Letter to a tiny fly

Dear Fly

I tried to read the paper
while eating my toast
and drinking my tea
but you got in the way

almost too small
to be noticed
you darted in and out
a momentary annoyance

not worth getting out
the fly swat
but I was tempted
to squash you

that would blight the page
and spoil the ambience
so I decided
I would ignore you

you must have felt
that deliberate disregard
because you disappeared
– a flown fly

French Flair

We lunched at Café Des Artistes in Colombo Street, just north of Bealey Avenue. We’d been to the same place a couple of years ago when it was Circa Cafe and I’d read that it was now under new management, with a French flavour. They have just one mobility park, shared by the whole block of shops, and we were lucky to find it free.

The café is mall, with seating for about 20, and they do a good trade in takeaways. French music in the background adds to the ambience. There’s an interesting choice of cabinet food, with several French specialties. We both had the filo chicken which was delicious and included apricots.

Ruth enjoying chicken filo

I also chose a lemon meringue tart – asked Stephen if he would share it with me, and he said he’d have just a bite. The tart arrived on two separate plates each with a cake fork, and he easily managed to finish his half. The crust was slightly hard to cut, and the café owner Veronique explained it was supposed to be eaten in the hand. The tart was also delicious, with soft meringue, but neither of us could have managed a whole one.

When my hot chocolate was delivered it came with a large marshmallow which Veronique explained she made herself. She makes all the food, working twelve hours a day, Monday to Friday, then bakes at the weekend.

There were original paintings for sale around the walls, as well as a selection of teas. I purchased a herbal tea labelled Raspberry Mojito, which is a blend of raspberries, spearmint, and rum flavour. Having loved my non-alcoholic Raspberry Mojitos at Tutto Bene, I thought this would be worth a try. Turning the tin over I’ve just found it says Best Before December 2023, but I doubt it will have gone off.

There is some quite delicious fare
all served with a distinct French flair

Marathon Management

The Christchurch Marathon started at 7.30am yesterday, and by 8am there was a steady stream of runners who each needed to do four laps of the circuit. The field was thin when I went out to take a photo.

Marathon runners near our cottage

After running past our cottage they turned right down Kilmore Street, right again into Madras, then Peterborough, Barbadoes, and off into Salisbury Street. One man I met on the footpath joined his running girlfriend and handed her a drink. I wondered whether she was wearing a tracker so he’d know just where to meet her.

Several people tried to drive out of Nova Place despite the road closure having been well advertised. One man, wearing scrubs, needed to get to his work at the hospital, and was allowed through. Another who turned back told me she would walk around the corner and get an Uber.

I walked up to Bealey Avenue to meet my Sunday beach-walking companion. At Oxford Terrace I was asked to wait because the first group of runners were coming through again, and I managed to dodge through without holding anyone up. After our beach walk I needed to walk home again from Bealey Avenue. By this time I was feeling exhausted, especially as I’d been up since 4am. The running crowd was quite sparse by 12.30pm and the marshalls were beginning to allow cars through to get to the Bridge Club for the 1pm session. I saw a last marathon couple limping by at 12.55pm, and by 2pm the roads were fully open again. Over 5,000 people ran in perfect mild weather, and raised more than $60,000 for the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust.

The weather made a perfect day
for those who like to run this way

Pre-Dawn Drama

At 4am I was woken by a loud noise – more a thud than a crash. I got up and looked out the bedroom window and saw a car stopped over the road, with its headlights on and the back door open. I then saw two people heading north on Barbadoes Street, walking rather than running.

I put my glasses on to see clearly, then dialled 105. The answering AI told me if an incident was still happening to dial 111, so I did. The female dispatcher asked a number of questions, and while I was talking to her I saw a car approaching slowly down Barbadoes Street, obviously a police car checking for the people. A second police car also arrived and spotlights shone on the scene. I put our lights on in case they wanted to talk to me, but didn’t go out to interfere.

