House full of blokes

  Crisp clear winter's day with a dog in a cold lake It seems to have been a particularly dreary winter. Cromwell always gets more than our fair share of fog and lack of sun but we seem to have had far more wet and grey than usual and I for one find that to be a real downer. It means I have to really work at motivation and enthusiasm at this time of year. I'm all for staying in bed and just letting the world happen around me. It is a bit difficult running a school and chairing a community board from bed so I have things that I do to help me get through. My doofus dog Rosco the rescue hound is a very active and playful dog. He needs plenty of running - a ball flinger and two tennis balls are essential bits of our dog care kit. Weekends mean getting up a hill in the hope of finding blue sky and an added bonus is if we can find snow. His enthusiasm just brings pure joy. He gives us a reason to get out and about however dreary and we always come home feeling refreshed.  On a schoo...

I am pleased to announce that I am standing for a third term on the Cromwell Community Board. There is just too much unfinished business to walk away now. I am thrilled that the big ticket items from the Master Plan have made it into the Long Term Plan to secure funding and lots of work is being done in the background to get these projects up and running. I really want the opportunity to keep the momentum going and to see the Hall and Mall projects progressed in a visible way for our community. I am an honest and hardworking representative for Cromwell a vote for me will be a vote for positive community leadership.

Here we are on our second day of NZ wide lockdown - it is amazing how fast our world has changed and I am pleased to say that so far people seem to be adapting ok. We were thrilled in the Harry house that Lummox no.1 was able to work remotely and made it home to join our bubble on Wednesday afternoon. We already had no.2 and no.3 here, so his return made us feel complete. I feel very lucky to have a house that allows us a wee bit of space and outside areas that we can access. I am aware that five adults in the same house and three brothers all under the same roof may be peaceful currently but has potential for emotions to run high and for frustration to come to the fore. Fingers crossed it stays mostly peaceful. Lockdown bubbles - this is what I think of. Not what it actually looks like however! Our new pup Rosco has joined me on my daily fresh air break through the greenways and round to the school grounds - just to keep a remote eye on security. We've seen other dog o...

I haven't been much of a blogger of any kind since the local body elections. I have been a wee bit busy - but that doesn't mean I haven't been continually reflecting on the roles I have chosen to take and the responsibility that I feel to the communities that I represent. I feel like this is a time that writing my reflections might help me to make sense of the complex feelings I have and the pressure I am trying to manage keeping my school community safe while also supporting the wider Cromwell community and making sure that the messages I am communicating are accurate, timely and don't add to panic or anxiety. My preparation for this was to make Pho Ga for dinner last night - Vietnamese chicken noodle soup. Quite a healing process and a delicious meal - I think it helped. Click the link to the recipe if you are looking for fragrant, delicious comfort food. But I digress - the point of today's blog is to think about the impacts of Covid-19 Corona virus. ...

Well the campaign is pretty much done and dusted and lots of people have said lots of things about what they want to see for the future of Cromwell and the Central Otago district.  There have been some grand promises made by candidates, particularly those standing for the first time, and there has been lots of debate on social media. It looks like there is a high level of engagement - but current voter percentages would suggest otherwise. We just need to turn the talk into action and encourage everyone in our community to vote. I have really enjoyed being part of the community board over the last three years.  I have learnt loads and think that I have represented our community with integrity.  I think I have provided some balance on our board in debate and in decision making. One of the things that is a huge challenge for any governance board is being sure that we are actually representing the views of our community. Trying to get the community to engage in consult...

The Cromwell Mall - or town centre is the cause of much concern and debate.  Most of the criticism is about the design and layout of the space that seems to have had its heyday in the past and people would like to see it revitalised, rejuvenated and brought into the modern era.  How will we do that and what are the barriers to making this happen? My little video clip will give you a little bit of insight into my thinking or if like me you prefer to read stuff - keep reading.  I wish I had some fabulous answers to a vibrant busy town centre - but I think it is going to be much more important for us to work together with the Cromwell community to find ways to add life and vibrancy to this space. We currently see the mall/town centre as primarily a retail space and there are some successful and loyal retailers who are current mall tenants.  Retail is a globally tricky issue with the prevalence of online shopping options and the proximity of major shopping areas li...

