I found a book entitled ‘How to be Amazing at Anything’. It had only a single page and was just one word long:

                        PRACTISE

(Arguably it could be practice or practise, take your pick, my original source on the Internet, Pinterest, had ‘c’ but I like the active verb better.)

I read an interesting article in Booknotes about how people choose what book to read in this digital age with all the information that's available online now.  There is a box summarising ‘a modern reader’s cloud of influences’ – clever. 

   It made me think about my own choices.  I still rely on ‘word of mouth’ from friends as I have always done - as do others it seems.  Often for me this comes in the form of letters from friends especially at Christmas.

   Online sources would be websites like NZ Booksellers and Guardian Books, sites outlining any novels shortlisted for  the NZ Post Book Awards, the Man Booker prize and other similar prizes like the Orange Prize (open to any woman publishing in English), and online blogs such as Beattie’s Book Blog. One of my favourite sources of books to read is a regular e-newsletter from independent booksellers Page and Blackmore (Nelson), that tells what the staff are currently reading with a brief review of each book. Sometimes these are books that they have received as advance copies.  If I hear a book review or author interview on Radio New Zealand National I can go online to get the full title/author and publisher details. Receiving e-newsletters from Writers and Readers festivals is another good source of literary information like the Auckland Writers Festival regular emails. I might not be able to attend but I can read the books.

   Once I have decided on a book I usually order it online from the library’s catalogue. Sometimes I am informed by the computer that there is a waiting time of 55 days!  Who knows why? Maybe it hasn’t been purchased or processed yet. I put it on ‘hold’ anyway. I’m still waiting to read The Lighthouse by Alison Moore (Booker shortlist).

   Printed sources for me are book reviews in the Listener and several newspapers, (often just given a cursory glance), and advertising flyers produced by booksellers like Blenheim Bookworld. Congratulations to them by the way for winning ‘best window display’ as part of the Marlborough  Wine and Food Festival. They teamed up with Spy Valley wines, crime novels and all that.

   Audio sources like Radio NZ National are very important to me. I don’t always hear the book or author interview but I go regularly to their website and can hear the interview repeated, download it as a podcast or get the details of books reviewed. The BBC has a good book programme that encourages audience participation.

   I like to browse the book shelves in the library. Non-fiction is easier for me to select than fiction. Novels displayed as ‘returned today’ or ‘best sellers’ (seen in a Christchurch library), are not what I am looking for. I need to know that if a novel is to be on my bedside table it deserves to be there and will be a good read.  

      These days I buy poetry books, a small number of non-fiction reference books and seldom buy fiction unless it is by a New Zealand author and has been highly recommended. I ask myself if I won Lotto would I buy more books?  I’m not sure as my three bookcases are already full and my treasured non-fiction books are on the bottom shelf of the china cabinet to protect them from dust and sunlight. Perhaps e-books are the way to go from a storage point of view but I spend so much time on the computer looking at a screen I like words on a printed page and the feel of a book. When I lived in Papua New Guinea I took a suitcase full of novels and records back with me after I had been home ‘on leave’ as it wasn’t possible to buy books in Madang. I swapped the books with an Australian neighbour as we did our bread and baking recipes as it was difficult to buy bread or sweet treats either apart from packet biscuits and white bread occasionally when a boat came from Australia. The shops were busy that day after goods had been unloaded.

   It seems word of mouth is still top of the list according to the Booknotes article, friends and family recommending a book they have enjoyed reading, talking to the local librarian or bookseller and exchanging ideas at a book group.  This is followed by reading reviews both in print form and online, book award short lists (and winners), and authors discovered at Writers' Festivals. When my mother passed away I lost an important part of my literary network. She told me I had to read Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet and ‘anything’ by Doris Lessing. She worked at the public library for many years in Wellington so that was useful and my favourite aunt who passed away recently always had small side tables and chairs overflowing with library books as she too worked in a library, the Auckland Public Library, and like my mother and myself had a lifetime’s interest in reading books.

