From our new editor

Kia ora koutou, Some of you will already know me as Sarah-FromUpsideDowns, an epithet I’ve been proud to bear since 2017. I am very happy to be introducing myself today as still Sarah-From-UpsideDowns, but now as Sarah-WhoEdits-Chat21 as well. When I first started working for UpsideDowns, I had hardly any experience when it came to families with Down syndrome. A fellow youth group member for a few months when I was 11, the little boy of a friend-ofa-friend in Glasgow, a respect for the oeuvre of Sarah Gordy, and that was about it! It wasn’t the most ordinary way to get a job either. I was new to motherhood and new to Auckland when I posted in the Mt Albert Community Facebook page advertising my tutoring skills (I was also new to Auckland rent!). I never did get any tutoring work, but my post was spotted by Hannah Reynolds, who was then trying to find a replacement for her position as the sole employee of the UpsideDowns Education Trust. We had a coffee, during which she showered my newborn with love and praise, and the rest, as they say, is history. The Down syndrome community were welcoming, inclusive, and patient with me, and for nearly five years now I have been privileged to work with and for Kiwi kids with Down syndrome. My time with UpsideDowns is certainly what has brought me to this role, but I hope it won’t be the only aspect of my experience that will prove useful. Before coming to Auckland, I spent three years in the wonderful city of Glasgow, Scotland, where I completed a PhD in Scottish Literature (it’s a thing!). My thesis topic was on the relationship between Scottish independence and Scottish contemporary literature. So if you want to know how JK Rowling re-colonises Ireland in the Harry Potter series, how Mary Queen of Scots getting her head chopped off was important to Zimbabwe in the 1980s,

or why a circular poem in Bannockburn might save us from the climate crisis, then I will very happily fill you in. It was also during this time that I co-edited my first published book with a friend and colleague, Katie Ailes, also on Scottish political poetry – what else? The themes might not appear directly relevant, but I hope that the skills in research, writing to a deadline, and a healthy respect for the Oxford comma that I gained there will come in handy. The Glasgow weather was more my speed than the climate here in Auckland, as I lived my first 23 years in Dunedin, Otago, aka the Best City in the Universe. Dunedin is where I gained my first three tertiary qualifications – a BA(Hons) and a Masters in English Literature, and a Diploma in French. During the six years I spent studying, I also worked part-time at the Otago Museum. It was a brilliant student job to have, involving everything from feeding tarantulas to taking cruise ship tours. It’s also where I met my nowhusband, in the heady romance of the Da Vinci Machines Staff Familiarisation Tour. I was also heavily involved in the United Nations Youth Association (UN Youth NZ), attending over 30 Model United Nations events, and becoming the National Vice President for Relations (I’m a very big nerd). The new-born who met Hannah is now about to start school, and has been joined by a little brother who is now two. Both of them have bisomy 21, i.e. they do not have Down syndrome, which is why I have always been extra appreciative of the welcome we’ve received from this community. We live in Avondale with our cat, Mrs Dalloway. One constant throughout this, has been my love of writing, and of poetry in particular. So you can expect to see a bit more of that during my tenure (see page 25). I also hope that in my time here, I am able to continue the excellent work from Coen and other previous editors, which has made CHAT21 such a great resource and point of connection, not just for NZDSA members but for associated and interested groups that interact with the Down syndrome community, such as Special Olympics, Champion Centre, and IHC. Some of my aspirations in this role are to continue to grow and develop these connection points, to introduce more and more people to all the wonderful things Kiwis with Down syndrome are doing, and that each issue presents our readers with something they’d never heard about before. I would like to say a very big thank you to NZDSA, and especially to Zandra and Coen for their support and encouragement, and to the many, many members who have made me feel welcome in each of my roles. I am very excited to be starting this new position, and I look forward to learning more about this fantastic community!

Charlotte and Sarah at the Music and Fun Playgroup in Auckland