DIARY OF A GARDENER: TICKLING THE WATERMELONS

I learnt the most fascinating thing yesterday. I learnt that you and me, humans can assist watermelon plants breed, get pregnant, become fertile, pollinate – whatever the term is in garden lingo. My best friends Brother Brent and his wonderful partner Michelle showed me how by using the male flower to tickle the female stem or bulb can fertilise the plant. So my friends regularly give their plant a helping hand if the female bulbs look a bit barren. Watermelons self-fertilise, with the female flower being pollinated equally well by pollen from a male flower on the same or a different plant. They’re not strictly hermaphrodite though and unlike worms which are, watermelons need the wind, bees, birds or loving human guardians to transfer the pollen along the same plant or across to a neighbouring one. So I found this titbit of knowledge fascinating because it was so rudimentary in a cycle-of-life, universal inter-connected co-existence kind of way. I suppose the smallness of the deed – the tickling of a bulb to produce substanance to feed not just a small family of four but an extended whanau and friends totalling over 100 (a large well producing plant can bear over 20 watermelons), that’s humanity at grassroots level.

My two friends Brother Brent and Michelle, they’re clever people. They live in Mt Albert the same suburb as me and my little family. That’s not why they’re clever; they’re smart because they can grow food in a tyre. The couple reckon it retains heat especially when the temperature drops and I suppose it’ll be a great deflector of frost in winter almost as good as a glasshouse. They have full, healthy kamokamo and tomatoes packed into that broken truck tyre. As soon as I saw it, it brought back memories of my neighbours the Meads in Galbraith Street. They had blue, green, yellow swans made out of discarded car and truck tyres. The Meads planted flowers; pansies, carnations and daffodil bulbs inside the hollowed-out middle. I always thought them ugly. But a tyre with food in it, now that’s a much more attractive sight, practical, principled, purposeful.
I won’t be as ambitious for my garden as Brother Brent and Michelle are with theirs. I can’t be because I’m starting over again after a ten year hiatus. I have to relearn things, how to grow what to grow when to grow. It’s a whole new relearning. But more than that I’m older and the back isn’t as strong as it used to be and what used to take me an hour seems to take me a day. It was good to visit my friend’s garden. Wonderful to watch Michelle tickle the watermelon bulb, discuss the merits of discarded rubber tyres and to spend time and share food with wonderful people.

PEOPLE POWER WIN ON DOMINION ROAD

DAY SEVEN:
Friday 26 August 2010
It is 20 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 43 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

I saw people power in action at Metropolitan Rentals Dominion Rd today. Penny Hickey and the Save Dominion Rd Group presented Mayor John Banks with a 5000 signature petition calling for the city council to abandon plans to remove all street parking along 4.5km of Dominion Rd outside peak hours. In addition the petitioners do not want the road widened for cycle-only lanes, nor the introduction of restrictions against right turns.

What I also saw was a Mayor who listened to the people and to commonsense. Mr Banks has confirmed that he will accept a Save Dominion Rd petition - and that he intends supporting the petitioners.

This was also a good lesson for me as a Local Board Candidate. That the decision made by the council was in conflict with the wishes of the community – but still the council ploughed ahead.

These new Local Boards must pay attention to the community while ensuring great governance processes and procedures are maintained. When the two are in conflict it’s up to the Local Board to ensure a way through the issues so a win-win situation emerges.

So congratulations to both Penny Hickey and Save Dominion Rd, and well done to Mayor John Banks. A win-win situation.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: TRAGEDY IN THE HOOD

DAY FOUR:
Tuesday 24 August 2010
It is 23 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 46 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

Today was a mix of campaign planning and working day job projects. In the morning I met with my very good school friend Andrew Couper at Dizengoff Ponsonby. He’s one of my political sounding boards, a libertarian, conservative, and pragmatist. He was clever at high school, he hasn’t changed.

