A nice surprise.

My friend in Grey Lynn rang me today. He has one of those old villas that I love, with a magnificent view towards Sky Tower---you know---a place that's great to be on New Years Eve---no crowds and no fuss, just a view of the fire works that is wonderful.
He was under his house looking for God knows what and he found these newspapers with a dinner set wrapped up. The papers were dated from 1987, so I sort of guessed what was in them. He said some were chipped but most were OK and he said he would bring them around to me. I happily agreed and we were a bit down at our p[lace so this was a lft. My partners dad in Indonesia had a stroke last night so we were busy trying to get some money together to pay for the hosiptal over there. It ain't free like here.

When we arrived back from Western Union, there on the table was the dinner set --I would say its from the 70's or 80's--very retro Crown Lynn. I was going to sell it, but no, I am going to use it, along with all the other CL I have. It's much better than the crap coming in to New Zealand now and so very much----New Zealand.

Rally around your police, Dargaville!

A few days ago, a tiny minority endangered both the police and the reputation of Dargaville. Two things have happened since to avoid this. One, people have come forward as witnesses to the event and the other; technology had bitten the bums of people who filmed the deplorable attack on the police. The police have seized several phones, using the evidence to build up a case against the people who attacked the police.

I can still hear the cries of some of the drunken party-goers who claim that the police caused the vent by pepper-spraying a nine year old (accidentally) and tazering another person. Once again I say that these revellers were setting themselves up for the police action and that it is they who caused the problems that resulted.

New Year’s Eve is almost upon us. Are we once again going to see the ‘ugly side of our nation?’ I hope not. The fact that the weather may put a damper on outside activities just means that the problems will move indoors. OK, have fun, but know your limits or at least look after one another and that includes those vested in keeping us all safe?

China won't be able to read my blogs soon!

Some would say that living in China is becoming increasingly ‘cool’ and that  for many, life is improving. You can even be a billionaire. There are probably more billionaires in China than in the USA! But all this comes at a cost.

Do not criticise the venerable Communist Party if you want to get on in life. Do not have strong ‘alternate’ opinions,’ if you value your freedom. Do not read blogs critical of the ‘Peoples Party’ or you may run a risk of having your freedom curtailed. Apart from these ‘constrictions’ on life, you can have a good life in the ‘New China.’

The new leaders are apparently going to tighten up access to the internet, so I guess the days of some sort of social networking freedom are about to end. Goodbye my China readers, but your indomitable will to have your say and to have access to the world is not something that your Government will be able to completely cut. I am sure that you know how to use various ‘proxy sites,’ and that you know how to subvert the efforts of those who lead you. Go for it!

Drug and weapons free schools---not likely with the new laws!

School principals are gnashing their teeth at the latest announcement that searching student’s bags for drugs and other things is going to be almost impossible. How on earth are schools going to be able to monitor what comes and goes in school bags if they haven’t got that very sensible right?

Any school, not just lower decile schools will have students on a given day with stuff in their bags that will either make others or themselves unsafe. Those who say this is untrue just have their heads in the sand. For some schools of course the problems are huge.

Students bring drugs, alcohol and weapons. If you work with kids and talk to teachers in a range of schools you will know what I mean. Students tell us they feel unsafe on the way to school and sadly sometimes within our schools. Basically they are arming themselves, with knives and occasionally something more sinister.

Drug taking is endemic with a small proportion of our students and they are often ‘high’ in our classes. Most go under the radar but a sizeable proportion are simply not learning because of their altered state. Ask many teachers and once again, they could tell you horror stories. Taking away the right of schools to search bags is going to make this problem even worse.

Some schools employ the use of drug dogs but this has very limited effect because the word gets around in seconds that such dogs are ‘in school.’ With most students having cell phones, it is a no brainer to think that information won’t flow.

So to the idiots who advised the Government to make these changes and therefore make our schools less safe, I say---‘what planet are you on?’ To the way-out thinkers, divorced from reality and who worry about student rights, I say---‘get real and help us work towards safer schools, not ones where students are able to bring whatever trey wish into our schools, making them places of ‘not learning.’

OH---The Government says that schools can still search lockers and student desks.’ For God’s sake! ---- How many schools have lockers or desks with lids now? We are served by a Government that listens to advisers who are so far off the mark that one wonders what they will come up with next. Hell, how on earth did a ‘National’ Government get to this stage? They have completely flipped. I could have understood if it was the Greens who had proposed all this. We are indeed living in a crazy world.