85. Vignettes of Family Life in New Zealand: (5) Christmas/New Year 1977/78

 

ACTION LEARNING SYSTEMS

                                                                                         P.O. Box 37-362, Parnell, Auckland 1

                                                            
1a Huia Rd., Papatoetoe. 6th November 1977
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    We are just beginning to surface again after a very hectic month. My seminar went off very well on Monday and Tuesday of this week, the first venture of 'Action Learning Systems' of which I am sole proprietor and Mary is agent. So that's why you have all the business notepaper since I thought you might like to see what it was like. Also enclosed is the brochure for the seminar. We are going to repeat it in February and have already been approached to run it next year sometime in Christchurch in the South Island. Since I have never yet been to the South Island that might be a good opportunity to do so.
    Also last Monday the Hair Design Studio opened in Otahuhu so there was lots of last minute rushing around to get everything ready. The Mayoress of Otahuhu cut the ribbon and we all had some champagne the previous Friday evening to celebrate its completion. As you can see from the photographs it's a very bright and cheerful place. You've no idea what a dirty hovel it was three months ago. We stripped all the old wallpaper and muck out and redecorated and refitted the whole place from nothing. Mary's father and a number of friends helped but the layout and colour scheme were all in Mary's head, all based on the sunflower wallpaper that we found in a local shop about six months ago - before we had any idea what we might do with it. The salon is  run by a manager and two apprentices but Mary goes there each day for a visit to help them get established and works in the salon on the late night, Thursday. Otahuhu is about two miles from here so it is quite convenient. So now we both have little businesses established we can relax a bit. My university term has ended and I am busy marking examination papers which should be finished in the next ten days or so. Then I have three weeks to work on the book on NZ Industrial Relations* before Mary and I go for a week's holiday to Tutukaka in Northland, a week's complete rest by the sea. Mary's term finishes at the end of November and then she is doing four days work for South Pacific Television in Auckland helping them with hairdressing styles and cuts for various of their productions. She has a medical check up on December 9th and we go away immediately after that - as you can see from the photograph she is looking pretty good.



   This week is the anniversary of our trip to Sydney so we have been remembering that with a great deal of pleasure and thinking what an action-packed good and bad year it has been for us both. On Friday evening Mary's (Personnel Management 1974-75) class had a reunion dinner at a French restaurant in Auckland (Caballe) so we shared our anniversary with all of them which was a lot of fun. Most of them knew that Mary had been ill so they were delighted to see her looking so well. One of the class had lost his wife of cancer two years ago so he had a good idea what we had come through together. We also learned this week, something we had suspected at the time, and that was that in March the doctor told Mary's sister and brother-in-law that it was unlikely that Mary would recover from the cancer - so that just shows what love and prayers and a strong will to live can do, doesn't it?
    57, Sunnybrae Road is now definitely sold. We have also signed an agreement to buy the property at Rothesay Bay and Pat and the children were supposed to move in there last weekend. Unfortunately the weather has been so bad that the builder still doesn't have the place finished so they have moved into the house of some friends who are away until November 11th. Although Rothesay Bay is further from here than Sunnybrae Road it is a delightful spot and it is in the catchment area for Rangitoto College which I think is the best secondary school on the North Shore. It is more expensive than I think is absolutely necessary but the alternative was that Pat would stay at Sunnybrae Road with all its mortgage commitments. This new place will be mortgage free; all the proceeds of sale of Sunnybrae Road go into it and it is owned 50:50 by Pat and I until she remarries or Lewis gets to the age of 18 when it will be resold and I will get my share out. From my point of view the fact that it is new and near to the beach makes it a fairly secure investment and of course from the children's point of view that [the beach] will be a big attraction for a few years. Also Stuart wants to join Air Scouts now that he has finished with cubs and the nearest Air Scouts to Takapuna was in Browns Bay, just a mile north of Rothesay Bay. And the Real Estate Agent who sold us the Sandown Road house is a Scout commissioner and can help get Stuart into the Air Scouts! To start with therefore it will be a lot of travelling to and fro to see the children at weekends. Longer-term Mary and I may move closer to Auckland city centre eventually and then perhaps we will have enough room to have the children stay some weekends. At present John** and Lynette are still living at 1a Huia Rd and so there is no space for visitors to sleep other than in the sitting-room. We had the children over yesterday and in the evening Pat took them to a fireworks display in Takapuna.
    That's all for now.
    Love to you both,
    John and Mary

*John Deeks, James Farmer, Herbert Roth and Graham Scott, Industrial Relations in New Zealand, Wellington, Methuen Publications (N.Z.) Ltd, 1978.
**Mary's son John and his girlfriend, later wife, Lynette.

