Of Boil Ups and Noble offerings

Charlie  Nobles is a quality addition to an ample serving of great eating houses in Wellington. The occasion was the all too brief visit of the BOIL. A fine friend who works for Big Oil. Hence the nickname. And the  long lunches are, as you would expect, known as Boil Ups.  And damn if we haven't had some fine Boil Ups. It seemed fitting to have this boil up at Charlie Nobles as it was the former HQ of the NZ Rugby Union. And most of the gathered group had worked with or for the NZRFU.
The staff were attentive, welcoming  and fast. Our table was in prime place. Right in front of the open kitchen. The fit out of Charleys is classic and classy bistro and the place fair bustles with the business of sating the diners. We were within an ozone whiff  of  an ice bed of "in the shell " Bluff Oysters. At $6 an oyster they are very pricey. None of us indulged instead opting for starters of breads and dips.
The taramasalata dip was heavenly. As was the rich whipped pate. Knives were keenly scraped inside the jars to seek out the last morsels. Lips and knives were licked clean.
I love flounder so despite the attraction of much on the carnivores dream of meaty selections I opted for the Patiki. It was deep fried in a crispy crumb . So crispy I had to crack it to get at the sticky tender fish. I was worried it was overdone and it was - Just a smidge. I normally ask for my fish to be undercooked. It reduces the chances of a dry offering. Anyway the crispy fish was   very good. Not great but memorable. We drank Dog Point sauvignon and it loosened the chatter from us in an instant.
We talked of our lives and family and food  and politics as we always do.
I left late in the afternoon knowing  two things. Charley Nobles will be a stayer on the Wellington hospitality scene and time and distance do not erode true friendships.
And I'm suspecting  the gang might have to organise a Boil Up in Geneva.
BB score 8/10

GIVE A PENGY A CHANCE

Our mates in the VRWC have been joshing with us all day. There have been about 1200 birds killed by the RENA oil slick. Our mates argue that while it seems a lot its not big in the scheme of things. Maybe they are right - they normally are. However we do  think that DOC needs a big thumbs up for co-ordinating the effort to save the pandas of NZ bird world  - The Dotterel. Its a sisyphean task that requires passion and dogged determination in the face of insurmountable odds.

They are funny wee birds that hide on the shore line and put their nests in the silliest of places. The go for bloody miles to find a feed and when the chips are down they will abandon their chicks and its not like they have a big brood - nope they only have a couple  or three at best. 

In essence they wiggled their fluffy arses just enough to make a wee indent in the sand and squeeze out a couple or three bumnuts. But just above the high tide zone is the equivalent of gang riven  Farmers Crescent.  Its hell out there.  All manner of predators  lurk there from skua, stoats and the heavy feet of hairy legged trampers. So what happens if the eggs or chicks get killed? Well the dotterels are persistent - they go and wiggle there wee botties and do it all over again.

So they are as succesful as parents as Sonny Bill Williams would be at trying to maintain a hard on in a locked room with only Helen Clark for company.

We reckon Dotterel  are  winged Pandas because despite the fact that they are deliriously cute, these little feathered moths  that flit almost undetectable on the sandy shore line - need human support to exist. So New Zealand, is  in essence, providing state support for the useless dotterel parents. What do NZ'ers get in return? bugger all as you cant see the wee buggers as they only thing they are much good at is camouflage.  However they would stick out like the balls on a St Bernard against the oil stained sand. 

You see our mates reckon that we have  had a far greater impact on the country's bird population - killing over 40,000 muttonbirds singletoothedly over our lifetime. That is very true. We are of course very old  so its taken nearly half a century to reach that figure. So while we have dispatched a lot of oily birds to eat  - the  RENA's oily slick  hasn't really eaten a lot of birds. 

However, we think that what is really worth saving is the little blue penguin.. The wee pengys never fail to raise a smile either on land or at sea. Gentle wee buggers  - efficient hunters and good mums and dads.  And they apparently taste like crap. 

We like that in a bird.

and what is our favourite Seabird? This one of course-  

The Mollymawk 

There is nothing that comes close to the grace of these birds and their amazing faces. 

