From the Editors

As we go to press with our October issue we are in Level 3. Many say it’s like Level 4 but with takeaways.

We thought we went down to Level 3 a week too soon, but we recognise the tremendous pressure the government is under. We are not out of the woods yet and to date we’ve still only had one day of single figures.

Delta has a long tail, the experts keep telling us. There are too many cases still occurring randomly in the community even though 'everyone' has been locked down. However, Jacinda and her team are doing a great job keeping the worst at bay. A little more short term pain, before hopefully some long term gain.

Unfortunately, the internet produces as much rubbish about vaccination as it does useful information. Would you rather believe someone who had recently read two or three blogs about the dangers of getting a vaccination jab, or an epidemiologist with 30-years experience, including 10 years as a University Professor?

Vaccination levels against Covid-19 are still too low in New Zealand. There are reportedly 20-25,000 over 65s in Auckland still not jabbed at all. We can and should do better. With 90% plus of all New Zealanders vaccinated we can keep Delta at bay. But just like no one wants cholera, polio, or other now controllable diseases, we shouldn’t have to plead with anti-vaxxers. Isolate them for the good of the team of five million.

A new book, ‘Voices of Aotearoa-25 years of Going West Oratory’, from our best writers has just been published. Going West was Auckland’s first major literary festival, and it’s now the country’s longest running. It began in 1996. In the introduction to the book, which celebrates the 25 years of its existence, it states, “ Going West continues its kaupapa of holding our writing and reading whanau close, of honouring tangata and whenua, and hosting the festival at our place - West Auckland, the Waitakere Ranges, home to the creative spirit - to writers, musicians, architects, poets and potters.

In Helene Ravlich’s ‘Let’s get physical’ feature this month she points out, "It’s safe to say that for many of us, our usual fitness and wellness routines went out the window when we went into 2020’s first Level 4 lockdown. We were locked out of the gym and yoga studios, and forced to cancel our long-term plans for wellness retreats. We started working out at home and definitely got on with it as best we could. Approaches to wellness have changed dramatically as a result.

Our cover stars this month are Jeremy and his beautiful dog Banjo – two of the team from Fisheye, who are an essential telecommunications provider providing IT to essential businesses and workers. After 20 years of IT troubleshooting for New Zealand businesses, Ponsonby based Fisheye are launching Bootup, a new online workshop platform to help improve remote work tech issues.

October also marks the 32nd birthday for Ponsonby News. We’ve come a long way since our launch in 1989. The Ponsonby we know today is a very different one – but it’s our home and we love the place. We also say shop, eat, drink Ponsonby – support our local businesses. (MARTIN LEACH)

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Published 1 October 2021