My two weeks in New Zealand - by H.E.A.F

My two weeks in New Zealand

                                                                                by H.E.A.F

It has been two weeks now since I arrived in New Zealand. And it was a wonderful experience. I remember first setting out to the airport and then here I was, standing on the New Zealand floor.

It is different where I come from: the weather, the people, the food. Everything about New Zealand is brand new.

I really like it here. The people are all very nice and it’s like everyone is your friend. Whenever I meet someone at the street I greet them and they smile back and greet me as well. This place is almost as close to heaven. I don’t know if heaven really exists but I know that in New Zealand I am very close to it.

It’s still a short time for me to know a lot about New Zealand but I am very impressed with everything it can offer. I’m open to new experiences and I’m looking forward to more.

There are still some places here that I want to visit, food that I want to eat and people whom I’m about to meet.

Little by little as days go by I can experience it all.

I just wish my family from the Philippines can see what I am seeing now. I love this country but still my home is where my family is.

Although I’m a bit sad I know that I’m in the best place to be.

'What would you do if . . .?' & ' What’s your problem?' by J.F. aged 10

What would you do if . . .?

                                                 by J.F. aged 10

What would you do if your best friend moved to England? What would you do if your brother broke your iPad?

What would you do if your mother died?

Most people would simply say: “Go live with my father.”

I don’t have a father and my mother is dead. Why and how, nobody knows. Nobody – except me.

Only yesterday it came: a letter for my mother.

A dark look had crossed her face. I knew what that meant. She had been called forth all because of me. I was the one who forgot to put the craft leaves away. My mum was an artist. She made 3D sculptures of nature.

The inspection squad knocked on the door for a surprise house inspection. The leaves on the table looked like some sort of drug to the inspection squad. They were taken away to be analysed.

She was to be heard in court today but last night she cut a slit down her arm and bled herself to death.

By sunset I shall be with her in Heaven – but dead, on earth.

What’s your problem?

                                           by J.F. aged 10

We all have a problem. Some of us have a common problem. One of these is smoking.

We should have a smokefree world but lots of people smoke. There are many reasons people smoke. They might want to be ‘cool’ (lots of popular people smoke) or it might be because of stress.

Lots of parents smoke. There are two main reasons for this: us kids can be a bit of a handful which causes stress on our folks. Also, your grandparents may have smoked.

But why do we have to live with all this? We have to speak out if we want this to stop. We are the younger generation and we’re going to be around for a while yet.

We are not brave. We can’t stand in front of you and say, “Pleases stop smoking, Dad.”

But that is what we want to say. So we dwell in our sadness, regretting the future when we will most likely follow our parents’ footsteps.

You could always put your thoughts on paper and leave it in the dining room table or kitchen bench.

You need to speak out; make your thoughts known.

And parents: JUST STOP SMOKING!

Do it for our sake. For the new generation.

True or false? - by A.

True or false?

                               by A.

This statement is incorrect!

True or false?

It is neither, though it can be either - or maybe the other way round is the position to take if it’s not already.

Though I say I am close I am as far away as it is possible to be.

We say we live by truth (or at least, we aspire to) – but what is truth? An ideal? Something lacking falsehood or deception, perhaps?

Exercises in logic show that truth for all its depth is shallow and behind the concepts of truth and lies, lies a yet truer world of what someone has termed ‘paralogic’: a place where things of apparent contradiction not only co-exist but co-habit in a more than civil union.

Opposites attract in so many ways and are in fact reliant on each other in order to make an appearance.

Can evil exist without good, or lies without truth, or love  . . .

But wait a minute, in a limbo that cannot exist without substance, love just might be an exception. It has no opposite. It doesn’t feel right to give it one.

The truth of the words ‘this statement is incorrect’ is not superficial – no court room could ask you to swear in a Bible as to its veracity.

If one statement can do so much, what IS truth?

The Three Tiny Pigs - by F.C. aged 5

The Three Tiny Pigs

                                            by F.C. aged 5

One day the three little pigs set off to build their houses and they carried on down the road.

They had not gone much further when they passed a man carrying some straw.

The first tiny pig said, “Oh please will you give me some straw so that I can build a house for myself.”

The man agreed and gave the little pig some straw.

The End

'Toastmasters' & 'No chemistry there' - by P.S.

Toastmasters

                           by P.S.

One of the most rewarding clubs I have joined has been Toastmasters International.

When I was in my fifties I enrolled as an extra-mural student through Massey University.

I enjoyed the units for English Literature but when I reached Level 3 I realised I would have to deliver my paper to the class. How I hated standing up in front of a group. I always dodged being a president of any club – secretary, yes; treasurer, yes; but definitely not president. My knees would wobble, my palms sweat and words disappeared.

Larcina, my friend, was president of a local Toastmasters Club and, knowing my terror of public speaking, persuaded me to join her club.

The one-minute impromptu speech known as Table Topics was a baptism by fire. I held the floor for the whole 60 seconds! What a triumph!

Since then I have stepped up as president of another Toastmasters Club.

One of my greatest pleasures and rewards has been to watch other people overcome their fear of public speaking, move forward in their careers and make new friends.

No chemistry there

                                        by P. S.

Sarah moved on to the next chair. Mmm . . . not her type but she animated and fluttered for the required time.

“Move on!”

Ah: he looks promising: number 3 haircut, clean-cut features and a well-pumped body.

“Do yous like league?”

No chemistry there.

She saw Cheryl across the table. Their locked eyes and shook their heads.

After the time was up they had a drink at the pub.

“I think I’ll stick with my horse.”

“Yes,” replied Cheryl. “I’ll stay with my moggie.”

What do you bet, though, that they’ll go back next week?