seated

ACT's Seats The Most Costly In The House

Thursday, 5 March 2009 - 4:28pm

By Kate Chapman of NZPA Wellington, March 5 NZPA -

"The ACT Party's five plush green leather chairs in Parliament's debating chamber are worth almost $230,000 each -- more than any of the other seats." - 0r $1,142,087 on their whole campaign.

Those seats better be pretty comfortable.

Obviously, Kate isn't talking about the leather chairs themselves. She's commenting on how much ACT paid to have the right to sit in them.

Good old ACT, spending the money to get the power.

It's also interesting to note a few other party's bids for seats:

"The Kiwi Party, founded by Larry Baldock and Gordon Copeland, spent $56,545 and also failed to win a single seat." - sad.

"The political wing of Destiny Church, The Family Party led by Richard Lewis, spent $184,457 and came away with no seats." - tragic.

Dirty Weather

This is a bit of prose I wrote when it was close on midnight, and pouring outside. My Great-Grandmother always used to refer to rain as: "Dirty weather"... :)

Midnight rain. Water falling from black sky; countless droplets landing on sodden earth. Plashing on dark streets all over Christchurch, making streams that run down the gutters, gush into drains. Soil, already water-logged, refuses more rain, creating puddles on the lawns. Trees stand strong, their network of roots gripping the ground, sucking moisture. Drops of rain dance on their myriad of glistening leaves, bounce off, fall to earth. Rivers grow, spilling their banks, reach in waves to the quiet streets.
Dawn. Slanted lines of rain are visible now, tattooing the neighbour's roof and the glossy back of a blackbird, perched cheekily on the fence. The glittering green of rose leaves and hydrangea, and the cheerful orange of the bird's beak are the only spots of colour in this gray world.
Suddenly, silence. Anticipation.

Muddy under-bellies of heavy clouds define the sky, loom and crouch, as though waiting to show their power. The change is rapid. Gentle, pearly dawn has given place to this stonger force which casts a hard silver light on the land and spreads inky fingers of cloud over the sky. Strange, ethereal light penetrates the sky, colouring it a blurry purple, falls on plants and sparkles on the beads of rain they collected.
Culmination.
Even with this warning the crash of thick rain is unexpected. It drums in heavy lines on the metal roof, thunders with growing pressure on the drowning streets.

Satisfying.