THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

I gave my neighbour Rod a ride to tennis. He has a shangeye and doesn't drive while using it. When you're in a confined space with Rod, you have to talk to try and stop him talking. He doesn't listen though because Rod is only interested in shangeyes and what you can kill with them. "My grandson is a brilliant shot with his shangeye. Really accurate. He shot a bush rat yesterday that was in the garden. He thinks it was a bush rat but his neighbour is complaining that her cat is missing. Never mind. My grandson is a really good shot." While it's not worth responding to Rod you can make up answers in your head like "who gives a fuck about your grandson?" or "hey! Watch where you're firing that thing" or "what colour cat was it?". You know, stuff like that. It makes the drive to tennis more bearable.

As you know, last week I didn't drive Rod to tennis. If I had I would have mentioned it in my blog seeing as you readers find what I write to be so riveting. The people at tennis didn't know nor care whether I'd given Rod a ride to tennis but I think that they were secretly pleased because he rode his bike to tennis. When Rod rides his bike he can't fire off shots with his shangeye and so is safer to have around. Quite a few of them gave me a nod and a wink and I think that it was due to me not giving Rod a ride to tennis. Or, that's what I think it was about. I checked to see that my flies weren't open though just to be sure as a couple of the old dames at tennis are a bit frisky. They tell me that I play very well, almost as well as their nephews, cousins, children and grandchildren but I don't really believe them. I think that they are just sucking up so that I don't give Rod a ride in my car to tennis. They admire my tennis racket as well and say things like "Wow! That's a big one" or "you can serve me anytime you want you know". You know, stuff like that.

On the local Facebook pages (formerly known as Neighbourly) that I check for local news there's a tennis coach who advertises lessons. He posts videos of him playing and teaching kids to play. He says that you don't need to have your eyes open to play as by using Zen techniques a good player can just sense where the ball will be. He also advocates taking the strings out of your racket to make the stroke more fluid and unaffected by wind resistance.

Personally I think that he's full of shit (or marijuana) so will not be following his silly advice.

Quite a few people up here don't really like Facebook and Zen tennis teachers and their ilk because quite frankly they prefer to live in their own alternative life-styles living in the bushes. They listen to odd voices in their heads and some even profess to believing in some god who created the world. Many of them also believe that Donald Trump is a saintly person and deserves to go to heaven so there you go. I don't have much truck with them because they are even worse than Rod and don't just have shangeyes - they have guns and like to call the shots. They are not unlike those rednecks and anti-establishment people in and around Otorohanga and Waitomo in that regard.

So, what if people don't like my particular style of tennis playing, the one where I basically hold my position and use cunning spin shots to devastating effect without the use of Zen, god or any religion? "Tough cookies!" I say.

FOR ROBERT

This will make Robert's day. A US politician who he admires for his anti-abortion (and probably anti-women) beliefs has told the world of his greatest wish:

He can join all the other crooks liars and charlatans who have disguised their transgressions with religious puffery - assuming (and I don't) that there is such a thing as a god, heaven, angels and virgin mothers.

Trump, should he get to heaven would no doubt want to rearrange things and redecorate because he believes that he's a great builder:

Just think how Robert's heaven would look once 'the Master Builder gets his tacky little paws on it:

"You can't have too much gold"

**BREAKING NEWS**

Wainuiomata might be without a bugler at the Remembrance ceremonies this November:

Yes, you heard it here (since no one reads Richard's blog posts) - Richard is spitting the dummy rather than spitting in his green trumpet and may not turn up on the day.

I guess that the 'Nui' organisers will have to make other arrangements.

MISSED IT*

* No doubt the 'wit' from Wainuiomata would have written that as 'Miss Tit'.

Oh well, he's getting there - halfway now.

The moon eclipse was yesterday and I missed it as I was unaware of the event. It's a pity as I was awake watching world cup rugby highlights on my iPad but hadn't yet opened the bedroom curtains.

Someone else from McLeod Bay where I live was up and about though and took and posted this photo on Facebook:

The next blood moon, visible from New Zealand, will be late in the evening on March 3, 2026. I guess I'll be in Wellington to see that. Maybe Richard will have fully qualified as a wit by then.

BENEDICT ARNOLD ...

 ... sorry, I meant Stuart Nash...

... not this guy:

Benedict Arnold was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the war, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army and placed in command of the American Legion. He led British forces in battle against the army which he had once commanded, and his name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.

