I sat in the audience for the swearing in ceremony of the new Council last week. It’s a group of people who have the potential to be a really good team. I say “potential” because there were a few warning signals for me which I think need to be carefully managed. Elected reps need to be careful … [Read more...]
Gary Writes 22 October 2019
When I look at the new line-up of our new City Council, we have what seems to be potentially a really good mix. I say potentially because politicians being true to form all start with the best of intentions, but somehow the aphrodisiac of power seems to take over many politicians’ minds. It is … [Read more...]
I worked with gangs in the 1980’s:
I worked for the Department of Internal Affairs in the 1980’s and worked with the gangs. They are such an easy target to shoot at by politicians. I found this article during the week really … [Read more...]
About our New Format
I received this observation about the format of the Tuesday Club notes during the week: It would appear that somebody, who shall remain nameless, has finally worked out that we have changed our layout of the Tuesday Club notes. Dear Sir I wish to report a matter of concern. Your email … [Read more...]
Garry writes 15 October 2019
It is great that Lianne Dalziel has been elected for another 3 years. I never had any doubt about her ability to win. During the election debates I was concerned about the absurdity of the campaign against her by Darryl Park. Promoting zero rates on your campaign billboard is like saying the lawn … [Read more...]
It would appear that I am the “muck raker”:
Last week I asked if the Press was printing articles from the web-site “Muck Rack”. I had an immediate response by Marc Greenhill, news director of Stuff. These people are actually Stuff reporters. Here's Susan Edmunds' Linkedin page, as an example. She's been a business reporter in our Auckland … [Read more...]
Garry Writes 1 October
One way we seek to ignore somebody who is saying something which threatens us, is by calling them a name. Generally, a name we don’t like. I remember, when I was in student politics, my Uncle Jack telling my mother that he thought I was a communist. That meant he didn’t need to listen to what I … [Read more...]
An apology, I made a spelling error last week:
An eagle-eyed reader, Ashley Campbell, spotted an error I have made all my life. I wrote “in one foul swoop”. Ashley wrote: It’s one fell swoop, not foul. Common mistake, but those in the know will point it out to you forever, so you might like to change it before they do. I looked up “fell … [Read more...]
Garry Writes 24 Sept 2019
Yesterday I visited two friends who are both suffering from dementia. One is mildly affected, and has parts of the conversation where you can see him desperately trying to remember an event being talked about. The other’s eyes are mostly blank, with only the occasional spark of light. It’s sad to … [Read more...]
Garry Writes…
I have been viewing the Mayoral election campaign with great interest. I know Darryl Park. It mystified me why he was standing for Mayor. He has shown little interest in local politics in the past. I served on the Board of Canterbury Tourism and he was the CEO. That’s the closest I have seen him to … [Read more...]