Appalling Behaviour in the Playground or Just Oppositional Politics?

It came as a great surprise to me to learn that The Parliamentary Oath does not require parliamentarians to work together in the best interests of NZ!

A democracy without opposition is dangerous for the society as a whole and a lot of importance has been given to the political opposition in order to make a government accountable. An effective opposition performs a restraining role, whilst simultaneously posing a constant challenge by promising a practical alternative. For that purpose, we use what is known as the Westminster Model as our model of Parliamentary Government, which has evolved since the 1600’s.

There are three models of political opposition which haven’t changed when the model was questioned way back in 1957. First is the “classical opposition”, to oppose anything and everything. Second is what might be “opposition of principle”, bent not only on wrenching power from the government of today, but on ending once and for all the system on which that government rests. The third is a counter-concept to the other two. It relates to government under various forms of cartel arrangements among political organizations operating within the framework of parliamentary institutions. 

There is plenty of research on what parliamentary opposition is, but very little on its effectiveness.

I liked this summary of Westminster politics – Picture a line-up of politicians. All have their arms outstretched pointing to the person on their left. They are all playing a blame game, accusing their opponents of responsibility for some event, statement, or incident. With politics, often another term for opportunism, it is often a question of how quickly to jump into a situation or ‘breaking news’ that can be reframed to their advantage. 

Are the behaviours we regularly see, and more so in the recent challenging times, the hall marks of an ‘effective opposition’? 

It is impossible to run an organisation without there being mistakes. The only way to learn to do the real thing is to do the real thing. And every system breaks down and even the best trained people make mistakes at times. You can chase down those who make mistakes and humiliate them, creating a climate of fear. Or you can talk about the mistakes openly so people and the system can learn. In an organisation, that is an illustration of a positive & productive culture. 

How come that doesn’t apply to parliament and the running of NZ Inc?

The Parliamentary Oath is a statement of Allegiance to the Queen, heirs & successors, to be loyal to NZ, obey the law, respect democratic values & freedoms of the people. It came as a great surprise to me to learn that The Oath does not require parliamentarians to work together in the best interests of NZ!

We live in a world shaped by hundreds of years of collective, structural harms (e.g. the legacies of colonisation, heteropatriarchy) that shape the culture we live in. That means these patterns have shaped us too. Conflict unveils systemic traumas and the ways oppressive systems and violent people have used power against us over time and generations.

One of the strident messages I have learned throughout our current pandemic crisis is how counterproductive our parliamentary oppositional model is and how willingly and quickly MPs will resort to blame, personal invective, and ‘playing the person not the ball’. 

So, if that behaviour is not acceptable in the workplace, or on the sports field, or at school or in the playground, how come its ok in Parliament?   

The function of the opposition is not to rule. Instead, the opposition may have other functions, including:

• To offer political alternatives…

• To offer alternatives to the decisions proposed by the government…

The extent to which the opposition in a given parliamentary system is allowed to actually fulfil these functions can be seen as the sign of the level of democratic maturity. 

An opposition party may be less likely to support government policy if it is large enough to achieve a position of power itself by replacing the incumbent government after the next elections. Larger parties might not show higher levels of support for government policies and actions because their credibility as an electoral alternative would suffer from being overly supportive of the very government they seek to replace. 

In a review of the House of Commons (UK) it was found that Party loyalties greatly inhibited public criticisms and undermined evidence based reasoning about policies. Legacy procedural practices, plus MPs traditionalist attachment to inefficient and ineffective ways of working limited the legislature’s role. 

Is government vs opposition, where the opposition vote against the government irrespective of the proposal that is made, the best model for democratic representation? 

This practice is reinforced ensuring cohesion within party lines rather than necessarily the best interest of NZ Inc through the practice of ‘whipping’. Members do not get to vote ‘sincerely’.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a crisis situation that requires extensive government action whereas the role of parliamentary parties is less clear. Government – Opposition relations during a crisis can range from consensus seeking too strictly adversarial. Analysis  of a number of parliaments showed that opposition parties expressed sentiment in parliamentary debates on COVID-19 started out relatively positive towards governments actions and policies but increasingly became more negative, particularly when the crisis broadened from a public health situation to a social and economic crisis - traditionally more politicised issues. 

The crisis is no longer new. Some of the issues around handling of the pandemic now seem to speak more to longstanding ideological differences. 

So, to summarise the characteristics of New Zealand’s oppositional model (Westminster):

a) Our parliamentarians are not required to work together in the best interests of NZ.

b) Although we are a world leader in democracy, our parliamentary opposition exists primarily for the sake of opposition only. 

c) Members do not get to vote sincerely (apart from a rare ‘conscience’ vote) but are ‘whipped’ to vote with the Party.

d) Party loyalties greatly inhibit public criticisms and undermine evidence based reasoning about policies.

e) They are all playing a blame game.

f) If the opposition party is large enough to achieve a position of power itself, they are bent on wrenching power from the government of today.

g) We are democratically immature.  

