diaTribe » nz http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp The diaTribe blog is our occasional take on life, the universe and everything. Observations on current affairs, the environment, politics, humour and music/gig reviews. Travel diary and extreme sports stories, along with the usual rants/raves are also chucked in for good measure. Sat, 07 Feb 2026 19:21:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Cyclone Gabrielle – Preparation Lessons Learned http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2023/02/18/cyclone-gabrielle-preparation-lessons-learned/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2023/02/18/cyclone-gabrielle-preparation-lessons-learned/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2023 09:04:45 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/?p=3376 ... more »

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2023 has been a tough year weather-wise.

January saw record-breaking rainfall across much of the North Island of New Zealand, with more than 260mm of rain falling on south and west Auckland in just 24 hours. In the far north, wind-speeds of up to 140kph were recorded. Four people were killed in flash floods and landslides and hundred of homes were destroyed.

But that was just the start…

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2023/02/18/cyclone-gabrielle-preparation-lessons-learned/feed/ 0 Busy six months http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2012/07/01/busy_six_months/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2012/07/01/busy_six_months/#comments Sun, 01 Jul 2012 01:25:10 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2012/07/busy_six_months/

It's been a busy six months since, I last bunged an entry in the blog.

We managed to not get washed away in the very wet summer, which included a trip to Sydney back in March, where it was mostly just as wet as it was in NZ rolleyes. Still, it was good to catch up with a couple of pals, have a few beers and laugh at some of the most bizarrely-dressed participants of the annual Sydney Mardi Gras, which - unknown to us - fell smack in the middle of our visit.

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It’s been a busy six months since, I last bunged an entry in the blog.

I managed to not get washed away in the very wet summer, which included a trip to Sydney back in March, where it was mostly just as wet as it was in NZ . Still, it was good to catch up with some pals, have a few beers and laugh at some of the most bizarrely-dressed participants of the annual Sydney Mardi Gras, which – unknowningly – fell smack in the middle of visiting.

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2012/07/01/busy_six_months/feed/ 0 Rant: Urine my heart http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/09/15/rant_urine_my_heart/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/09/15/rant_urine_my_heart/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:23:36 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/09/rant_urine_my_heart/ ... more »

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This was written by an Air New Zealand flight attendant in Auckland.

I’m damn sure I’m not alone in agreeing with him…

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/09/15/rant_urine_my_heart/feed/ 0 Cool Christchurch http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/08/11/cool_christchurch/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/08/11/cool_christchurch/#comments Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:44:49 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/08/cool_christchurch/ ... more »

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Despite all my travels around this little blue-green planet, I have to confess that I’ve never been to the South Island of New Zealand.

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/08/11/cool_christchurch/feed/ 0 Flip Grater: Poetry in Music http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/07/22/flip_grater_poetry_in_music/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/07/22/flip_grater_poetry_in_music/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:51:50 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/07/flip_grater_poetry_in_music/ Television in New Zealand can be largely summed up in 4 words: seven channels of shite.

It's full to the brim with loud, brash, unfunny American and Australian crap, interspersed with even louder and brasher ads for half-price sales at Harvey the Rabbit or some such, about every 10 minutes. It's basically a noise factory that in a very short period of time leaves the viewer numbed to the seemingly endless flow of static it spouts.

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Television in New Zealand can be largely summed up in 4 words: seven channels of shite.

It’s full to the brim with loud, brash, unfunny American and Australian crap, interspersed with even louder and brasher ads for half-price sales at Harvey the Rabbit or some such, about every 10 minutes. It’s basically a noise factory that in a very short period of time leaves the viewer numbed to the seemingly endless flow of static it spouts.

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2010/07/22/flip_grater_poetry_in_music/feed/ 4 What were the poor kid’s parents thinking? http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2008/07/25/what_were_the_poor_kids_parents_thinking_/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2008/07/25/what_were_the_poor_kids_parents_thinking_/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:14:59 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2008/07/what_were_the_poor_kids_parents_thinking_/ ... more »

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Quite stunned to read this morning about the family court in New Zealand who were forced to make a 9-year old girl a ward of state, in order to help her change her name legally from…get this: “Talula Does The Hula”.

Sheesh!

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