Water issues on the table
The Water and Environmental Care Association (WECA) will host Horizons Regional Council chairwoman Rachel Keedwell, as well as the two Horowhenua councillors,
Emma Clarke and Sam Ferguson, on that council for a tete-a-tete about water this Sunday. The meeting starts at 2pm and is held in the hall of St Mary’s Anglican Church on the corner of Cambridge and Manchester Sts in Levin. Organisers will also put the landfill, the wetland plans and other factors influencing water quality, such as vegetable growing and farming, up for discussion.
With the news that we were once more moving alert levels, my initial thought this week was, “Here we go again!”
I then had a sudden realisation that we only had one roll of loo paper left and again I thought, “Here we go again”. With #toiletpaperpanic taking hold on social media again, the empty supermarket shelves showed the totally rational/ irrational impulse buying in the face of Covid-19.
The stockpiling frenzy ignores our long history without the soft stuff. From newspaper squares and torn book pages hanging on a bail in the outhouse, to tracing paper in the school toilet block, to even waxed apple wrappers — the world has been flush with innovative alternatives to toilet paper for centuries. Modern-day toilet paper was invented in the United States in 1857, and it has come a long way since the 1st century AD when Roman philosopher Seneca documented the use of a sea sponge attached to a stick.
But I digress, my second realisation was that I only had three books on my TBR (to be read) pile. “Here we go again.”
Public libraries all over New Zealand have offered a range of unique solutions to lockdown challenges faced by their communities. If, “here we go again” did indeed happen, our team would continue to show we could be resourceful, imaginative, caring and prepared.
For those in need of reading material and worried about being out and about, pop online and reserve your books from our catalogue. You can make a quick visit to pick up your books. For anyone in isolation or physically unable to visit the library, we have a free service called Homelink. This is available to all customers, including families. You can let us know what genre and format you are interested in, we will select the best materials to deliver to you. We will then pick up and deliver these materials to your door. At this point we are looking for expressions of interest in this service. Complete the form on our website — https://www. tetakere.org.nz/Your-Library/ Library-Services/Homelink email us at info@horowhenua. govt.nz or call 368 1953.
“Here we go again” thoughts aside, I thought of the millions of people affected by the virus and realised my family back home in Scotland had been in isolation for six months or more! With my father having had the vaccination this week, my Melbourne-based sister and I had been discussing how different the situations are all over the world. She left me with the words it only takes one or two cases . . .
Fear and anxiety about the Covid-19 outbreak can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions. Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and our community stronger. There are variables we can’t predict or control, but we can control our reactions and we can model resiliency, compassion and reason as we form communities of help, hope and light.
And when it all becomes a little too much — grab a good book and escape to the “dunny” but, heaven forbid, don’t forget the toilet roll! Our books are precious!