There comes a point in every cat’s life when he must ask himself a very important question: Is writing a diary enough… or should it be heard? Weasley, it seems, has reached that point. What began as a few observations — shared here, and occasionally on the Diamond Harbour Facebook page — gradually turned into … Continue reading Weasley’s Podcast — Now You Can Hear It
PART THREE: Surgery (At Last) This is the final post in a three-part series about the unexpectedly complicated chain of medical appointments that eventually led to cataract surgery. With the date finally confirmed, the saga was almost over. I contacted my daughter to make sure she was able to drive me to have the cataract … Continue reading A Superfluity of Appointments
PART TWO: Navigating the Maze This is the second post in a three-part series about the unexpectedly complicated chain of medical appointments that followed the discovery of a cataract and retinal tear. You can read Part One here By this point I had already had one laser procedure on my right eye and was waiting … Continue reading A Superfluity of Appointments
PART ONE: It Started with My Eyes This is the first post in a short three-part series about the unexpected chain of medical appointments that eventually led to cataract surgery. For the past eight months it seems as though a week hasn’t gone by without some sort of hospital appointment. Nothing dramatic — no flashing … Continue reading A Superfluity of Appointments
Wednesday 21st January 2026 I hadn’t planned to raise the Stewart Island situation at the Mindfulness Meeting, but that’s often how the most important matters arise. Someone asks an innocent question, and suddenly you realise that nobody else in the room has the courage — or frankly the intelligence — to address what is right … Continue reading This is Not an Invasion
Tuesday 9th December 2025 I have been reading the Diamond Harbour Facebook page again. This is something I try not to do too often, as it can lead to unnecessary anxiety amongst the cat fraternity. However, it’s hard not to notice a pattern. “Our cat hasn’t come home since we moved.” “She keeps going back … Continue reading CSI Diamond Harbour
“Still Here” received first prize in the 2025 Graeme Lay Short Story Competition, judged by Graeme Lay. The wind met her as soon as she stepped out of the car, a salt-bitten blast that smelled of kelp and rust. Mary Bennett pulled her jacket tight and squinted up at Pencarrow Lighthouse, stubborn on the cliff’s … Continue reading Still Here
Some weeks feel like a test of endurance. This one could have qualified for the decathlon. Monday: I had an appointment with the Eye Service at Outpatients, where I was told that despite months of being assured I qualified for publicly funded cataract surgery, I no longer do. The reason? The other eye is “too … Continue reading What a Week (From Hell)
MSD disability allowance New Zealand – the article in The Press I was surprised — and slightly amused — to discover this morning that an opinion piece I wrote about the MSD disability allowance New Zealand had appeared in The Press. I had no advance notice, but someone from the Diamond Harbour Facebook page kindly … Continue reading MS(D) Gets on My Nerves
Ten days ago, I got a call from IRD about an Application for Relief I’d submitted online. Within thirty seconds, I could tell the tone was going to be adversarial and accusatory. Since I tend to fall apart in those kinds of situations, I recorded it — so I could digest what was said later, … Continue reading No Relief for Doing the Right Thing