   Something that occurred to me when I was thinking about all this is when I decide what movies to go to, again apart from personal recommendations, I look at the lists as advertised in the newspaper like the Marlborough Express, the Press and the Sunday Star Times then I either read the actual film reviews in a newspaper or other printed sources or go onto the Internet to decide if I want to drive 25 kms to watch it on the big screen, wait for the DVD, or avoid it completely. I thought it could be quite helpful to have a list of books advertised somewhere each day that people could refer to, new books recently published and constantly being updated as with the movie advertisements. I’m still thinking about how this might be achieved perhaps the book publishers and bookshops could get together and agree on such a daily list. Maybe Facebook and Twitter could tell us what’s ‘trending’ in the way of books in terms of our previous reading record. I don’t mean just best sellers like John Grisham and Nora Roberts (though they would obviously feature), but including books that people like me want to read.  I guess as far as novels go it would be the book equivalent of  ‘art house’ films, the ones with subtitles, the kind of film you go to in an intimate movie theatre to watch, usually called ‘The Lounge’, or rent from a video shop after waiting several months for its public release.

    I'm thinking here about the comparison between the novel The Yellow Birds (one of my top choices for 2012), and any novel with the character Jack Reacher in it, also Pride and Prejudice compared with 50 Shades of Grey – similar themes don’t you think?

 

Reference:

Spring 2012 Booknotes, (p.8, 9).

We all have the potential to clear away the clouds and experience more clear blue sky.

            – Rod Watson, psychotherapist, Wild Tomato, issue 78 January 2013, p.66

I've recently returned from a week in Nelson, my favourite place apart from Picton and Hanmer Springs (and Florence if I’m allowed to count Europe). On the first day I wondered why  people leave their comfortable homes to put up with, in my case a dripping tap over the kitchen sink, a wall clock that had stopped at 11.50am, a set of shelves that  stuck together whenever you pulled out a drawer, neighbours who  wake noisily at 6am, a complete lack of  items like graters,  decent wine glasses, kitchen scissors (and you know how impossible packaging is to get into sometimes),  planes flying very low overhead at all hours of the day on the way to Nelson airport. I wrote a poem about all this years ago.  However the view over the estuary at Tahuna and the silk tree in flower and the relaxation of lying around reading and catching up with family and being able to go and see movies on a big screen without having to drive 25kms probably made up for it all.

   I returned home to find a lovely stone that my neighbour had illustrated for me as I had helped edit her children’s book, A Long Dusty Road.  The stone has a Shakespeare quote on it for my mini -Shakespeare garden.

   I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows ...

   In the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania, Queen of the fairies often sleeps with her female companions at night on such a bank. Her partner, Oberon, is jealous and decides to play a trick on her.

   Yesterday someone asked me if this was a usual kind of garden for people to have.  ‘Oh yes I said, people do all sorts of things in their gardens’.  Prior to this I had quotes on pieces of paper, laminated and attached to green plastic stakes but they didn’t last in the rain or got blown away in the wind. It sounds like I have many relevant quotes, in reality I only ever got around to creating two!

Proposed move of ferries to Clifford Bay (to be operational by 2020)

   The ferries have been coming into Picton for 50 years, since the advent of the Aramoana in 1962,  well for many years before that if you think about all the small steamers like the Penguin which ran backwards and forwards between Wellington and Picton and Nelson. The trip on the Interislander is rated the 11^th best thing to do according to the Automobile Association’s list of 101 must-do’s in New Zealand. What is the Government thinking!

   Some concerns:

   The first one is mine, see sources for others below.

·         Salt works at Lake Grassmere:  60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of salt are processed by Dominion Salt at Lake Grassmere each year using sea water and natural evaporation, definitely a ‘clean green’ product. Production first began in 1943. See www.dominionsalt.co.nz

What happens if the ferries move to Clifford Bay and the ocean becomes contaminated through shipping and potential fuel spills? Is anyone investigating this?

·         Threat to the habitat of Hector's dolphins, an endangered species found only in New Zealand. The Clifford and Cloudy Bay area is one of six marine mammal sanctuaries.  Five of the sanctuaries were set up specifically to protect Hector’s dolphins. See www.doc.govt.nz

 

·         Risk of collision between ferries and dolphins and humpback whales as this is the route the whales take swimming up  the east coast of New Zealand on the way to Tonga (in Tonga July-October to breed then return to Antarctica to feed; June/July Cook Strait whale surveys

·         Earthquake and tsunami risk. Clifford Bay is rated highly in the Marlborough Hazards Register

·         School closures

·         Possible reduction  in medical services

·         Picton businesses significant loss of revenue

·         Stress for Picton people, especially business owners

·          lack of further investment in existing businesses by current owners

·         Possible fall in property prices

Sources of above: Wild Tomato, issue 78 January 2013, ‘Picton Sailing into Stormy Waters’ pp.41-43; Picton business survey (done independently by Sarah O’Bryan), reported in Marlborough Express, 29 January 2013; ongoing articles in Marlborough Express.