Relationship researcher John Gottman identified four ways of managing conflict that weaken trust relationships. Many facilitators have identified these habits are toxic for trust in groups:

• Personal criticism (blame; attacking the other person’s character or personality; bullying)

• Defensiveness (deflection; self-protection; justification)

• Contempt (demeaning; mocking; disrespect & hostility; undermining; belittling)

• Stonewalling (withdrawal & cutting off communication; silent treatment; avoidance)

Let’s now take a step into the workplace, starting with some wise words from Charles Darwin, “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”

The overall character of a business is described as the Workplace Culture. Ideally, businesses want to create a culture that is viewed as positive. Positive = Productive. A company would accomplish this by focusing on innovation, flexibility, and empowerment for example. On the flip side, a company’s culture will be seen as negative when it is hierarchical, bureaucratic, or power driven. If there isn’t a positive feedback culture, people become fearful of making mistakes, and consequentially of making decisions, they won’t try new things. They will come to fear the job.

Positive cultures are characterised by positive leaders, leading the way by example.

Nothing is more important than building teams of creative thinkers and problem solvers stimulated to venturesome and inventive thinking. Innovation is the catalyst to  problem solving and business growth. It means being open to new ideas, technology, and unexplored opportunities; a commitment to adapt; welcoming diverse thought.

Collaborative problem solving requires team members to maintain communication to help each other know who knows what, as well as help each other interpret elements of the problem and which expertise should be applied. They will critique possible solutions to identify the most appropriate path forward.

The opposite of a positive work environment is described as a toxic or negative culture, working in which is far from a pleasant experience. Those who bet on having a cut-throat, high-pressure, take-no-prisoners culture will find that not only is that harmful to ‘productivity’ but also workplace wellbeing is seriously affected. Such environments are often characterised by bullying.

Bullying is when someone uses their power to control or ‘hurt’ someone else by teasing or making fun, spreading rumours, posting mean messages online in social media or texts, name calling. It also includes gloating about winning and making others feel bad about losing. It is bullying when it’s meant to hurt. It is no secret that the Parliament working environment is no happy place.

Ironically, a government department set up to help businesses has an excellent summary of advice on shaping a good work culture on its website, which seemingly does not apply to Parliament. [https://www.business.govt.nz/business-performance/management-and-leadership/shaping-your-work-culture/]

I have assumed the business of all Parliamentarians is to ensure the wellbeing of the people and improving the business results of NZ Inc. Is their commitment to good governance and the wellbeing of the population they represent, or is it to a political dogma and party?  

The key behaviour characteristics necessary to work together to achieve the best outcomes for all NZers include:

• Positive feedback and recognition for accomplishments

• Lead by example

• Recognise and appreciate great work

• Continuous learning culture

• Fairness, tolerance, and respect for the individual

• Encouraging experimentation and risk taking

• Ability to recognize and negotiate social dynamics  

• Understand the impact of words and behaviours

When people blindly align themselves to one party and their leader, they tend to overlook the negative effects of their decisions. They don a ‘political colour’ shirt which acts as a straitjacket for both their actions and thinking as they exhibit: 

• Unconscious & conscious bias

• Lack of Social Intelligence 

• In groups and Out groups

• Power dynamics

• Workplace incivility

True leaders unite people. They do not divide them. 

They do not find faults. But they do find remedies. 

They do not sow hate. But they do cultivate positive organisation and life cultures.

Sadly, our narrow interpretation of the oppositional model of Westminster politics works actively against this wisdom. If all ideas are worth considering in the construction of a universal plan, then all political energy would have been positively focused for our overall wellbeing, not the setting for political point scoring at the expense of our wellbeing.

The COVID Pandemic provided an opportunity for a more collaborative and productive approach. For example and at the risk of oversimplifying, A Pandemic Governance Committee could have been set up, comprising representatives of all parties in Parliament. That could have worked as a forum contributing, debating, critiquing, identifying the most appropriate path forward and hopefully reaching a consensus. 

Yes, the Government would ultimately have to decide. They would provide the citizens with an overview of all of the contributions, a decision, and outlining what had not been included and why.

Yes, other parties would publicly offer comment, especially if something they thought important had been omitted. They would NOT make a personal attack in any way but offer reasoned commentary on what they feel the impact may be. If it turns out they were right, then that would be publicly acknowledged, and their opinions considered more thoughtfully in the future. And voters might consider that come the next election. 

I think this is where you say, “And pigs will fly!”

