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Life, Language & Laughs

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

Posted on January 20, 2021 by talkaholics

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

Posted on January 13, 2021 by talkaholics

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

Posted on January 6, 2021 by talkaholics

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

Posted on December 30, 2020 by talkaholics

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

Posted on December 25, 2020 by talkaholics

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.

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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.
Latest from Twitter
  • The dream Wrong time of the year I know, but at my age I'll take memories whenever I can get them. Contrary to the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 year ago
  • Here you go Trevor, here are my musings on the topic of puberty. I don’t like the word puberty; I mean that I don’t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 year ago
  • The irony of talking about puberty at the ripe old age of 48 has not been lost on me. Thank you Trevor for remindin… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 year ago
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