Monday Sport Blast From The Past: Jorge Sandoval
This weeks, I am using a story I wrote about cycling promoter Jorge Sandoval in 2017. I hope you enjoy it.
Cyclist Jorge Sandoval has a story that deserves to be widely known.
Recently, he was honoured with a Lifetime Service Award by Cycling New Zealand.
In the nearly quarter of a century I have been a journalist, I have been lucky to meet many interesting people.
But one person who will always stand out is Jorge.
I first met him when he came to the Hutt News looking for publicity for the Tour of Wellington.
Over time, I got to know him well and understand his fascinating story, including his time in a Chilean concentration camp.
Initially, he did not want to talk about when he was thrown into the camp by the Pinochet regime aged 19. He was tortured and saw many fellow prisoners die.
One of the few prisoners to survive the camp, he began a remarkable journey that would ultimately lead to Lower Hutt.
He fled to Argentina and in 1976 came to New Zealand as a refugee.
His first job was working in a Petone factory where the workers treated him as if he was "dumb" because he could not speak English.
Trying to blend in, he picked up some of the words his fellow workers used, including the F...word.
Much to his embarrassment, the Chilean ambassador had to explain its meaning.
Jorge found refuge in cycling and once he joined a club, he soon flourished and was good enough to represent New Zealand.
The lack of local events to ride in eventually annoyed him so much, he set up the Tour of Wellington. It would become an international event.
Jorge lived for cycling and what he regarded as Kiwis' indifference to the sport infuriated him.
When retailers in Lower Hutt and Petone complained about streets being closed for the Tour, he was blunt in his assessment that they were small-minded and lacked vision.
As I got to know him he opened up about his time in the concentration camp.
He was never bitter and his ability to move on was commendable.
Jorge deserves his recent recognition but at a time when some people oppose New Zealand taking refugees, he serves as a reminder as to why we should be generous as a country.
Forty-one years after starting work in a Petone factory, Jorge is a highly successful promoter. He has helped family members settle here, runs his own business and has organised more than 30 international cycling tours.
That is pretty good for a bloke who arrived in our country with nothing but a good attitude.
Poll: Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️
First introduced in New Zealand in 1927 with the passing of the Summer Time Act, it's what we know as 'Daylight Saving' and this year it ends on the first Sunday in April.
While we do get to sleep in this time around, some people would like to scrap the clock tinkering for good.
And why? Some evidence suggests the time changes are bad for our health as they mess with sleep patterns leading to short-term fatigue and affecting mood. Meanwhile the hour change is frustrating for farmers and a nightmare for getting the littlies to sleep. But what's your take?
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41.1% Yes - get rid of the clock changes
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57.4% No, I enjoy it
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Poll: How important is the ability to book a doctor’s appointment online?
Hi Neighbours
Here at The Doctors we would love to hear how you prefer to book your doctor’s appointments. With busy schedules, different people find different methods easier.
For some, online booking is very convenient, you can make an appointment anytime without needing to wait on the phone. Others still prefer calling the clinic and speaking to a real person, especially if they have specific questions about their visit.
Your feedback helps us understand what works best for our patients and how we can improve access to care.
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40.7% I prefer booking online whenever possible
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23.4% Online booking is helpful but not essential
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32.3% I prefer calling the clinic
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3.6% I didn’t know online booking was available
TRUMP AND TRENTHAM
Years ago when Neighbourly use to be a social media discussion outlet, I wrote a few items concerning Trump and got a stopper response from some people along the lines of what has Trump got to do with Trentham, Hutt Valley, Wellington or New Zealand.
Well let's forget about past years since 2015 and concentrate on this year.
Tariffs - people in Trentham and nearby Martinborough who are connected with the wine industry got especially annoyed about having to find new markets in the world and avoid the USA with Trump having unreasonably impose higher tariffs on NZ exports. Of course an about turn cannot be done instantly and some wine exporters here took a tumble.
War - the Trump war with Iran is affecting locals enormously already. Almost everything is expected to go up in price. Our military might yet be involved and just maybe activity at the Trentham Military Camp is on the increase.
Fuel - The NZ Govt is setting itself up to keep the price of petrol and diesel down to a level below unaffordable for the average bloke and blokess. But options remain open for carless days and working from home where possible working weeks. Despite the detractors like retailers and hospitality people in Wellington, working from home will save a huge amount of vehicle fuel. Our public transport services could not cope with severe carless days.
Online Purchases and Freight - big increases in cost of goods from overseas and the cost of air and sea freight charges.
Emigration - NZ and the Wellington region are prime targets for foreigners wanting to come and live here as we are the safest country of size in the world and the world of Trump and his USA are making the world much more at risk and uncertain. Look out for a new wave of housing demand here.
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