Shopping with Jacinda
DREAMS are free, goes that old expression, which usually, discouragingly, accompanies any announcement of a grand plan or aspiration.
I love dreaming. I can be a bit vague at the best of times and have a fairly active, and creative, imagination. When I head for bed I sometimes think to myself, I hope I have some amazing dreams tonight.
When I was younger, I even kept a dream diary for a while. But I soon lost interest — some mornings it seemed the more you were grappling to remember the details of the dream, the more they just eluded you. And as I was also keeping a normal diary and a weather diary at the same time, it was all getting a bit much and a bit close to being obsessivecompulsive.
Anyway, I still keep an interest in the weird goingson in my brain and on occasion jot down jokes and puns that I sometimes wake up laughing about.
One night last week, I had the strangest dream. I was in Countdown supermarket — presumably the one here just across the oneway heading north from the Allied Press building — and so was the Prime Minister.
Jacinda was shopping and carrying a little basket. She had her ‘‘minders’’ with her, who also had shopping baskets halffull of various provisions. However, they weren’t the usual security detail you might expect. For some reason she was accompanied by TVNZ Breakfast newsreader Daniel Faitaua and weatherman Matt McLean (sorry, Jack Tame, you weren’t in the official party).
I did my shopping up and down the aisles with the Prime Minister for what seemed like a few minutes. Then in a stern voice, Daniel said my time was up and I had to let Ms Ardern get on with her work.
I wonder what some of the dream analysts might make of that? Any ideas out there?
Does anyone else have weird dreams? I’m sure we all do. I’d love to hear of some of your odder examples, if they are suitable for sharing, that is!
Heritage buildings
Here’s an interesting offering from Ivan Brenssell of Kaikorai about a recent paint job on a historic building in central Dunedin. I haven’t had a chance yet to refer it to one of the city’s heritage experts, but I’m hoping one of them may also want to comment.
‘‘Dunedin prides itself on its heritage buildings,’’ Ivan says, ‘‘yet we constantly see our buildings defaced with paint in colours out of keeping with their architectural design and being.
‘‘The Law Courts Hotel with its attack of black shows total disregard for the 1939 Art Deco frontage and should be repainted in a traditional cream.
‘‘As a teenager in 1954 I stood in awe as the young Queen and Duke of Edinburgh greeted us from the Stuart St balcony of this famous hotel. But I wonder what they would think of this today?
‘‘The Law Courts Hotel is a grade2 listed heritage building, built as The Auld Scotland Hotel in 1863. The historic significance should be reflected in the colour it is painted. Save the black for contemporary architecture.’’
Thanks Ivan. A few people on this side of Stuart St had remarked along much the same lines.
More ‘Wahine’ memories
Graeme Donaldson of St Kilda wanted to share his recollections of the April 10, 1968, southerly storm, which wrecked the Wahine in Wellington Harbour, when it moved down the coast to Canterbury.
‘‘This is my Christchurch experience of that event. I was a teacher at St Thomas of Canterbury College and had a phone call to say that the upright goalposts were swaying dangerously on our rugby ground across the road.
‘‘I had put the posts in on the 9th and the cross bars were meant to be put in place that day, the 10th, which would have stabilised the posts. We didn’t want to lose them of course.
‘‘Anyway, I whipped over with the 1st XV lads and they helped take the posts up out of the ground to stop them blowing around like billyho.
‘‘Much worse was the 30yardlong bike shed that had its roof torn off and blown over the neighbours’ fence in Middlepark Rd.
‘‘The winds were severe and many trees were blown over in Christchurch that day. The principal, Brother Michael Scanlan, wisely sent the pupils home that morning.’’
Got a headache?
Conference organising must induce a few headaches. Particularly if one is putting together the Migraine World Summit. This online conference is being held from April 18 to 26.
A migraine is actually no joke, as the many millions of sufferers will tell you. It is apparently the thirdmost prevalent illness in the world, and there is no cure yet.
In the United States, oneinfour households include a migraine sufferer, the organisers say, and yet there is only one headache specialist for every 85,000 patients.
The organisers hope the summit will galvanise efforts to help prevent and treat migraines. As someone who has experienced them in the past, I wish them luck.