Waitangi Day - our 'national' day??

Today being the 6th of February is Waitangi Day. It’s the day we celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which essentially is New Zealand’s founding document. So in essence Waitangi Day is actually our country’s national day. But I’m afraid to most New Zealanders Waitangi Day is not a celebration of our country – it’s just a day of protests. I think we must be the only country in the world not to have a proper national day!

I reckon many New Zealanders don’t give a damn about Waitangi Day and what it signifies – it’s just a day off for most people! The main celebrations just happen at Waitangi in the far north and not much else happens elsewhere around the country, and the celebrations at Waitangi are usually marred by controversy and protest. Here are some examples of what has happened in recent years:

2000 - Because of the level of protest that had previously occurred at Waitangi, the previous Prime Minister Helen Clark did not attend
2001 - The official celebrations were shifted from Waitangi to Wellington
2004 - Leader of the Opposition Don Brash was hit with mud as he entered the marae, and protesters succeeded in flying the Māori separatist flag above the other flags on the flagstaff by flying it from the top of a nearby tree.
2009 – As Prime Minister John Key was being escorted onto a marae, he was accosted by Wikitana and John Junior Popata, nephews of Maori Party MP Hone Harawira. Both admitted to assault and were sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
2011 - Wikitana and John again heckled Key as he entered the marae!

Good grief! This sort of thing should not be happening on our national day! No wonder many New Zealanders don’t care about this day anymore!

I spent a couple of years in Australia and Australia Day is a very important day over there. There are many, many events around the country which people participate in. And of course Independence Day in the United States is huge! Why can’t we have a day like this in New Zealand to celebrate our country – or don’t we care about our country?

In my church we are encouraged to be patriotic about our country. I remember in Australia on Australia Day and Anzac Day (or the closest Sunday to it) the national anthem was sung at church and the country flag was hung in the chapel. And in the States for the 4th of July celebrations at church are huge. But here in New Zealand Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are not mentioned at all in church. I'm not blaming anyone - it's just sad.

Another problem with these two holidays is if they fall on a weekend (or the same day as another holiday). Last year Waitangi Day was a Saturday and Anzac Day was a Sunday, so did we get the Monday off as we missed out on a holiday – of course not! The same thing happens this year – Waitangi Day on a Sunday and Anzac Day on Easter Monday. I know for a fact if Australia Day is on a weekend day then the Monday will automatically be a holiday. What is wrong with this country?? But we get extra statutory holidays at Christmas and New Year if they fall on weekends, so why not for Waitangi Day and Anzac Day when it really matters – it doesn’t make sense.

So in conclusion New Zealand needs a proper national day. Whether it be Waitangi Day or Anzac Day or some other day it needs to be a day we can all be proud of as New Zealanders! (By the way, Waitangi Day was called New Zealand Day for a couple of years back in the 1970s but was changed back due to protests – typical!)

CYBERBULLYING

The final stage of The Plaza redevelopment

Stage 3, the final stage of The Plaza redevelopment finally opened today so we went to check it out this afternoon. And I’m not as impressed as I thought I would be. Sure it’s bigger now and the new Farmers looks quite flash, but most of the new stores are just these “fashion” stores which mean nothing too me. Here are some of the names of the new stores: Dotti, Hartleys, James & August, K&K, Lippy, Max, Merric, Shanton, Shoe Connection, Temt, and Valleygirl. I mean, who cares! Why do there have to be so many fashion shops for women?? Well there’s a Subway in The Plaza now, but there’s a Subway within walking distance of my house, so I don’t really care about that. The Chocolate Lounge sounded nice, but the prices in there are just ridiculously exorbitant! Same with the handmade chocolates place called Munchkins. We bought two little chocolates and it cost us about $3.50 – you could eat them both in about two bites! Talk about a rip off! At last there’s a bank in The Plaza – Westpac. But most other shopping plazas I’ve been too have many banks in them and a post shop too! The “fly over” over Ashley Street isn’t that impressive – you can only see out of one side of it – the Church Street side. A view over the Fergusson Street side would have been much better. Although there is one store coming soon which I’m really excited about – JB Hi-Fi. I’ve heard good things about that store, especially the cheap prices. So I’m looking forward to that one! By the way, even though the new Farmers is very nice, it’s actually a combination of their two old stores in the city – the one on Broadway, and the Home Centre on Church Street – so the new store is much smaller in floor space. I’ve seen much bigger Farmers than this one!

When we visited The Plaza this afternoon I decided to take a few photos. However, after a while Paul Blart Mall Cop came up to me and said “Why are you taking photos? You can’t use a camera in The Plaza.” What???!!! It’s not like I’m the only one and it’s not the first time. Why am I taking photos? Because I want to promote your Plaza to people online with some nice photos – that’s why! What a frickin idiot! Your loss mate, not mine!