They are welcome to come steal my fish anytime. 

INVERCARGILL - TAKE BACK YOUR TOWN

We took to cooking and stuff over the weekend so left the heady debates on the middle east to Lambcut who likes writing and talking about it - a lot.

However, we have been musing over a story that we saw in the Southland Times late last week about self styled gang leader Shaun Te Kahu writing a letter to property developer and entrepreneur Louis Crimp about their gang headquarters which was torched.

Crimp owned it and in a curious oversight didn't realise that there had been no mortgage payments on the property for a decade.

He took back the property but in less that 48 hours it was burnt to the ground.

Te Kahu - who is not Ngai Tahu's finest son, shows some literacy skills but little else.

The letter is a mixture of whinging about the sentimental attachment he and his brother Chaz had to the place, and not so veiled threats about rebuilding the gang presence back in Invercargill.

Te Kahu's letter in full

Koe Louis,

Shaun Te Kahu here. I writing to you concerning what I just witnessed on TV. I'm in total disbelief. Shocked and totally gutted. As well as my brother. We are original founders of mongrel mob Invercargill.

That place held sentimental value to us. I wasn't aware of that mortgage loan back from 89. When I become president I honestly wasn't aware of that bill. Otherwise, I would've paid it. To find out 20 years later was a slap in the face. I received your correspondence like December just gone.

I couldn't do much from my cell. I was told you approached others down there. I honestly believe you weren't talking to the backbone at all. I'm the backbone. Me and my brother. I was in Springhill Prison when I got your notice.

So I wasn't in a position to do anything positive. I'm back in Chch now. I'm due to come back Invercargill ways anytime next year. I'm a local from Invercargill just like everyone else in the town. I've made the wrong choices, no ones perfect. I won't deny the mob are a bunch of thugs. I accept we've mucked it all up. But I am prepared to make a change for the better of us and the community. We have given back to the community as well. My contribution was AK47s and shotguns and other weapons. That was something no other gang has done ever in Invercargill. Just politics in the gang scene got in the way. The town has been quiet since I've been in jail. I'm in a better frame of mind now. What I like to know is where do we go from here? I got the impression you and the city council was trying to crush the mob by taking way my headquarters. The bill was unrealistic aye. Why would the mob pay you that amount of money when the mob could go and buy another house and rebuild right in the town. We chose Severn cause it was the right location for us. And there's another headquarters in Mataura.

I'm prepared to make amends to you when I get out. I'll compensate you on the condition you give what's left back 2 us which is nothing now. But ashes. Otherwise you give me no choice but to rebuild in town.

Til I hear from you.

Yours sincerely SHAUN TE KAHU

Paparua Prison

It is astounding that he admits to introducing AK47's to the town and to fuelling the gang warfare that has dogged the southern town for years.

Invercargill doesnt need arsewipes like the Te Kahus . They are wreckers and haters and just stupid enough to be dangerous to innocent people.

Even the Mongrel Mob never held these guys in high regard until they managed to torch the historic headquarters of the Road Knights which had been a symbol of the pasty white racist underbelly of Invercargill.

Sadly this gross play in the gang sandpit gained them some misplaced creds.

When Te Kahu does get out of prison there is no way he should be allowed back inside the town boundary.

What we would like to see on the big sign that welcomes people to Invercargill is - Proud to be Gang Free.

INVERCARGILL SLOWLY SHEDDING GANGS

In the 70's 80's and 90's gang activity in Invercargill was high. There were the Road Knights, the Damned, Mongrel Mob and Black Power all taking positions of dominance at some time. Now its down to 1. The Road Knights - although they are just a shadow of their former strength. In fact you could liken them now to balanced challenged kids trotting on donkeys - instead of murderous thugs riding around on Harleys.

This particular branch of the Mob were never held in very high regard by the mob further north. They were considered by the old guard as particularly stupid try hards.

However they gained some creedence when they managed to burn down the Road Knights headquarters .