Tutukaka, 13th December 1977
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    Wish you were here! We finally got away for a week to Tutukaka and the best-earnt holiday we have both ever had. I only wish you could see the view from our motel room. As you can see from the enclosed brochure the Pacific Rendezvous is right on the cliff top and the X marks the unit we are in. From one window we can look right down Tutkaka harbour and from the other right across to the Poor Knights Islands - they are called that I think because they look like knights that have been knocked down and are lying flat on their backs, a bit like those old medieval tombs. We can walk down a path through the bush to the beach or scramble down the hillside to the rocks and fish - yesterday we caught three rock cod and had them for supper. But most of the time so far we have done mostly nothing and enjoyed every minute of it. A marvellous spot for relaxing as you can imagine. I have just finished a film in the camera so should have some photos to send you after Christmas. Thankyou for the ones of Elizabeth and yourselves, and your long letter of November 30th. We did receive the Jubilee editions of the Illustrated London News and enjoyed them very much.
    Mary got a good report from the Doctor last week. The only thing he was worried about was her weight! since she has put on another 1/2 stone in the last six months and doesn't need it. The trouble is the sea air and all the exercise here makes you very hungry. She has had to take various pills since the cancer treatment and I expect they mess up the hormone balance. We were glad to hear that Dad's ear was so much better too.
    Pat and the children are now settled at Rothesay Bay... We gave Lewis a fishing rod for his birthday and they have been trying that out on the Rothesay Bay beach but without much success so far I gather.
   The Christmas presents for the children and us have arrived safely. I have rather lost track of the posting dates for Christmas mail to the U.K. so hope this arrives on time, especially since I will post it in Tutukaka and have no idea how reliable the post is here. Considering this is summer and it is such a beautiful place it is remarkable how few people are around but then schools do not finish until the end of this week and then everyone will be busy with their Christmas shopping, including us when we get back. Mary is working in the salon next week as it is a very busy week and she will also work during January so this is our last chance to get a break together without the children for a bit. This afternoon we are taking a picnic lunch to the beach so I will try and post this letter on the way.

1a Huia Road, January 4th 1978
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    Many thanks for the lovely Worcestershire porcelain dish you sent us for Christmas. It is a real beauty. We also have some egg coddlers and a Maxine so have quite a collection building up. Thank you too for the books you sent the children. They have enjoyed reading them.
    We had a very pleasant Christmas. I collected the children on Christmas morning from Rothesay Bay and we had all the traditional Christmas lunch fare of turkey and plum pudding with them here at Huia Road. We gave Stuart a new camera - his old one was broken and it seems they are cheaper to replace than to repair! Sacha had a box of paints and Lewis a kite. We then had the children with us right through to New Year. On Boxing Day we took them to a bar-b-q and they all had a pony ride and on the next day we all went to the beach with Mary's sister Anita and her husband. After that we spent most of the time playing softball and tennis at the local park, going to the swimming pool at Papatoetoe and flying Lewis' kite. On the Friday we took them all out to dinner in Auckland and then to see the film 'Star Wars' which is all the rage here at the moment amongst the children - real old-fashioned fantasy and adventure stuff which they loved. On New Year's Eve Pat collected Stuart and Lewis and has taken them off camping with a friend, Mike, and his boy Andy who is about Lewis' age. The weather has been good this week so I expect they are having a good time. They were planning to go to Taupo and then to Napier. Sacha stayed with us over the New Year and then on Monday I took her over to Henderson, on the west side of Auckland to the Dude Ranch where she is spending this week with nine other girls riding and learning to look after horses. She's horse crazy at present so by the end of the week she will either be a total addict or never want to see another horse in her life - I think an addict is more likely. I shall pick her up on Saturday and she will stay with us until the boys come back from their camping trip. They were very excited about that so I hope they have had a lot of fun since there are plenty of beautiful places to go camping here when they are older.
    Mary and I had a very restful week at Tutukaka. I am sending you by sea a New Zealand Annual and one of the first pictures in it is of Tutukaka Harbour. I have marked the motel unit we stayed in with a X so you can see what a fantastic spot it was. We were very reluctant to come home as you can imagine. Also enclosed with this letter are some of the photographs taken when we were at Red Beach with the children in August. And a photo of Mary and I when we went down to Taupo recently to say goodbye to some friends who were supposed to be going off to England for a couple of years. Unfortunately since we went down Barry has had a boating accident and has had to have his left thumb amputated so their departure has been delayed. Talking about boating we went on a fishing trip to the Poor Knights Islands from Tutukaka. Mary caught some lovely fish and I was sea-sick all day!
    We were very pleased to hear that your ear check-up had such positive results Dad and hope the legitis is not making it too difficult for you to get around.
    Happy New Year and lots of love from us both, John and Mary.



Whale Bay, my favourite New Zealand beach, visited from Tutukaka with Mary. 

