Thursday 31 December 2015

82 Not Out!   Godwag's Box

82 Not Out! is not only NOT OUT but Kicking off Frid. Jan  1 2016 with this short story for you....enjoy...an outrageous blog in a few days.

Godwag's Box    short story 203 words    Hazel Menehira.

Godwag’s Box  Hazel Menehira   Friday Jan 1 2016   11a.m.

Godwag prepared to open the box for another look.
            Hair curled, moustache combed, pearly teeth brushed, celebratory strapless dress zipped up, Godwag shivered with anticipation.
This was more than a festive season gift box. Inside was a handmade creation of a golden globe planet of magnificent promise and potential.
On the edge of his cloud bunk Godwag lifted the edge flaps of the cardboard to peep inside. 
It was horrifying. His ears screamed with intense and inescapable pain. The escaping buzzing babble of billions of confused voices intermingled with heart wrenching sobs, piercing screams, sporadic gun shots and droning missiles strikes was intolerable.
Godwag’s eyes welled up with anger, sorrow and astonishment.
Her glorious dream globe was stuffed up.
Soft orchestral sweeping tones, the laughter of playful children blending with birds and animal harmonies had been replaced by a torrent of abhorrent terror.
Box closed, Godwag nestled against his cloud.
‘How could this have happened?’ she mused, then ‘Humans of course,’’ he said aloud. After a couple of calm me down whiskies, blasé logic took over.
‘Oh well.’ murmured Godwag. ‘I blame myself. I should never have made them in my own image –Fucking humans!’



No you can't leave comments but you can email me (specially if you want to publish it..got lots more too!!!)hzlmango@bigpond.com

Saturday 26 December 2015

82 NOT OUT! 

Hope you like that sassy new Not Outer heading- just trying out  new looks ready  for 2016...anyway got heaps to tell you in the next blog so keep tuning in!
Bestest News right now is that I survived Christmas and Boxing Day...wore a new cheap as chips  online red/white  polka special  dress day...and unbelievable unwrapped a friendly beach friend's gift and it was red/white polka dotted coffee mugs complete with Chai Latte !
You couldn't do better at any Boxing Day sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other Good News - CaptainCurlew is on guard for Mrs Curlew and his chick....Boy someDad's coyuld learnfrom that!!!!!!

Anyway much more next blog...I know you just can't wait for it!!!Byeeeeee
Blessings to you all....Keep breathing not outers don't holdyour breath waiting for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Tuesday 22 December 2015


82 Not Out!....

is hanging in there!!! with only two sleeps (at least four toilet trips! during them) before Christmas Day. Believe me hanging in there is the only way for Not  Outers to cope with the mad  speeding farcical  hype treadmill that the season has become...out there...nd out there really means beyond the safety of ones comfort zone!!!! So  Not Outer friends hang on to your  lazy boys, your laptops
your   teabags and your carers because thats the survival strategy for2015.

Yes, 2016 will soon be upon us and don't believe everything THEY (oh you know who THEY is don't you? -its everyone out there who is younger,richer and  more mobile than you!!!) tell you about how marvellous the future  will be for you now that they can land a super rocket and re-use the expensive parts of it...All we seem to hear is  more rhetoric about strategies for getting rid of guns...ending wars and working globally to figure out what to do about the million millions of displaced people, starving babies and islands facing living on the sea floor.

So hang in there Not Outers keep breathing and we can watch what 2016 really brings...like paying out of pocket for your blood tests and scans.
ENUFF MOANING let's actually write a blog today!!!

THE GOOD STUFF IS
Grandmothers are fabulous!!! Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children are making a stand for changes to Government policies...fabulous Go Grandmothers!!!!
Advances in genetic science research have made great strides finding biological pathways that cause muscular degeneration...all great news for Parkinsons....

Just heard that a mans group has been formed in Melbourne to collect women in dangerous violent situations and take them to safety zones and safehomes. Wonderful!!
And here's a true tale about my own protector!!
Having decided against having  a dog or cat I have been taken over holus bolus by a territorial and demading curlew. No one can come down the  path between thebeautiful trees  to the back door of the unit.anymore!!!!!! Amazing...even my Chrissy visitors have hurried away or been rescued ( so no prezzies get waylaid) after being scared off by the wide flapping wings and stance of this protector.
He she or it is feisty bird...it is either a male guarding all femails at No3 or Mum watching chicks some where. This may be a nothing event  for born and bred Aussies but its a new one on me!!!  Ilike the Captainmore than the last snake that called by!!!!
Here’s the pic and gen of Captain Curlow...xxx hzl -so you know  I am not into writers imagination here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_stone-curlew.

