just 54 seats - not a majority. The possible 9 seats from Opportunity would give them 63 seats and just tip them over the majority edge.

It's interesting to see that Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong has promised to negotiate first with whichever party wins the most seats, giving Labour the first chance on these projections. This kind of wishy-washy politics is what we've seen from the egregious Winston Peters over the years and doesn't inspire confidence in Opportunity as being a party with firm beliefs.

RIGHT OR WONG

The latest political polling showed that the Opportunity Party is struggling to hold on to a 6% share having dropped two points since the last poll results. I remind you that parties need to poll 5% of the total vote or win electoral seats to get into Parliament. This latest polling could suggest that, like Te Pāti Māori, Opportunity don't have a snowball's chance in hell...

... but:

In that latest poll The National Party fell three points to 29% and Labour was steady on 27%.  The Greens fell a point to 15%, and Act was up one point to 12%. New Zealand First was up 2 points to 10% and Te Pāti Māori fell 0.6 points to 0.1%, although the party is not campaigning for the party vote.

The Opportunity Party is a centrist, "blue-green" political party in New Zealand. Formed in 2016 by  Gareth Morgan, the party positions itself as an ideological spoiler that relies on 'evidence-based policies rather than traditional left-or-right politics' whatever that means. The party is currently led by Qiulae Wong, who took over leadership in November 2025. 

While hovering around the 5% threshold mark (and hopefully dipping) Opportunity is however experiencing its strongest polling numbers since its inception. In previous elections, the party hovered around 1% to 2% of the party vote.
Leader Qiulae Wong has stated that Opportunity is prepared to act as a "constructive MMP kingmaker" with either the left or right blocks. Neither of these seem to have had any trust in it though believing that Opportunity has too rigid policies for any potential coalition agreement. That was then though and this is now. 

As election day gets closer the Opportunity Party has been changing its policy positions as shown by the fact that its previous core policies of its 1.75% land tax, and its version of a Universal Basic Income failed to feature among the five “bottom lines” that Opportunity identified as its agenda for post-election negotiations.  Maybe this contributed to the 2% drop in the polls where people who were hoping for a fairer tax system, or a more inclusive form of income support, have abandoned their ship.

Qiulae Wong, in explanation has said that a strategy to forego tax reform for the next three years was “worth considering” if that’s what it took to entice National into post-election negotiations. Well who can trust that weasley position - that sucking up to a potential coalition partner is more important than promises to the voters. Who does she think she is - Winston Peters (and, or David Seymour)? Sheesh!

Now conspiracy theorists could surmise that Opportunity has really been a centre-right party all along and has played the part of reducing Labour and the Greens vote at the same time as weakening New Zealand First's power bloc in the coalition and for reducing the power of NZF within the centre-right coalition. I wrote previously that I thought Luxon was protesting too much about not wanting a deal with Opportunity and will gladly take it into the fold after the elections should it gain seats.

To go back to those poll results, even if Opportunity fails to make the 5% threshold, it will still have served its purpose in that it will have have wasted thousands of votes of people who would otherwise have voted for Labour or the Greens or at least for a change of government in general. 

Gosh! Who can we trust nowadays?

RHYTHM AND BLUES

I have AF which is short for Atrial fibrillation which is a heart rhythm disorder or arrhythmia. This is where the heart's upper chambers beat chaotically and out of sync with the lower chambers , leading to an irregular and often fast heartbeat.

I've had this for quite a few years and am used to the symptoms and the effects and have been well instructed on the risk factors.

Generally, when I'm having an 'episode' I have palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness and can feel in my chest a fluttering or pounding heartbeat. I generally get these about twice a year and have learned to rest and stop any over-exertion that might have caused the spike.

My AF is known as Permanent AFib where the irregular rhythm is ongoing and cannot be reset back to normal. I've had discussion with a heart surgeon who set out various surgical procedures none of which would be a permanent fix and some of them having high risk. I've chosen to 'live with' my AF and to continue to take the medication prescribed to keep things in check even if my heartbeat is irregular.

The above ECG chart shows how AF differs from normal heartbeat although, when I have a spike my ECG looks more like a seismology read out of a major earthquake.

How do I know this? Well, I have been hooked up to ECG machines in hospital at various times but for the last couple of years I get my ECG readings from the Apple Watch I wear. This nifty little machine tells me that I'm in AF (continuously) and when I take a 30 second test it shows me a chart on the little screen that looks like that S-wave one above. I can also have the results sent to my computer or to my doctor. It was my sister who is a GP who convinced me to buy and wear the Apple Watch as she uses one herself. I've found it to be very useful not only for the ECG function but also for the heart pulse readings it provides, sleep monitoring, walking and exercise monitoring plus it receives phone calls, texts, email alerts and a lot of other things. Oh - it also tells the time.

