The finding of two lost trampers in northwest Nelson this week was a relief and an irritation. It is great that two young people were found and didn’t die. However, it is really annoying that two young people couldn’t navigate sufficiently well in order to save themselves (or not get lost in the first place),Continue reading “The art of navigation”
Author Archives: janecshearer
A new love
I have a new love. Don’t worry about Chris though, my love is not an animate being. It is surfing, of the sea variety (as opposed to ‘doom surfing’, which is uncontrollable surfing of pandemic information and misinformation on the web). We have been in Christchurch for over a week, after dropping Mum back atContinue reading “A new love”
The lucky country
“The lucky country’ was the title of a book published in 1964 by Donald Horne, used there as a negative description of Australia. It has become an Australian nickname and is generally used favourably about the country, describing its natural resources, weather, distance from other global problems and other sorts of supposed prosperity. However, Horne’sContinue reading “The lucky country”
Living at Level 2
In general, people want to live at the highest level. In a building, the penthouse is the most desirable place to be. If there’s a slope with a view, people would like to be at the top for the best views. An exception to this is the city of La Paz, where people want toContinue reading “Living at Level 2”
Leading horses to water
Level 2 arrived and I finally got my drink of water. On Thursday we had lunch with our friends Cleone and Peter at their house in Queenstown. And on Friday night, so exciting, we spent the night away from home! We got to have dinner and breakfast with our friends John and Diana and NinaContinue reading “Leading horses to water”
Bungy jumps and pogo sticks
The feeling in the air following the government’s May 11th announcement of New Zealand’s move to Alert Level 2, has made me think of springs and release of energy. In the 1970s I badly wanted a pogo stick, like many of my generation. George Herrington of Wichita, Kansas, patented the pogo stick concept in 1891.Continue reading “Bungy jumps and pogo sticks”
The price is wrong
Our bubble, like the rest of New Zealand, is champing at the bit (and chomping at each other) in the face of the promises of Alert Level 2. On Thursday the Prime Minister announced the conditions of Level 2, with a resonating proviso at the end of her message saying that we might not achieveContinue reading “The price is wrong”
Evidence in the face of belief
Chris, Mum and I were talking about the saintly behaviour by some under lockdown (not referring to any of ourselves). All of us have our quirks, but in some cases it appears that people might truly deserve canonisation for remaining calm and cheerful in the face of their bubbles. Canonisation is the interesting process throughContinue reading “Evidence in the face of belief”
Comparing lockdowns
We slog on in Level 3 style, while many countries talk about reducing COVID-19 related restrictions on its populations – how much, how fast? China was the lockdown model, they locked down Hubei Province from January 23rd to April 8th to control the spread of COVID-19, and many countries followed that lead as COVID-19 casesContinue reading “Comparing lockdowns”
All we like sheep
We have been listening to the Messiah of late, for no particular reason other than that it makes a nice background at dinner time. For me it brings back happy memories of going to the sing along Messiah concerts at the Christchurch town hall. One learned the score of the sing along songs to someContinue reading “All we like sheep”