BIGGEST WTF IS THIS STUFF?
I can't believe that TWO  applications had to be made to the Immigration Department to allow a dying young man's mother and family to be with him  in Australia during the short  time he has left and to be by his bedside when he passes away.

Well guys it is 5 p.m.and guess thats it for today. Have a simple peaceful Christmas...oh one of the unexpected visitors that got past Captain Curlew  yesterday brought me a wondrous Chrissy gift - one of  the first (still green) lemons of her own planted tree.- beautiful with a shiny silver rosette on the top of it!!! Such a Pagan offering!!!What created device could better that???? Blessings to you and yours wherever you are in the world...tune in again in a fewdays.  Hzl/

Wednesday 2 December 2015


82 Not Out!  is definitely not out as she meets the challenge around  the hype and commecialism of the festive season.You can catch up and read my blog below this one on that challenge.   

Wow I am exploringhow to use headings ,fonts and colour on this blog...woweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Is this normal? it says so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So ..
.
The Good News is-  
only 22 more days... (sorry couldn't resist that  one)
Now I think this is really worth noting - Hurrah and whoopee and thanks to the  Cairns Council ( I  presume it is them or it?)that has made the entrance to the Centennial Lakes
look so appealing...wonderful..and a picturesque place to sit in the shade to reflect on...where did that croc once pictured here amongst those superb lilies  finally go???????.wish I could place a pic of the lake here but actually it is the lake on the front of my Vocal Enrichment book if you have one...if you haven't why not??? you  can even ebook it ynder my name on Amazon...in fact you can ebook all my 14  books that way....BUT  I SAID I WOULDN"T USE THIS BLOG FOR THAT TYPE OF PROFILING SO-
Not sure what has happened to my font choice or colour here  but ...oh well life is full of surprises-just with the click ofa mouse too!!!.
Moving on - this is  not released yet - but it appears my Poets on Beaches workshops  next year for writers in the region may be ALL GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sothats superb news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Other goodnews is ....only 22 more days to..................................so movingon again...
THE BAD NEWS is THE BAD NEWS is plentiful. Here's just a couple cos we don' t want an overkill do we!!!-we get that every day.World-wide. 
Now I really think this should be  WTF IS THIS? NEWS because I can't believe that Australia should be known as a non regional leader.by Pacific Islands facing horrific stuff about submerging into the same Pacific Ocean due to climate change  That's what we are being termed because of our stance in the global climate  talks.- and it makes me feel ashamed of  this country.that I love living in..but by the way I'm also pretty proud of Aotearora.the fine beautiful country that's too cold for my bones-because its tyopofthepiops when it cvomes to caringabout the P.Islands.
YesAus can givemoney...but hey guys that money's coming out of the budget destined for other overseas aid...so robbing Peter to pay Paul aint a good look whatever which way you look!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Thats it! said enuff....do want to talk about large corps websites (like Amazon yes.and My Age Care Plan..)which are so so so so so hard to find ones way round....and also   this is really important if someone can do anything about it ...(n next 22 days  would be good!)
Is there aPost Officein Australia with a seat and desk for Not Outers to write o nall those labels we have to fill in to send a kidabook by mail???
I askedin one Post Shop yesterday and finally said I'd try to leave one in my will!!!!! Actually I was givenlots of other assistance...you know why...the internet was down and so was the customer queue sooldiescouldn't get money or shopping yesterday....its toughout there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! blessings from Hzl  oh email if you enjoy this blog  hzlmango@bigpond.com    


Monday 30 November 2015

82 Not Out!  on December 1. 2015

A few weeks to  consider this...
Flashes of childhod Christmases. . . .Stirring the neighbourhood pudding mix to be boiled in the copper during war years. Carolling with snowflakes on my noae. Waking in freezing early hours to feel the Santa pillowcase on my toes - usually containing an orange but once...oh yes once I had my first pomegranate. Festive dinner and then dozing with a full tummy at the knees of grandparents listening to the Queen’s speech in front of a blazing fire.The full traditional British scene.