#politicalopposition      #nzparliamentarysystem         #blindpolitics      #ingeoffsopinion 

References:

The Waning of Opposition in Parliamentary Regimes” by Otto Kirchheimer, 1957

Opposition in a Small Westminster Parliament: The case of Tasmania / Australasian Parliamentary Review, by Richard Herr, Autumn  2007.

The Role of Opposition in a Democracy: A Bibliometric Analysis’, Shrivastava & Dwivedi, 2021

Opposition in times of crisis: COVID-19 in parliamentary debates” by Louwerse et al, pub 3 March 2021 

The futility of Politics as a blame game. Opinion, Aljazeera, Danny Schechter, Sept. 2012. 

How effective are the Common’s two committee systems at scrutinising government policy making? 2018 Audit of UK Democracy. P. Dunleavy

Eight ways to build collaborative teams, HBR, Gratton & Erickson, November 2007.

Delta - Too Close For Comfort

This last week, Covid Delta got too close for comfort.

On Sunday I attended the zoom memorial service for Rex Warwood, a character and news reporter for many years in Franklin. Covid 19 cast its line, caught Rex, and rather than ‘tag and release’ took his life. 

 

Up until that point, COVID certainly was a concern for me, I had not come in direct contact with the dangerous consequences. During the first lockdown of 2020 I worked through at the Foodbank and certainly understood the impact of people losing their jobs. Sometimes there were near 200 people lined up around the foodbank waiting for food when we arrived at work. Thanks to my employer I was already double vaccinated before Delta took hold this year. In fact, I had ‘retired’ the month before we locked down again, so I was confined to home.

That in itself was not so bad – there was plenty to do on our farm.

People and behaviour fascinate me and as I came across the various memes, posters, messages, and the like, I decided on a project. Through Facebook, I began collecting what I thought would form something of a pictorial historical record of thoughts during  the Delta lockdown. Each day I would post a number of these. I never expressed any thoughts, judgement or commentary choosing to remain apolitical.

As you will know, a decidedly different feeling began to emerge. During the first lockdown last year the sense of the team of 5 million, working together to eliminate Covid, was very real. However, it did not take long into the second lockdown for a whole different ‘edge’ began to emerge.

And as my project got underway, my connection with Rex was re-united as he took an active interest in what I was doing. Apart from comments about posts he and I exchanged emails and messages with it becoming clear he had some pretty strong views, not unusual for ‘Punchy’ as he was nicknamed.

However, there are some people where the relationship takes  precedence over opinion, and that was the case here as my respect for Rex and his past work meant that we could agree to disagree, and maybe engage in some debate, especially about the ‘conspiracy’. Sadly, Rex was an anti-vaxer. Regardless we had agreed we would catch up in person when restrictions eased up and share more of our respective life experience.

It had crossed my mind that I had not heard anything from him for a week or so. I sent him a message and received no response. And just as I was wondering if he was ok, I received the news that he had contracted COVID, been persuaded to go to hospital, where shortly after he died. May God rest his soul and comfort his family.

Evidence is a word that has been bandied around a lot during this Lockdown. It has become a word that has evoked a great deal of anger, counter argument, fiery opinion, denial and generated some downright nasty interaction. Prior to Rex’s death I could have been accused of adopting something of an academic / impersonal attitude toward Covid and a ahakoa he aha (whatever) view of Lockdown. 

Not anymore! It has come far too close for my comfort! It is personal now! I have all the evidence I need. 

You can read more about Rex on page 4 of the Franklin County News, December 2, 2021 - https://www.neighbourly.co.nz/e-edition/franklin-county-news/44520  

An Interview With COVID

December 15th is the day Aucklanders achieve freedom from COVID Lockdown, so they can travel and ‘reconnect with the rest of New Zealand in time for Christmas and summer’. 

They will have to be fully vaccinated or have a negative test within 72 hours of departure. Not only that, but others can also travel into Auckland. There will be no ‘hard’ borders with Police checking people in or out. Police will have operational discretion on the enforcement of these rules, undertaking random spot checks, just as they do with drink driving. 

I had a zoom chat with some COVID Delta representatives suggesting their days may be numbered. That was greeted with some raucous guffaws! They reminded me that that they are the latest of 8 revised versions and further, even with the hard borders they had been successfully establishing themselves in communities previously untouched. 

They reminded me that from February 2020 we have had near 11,000 confirmed cases and now there were over 5,000 current cases in NZ, with near 70% of those being caught from someone locally. 

They said, “Mate, since the beginning of November we have steadily increased our hit rate daily from at least 100 to achieving over 200 a day and that, Mate, is with your controlled borders!” 

They seemed keen to remind me that they had also been busy producing Cuzzy Bros. “You heard about Delta Plus, Lambda variant or Mu variant? Of course, you should have heard about B.1.1.529 by now. We call him Nu for short.” Umm, good point. 

