Writers
Susan Grimsdell
After retiring from audiology some years ago, Susan’s finding life’s pretty good with lots of time to do what she likes. That includes walking, reading, having coffee with friends, and a bit of activism thrown in. Also, day by day doing her best not to worry too much over the many threats to our gorgeous planet.
Read Susan’s Blog
Trevor Plumbly
Meet Trevor. He’s had quite a colourful career, from his early days as a pub manager in Tunbridge Wells he went on to become Dunedin’s leading auctioneer. Trevor is a published author and was something of a TV personality in the 1980s as a regular panellist on a show about antiques.
Read Trevor’s Blog
Emily Smart
Emily is very loud, and has really bad taste in cheesy pop music. When not at work flogging goods to the public via advertising and marketing campaigns, she can be found hiding from her partner and children at the local pub. If you’re easily offended or don’t appreciate the constant use of profanities, then you probably shouldn’t read Emily’s posts. You have been warned!
Read Emily’s Blog
Angela Caldin
Angela has had many roles in her life including: schoolgirl, student, daughter, friend, civil servant, wife, lover, mother, manager, magistrate, landlady, teacher, grandmother, blogger, editor and proofreader.
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The latest
Thoughts on the America’s Cup by Susan Grimsdell
I thought it was about time I watched a race in the lead up to the America’s Cup, having contributed to it by being a ratepayer and a taxpayer, and considering that a lot of people seem to think it’s something special. Lookalike craft The setting is lovely – Auckland Harbour, so they got that right. However, the first thing that took away from it being interesting is that the boats are clones of each other. They are painted different colours and have different words plastered all over them, but otherwise they… Read More
Balancing acts by Trevor Plumbly
They don’t use balance scales anymore. It’s a shame really; we could learn a lot from the basic principle of equal weight. Unlike pre-packaging, the old scales and weights used to be part and parcel of everyday shopping, representing trust and fairness. Personal costing was an important part of the process, almost ceremonial: for the retailer the accuracy of his scales was the pivot between profit and loss, for the customer they were the dividing line between need and costs. The act of weighing provided a mutual bridge; old fashioned though it… Read More
The vote that counts by Angela Caldin
Right now, 6 January 2021, Georgia is most definitely on my mind. I can’t think of another local election which is of such importance to the future of the United States and of the whole world. There’s rarely been a clearer illustration of how much each individual vote counts. The Democratic candidates need to win both Georgia Senate seats if the Democratic Party is to have a majority in the Senate. If it loses both or one of those seats, it will not have the majority that it needs and it will… Read More
Historical bias by Susan Grimsdell
The British perspective Sometimes I wonder if kids in every Commonwealth country were taught the same history in school – British history. I grew up in Canada and yes, we did learn a bit about Canadian history, mainly focusing on how brave the British were, to fight against the Indian “savages”, and how wonderful it was that they won and now look at our fantastic country. Mostly we had to learn about the kings and queens of England. It wasn’t until I left school that I learned the real history of Canada… Read More
Season’s greetings from Trevor, Susan, Emily and Angela
Warmest wishes to all those who have read our ponderings over the last tumultuous year. We truly appreciate your likes and comments from all over the world. The writing of a collaborative blog gives rise to deep friendship and mutual support which make life more bearable in difficult times. We hope that you may find these same rewards in whatever you do over the festive season and in the year to come.
The Writers
We’re four Brits who made the big move from the UK to the other side of the world. We love New Zealand, the English language having a good laugh and the occasional moan. Ah, just read our posts and you’ll get the gist.