   The Marlborough District Council has signed a confidentiality agreement with the Government not to reveal outcomes of any discussions on the proceedings which is a concern for citizens who believe they have a democratically elected local body.

   Some people are talking about Picton becoming a Destination instead of a place that people pass through on their way to somewhere else, and how good that will be for the town. Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee is quoted as saying:  ‘Picton could become another Queenstown’, but is this a reality? He might ‘love’ Picton and have a holiday house in the Marlborough Sounds but Queenstown as Marlborough’s Mayor Alistair Sowman points out, has an international airport. Others say the loss of the ferries will mean the loss of one million plus travellers each year with a subsequent loss of revenue both for Port Marlborough and Marlborough business owners.  As my father says Queenstown also has Coronet Peak and winter activities like skiing and related festivals so they also have a marvellous winter venue, a time when many Picton businesses suffer.

   I suggest you enter the discussion and have your say at the scheduled public meetings.

   My favourite aunt has just passed away in Auckland, my father’s sister.  Her home was always full of books, art works on loan from the public library and exuberant conversation. It’s a reminder to get on and do all the things one wants to do.

 

I write entirely to find out what I am thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear – Joan Didion (1934 – )

It’s a wonderful day today with an abundance of rain which is continuing all day. The ground was desperate for a good soaking after all the winds we have had over Christmas and New Year. Today the north-westerly wind gusts are strong and a lot of small boats are heading into the harbour for shelter. All the garden furniture has been blown over again and the wind chimes have gone crazy, nothing Gregorian about them today.

   There were so many holiday makers in the supermarket on Tuesday - thought they would have all gone home by now. I only wanted a few vegetables and had to queue for ages. In the process I wondered why so many people were buying marshmallows  then came home, checked my email and realised that the ‘Food in a Minute’ sweet treat this week requires marshmallows among other ‘sweet’ things.

  Yesterday I was on duty at the artisans’ market in the mall. I didn’t think anyone would be spending at all after Christmas so took The Listener to read. Surprisingly it was steady all day and everyone bought something different, doll’s clothes, earrings, a colourful print dress for a two-year-old, 3D cards, a bag for storing plastic bags (some in very elegant fabric), a wonderful elongated cheese platter made out of recycled wine barrels with stains from the red wine still visible. There is obviously a demand for hand crafted goods and items not produced in China. The handmade soap is very popular and the sleep balm (both lavender and spearmint). I read recently that doctors were prescribing more and more sleeping tablets as their patents were demanding them.

NZ King Salmon farms

   Through the detailed reporting in the newspaper on this issue we are certainly learning a lot about the environment we live in.

 Frankenfish

   Horrors, it’s a genetic modification that was developed in Canada. They combined an Atlantic salmon egg that included genes from a Chinook salmon and an eel-like fish called the ocean pout. Apparently these salmon would grow twice as fast taking 18 months rather than three years to reach maturity. NZ King Salmon admits the company has some of this GM material, they say they have to keep up with technology but do not plan to use it and will dispose of it. Disposal of this kind of material is apparently a long and complicated process which they will apply for in the future – worrying. The concern is what would happen if they did conduct a trial research project and genetically modified salmon escaped from their farms in an area such as the Marlborough Sounds. (Marlborough Express 8 January 2013).

King Shags threatened

   There are also fears for the king shag population. These birds, among the world’s rarest seabirds, are found only in Marlborough. The EPA Board referred to king shags as the ‘canary in the coalmine’, as regards the salmon farm expansion. I presume this means if the numbers of king shags start to decline the company will know the water in the relevant Sound has become polluted. NZ King Salmon is required to count the king shags before and after creating the new farms. The Board did not specify what a ‘significant decline’ in the numbers of king shags would be. An increase in algae levels or water pollution from increased nitrogen levels created by the fish waste could be detrimental to the shags. They need pure clear water so they can see and are able to dive deep enough to collect their food. (‘Bird scientist fears for rare shags’, Marlborough Express 9 January 2013). In an earlier article in the Marlborough Express Peter Jerram also wrote an opinion piece on the issue of water quality and the salmon farms.

