The Angels Share at the Auckland International Film Festival

 Today at the Civic Theatre  we were treated to another  Ken  Loach human masterpiece .

 Robbie and a few losers who a met on a PD program thru Harry their warden   discover a taste for and enjoyment of malt whiskey  .


Through whiskey  they turn their life around .

The film is both  emotional draining and humorous .I am sipping a Glenlivet as I write this post

Enough said , get tickets , and  enjoy  The Angels Share     

Blast Pat Hanly -The Painter and his Protests

At the Voyager National Maritime Museum Auckland

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Symonds Street Cemetry Should be Auckland's Pioneer Park

This letter was published in the New Zealand Herald on Wednesday 18 July 2012.







Brian Rudman's suggestion about cemetery the  is meritorious and should be given full consideration by Auckland Council and even central government .Hobson and others buried  there are nationally important and their graves and contribution to New Zealand are surely worthy of a national contribution .

New Zealanders make  trips to the birth places of our forbears .The kiwi diaspora is large and growing.  Many of them  come back to New Zealand often with mokapuna who want to know where their parents and grandparents were born or grew up .This is a natural human wish and we should do all to make this a wonderful, educational discovery and connection for them .

The population of the Waitemata will continue to increase and demand for green space is endemic .Three schools already use the Domain . Myers ,Albert ,Western , Tole and   Grey Lynn parks are working at over capacity.
 The cemetery can help alleviate this pressure and also has some of the best ozone in the city .We should also provide  scented gardens for those whose eyesight  is impaired.
The unsafe area where security guards are scared to venture needs to be addressed .
Most  of these people have mental health  issues which are hidden in the fumes of various addictions. They are worthy of compassion, we should not  drive them to the edge of town but work with the social agencies to get the best possible outcome for them too.

Auckland Thespians come out for Gay Rights

At Maidment theatre last night some of Auckland  liberal community turned out in force.

 Sequined   drag queens, twenty three  actors including Robyn Malcolm and Peter Elliot,  fag hags, stars,  singers,politicians  including Labour MP Jacinda Adern  all celebrated this victory and in questions and answers  after the show reflected on the New Zealand situation .In common cause they drank fine  wine and mineral water.

A proposal known as   Proposition 8 galvanized the social liberals and gay community of America  to defeat this legislation   banning  gay marriage . This play is about the  successful court case led by lawyers Ted Owens and David Boise to the  the American Supreme Court ruled that proposition 8 was unconstitutional .



  Buckwheat  and Tess Tickle doing their bits for gay rights


In the United States prominent actors including  George Clooney ,Brad Pitt and Jamie Lee Curtis have acted in this play. The leading New Zealand actors who  also  taken up the call should be recognized..   All power to them



  It was a full house and the writer was unable to get tickets .

A present from the Christchurch Earthquake

This was published in the New Zealand Herald  28 June ,2012entitled Earthquake Levy

We received our latest policy and the costs have gone up from around eight hundred dollars to in excess of three thousand two hundred dollars for the earthquake and war damage levy. This increase is due to the Christchurch earthquake and international reinsurance costs which have also affected other parts of our policy.This decision disadvantages Auckland, because the population is so great and the houses  worth more than many parts of the country, we seem to be recapitalizing  the earthquake and war damage fund.

 Substantial numbers of  residents in this city will also face substantial residential rates increases. There will be an impact on many, especially those on fixed incomes.

 These increases will also impact on churches and community halls, and the businesses on the high streets that contain the heritage and character buildings. These streets are  important for nation building and telling the stories of our cities. With these increased premiums their very existence may well be under threat .The increase will not be one off and may increase year on year.

Heritage neighborhoods are  important for the tourism industry which is our second largest industry for earning foreign exchange. Without interesting  heritage neighbourhoods the tourism income that helps sustain employment in our cities would be severely affected. Had AMI been bought by local interests when it had problems last year,we would have some leverage and negotiating ability with these foreign owned insurance companies, and our position may be better .

 This is a national issue and the government needs to provide assistance for residents and business.

Who do you think you are kidding Mr Walsh?

In todays New Zaland  Herald the spin doctor for the New Zaland Institute of   architects wrote a critical feature .This should not be left unanswered.

This is my reply.

 Mr Walsh mistakenly suggests supporters of heritage
protection have closed minds and are opposed to modern
homes. Every year, hundreds of people renovate and update
villas to meet the needs of twenty first century families.

Hakanoa Street evolved over decades not by demolition and
replacement, but by sensitive restoration and modernization.
Mr Walsh’s suggestion that villas are simply “boxes with
protuberances and sloping roofs attached” is rather
shallow. Having renovated three villas, I understand they
are part of our built and cultural heritage to pass onto
future generations.

Villas, bungalows and cottages in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn
have accommodated successive generations of various social
classes over time. Mr Walsh recalls when urban professionals
discovered them and argues the inhabitants of traditionally
working-class and often Polynesian parts of inner Auckland
didn’t demand newcomers adopt rugby league and taro. He
misses the point. It’s not social history supporters of
heritage protection seek to preserve, but their built
heritage.

Mr Walsh is a communications manager promoting architects to
design homes that meet both clients’ needs and city
planning regulations. The issue isn’t about architectural competence.Its about heritage rules and all power to those who are prepared to stand up for them.

Auckland Plan Heritage Polices

Sally Hughes of the Save our St Heliers is right to hold the Mayor to task on heritage.He does talk heritage but fails to walk his talk. The Brisbane city heritage rules are workable in Auckland too. City planners must be held to account by the Mayor. He does have a moral authority and for the sake of our city he should use the full force of this to protect Residential One housing stock.
 Correspondents to the Herald, Dave Miller, Margret McRae and Gordon Nelson have every right to be disappointed and cynical about the planning process. The actions of cavalier planners place at risk our heritage and communities as well as income that our city derives from tourists who walk, spend and enjoy the beautiful and colourful suburbs.

 To have lax rules and let planners play fast and loose with them will not sustain or increase the wealth of our  beautiful city. What they do is reduce the physical history  of our nation.