Even though The Plaza is bigger and flasher it’s still pathetic compared to other shopping centres I’ve been to around the country. Sure many of these are in bigger centres, but I’m sure PN can do better. Except for Farmers, The Plaza is only one level! And another thing that is pathetic is the charging of the car park. At the moment it’s 2 free hours, but after the 3rd of May it will only be free parking for the first hour! Good grief. That’s Palmerston North for you – always after more money from your pockets! Most shopping centres I’ve been to around the country have free parking such as Sylvia Park in Auckland, Westfield Chartwell in Hamilton, and Westfield Queensgate in Lower Hutt (which is free parking for 4 hours!) I know Centre City in New Plymouth charge for their parking, but it’s very cheap.

So go and check out the new stage of The Plaza, but don’t hold your breath!

My top 10 movies of 2009

Here it is folks, my top 10 movies of 2009. These are movies that were released this year that I have seen


1. Star Trek

2. Avatar

3. 2012

4. Up

5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

6. Angels & Demons

7. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

8. Monsters vs. Aliens

9. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

No more Santa Cave after 90 years

As you may have already heard the Santa Cave in the Farmers department store is closing after 90 years. This is because Farmers are moving to their brand new building at The Plaza next year. The Santa Cave is an institution in Palmerston North as it has been around for so long. Both my parents went to it as children, I went to it as a child, and I have taken my own daughter to the cave – that’s three generations of my family that have been to this Santa Cave as children! So today three generations of my family visited the Santa Cave for most probably the very last time. The cave hasn’t really changed at all throughout my lifetime and I’ve been happy with that. It’s good that it has stayed the same (and it has only cost 50 cents each to get in for as long as I can remember).

The building was originally Collinson & Cunninghame and this is what I remember it as when I was a child. In 1983 Farmers took over the building and decided to keep the Santa Cave more or less exactly the same as it was. But now that Farmers is moving next year the Santa Cave is no more. I’m not sure what is going to happen to the building. But all is not lost. The Santa Cave is moving to Te Manawa – Manawatu’s Museum. This will be a great new home for it and I hope they keep it as close to how it is now as possible.

So make sure you go to the Santa Cave in the Farmers with your kids before Christmas as it may be your last opportunity to see it as it is. Photos and a couple of video clips from today will be posted on my Facebook profile soon.

CNN Political Ticker

Newstalk ZB or Radio Live?

I like listening to talk radio so I can keep up with the issues of the day. I usually listen to Newstalk ZB, as I’ve tried to remain faithful to them as they are a part of The Radio Network and I used to work for this company a few years ago. However, recently I’ve been giving Radio Live a go. This is the other news and talkback radio network in New Zealand. This is for the following reasons:

1. Newstalk ZB appears to have far too many commercials, especially during the news. And they appear to repeat the same ads too often.

2. I don’t like Leighton Smith too much. He’s far too right-wing and some of his ideas are just absolutely crazy!

3. Newstalk ZB is only on AM in Palmerston North; meanwhile Radio Live is on FM

4. Radio Live broadcasts 3 News at 6pm every night which is very useful if you’re out and about

5. There’s far too much sport on Newstalk ZB in the weekends – isn’t that what Radio Sport is for??

Newstalk ZB always does much better than Radio Live in the radio listening surveys. For example in the last survey in the Manawatu, Newstalk ZB rated 8.6% and Radio Live only 5.5%. Nationwide Newstalk ZB is the number one station with 12.9% and Radio Live only 3.4%. Now this could be because of what I call the “TV One Syndrome” where people listen to Newstalk ZB because it’s always been there and are unwilling to change for any reason – just like TV One viewers. I used to call Radio Live “Radio Dead”, but now I’ve decided to see what it’s like. The new survey results come out at the end of this month so it will be very interesting to see if there are any changes in the ratings.

Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont?

Someone I know has gone up to Taranaki for the weekend and they sent a txt back to us saying "I can see Mt Egmont today". Now I don't like this name but apparently that's what their family and friends up there still call the mountain. I prefer to call the mountain Mount Taranaki as this is it's original name.

Time for a little history lesson. For many centuries the mountain was called Taranaki. Captain Cook named it Mount Egmont in the 1700s after John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont. John Perceval was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist. He was one of Captain Cook's corporate sponsors, and a syphillitic Lord who never set foot in this country! In other words Captain Cook thought he should name something after one of the people who helped pay for his trip! What a crazy person for a marvellous mountain as this to be named after!

In the 1980s it was ruled that the official name is Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont. However, I think the mountain should be called Mount Taranaki - it's original name. It gives the mountain the mana that it deserves (a weird name like Egmont certainly does not!)