5th February 1978
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    Many thanks for your letters, both the one you wrote just before Christmas and the latest with the Christmas photos of yourselves, Ruth and Robert and Stuart and Jutka*. You all look very well - hope you are surviving the cold and snow storms we have been reading about and seeing on the TV news. Stuart took some photos of our Christmas so I hope we will get those developed soon and send you some copies. Stuart is taller than Pat now and filling out too. Lewis is still all energy and has an incredibly dark suntan. They are back at school now - Stuart and Sacha at Murray's Bay Intermediate and Lewis at Browns Bay primary. They all seem to have settled in very quickly and are very happy. They have had a marvellous holiday since it has been very hot and they have been at the beach most days swimming g and canoeing. I have been over on the odd days and gone swimming too which has been very relaxing. This weekend I picked them up after work on Friday and they spent the night here. On Saturday we got up at 6.30 and went off to the local flea-market to sell off a lot of old junk  we had cleared out of the garage together with some old clothes belonging to friends of ours who are leaving to go to England. Stuart in particular loved haggling with people, mostly Maoris and Pacific Islanders (Tongans, Samoans, Cook Islanders etc) over prices. We have been having a big clear up since we have decided to sell 1a Huia Rd. It is just too small and when the children come they all sleep in the living-room which is quite fun when it is summer but pretty hopeless when it is wet and we can't go out. At the moment we are negotiating to buy a beautiful piece of land about 4 miles from here. It is two acres and half of it is native bush, very peaceful with lots of birds and a view over the whole of South Auckland. We won't know for another month whether or not we will be able to borrow enough money to buy it but we have really fallen in love with it and have been drawing all sorts of house plans to build on it. We would have to sell Huia Rd before we could afford to build and that could take a year or more because the NZ economy is down in the dumps and no one has the money for house buying at the moment. So all our future plans at present hinge round our 'Sugar Mountain' project. If the deal does go through we will take some pictures of the section to let you see how lovely it is. Incidentally the 'flowers' Mary had in the photograph were common or garden BROOM! plucked from the countryside hedgerow.
    Sorry to hear about the new hernia and hope it is not too painful for you getting around, Dad. Lots of love from us both, John and Mary.
[*My younger sister and her son and my brother Stuart and his wife.]

84. Seasons Greetings: the Birth of Love.

  Carol Singers, Kilburn Park, Christmas 1954

        There's no trace now of St John the Evangelist Kilburn, not even a google image
        No youth club for ping pong and petting games in the dingy crypt
        No corner pub with a Sallies' band and kids loitering at the bar door
        Just a new housing development and spruced up tube station.

        The obliteration of place doesn't erase memories of it
        And one in particular shines through the cold night of a 1950s winter
        Where, in the murky streetlight of a December night,
        Coddled in woolly hats, scarves, gloves, heavy overcoats,
        Our choir of carol singers,
        Stamping our feet between the songs to warm our toes,
        Brings the Christmas message to diffident onlookers.

        Within that choir you and I
        In the innocence of our scarcely teenage years
        Our ice breaths mingling in the still air
        Contrive to share a songbook in the candlelight
        And, as our heads draw close to read the words we know by heart,
        Strands of golden hair caress my face.
        I see your shy gentle smile and breathe you in
        To jump-start my heart with the first stirrings of love.

_________________________________________________________

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

Christmas Quilt - Lois Macaskill, Orewa

 

 

83. The Archaeology of a Box: (5) NZ Values Party Manifesto for 1975 General Election.

 

 

Next, prompted by my last blog, I dig out from among a pile of papers in the box, the 1975 election manifesto of the Values Party. 'Certainly no other party' in the election, wrote the New Zealand Herald in its editorial of October 16th 1975, was 'likely to produce a manifesto as seductively presented as the glossy, liberally illustrated 90-page offering from Values.'

 

According to Wikipedia, the New Zealand Values Party is 'considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party', a forerunner of the Green parties. It contested five elections - 1972, 1975, 1978, 1981 and 1984. It's best result was in 1975 when it won over five per cent of the vote, which, if MMP had been in place then, would have given it a significant presence in Parliament. Many Values Party members, including Jeanette Fitzsimons and Rod Donald, later became active in New Zealand's Green Party, founded in May 1990.

 

The main frameworks of the Party's policies are set out in the first few pages of the manifesto under three main headings - Survival, Justice and Community. These are reproduced below (copy sourced from globalgreens.org.) Each is explored in more detail in the remainder of the document.    

  

Survival
The Stable-State Society

Infinite growth is impossible. Resources are limited and most of them are not renewable. The development of synthetic substitutes creates problems as well as solving them, and reflects the growth mentality that must be altered if mankind is to survive. Population growth, economic growth and use of resources must be restricted if society is to meet the needs of man. Now is the time to do it, and New Zealand can lead the world in developing a new society, the new set of attitudes necessary to form worthwhile satisfying communities.

Population

There is a maximum number of people which the earth can sustain at reasonable standards of living. Already a large proportion of the world's population is underfed, poorly clothed, and unable to reach its full mental, physical and social potential. The effectiveness of each and every individual, his happiness, and his ability to contribute to society will reduce as population numbers increase. Limiting population growth will enable present resources to be shared equitably around the world - without greatly reducing our present standard of living. Population growth must be reduced if "space-ship earth" is to continue voyaging through space. Education in family planning, contraception and human relationships is needed to achieves this.

