800 days ago

Abuse in the Neighbourhood

Michael from Trentham

Didn't think quick enough late yesterday afternoon. Perhaps it was the cold weather or a Corgi that just wanted to keep going.

Walking past a little 9-10 year old, innocent-looking bare footed and thin school green coloured shirted sleeveless boy who was favouring his arm and shoulder and crying and shivering. So I enquired if he was alright and he shyly said no. He said he had been kicked out of his home after he agreed with me his father had bashed him. Later he said his mother was also at home. He denied he had done anything wrong. He said he had nowhere to go and no close by people he knew.

I told him that he should talk to a teacher that he likes at his school and the teacher will surely do something for him because most teachers are good like that and they have contact details and maybe history.

I was about to take him to my home get him warmed and drive him to his home. But I hesitated. Later my wife said if I had brought a complete stranger child home I could have been accused of being involved in pedophilia.

I chose not to walk with him to his home and confront a maybe vicious, drugged parent and later the child would probably suffer the consequences for bringing another person into the "fray".

Maybe he was not guiltless as he said and looked and did do something to raise the ire of his parent/s. But of course physical reaction on children is outlawed in NZ.

I suppose I could have phoned the police and wait around for ages for them to turn up. In the end I left the poor kid sitting on the wet grass underneath a Totara tree in The Reserve.

More messages from your neighbours
2 hours ago

Can you crack Today’s neighbourhood conundrum?

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

Without a bridle or a saddle, across a thing, I ride a-straddle. And those I ride, by help of me, though almost blind, are made to see. What am I?

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14 days ago

This one was sent in by your fellow neighbour, can you figure it out?

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

What is first white then red and the plumper it gets the more the old lady likes it?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

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2 days ago

Same Again Dan

Michael from Trentham

Who else besides me has gotten annoyed well before now with TVOne weather presenter, Daniel Corbett constant use of the term: SAME THING AGAIN.

Dan uses this term at least two-three times on any evening he is doing the weather presentation. A year ago and it wasn't in his vocabulary.

Ok, NZ is not a huge country and therefore the weather region by region, city by city can be pretty similar. But to use the same terminology when there is either no need to or many alternatives, rankles me anyway.

His weather colleagues have never used this Corbett habitual three worded expression.

Another thing Dan does with so much more repetitiveness of late is the frimmp, woosh, voomb sounds of noise he makes to describe rain, wind, impending climatic conditions or whatever.

Come on Dan. You weren't doing or saying these things in the UK.