THUMBS UP & DOWN

Thumbs up

■ After a credit card mishap, and a rather large trolley of groceries, this old lady got into a flap! A man standing behind me offered to pay for them. I said I couldn’t accept that, but he insisted. Thinking I could pay him back later, I said okay. But he wouldn’t give me a contact number, saying it was a gift. My heartfelt best wishes go out to him. It touches my heart to think there really are kind and good people out there. Bless you, whoever you are.

■ Thumbs up to the lady in Pak’nSave who invited two elderly people to take her place near the head of the queue. Much appreciated for your thoughtful kindness.

■ Thumbs up to the Huka Honey Hive — only businesses that are delivering a quality sustainable experience, have safe principles and practices and showcase true New Zealand hospitality are recognised through a Qualmark endorsement. Congratulations to Jo Saville and her team at the Hive for achieving Qualmark Gold accreditation. Well done!

Thumbs down

■ Thumbs down to the invasive vines and blackberry overwhelming many sections of Harvey St Gully. These vines and blackberry are slowly throttling and killing the native flora and invading the properties of ratepayers who live next to the gully. It is very sad to see our native plants strangled and killed millimetre by millimetre.

■ Thumbs down to light pollution. The dazzlingly bright lights at the roundabout on the main south road and along the road to Countdown are depriving some residents of normal living and sleeping lives. I suggest a cap be placed on the top like in our residential streets. We have also lost our beautiful night sky.

■ Thumbs down to the ongoing inaction on the perilous black spot at Bulli Point. There’s been no real attempt to tackle this issue, underscoring the indifference towards our community’s safety. Clearly, priorities lie elsewhere, leaving the urgent needs of our electorate unaddressed.

■ Thumbs down to whoever is dumping rubbish at the east end of Karamu St; please dispose of it yourself properly.

■ Thumbs down to the general maintenance of the gardens, lawns and edges of our Taupō town. Visitors during the Christmas break would have been greeted with neglected surrounds wherever they went. We were voted the prettiest town — now let us become the bestkept and tidiest town as well.