Earthquakes, resignations, and weather bombs make for an eventful start to 2023

Denise Irvine is a Hamilton-based freelance journalist and food writer, and a regular contributor to the Waikato Times.

Opinion: As a teenager, I was sometimes given a diary as a Christmas gift, a standard pastel colored notebook to record daily events, and to be cleverly hidden from casual scrutiny.

There was a brand available that had a neat little lock and key but I didn’t get either.

I began writing on January 1, on holiday in Mount Maunganui, and every entry would pretty much rinse and repeat: “All day on the beach frying myself in coconut oil but it turned a darker shade of pale. My mom wouldn’t let me go to Dancing. I’m very young, and I have a lot of ‘bad influences.’ Really unfair. Tuatwa pancakes for dinner.”

READ MORE: * Waikato earthquake prompts over 100 insurance claims to be paid out * Jacinda Ardern is out and about her first day after quitting * Final words: Titiwi Hrawera on damehoods, Te Teriti and her ‘evil witch’ status

This hold lasted for three weeks at most, and I was giving up because January was so sunny and bright, with nothing but endless days out in the surf with friends, and fighting sunburn. The latter, of course, hurt me later in life.

I thought of my old diary during that “summer” on Mt. because things kept happening and there was so much to record. It’s almost a relief to flip through the calendar in February and hope for quieter times ahead.

Kelly Hodel / Stuff

Te Aroha retailer Rowen Butaka woke up with her bed moving and the house shaking Wednesday. The video was first posted on January 4, 2023.

Perhaps the earthquake that woke our vacation home early on January 4th was a harbinger of things to come: Bach shook and groaned in an annoying way and we checked our phones and found that there was a magnitude 5.1 earthquake near Te Aroha, about 90 km away.

Everything shook from there. The next day, January 5, British novelist Faye Weldon died. A 91-year-old Weldon was a popular and brilliant literary heroine of the last century, perhaps best known for her fantastic revenge novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983), which was later adapted for television with Meryl Streep as the lead.

Weldon spent much of her childhood in New Zealand, including summers in Coromandel, where her father (estranged from her mother) was the Peninsula’s Medical Superintendent based in Coromandel Town. She met Weldon there for an interview with The Wiccato Times around 1999 when she made a nostalgic visit from England.

She was known for her acerbic manner, and the interview was likely to be difficult. After a friendly handshake, she apologized that one leg of her pants had fallen off, and it was falling and jerking around her ankle. She said she was never good at pulling herself together in the morning. I loved every minute with her.

Sunday Star Times

British novelist Faye Weldon passed away on January 5th. She spent most of her childhood in New Zealand.

Almost on the day Weldon died, we could no longer ignore the relentless rain that spoiled our days of beaches and barbecues. It was another harbinger of things to come.

Basically, we were cooped up inside, several adults, kids and a new puppy. Christmas books, boxes of paint, and model airplanes took a hit, the dog was taken outdoors (thereby avoiding accidents) during the short pretty windows, and my mom’s old roasting table had some rare summer appearances.

The weather cleared for the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Good Friends, a long luncheon that began in the middle of the day and continued into the evening. With all the date essentials, precious memories and really important things.

Same lucky break a week later, another blue-sky day for a wedding in our network, everyone dressed fabulously and basking in the sunshine and happiness. There was laughter, tears, toasting, dancing, and an amazingly excellent time.

things

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she will step down before the 2023 election.

The day before the wedding, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigned. It took over the country nap, and the circumstances surrounding its transfer have been extensively documented and dissected.

Suffice it to say here that Ardern departed with a distinct dignity: her overall experience with New Zealanders and New Zealanders on the job, she said, was one of love, compassion, empathy and kindness. Being the Prime Minister was the greatest privilege of her life.

If the misogynists, racist souls, extremists and trolls who fueled toxic anti-Ardern rhetoric and rumors contributed to her decision, she didn’t say. Just as you never spoke out for the Christchurch mosque killer, you never gave oxygen or confessed to any of the above. Conversely, she indicated that she did not wish her resignation to be seen as a negative comment on New Zealand. It was a master class in agile exits.

Lawrence Smith/Staff

Also in January came news of the death of Titiwi Harawira, a vocal and relentless campaigner for Māori rights. It was filmed in 2013.

What else could happen? Well, another gorgeous woman, Titiwe Harawira, died at 90, and she’s the same as Fei Weldon. Harawira was an outspoken and uncompromising campaigner for Māori rights.

She was quite a familiar face at the Waitangi Day festivities, in the good times and the hard times, and will be a poignant gap in the ranks on Monday. RIP Weldon and Harawira.

Two days after Harawira’s death, as the month drew to a close, the rains became extremely dangerous and Auckland suffered unprecedented rainfall, devastation and tragedy. In that vein, there were stories of dramatic rescues, community heroes, heartbreaking losses, and heart-warming kindness. The media of Oakland Mayor Wayne Brown has clearly been working around the clock to cover the chaos.

The Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Northland, and other areas have all been affected by the weather as well, and there are still months of assessment and recovery to go.

Mark Taylor/Staff

Yee Sang Prosperity Toss was part of a dinner Denise Irvine attended recently, which provided the opportunity to make a wish for the coming year.

Just before the rain bomb went off, I went to a dinner at Lazat Malaysian Restaurant in Hamilton to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The highlight was the Yee Sang Prosperity Toss, a traditional ceremony where participants toss bowls of beautiful salad ingredients with chopsticks and make a wish for the coming year.

The stronger the lot, the better the chance of a good result, and I hope we all put in enough effort in the interest of health, happiness and everything else for 2023. The first month did not go as planned, and where is the Bastille Diaries when you need them most?

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