Thursday, March 28, 2024

Deep calls to Deep

November 8, 2008 by  
Filed under Main Blog

We waited expectantly at the gate entrance to Haranui Marae. We must wait until the call of the karanga is heard (this is the ceremonial call of welcome performed only by the women). Hearing the karanga indicates to us that we are free to approach our hosts across

New Beginnings

October 15, 2008 by  
Filed under Main Blog

It’s astonishing how quickly we can fill our days up with activities. Some worthwhile and others, well, less so. The Christmas party invites have already begun to arrive and you can feel we’re heading into that mad season again.

A Long Stretch of Gravel

October 2, 2008 by  
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Driving into Hamilton I’m aware that we have had company for quite a while. The strong silent type, a river called the Waikato. Its name in Māori translates as ‘flowing water’. “It is the longest river in New Zealand and gives its name to the Waikato region that surrounds the Waikato Plains. In the North […]

Black and White

June 8, 2008 by  
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I started reading Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the D’Ubervilles’ (A Pure Woman) again last night. I’ve read it before so you’d think that knowing the end would dissuade me from reading it again. But it doesn’t. It’s an instructive piece and I

All Girl Choir

June 27, 2007 by  
Filed under Main Blog

Tilly and her all-girl choir (as I call them) were up at the crack of dawn this morning, twittering to their heart’s content and blissfully unaware that the more languid human bi-ped (now unwillingly alerted to their presence) was about to throw the book at them! Noisy neighbours!