Covid-19 Response Recognition Award

A Fish In The Swim Of The World. Ben Brown, Longacre Press 2006, 173 pages.

Actually this read is an 11 out of ten. I haven’t a clue why I didn’t get to pick it up until it had been published for 16 years, as it has everything I want in a book. It might never make an action movie but its exquisite, tight, real, plain writing, so clear and concise as to be a perfect example of years of practise, and reading the works of other great writers, conjures up images on almost every page. In fact one can just about smell the candles, tobacco, gelignite and diesel on the day he and a mate made ‘the bomb’. Ben and his sister grew up with Ocker dad and Maori mum in tobacco country near the Motueka river in the 60s and 70s. His own story is cleverly entwined with theirs. He’s not effusive in praise of their solid examples and encouragement, but it’s palpable. With a philosophising role model who could make and fix anything Ben was always going to turns out. I’ve always wondered what makes these sporty types tick, what drives them to achieve and succeed and push themselves till they feel pain. Thanks to her I now have some understanding. be a practical man we feel, but that extra push from both, towards good reading has made an all rounder who probably never aspired to a position such as New Zealand’s First Reading Ambassador in 2021, but that’s who he is. Once again I’ve missed that, and I’m sad. A friend who attended a talk by Ben in Motueka recently, says my hunch was right – this straight talker comes across just as he writes, and with energy to burn. above it.

I think I may have met Ben on stage at the Childrens’ Book Awards in 2010, but giddily failed to make the most of the occasion. He lives in Lyttelton I’m told. I’m offering a chocolate fish to the first person who can sort me out with a prime possie from which to view his apparently crazy genius, and have my hard-toget copy autographed of course.

Age Concern Canterbury is honoured to be a recipient of a Covid-19 Response Recognition Award.

The Award is a service award established by the New Zealand government in 2022 to recognise individuals and organisations who contributed to New Zealand’s frontline workforce COVID-19 response.

Our Ruby is so young, what can she know about life eh? A great deal as it

In good plain English (maybe not with the elegance of Ben Brown) Ruby begins the story of her happy first years with a very special mother and a hard case father who never quite got his shit together. She thanks his large traditional Samoan family for always being there for him, and for setting her on the right track, from the get-go. When her mother’s brutal and domineering partner entered their lives, she drew on those early lessons and further cultivated her natural gift for competitive sport. Embroiled in a life-style of drugs, abuse and tragedy which has seen many youngsters stray off the straight and narrow, in her teens Ruby chose to apply herself mentally and physically to rise

Her single-track mind and huge work ethic have seen Ruby rise to fame and household recognition, and to be a No 1 role model for girls and young women. This book is written for them surely, with her many plainspeaking “training bag” tips ie, ‘adults don’t always understand how much kids blame themselves when things in the families are bad’, ‘there’s no such thing as inevitable’, and ‘if I act from the heart I will always be able to look myself in the eye and have selflove’ and ‘set things up in the good times so those tools are ready for you in the tough times’.

I knew Ruby was something special when she stirred the crowd with “Tutira mai nga iwi”, after that spectacular World Cup win. This book, the icing on the cake, confirms it. Watch this space, this young woman can only go further, better, more.

The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday, 14th October. If you’re eligible, you must enrol.

Enrolling and voting means you can have a say on the issues that affect you.

You’re eligible to enrol and vote if you are 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and you’ve lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life.

For electoral purposes, you are a permanent resident if you’re in New Zealand legally and not required to leave within a specific time.

Make sure you’re enrolled and ready to vote. You can enrol, check or update your details online at vote.nz or by calling the 24-hour Freephone number 0800 36 76 56 to get an enrolment form sent to you in the mail. Complete and sign the form. Upload, email or post your completed form.