Letter to Students 09 November 2008

Dear Reader

It is Sunday evening, and I am sitting beside Han as we try to come to terms with the fact that Helen Clark and her party are not in power, and the country fell for the line that New Zealand needed a change.  Han and I spent yesterday door knocking for the Labour Party, making sure that voters who had supported Labour knew where the polling booths were, and could get there to vote. If they couldn’t we offered to take them, and I took one old man who didn’t have a car but had said he wanted to vote.  He lived in an old villa in South Dunedin, a formerly gracious villa but now run down due to a lack of money to maintain it.  I felt so sorry for this old man who lived on his own, and shuffled off to cast his vote.  I hope that this new government maintains the Labour pledge to honour the elderly who worked so hard to make this country the great country it is.

Last night, we sat in our cottage in front of a roaring open fire, had a drink and watched the results as they came in, realizing very early on that Labour was going to lose.  Our neighbour had come over to join us, and he said that he had voted National, but only said this to wind us up as he later confessed that he hadn’t voted at all.  I said that not voting was worse than voting National, as apathy is a major threat to democracy. 

New Zealand has now lost a lot of political personalities who had been around for thirty years.  Winston Peters, a young Maori lawyer when he entered politics, was seen by some people to have the potential to have become the first Maori prime minister. However, he was unable to say sorry for his dishonesty, and crossed swords with so many people through his deeply divisive character.  The people of Tauranga finally threw him out, even though he had worked hard for the elderly and secured them the senior “gold card.”

What did you do this past weekend? On Saturday morning, I went to the Farmers’ market with Shahan, and I always enjoy buying my meat from the market.  We then went to Leith Distributors where I bought some spices to make different curries which I made tonight.  On Friday, I met up with three elderly Japanese women whom I had met by chance in Japan, and they had said they were keen to come to see me in Dunedin. I was so sorry that the weather had turned so cold, but I took them up to Signal Hill and to see the beaches.  I had to look after my grandchildren, Mila and Arlo after school, so they came with us.  As a treat for everyone, and as is the ritual when I take the children on a drive, we had an ice cream even though it was very cold.  Fortunately, the sun was shining on Saturday, and I was able to take them on a drive over the high road across the OtagoPeninsula, arriving at our home where we walked around our garden and then had a cup of coffee before returning to Dunedin.  It was at this time I changed my purple scarf for a red one, and went out to support the campaign for Claire Curran, who thankfully won in Dunedin which was one of the few cities which stayed Labour in both electorates.  Pete Hodgson has been the Member of Parliament for Labour for many years, and I actually went out with him when I was at university. That is another story in another life!

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I have just returned home, having gone in to town to pick up Jan who returned from a high performance training camp in Christchurch.  Jan only started playing basketball two years ago, but he is lucky to have a talent, and loves practicing.  It is that desire to succeed which brings success, and John Key is a good example of that.  A self made millionaire, from a working class background, he told his wife on their first date, that he wanted to be prime minister of New Zealand one day.  The power of positive energy is awesome!

We have had a real family day today, as is usual for Sunday, but what was not a usual occurrence was moving our oldest son and partner to their new home.  We took our little Suzuki 4 wheel drive and trailer, and enjoyed helping as the extended family gathered to make moving that little bit easier.  Oldest daughter, Jo, arrived with her family and shared a big pot of home made soup and bread.  Scott made a delicious bacon and egg pie which we ate on their new deck overlooking Brighton beach, and I felt so lucky to be part of this special family.

It is now time to have a spa with Han, and then go to bed.  Shahan and I are enjoying spending some time together as she will leave, as soon as school finishes, for China where she will work in a preschool in a city outside Shanghai.  Han has been very nervous about the trip, but I see it as a great adventure, and Han is gradually coming round to understanding Shahan’s desire to leave the nest and go off shore for her OE.  I did the same thing, so understand.  Han married soon after leaving home, so his set of experiences has been very different from mine. Han had four children by the time he was twenty five years old, while I travelled during all my holidays while I was at university, and then travelled and worked till I was in my thirties. 

We are feeling a little flat after the hype of the election and the realization that our party did not win.  However, the candidate whom we supported was the highest polling MP in the country, so all our efforts were not in vain!  You must always do what you believe is right. 

Let’s have a great week together, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Love

Sharron