They went on further to draw an analogy with bowling. “It’s like we have been playing in a single lane bowling alley. From 15th December it will be like moving into a new 20 lane bowling alley. Imagine what we can do in there!” I had to wait until they recovered from their shrieking with delight. 

I showed him a picture illustrating the various pandemics over time and their associated death rate. 

“Looking at this" I said, "you haven’t had a very successful hit rate compared to past pandemics. Why don’t you just pack up and call it quits?” His tone changed and became deeper and more earnest (but at least that question took the growing smile off his face), “We had a good start except here in NZ then you guys got a bit cocky and dropped your guard, and bang! We were in. Yep, we have  had a slow start. But as you can see, we have been adapting and practicing and the numbers of infections are starting to pick up. We have been blessed by people wanting to lay off their personal responsibility by blaming your PM.” 

"But” I asked, “people will be double vaccinated at best or have tested negative, doesn’t that worry you at all?” 

This prompted a scornful response. 

“Mate, have you not been paying attention. They don’t worry us. Even with your hard border there were people who couldn’t give a stuff and one way, or another got out and Wahoo, we were right there alongside.”

                                                                    

I reminded them there was a big vaccination campaign. That didn’t seem to faze them either.

“You do know that vaccines are not exactly concrete full bodied condoms don’t yah?”  They reminded me they had a great team of anti–vaxers. “There are even some doctors on that team which is good for us, and you have one of your top representatives of God thumbing his nose at your authorities." 

"He’s more than just a Bishop in our eyes.” 

Then they got all caring maybe patronising, “Look Mate, we know you are all vaccinated and that shit, but the more your leaders try and protect everybody with rules and stuff, the more people are going to get antsy about being ‘controlled’ and just say Fxxx You.” 

At that point the conversation got interrupted by a loud smashing sound and someone shouting ‘STEEEERIKE!’ accompanied by lots of shouting and clapping. Mr. Covid said, “That was a good strike for today. Gotta go. We have set some new targets so got get more strikes. Cheers Mate.” 

The NZ Chief Covid was having a press conference later in the day, so I tuned in and took a snapshot of the consistent key message.

Road Deaths & Our Reaction to COVID

We do not expect people to behave randomly but to behave in certain ways in particular situations. Each situation entails its own particular set of expectations about the “proper” way to behave.

Society has rules, protocols, norms to provide order and predictability. Members of the society change such rules according to the need of the time and situation. Also, behavioural norms evolve through the actions of people and institutions.

Sometimes that is reinforced by regulation.

For example, during the Blitz in WWII there was a concern Britain would suffer night air bombing attacks which would cause large numbers of casualties and massive destruction. In order to make it difficult for bombers to identify areas of population at night, blackout regulations were introduced. Try as I might, I could not find any record of objection and or social commentary about rights being restricted.

Consider Naturalism, where believers find clothes restricting, hot and uncomfortable. They just don’t like having clothes on. In itself not a big issue, however their interest is restricted to home and clubs. Even there they have rules. For example, an apron is necessary when cooking a BBQ and safety gear was needed when trimming trees around the club. They are also sensible not to over-expose themselves to the sun. However, if they turned up naked at the Supermarket to do their shopping, they would probably be arrested for indecent exposure. Try as I might, I could not find any record of objection and or social commentary about their rights being restricted.

Road traffic speeds is a current ‘hot’ topic and a possible indication of where we are going to go with COVID. Despite a range of limits applied across our road system, the old default of 50km/h in urban areas and 100km/h on the open road is pretty much ingrained in many of our minds. Through a combination of education and policing, the NZ road toll has exhibited a downward trend since the late 80s through to 2010, attributed to factors such as

•         Reduction in drink driving

•         Improvements in vehicle safety

•         More wearing seatbelts

•         Hazard mitigation on roads

•         Reduction in speed limits

Regardless, in the last decade, each year, between 253 – 373  people were killed and 11,219 – 14,031 people injured.  In 2017 the social cost of road deaths and injuries was more than $4.8b. Social cost is a figure that looks at how a serious crash impacts the driver and their family. It includes loss of life or reduction in the quality of life and the loss of ability to work or be employed. Medical & legal costs, and damage to vehicles is also factored in. Add in non-injury crashes, and the social cost rises to $5.6b. This doesn’t include emergency medical treatment funded through ACC, but when factored in brings the total cost to more than $6b.

In December 2019 the Government released the ‘Road to Zero’ traffic Strategy which adopts the  vision of a New Zealand where no-one is killed or seriously injured in road crashes. And that is creating some push back as people object to the attempts to slow us down, save  lives and reduce chances of injury (not to mention reducing the whole cost).

