Rants & Raves
Some crooked mind broke my car’s rear window, opened the bonnet, and took my battery just weeks before Christmas! The car was parked outside my house. This is my first experience of theft during my five years in New Zealand. I am extra cautious with pretty much everything now. Rajiv Yesterday I was standing in a supermarket queue (Countdown 277) with a couple of sweet little primary school-age girls in front of me. Each was happily and quite independently making a small purchase — and I was really struck by the kindness and respect shown to them by the checkout operator. When it was my turn I congratulated him on how very nice he had been to the girls. Children, the future, was his response. Wonderful to see these essential values in action. Ann To renew a passport online you need a RealMe identity. To have the identity verified a photograph needs to be taken at a post office. Both done and back online. Now I have to supply a photograph as I can’t use the verified one because the departments are not linked. Why not? Jocelyn To the lovely lady who paid for my groceries at Farro (Constellation Drive) when my bank card was not accepted due to technical issues with the card issuer. Thank you again. My two young children who had had enough of Xmas shopping were delighted. They asked on the way out “Mummy, why did that lady pay for our shopping?” I said: “Because she is a very kind person.” What an excellent lesson for my kids. Bic The East Coast Bays has many beautiful beaches and walkways. The Long BayTorbay-Browns Bay walkways are overgrown with weeds. A lot of walkways were created by PEP [Project Employment Programme] workers years ago. If the city council cannot afford to properly maintain them could another scheme be created whereby able unemployed could do this work? The walkways are the entrances to our most precious assets and tourists cannot be impressed at the current state. Pam My 9-year-old son says the new pink cycleway is “awesome”. Tip for school holidays: follow the bike signs from Britomart up Grafton Gully and down Nelson St — all safe dedicated bike lanes. Well done Auckland. Andrew While deployed overseas, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel do their best to celebrate Christmas without their families and friends back home.
However, two senior commanders were on hand to deliver some festive cheer in person over the past few days.
The Chief of Army, Major General Peter Kelly, visited Kiwi soldiers at the Taji Military Complex in Iraq, serving as part of the Building Partner Capacity mission.
The Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, Major General Tim Gall, also visited New Zealanders deployed to the Sinai Peninsula, as well as to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
While those at the Taji Military Complex wouldn’t be getting much time off, they were determined to make the most of Christmas despite the challenging environment, Major Kelly said.
“They are in really good spirits and enjoying the work they are doing. They will be able to Skype or call home on Christmas morning, they’ll have a pretty good meal and there will also be some sporting activities with our Australian colleagues over there . . . I expect the usual Anzac rivalry will be to the fore,” he said.
The New Zealand soldiers in Sinai Peninsula and South Sudan were focused on their important responsibilities — working with displaced people in “crowded and basic” UN camps, who were also trying to commemorate Christmas in the largely Christian society, Major Gall said.
“[This] highlights that being
Hnzherald.co.nz To watch the troops’ video messages go to
nzh.nu/WfEkB away from home over Christmas is a small price to pay for the important work they are doing with the UN.
“It’s always tough being away at this time of the year, and their thoughts are naturally centred on loved ones at home, but that’s the nature of the job we do. On the day, they will be marking the occasion in as many of the usual ways as possible and hopefully having a little bit of a break.”