So today we see that the Mob has moved out of Invercargill - almost. They have been squatting because the city's eccentric property developer Lou Crimp finally worked out that the buggers hadn't been paying any rent. So he put the hard word on them.

We have had very close associations with Lou in the past. He owned whole streets of houses he bought from Housing Corp that the Black Power once lay siege to. So he knows a thing or too about gangs and he hates them.

So it is pleasing to see that Invercargill is cleaning out their rats nests.

THE PALE WHITE FACE OF PURE EVIL

We have been mulling over the creepy familiarity we felt every time the face of Malcolm Chaston appeared in the media.

His brutal murder of Vanessa Pickering has shocked our Nation which, sadly is becoming numb to the sickening violence and brutality of far too many murders.

We have a deep loathing of White Power gangs. Theirs is a creed based purely on hate.

We knew some of Chastons associates well. They were a group of sullen, unbelieveably angry, insular boys to whom white power was a religion and they worshipped at the alter with all the fanaticism of suicide bombers.

One of the group mentioned in the article was Neihana Foster, yes a young angular faced Maori with a bigwhite chip on his shoulder who did time in Invercargill jail. And there is nothing that hates more than a young Maori who follows the religion of the Fourth Reich.

This group did the bidding of the white power gang which held dominance over the South Island at the time - The Road Knights.

But there was another young man who was in the thrall of Foster, and the white power rag tag bunch of haters , while he served time.

His name was Scott Watson.

CRUSHER DOES THE DIGGER

Bewdy! crikey we remember back in the early 80's when the local Invercargill police commander caused a media storm when he bust down the fence at the local white power Road knight headquarters - with a bulldozer..

Police have apparently learned something from the past.

Diggers used to crash down gang pad and raid the drug dealing pricks.

Excellent work.

No - more - Gangs.

REBOILED

We had a bit a of do with a few mates this week. We used to have reasonably regular catch ups - sometimes over lunch - sometimes later arvo drinks. They were for reasons known only to us - called the Boil Ups.

Sadly the Boil Up Queen is doing her bit to promote one of the extractive industries in some poncy lair in Europe. (bout time she came home for a visit!)

So the rest of the crew met in her absence. It was a poignant event. Each one of us in one way or another has been effected by, involved in, or working to help Christchurch.

Most had Christchurch family or friends who have been affected by the quake and all of us suffered from the feeling of not "being there doing something." No matter how much money you give or how many emails and phone calls you dispatch and stuff you send - its hard to not feel guilty about not being on the end of a shovel in Bexley or Aranui.

We listened to each others tales and to a person it was the elderly in Christchurch we worried about most. They are of a generation where they dont want to bother people and think everyone is worse off than themselves. They are so self contained that they are not used to asking for or getting help.

However, we also talked about the need for the rest of New Zealand to keep going as well.

For some of the gang - life has chucked a few curve balls - as happens from time to time. But we were there for each other - buddies all. We shed the odd tear and we laughed out loud. We argued and debated.

It was just a good time with good mates.

It also helped that our venue, Logan Brown - was stellar, the food and wine was outstanding as ever, the service impeccable - despite the fact we served the staff up a moving feast of characters.

It was great to see LB very well patronised as a restaurant of its international calibre should be.

While this crazy old world of ours has wobbled while spinning so fast - it was good to get off for such a short time and take a breath and listen to the lives of others and just let them know that no matter what - they have good people in their orbit they can rely on.

On a lighter note we were a bit flumoxed by the above vision of loveliness on the wall at Logan Brown. Someone fishy channelling Roarprawn and BustedBlonde perhaps?

LIKE DEFROCKING A PRIEST

Well here is an excellent first. The sort of police action that sets the benchmark. A mongrel mob member has had his patch destroyed by the police.

It is akin to defrocking a priest. It strikes at the heart of all they believe in - all they believe they are.

This should happen everytime a gang member breaks the law. And they should be forced to watch it being destroyed. Gangs breed hate and the patch is nothing but a symbol of that hatred.

It will have the same effect as the gang patch ban of Wanganui. It will serve as a reminder that gangs are not normal and that their criminalty that manfests itself in i community intimidation and fear is not going to be accepted.

Police Minister Judith Collins must be delighted and proud of the Hawkes Bay constabulary.

Waikato Hospital has also banned gang patches.

Its that sort of thinking and hardline policing that will erode gang legitimacy everywhere.

Its also time for every Marae in the country to ban gang patches as well.

Gang tikanga is not Maori tikanga.

RESOLUTE IN THE NEW YEAR

A few NY resolutions we would like to to hear

Mark Solomon - " It is now time to move on and let someone else take over. "

Michael Laws "I will stop thinking about kinky sex and get a girlfriend who only likes the missionary position and of course me"

Maori leaders " We resolve to start setting some standards. No gang patches on the Marae, and at any tangi. Our mantra will be ' gang tikanga is not Maori tikanga',"

John Key "I promise to be big and ballsy and make the hard calls to grow the economy"

Bill English " The public service will feel the pain of a thousand cuts."

Judith Collins " I will do what I did last year."

Winston Peters " I will stand in Helensville for the good of the nation."

Phil Goff " I will attend every BBQ that 17 members of my caucus are planning to hold over the summer for the sake of party unity."

Cunliffe " I will roll Phil Goff because I know that I have the superior intellect and I am better at being a shifty bastard than he is."

Trevor Mallard " I will work harder at being the most obnoxious Labour blogger because its so much fucking fun."

Clare Curran " I resolve to give the world peace and love and text Helen clark every night to tell her what a wonderful job I am doing and how popular I am especially with my own caucus."

Paul Henry " I will be a bigger star than I was - take that all you dick shits"

The Brunette " We will continue to take the piss and be obnoxious, talk about sex and country living and generally make lots of noise and swear a lot.

Cactus Kate " Shag more, Drink more, and write good shit, and make squillions while travelling the world in style. "

WAIROA - A TOWN OF THE WALKING DEAD

Sometimes we need to be very brave in life and face the reality of our situation and make some hard calls. Wairoa is a tough town. Its almost 50% Maori.

The council decided to face up to the ugly reality that the towns gang culture was killing their kids.

They were going to ban patches after seeing the impact that a gang patch ban had in Wanganui.

But did they hang tough? No. It seems that the council got railroaded by the "good folk" of the town.

Leave the gangs alone they said. Mayor Les Probert says that the problem was that most of the towns large Maori population had gang connections so they did not want a ban on gang patches.

So the Maori leaders of Wairoa are saying that they support the gangs. That gangs are okay. that gangs rule.

And as Wairoa knows - when gangs rule - they kill.

Lets get this right folks. Maori have no business protecting gangs - gangs tikanga (lore or way of doing things) is not Maori tikanga. Its Gang culture. Not Maori culture. Stealing killing, selling drugs are not traditional Maori practices.

Banning the patches sends one single powerful message. Gangs are not normal.

But instead Wairoa has bent over and handed the gangs the vaseline.

The simple truth is that Wairoa as a town needed to make the hard call. Face up to the reality and say no more to the gangs. Maori leaders needed to stand up and say that their tikanga is more important that that of the gangs.

Instead they are now collectively culpable for the next youth death in the town.

RACISM INVERTED- SOLUTION AVERTED

Sometimes people need to see past their own history. Kim Workman had an extensive career in the public service. We met him when he was a big cheese in the prison service. ( he was nicknamed Kimi Workperson because he was so PC )

These days he is strong advocate for prison reform. On some points we see eye to eye.

Now the Wairarapa Times Age has interviewed Kim who claims that Masterton is a racist town. We have had a place in the Wairarapa for about 4 years. We now live their permanently. We have yet to see one scrap of evidence that Masterton is a racist enclave. The incidences that Kim describes are historical and could be replicated in towns large and small throughout NZ.

However, has chosen to brand Masterton with a racist tag and thats doing this proud town a very real disservice.

If Maori are doing anything wrong it is the passive acceptance of a relatively high profile gang presence in the area and the resultant crime. They wear their patches freely in public places. What we need to see from Maori in the Wairarapa is some ownership of the issue. For them to say that this is not acceptable. That would send a powerful message to their children that this cultural aberration is not acceptable.

