There are some surprises in the ranking shown above and you wonder how much it is based on perception rather than reality.  Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan ranks at the bottom and second to bottom is Venezuela.

Webpage

He should have died, but he didn’t. –Graham Clouston about Ian Gawler in the mid 1970s

Eat well, be well

By Roger Childs

Ian and Graham are among thousands who have had cancer and been given a death sentence. However, they have come out the other side. They put their survival down to a number of factors related to life style change – diet, meditation, exercise, positivity, spirituality and the support of family and friends.

This article looks at the crucial element of what we eat. As Ian Gawler bluntly puts it — If you want a junk body, eat junk food. 

Principles of a healthy regime 

A whole-food, plant-based diet is best.

• Eat foods that are known to be healthy and enjoyable, like vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts. And avoid those that are known to be unhelpful. Do the reading!
• Avoid saturated fats and use unsaturated fats and oils.
• Use Omega 3 fatty acids e.g. flaxseed oil, and Omega 9 — found in olive oil, avocado and most nuts. Avoid omega 6 fatty acids e.g. sunflower oils and canola.
• Protect oils as much as possible from air, heat and light.
• Use modest amounts of protein e.g. 55-60 grams daily. Best to use vegetable sources and grains e.g. tofu, soya beans, brown rice, legumes (peas / beans)
• Reduce or avoid meat, fish and dairy consumption.
• Eat fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds regularly.
• Avoid processed food where possible.
• Eat plenty of whole grains and fresh fruit and consume the skins where possible.
• Drink at least eight small glasses of fluid per day. Reduce or avoid alcohol.
• Adopt a low salt diet and do not add salt to food. Similarly with sugar.
• Reduce the use of plastics in wrapping food – if unavoidable, remove immediately in your kitchen.
• Breads – opt for wholemeal and seeded varieties. (Vogels make a vegan variety and most bakers will do vegan loaves.)
• Cereals – go for unprocessed varieties, low in salt and sugar.

Eating for recovery

Ian Gawler emphasises two types of diet — healing and wellness. In the recovery from cancer, these are the basic principles to follow:

• Think about what you eat and enjoy it.
• Use fats wisely and avoid deep frying and cooking with oils. Water works well with a small amount of Tamari Soy Sauce.
• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, organic where you can, eg out of your own garden.
• Lower salt and sugar intake – don’t add them to food. Some honey is OK.
• Eat nuts for snacks – unsalted, also dried fruit such as dates, prunes, figs, cranberries and dried apricots.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Drink herbal teas in preference to “gumboot” tea which has caffeine.  
• Drink plenty of pure, clean water.
• Keep food away from heat and light.

Basically the strong recommendation in the recovery diet is to go vegan – no dairy, fish or meat. After recovery, the emphasis in the wellness diet should still be on a plant-based, low salt and sugar regime. Moderation in eating eggs, ice cream, cheese and fish, plus small amounts of alcohol is acceptable. 

Going dairy free — find substitutes

If you do go vegan, there are plenty of tasty substitutes.

• Other milks – soy, almond, coconut
• Coconut yoghurt e.g. Raglan varieties
• Non-dairy spreads – e.g. almond butter and Fix and Fogg Everything Butter
• Whitakers dark chocolate e.g. Ghana
• Decaffinated Coffee – Cafe L’Affare has a tasty alternative. 

Eat plenty of food with known anti-cancer properties

Regardless of what sort of diet you are on, be aware of foods known to be cancer fighters, such as

• raspberries
• pomegranate – the juice is excellent but expensive!
• beetroot
• brassicas – broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
• turmeric /ginger / garlic
• tomatoes
• beans 
• green tea
• broccoli sprouts.

All nuts are good — however avoid the salted ones, and consume the shells if they are edible.

Juices from fruit and vegetables 

This is an ideal way to get your necessary fluid intake. Prepare you own if you can. Fruit and vegetable juice(s) can be combined in smoothies with soy milk and coconut yoghurt.

Eat Well: Be Well by The Gawler Cancer Foundation  

This is the ideal cook book for the diets covered above, with advice on cooking terms and techniques, suggested foods for the pantry, storage ideas and meal planning.

The scores of healthy recipes are set out in sections:

• dips and nibbles
• dressings and sauces
• bread
• soup
• main course
• vegetables and side dishes
• salads
• sweet treats.

(For the earlier articles in the series, see posts of 18 October, 25 October and 7 November)

The street frontage follows the theme.  The property is currently on the market — realtor’s listing.

The jump in allocations for local councilor salaries, decreed by the Remuneration Authority, has attracted attention around the country, but in Kapiti where the base level was modest to start with, the difference isn’t massive. It’s a bit different in Wellington. According to this article on the NZ Herald website

It’s a bit awkward when one of the first things you vote on as a city councillor is for your own pay rise.

The base salary for councillors has increased from $86,874 to $111,225.

The deputy mayor and Strategy and Policy Committee chair get more in their pay packet. Foster takes home $180,500.

The Remuneration Authority set the council’s most recent pool of money for salaries at just over $1.5m. It’s money that can’t be refused with Foster describing the situation as a “luxury vote”.

Councillor Malcolm Sparrow made a point of saying he thought the pay increase was too large.