A New Economic Recipe

The economic machine is geared to meeting material needs yet it has failed to provide them for many people around the world, and for some in New Zealand. This same machine is also beginning to seriously threaten our natural environment. It is possible to develop an economic system based on co-operation, sharing and conservation, a system which meets our material needs and at the same time promotes the satisfaction of non-material needs such as friendship, play, self-expression, a sense of individual identity, social approval, self esteem, and peace of mind. Values' economic policies are aimed at producing a stable-state economy. Growth must be curbed, and existing wealth redistributed.

Primary Production

A flourishing and vital rural community is essential to New Zealand's future. Our most important economic assets are land, climate and accumulated farming skills. Measures which promote effective. efficient and rational use of land are needed to enable agriculture to cater for the needs of New Zealand, and to help it meet its commitments to the rest of the world. Farm incomes must be guaranteed. Forestry must be encouraged - but not to the extent of destroying an important natural resource, native timber. Fishing has so far been greatly neglected by the government, and deserves further encouragement.

Industrial Relations

Employees are too often not involved in decisions which affect their lives. This is a primary cause of industrial unrest, and workers must be given the right to be involved in management and control of industry. Restructuring of many industrial processes is necessary if people are to achieve job satisfaction. Unions have an important role to play in this area. Retraining schemes, the introduction of job-sharing and more flexible working hours will also greatly reduce industrial strife.

Consumerism

There are pressures on people to keep producing and consuming more. Much advertising creates artificial wants and promotes dissatisfaction - even though New Zealand is a relatively affluent society and the material needs of most people are met. Once basic material requirements have been provided, human needs are distorted by continued emphasis on material consumption. If society were operating sensibly, the more goods we obtained, the fewer we would need. Advertising should be regarded as an information process, rather than a persuasion process. Packaging of goods should be kept to a minimum. Firms should be given incentives to make longer-lived products. Consumer education is needed, and smaller, more personalised shopping centres should be encouraged.

Technology and the Future

Technology can do much to lighten the burden of work many people carry. It can make life easier and more comfortable, and give people more time to pursue leisure. But often, technology has made work meaningless, has replaced the tasks from which people derive satisfaction. Technology, instead of making human hands and brains redundant, should help them become more productive. The ethical, cultural and environmental implications of technological development should be assessed - and technology should be rejected where it does nothing to promote human involvement and awareness.

Environment

There is nothing wrong with man altering his environment. But it must be done carefully, so the alterations do not cause the breakdown of the natural systems on which every living thing depends. Limits to population growth and the development of a stable-state economy are essential if pollution is to be prevented. Products must be recycled as much as possible. The urban environment must be kept on a human scale, because one of the prime causes of social problems is the alienation of people in the places where most of us live - the cities and towns.

Energy

The demand for energy is increasing at an alarming rate. New Zealand is being forced to develop more and more expensive methods of producing electricity, and is misusing its primary energy sources. The development of nuclear power is unacceptable to the Values Party, and there is a limit to hydro-electric and other electric generation potential. Energy consumption must therefore be stabilised. Transport is one of the heaviest users of fuels, and so the economic use of public transport systems must be encouraged.

Justice

Rich World, Poor World

The gap between rich and poor countries is widening, and will never close if the present system of international trade and economic organisation is allowed to continue. The internal policies of our government are based on eliminating poverty and inequality - surely our external policies should have the same set of values? A just world order and a stable world economy is essential if starving millions are to be fed, homeless people housed, and illiterates educated to reach their full potential. Three main kinds of assistance are needed for the underprivileged areas: relief aid, development projects, and help with political, economic and social change. Multinational corporations have too much control in too many foreign countries - including New Zealand.

International Relations

There is a great need for mankind to be united - to become one species on planet earth, rather than a multitude of fragmented and bickering "nations". The United Nations has a major role to play in any attempt to break down international differences. Just as it is essential for New Zealand to develop a stable society, a just, environmentally-sound world order must be developed if mankind is to survive. Control and use of the sea and the sea-bed is one area in which international co-operation could be readily achieved. The Antarctic is another. New Zealand must be independent and non-aligned if it is to give a lead in the new attitude to international relations.

Individual Freedom

Individual freedom must be allowed unless it is clearly outweighed by the interests of the community as a whole. In the matter of abortion, people must have freedom to plan their own families. The Values Party supports free and readily available contraception and sterilisation, as well as freedom of individual conscience. Censorship inhibits the development of responsible adult citizenship, although some censorship may be necessary in the interests of children. There is a need for extensive safeguards to ensure the confidentiality of data collected-on the affairs of individuals. The State should have no role in regulating sexual practices between consenting adults in private. Present drug laws are inconsistent and often make the problem worse - but the Values Party does not advocate the use of drugs in any form. Greater controls are needed on the use of firearms.

Status of Women

New Zealand practises a form of sexual apartheid. Children are taught concepts of masculinity and femininity which encourage boys to be adventurous, curious and rough, girls to be decorative, helpful and clean. There is no reason why both males and females should not share these qualities. Equality for women should not simply enable women to share a man's world on male terms. The status of the traditional female values which stress co-operation, nurturing, healing, cherishing and peace, should be raised, these are the values which are needed if everyone is to survive. Men and women should share work and home environments - there is no reason why both can't be breadwinners, and it is generally desirable for both to spend time bringing up children.

