Category: A bit of fun

Day 2

Day 2

The trains are still running. Including the midnight freight train, which despite hearing it, I slept much better. But I was really tired at the end of the day.  Maybe it’s the anxiety, the constant screen, camped inside, or a combination of it all, but it made me very tired.

Some rules were clarified – you can’t drive 20km to the supermarket – well not in the city anyway, you can walk from home and back again, there seems to be a consensus that you can cycle on your own, and that you can drive to a local park and walk there.

I drove to a local park and had a great walk this evening. I imagined who the French Resistance circa 1942 might be and who the occupying sympathisers would likely be. Those that passed cautiously without exaggerated movements and smiled knowingly, verus those who crossed the road with stern looks.

We are told it’s a dire threat so there’s only one rule – Stay Home! – and  all the other variations of that rule are made up as it goes along. Anything that is a breach is obstruction!

Some might question why my apparent obsession with outdoor activities, when there’s an imminent peril to counter. Might be the 80sqm apartment, the need for freedom and the general disruption. It’s both shallow and deep. Shallow as the media only have one story which you can’t consume all the time so I need to focus on something – anything! – and deeper, it’s about our way of life.

It’s also that the disruption for most people is not about COVID-19 on a day-to-day basis – that occupies the Media and social media platforms – it’s about economic and social survival. The economy sacrificed, social order turned upside down, families split and so on.

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So, I survived the first week of Home-D, yeah it’s only two days but let’s give ourselves some slack and make it feel like an achievement. The work team have been awesome and everyone: clients, colleagues and support crew are adjusting very well. We’ve seen the insides of colleagues homes, their family and pets. That’s going to be a thing from now on. Nothing that I would need to unsee yet.

Humour remains important. A colleague asked me what I had in store for the weekend.

Stephen

A golden era of Rugby

A golden era of Rugby

I try and tell myself that it’s important to enjoy the Rugby win or lose, which isn’t that difficult supporting the All Blacks, who win over 90% of their games,  or if you go back for the last 115 years or so, 78%.  Making it the most successful team anywhere, in any sport, league or country.

Well that feels better already! I woke up this morning wondering if it was a (bad) dream. No, it wasn’t.  I was suffering somewhere in the grief cycle. The grief cycle! Really? Shock-Anger-Resentment-Acceptance-Hope. Time to get a grip – it’s a game. Sports!

I love Rugby, especially the All Blacks. I’ve watched every game since 2008 which has been a stunning era in New Zealand Rugby. Even when they lose, they’ve sorted it out, taken the learnings and grown some more legs.

The trouble with a RWC playoff game, is that there’s no coming back. Well not for “four-more-years” (ouch). Hardly seems right, we get to change the government more frequently than that!

So what to do? Phone a friend, listen to some talk back (very briefly) to realise how really troubled some people are, find something that means something special to you other than Rugby – some selfish indulgence – maybe a new project, and if you’re stuck remind yourself that England would have to keep winning until long after you’ve gone to catch up!

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The last twelve years have been a golden era of Rugby for the All Blacks. It hasn’t ended, they won’t be #1 now on the official rankings or holder of the Webb Ellis Cup. But they’ll be back before you know it, thrilling us with entertaining and fast-paced rugby and a Haka that only us Kiwis get.  And mostly winning!

Stephen

p.s. Webb Ellis is the supposed inventor of the game of Rugby Union. He was an Anglican Clergyman. Little did he know he invented a new religion for New Zealand. He might be disappointed I sense.

Back to Tintin for breakfast

Back to Tintin for breakfast

I caught up with a relative over brunch on Saturday. It was a meandering chat over porridge and coffee.

We talked about family, fashion, housing, Tintin and some reminiscing of times long past.

I’m not sure how we got onto Tintin, but we reminded ourselves that he was ageless – stayed the same over decades of stories – but the stories moved with the times.

There are lots of connections between the stories. Obvious ones that are one story in two books like Destination Moon followed by Explorers on the Moon. Others are not so direct: The Crab with the Golden Claws and The Blue Lotus, about drug runners.

Tintin is one of the first books I can remember. I borrowed them from the Christchurch Public Library, in the old brick building that once housed the Library on Cambridge Terrace near Hereford Street.

The stories are rich in meaning, thoroughly researched with events of the time depicted – fascist Europe in King Ottokar’s Sceptre – and beautifully drawn. I love the trains, cars, boats and outsize characters and never tire of reading the 62 pages in each story one more time.

My personal favourite is The Crab with the Golden Claws, a classic detective story, and where Tintin first meets Captain Haddock.

I could talk all day about Tintin. It’s been a life-long pleasure.

He’s a great investigator with a cool head and a sense of adventure like no one else.

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Timeless, just like all good stories.

Stephen

 

A golden era

A golden era

I often find myself thinking how many big things are not going right globally: climate change, our management and respect of the environment, fervent nationalism and the resulting damage to democratic institutions. 

I can make small steps on some of these things and show leadership to provide positive role-modelling and examples.

At the risk of sounding shallow there are some things that I think we might be in a golden era for. One of those is television.

Watching detectorists on Netflix this last week was an outstandingly enjoyable experience. So much so I watched the entire two series through twice.

But wait, there’s more. They’re not going to give you the warm fuzzies like detectorists but The Americans, Homeland, Ozark and my personal favourite that I’m waiting impatiently for the third series of, Occupied.

iStock-1032524948.jpgDetectorists involves shallow digging and has deep human truths in it, but Occupied gets uncomfortably close to the current nationalism, foreign interference and environmental challenges as you might wish for. I had to double check that it really was conceived before the last US presidential election. It was.

Enjoy.

Stephen