I’m so delighted to introduce Jackie to you all. She is the original Aunty of The Aunties, and a stellar human being. Here she tells a bit of her story and how one question can be the start of new life, for both the giver and the receiver. Three years ago, I rang someone from […]
In the middle of the (Thai) night, slightly out of kilter after all the flying, and up with jet-lagged (or rather, jet-fuelled) children, I got the very good news by email that the Advertising Standards Authority had upheld a swathe of complaints against this billboard: The advertisement, like several others for the services of this […]
[Update: we won! But there’s good news and bad news. My take on the decision is here.] I got my rant on yesterday and today I got my complain on. This is the text of my formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. They’ve already refused to consider two complaints against this ad, so I […]
It seems that Jamie Oliver – cheeky television chef with the ‘beestung lips’ and the Essex accent – and I aren’t on the same page when it comes to our attitude to children. To put the differences between us starkly and bluntly, Iām not into assault, or punishment, or treating children as lesser humans. I […]
The last fortnight has been a mix of hope and horror as I’ve been learning more about the work of the friends we’re visiting in Thailand. They are part of Partners Relief & Development, a small international charity that does strategic work in health, education, poverty uplift and human rights advocacy for the (very many) […]
It’s not that this ‘health and safety’ advice from Wellington’s Massey University isn’t sensible, it’s just that it is absolutely insane that we live in a world where the solution to rape is female university studentsĀ being advised to carry a whistle and wear running shoes. University spokesman James Gardiner said … “If students don’t wish […]
I don’t have much of my own to say about ANZAC Day. Like many of my generation I am deeply ambivalent about how to commemorate some of the most horrific events of the twentieth century. Rather than muddle around in my own thoughts, I thought I’d share some beautiful and brutal things from friends that […]
Holocaust denialĀ is now its own special category of insanity. If you want to hold a conference telling people that there was no such thing, that the Jews of Europe exaggerated the impact of the Second World War, then we won’t just say you’re a rubbish researcher, and we won’t indulge you in respect for your […]
A warm welcome today to my good friend Rob Kilpatrick, who wrote this reflection on Facebook yesterday and let me filch it for the blog. You’ll be glad you read it.Ā Ā I’m incredibly lucky to be granddad to 11 wonderful kids. I don’t deserve to be but there you have it, grace upon grace. I […]
[Trigger warning: if you have experienced sexual assault, please just be aware that rape and rape culture are discussed in this post. Many of the links similarly lead to pages that need a trigger warning.] Sad, sickened, shocked, triggered, appalled, horrified, not-actually-that-surprised. Most New Zealanders could tick most of those boxes this week as our […]