I couldn’t help but see a parallel in the reactions to the Zero Deaths on the Road strategy of saving lives and cost, reducing injury risk, and the reaction to the plans to try and eliminate COVID or at least reduce the risk of infection, death and cost.

People are demanding their ‘freedom’ from COVID restrictions, campaigning that the PM must go, claiming the experts are conspiring, defying travel restrictions, and making a conscious decision to transport the virus to others.

We have been defying restrictions on our driving speeds, (paying $272million between March 2019 & March 2020 for 2.9 million traffic offences), and making a conscious decision to put our own, let alone others, lives at risk.

Standby for the predicted explosion of COVID and learn to be very, very careful who you trust to be in contact with.

You also might find the following an interesting read on informal rule of law.

https://theconversation.com/covid-19-response-shows-how-an-informal-rule-of-law-plays-a-supporting-role-in-society-144387 

Going Grid Free

Back at the beginning of September I posted on the Grid Free NZ Facebook page that in a couple of years time we would be looking to sell our existing home and build rural with the aim of being Grid Free.

I asked for the collected experience of the group to draft up a list of 'Key learnings' from their collected practice wisdom. I was looking for  the most important ideas / learning / information that would spring to mind immediately, they would pass onto someone starting out. I said I would collate all that into one document and post it so everyone could share. 

There were quite a bit of interest in the post with almost 200 interactions and 102 comments. People often endorsing some advice, others acknowledging they too found it helpful. In fact, as I reviewed the comments there was quite a lot of good sense which could be deployed in conventional environments. 

We have already been thinking about the way we currently live. We supply water to 6 other properties of which 3 have 2 residences and another has 3. 

Our water bore is dropping as is the groundwater in the district. I have suggested to the neighbours they begin thinking seriously harvesting water and think about how they use it. We have been conserving water by putting a bucket in the shower and them using that water to flush the toilet. We do our dishes by hand in a bowl and then use the water to water pot plants etc.

The two pieces of advice which I rated highly were the suggestions that, 'Move onto the property and live in a mobile home for all four seasons before deciding what goes where', and, 'Start a book of what you like and don’t in off grid living. The more you know the better able you are to filter all advice'. I have ordered 'Off the Grid-Houses for Escape' by Dominic Bradbury.

Here is the list of Off The Grid advice organised roughly under some headings: Power / Lighting / Insurance / Cooking / Water Heating. I hope you find it useful. I have kept it as a word doc which I open up when I am looking at GridFree NZ advice and continue to add to it.

My thanks to all those who freely and quickly gave advice.

Power

1. Get a pro to design & install a system

2. Learn to be frugal with power

3. Use low energy requirement appliances

4. Buy a generator √√

5. Don’t rely on one supply of power generation

6. Buy a property which allows you to have a windmill, waterwheel & solar panels putting            power into a central battery bank sited to minimise loss through lines

7. Better off on grid if using fossil powered generator

8. Batteries do not like getting low

9. Don’t let batteries go below 40%

10. Spare solar panel in case of damage

11. Go 24v even better 48v

12. Buy quality solar panels with proven less degradation

13. Work out system size based on full use but no power to batteries – how many days 3 -5

14. 2.5 times as much power as needed 

15. Get a windmill

16. Invest in good maintenance free batteries – 48 volt lead carbon

17. Two sources of power solar/generator

18. Make sure enough batteries

Lighting

19. Individually switched LED lights

Insurance

20. Send all documentation to your insurance company

Cooking

21. Use gas

22. Wood burner you can cook on/in that has a wetback √√

Water Heating

23. Use gas √

24. Two gas bottles

25. Wetback

26. Heat pump hot water cylinder (go outside use 1/3rd power

27. Solar hot water setup with tank & tubes on roof like suntrap solar units – don’t need                circulation pump

28. 48v Victron Easy Solar system with Lithium batteries & tier 1 solar panels

Heating & Air con

29. Store firewood at backdoor

30. V2H model EV (cooling system) then doubles as main house battery

Advice

31. Talk to others √√

32. Look at others in your area

33. Downsize appliances

34. Move onto the property and live in a mobile home for all four seasons before deciding             what goes where

35. Keep it simple

36. Start a book of what you like and don’t in off grid living. The more you know the better            able you are to filter all advice

37. "Off the Grid-Houses for Escape" by Dominic Bradbury

38. Planning will take longer and cost more than you expect

Land

39. Do due diligence to ensure you are able to meet Council regulation

40. Consider location re climate (increase storms/floods in south & west, drought in north &            east

41. Have good land

42. Investigate the climate in all four seasons considering how far you want to go with off the         grid and what resources are available in that area

