Not affected by the rain

Woke to the sound of rain. Not heavy, but certainly persistent. Outside our bedroom window, water either overflows the gutter from the higher part of the roof, or runs down behind the gutter. beating an almost rhythmic tattoo on the translucent corrugated perspex roof over the front entry. Strangely comforting now that it's no longer causing water to come through.

The Guardian weekly Prize cryptic was set by Philistine. One of the setters whose techniques I seem to gel with. Completed the puzzle at the same time as I finished my breakfast. So I turned to various postings.

Perhaps the most interesting was one by a young New Zealander who is still marooned in the United States as he has been unable to book a place in quarantine, so can't book a flight. He took himself to task for joining the media focus on a young Maori 'celebrity figure' who has been posting misinformation about Covid and the vaccinations.

Not because he and they should not have disagreed with his posts on social media. And indeed he has been arrested for breaching certain of the safety rules inm recent weeks. But because the media (and David) have ignored the self appointed Pastor of a Mega church in Auckland, who is constantly using the techniques of deliberate disinformation. But he is a Pakeha. David addressed his oversight earlier in the week and again this morning.

He then went on to question no one has taken to task a Pakeha woman lawyer who is spreading huge amounts of disinformation without criticism. adopting the same technique of "I'm only asking questions".

Once we start looking hard for it, the systemic and institutional racism is plain to see. Provision for the poor and rural (significantly higher percentage of them Maori) to access vaccination in their local area is minimal. Consequently the worst vaccination rate of any District Health Board is in Tairawhiti (centred on Gisborne), where the rural majority of Maori have been unable to access the city vaccination sites. (This is being addressed now). 

Read a couple of interesting papers this afternoon, and then the rain paused about 1630 and I took the opportunity to run on the exposed sand out from Snells Beach. Seaweed of a number of different types had been thrown up by the strong winds from the northeast, but I was largely un-rained-upon.The Tuturiwhatu I have featured seemed unperturbed by the weather. It did try to avoid me, and I feel fortunate that it stayed still enough long enough for this photo.