Rainbow Warrior 3

   Rainbow Warrior 3 has been blessed in NZ while on a visit. It was 1985 when the Rainbow Warrior was sunk and the two French were charged. I can’t decide: does this seem a long time ago or not, and don’t you get annoyed when the TV announcer sounds so knowledgeable when after all they are only reading from a script. I shouldn’t be so critical because last night was the first night for ages that I have actually been able to receive TV One.  It’s been on the blink for days with one second of TV followed by one second of a blank screen and a loud noise – with no apology that I could see. The same thing happened for a few days after the West Coast went digital. I’ve missed two episodes of Vera.
  
   Talking about the media Paul Holmes doesn’t sound too good and the family have asked the Governor General to bring forward the date of his investiture and to have it in Hawkes Bay, possibly at his home. The Bush fires in Tasmania and NSW look terrifying. Several NZ fire fighters have gone to assist. One fire fighter was interviewed on TV and said he was concerned (maybe they all were), about working in that heat as temperatures are in the 40s in NSW and might even reach 50 degrees in Sydney and they are not used to it. It was 35 degrees here on Christmas Day and that was hot. We were sitting in the shade and I suggested moving inside to the air conditioned interior but no-one had the energy to even move.

Top books 2012

Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies (Henry VIII and Cromwell’s England)

Kevin Powell, Yellow Birds (War in Iraq)                     

Top films

   Personally I was disappointed with the range of movies in 2012 and I think 2013 looks much better with Quartet/Les Miserables/Frank and Robot in cinemas or due for release shortly. These are ‘must sees’ for me. If I have to choose for 2012 it would be The Hobbit simply because of the immense admiration I have for film makers who can create such worlds.  At times I thought certain scenes went on too long but in discussion with others they didn’t agree (on the scenes that is – they agreed  that some scenes went on too long but it was a different scene!). Anyway I thought The Hobbit was magnificent.

   Also I would recommend Take this Waltz – a very interesting film about love, lust, infatuation, marriage and commitment and the importance of family – you might have to see it twice.  A film my Christchurch friends say I must see is The Sessions. Well, it hasn’t even been screened here in Marlborough at all.  Is that weird? I guess I will have to wait for the DVD.

Next week:
 
   More on the proposed move of the ferries to Clifford Bay, south of Seddon, and the threat to Hector’s Dolphins, the salt works at Grassmere and Picton’s own future if it goes ahead. Yesterday it was reported that the Marlborough District Council has signed a confidentiality agreement with the Ministry of Transport so they can be kept informed and this was followed up in another article again today (Marlborough Express Thursday 10 January).

Kia Kaha

 

 

 

 

A New Year dawns and may it bring you all that you love best. May it always shower upon you  health and happiness.

I missed writing a blog last week because Christmas Day was on a Tuesday, the day I usually compose my blog. 

The above quote is from an old postcard in the ‘FT series’ that shows the old wharf in Picton and a small steamer heading out towards Mabel Island. The card was obviously designed to be sent by holidaymakers at New Year.  I don't know if producers of postcards still follow this tradition.  It could be helpful.  Annoyingly there is no date on the card but I have noticed that also with postcards produced today.  The makers do not seem to realize how important a postcard can be historically in documenting changes to a townscape or landscape.

I bought my father a digital thermometer for Christmas along with the requested ‘big’ box of chocolates. It tells the indoor and outdoor temperatures and on Christmas Day we were all horrified to learn that it was a scorching 34 degrees outside. The temperature in his retirement village is controlled and sometimes especially in winter I suggest he takes a jacket when we go out which he is puzzled by because it’s so warm inside he can’t believe that it might be different outside. I guess this is one advantage of living in an old villa, you do know how cold it is.