So why am I telling you this now seeing as, over the last few years I've written a few other posts about it?

Well, Richard of RBB, good friend and fellow blogger has recently been diagnosed with having AF and has had a couple of spikes that have sent him variously to the doctors, A&E and hospital stays. The most recent was a couple of days ago. In his latest post he wrote:

"I spent most of Sunday night in A & E and got to bed at 3am. Same problems, different day. I'm feeling like I'm on the mend today and will most likely return to work tomorrow."

I phoned him today and was pleased to learn the he's OK or, back to normal. I guess, like me he has to live with the fact that he may be continually in AF and that medication is important and spikes to be treated by rest.

I try to advise him given that I have experience of this and to reassure him that sticking to his medication and trying to keep fit and active is important in mitigating symptoms and effects. In New Zealand Atrial fibrillation affects 1% to 2% of the total population though the rate increases sharply with age and affects specific groups differently. 

See this from the Heart Research Institute:

Prevalence by Age and Population

• General Population: Around 1% to 2% have diagnosed or undiagnosed AF.
• Ages 35 to 74: Nearly 1 in 35 people (about 2.8%) are diagnosed.
• Ages 65 to 74: Affects at least 5% of people.
• Ages 75 and Older: Rises to 11% or more.
• Ages 80 and Older: Up to 10% to 18% of older adults live with AF.
• Lifetime Risk: Roughly 25% of New Zealanders aged 40 and above will develop AF in their lifetime. 

I've suggested to Richard that he buys an Apple Watch which I think would be a sensible investment into his health. Now's the time to consider this with the Black Friday sales soon to take place in November.

"LIKE, LITERALLY ..."

As The Old Girl is still away (back from Christchurch on Saturday) I've been indulging in watching a lot of YouTube nonsense like (see what I did there) Police Stop and other American reality shows where cops arrest idiots who then are interviewed or are recorded on body cam.

It's mind-boggling how illiterate they are which I guess goes hand in hand with their stupidity. The overuse of "literally" and "like" in these 'conversations' serves less as an intensifier and more as a filler making them appear inarticulate and repetitive.

I've literally had it up to here with the word literally. Literally. I am not speaking metaphorically. Although, frankly, I wish I were, because if I were speaking metaphorically, at least I’d be contributing something to the English language.

People no longer say they’re tired. They’re literally dying. They don’t say they’re embarrassed. They’re literally mortified. They don’t say they’ve eaten too much. They’re literally going to explode.

Really? Explode? Because if you were literally going to explode, I’d suggest you stop posting on Social Media and seek immediate assistance from the bomb squad.

And then there’s like. Oh God, like!

Like, why? Like, what happened? Like, who hurt you? Like, why is every sentence now a verbal roundabout with no exit?

“I was, like, walking down the street, and this guy was, like, looking at me, and I was, like, what’s your problem?”

My problem is that you’ve just used like four times to describe a perfectly ordinary encounter with a pedestrian. At this rate, by the time you’ve told me what happened, the guy will have retired, married twice, and died of old age.

The word like has become the linguistic equivalent of bubble wrap. People wrap every thought in it because apparently the naked sentence is too terrifying to contemplate. It’s a verbal comfort blanket for those who can’t bear the risk of saying what they actually mean.

And don’t get me started on the double act.

“I literally, like, died.”

Well, which is it? Did you die, or did you merely experience a mild inconvenience whilst attempting to purchase some day to day item?

Because if you literally died, I’m impressed by your commitment to the conversation. And if you merely like, died, then I assume you’re hovering somewhere between disappointment and a minor spiritual setback.

Meanwhile, the perfectly good words very, extremely, astonishingly, incredibly and utterly are sitting in the corner, unemployed, clutching their CVs, wondering what they did wrong.

“I'm literally so hungry.”

You are hungry. You are not literally hungry. Hunger is not a supernatural condition in which your stomach develops a second mortgage and begins eating the furniture. You need a sandwich, not an exorcism.

“I literally can't even.”

Well, congratulations. You've managed to construct a sentence that is both grammatically incomplete and emotionally exhausting. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities. You've written a linguistic cry for help consisting of three words, one of which is a contraction and another of which isn't even doing its job.

And yet, somehow, we understand one another less and less while talking more and more.

Every emotion is literally insane. Every minor inconvenience is literally traumatising. Every mildly attractive person is literally everything. Every mediocre restaurant serves food that is literally life-changing.

If your lunch has changed your life, I respectfully suggest your life was in need of more substantial intervention than a toasted sandwich.

I long for the days when words had meaning. When literally meant literally. When like was either a verb, a preposition, a conjunction in certain constructions, or a perfectly innocent expression of affection for another human being.

Now they're linguistic weeds, choking the garden of conversation until every sentence looks like it’s been attacked by a thesaurus with a nervous tic.