I intended to Shop knock at Mt Albert Shopping centre but tragically Gillard’s Chemist was robbed last night with fatal consequences for 43 year old unemployed man Alan Jones. Tragic situation for all involved. The neighbouring shop owners are now feeling vulnerable and intimidated. Local Councils should be there for these hard working business owners at this time, but more importantly Local Councils should be there for the community before tragedy strikes.
I’ll go to the Mt Albert Shops apopo.

IS BLUE THE NEW BROWN?

I took part in the National Party's Candidates' College a couple of weekends ago and ended up on MARAE TV1. I thoroughly enjoyed the College and being on telly. Central Government is a medium term goal for me and my whanau. Running for a Local Board position in Owairaka in the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward is an immediate priority. I have a small dedicated hard working term; my sister Rosina is my volunteer co-ordinator and fundraiser and Donald Hollingsworth is in charge of Marketing while Julie Stirling is a magnificent help with my websites.

It's really important for any campaign to have a great team around you and because I work in the media - marketing and publicity comes quite naturally to me. Doing the actual mahi though that's another issue. The technical nuances involved and the speed in which things change and upgrade sometimes boggle me. So having Donald and Julie on board is not only useful but saves costs. Janice Mulligan the best Editor in town will be working her magic over my promo-vids when they've been shot. Having the skill of experts is unbeatable.

It's the fundraising that pays for much of the campaigning and if you've got a switched on money-raiser it can pay for all campaigning costs. My Sister Rosina has the widest most eclectic contacts' list I've ever seen. Which is pretty high praise given that the might of a Journalist (old timers anyway) is in the thickness of their contacts' book/e-diary/notebook/ipad! I'm impressed by my Sister's ability to wheel and deal.

The biggest support though has to come from home and the whanau. My Nadine our two boys Kiamana, Te Ua and our little Te Arawa Princess Manawa, give me moral and spiritual support and endless hugs and kisses. All Politicians be they at local or central level say home is the most important place. All too often however, the needs of the people, means families sacrefice time and attention with their loved one so the latter can get on and deal with real and pressing issues affecting others who are by and large strangers. Talking through the impact of political life on all members of the whanau can help prepare everyone.

I hope all Aucklanders assert their right to vote, particularly at this time of great and historical change and amalgamation into a new Auckland-Tamakimakaurau. I have enjoyed the selection process with 'C and R: Citizens and Ratepayers'. I'm looking forward to the campaigning proper - it's really exciting. It is all about the journey and it's all about the destination.

If you are in the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward vote CandR. If you are in Owairaka subdivision vote Claudette Hauiti Local Board.

It's About Whanau.

Our whanau represents the diverse lifestyles and multi-cultural make-up that is this great city called Auckland. We are strongly connected to our hapu and iwi in Ngati Porou and Nga Puhi. We are proud and supportive members of the Takatapui (GLBTi) community: to us whanau is paramount;. My wife Nadine Mau and I have two boys attending Grey Lynn School, Kiamana Year 5, Te Ua Year 4 and in three years time our little girl Manawa will be ready to start School at Edendale Primary. We live in Columbia Street Sandringham.

My Company Front of the Box Productions LTD has been operating in Grey Lynn for 10 years. I have built my business brand on ‘accessibility’: giving the greatest amount of people, best access to quality information in order to make decisions. As a result we are multi-award winning television programme producers and are the largest independent suppliers of Maori and Pasifika content in English to TVNZ.

My background in political reporting and current affairs programme making has afforded me in-depth knowledge of local and central government business as well as lobby and interest group strategy, policy drafting and submission. I am currently the Telecommunications Sector Leader for the National Party Maori Advisory Group.

Like all C & R members I too am determined that multi-cultural Auckland and all its diversity remains the cultural capital of not just New Zealand but the Pacific Rim. But like C & R, I too believe it can only be achieved through unity and hard work; an emphasis on safe homes, safe streets, safe communities; a focus on economic enterprise, growth and above all a unified people proud to call Auckland City home.

I look forward to the Local elections and encourage everyone to exercise their democratic right to vote. For those in the Owairaka subdivision of Albert-Eden-Roskill ward: voteclaudettehauiti.