43. Cost of putting in driveway

44. Budget for fencing and planting trees (protected from stock)

Water

45. Water most important

46. 2x water 25,000ltr tanks 1 for fire √

47. Water pump

48. Buy land that has water

49. Huge tanks off every roof

50. Unfiltered for stock, cleaning, gardens 

51. If possible two supplies of water bore/rain

52. Buy property with Hill so you can pump water up every week or 2 & have gravity fed                water (less use of pump) √

53. Dedicated water source and a specialist fire hose outlet. Check guidelines from authority

House & Buildings

54. Position for best use of sun & for solar panels

55. Roof catchment to fill tanks

56. Build sheds in eyesight of home & away from front gate (deter thieves)

57. Plan to build the things you need first

58. Build house perfect roof pitch (30o) for  solar

59. Access

60. Build to get maximum use of sun and shade, remembering the sun is lower in the winter         so an overhang the right size will provide shade in the summer but allow sun in under            during winter

61. Covered outdoor area for washing to hang when wet and for entertaining when not.

62. Shipping containers as water tanks, septic tanks, secure storage sheds

Life habits

63. Get used to doing things whilst the sun shines

64. John Seymour's books

65. Consider what you can live without and what you really can’t live without to give you a             starting point to calculate power needs

66. Start living low energy life now

67. Buy meter to determine what power each device uses

68. Log all power use to calculate fuel needs

Toilet

69. Buy basic composting toilet system – ensure it has a separator for solids and liquids.

70. Don’t buy an over-engineered expensive toilet

71. Large concrete septic tank gravity fed from house with auto siphon system when                    chamber full of fluid. Low maintenance and cost.

Garden

72. Get a hot house for veges

73. Mulch, mulch, mulch

    #LiveGridfree        #EcoLiving        

Eulogy for Kevin Cholmondeley-Smith - August 2018

On Saturday 13th August 2018 we attended the funeral for Kevin Cholmondeley who passed on 11th  August. Here is the Eulogy I delivered.

Ladies and gentlemen, many of you in the room will have known Kevin longer than I and will certainly be more aware of all of his characteristics, attributes, and foibles.

So, I thought I would take this opportunity to bring you up to date with the events of the week in Heaven and particularly regarding Kevin’s arrival.

On Monday, the evening edition of the Pearly Gates News reported that there had been disruption at the entrance gates to Heaven and later in the arrivals Onboarding Hall. St Peter, General Manager of Arrivals, said in a statement, “We have never quite experienced such disruption at the Pearly Gates entrance to Heaven before.”

The source of the disruption was a gentleman new arrival by the name of Mr. Kevin Cholmondeley-Smith.

 “Apparently,” said St Peter, “he felt that our processing did not seem to be consistent across the various check-in booths and had gathered some of the staff in a meeting which slowed processing. St Peter continued, “When I arrived to investigate, all booths were closed, and Mr Cholmondeley-Smith was running a workshop with the staff, and they were reviewing our procedures. It seems he had also arranged for those waiting to be served with tea and biscuits.”

St Peter went on to advise that his assistant, the Angel of the first heaven who rules over Monday, Dabriel, negotiated with Mr. Cholmondeley-Smith to get staff back to work. They had to work an additional 2 hours to clear the back log.

On Monday night, Cloud 9, a Channel of Heavenly TV, reported that a meeting had been arranged between St Peter and Mr. Kevin Cholmondeley-Smith.   

They also interviewed Kevin who said, “I am disappointed the Managing Director, God, will not be at the meeting, but at least we are making a start on creating a better arrival experience for new entrants to Heaven.”

The next day, Tuesday, the Heavenly Radio Chat Show, Hymns, had Kevin as a guest.

The presenter was the late Paul Holmes from Radio NZ. This is the programme where selected new arrivals are hosted for a chat. Apparently Kevin hadn’t been scheduled until next week but spoke directly with Paul and got himself on. 

They had been chatting and talked a bit about the events of Monday when Paul asked how Kevin was finding the accommodation. In response Kevin launched into detailed commentary about how they were laid out and that he didn’t like the tenement like rows. He felt there should be more like smaller village settings. Kevin said this would help build identifiable communities where people could more easily relate to each other and build relationships.

It seems he touched a raw nerve with the listening community because the switch board lit up and additional call takers had to be rushed in to handle the increasing number of callers. With a bit of an uprising occurring the Director of Heavenly Operations the Arc Angel Gabriel arrived and shut the Radio chat show down.

The so called chat station was suddenly a soothing calming music station.

Now the Arc Angel Gabriel is not one to be messed with. He was reported on the midday news that he had delegated the Angel Ansiel, better known as ‘The Constrainer’, “to have a chat with this new arrival”. One or two others in the past had experienced an Angel Ansiel chat and ended up somewhere completely different, where there was no need whatsoever for central heating.

