I told you a few weeks ago about Ray Avery, the author and hero of Rebel With A Cause.
I keep thinking of his sad childhood and how little he was loved.
Then I look at our children and suspect they have probably had too much love.
As they point out, now that they are all well over 18, I don't really need to hold their hands when they cross the road.
Anyway, back to Ray - this year's New Zealander of the Year.
He's coming to The Shed at Northburn near Cromwell at 6pm today.
Ring Paper Plus and book a ticket for the chance to listen to this terrific man.
And take your teenagers along.
Ray has already done more in this lifetime than 100 normal humans and he is passionate about science and about having a go and about seeing the possible in every impossible situation.
What's more, it's in aid of CureKids and Jan Pinckney and her team are putting on their usual delicious nibbles.
An irresistible combination.
I'm pretty excited to have been the subject of a letter to the QT this week.
Erin Spence, of Tauranga, wrote to correct me about my usage of Osh in describing an event not relating to the workplace.
Dear Erin, I am just a simple rural housewife so I can't tell the difference between safety in the workplace and safety in general.
And I was making fun of the unfortunate coincidence that makes Osh rhyme with tosh.
But I am very flattered that someone in Tauranga can be bothered to a) read my column and b) go to the bother of writing to my editor.
Now he's harping on about journalists needing to check their facts (editors are a bit prone to that sort of thing).
You'd think they'd know by now there's no quicker way of ruining a perfectly good story than by messing around with facts.
What I do know for a fact is that the Ministry of Education is still messing us around over the Wakatipu High School location.
About a million years ago when I owned the Arrowtown Montessori Preschool, then minister Trevor Mallard invited all the school principals in the Wakatipu to a meeting to discuss the education situation here.
He flatly refused to acknowledge there was any unfairness in our high school being rated a decile 10, and mumbled away when asked about relocating it.
Sounds as if this Government is doing a Trevor Mallard on us as well - shame on it.
I may have said it before, but teenagers are expensive pets to own and operate and by the time children get to high school, they have reached their most expensive phase.
And their parents aren't always dripping with spare cash to help pay for the free school education we are all entitled to.
St Peter's are having their church market day.
I have been given some very confidential information that I want to share with you.
They are selling all the usual wonderful church fair things like plants and books and jam and cakes but they also have a kids stall.
It seems there are some parents out there who would not just like to get rid of their brats but also to raise a bit of dosh for the church - how very charitable.
I have some lying around the house as well, but mine are a bit old and might not sell as fast as the cute, young ones.
Anyway, if you want a new child or some jam, do pop along to the Anglican church at 9am tomorrow.
And if it's high fashion and fancy frocks you're after, Arrowtown is hosting the local designers' sale all weekend from 9am-5pm.
I was in Wellington at the weekend gorging myself.
First in the art galleries - anyone going to the capital must go to the City Gallery and see the Roundabout exhibition.
The 108 pieces are from artists all around the world, including New Zealand, and are owned by a very private American collector with a house here in Queenstown.
This is really exciting contemporary art and so much of it is very beautiful but made of very ordinary or ugly things, such as stickers or ninja stars.
The European Masters and the Brian Brake expos at Te Papa would have been far more fabulous if I hadn't already been shocked speechless (a rare and wonderful event) by the Roundabout work.
Then I gorged myself silly foodwise as well, as it is obviously illegal to sell bad food in the windiest of windy cities.
I needed to get home to calm down and what did I find? My peonies - flashing themselves at everyone - big and brazen and more beautiful than I have ever seen before.
So much more stunning than their feeble, weakstemmed sisters at the Wellington market at $4 each.
I am going to bully lovely Prue Flacks to take up a huge boxful to give to all my sad Wellington friends who don't know what a real Wakatipu peony looks like.
Dorothy Browns is having a special book day on December 7 with some stupid old bat talking about books that you might like or that you might be able to wrap up and give to your ghastly relations.
I said I'd mention it.
And I'll let you know the time.