These festivities centred round the birth of Jesus are directly descended from the Roman Saturnalia, a long line of archaic earth festivals.Comparative mythology shows many other peoples of the ancient past commemorated birth days of world saviours at the winter solstice.
This helps me see the season as a time of special energy outpouring. Here in the southern hemisphere it is an opportunity to deepen the inner richness of the heart and to honour as well as celebrate the lifestream of the earth and humanity. This reminds me of my Pagan roots and the green trees festooned with representations of fish, birds and animals crucial to the  survival of early people.

Encouragingly large numbers of people are rebelling against commercial pressures. World focus has turned to the relief of starving and displaced  millions, extended families to sharing and communities to giving needy service. So despite all the bad and negative forces we hear of, wonderful, good, noble things are happening.

For me the season is a reminder to avoid town, to spend a loving yet simple time with family and friends, to write overseas, to hug more babies, frail and old folk, and to make special time for inner reflection and mediation on global serenity.
Incidentally the Saturnalia was time to pay all debts and bury all emnity. That  should keep us all busy before Christmas. Blessings to you all Hzl.
-


Tuesday 24 November 2015

THE GOOD NEWS is this 82 Not Outer! at 8.42 a.m. can look out at shafts of golden sunlight on green palm fronds and sit at my imported desk of  REAL NZ wood (not chipboard) and be free to post this blog-however outrageous it may be at times.Blessings to everyone on this glorious morning without a visiting cyclone  on the BOM site -marvellous.! A feel good morning because -
Hazel is Hatless on this blog.
Let me explain....when most of your life you continually change hats that speak mother, journalist,editor,teacher,actress,theatre director, speech examiner,lecturer, drama adjudicator, poet, creative writer,mentor,book reviewer...IT IS WONDERFUL to be hatless, with few appointments that still need head space and headgear.
That said -another little snippet of good news - all my four children, 18 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren are enjoying good health -(even little  battler baby Esme in England is home from hospital (She's my fifth great grand daughter-all the other 15 are little warriors-not sure but think that count  is about right.)
Yep, I was the only child - determined  to be one of a large family -somehow..

Now you ask when 's this blog going to start being a real blog-so here goes.--
Small snippet of good  news: More photographs by Thomas Dick have suddenly beendiscoveredby his family in a tin box. Yes another amazing authentic focus on Aboriginal life in early Port McQuarrie is revealed for posterity. Hurrah for such creative artists whose work is now receiving the recognition it deserves.
Oh dear here we go -
THE BAD NEWS is THE BAD NEWS is plentiful. Here's just a couple cos we don' t want an overkill do we!!!-we get that every day.World-wide
One little  fact-  People(that means families too) on an income of $500 a week in Aus. pay out 65%  of it for their rent.
Second little fact is that in parts of Sydney NSW there are no rentals available.
WTF IS THIS ABOUT NEWS  -never sure what colur this heading should be?????
Couple of things  here-in brief:
The furore about 80 per cent of the Port of Darwin being leased to a Chinese company for 99 years -are ministers upset that the Americans are also upset that its a Chinese company or that they didn't have a handle on it earlier??????How come?
This next one is a biggie WTF for me -
How come traditional owners of land King's Canyon have no right or redress to oppose fracking because it is on Crown Land??????It is integral to the Aboriginal owners creation stories...so I hope we soon hear something for the Good News on this blog!

Oh dear - was going to get to Hzl's macular anecdote but must have brekkie and my only mediation-one Notene a day  (blood pressure -the geneticone of course!!!! onMedicare)  
Blessings toll the sun's still shining ...29 in here already!!! a hot day ahead and I have to wear my Cairns Tropical Writers Festival Commitee 2016 hat  this afternoon.