On the evening of 29 December we had the loudest thunder I have ever heard, a temporary power cut and then a major power cut. I went to bed at 8.30pm, very unusual for me as I usually stay up late reading or writing so I have no idea when the power came back on. Now we are having strong gusty north-west gales, the sort of weather that is very difficult for boaties and not enough rain to keep the garden from drying out.

Four NZ King Salmon farms have been approved by the Environmental Protection Authority. The Board of inquiry has released its draft report. The four farms granted are at Ngamahau Bay in Tory Channel, Papatua in Port Gore and Waitata and Richmond in Pelorus Sound. Thankfully the importance of Queen Charlotte Sound as a recreational area was acknowledged. The Board was concerned about navigation, recreational boating, the natural landscape and Maori traditions. Farms that were denied were Kaitapeha and Ruaomoko in Queen Charlotte Sound and Kaitira and Tapipi and White Horse Rock in Pelorus Sound.

The hearing took nine weeks and heard about 1200 submissions.  The full draft report can be read on the Marlborough Express website www.marlexpress.co.nz

Submissions can be made by all submitters and certain other parties until 8 February but the Board has indicated that these four approved sites will go ahead. An issue of concern to Council is that its resource management plan clearly separates out recreational and industrial activity. This decision on marine farming will not please anyone. The final report will be released by the EPA Board on 22 February.

For those travelling by ferry or boat and those not familiar with Queen Charlotte Sound or without access to a map, Ngamahau Bay in Tory Channel is located four bays on the Picton side of Fishermans Bay where the old Perano whaling station can be seen.  The old whaling station is very close to the entrance to Cook Strait. This Tory Channel salmon farm is bound to cause controversy. The last point you see heading towards Wellington is Perano Head where the sailing ship the City of Newcastle was wrecked. Her anchor forms part of the memorial to fishermen lost at sea at the eastern end of the Picton Foreshore (erected in 2012).

Did you read the interesting and well written piece by Cheryl Maister in the Marlborough Express (24 December 2012). Cheryl had been to visit the Aviation Heritage Centre at Omaka in Blenheim with two grandsons. She writes that she was particularly impressed with the skill of Weta Workshop in creating models and scenes. She records an event in World War I when thousands of soldiers at dusk on 24 December 1914 stopped shooting at each other for a short time to celebrate Christmas. Cheryl reports that carols were sung and one carol was sung in German which many British soldiers hadn't heard before: ‘Silent night, holy night ...’ The soldiers took time out to bury their dead on Christmas Day and apparently there were some reports of soccer games being played.

Rower Joseph Sullivan was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year's Honours list along with his double sculls partner Nathan Cohen. The pair won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.  Joseph Sullivan also organised a surprise for his parents while they were away visiting relatives in Australia to thank them for the time and effort they had contributed to his career. He arranged for a makeover of their house which they were delighted with on their return.  A huge number of Marlborough businesses got together to assist with the project.

All the best for 2013. Don't worry about the resolutions. You can always keep trying throughout the year and there's always next year.

 

 

 

 

Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own.

Charles Dickens

In the light of all the dreadful things that have been happening around the world I am endeavouring to keep track of sending Christmas cards to friends and family and posting presents, stocking up on essential supplies like cans of tomatoes and chick peas, gardening and reading a National Library interloan that has to be returned by 7 January. It is a lovely time of year with all the fun of Christmas parties and events. Even travelling by road is enhanced as motorists in Marlborough are tempted by roadside stalls selling cherries, apricots, raspberries and strawberries.

   I am trying to ignore the end of the world this Friday as predicted by the Mayan calendar. Many people it seems want to concentrate on food and drink while the world ends. I love a poem by US poet Billy Collins. The sentiment in the poem is to be doing what you love while the world returns to chaos. Apparently Jason Kerrison one of the judges on NZ s Got Talent has built a concrete bunker up in Northland and has three years’ supply of food stored. He feels people are changing from a materialistic way of life to being 'more inner-directed and spiritual'. A group has set up an eco village in Motueka near Nelson with a view to being self sufficient (NZ Listener, December 15-21).
   
   All very resourceful, but surely this is a pessimistic view of life? In the same issue of the magazine scientist Brian Cox says we should raise our eyes from the ground and look up at the stars but even he doesn’t have a lot of faith in the world going on forever on this 'little ball of rock we call home'. Imagine all the art, music and accumulated knowledge being obliterated.