Stuart Nash is a New Zealand politician (great-grandson of Sir Walter Nash, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960). He was a member of the House of Representatives for Labour from 2008 to 2011, and was re-elected in the 2014 election. In October 2017 Nash entered the Labour Cabinet with portfolios of Police, Revenue, Small Business and Fisheries. In the second term of government Nash was handed the Economic Development, Tourism, Forestry, and Small Business portfolios. In 2023 he was sacked from Cabinet for breaching confidentiality by emailing donors about policy discussions and Nash confirmed that he would not be contesting the 2023 election. Nash has now declared his allegiance to NZ First, telling the party’s members Labour has “abandoned” working people. On Saturday he was a guest speaker at NZ First’s annual convention, rejecting the Labour party and declaring his support for Peters’ economic nationalist party, which is in coalition Government with the National Party.

Yes, I can see why I confused these two people.

THE LAST RIDE*

THE LAST RIDE

As it was such a stunning morning I went to golf.

I've just resigned from the golf club, as in notified them that I wouldn't be renewing my membership on October 1st. This means that my membership is valid until the end of this month.

As I haven't played much over the last few months I thought that I'd get as many games in as I can over the next few weeks. I played badly. Very badly - like crap!

Never mind. It was a lovely walk - walk being the operative term as I stopped hitting (and losing) golf  balls after the first three holes and meandered my way back to the carpark.

When there, and about to load my clubs and trundler into the car I noticed that my seat was missing. WTF?

I retraced my path and fortunately not far away found my seat.

** Recreation of the discovery**

I don't often use the seat for sitting on but it has a lift up lid and in the box I keep my phone, tees, golf balls, sunglasses etc. so, it is important.

Here's a pic showing where it should be located:

I trust that this has been of interest.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

 

"I didn't get where I am today by using acronyms. Begone social media trolls!"

BUSKING

 

WILLCOMMEN

Robert hasn't mentioned attending Mass much recently so I'm not sure if he is still going several times a week.

I hope that he's still holding onto his faith as per one of his favourite songs:

“Sectare fidem” is our rule
We’ll hold our faith while we have breath.
Loyal to home, Church, Crown and School
St Patrick’s sons we’ll remain till death."

Mind you, if he's still attending this arcane theatrical event where the attendees believe that the Eucharist is not a symbol, but the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ and that to receive Jesus in Holy Communion requires preparation beforehand by attending Confession and total adherence to everything that the Catholic Church teaches - there's something he needs to know - he'd better get there early to secure a good seat. Whew!

"Why do you say that The Curmudgeon?" I hear some of you readers ask.

Well, get this:

POPE LEO CONFIRMS POPE FRANCIS'S RULING ON LGBQT CATHOLICS

"We are looking to be more welcoming and more open and to say all people are welcome in the church.” Pope Leo (as Rev. Robert Prevost) previously said.

No doubt LGBQT Catholics will be flocking to Masses - and why not? It's good theatre and the main characters, the priests, altar boys and other attendants all wear frocks. What's not to like?

One of my favourite songs is that 'Willcommen' one from the excellent film Cabaret that I posted above.

FORTY YEARS AGO

It was my sister's 40th wedding anniversary on the weekend. I went to Edinburgh in 1985 to attend. Here's a pic of my brother in-law helping me into my kilt for the occasion.

Mickey Mouse is keeping an eye on proceedings.

The Old Girl suggested yesterday that we should do the Ghan train trip in Australia to celebrate. We like train trips. As this one is so popular she said that booking a couple of years ahead is necessary. I'd better get on to it as I won't be popular if I do my usual and leave it to the last minute.

"The Ghan is an experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide-Dawin rail corridor.

... its scheduled travelling time, including extended stops for passengers to do off-train tours, is 53 hours 15 minutes to travel the 2,979 kilometres.  The Ghan has been described as one of the world's greatest passenger trains."

        Wikipedia 

 

RUMOURS OF HIS DEATH HAVE BEEN SLIGHTLY EXAGGERATED*

 * With apologies to Mark twain and his famous quote:  "The report of my death was an exaggeration".

The Real Quote:
When Twain's obituary was mistakenly printed, he sent the following cable to the American press from London: "The report of my death was an exaggeration".

The Misquotation:
The phrase is often misquoted as "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" or "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated". The quote, often cited as a death rumor denial by Mark Twain, is actually a famous misquotation, with the original wording in a 1897 cable to the press being, "The report of my death was an exaggeration". Twain, who was alive and abroad at the time, sent the message after mistakenly published obituaries appeared in the United States.