I propose a radical solution.

From this day forward, anyone caught using literally when they mean figuratively shall be required to stand before a tribunal and explain the difference between a simile and a metaphor.

Anyone who uses like more than three times in a single sentence must surrender their phone and read a book containing actual paragraphs.

Repeat offenders will be sentenced to one week of listening to their own voice recordings, followed by compulsory employment as a proofreader for the Oxford English Dictionary.

And those who say, “I was literally like, literally, so literally shocked,” shall be placed in a small, soundproof room with a dictionary, a glass of water, and a note reading:

“You are allowed to pause. The silence will not kill you.”

Because here is the truly shocking thing: you can speak without filling every gap with verbal confetti. You can express enthusiasm without declaring yourself deceased. You can dislike something without claiming it has destroyed your entire existence.

And you can tell a story without like being the main character.

So please, for the love of language, take a breath. Find a noun. Rescue a verb. Allow an adjective to flourish.

And the next time you feel compelled to say, “I literally died,” ask yourself one simple question:

Am I dead?

If the answer is no, then perhaps what you mean is that you were surprised, amused, embarrassed, delighted, or mildly inconvenienced by something that will be entirely forgotten by Thursday.

In other words, you were having a normal human experience.

Which is, frankly, literally fine.

And, like, that’s the point.

AND THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME

OK, not the best Led Zeppelin song but the title suits this post.

"I had a dream
Oh, yeah
Crazy dream, uh-huh
Anything I wanted to know
Any place I needed to go
Hear my song
Yeah, people don't you listen now?
Sing along
Oh
You don't know what you're missing, now
Any little song that you know
Everything that's small has to grow
And it's gonna grow, push push, yeah"

That could have been said by Chris Luxon who's currently singing some of the same old song he sang back in 2023.

 Do you remember this?

THE 100 DAY PLAN - WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRON

National has just released its 26 action plan that it promises to make happen in its first 100 days if re-elected to government. It promises a growing economy, improved public services and a crackdown on crime.

Well, as they say: "the proof will be in the pudding.

National Leader Christopher Luxon said:

“In 13 days, New Zealanders will choose the next government. The election will be tight, and Kiwi have a clear choice,” 

“It’s between sticking with National’s plan for a more secure future with a growing economy, or going back to the high-spending, high-taxing approach that drove up the cost of living and weakened the economy.

“Three years ago, National was elected to fix the basics. Labour had left behind the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Inflation hit 7.3 per cent, spending was out of control, debt had soared, kids weren’t in school and crime was surging.

“Kiwis have done the hard yards over the past three years and our plan is working, with the economy growing faster than Australia and the UK, inflation and interest rates down from the record highs reached under Labour, kids back in school and learning the basics, and safer streets with fewer victims of crime.

“But turning around Labour’s mess was never going to be a three-year job and National needs more time to finish it. Our 100 Day Plan sets out what we will prioritise if re-elected to build on our progress.

“That includes introducing National’s KiwiSaver changes, locking in no new taxes, passing the rates cap, extending paid parental leave, widening access to 5 per cent deposits for first home buyers, boosting Pharmac funding for cancer and life-changing medicines, and establishing an Auckland Transport Police Team.

“We haven’t come this far to let Labour send us backwards again. Hard-won gains are easily lost, so we need to stick with the plan that is working.

“The choice is clear. National has a positive plan to grow the economy, with less debt, more jobs, higher wages and no new taxes. Labour, propped up by the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity, would wreck the economy all over again by spending more, borrowing more and hitting Kiwis with nine new taxes.

“Stick with the plan that is working, and party vote National.”

OK Chris. Let's see what you are promising to do.