So Kim should not be spitting his gentlemanly disguised venom at the good people of Masterton for being racist. Instead he should turn his attention to the other Maori leaders in the Wairarapa and work with them to challenge their own people when their behaviour is unacceptable.

If there is any sniff of racism it will stem from the fact the pakeha never see Maori leaders sort out the shit of their own.

If they did that any remnants of racism would be countered.

Its time for Kim to Tane up and show some leadership.

But we dont think he has the balls. Nah its much easier to slag of the good white folks of Masterton instead of getting Maori to own the problem and deal to it. And thats the issue we have with Maori leaders today - the only time they go hard is when money is at stake. Claiming that the money will solve their ills. Crap. Its leadership and a no- nonsense approach thats going to turn the plight of their people around. Whinging only makes it worse. It just perpetuates the myth that the problem is not theirs -it's someone elses.

NEXT STOP FOR GANG FREE TOWN - MASTERTON

We were a bit gobsmacked at the Sunday markets last weekend in Masterton, when we ran smack bang into two big hairy arsed Nomad gang members in full regalia. They dont wear their patches so we can all admire their embroidery - no. They do it to intimidate. Allowing them to parade the streets in their gear normalises them. And they aint normal.

We are delighted that Wairoa is looking to ban patches. Its a bloody tough little town and any effort to reduce the power of the gangs is a step in the right direction.

And while we are at it - all government departments should ban gang patches from their buildings..

Get to it guys.. Get rid of gangs and you will make a serious dent in P problem.

FINALLY - MAORI LEADERS SEE THE MOA IN THE WHARE

We have been harping on about the crap Maori leaders who do a lot of schmoozing and grooving but bugger all to guide their own people out of the poverty pit.

But two recent pronouncements have given us some hope. One , from Mark Solomon, sounds good and wise , but anything from Mark needs to be considered against the backdrop of his fragile leadership. It has the feel of an orchestrated PR campaign.

However, despite the motivation, it is fantastic that Ngai Tahu's big cheese is finally calling for the tribe to tackle domestic violence. Excellent. Now we expect him to follow with some more unpalatable truths, like too many of the tribe have gang affiliations and he needs to condemn them too. And that poverty is still a big issue.So a good start from Solomon. But now we have heard what he thinks we want to know what he is going to do .

Iif Solomon's admittance, that it was time for Maori to take ownership of the issues that Maori have been trying to blame on everyone else wasn't a big and happy surprise , it was a bigger andhappier surprise when Pita Sharples followed suit.

The story is in the Dom this morning and the headline "Put health before beaches says Sharples" - gives you the picture. We think that this speech is a turning point for the party. It is an acknowledgment of what really matters to the rank and file.

It shows that there are many more things that will change the destiny of Maori than some technical access and ownership to some land that is well used and cared for now.

"For many of my friends they dont even know whats going on with the foreshore and seabed......

But they know whats going on at home when they are hungry.

They know whats going on at home when then havent got jobs....

These are the sorts of things that our people are dealing with day to day and thats why I really would like us to think why we are in parliament.

There were a few good stories in the media this morning but none more important than Sharples telling the Maori Party Conference that the issues of health and crime were far more important to Maori than beaches.

It is the best thing that Sharples has said for a bloody long time. The grievances of old need to be sorted but in terms of priority, diabetes, domestic violence, infanticide, education and drugs merit more effort and attention.

Maori dont need to "own the beaches" to feel better or have a better life. But they do need to own the social problems they are facing collectively and individually.

As two of the more prominent Maori leaders have now put this issue on the the nations paepae

we think that the debate will gain some momentum. Whanau Ora could well be the start. Ad it begs the question - Is this the beginning of the true Maori renaissance?

SHAKIN THE TREE

Maori are faced with some choices that could lead to a total transformation of their society. The first is to cocoon themselves in a ritualistic paternalistic past or unleash the warriors within to fight for the lives of their children.