A policeman from the second car opened the boot, let out a dog, and set off to trail the people. I later learned they lost the track. By then I’d made a cup of tea and sat down to draft a blog post. When another policeman was standing by his car at the intersection I went out and spoke to him, and got permission to take a photo.

Police by stolen car

The car that had crashed was, of course, stolen and had damaged two other parked cars. I praised the police’s quick response and was told they’re keeping an eye on the area because of recent incidents. I told him we’d had our car’s windows smashed last month, but hadn’t bothered to report it. He said we should always report any such incidents, so they can see the pattern, and that there had recently been two incidents involving cars belonging to the Williams Bros units in Nova Place.

One police car remained until at 5.05am a tow truck arrived and removed the culprit car. I knew I was unlikely to get back to sleep (although Stephen had), especially as the road closure for the Christchurch Marathon was due to start at 5am, and there would be noise associated with traffic management. Because the road will be closed until 2.30pm the owners of the damaged cars, who could be from any of many local units, may not discover their problem until then.

It’s good to know police are near
so that they could come quickly here

Regeneration

Tall brown spikes
determined to stay
nestled into shiny leaves
that don’t quite suit
flowers and seeds must fall away
sheltered by an immense tree
so strong its roots have lifted
the asphalt surface

Remember all is cyclical
seeds will fall
become new plants
nurtured in leaf litter
until spring time
no human help required
nature provides what’s needed
only the strongest survive

These plants were there
when dinosaurs roamed the earth
picture Tyrannosaurus Rex
planting feet on the ground
pushing seeds into soil
those that survived
became sustenance
for prehistoric creatures

Spider Woman

She sits quietly at home
minding her own business
doing chores
harbouring her energy
a possibility flies by
silken thread stretches out
prey comes close
wrapped in a shroud
this tasty morsel
will keep her fed
through a long winter

“Change Everything” by Natalie Bennett

I want everyone to read this book!

Natalie Bennett was previously Editor of the Guardian Weekly, the leader of the Green Party in England and Wales from 2012-16, and is now one of two Green Party members of the House of Lords.

Her writing covers the whole planet, and the details of what has happened in England is often a reflection of what has happened in Aotearoa. Every idea in this book has been road-tested in discussions and honed by interaction. The author’s aim is to set out a vision of hope. I long for the utopia she details, which is just, sustainable, and community-based. Many of her ideas sparked memories of similar concepts that were part of the Values Party philosophy in the 1970s, here brought totally up to date. Natalie writes practically and directly, giving familiar examples and fascinating anecdotes. She makes an excellent argument for a Universal Basic Income and the freedom this could bring. Those of us who receive NZ Super experience some of that freedom.

This is a comprehensive overview of what’s wrong with our world. I loved the way she refers to advertising as lying for profit, and was interested that she uses U3A as an example of alternative community education. As Natalie says, we get the politics a few pay for, rather than a genuine democratic system. I read her consideration that the U.K. needs a constitution at the same time that I was reading a novel about the Chartists. Her exposé of political corruption is depressing, especially as I’ve just watched the documentary about Mr Bates and the Post Office.

We are lucky in Aotearoa to have Proportional Representation and some acceptance of indigenous knowledge. This book mentions that Aotearoa has a Living Standards Framework which takes measures of human, natural, and economic wellbeing, and uses them to guide the spending decisions of the government. I’m not sure that this is still true under our current coalition government.

Natalie stresses the importance of community. Sadly our local Avon Loop community has diminished since the earthquakes, and the number of local residents who volunteer to support the community has also declined. We are lucky to still have our Community Cottage and easy access to the riverbank and red zone.

It’s suggested that the slogan of turning swords into ploughshares could be updated to turn weapons into wind turbines. Above all, Natalie stresses that politics can be what you do, not what is done to you, and everyone can make a difference. She gives practical suggestions as to how we can jointly choose a positive direction, rethink the ways our societies operate, restore that which has been frayed and worn down, and rebuild a sustainable, caring, joyful way of living.