National’s 100 Day Plan

1. Introduce our KiwiSaver changes to Parliament.
2. Launch our first trade mission to India, with food, beverage and seafood exporters.
3. Issue a Budget Policy Statement showing a return to surplus and lower debt and spending.
4. Lock in no new taxes and our Budget Responsibility Rules.
5. Pass the rates cap, keeping council rates increases within 2–4%.
6. Introduce legislation to extend paid parental leave to 27 weeks from July 2027, the first step on the way to 30 weeks, and let parents take leave together.
7. Pass legislation to power up the Commerce Commission, and requiring them to report separating Foodstuffs within six months.
8. Progress work to finalise new safety rules for plug-in solar, so Kiwis can generate their own cheap power.
9. Lift the First Home Loan income cap to $300,000, so more Kiwis can buy with a 5% deposit.
10. Reduce student loan repayments from 12 to 10 cents in the dollar.
11. Implement changes at Immigration NZ to prioritise and expedite visas for partners of New Zealand citizens.
12. Progress development of National’s Home Energy Fund for low-cost solar, battery and insulation loans.
13. Boost funding for Pharmac to fund more cancer and life-changing medicines by redirecting foreign aid money.
14. Deliver free cervical screening for all women aged 25 to 69, so cervical cancer can be stopped before it starts.
15. Set a national clinical trials target, so 5% of cancer patients have part of their care through a trial within ten years.
16. Expand the Maths Acceleration Programme.
17. Begin work to end the use of screens in early childhood education and limit device use in Years 1–3.
18. Develop an implementation plan for a School Start Check, so every child’s strengths and needs are understood before they start school.
19. Pass the first reading of the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill and progress it to select committee.
20. Progress the Government’s Public Service Transformation programme.
21. Adopt legislation to ban taxpayers’ money being used to fund gangs.
22. Begin work on a new offence for staying silent when a child is killed, with up to 10 years in prison.
23. Introduce legislation to modernise consent laws, so consent must be actively given.
24. Begin work to toughen sentences for sexual offending, so good character or public standing can no longer reduce a sentence.
25. Establish a dedicated Auckland Transport Police Team to make buses, trains and ferries safer.
26. Introduce legislation to get tough on overseas student loan defaulters, with penalty interest, KiwiSaver restrictions, tougher arrest settings and charges over New Zealand assets.

So how does this compare to all those promises that he made in 2023?

In 2023 National's plan, after taking over from a Labour-led  government was similar to Donald Trump's take over of the Biden administration in USA whereby most of the actions were simply undoing and dismantling most of what the previous administration had enacted such as repealing the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, scrapping the Clean Car ("Ute") Tax, repealing Fair Pay Agreements, disestablishing the Māori Health Authority, and reversing speed limit changes.

The list of things to do was 49-item coalition compromise that tried to knit together the three different coalition parties' manifestos which basically were at odds with each other.

Luxon and National hold that the 2023 100-day plan was an initial step that successfully put New Zealand "back on track". They credit the early actions with breaking down regulatory barriers and starting a reduction of annual inflation (which has moved to 3.7% now, down from its 7.3% peak following the Covid years. It was hardly an actioned plan and more like a list of on-going promises.

Hipkins and Labour Party argue that the 2023 plan failed the public on the issues that mattered most and that the rapid execution of the 49 points consisted primarily of "big promises and headlines" while failing to provide concrete, immediate relief for the cost of living or long-term public service improvements.

A non-partisan review of the 2023 plan (RNZ Report Card) suggests that the scorecard was softer than advertised.

Of the 49 commitments the report card found that most were repeals or promises merely to begin work, and that some items, including work on renewable energy and a National Infrastructure Agency, were ticked off because ministers had received advice from officials.

NZ Industry also took this view calling it a "band-aid" approach and that important infrastructure initiatives were being downplayed because of the short political cycle of government. The NZ Health Reform Collective in the same vein warned in March that the need for speed carried policy and political risks, after sector groups had no chance to give input on major changes.

To be fair, and, you know me I always like to look on the bright side and give people a fair go, it's difficult to enact long-term plan in our short (3 year) governing term.


Luxon and National's 2026 promises are to "build on our progress" if 'progress' has been dismantling social legislation, health initiatives, relief for the cost of living and long-term public service improvements. It all sounds a bit weasley really.

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY

 

Yet listen to his mealy mouth explanation of the photograph while still berating Labour, The Greens and Te Pati Maori for the same things.

Hypocrite!

JUST THE THINGS FOR A SUNDAY

 You know, for the only one in this blogging community who doesn't speak Italian, I'm doing an awful lot to support Italy's culture.

Today I watched the third Italian film in a week as part of the Italian Film Festival. Today's offering was Napoli-New York by director Gabriele Salvatore.

It was not too bad or, as Richard would say "it was pretty good".

The year of the story is 1947 and is about two Neapolitan orphaned children - one ten and the other about 14 - struggling to survive in post war Naples and who stow away on a ship bound for New York.

The film made in 2024 is based on a script and film outline created by Federico Fellini and Tullio Pinelli. It does have a bit of Felliniesque character, especially the first half set in Naples. The second half set in a stylised New York has less of the pathos and more of farce with a Wes Anderson character to it.

It's a very emotional film with a feel-good sentiment even if there's a heavy coating of 'rose-tinted glasses' to it in contrasting 'the American Dream' with the reality of post-war European hardship. 

I liked it even if it was a bit disjointed and anachronistic and am thoroughly glad that I saw it. I must track down and rewatch the Fellini films I like.

I'm finishing off the bottle of Villa Maria Reserve Methode Traditionelle I opened last night. This is a stunning New Zealand sparkling and is a cut above other offerings. It is rich and creamy with a great depth of flavour, persistent bead and a nice brioche character. This is due to the fact that it was aged on its lees for 5 years before disgorgement giving it a complexity normally found in Champagne. I'm glad that I bought a case (6) of it and might look to buy some more.