The Quote and its Origin
The Real Quote:
When Twain's obituary was mistakenly printed, he sent the following cable to the American press from London: "The report of my death was an exaggeration".

The Misquotation:
The phrase is often misquoted as "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" or "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated".

Donald Trump and his entourage have been busy over the last couple of days assuring people that he's not dead and posting pictures of him 'out and about' ...

... supposedly on his way to play a round of golf but, that picture, if it's the best that they can do doesn't do a lot to dispel the rumours.

 

SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND

I wanted to find out what happened to the Latin teachers at St Patrick's College who taught between 1966 and 1970 but had no luck.

I did find though, on an encyclopedia website a potted history of St Patrick's that you might find interesting.

St Patrick's College, Wellington


.

Type: State integrated Catholic Non-profit All-boys secondary education institution
Motto: Sectare Fidem
(Hold Firm to the Faith)
Established 1885; 140 years ago
Founder Archbishop Francis Redwood

Grades: Form 3 to Form 7 later to become grades 9 - 13
Gender: Boys

Socio-economic decile 8P

St Patrick's College is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in Wellington and from 1885 to 1979 was based at Cambridge Terrace Wellington. 

History



Founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood SM, St Patrick's opened on 1 June 1885 with nine day boys and twelve boarders.

The college represents one of the earliest educational establishments of the Society of Mary (Marists), the religious congregation whose members accompanied Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier to New Zealand in 1838, and who played a prominent role in the establishment of the Catholic church in New Zealand. The first members of staff, Irish Marists who came principally from the Marist College at Dundalk, established a number of Marist colleges such as St Bede's College, Christchurch and St John's College, Hastings in New Zealand.

Plans in 1929 envisaged the college moving to a more suitable site at Silverstream in the Hutt Valley, but a high demand for education eventually led to a split in 1931: the original establishment continued and the boarding section moved to become St Patrick's College, Silverstream, thus allowing room for the expansion of day-student numbers on the Cambridge Terrace site in central Wellington city.

From that time the city college has borne the nickname "St Pat's Town". The two separate Colleges bearing the same name have developed a shared history and a healthy rivalry: they share the St Patrick's College Old Boys' Association also. In 1979, St Patrick's College shifted from its Cambridge Terrace site to a new facility near Kilbirnie Park in Evans Bay.

Sport

Aside from the winter and summer tournament weeks, major events on the calendar include:Old Boys' Cup – Annual Athletics competition against brother college St Patrick's Silverstream. St Pat's Town won 11 Consecutive titles between 2011 and 2022

McEvedy Shield – Annual Athletics competition against 3 other colleges in the Wellington region including Rongotai College, Wellington College and St Patrick's Silverstream. The shield was donated in 1922 by Dr P F McEvedy. A highlight was in 1970 when Peter McDonald joined the athletics team and represented the school in hurdling events.

1st XV Rugby Union season – Involving Rongotai College, Wellington College, Hato Paora College, St John's College, St Patrick's College Silverstream, Francis Douglas Memorial College and St Bedes College (2014 will be the first time the traditional has been played since the 1970s). The Traditional Rugby match between St Pat's Town and Wellington College is recognised as one of the great rivalries in New Zealand secondary school rugby, due to the fact that the two schools were, for nearly a century, in close proximity to each other by the Basin Reserve and also that it is one of the longest standing traditional fixtures in the country, having been played since 1885. As of 2010, Wellington College have won 75 matches, St Pat's have won 43 matches, with 8 matches being drawn. The first rugby game televised live in New Zealand was this traditional fixture, at Athletic Park on 27 June 1967, with St Pat's winning 9–8. The 100th match was drawn 3–3 in 1984.

While the school's 1st XV performed admirably over the yeras nothing could compare with the 2B rugby team in 1970 which went through the entire season unbeaten thanks to the contribution made by winger and centre Peter McDonald.

St John's College Sports Exchange – Annual winter sports exchange between the two schools in rugby, basketball, soccer, hockey and badminton. The venue of this event alternates each year, i.e. In 2005 it was held at St Pat's and in 2006 it was held at St John's.

St Pat's Silverstream Sports Exchange – Annual winter sports exchange between the two schools in rugby, basketball, soccer, badminton, hockey and cross country running. The venue of this event alternates each year, i.e. In 2005 it was held at St Pat's Silverstream and in 2006 it was held at St Pat's Town and so forth.
Wellington College Sports Exchange – Annual winter sports exchange involving the 1st XV rugby team and the 1st XI soccer team. The venue of this event alternates each year: in 2005 it took place at St Pat's Town and in 2006 at Wellington College.