I have written quite a lot about the Cromwell Memorial Hall over the last three years and it has been a political football kicked backwards and forwards for many years now. The previous CCB really thought that they had got the renovation project across the line.  It has then been a truly contentious issue over this current term of the board with the overturning of the decision to renovate, earthquake safety reports causing concern and ongoing debate about what will happen next. The Cromwell Memorial Hall Let's be really clear that the plans to renovate are well and truly behind us - the board voted not to proceed and there is very unlikely to be any appetite for returning to the table to discuss the benefits of upgrading the existing facility.  So what is happening instead?  The hall certainly is still very much in the minds of our community and the issue was again highlighted in the annual residents survey. The decision to shelve upgrade plans was made around the...

My last post was a bit of a reflection on the last three years and I deliberately kept it positive in thinking about the work that I have personally done in the community and about the strategic visioning from the Master Plan that seeks to steer us in a planned growth model.  I didn't really touch on what I would like to see happen next and therefore why I might be a person worthy of your vote. Cromwell - what do I have to offer for it's future? First and foremost I am a cool head in what has been some volatile situations on our board.  I bring a balanced view point and a pragmatism about what is actually going to be a workable solution.  Sure, I've been frustrated by slow progress and politicking but there is no point in holding grudges and looking backwards - it is not the direction that we want to be moving in. So what are the key issues from my perspective?  What is worthy of our time, attention and opening the Cromwell Community Board purse strings for?...

It has been an interesting and reasonably eventful first term as an elected member of the Cromwell Community Board (CCB) - but there must have been some good stuff or I wouldn't have decided to stand again - surely! Fresh faced and naive - Anna Harrison 2016 version So I thought it was timely to think back through to being fresh and a wee bit naive at the beginning of my three year term in October 2016 and actually think about the things that have been rewarding, where connections have been made or progress forged - I think it is probably always best to start with some good stuff - we can all too easily focus on the things that have frustrated, angered or upset. Three years ago the Big Fruit reserve was under construction, one side of the mall had been repaved and beautified, the Cromwell Memorial Hall was just about ticked off for a major renovation and stage 5 of the Gair Ave Estate was being considered for development.  The Cromwell Community Board found itself with four...

I haven’t posted a recipe for quite some time but I’m just home from a trip to Japan where we were had hot, humid weather to a cold, wintery Central Otago. A combination of jet lag and a craving for winter food brought out this favourite comfort food recipe.  We call this cowboy beans because it is a hearty bacon and beans stew. It could be spiced up with chipotle peppers and smoked paprika but it’s pretty good as is.  I like to use the pressure cooker for this hearty meal but it is also great in the crockpot. My pressure cooker is one with presets on it so I use a pot roast setting, check the tenderness of the hock and if needed put on for a soup setting to make sure the bacon is soft and tender.  Ingredients  Smoked bacon hock on the bone 1 litre tomato juice Large onion finely chopped  3 carrots diced 3 cans beans - drained and rinsed. Choose what you like. I used butter beans, canelli beans and pinto beans this time.  2 teaspoons dried basil Ground blac...

I haven't blogged for quite some time.  Things had been ticking along quite nicely, the Master Plan process providing a focus for my work as an elected member of the Cromwell Community Board and moving forward with continuing to build on a strong school community, as a focus for my work as a principal.  The world started unravelling for me in March and my feelings of solid progress being made in my personal and professional lives were rocked - not just a little bit - but to the very core of me. Firstly with the news of my dear friend and colleague Sharon Booth's illness and with how rapidly she went from letting us know there was something wrong to the realisation that her time was very short. Secondly with severe depression for my youngest son that left him suicidal and ended in crisis and an acute admission to psychiatric care.  The last six or seven weeks in particular have been exhausting and challenging as these two realities collided. It is when I am feeling l...

I've been pretty quiet over the last couple of weeks.  I've attended all meetings required of me, engaged in discussion and discourse, listened and expected to be heard and thought that there had been a resolution to halt the action to remove Neil Gillespie as Board Chair with only 13 months to an election and with the immensely important Master Plan Project in full swing.  I left a meeting on Tuesday 21st August thinking that a decision had been made to seek further governance training and to set out a rules of engagement document outlining roles and responsibilities of board members and their relationship with each other, council, the mayor and council staff.  So when I was contacted less than a week later on Monday 27 August I was surprised to hear that a requisition letter calling for the removal of Neil as chair had been sent to Sanchia Jacobs, CODC Chief Executive.  I relayed that surprise to the journalist who rang the next day.  I was not blissfully unaw...