Saturday 21 November 2015

82 Not Out! is looking at the time on this p.c. and she can't believe it's 4.05 p.m.  Where d id the  effing day go today?...it seems that that when you are (dare I say older and not out) days shrink somehow. Still so much to blog about too!
Let me recap. a bit.
Oh yes-
The Good Stuff is I think I am up to date with  APPOINTMENTS.'
It feels pretty good to report that this one -toothed, one eared, one eyed legitimate Mazda driver and fantastic,writer and amazing blogger  is on top of things after  the fabulous toenail experience I related.
Now for some 
AWESOME NEWS that may be new to some Not Outers  who want to continue driving their little Mazdas around.
Yes,after 75 you have to have a doctors check and carry the little slip saying your whizz bang OK to drive with your licence.NOW your Doc has to Ok more than just your eyes!! AND you don't have to sit for hours waiting for your number to come up at the Transport Dept. -(if you can findit) each year to ensure your are Legit. NO you can take your licence out for five or even more years and when your T.D. reminder comes each year (Somehow they always know your birthday!) you only have to get the formfilled in by doc and tear off the bottom bitto stickwith licence in your wallet.   Sound simple? It is but nooneells you these things....why???because ITS ALL ON THE NET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tough if you suffer TECKERNOCICAL STRESS or your one eye is playing up.

Now little anecdote about how I learned all this without the net -
I have never had a infringement ticket in 82 -17 years of driving...BUT after driving through a local beach  I stopped (in a bad position) to write down  phone number of a rental property.I had a cop up my bum!!!!!! Duly apologized profusely as he took my licence and my docs little slip...SHi.....it was a month out of date!!!! You see when I got it filled in I asked her to mail it to T.D. thinking I'd be sent the slip back from them...BUT NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's not how its done...no mailing...no visiting T.D. for ticks...just get doc to keep her part of the form and we not outers keep our little slip. 
I made the mistake of telling the young p.c.  (no the two young cops -he must have needed back up to deal with me!) that I was a writer and had enjoyed driving the lonely esplanade road...so relaxing...BIG MISTAKE!!!
"Oh did you do drift off a bit then?,he asked
Guess I over reacted ...told him to ph my doc...(she wasn't at centre that day!!!)...so instead  I got a well deserved lecture!!! Yes I deserved it...I was badly parked and after hearing about an old lady who lost her arm through  being badly parked causing a crash...etc etc etc etc and how he was so traumatized by it etc etc etc...I demanded that he arrest me!!!  It was one of those 31 degree days and after more etc etc etc(grandkids call it Blah blah blah) I promised him I would get another form duly filled in by doc and have that a new little slip should he ever see 
me again.....I've been looking for him...to show him it but our roads haven't crossed. 
Just a little bit of WTF is this STUFF? 
I've been thinking about nuclear waste and all the Blah Blah Blah (yes I like that all the Blah BlahBlah about it.) So easy to go along with  the Not in Our Backyarders but really thinking about the responsibility attached to much created in the name of progress (Yes all the medical and healthcare  we take for granted) made me think deeply for some days now.
We in civilization today  really accept responsibility for so litle. Beaches now of plastic not grains of sand etc etc Polluted rivers and oceans...many attempts at recycling even in our own backyards ignored.
What if all the Mums and Dads using what are called disposable nappies had to wash and  dry towelling  nappies even for just  a year as we did in the 50's? Wouldn't they think again about best way to dispose of the SHi....gift they have been given??
A wise man once told me that everything we own or have is a responsibility.
With science and technology humanity has been given such great gifts...but each gift comes with a responsibility.

Oh that's quite enuff blah blah ing...Catchalater  blessings Hzl.  Once again No No No  I do not edit this blog ever!!!!!! Again No I don't do FB I am not Linking In with any one and Tweeting would drive me mad!!!!
Oh I'll get back to the eye stuff next time too!!!!

Tuesday 17 November 2015

The Good Stuff :
Yeah...you do have to hunt around a bit for it some days...but that's what we do when we're 82 Not Out!  and even deep down almost buried under the Third World War on Terrorism...and the horrific sudden tragedy of the S.A. bush fires a glimmer of reflection on todays news brings an unexpected find to this blogger.

Let me explain: In the Bad News  I read that the rugby world is in mourning following the tragic death of All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu. Now my ties with Aotearoa and my Maori affiliations are massive ...I watched Jonah often on screen and whilst whispering a karakia (prayer) in my own fashion for the star's wife and  whanau...I was also  led into another reflective dimension. 
Read on you'll find this interesting -

This strand took me back to 1984 and to Four Seasons Professional Theatre in Wanganui (now  Whanganui) where I was fortunate to direct  Bruce Mason's  play Awatea with a large (very large) cast headed by the late David Smiles in the lead role. Maori actors young  and old contributed to the success of a rarely staged N.Z classic.   (keep reading...you'll be surprised....)

Among the cast was a handsome young actor Grant Kereama playing Matiu Paku.
It was at the theatre in 1984 that he met another F.S.actress  Pauline Gillespie who became his .future wife.Both went on to lead successful careers in N.Z. radio and in television as presenters. Many years later it was Grant that became a kidney donor for. Jonah Lomu.
Grant and Polly if you ever get to read this 82 Not Out! blogger know that you are still in my heart...how could you not be after watching your amazing theatre romance and the wonderful gift Grant made to another amazing Kiwi.

I've got heaps more to blog this week...Macular ? eye test tomorrow and some WTF is this stuff for older readers  having trouble keeping up with the play...it  will include my latest misadventure and how I nearly got (...actually deserved to get) my first ever driving ticket... blessings to you all  82 Not Out!

Friday 13 November 2015

Well November 15 and there's more than a heap of
OVERWHELMINGLY BAD BAD BAD STUFF today and it's all about terrorist attacks in Paris.
No .. there will be heaps of media onto it.All  I'm going to say is that I wept buckets learning that  as shaken folk exited the football stadium they sang the French National Anthem...and the words have been running through my mind ever since.

The positive good thread for me(and we do have to find those gems in days like this ) came with  Aus P.M.'s words "Freedom stands up for itself"and then the repetition of the word Solidarity in the media coverage as dawn lifted over Paris and the world awoke to learn of the attacks.

My Good Stuff thought today is a very simple one based on my own life, and experience wherever I have lived..  Though I'm no mathematician I am pretty sure  regardless of race, skin texture, culture, religion, nationalism or ideology-there are more   Good hearted souls in the world than Bad  People whose hearts and souls are damaged.
Glad you can't comment on this...blessings Hzl

Thursday 12 November 2015

Friday morning and still 82 Not Out!
Wonderful...

GOOD STUFF:
The above of course ...plus some family and friends are reading this ...they have finally accepted that  82 Not Out! blog works for me  whilst their Facebook stuff doesn't. It works for them and that's fine but ticking likes, making sassy comments seems so superficial for me and added to that I cant get around these  sites like a teenager...takes me hours to place a pic anywhere!! 
So the good stuff is this blog can keep all my 40 descendants updated on Mum, Nanna, and Great Great Nanna and they can always EMAIL ME or Txt me on  my deaf/blind very capable but  not smart  phone.
They should be happy that With this blog...just txt...no comments  Matriarch still rules.

AWESOME STUFF:
At 82 we grasp the pleasures and joys offered in life.Last evening I attended the
UMI ARTS   MCIVOR GALLERY.  (Sheridan St, Cairns) exhibition opening of Reef and Rainforest paintings and prints by Munganbana Norman Miller.
Munganbana (Mountain Water in Jirrbal) blends centuries old tradition with contemporary relevance and  has stories for each painting. The exhibition tells  of his life,family and culture, the environment of reef and rainforest and his spiritual inspiration.
Particularly awesome this  para in the catalogue: '' I believe my art conveys my commitment to  reconciliation and social justice with several paintings on that theme."
Gallery curator Teho Ropeyam opened the event and I learned that UMI Arts has an all indigenous board of directors and is owned by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander arts community of Far North Queensland.
All power to it!!
Official opening closed with Munganbana's family singing his reconciliation song.-AWESOME!
Thanks Munganbana and wife Barbara (friend and fellow writer )for this special
joyful experience. Love to your Mum, Norman  she is truly blessed.

OK brekky time   sorry  ...keep tuned in to 82 Not Out!



Wednesday 11 November 2015

Sorry fans it is 82 Not Out!...had a coffee and wanted to add this to

AWESOME STUFF
Was blown away with Sydney Peace Prize recipient George Gittos work in Afghanistan . A dedicated group working in creative arts there.

