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Around midnight on May 3rd 1916 in the pretty French village of Morbecque, Private James Stanton picked up his fountain pen and began to write on the first page of a canvas bound diary. “Now it’s my intention to keep a few notes of dates and occurrences… It’s started at a queer time in the night, but you see – my readers – I’m on guard and this is the way I’m filling in time…” · Born and raised in Amberley, Canterbury, twenty one year old James…

2020 has been a year of immense global change, and with it people have had to adapt to lockdowns, working from home, border closures, and restrictions around social events and gatherings. What hasn’t changed and looks like it is set to continue is the demand for quality housing and the fulfilment of the kiwi home ownership dream. Owning a home has always been the dream for many kiwis, and now with changes to our lives that COVID 19 has placed…

Low stock numbers of houses around the country are still driving high asking prices – despite it being a year on year increase in new listings over the last 4 months. · Whilst Auckland is tipping over the $1m mark for the first time the regions are also showing dramatic growth with both Taranaki and the central North Island experiencing a 13-year high. · Auckland asking price: $1,003,575 (up 2.2%) Waikato asking price: $665,437 (up 0.7%) ·…

Getting ready for Christmas in Papakura · We are getting ready for Christmas here as it looms up next month! · Rotary Santa Parade · – Sunday 6th of December in Central Park at 3 pm in town Chilling in the Park – Sunday 6th of December in Central Park straight after the Santa Parade · Come down to Central Park and listen to a few good bands, grab a coffee, Mr Whippy will be there for the kids, facepainting, candy floss,…

Many people avoid going to the Dentist until they are forced to. Usually, a niggly pain suddenly turns into the toothache from hell, and the visit it not only necessary but urgent! Many people don’t realise that regular check-ups are not only affordable but compared with the cost of a dental emergency far cheaper in the long run. The team at Toothcare Pukekohe know only too well how painful tooth issues can be and offer a friendly affordable…

It was suggested that I do an additional short article 10 days out from the election with an appraisal of the economic policies being proposed by Labour and National. I’ve found this extraordinarily hard to do! That’s partly because of the difficulty of defining “economic policies”. Does the term include policy on reforming the Resource Management Act, or policy on oil and gas exploration – both highly relevant to our future economic…

Under MMP we have two votes: · 1. The Electorate vote – to represent the Port Waikato region. 2. The Party vote – for the Political Party of our choice. MMP (mixed-member proportional representation) was introduced in 1993 to replace FPP (first past the post) mainly because National and Labour shut out wider voter representation in Parliament. Votes for third parties were wasted. But after nearly 30 years many voters remain alienated and…

Over the following 8 months we weaved our way down the longest road in the world, the Pan-American Highway. It stretches from Deadhorse to Ushuaia, Argentina. We crossed the world's most dangerous road in Bolivia, witnessed civil uprisings in Nicaragua, and minefields crossing the Atacama Desert. Landscapes changed as much as the climate. We experienced temperatures fluctuating from -28C to 45C in just a few days. · Since April, Topher and I…

Whether you need your swimming pool filled up, you have moved into a new house and have to fill the tank afresh or are making plans for a top up before everyone else needs it, make sure you call the Alexander’s at Water Wizard for all your water needs first. Based in Tuakau, locals Dave and Elaine Alexander specialise in efficient and professional water deliveries both locally and further afield. Anywhere within the greater Franklin area,…

I’ve always raised a questioning eyebrow grumble to votes each election that are allocated to fringe parties. Wondering what motivates an individual to commit its party vote to a party that doesn’t have a chance of getting past the 5% party threshold needed to achieve representation under our Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. · One could argue that there is always a chance that a party could achieve that threshold, but statistically and…