Kia ora koutou, had a lovely time in Christchurch, met up with old friends, made new ones, saw the Ngaio Marsh cottage garden. My friend had tried to contact the organisers of the tours, she rang and left numerous messages but no–one answered any of them so we took a chance and went and saw the garden anyway. Its looking beautiful and lush, roses everywhere, I was particularly taken with a Blue Moon, so lovely to see its lavish blooms.
We had coffee and a scone at the Takahe cafe (delicious scone), I was taken shopping and I bought three, yes three, shirts. Also lost one hearing aid and only realised it was missing when I was back at our B&B and when I said I’d lost it, Mary McCallum, my publisher and friend, took off, leaped into a cab, and after a very short time, came back triumphantly waving the hearing aid. She is a star – but you know that. She said the staff were great and the young guy went and searched and came back smiling as he held up the trophy. Thank you N & M.
I enjoyed the children’s writers session. Bill Nagelkerke (The Ghosts on the Hill) Heather McQuillan (Avis and the Promise of Dragons) Tania Roxborogh (Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea) – the chair was Zac McCallum — librarian at Halswell School and book reviewer. They discussed why they wrote that particular story, talked about their characters and I wanted to read all of their stories instantly. And so I think did all the kids in the hall. They were totally engaged by these writers. With christmas coming up, I’m on the lookout for books to give kids and these three looked exactly right.
I’m so glad I had these pleasures because I am totally cheesed off with the no vote to the cannabis referendum. Outraged in fact. I know old people who’d hoped to be able to grow a couple of plants in pots just for their own use (to help with pain and sleep) but no, that small improvement in their lives has been denied them. I hope that all those who voted no and who happily swig down wine and beer or a gin and tonic, whisky and water, are aware of the fact that alcohol does much more harm than cannabis. Look up the stats.
And, the vote for ‘assisted’ dying got a big yes? Hello? It seems its not a problem that there are unresolved issues around this proposition and that these have not been resolved. But of course that doesn’t matter because if you’re old or disabled, who cares? We saw that in the discussions around Covid. ‘Who cares if a few old people die? They’ve lived long enough anyway.‘ Of course this attitude changed once those people saw that Covid didn’t care about age, that all of us are vulnerable.
It’d be good if the votes still to be counted changed the outcome of these referenda but that, I think, is a dream too far.
Legalising cannabis will happen eventually because making possession of it a criminal act is stupid, as stupid as criminalising people simply because they have a brown skin or as stupid as letting people off the same charge(s) because they have a white skin. These injustices have to stop and eventually they will but it would have been so much easier if the decision on Saturday had been a yes.
Renée
