In a Manner of Speaking

The calm before the storm and the week ahead.

In a manner of speaking
I just want to say
That I could never forget the way
You told me everything
By saying nothing

Oh, give me the words
Give me the words
That tell me nothing
Oh, give me the words
Give me the words
That tell me everything

Songwriter: Winston Tong

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Next Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will increase from $85 per year to $100 or $8 per month to $10. If you subscribe today, you will not only lock in the current price for as long as you want to subscribe, but I have an offer until tomorrow of 20% off the current price for the first year.

That means you can subscribe to Nick’s Kōrero today for just $68 for the first year or $6.39 monthly. I can’t make it any cheaper than that, and this is the final time I will offer a subscription at this rate; any future discount offers will be off the increased rate. In return, you’ll receive around 300 newsletters a year and, perhaps, a great sense of satisfaction as a result of helping to support this endeavour. 🙂

Good morning, all. 🙂

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, things will be sparse and sporadic this week. This afternoon, Matty and I head to Wellington. As he is 16, I need to travel with him, but not actually be on set for filming tomorrow - so I will be there for the Hikōi arriving at parliament, and I’m feeling pretty damn excited about it.

Last night, as I watched the news coverage of the latest protest progress, it occurred to me that when I stand in front of parliament, I will be representing others, too.

Family who would love to have been there if they could, and others who are gone now. I thought especially of my Aunty Jo and her patience and wisdom, of how she calmly explained to an immature young man many years ago that there was nothing to fear from coming together and that listening to each other was important.

If you haven’t seen this clip from the lads at BHN from a couple of days ago, it’s well worth a look:

I also thought of the faces a week ago in Tamaki Makaurau: the weary determination of the older ones, the energy and passion of the younger ones, Mary, whom I met that day, and family friends who must be horrified by what is going on.

Then, you extrapolate and consider that every other person who will be there in what is predicted to be an enormous crowd will also be representing others. There will be many present; some predict as many as 30,000, but there will be many more again who are also there, if not in person.

Meanwhile over at APEC our “hands-on” Prime Minister struck again...

Yesterday afternoon, Fi flew out. She has just landed in Houston before taking another flight to Dallas. Rest assured, a joke along the lines of “Houston, we have lift-off” has already been made.

Twenty-eight years we’ve been together, more than half our lives - I am 53, and she will be one less than me at the end of the month. There have been numerous times we’ve been apart over the years for business travel or dance/drama - but it still feels strange, especially during the long haul from when the phone goes into flight mode until arrival. A rare period of being uncontactable in this heavily connected world.

Time was when I used to travel quite a bit for business, many trips to Wellington and too many trips to Australia with a young family. I left that job in the end. Having a young family when you’re arriving home from the airport at midnight and then you’re back at your desk in the office by 8 am is a younger man’s game.

It wasn’t all bad. For a while in the UK, I had to travel to Paris for work every fortnight. But in the end, you end up drinking too much in your hotel room or a bar, wherever it is, to keep the loneliness and boredom away.

Wednesday, we fly back, and then Thursday morning, it’s off to Vegas, baby. Roto, that is, of course, not Las. I messaged my mate last night to check when would suit for a visit and whether he’d like me to bring anything. He joked that if I came across an Android body, he could use one of those. He and I watched a lot of Sci-Fi when we were younger.

I remember when it was the 25th anniversary of Dr Who going to air. TVNZ ran a whole weekend of programming around that, including episodes from all the Doctors - we watched an awful lot of it. We also re-watched Blakes Seven, my favourite programme as a kid, and all the old Roman movies - the swords and sandals spectaculars going back to the 50s.

Anyway, I’m just babbling and a bit too preoccupied with other things to write anything useful. The next newsletter from me will be on the arrival at parliament, no doubt, and I’ll endeavour to have that out late tomorrow or perhaps Wednesday morning, but I’m not entirely sure when. Suspect it’ll be a matter of taking things as they come.

It is worth reading about the motivation of the man who is leading this hīkoi - Hīkoi leader Eru Kapa-Kingi: ‘They had no shoes, no lunches, but I wanted to know why’

“He is the voice and face of the hīkoi on its way to deliver a message to the Government. Eru Kapa-Kingi tells Stuff how a boy from Whangārei became one of the leaders of a nationwide movement”

Eru Kapa-Kingi is one of the founding members of Toitū Te Tiriti and a spokesperson for the hīkoi.Te Rawhitiroa Bosch / Supplied

If you’re looking for a way to join in solidarity but can’t be in Wellington there is an event at St Matthew in the City for those in Tamaki Makaurau tomorrow evening from 6:30pm, you can find the details here. This is the description of the gathering:

The Treaty Principles Bill does not put food on any tables, it does not lower the cost of groceries or power, it doesn’t build affordable housing, it won’t properly fund the health and education system, it will not further workers' rights, and it won’t make the buses come on time.

The attacks on Te Tiriti in this country are deepening by the week. The Treaty Principles Bill strikes at the heart of the relationship between Māori and Pākehā in particular, and all peoples who share Aotearoa as our home and who share Te Tiriti as our founding taonga.

Communities of Tāmaki Makaurau, it is time to demonstrate our people power for Te Tiriti and against the Treaty Principles Bill which sets out to undermine it.

For those in Wellington people are gathering at Waitangi Park in the morning and then returning there following the completion of events at Parliament.

This is the schedule for tomorrow:

PORIRUA

6am: Convoy from Takapuwahia Marae to Waitangi Park, Wellington

WAITANGI PARK

9am: Activation & Hīkoi beginning at Waitangi Park to Paremata (Parliament
Grounds)

KOTAHITANGA MŌ TE TIRITI

12pm: Activation at Paremata (Parliament Grounds)
2:30pm: Leave Paremata (Parliament Grounds) to Waitangi Park

WAITANGI PARK

4pm: Waitangi Park: Haukainga concert, farewell & kārakia

Have a fabulous day, all you lovely people. It feels like the lull before a storm - and boy, I reckon it will be a damn strong one.

I thought about including this one as a “Song to Seymour”, but I decided that prick had received more than enough attention already. So instead here is a really lovely number - In a Manner of Speaking from Nouvelle Vague.