“Never fall out with your neighbours”, my wise father once told me. I’ve done my best over the years, but it’s not always that easy. I remember shaking the hand of a new neighbour years ago, as a form of welcome, only to be told by that ‘we’re not really neighbourly types’. These people have […] The post From the Archives: Neighbourhood alert appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

Excerpts from Kiwiosities, a book by Gordon Ell on the traditions and folklore of New Zealand. New Zealanders are prone to giving trite and unimaginative names to their landmarks. Maori on the other hand used much poetry and polysyllable which has meant that many of their names have slipped from common knowledge over the years. […] The post Kiwiosities: Goat and Rabbit Islands appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

I don’t really remember much about my early Christmases but this one was different. This was the year I got a big blow-up beach ball. It was almost as big as me, bright and colourful – and the only ball I could catch at the time! After Christmas lunch which was loud and full of […] The post Christmas deflated appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

What’s your favourite memory of Christmas? somebody asked and I knew in a flash. It was a Rudge. Barely recognisable as a brand now, almost comical – rhyming as it does with fudge (almost as good but more readily available) and more unfortunately, with sludge… My Rudge, for baby-boomers who might just recall, was a […] The post Bike – freedom! appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

Some Christmas gift thoughts for those with dementia. Short visits Hugs, physical tenderness Tapes of soft music, sing-a-long tapes Exercise items – ‘soft’ balls to toss, indoor bowl set, exercise bike Books – large print, few words. Photo album of memories and life achievements. Soft pillows, stuffed toys Foot bath, whirl pool, grooming items Fresh […] The post Christmas with dementia appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

Long ago and faraway we hitched a ride to Queenstown. It was 1960 and we two 16-year-olds walked down the road to the township and the glittering waters of Lake Wakatipu. We expected to see a township but this was really a little burg, like all the small towns we’d passed on the way South. […] The post Ghostly memories appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

Some Christmases stand out. The one where I pushed my sister’s face into the pavlova because she was annoying me, that was one of those. The one I spent in England with a vegan family with a carnivorous father with nut roast as the centrepiece. But really, most of my childhood Christmases – and those […] The post A Christmas story appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

My mother was a caterer. She worked from home with the help of my step-father (heavy lifting duties and general run-about) and daughter number three, aged 10 years (me, baker of pavlovas). She provided good honest food for friends’ and relatives’ weddings. Mum called herself a plain cook. As young children, my two sisters and […] The post Plum pudding and plonk appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

Name your best Christmas, my parents said to me the other day. My best… the most memorable… the most exciting?! To be honest, I can only remember Christmas’s from eight years up – the first eight years were a mist of hazy snapshots, smells, and tears (most likely mine because I was the youngest of […] The post The Christmas that nearly wasn’t appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more

Man hurries into the Auckland airport’s domestic terminal and stops.  It’s just not the place he once knew so well. Not many airport officers around to ask for directions but he does spot a tall Polynesian officer standing nearby. Man thinks he should know and so he stops and asks: “S’cuse me officer but I […] The post Miscellany – November appeared first on kiwiboomers ..read more