Kia ora and welcome to The Weekend. I’ve been thinking this week about nostalgia because in a few weeks I’m going to visit the town I grew up in, and I’m not sure how it’s changed. I didn’t always like being a teenager, but I do have powerful memories of being at my friend’s house, choosing from a glittering array of nail polish possibilities with tantalising names like “Teatime” and “Banana Sunset”. It was less about the colour than a reason to chat while carefully applying chemicals to our keratin. Speaking of memory and nostalgia, on The Spinoff this week three star MPs revisited the heady days of the 2017 campaign on our Gone by Lunchtime podcast, and Sela Jane Hopgood chronicled her long journey to becoming a swimmer. Brew some Coffee Supremeand keep reading for more stories about the past, the present, and the future.
Covid! It’s everywhere! It’s hard to avoid! You’ve probably already had it once, and you’re likely to get it again (and again)! But there are also ways to reduce the risk of the virus, like wearing a mask, and receiving a booster (if you’re eligible, that is). Charlotte Muru-Lanning has been observing lots of bare faces on the bus, a high-risk environment for virus transfer. She argues that given the well-known efficacy of masks and high concentration of other people’s breath on public transport, it’s worth making the effort there – even if that’s all you do.
Coffee and chinwags: the vital community role of cafes Across New Zealand, cafes open their doors every morning to provide hot coffee, shelter from the elements, and a gathering space for their communities. While the last three years have wreaked havoc on the hospitality industry, the local cafe remains a place of gathering, providing warmth and solace in a warm mug and a smile from the barista. Read more about the crucial role cafes play in connecting their communities on The Spinoff now.
The three candidate diarists reunite
Five years ago, during the 2017 election, Kiritapu Allan, Erica Stanford and Chlöe Swarbrick, all first-time candidates, wrote about life on the campaign trail for a diary series on The Spinoff. Five years later, all three are highly-visible stars in their own parties. For a special reunion event, Toby Manhire hosted the three MPs for an edition of The Spinoff’s politics podcast Gone by Lunchtime. He also profiles each candidate individually, talking to Allanabout life as a cabinet minister (and a cervical cancer survivor), Swarbrick about discovering her passion for policy (and her campaign for drug law reform), and Stanfordabout pushing for better immigration policy (and the “horrific” caucus meetings during National’s leadership upheaval).
Stories emerging from the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care – including those published as part of The Spinoff’s own Quarter Million project – often focus, understandably, on the experiences of those who were in long-term facilities like foster homes, orphanages or boarding schools. But the lifelong impact of abuse can come even from a short stint in the care of other adults. Writer David Hill shareshow, as a child, he experienced sexual abuse during a brief hospital stay, and how the courage of others who came forward helped him through the silent years afterwards.
Planned or “elective” surgeries are vital care, delivering relief for those living with the pain and nuisance of long-term conditions like cataracts. Data released to The Spinoff under the Official Information Act show that the amount spent by the public health sector on sending these planned surgeries to the private system has nearly doubled in just five years. I dug intothe causes of thiswith data journalist Emma Vitz. Both patients and private hospitals benefit from getting care sooner through the private system – as does the economy as a whole, in all likelihood. But the prevalence and expense of outsourcing is a reminder of how under-resourced the public sector is, especially in a context of rising demand among an aging population.
New Zealand is going to be a hyper-aged society in the future, which will impact health costs – and everything else.
Pasifika communities are overrepresented in drowning statistics. Sela Jane Hopgood can understand why: as a child, she lived a long drive from the beach, and her busy mother didn’t have the spare time or money to teach her kids to swim. But now Sela is a mother herself, the risk of not knowing how to keep herself afloat is clearer: how could she help her son if he got into trouble in the water? So this year, Sela has been learning to swim, getting confident in the shallow end and starting to kick and propel herself. She writes a diary of the experience here: it’s a super heartwarming, beautiful story to kick off your weekend.
Everything else
Some lovely ideas here for food themed gifts at a range of price points
Cabbage is an ingredientwe can and should love (I’ve had a u-turn on cabbage in my personal life and heartily endorse the approach of this article)
Sadly, hot sauce does not repel dolphins from getting stuck in fishing nets
Excellent story ideation inthis article abouta night watching the Fifa World Cup with migrant workers in Qatar, who (despite empty stands) can’t afford to attend the stadiums they helped to build