St Pat's Town has produced 17 All Blacks, including two All Black captains, Maurice Brownlie and Jerry Collins. Others include E. Harper, G. McKenzie, T. Lynch, P. Markham, L. Brownlie, P. McCarthy, J. Blake, T. Corkill, A. Mahoney, J. Best (transferred to Silverstream in 1931), R. O'Callaghan, B. Finlay, and M. Berry (1st All Black from Kilbirnie site).

The St. Patrick's College Rugby Club formally became a member of the Wellington Rugby Football Union on 26 March 1886, with Messrs Saunders and McMahon the first Club delegates to the Union.

Culture

The college choir, Con Anima, were regular attendees of the national finale between 1999 – 2009. (They would usually receive Silver or Gold Awards) Con Anima, won the national platinum award in 2004. After a 6-year hiatus from making the national finale, Con Anima made the national finale in 2015 where they received a Silver award. In 2018, Con Anima qualified for the national finale where they received a Bronze award. They again qualified for the national finale in 2023, again receiving a Bronze Award. The choir have produced five albums, and sing under the direction of HOD music, Roger Powdrell. Their most recent CD, Jubilation, was launched to commemorate the 125th Jubilee of St Patrick's College. The college has a proud history in the art of A Capella singing, with many significant national placings, including 3 national quartet championships, 3 national chorus championships and 2 chorus silver medals. Most recently, the quartet Fourth Inversion set an international secondary scoring record with an average score of 75.1 in 2015. The Saints Chorus are the three-time 2010, 2011 & 2013 NZ Male Chorus Champions. They attended the 2011 BHS International Youth Chorus Festival in Las Vegas, NV USA, where they placed in the Top 10 and were the highest placed secondary school chorus in this International Contest.

Notable staff David Kennedy – priest, astronomer and educator
Paul Martin – archbishop
Doug Walker, head of science at St Patrick's College, Kilbirnie, science teacher of the year, winner of 2022 Prime Minister's Science Teacher prize.

Notable alumni
Main category:

People educated at St Patrick's College, Wellington

The arts 

Geoff Cochrane – poet
Richard Farrell – classical pianist
Alex Galvin – film director
Michael Galvin – actor, most notably on Shortland Street
Pua Magasiva – actor
Robbie Magasiva – actor
Geoff Murphy – film director

Peter McDonald - celebrated blogger, accomplished punster and collector of paintings and creator of The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ

Science

James Brontë Gatenby – professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at Trinity College, Dublin
Athol Rafter – teacher, nuclear chemist

Peter McDonald - celebrated blogger and hobby scientist

Public service 

Paul Eagle – Labour member of parliament for Rongotai and former Deputy Mayor of Wellington
Chris Finlayson – National Party member of parliament, cabinet minister and Attorney-General of New Zealand

Peter McDonald - founding member of The White Sportcoat and Pink Carnation Society, committee member of his local tennis club and ex Civil Defence volunteer
Lou Gardiner – Chief of Army, 2006 to 2009.
Denis McGrath CBE – Deputy Mayor of Wellington (1962–65)
Greg O'Connor – Labour member of parliament for Ohariu and former President of the New Zealand Police Association
Phillip O'Shea – New Zealand Herald of Arms Extraordinary
Paul Swain – former Labour member of parliament and cabinet minister

Religion

Thomas O'Shea – former archbishop of Wellington
John Rodgers – Vicar Apostolic of Tonga (1953–1957), Vicar Apostolic of Tonga and Niue (1957–1966), Bishop of Tonga (1966–1973), Bishop of Rarotonga (1973–1977), auxiliary bishop of Auckland (1977–1985), superior of the mission, Funafuti, Tuvalu (1986).
Thomas Williams – cardinal, former archbishop of Wellington, patron of the college

Peter McDonald - ex altar boy, ex sacristan, founder of the Church of the Blessed Curmudgeon
Soane Patita Paini Mafi – member of the College of Cardinals and Bishop of Tonga & Niue

Sport

Arnold Tancred – Wallaby 1927–28 and President of the New South Wales Rugby Union 1959.
Kosta Barbarouses – footballer (Wellington Phoenix FC, All Whites, Brisbane Roar FC)
Maurice Brownlie – rugby union player (All Blacks)

