waitangi day

As I listened to my beloved National Radio this morning, it was thoroughly warming to hear that the celebrations at Waitangi yesterday were perhaps the most peaceful and positive for a very long time. Forty five thousand people, a mix of ethnicities enjoyed celebrating their togetherness. Some were suggesting that treaty issues are getting more public ventilation now that we have high profile Maori party personalities in parliament.

We decided to get into it locally as well and went down to the multicultural concert at Frank Kitz park on the Welly waterfront. It had a very down home feel. I don't know if it was my London perspective or just the complete 'eh bro' style of the MC that was fueling this feeling - a mixture I guess. The food and craft stalls surrounding the concert were clearly small family businesses and fundraisers for Maori community groups - lots of sausage sizzles.

I decided on hangi and stood in a queue. To my delight, the young wahine serving me was once a pupil I had taught the drums to and is now in her second year of training as a secondary PE teacher. How cool is that? She was very keen to cuddle Eden. Unfortunately they were out of hangi so I joined another queue and got doner kebabs instead. (Duncan would add here that from his perspective I spent more time figuring out what to buy than actually watching the concert!)

I remember when I was convalesing with viral meningitis 18 months ago and was soaking up Nick and Hayley's Nature's Best DVD. I wept real tears as I watched the music vid for a Herbs song that had pictures of NZ and marae. I had been following the back lash from Don Brash's famously almost red neck 'Orewa speech' and was feeling concern for my beloved country keenly. Helen Clark may be annoying but we're doing OK.

This is not the beginning of me being a political blogger. No way. Not me. But I do love my country and get passionate about things occasionally. Haere ra.