If that sounds like a sad sequel to a bad B movie be assured that that is what it feels like. After 24 days of no new cases, a week of no active cases and an end to restrictions, we were all silently hoping our covid story was over. The words elimination and eradication were […]
On The Mountain: Waitonga Falls
I love walking in the open where I can see for miles. Despite the incredible vistas to be found here there’s not a lot of this type of walking in New Zealand, where the natural state of the landscape is mainly bush or lowland forest. There are, of course, some exceptions, but to get above […]
To The Mountain
The road to Ohakune is a familiar one. The motorway skirts Wellington’s harbour, matrix signs that might warn of queues in a few hours urging us to Play it Safe. Stay Calm. Be Kind. It swings away from the water over the hills that surround the city, through its outer suburbs. It passes the expanse […]
Normal?
After seven weeks of being unable to do it, getting in the car and driving up the highway feels strange. Only it doesn’t; it feels normal. That’s because it is. All these things we are slipping back into the practice of are the things that were part of our daily lives until recently. It is […]
Wet, Wet, Wet
A return to last year and our return to Sheffield (via Northumberland) in November 2019. Northumberland is one of my favourite places: open countryside for miles, historic towns – Alnwick, a charming old market town, grey-stoned, with its huge castle dominating – and a wild coast that varies between wide sandy beaches and rocky outcrops. […]
Level 2: Reasons to be Cheerful: Part One
(With all due credit to Ian Dury) I did a few things today that I haven’t done in a while. I put on proper clothes, rather than ‘something comfortable’. I drove the car. I wore jewellery. And I met a friend for coffee, this latter the reason for the former few. Clothes I found easy, […]
Lockdown: Day 49
After my post yesterday a friend sent me a picture of the results of her efforts to cut her husband’s hair. Taken from the back, it shows a narrow band within thick dark hair of shaven head going up a few inches from his neck. It made us howl with laughter and Neil comment: ‘that’s […]
Lockdown: Day 48
It’s interesting to compare the reaction of different countries to this virus. We locked down early, and we locked down hard. There were stringent movement restrictions, although not so stringent we couldn’t leave the house, as in some countries. Our border was closed to all but Kiwis and a 14-day isolation period implemented, which soon […]
Lockdown: Day 47
Even as we celebrate the news that we will be dropping to alert level two in a few days, leading to more freedom and a return to a normal world, it struck me this morning that ‘normal’ is a long way off. In fact, it may never return to that of the past. The sound […]
Lockdown: Day 46
‘I think most people have already gone to level two,’ said Neil, as we cycled out yesterday morning. There were fewer cars on the road but otherwise he was right – Oriental Bay was packed with people and there were bikes everywhere, ours included. The weather was on our side, a gentle breeze barely ruffling […]
Tracy Annenberg 