Peter McDonald - tennis player (Whangarei Heads Tennis Club)
Tinoi Christie – footballer (All Whites)
Jerry Collins – rugby union player (Wellington Lions, Hurricanes, All Blacks)
Peter Delaney – New Zealand Olympic Rower (1964 Summer Olympics)
Lome Fa'atau – rugby union player (Wellington Lions, Hurricanes, Manu Samoa)
Alehana Mara – rugby league player (NZ Warriors)

Peter McDonald - rugby league player 1958 - 1960 Marist Wellington coached by Kiwis captain Colin O'Neill
Jonathan Millmow – cricketer (Black Caps, Wellington)[20]
Gareth Paddison – professional golfer (PGA Tour of Australasia)
Quentin Rew – New Zealand Olympian (London Olympics)
Clayton Lewis – footballer (Scunthorpe United F.C., All Whites)
Matt Proctor – rugby union player (Wellington Lions, Hurricanes, All Blacks)
Liberato Cacace – footballer (Wellington Phoenix FC, All Whites)

Peter McDonald - rugby player played for Athletic Rugby Club under 19s
Brian Lima – rugby union player (Auckland, Blues, Highlanders, Manu Samoa)
Izayah Le'afa – basketball player
Tom Vodanovich – basketball player

Other

Tipene O'Regan – kaumātua of Ngāi Tahu

Peter McDonald - blogger
Frank Renouf – businessman and philanthropist

BLACK IS THE NEW ORANGE

blacked
verb

refuse to handle (goods), undertake (work), or have dealings with (a person or business) as a way of taking industrial action.

*****************

Whatever happened to Father Orange?

There was a time when Robert banged on about him weekly or at least regularly, reposting his sermons and other things said from the pulpit (as per that particular week's Vatican propaganda instructions).

Recently Father Orange seems to have been 'blacked' with Robert skiving off to Feilding on the weekends instead of frequenting poor old Orange's Mass.

I wonder if Father Orange misses Robert?

Maybe not as he is a pretty good artist and has his painting to keep him occupied.

I'm sure that the person who has been able to snaffle Robert's favourite spot at Mass - up the back in the comfy chair next to the statue of the Virgin Mary - doesn't miss Robert either.

Who will run the Church shop though?

HURD OR UNHEARD?

Wellington's Carillon at The National War Memorial of New Zealand.

To follow is some edited information from Wikipedia and NZ History on the origins and current status of the Carillon:

The National War Memorial of New Zealand is located next to the Dominion Museum building on Buckle Street, in Wellington. The war memorial was dedicated in 1932 on Anzac Day (25 April) in commemoration of the First World War. It also officially remembers the New Zealanders who gave their lives in the South African War, World War Two and the wars in Korea\, Malaysia and Vietnam. 
The War Memorial consists of the War Memorial Carillon, the Hall of Memories, and an unknown New Zealand warrior interred in a tomb constructed in 2004 in front of the Hall of Memories. It was registered in 1990 by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 Historic Place.

The Carillon had its beginnings in 1927 when the Wellington War Memorial Carillon Society placed an order to cast 49 bells for their proposed First World War memorial. The Society offered citizens the opportunity to purchase one of the 49 bells that would make up the instrument and within a week the sponsorship for the bells were oversubscribed. Thirty three were dedicated to next-of-kin and the remainder to battles, military units or other groups.

Having allocated the bells, the Society arranged for the casting to be done at at a foundry in Croydon, South London, in late 1927.  Once this was done the tower building got underway.

Following a design competition for the complex and further fundraising to cover the costs of the project, construction on the bell tower began in 1931 and less than a year later, on Anzac Day 1932, the new 50-metre-high National War Memorial Carillon was dedicated. 

Since 1984 the carillon has been substantially rebuilt and enlarged. Twenty mid-range bells have been replaced with 21 smaller treble bells and 4 large bass bells, extending the total range to 6 octaves. The four bass bells were added in 1995 and are named "Grace/Aroha", "Hope/Tūmanako",

Remembrance/Whakamaharatanga", and "Peace/Rangimārie". The carillon currently has 74 bells, with the "Peace/Rangimārie" bell weighing 12.5 tonnes, making it the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The carillon ranks as the third-largest in the world by total weight.

The carillonist sits at a clavier or keyboard and uses his or her hands and feet to strike wooden keys and pedals which are each connected by a wire to a clapper inside a bell. When a key or pedal pulls on the wire, the clapper strikes the bell to create a sound. The bell itself doesn't move. 

Keyboard for the carillon

Since the opening of the National War Memorial Carillon in 1932 there have only been four official carillonists: Gladys Watkins, John Randal, Selwyn Baker and Timothy Hurd.

