Started reading: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 📚
I was gifted this last Xmas - and didn’t get around to reading it. It has stayed at our beach house all year, and now we are back and it seems like a good time to start. 😜
Ōtaki Expressway first drive
Today I drove on the new Ōtaki Expressway from Pēka Pēka bypassing Ōtaki township for the first time. It was a great road to drive on, and despite it being only two days until Christmas there was barely any traffic. There was a very short slowdown as traffic merged back into the single lane highway beyond Ōtaki.
There has been a lot of debate about the expressways being built north of Pōneke (Wellington). I wish that these had been matched by similar investment in rail. But these roads are replacing very unsafe single lane highways, and provide resilience through a second road north out of Wellington.
Ōtaki township can now become its own centre, rather constantly jammed with state highway traffic.
The final stage of the expressways will take the modern road past Levin, where two state highways head off in different directions.
I strongly support upgrading rail between Pōneke and Palmerston North. But these expressways are also critical.
Here are some photos from traffic cameras on the new road today:
Continuing exploration of shading trees in Pōneke. These are on Cuba Mall. 📷 #Shade #Trees #pedestrian #public #greenery #WellingtonNZ 🇳🇿
Currently reading: The Glass Wall by Max Egremont 📚
This one is interesting so far - a travel book - but deeply steeped in the complex history of the Baltic states.
Today’s book purchase: “Procopius: The Secret History” (Folio Society, 1990) from the excellent Ferret Bookshop on Cuba St, Pōneke. 📚#Books #SecondHand #History #Roman #Byzantine #FolioSociety
Viral 'tripledemic' is keeping many of us sick for weeks at a time
From a Washington Post story today:
As Year 4 of the coronavirus pandemic approaches, Lane and other doctors agree the overlapping viral surges and how they are playing out are unusual and concerning: Patients with back-to-back respiratory illnesses. Simultaneous infection with three or more viruses, or with bacterial infections, such as Strep A. Otherwise healthy people suffering for weeks, rather than days, with simple colds.
This has pretty much been my story this year. It’s a bit of a relief to see it’s not just me. But tragic on a global scale…
Bird flying over a Pōhutukawa tree in Te Aro park. 📷 #Pōhutukawa #tree #bird #park #TeAro #Pōneke #Wellington #AtaMārie
Pōneke and Te Whanganui-a-Tara from Mata-i-Rangi lookout; view across the city and harbour to Te Ahumairangi hill. #AtaMārie #morning #views #pōneke #wellington 📷
Summer is in full bloom in Pōneke.
Pōhutukawa tree in Te Aro park.
📷 #Pōhutukawa #Summer #Pōneke #Wellington #Aotearoa #KiwiSummer
Finished reading: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan 📚
Really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed the great story telling, the strong characters, and the exploration of traditional Chinese mythos in new ways.
Apartment renovations story
Today’s Pōneke / Wellington newspaper has a story about the recent renovations to the apartment that my partner and I have lived in for 22 years:
Many thanks to Kylie Klein-Nixon for the story, and to Andrew & Lynnette Scott (designers & project managers, Design in Residence), Liz Mark (design consultant), Phil Maxey (builder), and Reilly Joinery for making it a reality!
Also thanks to Oliver Cain for the wonderful piece, "Jeremy + Bill", which features in the story.
Photo: Monique Ford / Stuff.
End of a long saga in Kiribati
It has been a very long year for my partner, Judge Bill Hastings, as a serious constitutional crisis has unfolded in the Pacific island state of Kiribati.
I am extremely proud of the work he did in Kiribati before and during this crisis, and of the integrity and measured judicial approach he has demonstrated throughout.
It is deeply sad that what started as a wonderful opportunity to help the further development of an independent and increasingly indigenous judiciary in Kiribati has ended the way it has.
The article below provides a good account of this week’s developments:
New Zealand judge resigns from top-ranking Kiribati judicial position
A Wikipedia article provides the full background to the constitutional crisis:
