Sophie turned to me before leaving for school today, holding her scooter at the ready and sharing an excited smile. “Mum, Mum. Today’s the day I can hug my friends again”. Our pavements are no-longer decorated with yellow crosses to mark mandatory social distance. The sign in registers are diminishing too. We’ve been subject to … More Nama Kotahi # Number One

It’s a week of beginnings and ends. The beginning of our ‘new normal’ in Level 2 (it’s everyone’s new cliché) and calling to a close our home-schooling experiment. It’s confusing. I was excited to buy a real book from a bookstore this afternoon, and yet I feel like I’ve been through some kind of Orwellian … More Staying Put

I skipped away from the restaurant like a 5-year-old leaving a sweet shop with a dollar mix. Others have reported a similar sensation over their first coffee. The process was so seamless. Aromatic food in brown paper bags, positioned neatly on the table. THAT table that blocks the threshold of every retailer in the country … More Curry

This week we hit hump day. Mostly because we’d like to see an end to this crisis. And perhaps we just felt grumpy that we couldn’t follow our usual Easter camping tradition. It’s a very strange time in history and as we enter our fourth week in lock-down it’s a good time to reflect. Home-schooling: … More A Strange Moment in History

I’ve been sorting batteries into piles. Those working and those defunct. Yesterday I cleaned the cupboard under the sink, realising that I have enough cleaning supplies to last months. One friend shaved her head for cancer research, another worked out how to use the pyrolytic function on an oven she’s used for years. We’re not … More Ordinary Things