Ti Whanawhana

Just for the record I have posted my 'Cate Rant' on my Facebook Timeline so I will see if anyone checks it out. I may make or lose a few friends, who knows, but it is a test case to see if Facebook can serve me or if I am its servant? 

This afternoon I am waiting in my favourite Food Court, comfy and impersonal, in the downstairs area of the Readings Cinema Complex. I have an hour or two to wait for our important visit to see the people of Tiwhanawhana, their name's meaning still escapes me. As I am learning in Maori, nothing has an exact translation, like Whanau, which is the 'feeling of the family belonging' whether it is family or not. I like a lot that word, being one of the world's single people, with my family more adopted than blood. Although my blood family is fiercely protective, I like them on the other side of the globe.

Tiwhanawhana is an Indigenous group the leader of whom, a co-swimmer with me from my DSW group, K, has accepted BP's invitation to do the formal Maori Welcome and dedication at the Marae for the Candlelight Memorial. They practise every Tuesday night at the Prostitutes' Collective, a nice place to meet and be supportive. Many of Tiwhanawhana are transgender Maori or Islanders, and they get together to celebrate their heritage through singing and dancing. They are very true to their indigenous heritage and I am privileged to witness it tonight, where we will discuss what they will do on May 18 at the Marae in Te Papa.

Later I am catching a movie at the fabulous Film Archives, a one-off showing of the life of a famous Wellingtonian Peter McLeavy, who is the subject of a recent biography, 'The Man in the Hat' and it seems, a movie. He was the pioneer Art Collector and Curator in Cuba Street, and has become in today's parlance, a 'legend'. We'll see tonight what sort of legend he is as he is attending to discuss his life. Oh, and I have today purchased a new 'Last Will and Testament' form to replace the recent upsetting of a cup of tea on my old one, rendering it indecipherable. It was so out of date  anyway it was time to change things and it's something I tend to do each time I make a trip overseas, especially relevant when we have the recent awful news of the Malaysian air crash reverberating in our ears. It looks like it will be all of 239 fatalities. 

Baraka Bashad, we say in ECKANKAR, which means, 'May they all be blessed', a bit like the Christian 'Amen' - 'So may it be', or 'Ainsi soit-il' in French.

Testing my new glasses at Readings...I can read 'Wendy's'!

Young man sensibly bringing his own chow...