Race Relations

The task ahead is not to assimilate the Maori but to help him foster his racial and cultural identity. There is much in Maori society, particularly the traditional attitudes to land - which could contribute to a stronger, healthier total society - if the pakeha could accept it. The Values Party would encourage the development of urban marae, train police recruits and employers in race relations, and support unions which promote courses for immigrant Polynesian workers.

Crime and Punishment

Prisons isolate inmates from the community, and deprive them not only of freedom but also of their self-respect and humanity. This makes it difficult for released prisoners to readjust to society and increases, rather than decreases, the possibility that they will offend again. If a law-breaker must be imprisoned, the only punishment inflicted by society should be the deprivation of freedom, for this is the most valued of human rights. Emphasis should be placed on rehabilitation and on training offenders to live within the accepted norms of society. Alternatives should be found to prisons, and prisons themselves made as congenial and normal as possible, to reduce unrest and aid rehabilitation. The community should be encouraged to interact with prisons and other penal institutions.

Community

Community, Family, Children

Communities have become too big and families have become too small Because of the sprawling nature of cities and towns, and because of increased family and individual mobility, the formation of small areas with a community of interest is now rare. New Zealand badly needs a set of clearly defined national goals with which the whole community can identify. Government should be decentralised, and people given as much say as possible in running their own affairs - in determining the type of community in which they live. Extended families - of grandparents, parents, children, and perhaps friends and other relatives - should be encouraged. So should other forms of communal living. Children should be under the influence of more than one adult, and child-care centres should be more than mindless baby-minders.

Education

The education system can be used to maintain the present system or to help develop an alternative. At the moment, our education system is not equipping young people with the skills they need to cope with life in a changing world. There is little point in simply updating the system so it caters better for a society that is fundamentally competitive and materialistic. Education should be geared to the development of a just, co-operative, community-based society. A major effort is needed to tackle many of the problems of modern education - there is a need for improved adult education, for greater retraining, and to improve facilities for minority groups. The decision-making process of education must be reformed, to allow for greater power at community and regional levels. There should be greater diversity of educational styles, to allow for individual preferences and differences.

Health

Everyone has a right to health care, when and where it is needed. Need should be the only criterion for receiving care. The health service should be decentralised, so that communities can decide for themselves the type of service they want. But because resources are finite there is a limit to the amount of money that can be spent, so services must be spread as equitably as possible. Prevention is better than cure, and the development of a stable society would do much to prevent many of today's diseases - the diseases of stress and affluence.

Welfare

An objective of all Values' policies is to create a society that has no need for social welfare as it is traditionally understood. A guaranteed minimum income would replace most benefits and superannuation schemes. The caring, cohesive community established once growth rates had been stabilised, would cater for most people's needs. There will nevertheless be a continuing need for the traditional forms of welfare', and "common situation" groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous should be encouraged.

Housing

Shelter is a basic need of mankind. People have a right to warm, dry, comfortable accommodation, at a reasonable price. Yet after many years of effort by successive governments many people live in poor quality housing at too high a price. It is very difficult to buy a house. Part of the problem is that speculators are taking advantage of people's need for housing. Part of it is that some dwellings are under-used. Building cannot keep pace with population growth. There should be tighter controls on speculation. More houses should be built, and money and other assistance made more readily available. Variety in housing, and alternatives in living styles, should be encouraged.

Local Government

Local bodies should be more concerned than they are with the wider needs of the community. Too often, important decisions affecting a local area are left to a distant bureaucracy. Decisions on matters such as housing, health, welfare and education should ail be decentralised. At the same time. there is a need for a reorganisation of local government - regional, district and community councils should be developed. Rates should be abolished in favour of a local income tax.

Government Reform

Only a strong sense of community can counter the massness and alienation of modern western society. More power, more responsibility, and more autonomy must go to regional levels of government. Greater openness is needed in central government, and the public must be more involved in its processes. The present "confrontation" debating system should be reformed, and MPs given greater assistance in their work.

 

 