The book is published by Unbound, the world’s first crowdfunding publisher, and at the back there is a long list of those who have financially supported the publication. I’ve requested that Christchurch City Libraries buy a copy. Please contact me if you’d like to borrow the copy I have.

It’s great to see ideas so Green
put out into the mainstream scene

Clean Containers

At 8am on Thursday I heard a strange noise so went out to investigate. I found a man carefully cleaning the wheelie bins from one of the units at our townhouse neighbours.

Wheelie bin cleaner

He told me the cost for a regular clean was $10 for one, and $18 for two, but on a casual basis it would be $40 for one, and $10 for each extra bin.

When the City Council introduced wheelie bins in 2008 I remember that another of our neighbours used a cleaning service for them, but this was done with their garden hose, not a mobile service like the one I saw. Kiwi Clean claim to be environmentally responsible, and say their onboard system is better than having harmful bacteria flowing into stormwater drains. When I wash our bins (just occasionally when they need it) I let the water flow onto the back lawn, not down any drain. I would have thought that anyone who is mobile enough to wheel their bins out to the street could manage to wash them as well, but maybe some people are just too busy. Do you wash your own wheelie bins?

This man will come and clean your bin
so you don’t need to scrub therein

Kaiapoi Cruise

A cruise on the Kaiapoi River Queen was our treat this week.

Kaiapoi River Queen

The last time we’d cruised this river was about thirty years ago, when we travelled on the old MV Tuhoe.

There were only 22 passengers, and while our table could have seated four, we had it to ourselves. There was a large group from a retirement village, plus we spoke to couples from Nelson and South Africa. A light lunch and a drink are included in the price of $70 ($65 for seniors midweek). Once we’d eaten we went upstairs where we could sit outside with a wider view.

Sitting on the outside deck

We loved the tranquil cruise down the Kaiapoi and out onto the Waimakariri River. The banks are lined with dead trees, victims of the earthquakes, but there is vegetation too, and a variety of birds. We saw ducks, swans, shags, Grey herons, and pukeko. There were lots of people fishing on the riverbank and at two spots we saw someone reeling in a kahawai.

Fishers on the riverbank

There was also a windsurfer, high above the water on a skeg. This was a lovely relaxing trip (one and a half hours), and thoroughly recommended.

We did enjoy our lunchtime cruise
one that we recommend you choose

Plans in Place

This week our not-always-esteemed Prime Minister laid out his 36 point plan for the next three months, which was scathingly skewered by Chlöe Swarbrick in a column in the Herald.

On the Spinoff Gabi Lardies suggested we can all get back on track by making our own to-do list for the next quarter.

When I was in paid work I used a desk diary to keep a note of meetings and tasks. If I didn’t complete my tasks one day I would transfer them to the next, sometimes using post-it notes. Nowadays I use a Filofax paper diary to keep track of meetings and my Google task list to remind me of any tasks I need to do. There are not so many tasks these days and most of them are flexible. If I don’t do them on the appointed day I can simply change the date. (I wonder if the P.M. does this too?) The task list makes it easy to remember things I need to do regularly and to edit anything I wish to.

Yesterday I was scheduled to meet a friend for lunch, but she emailed to say she needed to postpone because of Covid. This meant I had a free day, and mornings are the time when my energy is highest so I decided to wash the windows, a chore I’d been putting off for several weeks. I try to wash the outside windows every three months (and I schedule them accordingly), but the insides hadn’t been thoroughly done since last July. It gave me satisfaction to finally be able to cross this off my task list, and feel that I was back on track. Now, I could take time to look at my budget for the next financial year, something that was scheduled for 1 April, or I could do the Press puzzles (not on my task list but a daily pleasure).

How do you keep on track with your tasks?

If I put something on my list
it’s much less likely to be missed