Foster acknowledged it was a significant increase and encouraged councillors to go out into the community and earn it.

But he also noted to councillors the “joys of the job” being they had to pay their ACC levies both as an employee and an employer, they did not get superannuation or KiwiSaver and were taxed at 33 per cent.

“And then of course the redundancy provisions are spectacular.”

At the end of the day, if councillors are really worried about how much they’re earning they can always give the increase away to organisations or charities as they see fit. It’s their money.

Unlike in Kapiti, those councillor salaries are compatible with what mid-level Wellington City Council staffers get according to this webpage

The main difference between the two councils is of course that Wellington has 4 times the population (and has only two community boards — Tawa and Makara-Ohariu Valley), so those quite generous salaries may be seen as appropriate; at the least, they should be more than ample for the role to be a full time one.

In Kapiti, Cr Gwynn Compton says he has now reduced his work hours at Beef + Lamb NZ to three days a week with the other two being spent in Kapiti. Financially, he says, it works out much the same for him.

See the earlier post.

By Gill Ward and Elizabeth Coleman

Thanks for the support in 2019

Thank you all for your appreciative and loyal attendance throughout 2019. 

Not to forget our own gratitude and appreciation to Gail and all her hardworking staff at Robert Harris who stay late on the last Sunday of the month to look after us. Without their generosity we would not be able to stage these stimulating and fun poetry evenings.

This month – the multi-talented Mary Jane Duffy

This month our guest poet is Mary Jane Duffy. Mary-Jane is a New Zealand writer of poems and essays. For many years she worked in art galleries and museums as a writer, administrator and curator. Her writing has appeared in a wide range of New Zealand publications including The Listener and Sport, as well as various exhibition catalogues — most recently Backscratchers and Business Cards — new work by Lauren Lysaght, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand (2015). 

Her current projects include a column on contemporary art in the Wellington magazine Fishhead, a monthly art walk around the public and commercial galleries of Wellington, a catalogue with Wellington-based artists Petra Stueben, Kelly Macdonald and Vivian Atkinson, and a poetry manuscript. 

She teaches poetry and research at Whitireia New Zealand, and manages its Creative Writing Programme and publishing arm, Escalator Press. Her research interests include the pedagogy of creative writing, the ‘presentness’ of history, and the repurposing of language. You can see from this bio that she is a very busy and multi-talented person!

Spot prizes and more

There will be some spot prizes. When you pay your $5 entry you’ll get a number and numbers will be drawn later. The prizes of course will be literary. Just a little bit of excitement for 2019. 

• Sunday 24 November
• Robert Harris Café  Coastlands 
• 4–6 pm. 

Shine up one one-page poem for the open mic and finish the year not with a whimper but a bang (thanks T.S.E.).

Other things happening

We will be reminding you all about the poems in the Waiting Room Competition. A good cause to support and money prizes too. Also you will have till 29th February to get your entry in. Much easier for procrastinators. 

You can find out more at 

https://waitingroompoems.wordpress.com

Or just type poems in the waiting room into Teacher Google. 

A little shout out here for The Strawberry Festival, Kapiti School playing field, supporting Mary Potter Hospice, Saturday 23 November.

Good wishes

Gill and Elizabeth

‘Way to Go Heliservices’ at Makarora, Mt Aspiring National Park, in a 1080 poison operation, October, 2019. Carol Sawyer photo.

by Carol Sawyer

Mt Hutt Helicopters Ltd, Methven (CEO Josh Kershaw), one of the six main 1080-poisoning helicopter companies in the South Island for many years, is reportedly out of action, flight-wise. I’m told they no longer have an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) or Ag rating apparently, and are doing maintenance only. It is rumoured in the helicopter world that they were “struggling to get pilots.”

The last 1080 they dropped, as far as I know, was the Inangahua, Buller district, aerial 1080 drop in mid-2019.

I’m told they own an AS350 and a Notar. (Presumably they leased in other choppers for 1080 poison operations.)

I have also been told the Notar is in the process of being ‘parted out’ (dismantled and sold off in parts). I’m unsure about the AS350. Many of the parts will be embedded with 1080. Helicopter pilots tell me 1080 dust will be inside fins and the tail boom, and fine dust will be all through the working parts.

As well as this, Way to Go Heliservices Ltd, Rangiora, (CEO Rob Kittow), another major poison spreader, particularly this Spring, has been for sale for at least a year I’m told on Trademe and in aviation magazines. Maybe people don’t want to buy 1080-riddled helicopters?

The other four main South Island 1080-poisoning helicopter companies are Marlborough Helicopters Ltd, Blenheim ( CEO Owen Dodson), Anderson Helicopters Ltd, Hokitika ( CEO Kevin Anderson), Central South Island Helicopters, Oamaru (CEO Gary Oakes), and Helicopters Otago Ltd ( CEO Graeme Gale).

Beck Helicopters Ltd, Eltham Taranaki, (CEO Alan Beck) often come to the South Island to drop 1080 poison too.

Note: I report what I am told in good faith, when it is from people inside the industry whom I consider reliable, (in this case from two separate sources) and I endeavour to get my facts correct, but please bear in mind that some of this information is anecdotal.

Huia Street has two distinct parts: an urban one and a longer rural one, marked by a change in speed limit when going north (see earlier post on the No Exit).