In past years Anzac Day and specific battle commemorations had special places in the annual schedule of events. The carillon was played in over 200 hours of live concerts per year and a comprehensive domestic and international carillon teaching programme was conducted under the direction of the National Carillonist, Timothy Hurd...

... In August 2025 however the Ministry of Culture and Heritage announced that it was planning to disestablish the carillonist role - the position that Timothy Hurd has occupied for around 40 years!

Some soulless bureaucrat from the department said that it is a cost cutting exercise and non-essential roles are being disestablished.

"Our intention is to have the carillon played every Anzac Day," the Ministry of Culture and Heritage said.

The tower is scheduled to reopen by Anzac Day 2026  and Hurd's job is set to be disestablished that same week!

This followed months of him working to refurbish the complicated instrument and advising builders how to strengthen the bell frame in the $10 million dollar upgrade.

The ministry's internal report said it might hire a contractor to play it. Its website said the carillon would be "fully usable" once restored.

"We are still working through the details of how that will happen, as part of our change process" a ministry spokesperson said.

Yeah right. From my experience external contractors end up costing more than salaried employees and how many carillon-playing contractors are there out there available at short notice to play a complicated 'machine'?

What the fuck! If anyone needs to be booted out it's the minister for Culture and Heritage and the lackey who's making those stupid statements.

I love the Carillon, having lived in Wellington for my first 30 years. My first primary school was St Joseph's in Buckle Street and the Carillon towered over us and the sound of the bells was magical.

My secondary school was St Patrick's College, also in Buckle Street (on the same site of the old St Joseph's) and in the 1960s the sound of the bells was reassuring and welcomed.

As a small child my brother and I played (not the Carillon keyboard) inside the Carillon while my dad was doing work on both the interior and exterior of the tower. I mentioned this in an earlier post: HOMETOWN

Am I the only one thinking that The Ministry for Culture and Heritage is a classical misnomer?

STAYING ALIVE

 When I was about 12 I subscribed to Unesco's magazine The Courier for a couple of years.

It was expensive, being a specialist publication that was airmailed on subscription. I purchased these for a couple of years between 1964 and 1966, using my pocket money and earnings from lawn mowing and newspaper rounds. I can't remember why I stopped the subscription and don't have a clue where the magazines ended up.

The subject matter was serious, especially for a boy of my age but somewhere the information lodged in my brain and memory - for the good I think.

 Here are some examples of the themes of the publications at the time:

As you can see, not up to the interest factor of weekly comics like The Victor I also subscribed to or those MAN magazines my older brother and his friends had hidden.

I found out about the United Nations, UNESCO and UNESCO's The Courier in social studies class at Marist Newtown in Standard Four. Obviously I was motivated enough to outlay a big chunk of my 'earnings' for the subscription. I'll be honest here - I found the content to be rather boring and regretted the outlay but - I'm stubborn and would not admit this to family and friends for quite some time (nearly two years) before I quietly cancelled the subscription.

***************

"So where is that going?" an impatient and grumpy relief teacher in Upper Hutt might ask.

I was thinking that often we are either too lazy or distracted to take the time and effort to keep informed on important issues even though, in our modern times information is so readily available to us via radio, television, the internet, social media platforms - on our computers, iPads and phones. A 12 year old today doesn't have to regularly go to the post office to buy a postal order to post to the USA for a subscription to an obscure magazine. That 12 year old today can simply look up multiple apps on their phone and immediately, and for free, get all the information one could possibly want ... if they could be bothered.

Today at age 73 I'm much lazier than I was at 12 but I still like to keep informed. I don't have the focus I once had and tend to jump about a bit in my reading and viewing but like to think that I'm at least average and because I read across a fairly wide spectrum, am balanced.

I rarely watch TV news because it is too narrow-focussed and, to be fair, I've already caught up on almost everything that they broadcast via the news media I read and watch. I use Flipboard on my iPad to read news reports from agencies like BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, MSNBC, NYT etc and find MSNBC the best for USA reporting and analysis. On the TV I use Youtube to watch news videos and again follow MSNBC reporters and presenters like Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, Katy Tur, Stephanie Ruhl, Ari Melber and others. They are intelligent and dedicated reporters who put together concise essays and conduct panels on the most current situations - well worth watching.

Relevant to this post is a report from Nicolle Wallace on the insidious creep of authoritarianism and fascist rule in USA. Other s have also written and presented on this but have a look at this:

Unless we keep up to date with events and take an active interest in things that ultimately affect our lives we will, like that frog, end up boiled before we become aware of the danger.

