If you’re tired of KCDC bosses telling you every year that like Zelensky they ‘wahnt more mahney’ on top of what they took from you last year, then come and find out what to do:

This is a nice tree-lined cul-de-sac close to Peka Peka Beach. The ‘marram’ is probably a reference to the grass that used to be the main plantings on dunes, but has since been switched to natives like pingao, see earlier posts.

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”
― Anatole France, The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard

Tēnā koe,

Scam activity is on the rise, and we’re seeing an increase in e-mails from scammers impersonating Snapper Services Limited.

What to look out for
Please be cautious of any unexpected contact, and do not click unknown links or open unexpected attachments. These may include “Pay invoice now” buttons, unfamiliar links, or unexpected attachments.

If you’re unsure whether an e-mail is genuinely from us and you have not been in contact with us, mark it as spam or give us a call on 0800 555 345 and we’ll be happy to confirm it for you

Ngā mihi,
Team Snapper

Mumpsimus: a tradition or custom that is adhered to even though it has been shown to be unreasonable; someone who obstinately clings to an error, bad habit or prejudice, even after the foible has been exposed.

“Leftists, particularly Marxists, demonstrate mumpsimus.”

Right in line with their agenda. The native Europeans who are already born have to be replaced by immigrants, and those who have not yet been born have to be aborted.

Yet, @vonderleyen herself has 7 children.

Sheer evil.

ABOLISH THE EU. https://t.co/WBETg4PKNY

— Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) February 27, 2026

US Senator John N. Kennedy (Republican-Louisiana) has officially called for the prosecution of billionaire Bill Gates for $1.3 billion in fraud.

The former prosecutor and legendary judge showed no mercy, alleging that the global healthcare mogul deliberately profited from a “failed covid treatment” while possessing evidence that it would never work as promised.

“This is not just a business failure; this is a criminal fraud against the American people!” Kennedy declared vehemently in his latest broadcast. “While families are suffering and small businesses are closing, the elite are enriching themselves with a ‘solution’ they know is nothing more than an empty shell. It’s time for a final verdict!”

Read more

Cutter Polio Vaccine (1955): PULLED after 10 deaths.
Swine Flu Vaccine (1976): PULLED after 20-50 deaths.
RotaShield Vaccine (1999): PULLED after 10-15 cases of bowel obstruction.
Chikungunya Vaccine (2025): PULLED after 3 deaths.
COVID-19 "Vaccine" (2026): 500,000+ deaths….. pic.twitter.com/emUksGmJyK

— Nicolas Hulscher, MPH (@NicHulscher) February 26, 2026

By Roger Childs

William Boyd is English fiction’s master story teller. –The Independent

A great novelist

 I can humbly endorse this observation, having read twelve of his books. If you are not familiar with Boyd’s excellent writing, grab one when you are next in the library; you won’t be disappointed. His first novel was A Good Man for Africa and he has never looked back. This book won two prestigious literary awards and was made into a film.

Boyd tells wonderful stories, usually with historical settings, and makes it difficult for the reader to take a break! Waiting for Sunrise starts with the line It is a clear and dazzling summer’s day in Vienna. It sounds similar to Snoopy’s opening for the great canine novel: It was a dark and stormy night.

 However Boyd’s second sentence pulls you in: You are standing in a skewed pentangle of lemony sunshine at the sharp corner of Augustiner Strasse and Augustinerbastei, across from the opera house, indolently watching the world pass by you, waiting for someone or something to catch and hold your attention, to generate a tremor of interest.

A World War One setting

It’s 1913, and English actor Lysander Rief is in Vienna with a very personal problem, which he hopes a local psychologist will fix. His late father was a famous stage personality and his beautiful mother is Austrian. 

The story covers just three years and is set mainly in Vienna, London and Geneva. World War One is the backdrop for most of the novel and Lysander is involved with German internees in Wales; sees brief, violent action on the Western Front, and is then tied up with British intelligence and a constantly changing investigation to unmask a traitor.

There is a fascinating range of characters, who are as varied and interesting as their names. Some examples:

• Lady Anna (Annaliese) Faulkner, Lysander’s glamorous and loving mother
• Hamo Rief, his explorer uncle
• Hettie Bull: a flaky, diminutive English sculptor and Lysander’s occasional lover
• John Bensemon, a sympathetic English psychologist based in Vienna who solves the hero’s problem
• Blanche Blondel: a fellow actor who is engaged to Lysander
• Florence Duchesne, a mysterious French secret agent based in Geneva
• Captain Christian Vandenbrook, a key figure in the British Directorate of War Movements.

Sigmund Freud also makes a brief guest appearance.

Stylistic variations

Boyd is a clever writer who varies his approach in Waiting for Sunrise: there is straight narration; at times Lysander tells the story in sections called Autobiographical Investigations; in other sections it is written like a conversation in a play, and there are even a few poems. The mix is very satisfying, and the unfolding plot of the novel has many twists and turns building to an exciting and unexpected climax. Very highly recommended

The Paraparaumu Library has a large collection of Boyd novels, including the brilliant Ordinary Thunderstorms.

They want round two…

18 February 2026

Those funding pandemic-capable influenza research are now simultaneously building the global response system

This post was published by Jon Fleetwood. Support him by subscribing at Substack and following at Instagram / X / Facebook.

An unprecedented level of international funding and coordination is now underway to expand the global pandemic response system, with at least $9.5 billion committed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and a Bill Gates-founded vaccine coalition to finance the worldwide surveillance networks, laboratories, and vaccines tied to future pandemic declarations.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)—founded in 2017 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Economic Forum, and national governments—announced last week that it is now seeking an additional $2.5 billion to expand its pandemic vaccine financing programs.

This post was published by Jon Fleetwood. Support him by subscribing at Substack and following at Instagram / X / Facebook.

Labour are the party of the Working Class

Net Worth 👇

Keir Starmer – £14 million
Angela Rayner – £4.7 million
Sadiq Khan – £5 million
Ed Miliband – £15 million
David Lammy – £5 million
Shabana Mahmood – £3.5 million

How have they become so wealthy? pic.twitter.com/MFRL8a83tH

— WeGotitBack 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@NotFarLeftAtAll) February 25, 2026

If you’re in the upper echelons of the Civil Service, QUANGOs and NGOs then that’s your party.