On Tuesday I went into hospital to have bilateral endoscopic sinus surgery and bill grommet insertion – my surgeon was going to unblock my sinuses and ears and hopefully end eighteen months of chronic infection. I went to Gillies Hospital, a private hospital in Auckland (which I can highly recommend by the way, the [...]
Archive for June, 2009
16 Jun
The $9m question: to smack or not to smack
Unbelievable. This pointless referendum on whether or not smacking children should be criminialised is going to cost $9 million. Truly, it would be hard to find a bigger waste of money.
Lets be clear about the background to this.
15 Jun
Ok, now I feel sorry for Melissa Lee
Oh I know she was a total goose and made a mess of the entire Mt Albert election campaign. She couldn’t stop stuffing her feet in her mouth or digging herself holes. But at the end, standing there in front of a depressed little crowd giving her concession speech, she looked so miserable it was [...]
8 Jun
Rock climbing & Richard Worth
This weekend we took the girls rock climbing. Madeleine (6) has been before and loves it, she scrambled up with great confidence until she could go no further, then merrily let go of the wall, letting the automatic belay gradually lower her to the floor. Lulu (3) did not have such success. Her initial confidence [...]
3 Jun
Private or public: the education dilemma
When we moved to Auckland, we were very fussy about where we bought a house. The main criteria was that it be near a good state primary school. Less than six months later, we put both our daughters on the waiting list for a private primary and secondary school on the other side of town. [...]
2 Jun
Winter in the winterless north
This weekend we ventured a bit further north, and spent two nights in the Bay of Islands, a beautiful and historically significant part of New Zealand. It was the coldest weekend of the year so far, and even in the “winterless north”, it was definitely winter. We made our escape late Saturday morning, arriving in Paihia [...]
1 Jun
Pop culture will eat itself
Poor old Susan Boyle, her 15 minutes of fame has come and eaten her alive. After her “shock defeat” in Britian’s Got Talent, she has reportedly suffered an emotional breakdown and been admitted to a private clinic to recover. Hardly anyone can be surprised. A woman who has lived a completely private and unremarkable life [...]