That night on the Cloud 9 TV news the Arch Angel Gabriel was facing some tough questions – clearly, he was annoyed at being put on the spot, but did concede that “Whilst the new arrival Mr. Kevin Cholmondeley-Smith was somewhat confronting,  he had made some good points that they had agreed to consider.”  In the meantime, he said, he would be setting up a residents panel which Mr. Cholmondeley-Smith would be chairing and would report directly to him.

Kevin was interviewed and said, “I am disappointed I have not been able to meet with the Managing Director God, but at least we are making a start on creating a forum for residents to have a voice in the planning of future accommodation.”

The next morning the first item of news on both radio and TV was the imperious Director of Heavenly of Operations the Arc Angel Gabriel. He announced on behalf of the Managing Director, God, that there would be a new approach to community engagement and planning.

On Wednesday there was a bit of a kerfuffle early afternoon. Apparently Kevin’s intake was scheduled for their orientation tour.

This is normally an uncomplicated and structured event – pretty mechanical really.

Kevin was picked up and shortly after they set off, the bus stopped, and the Driver stomped off. Apparently, Kevin had demanded that they go see the horses and ponies before anything else. Normally they didn’t do that until week two sometimes week three if they have been busy.

Kevin began flagging down passers-by until he found a bus driver who would take over & drive the bus to the horse & pony section.

There were quite few other people there, some of whom Kevin recognised. Of those, some were pleased to see him and some clearly were not. One loudmouth busy body who was bossing everyone around saw Kevin and shouted at him, “And you can piss off.”

A disturbance subsequently ensued which necessitated the angel security officer on duty to Taser some people. He assumed Kevin was in charge today and sort direction from him on who needed to be tasered.

The breadth of Kevin’s smile nearly cracked his face!

Because Tasers had been deployed the Angel Rogziel, the Angel of Punishment (whose name means ‘The Wrath of God’) had to be called. He was introduced to Kevin and kept muttering, bloody horse people, I rather be in Hell.

That evening on the Heavenly TV Cloud 9 News, it was announced by Hayyel, Angel of Animals, that the new arrival Mr. Cholmondeley-Smith had been appointed as the equestrian section manager. Apparently, a number of people applied for passes for the express train straight to Hell.

Now Cloud 9 TV News and the Pearly Gates Times had assigned reporters to follow Kevin. The Cloud 9 report secretly filmed the Pearly Gates reporter saying to Kevin, “We haven’t had this much fun in centuries!”

The full transcript of that conversation will be in the Heavenly Herald on Sunday, tomorrow.

Thursday passed relatively quietly with Kevin reacquainting himself with many passed friends and contacts and especially some special horses and ponies. Later in the afternoon the Cloud 9 News Director contacted Kevin complaining there was no exciting news.

Later that afternoon, Kevin invited himself to afternoon tea with Morael - Angel of Awe who rules the months of August-September. Kevin said later, “I met with the Angel of Awe so we could get to know each other better and to run through my plans for the next couple of months.”

On Friday morning all Radio and TV channels carried the newsflash that a reliable source had leaked that the Heavenly Managing Director, God had called the Arc Angel Gabriel and demanded, “Who in the name of white doves is this Kevin Cholmondeley-Smith?”

Kevin continued to express disappointment that he had not yet been invited to meet with the Heavenly Managing Director, God. 

Just to be clear, new arrivals normally met with the Heavenly Managing Director, God, at a garden party at the end of the month.

Although not yet public, we understand that throughout Friday and probably to-day as I speak, Kevin is calling on various members of the Heavenly Equestrian community to set up a Judging Panel, develop a common set of showing rules, consider the possibility of establishing a breeding programme and to organise affiliation with the Royal A & P Society of New Zealand.   

Well ladies and gentle, I figure you have a pretty good idea how this is going to play out. So in conclusion, let me just say a prayer. When I finish and say Amen you are welcome to shout out Amen in response.

Dear God, Heavenly Managing Director, please accept our appointment of Kevin Cholmondeley-Smith as our Ambassador of Equestrian to your deity.

He has served a long and comprehensive apprenticeship, Lord, and comes with  many references and considerable international experience. We appreciate that he at times may appear difficult to work with, wishing to follow his own course.

But Lord, as Ralph Waldo Emmerson said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Kevin knows that success is not measured by what he accomplished, but by the opposition he has encountered. He has demonstrated courage, maintaining the struggle, often against the odds, not running away, but remaining at his post.

Let Kevin take care of your equestrian herd.

He has discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor Lord, but also an example of life’s mystery and unpredictability, of life’s generosity and beauty, a worthy object of repeated and ever changing contemplation.