Two recent announcements, one by Paula Bennett they other by Pita Sharples show the face of the past and the face of a future.

Paula has effectively told every iwi leader in the country that its time that they became proactively involved in ensuring their own whanau get the best start in life. Sort of a charity begins at the iwi approach.

The first thing that happened was the iwi leaders got all whiny about money. What crap. All it takes is for people to say no more, to say enough, to say what you are doing is not right. The " it takes a whole village to raise a child approach.

If Maori truly believe in Whanau Ora they need to show that it can be practiced at grass roots level it starts with them. So its about communities facing the problems within and dealing with them as individuals and collectively.

Paula Bennett's speech to the Iwi leaders has sent ripples through Maoridom and she has no doubt created some very powerful enemies who will try to undermine her rather than getting off there arses and into the homes of the their whanau and hapu who are killing and maiming their kids. That doesn't take money - just time and effort and some personal and tribal responsibility.

Bennetts stance is in stark contrast to that of Sharples. He is not just cuddling up to the gangs, he is playing a far more intimate game. It is extremely troubling and its a hallmark of the approach taken by Maori leaders of yesterday.

His calls for the Black Power to be treated differently than the rest of society sends the worst of all messages. It legitimises them and it sets them above the law. The only thing that Sharples should embrace are strategies to reduce the numbers of kids joining up and strategies to get the women away from men who kill and maim. Strategies that ensure that gang members and their kids find some respect for the law and understand the consequences of risky behaviour.

The Gang creed is still one of violence not peace and the only elements of Maori tikanga that they take on board are the showy ritualistic ones, the ones that dont actually do much for anyone but waste a shit load of time.

It is time for the strong women we see every day trying to do the best at the terrible cliff of evil that children are hurled off every day to take a greater role in leading

them away from the brink.

Simply said, the current crop of male Maori leaders have failed their people. It does not matter how many hotels they buy, how many tree they plant - it matters not a whit when the life of their mokos are shaken from them on a weekly basis.

The silly posturing antics we see every day down on the Marae and in the corridors of power as they strut their arrogance - is not saving our kids. Its time for them to stand aside let Maori women lead and let the true Maori renaissance begin.

Maori women like Paula Bennett - a woman who is Shakin the Tree.

BLACK DAY FOR BLACK POWER.

As our nation reels from the news that a little four year old boy  was attacked in Whakatane  for wearing a red tee shirt by a Black Power wannabe ( read prospect), we  are more incensed by the response from Black Power.

The abuse of the four-year-old, as his father's back was turned, is the latest of several violent gang "colours" incidents. It has sparked outrage within gang circles and from the police minister.
The little boy was screamed at, prodded, then had his shirt ripped off him as he played in Whakatane's Cutler Crescent reserve about 3.30pm last Thursday.
The street is home to many blue colour-coded Black Power members. The rival Mongrel Mob's colours are red.

Firstly one of the local leaders ( read bully and thug) says they are keeping a look out for the perpetrator and they will deal to him.

"We are not happy with this. We are keeping a watch out for the guy. If he is found we will give him a good clouting." 

Wrong , wrong , wrong.

It is not up to the gang to be police. It is not up to them to perpetuate the cycle of violence. It is not for them exercise any form of jungle justice.

It is for them to find the cowardly  thug who beats a four year old up for wearing a red shirt and turn him over to the authorities so that those who have the responsibility for law and order can administer it. This thug should be treated as any other young thug. That its not okay.

If he receives a " clouting " from Black Power then all that does is cement  Black Power's authority and diminishes the authority of the police and court system.

Black Power leaders say they are trying to change the gang culture from within but their response to this incident puts pay to that lie.

We are also extremely saddened by the response of   acknowledged gang advocate  Denis O'Reilly  as well. While admitting that this heinous act is beyond the pale for even hardened gangsters  he is still worried about the " shame "  that it will bring to the gang.

The only shame that Black Power should feel is that none of them have the balls to turn this violent bully over to the authorities for him to face the full   force of the law. By doing that the gang would show their followers that they do have some respect for the judiciary and that they acknowledge that it is not their place to play vigilantes.

