This post follows on from an earlier post about a chain of medical appointments that followed the discovery of a cataract and retinal tear Link: A Superfluity of Appointments By this point I had already had one laser procedure on my right eye and was waiting to hear about the cataract in my left. I … Continue reading Navigating the Maze
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 Read Still Here, Claire Jewitt’s award-winning short story inspired by the 1968 Wahine disaster. Winner of the 2025 Graeme Lay Short Story Competition. The wind met her as soon as she stepped out of the car, a salt-bitten blast that smelled of kelp … 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
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 lights or overnight stays — just a steady stream of visits, usually to Outpatients, for one thing or another. It all started with my eyes. To explain that properly … Continue reading A Superfluity of Appointments
(Under Weasley’s Deck, Wednesday 02 July 2025, 5:35pm) After a rather long hiatus (due in part to climate changes and my own internal “issues”), I am pleased to report that the Mindful Meetings have resumed. The first was held last Wednesday night underneath the deck at my house. I swept up the leaves with my … Continue reading Minutes from the Mindfulness Meeting
I’ve been doing some reflecting lately — between meditative naps on the windowsill and my ongoing feud with the neighbour’s compost bin lid. And I’ve come to a difficult but important decision – it’s time to bring back the Mindfulness Meetings. Why now? Because things have been rough in the feline realm. First, we lost … Continue reading A Call to Paws
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
