The universal middle-class malaise

I’m not widely travelled, but I have visited America on three separate occasions and I have observed a group of people whom I suspect feel they have somehow “missed the boat.” They are not a minority group; but in fact American-born males who have graduated from high school, but have not gone on to “college” and got a degree which might have led to better job prospects. As a tourist you tend to observe them as surly porters in hotels...

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Give a little might mean give a lot

In 2008 a Mr Spackman and a Mr Garnham decided to purchase a seven hectare coastal property in the Awaroa Inlet near the Abel Tasman National Park - disparagingly described by some as a sand spit - for $1.92 million. They thought they were paying interest-only on their BNZ loan, but the bank had a different view and has called in the substantial deficit.To keep the so-called pristine property in public hands, two likely lads from Christchurch,...

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They prostesteth too much methinks

I often wonder what Sue Bradford does with herself on those rare days in Auckland when there is nothing to protest about. Her erstwhile rent-a-mob crowd must be as bored as a Featherston teenager as they idle away the hours contemplating the next move to vent their anger at the government. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) sit-in was a case in point. I watched the live-streaming on my cellphone and was amused by the sheer...

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Common sense in short supply

Last week I attended a funeral held at the Mahunga Golf Club. It was actually held out on the course during one of these sweltering hot days, but mature trees supplied ample shade for the congregation and the setting with a backdrop of a picturesque lagoon was idyllic. The lengthy sealed driveway into Mahunga is spectacularly tree-lined and provides an expectation of something special at roads end which the beautifully manicured course...

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