Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/belingwe/sort_by/entry_order DESC, entry_creation_time DESC/page/6
|
This is a blessed spot, spoilt only by the people, in the central North Island of NZ. |
Size: 65 Entries
Created: November 14th, 2016 at 6:19am
Modified: March 18th, 2024 at 10:50pm
Access:
No Restrictions
Most of the time for me the glass is half empty. On rare occasions the glass is half full as with news of The Donald's activities.
|
| |
I have not contributed for a while and I feel guilty. I am also behind with my Cadet Course recollections but the organisers are giving me some leeway because of my cataract operation. The eye is great and I was checked early in the week and have 20/20 vision. I am very grateful. We are in the middle of a huge autumn storm here at the moment. A deluge for sure but still warm.
Over the last weekend we had a 'spirited women' competition. This event involved cycling, paddle boarding and orienteering. It has mostly been my experience that map reading and women is an exercise in utter futility. A few teams did get lost so I suppose we should just be happy it was not a lot more! |
| |
Last Wednesday I had an operation to remove a cataract from my left eye. A week on it seems to be a great success. I had a few concerns initially with the eye but it is healing well and vision is near perfect. I had a cataract removed from my right eye a couple of years back and it is 100% as well. I have never looked back.....please excuse the very bad pun. Before this latest surgery I could not even hammer a nail in or hang keys on a hook. It is amazing how these simple tasks are so easy now. Both operations were done through the public system. We do have socialist medicine here in NZ but I certainly am not complaining. These procedures cost around $5000 per eye when done privately. The problem is health is a bottomless pit and it will always swallow up as much money as you can throw at it. I do not have the answers to this but I am very happy.
Our latest political debate is around selling bottled water to the Chinese. It is a no brainer really specially since we are giving it away free. At least we must charge a royalty! |
| |
| A battle is going on for our pensions in NZ this election year. Major changes are threatened. Eligibility age going up, pension amount slashed etc etc.The politicos are yapping and stating what they want to do but will the taxpaying workers get a chance to state their case? If history is indicative then not on your Nelly! We are told current system is too expensive but are we getting all the facts? |
February 26, 2017 at 12:58am
February 26, 2017 at 12:58am
| |
| It is another very warm summers evening and I should be outside doing odd jobs but I always feel exhausted after my two night shifts at a luxury Lodge just out of town. It is called Huka Lodge and it is where the Queen stays when she visits us. It takes me a day or three to recover. My wife has been down after a brush with pneumonia so at least I managed to hang the washing. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks but I am not very domesticated. We have elections in September so I have an awful feeling that the Xmas silly season will continue all year.We may well exchange one crowd for another but politicians here are all fools. They are paid more than double the average wage so they have simply lost touch with the bulk of the voters and they do not have a clue as to what is needed. We need a clone of the TD over here methinks.We have Iron Man NZ here in Taupo next weekend so the place will be packed to the gunwales.It is a good money spinner for the town and we took the competition off of Auckland city some years ago. |
February 23, 2017 at 4:27am
February 23, 2017 at 4:27am
| |
| As the family and I endure the heat of yet another February we weigh up the pros and cons. February here is a dry month as far as rain goes but it is also hot and humid to the point of unpleasantness. We are situated around 1000 metres ASL so it could be a lot worse. It is also the last month of summer and days are still long as daylight saving is still in place for a few more weeks. All in all it is not so bad as we begin the slide into autumn and winter. We will have a bleak few months ahead before the cycle repeats. |
February 6, 2017 at 6:01am
February 6, 2017 at 6:01am
| |
| Well today is Waitangi day, a public holiday commemorating the Treaty of Waitangi signed between Maori Chiefs and representatives of Queen Victoria in 1840. It normally turns into an egg throwing contest...and rotten ones at that! However this yea went fairly peacefully it seems. Anyway we still have a long way to go as far as treating Maori fairly. I may speak more about this in the future. |
February 2, 2017 at 6:26am
February 2, 2017 at 6:26am
| |
I have completed a first draft of my "Life before cadet course story and it has been a catharsis. I enjoyed it more as I got further into it. Post festive season i am cycling more. Usually a 10 km round trip from my suburb to centre of town and return. I am sure I am feeling physically better already and have reduced some of my tablets. So here's hoping I continue to both cycle ....and feel better! Monday is a public holiday for Waitangi day. It commemorates the Treaty of Waitangi and there is usually a stoush of some sort and eggs getting thrown at government attendees at the treaty house in Bay of Islands.I reckon one of these years the government attendees should have their own rotten eggs to throw back!
I see TD is locked in a dispute with our neighbour the Australian PM...so lets see where that leads. |
January 25, 2017 at 12:06am
January 25, 2017 at 12:06am
| |
| We are halfway through summer but it seems like autumn, or as the Yanks would say, the Fall. My 17 year old son is off on a leadership camp prior to commencing his last school year at college. The schools are back in a week or so and the busy tourist season will slow down markedly. We will be left with the backpackers and the like. In NZ the schooling system is broken. These days it is not about understanding but rather about obtaining credits by one way or another. External exams have been emasculated to the point they are meaningless. We are going to hell in a hand bucket. We will reap a terrible harvest regards education in the years to come.A chap I know from the soldiers club will turn 100 in March and get his personal telegram from the Queen. I would venture to say it will not be too long before it becomes a telegram from the King. She is over ninety after all. She has been Queen all my life and I am 62. I am a great fan of the Monarchy and am so glad we are a constitutional monarchy.A big morale boost for me has been TD scrapping the TPPA that our govt had signed up to without giving a fig for our citizens. It is disgraceful that we have to rely on TD to get us out of it. |
January 22, 2017 at 3:19am
January 22, 2017 at 3:19am
| |
| I want a refund on the summer here in NZ. It has been absolutely atrocious and as I type this we are in the middle of a storm with high winds etc. A lot of damage around the country. The mountains next to my town require chains on vehicles for driving up as there is a lot of snow. In mid summer this is unheard of! How this tallies with global warming is above my pay grade for sure. |
January 2, 2017 at 9:54pm
January 2, 2017 at 9:54pm
| |
| I have been off point for a while. Much has happened and so far the festive season, as silly as it is, has treated me passably well. Many of us here see the Donald as some sort of Messiah. We have been fed so much hogwash over the years about the benefits of immigration etc that we are disheartened and we see him as a saviour! This may disturb some people but if you think the USA has issues I can tell you it is much worse in other parts of the world...NZ included. Anyway I am off to buy a motorbike to replace one that was stolen. My son will ride it most of the time but such is life. Am hoping to get back on track and try to keep resolutions. I am collaborating with fellow cadets to put together an account of our cadet course days in the Rhodesian army. |
© Copyright 2024 Belingwe (UN: belingwe at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Belingwe has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
 Log in to Leave Feedback |
Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/belingwe/sort_by/entry_order DESC, entry_creation_time DESC/page/6
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
