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Packing up
Another for my paid subscribers, again in strict confidence because of the dignity of the people involved.
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The order of things
I must have driven through Pākaraka, near Whanganui, although I don’t remember. Whenever it was, the little town would have borne a different name. Objectors say you can’t change the name of a place: that’s wiping out history. And they insist, you can’t just wipe out
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Thought for the day, 21 January 2023
My unease is with so many other people's ease. It's not that I have a problem with either of these men - or more than I would with any other leader of their respective parties. I'm grumpy: guilty as charged. My problem is with
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Thought for the day, 19 January 2023
In my time as a public servant, I've worked under a few Prime Ministers. I can't say I particularly loved any as individuals - I'm just not that into party politics - and I've disagreed vehemently with plenty. But I can say
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Requiem
A personal post shared in confidence with my paid subscribers.
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When you haven't got a prayer
It was an awkward conversation, and if I could have slunk out of it, I would’ve. I was at work, and a British colleague sat down with me. We were both part of a large government department in Wellington. I was working at the time with the Māori policy
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Thought for the day, 8 December 2022
Not being able to do stuff irks me. To be honest, I wouldn't necessarily even do the stuff if I could. But like everyone else, I want the choice to be half arsed, not have it thrust upon me. Iain came round to do my section yesterday, after
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Bad blood
I have always admired blood donors, although I'm not one (health reasons). I love them because of all the things they're prepared to give. Their blood, of course. Their time. Their resources, to drive to a place they can donate - and maybe to take an
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The mouse
A warm welcome to my new paid subscribers, and my thanks to all who've sent me kind messages. I've once again fallen behind on my own life, but I hope to be in touch soon.
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Victimhood
I don't actually know what I want to say about this, so I'm going to start writing and find out. Content warning probably required.
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Thought for the day, 17 November 2022
I could come at from the perspective of a leftie, who looks for structural explanations when shit happens. Or I could come at it as a research nerd, who knows causation is never some straightforward thing that can be captured in a glib Facebook post. I could approach it as
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Thought for the day, 7 November 2022
A reflection, as my big kid does university exams, and my wee guy faces his first NCEA exam tomorrow. I said to the wee guy right now, 'Just do your best'. Then I cringed a little bit. When I was growing up, I understood 'Just do your