   A draft decision on the new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds could be announced this week.  People are being advised to keep an eye on the Environmental Protection Authority’s website.  The final decision is expected on 22 February 2013. Also a letter from the CEO of NZ King Salmon was published in the Marlborough Express commenting on Leona Plaisier’s petition.

Some random thoughts:

Can the devastation caused by Cyclone Evan in Samoa and Fiji be attributed to climate change and deforestation?

After the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, people are asking if changes to gun control laws will be enough? Mental illness among other issues needs to be addressed also. I read a very interesting article placed on Facebook by a friend, written by a US mother with a troubled story of her own to tell about her son's behaviour.

It was such a sensible decision to keep Salisbury School in Nelson open. The girls who attend deserve to be able to learn in an environment free from bullying and possible abuse.

The Green Party wants a second international Internet cable. This seems like a good idea as the Internet is a vital means of communication now. So many businesses rely on the internet. You can't even read the newspaper or a magazine now without seeing thumbprints you can scan with a smart phone for more news. One morning I couldn’t get a Telecom connection to check email and reply, do my banking, do online research, follow up on the day’s news or tweet.  Also I have recently joined Pinterest, an online clipboard for photographs so the Internet has certainly taken over my life.   It’s hard to believe all this technology has become essential in what feels like a relatively short period of time.  Sometimes I complain that it is all so time consuming but really I love it. I always have. I got a computer as soon as they were on the market in New Zealand, an early Apple followed by a Toshiba laptop and later a mobile phone - whenever they first appeared.

   Technology takes you into a space that writers and artists inhabit while they are creating art, a world within a world, and when you emerge you need to remind yourself what time it is, whether you have eaten, and what other things you need to do with your day.

 

 

 

 

 

It always seems impossible – Until it’s done. 

Nelson Mandela

[Source: www.facebook.com/101PowerfulAffirmations quoted in This and that, a free monthly Marlborough publication.]

Yesterday, 12/12/12, was fun.  Spent the morning at Bookchat making a miniature driftwood Christmas tree. Pam, one of the staff, is very talented and had made up kits for everyone so they could make the tree on the spot while she issued clear instructions.  Then I headed off to Le Cafe, my favourite cafe, for an end-of-year lunch with Picton Poets and shared original poems in a seaside setting with great food, wine, coffee and scenery. One of our members who broke her leg made a supreme effort (with the help of a friend), and joined us after weeks of being home bound.  Seeing her happiness at being there made it more enjoyable for the rest of us.

    In the evening I went to an interesting art exhibition with my ‘temporary’ neighbour at the Diversion Gallery on the waterfront in Picton. Artist, Dick Frizzell collaborated with poet Sam Hunt and created a silk screen work incorporating words from ‘The Harpooner’s Song’ that talks about living in Picton, whaling in the Marlborough Sounds and in Nantucket.  Gallery Director Barbara Speedy took time out to explain a complex multi-layered lithograph by John Pule to us both and handed round pieces of Christmas cake she had made herself.  We half expected Sam Hunt to walk in the door and proclaim in his usual gravelly voice.

    The aim of the Frizzell/Hunt art work is to raise money for a National Whaling Centre in Picton, Te Tari Tohorā o Waitohi*.  Along with the art work there are other items such as flash drives for sale in the shape of a whale, some are preloaded with images and information about the various whale species. There are also boxes of paperclips in the shape of a whale.  More information about the merchandise is available on the website http://www.aworldwithwhales.com

*Waitohi was the original Maori name for Picton and has been retained in a number of place names around the town.  It would be good one day to have a dual name on the map, Waitohi/Picton, like the NZ Geographic Board is suggesting.

   Other artists' work is also available to view at the Diversion Gallery and there is a selection of unframed prints in a set of drawers that you can ask to see. The gallery used to be at the Grove Mill Winery but fortunately for us and for visitors has been relocated to Picton.

   Picton Museum is also hoping to build an extension to house two boats associated with the whaling industry in the Marlborough Sounds.  Both these ventures will attract visitors and complement the existing ‘whale watch’ experience in Kaikoura. With the suggestion of the ferries possibly moving to Clifford Bay by 2020 Picton needs such attractions to become a destination in its own right.  I am still thinking through the ramifications of this so will comment further in a future blog.  The proposed move is certainly causing concern and now the Government is soon to appoint a ‘commercial director’ to head a team of experts developing the proposal.  More information is apparently available on the Ministry of Transport’s website.

