Nursing nostalgia

The Christchurch Public Hospital Nurses’ Home is soon to be demolished to make way for new buildings.  It’s a massive edifice, built of ferro-concrete in the 1930’s, and currently houses a variety of offices, including the Diabetes Research Group which I visited this week.

Foyer of Hagley Building - ex Nurses' Home

 The building has elaborate plaster ceilings, art deco stained glass, and a very high stud which must make it difficult to heat.  This building was home to generations of nurses who trained together under the old (pre-university) system.  The bonds linking those who lived and worked together are very strong, and I’ve heard of several groups who still meet regularly in their 70’s and 80’s.

“Some of those who did training here
went on to meet, year after year.”

Diagnosing Diabetes

A new skin fluorescent test for diagnosing diabetes is being assessed, and I’m part of the study in Christchurch.  During an hour at the hospital this morning my skin colour, height, weight and blood pressure were measured, then a probe emitting ultra violet light was placed on my skin for four bursts of ten seconds each.  I’m assured that each of these would have no more effect than spending ten minutes in bright sunlight.  Later 17 mls of my blood were taken so they can check my levels of glucose and assess my kidney function.  This is to prove that I don’t have diabetes.  Another group of people who do have diabetes will also be ‘probed’.  Apparently if your blood glucose control is within normal limits then the amount of fluorescent light produced by the collagen protein in your skin is lower.  If the study proves that the fluorescent test is accurate then testing for diabetes, which currently requires a blood sample, will be simplified.

“I’ve done my bit for medicine
by letting them fluoresce my skin.”

Cairde

Today’s “Lazy Sunday’ concert was a real treat – a performance by Cairde, a group of five women from Nelson.   They played mainly Celtic songs, accompanying themselves on a variety of instruments.

Cairde playing on the Central Lawn

 The music was just lovely.  The weather was pleasant and the crowd enjoyed themselves.  Council staff handed out free beach balls to the children, and free fruity snacks to the adults.  We are so lucky to have this kind of entertainment provided, although I have heard that some bands complain that people are reluctant to pay for concerts when there’s so much going on for free.

“All Cairde’s music was divine
and made the afternoon just fine.”

Remembering a Refugee

Over 1,000 Hungarian refugees came to New Zealand after the 1956 uprising, and one of them was welcomed into my family’s home in Christchurch.  His name was Joseph Kiss, and he spoke no English, but did speak German.  My brother had a German dictionary so very basic communication was possible.   From this we learned that Joseph was a cabinet maker by trade.  Later a Czechoslavakian man came to visit.  He also spoke German and informed us that Joseph was actually a French polisher – a term he hadn’t been able to find in the dictionary.  At the time my brother had a low-slung sports car, and my other memory of Joseph is that he would lift me inside, without needing to open the car door.    He stayed with us for some weeks – maybe even months, but I’ve no idea what happened to him after he left us.  If he’s still alive he would probably now be close to 80 years old.

“I wonder if ‘our’ refugee
married and had a family.”

Knife Not Needed

This pocket knife was sitting abandoned 0n a bench seat by the river where I have my lunch.

Abandoned knife on riverside bench

It had what appeared to be food scraps on it.  I didn’t want to leave it there where it might be used to do something foolish, so  I wrapped it in a piece of paper and put it in a nearby rubbish bin.

“Knives should be kept securely shut
in case of accidental cut.”

Quis Custodiet Custodes?

Council poster asking us to beware of water wastage

 This sign on a bollard at the corner of Manchester Street and Oxford Terrace, asking us to check our taps for leaks seems ironic when, just a block away in the garden by the Edmonds Clock Tower, three Council sprinklers were left running all day.  The ground was absolutely saturated (to the delight of the local ducks), and the path was flooded.

Flooded path by the river in Oxford Terrace.

Perhaps the City Council needs to take note of its own notices!

“The Council ought to check its own.
A good example should be shown.”

Merimeri and my Mihi

I was born near to the Manukau Harbour, and our family lived within sight of that harbour while our daughters were growing up, so when I give my mihi I use that as the body of water I most closely relate to, saying ‘Ko Manukau te Moana’.  This morning I was reading a story about Merimeri Penfold, who is regarded as one of New Zealand’s finest translators.  In her mihi she says “Ko Parengarenga te moana” and translates that as “Parengarenga is my tidal water”.  I love this translation of moana, which seems to me to have so much more richness than lake or sea, the translations given in my Reed Dictionary of Modern Maori.  From now on I shall think of the Manukau as my tidal water, linking me with spiritual cycles as well as the physical place.

“I love the deep meanings I learn
new ways, te reo, to discern.”

Fetching Forty Thousand

Will you be the forty-thousandth visitor to my blog?  As I write this the counter sits at 39,975.  If you’re number 40,000 please leave me a comment.  For the whole of 2009 my daily average was 31 visitors, but this month it’s gone up to 36 which suprises me as I’ve made only fifteen posts during the month.  Over nearly four years I’ve written more than a thousand posts.  While many visitors come searching for a topic I’ve written on some time ago there’s about twenty each day who come to see my latest offering. 

“I wonder who these people are
who read my blog, from near and far?”

The Anthony Wilding Story

‘The Anthony Wilding Story, this year’s Summer Theatre on the Daffodil Lawn gives us a little-known slice of Christchurch history.  It’s a one-man show featuring Matt Chamberlain.  The simple set had just a tennis net, a couple of umpire’s seats and an Indian Scout motorbike.

Matt Chamberlain plays Anthony Wilding

2010 marks one hundred years since Anthony Wilding first won Wimbledon, the only New Zealander ever to do so.  This is the story of his life from his boyhood in Opawa, through his student years in Cambridge to his death in World War One, aged 32 years.  It’s a superb effort from Matt Chamberlain on stage for the whole hour, talking continuously, while being physically active.  The group next to me included a very well-behaved leashed labrador who gave a tiny frustrated whine each time a tennis ball passed overhead.

‘This outside play with tennis balls
could hardly be staged inside halls.”

“The Rhythm of Life”

Performed by Sammy Davis Junior, this song is the highlight of the 1969 film “Sweet Charity” starring Shirley MacLaine.  While I’d heard the song many times, I’d never seen the show before and it was good to have it put in context.   Sometimes I enjoy watching a musical, and this dvd was just $9 at The Warehouse.  Other familiar numbers were “Big Spender” and “If my friends could see me now”, but the hippie cult portrayed with “The Rhythm of Life” was definitely my favourite – reminiscent of “Hair”.

“Big Daddy Sammy led the cult
with a high energy result.”