From time to time I want to include on my blog a column, outlining a
range of subjects that have either affected my life or have made an impression
on my day to day living. Although we publish a regular local Trades &
Services print booklet of some 3800 copies, I do not write Editorials and I
hope that this column will give me the
opportunity to express my personal thoughts on a wide range of subjects. You
may even get the odd recipe that I have tried or a recommendation of a
particular item, but there will be variety! In Ireland it is called "The Craic" but I know I talk a lot anyway, so it could be genetic.
I
look forward to any comments and you don't have to agree with anything I say,
but I am going to say it anyway! Comment is always welcome.
When
I was a young boy, I had the nickname "Tusitala"
(which is Samoan for Teller of Tales and the name they gave to Robert Louis
Stevenson who is buried on Mt Vaea) It may also have been after another Travel
Reporter named Kenneth Melville, who I believe was called "Tusitala" but
these details are not important. My column will be called "Tusitalas Tales"
THE GOOD,THE BAD & THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
A
number of good things happened this week.
(
1) We dug up 60+kgs of potatoes. Varieties were Ilam Hardy and Jersey Benne and
they are in excellent condition and after par boiling 5 potatoes, then rolling
them in garlic and butter and finishing them off in the oven, they tasted
pretty good too!
(2)
My Daughter Heather, Husband Steve and our darling Granddaughter Holly paid a
surprise visit and while Granny & Granddad were entertained by this 6 month
old bundle of joy, the O'Brien Christmas Tree was erected in it's usual corner.
It looks pretty good and Holly would dearly loved to have had a
"play" with all the bright baubles hanging from the branches. WE LOVE CHRISTMAS!
(3)
My Daughter Kelly emailed a report that our 3 year old Grandson Ronan had given
them a "moment to remember" The newest addition to the family, Aidan,
was heard making a noise in his bedroom and shortly after, young Ronan was
heard getting out of his bed and disappearing into Aidans room and then
shutting the door. Craig (aka Dad,) quietly approached the room and then burst
into the bedroom to see what was happening. Ronan had climbed into the baby's
cot and was busy reading him a story! What a boy!
THE BAD
We read in the newspaper that a 5 year old girl had been sent
to school regularly with scabies, open sores, nits and all sorts of other
creepy crawlies. The so called "Mother" ( a bad choice of words in my
opinion) has been ordered by a judge to take Community work and attend some
sort of family training. Her other children have been given to CYPS for care
and the daughter is living with the family Grandmother. The Mother is pregnant
with her 4th child and her Partner is in goal for recidivist drink driving.
Words fail me (and that doesn't happen often)
A couple of pearls of wisdom from her Bookface page: “life is
to short, so live it up, drink it down, party hard, smoke a lot, break the
rules, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh loudly, have fun, make memories, and
never forget or regret anything that once made you smile.
And last but not least " I like to take long romantic
walks to the Liquor Store"
Another appalling piece of News regarding children:
New Zealand’s poor child abuse record has been laid bare in a
major international study. It has been named as one of six countries and states
where there is no clear evidence of a decrease in child maltreatment over the
past two decades.
Pasted from <http://childabuseinnz.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/study-shows-child-abuse-not-decreasing-in-nz/>
When
I was a child, New Zealand led the world in child care and was always No1 in
the statistics. We had a good welfare system that gave folk a hand up when
needed and Plunket was our main carer for children's well-being after the local
GP. Their motto was "To Help the Mothers
and Save the Babies" and I am sure that the regular visits by a
Plunket Nurse, who kept a close eye on the Family, were the key for maintaining
our proud record of child care. Something has gone terribly wrong over the past
two decades and we should hang our heads in shame that this situation has come
to pass. There are no easy answers, but we need to take a stand as a nation and
say "NO MORE" Isn't it crazy that we
have a "Minister for Racing" but no "Minister for
Children". It doesn't take much to
write to your local Govt Minister, but I do believe that now is the time to do
it. I have.
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
An Invercargill rape victim is living in fear after her
attacker moved into a house next door, and police say there is nothing they can
do. The convicted rapist, Craig James Crofts, 48, was sentenced to four years
jail in 2004 after admitting raping the woman.
She has since moved on with her life, but the ordeal came
flooding back about a month ago when she found her attacker had moved into a
property next to her flat.
The two residences are so close that when Crofts is in one
part of his unit block he can see directly into the front window of the
woman's flat, which she shares with her partner.
I just cannot believe that this situation can be
allowed to happen in MY NEW ZEALAND! This nightmare needs to be rectified immediately and
we should insist on more protection and assistance to any victim of crime, no
matter the circumstances. We have been celebrating the 70th Anniversary of
major World War 2 events that gave us many decades of peace and prosperity and
the men, women and children who put themselves in harms way to make this happen
would be appalled if they knew what had happened to their legacy.
We
say "We Shall Remember Them" on
Anzac Day, but we don't appear to sincerely mean this, or else why would we let
this happen? The ball is in our court.
Here
Endeth the Lesson.
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