Lord, bear in mind the words of two wise men of our world. Mr. Bruce Orr, a Past President of the RAS. He said of Kevin, “The movement owes him a huge debt of thanks for lifetime of involvement, passion and commitment. All of us who were fortunate enough to have enjoyed his companionship & wise counsel are very much the poorer with his passing. “

We ask humbly that you appreciate him.

An international Equestrian expert Mr. Wayne Hipsley in America said, “I can only wonder how many people realize how many equestrian lives he touched through his activities. He had a purpose and a passion for equestrian sports and we must consider ourselves lucky to have called him a friend.”

Lord hear our words.

Kevin comes to you well recommended – care for him, love him, and bear with him.

We ask also that you bless John, Kevin’s family and the close friends who have travelled this journey with him to his departure.

Amen.

The Franklin Aging Expo and its importance in helping overcome the worst enemy of older people.

The Franklin Positive Aging Expo is getting set to run again in Pukekohe, the initiative of a small charitable group, the Franklin Integration Project Group.

On the 1st October, and after a break of two years, this significant event, the biggest of its kind in New Zealand, is set to retake its claim as one of the unique Franklin features. In the past, over  100 groups were exhibiting with advice help and information available across many topics of relevance and importance  to older people and their families. This includes advice on residential care options and alternatives, resources and equipment for everyday living with a range of impairments or disabilities, suitable recreational activities, information on volunteering, support to and  for carers, and even professionals providing health screening and advice on healthy lifestyles.

Activities such as line dancing and Tai Chi, exercise to help keep you healthy and happy are showcased along with a range of hobbies, crafts, sports, and social activities to keep the mind and body active.

And its all free with complimentary refreshments throughout the day.

It is no coincidence that the event is being held on the first day of October. On December 14th 1990, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1^st as the International Day of Older Persons. The day aims to raise awareness of the impacts of an aging population and the need to ensure people can grow old with dignity and to raise the consciousness about points which are affecting the aged.

Aging can be very frustrating, especially when you can’t do something you have enjoyed any more due to the process and difficulties of aging. In communities all around the world, people are living and thriving into their golden years. In places where longevity reigns, locals tend to eat balanced diets, are involved in daily low impact activities, focus on family and spirituality and carve out plenty of time to enjoy the simple things in life, and believe it or not there are two other prevalent ingredients, wine and sunny weather!

Using findings such as the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report  and the Blue Zones Project, countries where people have the highest life expectancy have been identified and in most of those destinations there are high concentrations of centenarians.

One of those is the the Caribbean Island of Barbados. Bhajans who reach 100 years of age are honoured with portraits printed on postage stamps. In Barbados, people spend their days with purpose by putting faith and family first. According to the Blue Zones Project, knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to 7 years of extra life expectancy.

In the Netherlands, one of the oldest people in the world died at age 115. She and others in the country have thrived thanks to a national focus on supporting healthy aging. Austrian citizens enjoy long life spans because the socioeconomics of the country positively affects the populations access to reliable healthcare and nutritious foods.  Austrian culture focuses on healthy work-life balance, with a more laid back approach to working hours and a priority on spending leisure time outdoors. 

In Jersey there may be mystic explanations for the longevity of people. Locals think that their ancestors were fairies. There is also a custom of building a stone seat on the exteriors of their homes so witches can rest and won’t cast evil spells on their households. The good news for me is, I am already officially a ‘fairie’ and there is plenty of seating outside on the veranda.

Spell or no spell, the message is clear about what contributes to reaching a grand old age, nutritious foods, purpose, family, exercise, community support, healthy work-life balance, a glass of wine and perhaps having a fairie in the family history! What then is the worst enemy of older people?

It is loneliness!

Among the many health concerns that can befall seniors, loneliness is one of the most common and least discussed. Research shows that chronic loneliness can have a significant impact on your overall health, including brain health. Some studies even suggest that there may be a link between loneliness and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's.

Age Concern reports that about half of older New Zealanders experience some level of loneliness, and 8-9% feel severely lonely all or most of the time, and 44% moderately lonely. This is important because having inadequate social relationships has shown to be as bad as smoking.

While loneliness can be incredibly detrimental to health, it can also be successfully alleviated through a number of activities and treatments. For many seniors, the increased presence of people is all that is needed to alleviate loneliness.

This can be achieved a number of ways, including scheduling regular outings, visits with friends and family, attending senior activities in the community, volunteering. Exercise is another excellent activity both for health and greater wellbeing.

The Franklin Positive Aging Expo is an excellent resource not just for older people but also their families and others who have older friends.

It would be great to see our community support the Expo, and also if there is someone you know who is older and on their own, offer to bring them along. And if you are much younger, bring Mum or Dad, or Nana or Grandad, or just to get ideas for yourself to help plan for your later life.

This oldie looks forward to seeing you there.   

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10164336343975652

#agedloneliness                 #agingexpo              #retirement             #loneliness