A Dark Memory Reactivated
Last week’s RNZ documentary about the US Marine base on the Kapiti Coast raised a forgotten (or perhaps a deliberately hidden) memory of my activities on 3 Mile Bush Road, Kamo in Northland, during World War II. And in hindsight it made me wonder if, had my bravery been made public, I would perhaps have been the youngest ever recipient of the Victoria Cross or similar award, (I would have been under 10 at the time). The house in the photos was the home of a great uncle and aunt (siblings of the Hansen Family.) One of my sisters and I used to spend school holidays up there. (The other sisters hadn’t been born yet.) Anyway, during the war there was a US military base within sight at the end of a side road. Every day tanks and armoured vehicles would rumble up and down 3 Mile Bush Rd past our gate. I developed a plan. There were a lot of very “free range” turkeys, ducks, and poultry of various kinds enjoying the relatively empty and unspoiled environment around the surrounding farmland. Result: lots of eggs, many of which were by no means fresh. I remember collecting eggs, especially old ones and going out to the road with a supply of hand grenades. There was a deep open drain beside the road so guess what! I would hide in the drain when I thought it was time when the armoured vehicles would be returning to base. I courageously attacked them from the drain with my hand grenades though I do remember I was clever enough to attack only the last one when they were in a close queue. I imagine when they had returned to base and discovered that they had been under attack, it would have given them food for thought and probably had some influence in their decision to return home when the war was over. With the benefit of decades of observing world events and the behaviour of nations, it now seems to me that by acting to terminate U.S. military presence, as a young child, I have nevertheless contributed to our small country’s enjoyment of relative independence for all those years post W.W.II. (Seriously. Don’t laugh!)
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.2% Summer
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36.4% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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