Bans on kids in cafes welcome
Re Cafe owner stands by ban until kids ‘educated’ (Dec 5), I wish many more cafes would adopt the ruling of Nelson’s Abbey Road Burgers & The Little Bistro in Akaroa.
Numbers of unruly children are increasing because their parents just have children but lack the skills to bring them up with manners.
Parents with very young children insist on inflicting them on regular customers of cafes/bistros, whose sole wish is to have a cup of coffee, something to eat and chat with friends.
Chatting is another cafe theme but unfortunately people don’t talk to each other today but talk at each other either because of music being played at an unsocial volume or the venue has poor acoustics, or, again, simply bad manners.
Speak to any of them and you are told they are having a private conversation, to which I say, No, it’s public as everyone can hear you.
To cafe/bistro owners, please introduce a ban on all such offenders and you may well find your business increases.
Leslie Austin, Featherston
Hope, not consumerism
The green-cloaked, gift-giving Father Christmas of Victorian times evolved from the ancient mid-winter Oak King, a northern equivalent of our Ta¯ ne Mahuta, who brought light, hope and new life in the darkest of times.
Today’s fat Santa clown in CocaCola red and white is a fairly recent invention to promote consumerism for the profit of capitalists, whose rape of the planet is taking away all hope from our young people, leading them towards the darkest of times.
The people of Nelson are right; it is time for a new South Pacific icon of hope for the future.
May I suggest Ta¯ ne Mahuta as the iconic midwinter night visitor who brings our children trees to plant, as symbols of hope for the power to drive away this ma¯ kutu consumerism now consuming our entire planet.
John Archer, O¯ hakune be a strike. This is because, under MMP, a member does not have to be present to vote as any MP present can cast that person’s vote.
NZ First is currently casting the proxy vote of a National member. John Bent, Palmerston North procedures that facilitate transitions from one status to another’’.
Peter Clemerson, Khandallah