Almost an icon of Los Angeles, but this is in our drive.

This questions the independence of the investigation following the poisoning of 8 cows during a 1080 drop in 2018 and has intriguing information you likely weren’t aware of about the various players involved.

To lose the toss and be 350 behind in the first innings, it required something special. —New Zealand cricket captain Kane Williamson

Superb test victory over England

By Roger Childs

After the disappointment of losing the World Cup to England earlier in the year in controversial fashion, yesterday’s test victory at the Mount is sweet. The Black Caps had to chase a respectable first inning total and at one stage were 127 for 4 with star batsmen Williamson and Ross Taylor back in the pavilion. 

However, the middle order dug deep and the team amassed an extraordinary 615 to set up the basis for winning the game on the fifth day.

A number of top quality performances

This was a true team effort and all the players contributed to a greater or lesser extent. Fast bowler Tim Southee, who some argued shouldn’t be picked, took 5-80 in England’s first innings, and fellow paceman Neil Wagner had a double of 3-90 and 5-44. 

B.J. Watling

The turning point in the match was unquestionably the record breaking seventh wicket partnership between wicket-keeper B.J. Watling (206) and all-rounder Mitchell Santner (126). They came together with New Zealand six down for 316, still 37 behind England’s first innings total; 261 runs later, Santner was out and the Black Caps had a lead of over 200.

Earlier in the innings, useful knocks from Williamson 51, Nicholls 41 and de Grandhomme 65 set the platform for Watling’s and Santner’s records. Then Santner grabbed three wickets late on the fourth day to make the task of dismissing England in the final three sessions much easier. Then to provide further evidence of his all-round skills, Santner pulled off a stunning diving catch at cover to dismiss middle order batsman, Ollie Pope on day five. 

No time to relax

Historically, New Zealand cricket teams have often followed decisive victories with crushing defeats. 

The teams head for Hamilton this weekend to play the second test and the country will be hoping that this time it will be different.

Meditation is considered to be the single most powerful self-help tool that assists recovery from disease and leads to a life of maximum health.

A long history

by Graham Clouston

The earliest written records of meditation being practiced come from China and are dated around 5000 BC. In India, meditation appeared around 1500 BC, and in the West, in Greece, about 750 BC. Whilst associated primarily with Eastern cultures and religions, meditation is a widespread and long-lasting phenomenon.

Until the early 1960s meditation in the West was largely the domain of spiritual seekers.
Most meditation was taught and practiced within the context of either a Hindu yogic, Sufi, Buddhist or Taoist framework. Then came the Age of Aquarius. The Beatles went to India, met the Maharishi and brought Transcendental Meditation ™ back to the West. Meditation then became widely practiced.

From the 1960’s innovative doctors and psychologists began to realize that meditation had specific therapeutic applications. This coincided with the beginnings of “mind-body
medicine”. The twenty-first century has seen a series of breakthroughs in neurological research, in the field of neuroplasticity, supporting the use of meditation and mindfulness as a therapy.

Mindfulness and meditation

Mindfulness developed alongside of meditation. Mindfulness is the ability to live in the present moment. It is a Buddhist meditation technique and has been used for over 3000 years.

Mindfulness and the teaching of it as a stand-alone technique is a recent phenomenon. Meditation and mindfulness are regarded as one practice.

There are some 6000 published scientific studies on meditation. Some interesting results are:

 Meditation produces high levels of melatonin in the body helping us sleep. Adequate sleep is vital, being the time that the immune system repairs cells and cleans out the body.
 Meditation decreases the density of your brain areas associated with stress and anxiety and increases brain matter in the areas associated with empathy and memory. Decreasing stress boosts your immune system. As meditation is a stress reliever it is also an immune booster.
 Meditation leads to a calm and clear mind.

 The more you meditate the more virus antibodies you produce. This is important for virus linked cancers e.g., HPV has been linked to cervical cancer. (Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a group of common viruses spread through skin to skin contact.)
 Meditation significantly increases telomerase activity in immune cells. Telomerase is commonly known as the anti-aging enzyme because it allows cells to live longer. Meditation results in immune cells living longer – useful in dealing with cancer.
 Meditation can change gene expression, allowing the body to turn healthy genes on and potentially unhealthy genes, such as oncogenes, off.
 Meditation has been shown to assist with healing.
 The practice of meditation commonly leads to the deepening of one’s spiritual connection.
 Meditation (along with diet, exercise, social Support and a strong spiritual connection) is an element of Mind Body Medicine.

Different techniques

There are differing techniques in meditation. Essentially however, the objective is to still the mind. This can achieved by a process of mindfulness-based stillness meditation where we learn to–

 relax the body
 calm the mind
 progress, using mindfulness, into the deeper stillness of meditation.

It can also be achieved by using a mantra based technique, similar to that used in Transcendental Meditation ™. Typically a two word mantra is repeated for twenty minutes each morning and evening.

To improve your health, if you are not already doing so, learn to meditate and meditate daily.

(Graham has meditated for over 30 years and teaches meditation at the Cancer Society in New Plymouth.)

Kapiti’s roads and streets are generally of a high standard and well maintained.  The problems tend to be in the rural areas; the big Otaki Gorge slip that happened a couple of years ago is mentioned, but the Akatawara Road also has the same vulnerability in the winter months.

A very nice combination of graceful trees, big picture windows and an engineered wood floor. Your editors have done something similar with our own lounge.

In 2019 through third quarter, 32 oil and gas drillers have filed for bankruptcy, according to Haynes and Boone. Since the end of September, a gaggle of other oil and gas drillers have filed for bankruptcy, including last Monday, natural gas producer Approach Resources. This pushed the total number of bankruptcy filings of oil and gas drillers since the beginning of 2015 to over 200. Other drillers, such as Chesapeake Energy, are jostling for position at the filing counter.

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Not only an issue in Waikanae…

Book lovers in Napier are a step closer to getting a new, permanent library, after the site was deemed unsafe in June 2017 and closed.

The Council has now set aside $15.8 million for the project, with due diligence completed on the top three possible sites.

The exact cost will not be known until the site and design has been completed, and consultation undertaken with the community.

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