82. Vignettes of Family Life in New Zealand: (4) Christmas/New Year 1975/76

Sailing on Lake Pupuke

Sunnybrae Road, 2nd November 1975
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    Thank you for your letter with all the news of Elizabeth's departure for Nigeria - it was good to hear she had enjoyed her leave so much and was in such good form.
    Our principle news for this last month has been Sacha's breaking of her right arm. She did it a couple of weeks ago one morning at playtime when she fell awkwardly from a rope she was trying to walk across in the school playground - she only fell a couple of feet but it was enough to break the bone in the forearm. Fortunately both Pat and I were at home that morning so we took her to the casualty department at the North Shore Hospital which is less than a mile from here. Sacha was very good and so were the hospital staff; she had to have the bone re-set under a local anaesthetic and then plastered. The anaesthetic made her see double for a time and very chirpy and not know quite where she was - first she wanted to stay at the hospital and then she wanted to go back to school straightaway to tell them all she had broken her arm. We had her home again from the hospital by lunchtime so had spent about three hours there which was not too bad. The North Shore casualty department is only open in the mornings and at other times you have to go to the central Auckland hospital about 7 miles away where you can apparently wait anything up to 8 or 9 hours to get a bone set.
    At first Sacha was very proud of her broken arm and her plaster and the envy of all her friends, then for a couple of days she got irritated by it, and since then you would think she had nothing wrong as she plays all her usual games and can still write with her right hand. Strangely enough within the week Hayden Oswin who is Sacha's age and lives in the house at the bottom of our garden also broke his arm falling from the garden seesaw and so he is in plaster too. It is very funny to see the two of them together - they spend a lot of time playing knucklebones which seems to be the latest craze. Sacha should be getting her plaster off within the next ten days or so.
    Otherwise we are all well and Lewis has his usual ration of cuts and bruises from zooming around as batman with his friend Mark Petersen, who lives at the top of our drive, as the boy Robin. Examinations are underway at the University so I have some papers to mark and only two weeks more of classes for this year. Pat has not had much relief teaching to do so far this term but starting on November 10th she has a solid block of four weeks at Glenfield College as relief for one of the teachers who is standing as Labour candidate for East Coast Bays in the general election that is coming up on November 29th. I am hoping to spend as much time at home as possible during that period both to do some work of my own and to be around when the children come out of school at 3pm. Pat usually gets home about 3.45. She is busy at the moment preparing material on China and India - the school have provided her with kitsets for teaching that include tapes, slides and books.
    Election campaigns here are relatively short but the next three weeks are going to be full of party politicals on the telly etc. At the moment the opinion polls are suggesting that the National Party and Mr Muldoon are likely to win which will be a big turnaround given the large majority that the Labour Party won in 1972. The party with the most interesting policies is the Values Party* but they will probably get less than 5% of the vote. Both Pat and I are eligible to vote this time.
    Lots of love to you both and all the 'visitors'. Pat, John and family.

15th December 1975
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    Thank you for your various letters and cards received over the last couple of weeks including your Christmas letter. We are in the middle of a spell of lovely sunny weather and it is difficult to think of Christmas coming up or to raise the energy to go shopping in Auckland where it us usually five degrees hotter than here on the North Shore. Pat has just finished a full month of teaching at Glenfield Collage - she was standing in for one of the teachers who was Labour Party candidate for the local East Coast Bays electorate - he lost which was not surprising given the very large swing against the government. Prices have been rising very rapidly here in the last 18 months and most people's incomes have not kept pace. Although the government had managed to keep unemployment down to remarkably low levels by world standards (less than 1/2 of one per cent of the labour force) they lost out to a general feeling that the economy was not being well managed and inflation was too high, though nothing like it has been in Britain from what we hear. Pat and I both voted for one of the minor parties, called the Values Party, which has an interesting set of policies aimed at curbing unnecessary economic growth, stabilising population, using the country's natural resources more carefully, conserving the environment, rejecting the development of nuclear power stations (there are none in NZ at present) and giving greater aid to the third world nations. Much of their thinking is along the lines of John Taylor's 'Enough is Enough' which you sent me earlier this year and the Club of Rome's 'Limits to Growth'. They attracted 5% of the total vote which was not bad for a party that is only 3 years old but was not as good as they had hoped. Anyway now we have a National Party government with a large majority headed by Mr. Muldoon who is a very acerbic controversial figure popularly known as "Piggy". Now that the Australians have also thrown out their Labour Party government very decisively the political spectrum of this part of the world looks very different.
    The gifts you sent by air have arrived as have the postal orders for the children - they did so on a day when both Pat and I were at work and the children picked up the post on their way home from school, so they duly opened their presents! and were delighted by them. We have sent you a subscription for the National Geographic for next year and hope you are not already receiving it. We too have been somewhat tardy in sorting out presents this year but hopefully we can bring some things with us when we come on leave. There have been a lot of changes in the permissible stop-over arrangements due to new regulations the government and Air New Zealand introduced recently so we may not spend any time in the U.S.A. or Canada as we had hoped. Also our fares have gone up 50% in the last two years and are about to go up again shortly so that will affect us too. Anyway we should arrive in late May or early June but have nothing definitely fixed as yet. The children's main concern seems to be that they should get to Disneyland either on the way over or the way back! We are more concerned that they should not be too disrupted since they are very settled here with their school and their local friends. Last weekend we all went to Albany to visit some friends who breed and train ponies so they all had a ride, bareback, and are looking forward to going again in the school holidays.
    Hope you have a lovely Christmas with Stuart and Jutka*. Our thoughts will be with you all.
    Love from Pat, John, Stuart, Sacha and Lewis.
[*My younger brother and his wife.]

