Sarah and Solomon married at Foxglove in verdant Taranaki…a magical time for everybody at that beautiful, beautiful occasion.
Dear old Grandpa Verne Bell passed from this mortal coil and went on to the next with his typical strong eyed fortitude and open curiosity.
Major earthquake shatters the top of the South island and is felt with trepidation from one end of the country to the other.
Trump hauls votes from the impossible and manufactures an improbable US Presidency…. Much to the embarrassment, alarm and discomfort of the majority of the thinking American population.
Oceans continue to rise and atmospheric temperatures climb…..and nobody really cares enough to try to do anything much about it.
Russia and China flex their military muscle and snub their sabre rattling noses at the West.
Interest rates and the price of gas started to escalate upward again.
Friends and relatives have been rocked by ill health, hardship and misfortune.
Key calls “Enough” and passes the Prime Ministerial gauntlet to a (thankfully), very capable Bill English.
Janet and Marshal both reach out and find new jobs, fresh horizons & new avenues to explore.
Syria slides into chaos and anarchy with absolutely no regard for it’s ordinary, civilian population languishing in the dreadful ruins of East Aleppo.
The Hectors dolphin numbers dwindle to 87 living animals, surviving globally.
But….We, friends, live in a peaceful oasis…forgotten at the very end of the earth.
We live in a land of plenty and opportunity, a land of rare green beauty where individuality is prized and freedom valued.
May we pause for a moment this Christmas…and appreciate just how ****** fortunate we all actually are?
MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS
M.
Hamilton, New Zealand
20 December 2016