It is up to people like Denis to say that the gang will bring the coward to the police. That what he has done is not acceptable. That they have respect for our law and order system that the rest of us abide by. 

Simply put - their response shows Black Power still  think like criminals and act like criminals. 

Until then they only deserve contempt from the rest of us. 

REALLY?

We ar off to a sparrrow fart  early breekie with PR and Communications types to hear  this fella talk. Eugene Ryder.  Thought we would do a bit of  home work  - we have crossed paths in our past. So it seems that Mr Ryder thinks that gang problems  stem from colonisation and that is worthy of a  treaty claim .

Pullleaaaase!...

apparently we are going to hear how to do PR for difficult types...  

The chick in charge of the NZ  Prostitutes Collective Catherine Healy is also going to talk on the same topic.

GOOD JOB

This family owes their existence to the State.


We were delighted to see that the missus of the Head of the notorious Harris Gang,Marcia Harris has been done for fraud.

Lets not forget her hubby  Darryl won Lotto .
So why and for how long have they been on welfare? 

We thinkl its superb she has been convicted..  Less money for them means more money for poor people who really need it.

GREAT FRIDAY - BITS AND BOBS!

We had a lunch with Cactus and a gang of young and eager ACT boys who are involved in the ACT conference this weekend. Had fun this week with Cactus. Talking shit and politics... in a week where there was a bit to talk about. Best night was Arbitrageur . Drunk a bit of Monteiths as well...

Lunch today was at Dockside. Food was average. But we did just order the fish and chups. Fish was not quite as fresh as it should have been. She had a duck pasta and reckoned it was pretty salty.

Sons girlfriend , Lanita has just won the ANZ inhouse photography comp called "ANZ in your world," and has an extra hundy in her pocket. She is mastering her SLR very quickly. And the idea of the ANZ written in coffee was quite creative.

And we are in the Wairarapa for the weekend.. YAY!

It looks like the paddocks might contain some tasty fungi. Yummo mushie soup!

And fav mushy soup recipe.

Sweat off some spring onions and just a rasher of bacon or prosciutto in butter then cut up some mushies and add a bit of white pepper... Do a roux - thats the flour and butter mix - then add some milk or cream depending on how much coating you have on your arteries.

Then chuck all the nice ingredients in with the white stuff stir and sprinkle over some parsley...

Done ...

NEW ZEALAND UNDERBELLY ON SHOW

We were not surprised to see that Malcolm Chaston the arsewipe charged with murdering Vanessa Pickering has Nazi connections.

Interestingly we discussed the violent and nasty underbelly that exists in Christchurch with some journalists and PR types, of who most were ex journos, over lunch on Friday. We all agreed that Christchurch had a very nasty underbelly.

In another life we advised the government on gang issues - in particular strategies to combat the rise of white power gangs in the South Island in the 80's.

The white power gang movement has always had a strong focus in Christchurch and Timaru.
They operate at a different level than ethnic gangs who tend to have a family centric approach to their structure and support.

We remember a very simple example of the basic differences in the gangs. Inmates once a week used to be able to buy "treats such as chocolate bars and lollies once a week. Some would have more money earned from prison work than others. So they used to pool their stuff and share it among the gang.

That never ever happened with the White Power gangs.

While the Ayrian Brotherhood, Fourth Reich, Skinhead types are groups with a common philosophical interest but their structure and operation is based on individual action. It is much more of an uber extreme political group. Absolute hatred is part of their mantra. They have no respect for women and are extreme racists.

They are like shithouse rats - very cunning , very committed but not necessarily smart.

We still think that they are the second most dangerous gang grouping in the country. Second only to the Headhunters who have become powerful, socially accepted drug dealers to the rich and famous.

Either way the police should be doing all it can to ensure that we do not see a rise of these gangs again like we did in the 80's.

NUMBERS

We speculated yesterday that in the wake of the new Asset recovery unit that Gang members would be shifting their money off shore..

While there were external forces at work the dollar headed south today so - we wonder just how much US currency has been bought by interesting kiwis in the last few days...