5th January 1976
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    A Happy New Year to you both. From what we see on our TV screens it hasn't started too well what with the devastating gales. Hope you have not had any trouble with falling chimneys, or garden sheds blowing away.
    We had a quiet Christmas here with just an English couple with their baby - one year old on Christmas Day - visiting us in the afternoon. The weather over the Christmas period was fairly wet but improved after New Year and we have been out and about to various activities with the children, to a film 'The Return of the Pink Panther' and to the theatre to see the Basil Brush Show. We also went out in an old launch called Molly that we have a 1/4 share in - the first time we have been out in it and quite an adventure it was, the main problem being transferring from launch to dinghy to get ashore on Motutapu Island - Dad fell in much to everyone's amusement! I rounded the day off when we got back by being stung by a bee. On the Saturday we all went to Pukekohe, about 35 miles south of here, to watch the NZ Grand Prix motor racing which was good fun and fortunately not too hot. Other trips have been to the beach. We are also able to use the school swimming pool just over the road so that is very convenient. Lewis had some flippers, a snorkel and a mask for Christmas so we all get a lot of fun out of using those. One of my presents was a barbecue so we are going to try it out this evening with some sausages.
    New Zealand is shut at this time of year - virtually everything grinds to a halt in the three weeks after Christmas as people take their holidays. I have been trying to do a bit of work in the mornings and then taking the afternoons off - but the weather is sometimes a bit too tempting and we go to the beach instead - my nose is already peeling for the third time this summer in spite of hats and suncreams. The garden is looking good - bougainvilleas, hydrangeas and a jacaranda in flower and the fruit is coming on; we have had some of our own strawberries + the figs, apples and grapes should be better this year, also a few plums. Pat has been looking after a vegetable patch so we have grown all our own potatoes + caulis + radishes + cabbages; tomatoes should be ready soon + also some corn on the cob. I planted some kumaras (sweet potatoes Maori style, look a bit like yams) but I don't know exactly when they will be ready, also a rock melon and some Chinese gooseberries so am keeping my fingers crossed for them. Some of the trees we planted a couple of years ago are already over 12' high so we get some shade and more privacy than before. We have also built a new tree hut over the Christmas period so it is pleasant enough just to stay home and potter around. Love from us all, Pat, John and the children.

[*See blog 83 for more on the Values Party.]

81. The Archaeology of a Box: (4) Old 45 rpm Pop Songs

Previous blogs in this series are: 71: Introduction; 73: Children's Drawings, Paintings and Cards; 74: Self-Portrait; and 77: My Grandparents' Victorian Greeting Cards (all November 2013).

Next from the box is a cluster of twenty seven 45 rpm pop songs from the 1960s and 1970s. I guess mementoes like these date one in numerous ways, particularly in terms of musical tastes and the technologies for playing one's choices of personal music.

When I was young and visiting friends I liked to nose into the books on their bookshelves and the records in their record collections. Nowadays, with so much stored on computers, mobile phones, iPads, ebook readers and other electronic devices, much that was previously visible is hidden away.

I was given my first record player by my big sister on my twenty first birthday in 1961 and in the following years collected a small number of EPs (extended play discs mostly of 45rpm) and a large number of LPs (long play at 33-and-a-third rpm*). EPs were single tracks (one on each side) and only lasted a few minutes. They were the currency of juke boxes in pubs and coffee bars, radio and television shows (like the UK Top of the Pops) and parties, whereas LPs, mine at least, were primarily for more serious listening. I have culled many of my LPs over the years but still have a very heavy boxful hidden away in a cupboard; among them a Beatles' White Album - there's currently one selling on Trade Me for $62, which, given fifty years of inflation, is probably about a tenth of the price I paid for it originally.
[*Realising my grandchildren have probably never heard of such things, I thought I should briefly explain what EPs and LPs were.]

When I look through this little collection of EPs I'm not sure why I bothered to keep them at all, carting them around from place to place. Nina Simone's Fine and Mellow (1959) - a 1957 Billie Holiday song - and Ain't Got No - I Got Life (1968) from the musical Hair would still rank among my favourites. Some others have survived well over the years and I think may still be widely known - Peter, Paul and Mary's 1963 recording of Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind, Procul Harem's A Whiter Shade of Pale (1967) and Julie Covington's Don't Cry for Me Argentina (1976) from the musical Evita. I went to performances of both Hair and Evita in London so those bring back good memories and to Western Springs when Chicago sang If You Leave Me Now (1976), a special favourite at that time. So perhaps I'll keep the memories of those alive by downloading them onto my iPad.

For each of the songs I can remember snatches of lyric and melody, but then Ketty Lester's 1962 hit Love Letters gives me a big surprise. I find myself with the whole song in my head and write down the lyric as I recall it (with Sharon as my witness):
   
    Love letters
    Straight from the heart
    Keep us so near
    While apart
    I'm not alone in the night
    When I can have all the love
    You write
    I memorize every line
    And I kiss the name that
    You sign
    And darling then
    I read again
    Right from the start
    Love letters
    Straight from your heart

Then I check on Wikipedia and find one small error: it should be 'your heart' not 'the heart' in line two.