And now it's all right, it's okay
And you may look the other way
But we can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're gettin' boiled alive, boiled alive

Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'
And we're gettin' boiled alive, boiled alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, boiled alive, boiled alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, boiled alive

 

WATCHING AND WAITING

 

It's a bit of a waiting game here with some interested house buyers yet to make an offer.

The agent told us that they were considering submitting a 'clean offer':

A clean offer in New Zealand is typically an unconditional offer, meaning it has no conditions attached, is appealing to sellers as it reduces risk and speeds up the process. However, a truly "clean" offer from a buyer's perspective is one that includes all necessary due diligence, such as finance confirmation, satisfactory property inspection, and LIM report, along with legal checks, before it becomes unconditional. To make your offer "clean" for a seller, it must be financially sound, and for your own protection, it should be preceded by thorough property research and legal advice from a lawyer or conveyancer.

This would be very acceptable and in fact we might accept. The trouble is that nearly a week has gone by and we have yet to receive 'the offer'.

I know that they are busy people - she is a barrister and he a top government worker but .... it is frustrating.

******************

Do you like the Moody Blues music video? It's nice isn't it?

No doubt though Richard would get three tree fellers in to chop down the beautiful oak tree.

Robert will obviously complain that the song is heretical as it presupposes 'God' as being nature and there are no references to virgin births, transubstantiation, ascensions, assumptions, bilocations, flagellation and the erotic fantasies of Saint Faustina but ... hey ho, it's lyrical and just the thing to raise spirits on a wintry Tuesday morning.

"Watching and waiting
For a friend to play with
Why have I been alone so long
Mole he is burrowing his way to the sunlight
He knows there's some there so strong
'Cause here there's lot of room for doing
The thing you've always been denied
Look and gather all you want to
There's no one here to stop you trying
Soon you will see me
'Cause I'll be all around you
But where I come from I can't tell
But don't be alarmed by my fields and my forests
They're here for only you to share
'Cause here there's lot of room for doing
The things you've always been denied
So look and gather all you want to
There's no one here to stop you trying
Watching and waiting
For someone to understand me
I hope it won't be very long"

WATCHING THE ELECTIVES*

 *Elective: Something that's elective is optional — you can choose to do it, or not.

I've been watching the Women's World Cup Rugby 2025 and it's proving to be just as exciting as the last world cup series.

One of the noticeable differences is the prevalence of elective try celebrations which I didn't notice so much in earlier tournaments.

Sports scoring celebrations are actions performed by a player, often the goalscorer, to express joy, pride, and triumph after a successful play, and can range from simple gestures to choreographed routines, though excessive celebrations that delay the restart of play may be penalized. Celebrations are more common and elaborate in lower-scoring sports like football, and famous examples include Cristiano Ronaldo's "Siu" and the "Ickey Shuffle".

       Thanks Google's AI Overview

It's nice I guess to see players taking pride in their achievements but like so many things in our social media obsessed age this is being taken over the top and the planned little routines, to me, are a pain in the arse.

Especially the elaborate and rehearsed ones.

Sheesh!

When I played rugby at secondary school and university I didn't have any victory celebrations planned for when I scored tries and neither did my teammates.

Of course Richard wouldn't have needed to have anything planned - he was a forward.

Somehow this Elvis Costello song seems appropriate.

 

Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs
She is watching the detectives
"Ooh, it's so cute" .....

U CAN'T DRIVE THERE

Richard 'wrote' a song about cycle lanes in Wellington. This was spurred by a recent post where I ranted on the new bus and cycle lanes that Wellington Council has installed for no better reason than to piss off out of town visitors.

He also took a shot, on a post, at bicycle lanes. I agree with him there. You only see a few bicycles using them, with the loss of many carparks and now narrow roads.

Maybe there's a song in all that?


Am E7

So, you head on out to visit a shop.

Dm Am

All you need is somewhere to stop.

Dm Am

Ah, what a pain!

C D7 E7

All I see is bloody bike lanes!

It's a good effort.

As I can't write music I've chosen to borrow M.C. Hammer's 'U Can't Touch This' song music as seen here:

Changed lyrics to this music could be:

[Chorus]

You can't stop there

You can't drive here

You can't even look here

You can't go anywhere

[Verse 1]
Why, why, why does the council hit me so hard?
Makes me say "Oh my, what bastards"
Thank you NOT for messin' with me who has to find a place to be

It doesn't feel good, when you're from out of town

And don't know what's goin' down

I say it sucks and it cost me bucks

You can't drive here!