It reminded me  that at the time of setting up Rainbow Youth Theatre in  Whanganui, N.Z.(dedicated to promoting harmony through creative arts ) -- on one trip to Cairns in a shopping mall-a stranger slipped a note into my hand.
It read :Creative work is the answer to the negative forces operating in the world.
Thank you Aussie stranger...I have never forgotten that!!!
...Now I need another coffee.
Thanks family and friends for reading this...O promised only text...nopics and no comments...blessings Hzl
WTF IS THIS STUFF next blog....
Hi, Well I've discovered 45 family and  friends who email me regularly or rarely have read this  84 Not Out! blog page...wow fame at last even though I was listed for the N.Z. P.M. Literary Award for 2014, and 2015 and have never heard back a word from Creative N.Z.   Hope they liked my 15 books though!

So here we go again-same format.
GOOD STUFF:
Toe nails are fabulous -Thanks to  St John's podiatrist -I can wear my jandals or...thongs whatever side of the ditch I am on without screwing up  my toes to hide them! ...and great to be greeted with smiles there.Little downside sorry -Another  questionaire of course making in total 10 hours  of question time by 10 different people paid by Govt. to enable me to pay my $15 fee. Suppose that's good stuff for them seems like no sense to me.

BAD STUFF:  Still the plight of refugee trail through Europe.
Too much other stuff to list...like...murders, bashings...abuse...
All we 82 Not Outers can do is at least one good turn for someone every day..
 .pray and meditate a lot. for humanity to grow up!

AWESOME STUFF:
Justin Trudeaux (not sure about an X there?) is not only Canada's new leader he is the and most  handom and  charismatic dish of a man on the political spectrum heading a cabinet which truly reflects his country.
A great move toward democratic government in Thailand.
NOW-
 REMINDER    November 15 is when PEN Marks 34th Day of Imprisoned Writer.
On 15 November PEN International and Centres across the globe will mark the 34th anniversary of the annual Day of the Imprisoned Writer, an international day that recognises writers who have suffered persecution as a result of exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Never has the freedom of expression been so closely linked with democracy and human rights as it is in today’s global climate.

Never have the aims and objects in the charter of PEN International been so vital to uphold and disseminate. This charter has four main affirmations. First and foremost that:

Literature knows no frontiers and must remain common currency among people in spite of political or international upheavals.
This charter was approved at an assembly of delegates in 1948 and its principles continue to guide centres in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Let me tell you briefly about the organisation PEN. IT was originally spelt PPEN for Poet, Playwright, Editor, Novelist –a mixed writers club which was born out of the Tomorrow Club. That was a gathering of literary youth (writers of the future) formed in 1917 by English novelist and poet Mrs Dawson Scott. (Catherine Amy Dawson)
In October 1921, 43 writers attended the inaugural PEN dinner amongst them noted novelist John Galsworthy who became the first president. Names like QW.B. Yeats, Joseph Conrad, Thomas Hardy and playwright Maurice Maeterlink were added to the membership.
It is not difficult to follow the history and development of PEN, but promoting the aims and objects of its charter often get lost in turbulent times. Book Creator’s Circle founder and director (also a former member of Tropical Writers) Letizia De Rosa, Cairns, was presented with a special award by Sydney PEN for her services in this area. At every gathering of BCC, an empty PEN chair was placed to honour imprisoned writers.
Last year at a BCN gathering named Courageous Quills, I stated the fact that on a legitimate index chart (Reporters without Borders) in 2011 Australia ranked 18th for a good free press opposing arbitrary censorship in time of peace, but in 2013 it was ranked only 30th.
 THE WTF IS THIS STUFF:   Need a coffee  before this lot... Catcha later blessings Hzl