I have no idea why that particular song has survived so vividly in the windmill of my mind. I wasn't even dating in 1962 let alone writing love letters but there it is clear as a bell over fifty years later. I listen to it again on YouTube and see that Elvis released a (to my mind inferior) version in 1971; I don't know if I was ever aware of that before or had simply forgotten it. That's memory for you.

80. Vignettes of Family Life in New Zealand: (3) Summer 1986/87

Pakatoa Island in the Hauraki Gulf

[Previous blogs in this series: 72. Summer 1973/74; 78. Summer 1979/80 (includes Mount Erebus disaster). Both November 1973]

112 Point View Drive, R.D.1, Papatoetoe, 12th December 1986
    Dear Mum and Dad,
    You probably thought we had fallen through a hole at the bottom of the world but not so. It has been a hectic few weeks since we have now moved back to Point View Drive - the street has been renumbered so that 42 is now 112. After the tenants left early in November Linda and I went over to clean the place up (it was filthy) ready to sell. I put ads in all the papers and just before they came out Linda decided the place looked so good perhaps she could, notwithstanding all the ghosts of Mary, live there after all. In fact she decided she would like to especially if we could spend a bit of money on it. So everything went into reverse and we told enquirers that it was no longer on the market.
   ...two weekends ago we moved, with Lewis' help... We can't get the cars in the garage for all the junk but are actually living there. Linda is still working at 3M in Milford which is a journey of about 35 minutes and on Weds, Thurs, and Fridays collects and drops off Kate and Harriet at Milford School. They love the idea of living in Point View Drive and are busy trying to think up a new name for it to replace Sugar Mountain. Naturally I am pleased to be back there since it is a lovely spot. The major snag at the moment is that my stupid tenants had the phone disconnected when they left and they have to recable the street before we can get a new line which won't be until next February at the earliest which is maddening.
    What we plan to do when we have some money... is to add on a couple of extra bedrooms underneath for Kate and Harriet. It is only two bedrooms at present so it is a bit cramped as you can imagine in spite of the size of the living areas. We also want to redecorate some of the present house, especiaslly the master bedroom so are busy looking at wallpapers/carpets etc. And if there is any money left over we will do some landscaping.
    We are both exhausted but should get a break now with Christmas coming up. Love to all for Christmas.
John and Linda xxx

9th January 1987
... We had Kate and Harriet from Boxing Day until January 7th so they are with their father at present. It seems very quiet without them. It was John's turn to have them for Christmas Day so Linda and Lewis and I had Christmas dinner with Linda's folk in Birkenhead - her Mum, Dad, sister, nephew and an aunt. They have got a rabbit for the girls and are bringing it over this Sunday. Stuart went camping over Christmas with some friends from work... Lewis stayed for a few days with us but then went back to Rothesay Bay so that he could get to his work. Not having a telephone makes it difficult to keep in touch but I shall be back at work on Monday 12th and will catch up with them both then.
    On Boxing Day we collected Kate and Harriet and then on the 30th went to Pakatoa for five days returning last Sunday. Perfect weather all the time, sunny and hot and very relaxing so we went swimming and played games and generally had a nice time. We feel we have now exhausted what Pakatoa has to offer so next year will try something different. I have been home all this week and have started to tackle some of the jobs that need doing outside in the 'garden' - very overgrown but it will gradually come back to its normal wilderness look with the help of some judicious moving of the goats... when autumn comes and it is a bit cooler I will do some more planting out of trees and shrubs and try and tidy up the driveway which is a mess.
    We are making some changes on the job front too. Linda is going to go to Law School starting in February... She already has the qualifications for the Law Intermediate so will need to do three years for an LLB Honours and then one year of articles to be fully qualified for the bar examinations.
    I have resigned as Head of the Department of Management Studies so will now carry on as a normal academic at Associate Professor level as before. This will allow me I hope to get on with some written work for publication and free me of a lot of tedious administrative chores. The job was not very stimulating and at the end of the year we got into a lot of politicking about the appointment of a new Dean for the Faculty. The whole process and the outcome disgusted me so much that I resigned and I'm glad I have.
    Sacha sounds very chirpy in her letters and I gather she is having a good time and surviving the cold of winter OK.
    We thought you might like the enclosed photos of Kate and Harriet to add to your growing collection of different 'bits' of the family.

22nd March 1987
    The earthquakes in the Bay of Plenty did not affect us here, not even the slightest tremor. There has been a lot of damage but fortunately no one killed or even badly injured. Things are getting back to normal there now.
    Lewis is here this weekend, busy with his homework and Linda is preparing cases for her Law classes... Kate and Harriet are playing with Richard from next door - he is seven and Amber must be eleven now. Last weekend was the community tennis day which was very pleasant... We went out to Hunua to see John and Lynette* and the twins a few weeks ago; they have a nice big new house but not furnished yet. We called in to see Anita and Neil** but Anita wasn't home but she is fine and only on six monthly checks now with the Dr.
    Love to you both from all of us here, John and Linda xxx

[* Mary's son John and his wife Lynette; ** Mary's sister Anita and her husband Neil.]
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Harriet and Kate at their new bedroom windows