[Chorus]

You can't stop there

You can't drive here

You can't even look here

You can't go anywhere

IS HIS RIDE HERE?

Sorry for any obtuseness but I like this song.

If you've been watching the news recently you will have seen lots of poor decisions made by NZ First and not all of them have been made by Shane Jones. Winston Peters is still capable of, no, not 'still capable' - he's still capable of making a balls-up and bringing New Zealand into disrepute.

New Zealand has often punched above its weight on the world stage with influence on the outcome of two world wars and the worthy and recognised anti-nuclear stands presented by prime ministers Norman Kirk and David Lange. Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern have also worthily carried the flag with Ardern's response to the Christchurch mosque shootings and her handling of the COVID pandemic being world class (although many idiots still cannot recognise this). 

All too often though we've been let down on the world stage by the likes of John Key who prostrated himself before a very unfunny American comedy show presenter (David Letterman) making the excellent Flight of the Conchords TV series so much more relevant.

Winston Peters has been lurking on the fringes for the last half a century - not fortunately, as prime minister - but in senior enough (as unbelievable as that may seem - thank you not MMP) positions to put him 'on the world stage'.

You might have noticed over the last few days that  Winston Peters refused to sign the Foreign Ministers’ letter condemning illegal Israeli settlements.

This is a retrograde step for New Zealand’s foreign policy and has Winston Peters’ name all over it - well, all except for his signature on the bloody LETTER. This LETTER was signed by 21 foreign ministers and condemned Israel’s approval for a new illegal Israel settlement in the occupied West Bank of Palestine.

The signatories include the foreign ministers from three of the  'five eyes' countries – Australian, Canada and the UK with very noticeably USA and New Zealand not being included. Other countries are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Well done Winston.

'NOT' (as that comedically-challenged guy from Whytheheckdoesitmatter would say).

In past years New Zealand has condemned illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories and in 2016 co-sponsored United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 which said Israeli settlements had “no legal validity” and constituted “a flagrant violation under international law”.
Now Peters, by not signing FOR US AS NEW ZEALANDERS is sucking up to USA in the worst possible way.

Shame on Winston Peters and shame on Chris Luxon who has abrogated his responsibility in this matter to the squeaky wheel in his cabinet and is allowing a minister who leads a party that only has a minimal percentage (6%) approval from New Zealand voters to 'wag the dog' (sorry about the mixed metaphors).

He said, "It's still the Greatest Story"
I said, "Man I'd like to stay
But I'm bound for glory
I'm on my way
My ride's here..."

***************************

**UPDATE**

Monday 25 August 2025

Prime Minister Chris Luxon has belatedly announced that New Zealand condemns the building of new settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories but has still not signed the LETTER.

Does this new divergence of opinion mean the end of Peters? I certainly hope so. 

GIVE IT AWAY GIVE IT AWAY GIVE IT AWAY NOW

Yesterday, in my post on the unfairness of Wellington City Council giving me a traffic ticket I complained in the comment section thus:

"Wellington streets have become a joke. It's as if the council doesn't want cars on the streets at all and prefer bloody cyclists on them and on footpaths along with those bloody scootery things. Sheesh!"

This is an observation I've made and Richard agreed with me but I thought that I'd check to see if others also agree.

"Central Wellington is a maze of traffic cones as many inner-city streets are realigned to remove parking to allow for cycleways and bus lanes. This overlooks the reality that Wellington’s topography means most of the streets are narrower than elsewhere. Making them narrower still is neither practical, nor safe for either cyclists or motorists. But that inconvenient reality seems to matter little to the Council with its avowedly anti-car and pro-cycling and public transport approach".

       - Peter Dunne May 25, 2024 Wellington Scoop

 Believe me, there are many more like that (The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ takes pride in presenting balanced and reasonable opinions in our reporting).

Look, I was once a cyclist myself and I do sympathise with them as riding on city roads can be dangerous but ... maybe it's time for them to give it away (now).

One positive I suppose is that the council is deterring old bangers like this cluttering up our streets.

WELCOME TO WELLINGTON

Here's my reply to Wellington City Council after receiving a letter saying they WILL NOT waive the driving ticket I received:

Here's the letter they sent me:

Arseholes!

I should have reminded them that me and Sir Frank Kitts are old mates. OK, OK, I know that he died many years ago but he did invite my brother and me to morning tea at his council office back in the 1960s.