Friday 6 November 2015

Good afternoon,
THE GOOD STUFF  IS:
 I am still Not Out!  and this blog is  still here...though I am not sure who can or who is reading it!
THE BAD STUFF IS:  
My heart  breaking watching trails of refugees trudging through Europe as harsh winter weather closes in  - bless those who give them any comfort.
THE AWESOME STUFF IS:
Melbourne Cup Queen Michelle spontaneously and breathlessly letting it all out about chauvinism in the racing world...then tear jerking hugs with Stevie...what a salt of the earth family their Dad has reared!
More tears galore when Sonny Bill Williams places his cup medal on the shoulders of young teenage fan.
( quick reflection on this one...could Sonny Bill be descendent of my Maori friends of the 60's friends - Shirley and Bill Williams thenliving at Kai Iwi??)
THE WTF IS THIS STUFF?
 Have been chocka with the new MY AGE CARE PLAN in motion by gov
without any inform out there that has reached the oldies I know. 
Started when I wanted to get my toenails cut.....I .Have answered three 2 hour afternoons of questions now:  GP Plan,  MY AGE CARE (to register and get a number) and the Assessor yesterday JUST TO CHECK THAT I AM ME AND I 
 CAN GET ST JOHNS PODIATRIST.for my toenails...it is ludicrous and the journo in me can'' t resist getting into it. 
..This new  (health cutting measure so called ) must be costing millions to set up and the providers (friends of Gov companies I presume) are the ones getting the money!!!!!! Anyway I've discovered no oldies(I know
lots) yet know that this MY AGE CARE PLAN has replaced HAAC..Home age etc etc).my GP is utterly confused on the new web page for her patients who dont
 understand any changes...and the Assessor (from the Uniting Church)-I
 felt sorry for her...the massive area she is covering and gave her a
tube if my sons Fisio cream for her fibromyalgia  which we both have!) she is overloaded (confused too I think)and no one knows what they are
 being visited for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its a new health cost cutting
 disaster already put in motion  without thought. I..checked out  when
 assessor said that no media info has circulated out and no television
 ads about it to inform the oldies have been seen ...well in FNQ anyway. (seems to me we oldies are now seen as a commercial comodity for provider companies) have been given no warning or info!!!!!  Good side is   I HAVE MY AGE CARE PLAN Number and after 6-8 hours of time at what cost? (MINE TOO I MIGHT ADD!) 
     HOORAY IT'S TOENAILS ON MONDAY.!!!!!!!

Wednesday 4 November 2015

THE GOOD NEWS IS :
82 Not Out! is still not out... and this blog is alive and kicking.
THE BAD NEWS IS  :
I need to explore how to make the name also the address... for others to reach 82 Not Out!. with a couple of clicks.

My first post was really an introduction...just a couple more things to include in it before bloggin' away to my hearts content.
First I haven't completed a profile -but am posting this piece to be seen on the back cover of my memoir.

With more letters after her name than she ever  uses Hazel Menehira ATCL:LTCL:FTCL:ANZDA (Ret.adjudicator) SCANZ: NZSB (Ret. examiner)Life Member Wanganui Branch of N.Z. Theosophical Society: Current member of New Zealand Society of Authors; Queensland Writers Centre;Tropical Writers; Book Creators Network and book reviewer for Media/Culture University of Queensland."But don't forget...despite all that...though I admit I was never a perfect one...I was always a GOODENUFF Mum for four children." says Cockney girl 'azel."

That all said hopefully this blog will interest my four children,my 18 grandchildren and 20 great grand children -I think that count's about right. They are all over the world-I love them dearly but couldn't live with any of them (well those that would have me!)...love my quiet tropical life here.

Only other intro' inclusion of  importance is that any contact with me concerning 82 Not Out! will have to be by email to  hzlmango@bigpond.com.
That's because  with no smart  phone, two pairs of glasses, only one ear using expensive aid for a blind deaf mobile (with a siren but no camera dammit) life gets  complicated and emails on a large screen work best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOW  I CAN BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Hi readers... I am keeping this as simple as possible.

Why am I blogging this? when I have kept thousands of intrusive would-be Friends and Linkers In away from my peaceful FNQ  writing environment.?
...When I have vanquished time consuming social media like FB, Tweeting, and am not concerned about raising my profile on About Me or any other platform? 

I guess there's a little bit of the old journo left  in me and when I am continually requested to write pieces for other people's blogs I thought it might be a good idea to sound off on my own.
 Keeping this blog simple- I aim not to recommend my 15 published books, try not to repeat great stories in my Nothing as Posh as a Memoir (released for my 80th)- try not to dwell on what its really like to be 82  not out with grizzles and groans.
What I will blog is what is on my mind  about :
-the writing game and industry around it- books, the media - politics- culture-health -education- even  being human. -with strands of theosophy -philosophy and  social commentary freely thrown in.
I have no intention of editing this blog...been there ...done that for a lifetime-lots of other things too ...No this is my free writing indulgence and I have lots to share.   Blessings for today...not sure when I'll be back or how to post this...so wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!