   It’s good to read that Steffan Browning from the Green Party accepted Leona Plaisier’s petition on the steps of Parliament after all those other MPs refused earlier this year. See www.marlexpress.co.nz  (Wednesday 12 December 2012).  Leona has collected 11,000 signatures for her petition against the proposed salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds. Laura Honey was on hand to document the event. We look forward to seeing Laura’s documentary Against the Current in the New Year.

   Tonight I am going to the launch of Michael Ponder’s latest novel, Four Kings, at Paper Plus in Blenheim. This thriller is set in Zimbabwe and is a sequel to his previous novel, The Windsor Conspiracy. Michael Ponder is well known as an artist and also for a book, The Good Oil, which he wrote while growing olives.

      Now I just need to find time to see The Hobbit, screening now in Picton and Blenheim, make a gluten free Christmas cake and deadhead and feed the roses with a concoction recommended in the NZ Gardener. Thanks to the library I keep up with the latest issue and don’t have masses of magazines accumulating to be dealt with ‘some day’. The pile of newspapers on the verandah is waiting to be turned into ‘hot logs’ over summer with a handy gadget purchased by mail order from a Nature company in Nelson. One weekend newspaper makes a great log for the fire. Fortunately today it’s sunny with a light breeze here in Picton and it might even reach 29° in Blenheim.

 

 

 

Little by little, one travels far. 

 J.R.R.Tolkien

Springlands School has won an environmental award for its contribution to the conservation of rivers. The students formed an environmental group called ‘Go Mad’ (Make a Difference), and created a Writers' Walk on the Taylor River. I blogged about this earlier in the year. The poems set on stone on the banks of the Taylor River can be found near the Beaver Road Bridge.

   Another initiative of the group was to install blue plastic fish near storm water drains to alert people to the fact that some pollutants would harm fish and native plants. The fish are inscribed with ‘Drains Rain only’.  Isn’t that great? Other schools have since joined in and there are around 300 blue fish in Marlborough. The School Environment Award is presented every second year.

   There is a great write up (and a lovely photo), in today’s Marlborough Express about Clara van Wel winning NZs Got Talent. Currently in Auckland giving interviews, appearing on television and so on, she will be back in Marlborough soon to catch up with her friends. Apparently three of her original songs will be available on iTunes very soon and then in the shops later and Sony is producing a CD in February next year. By the way the editor wants to know what we think of today’s paper.  I love Tuesday’s paper because it covers the arts – in a paper that one could say is a big follower of sport.  On Tuesday there is an arts' page but I might prefer the arts to be widely reported every day.  Just look at the range of work by artists and artisans on display in the mall in Picton from now until the end of February.

    I have just received email images (digital photos), of my book on display at the Frankfurt Book Fair. What a thrill to see it on the stand in the company of other titles along with the NZ Society of Authors banner: Principal advocate for the professional interest of writers.  www.authors.org.nz
   
   Today I have been reading about Cook’s Second Voyage and about all the different versions of the manuscript as outlined by Beaglehole.  I had momentary doubts then about my aim which is to present to the modern reader Cook’s actual words and thoughts while he was in Queen Charlotte Sound. I guess I will have to include some kind of an introduction.  Cook confessed to not being a writer, to having spent all his life at sea and to have progressed from 'seafarer to Commander'.  He must have spent such a lot of time writing. My transcribed notes for his Second Voyage that only deal with the time he spent at Ship Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound amount to 13,000 words so far. Cook would sometimes have been cold, sometimes wet and suffering from rheumatism but his powers of observation of geography, people and native fauna and flora and the meticulous record of longitude and latitude, tides, wind and weather are remarkable.
   
   The three writing groups I belong to make me aware how each word has to be carefully chosen then scrutinised for its value. What is the essential thing you are trying to say? I must say that when blogging I don’t seem to have the luxury of putting a piece of writing to one side to edit at a later date because it’s the immediacy of writing about what’s happening right now that appeals to me about blogging and tweeting.