Witi Ihimaera, a pro breastfeeding rally & a lunatic car invader...what a weekend!

So much news, so many photos, an internet connection which FINALLY works, and...a flat camera battery. Almost perfect!

Part One: Witi Ihimaera.
As many of you will know I have an incurable addiction to Witi Ihimaera. Not him exactly, as I haven't been lucky enough to meet him, but to every word he writes. An addiction which once led to an escapade involving a map from the late 1800's, two crazy women and a small dog crusading around Poverty Bay retracing the steps of Te Kooti...Anyhow, that's another tale.

This Ihimaera hit was a fantastic play, which is touring NZ right now, called Whero's New Net.
Just superb. My friend & I went on our first baby-less adventure, leaving the little boys at home with the big boys. Go and see this play, even if you're not a crazed Ihimaera devotee you will love it. Great review on Scoop, I just can't find the words but the reviewer here has picked them perfectly.

Part Two: A Pro Breastfeeding Rally
A current scandal in Gisborne is the disgusting attitude of some local retailers & restauranteurs to breastfeeding women. One mother was sitting on a park bench in town, a retailer came out of a shop & told her she was breaking the law by indecently exposing herself in such a way, and she really should go home where nobody had to see her! Other mothers have been 'asked' to leave local cafes for the same reason.

These ladies didn't go home & feed their babies in rooms with closed doors , they went to the Human Rights Commission. Which led to yesterday's march - 100 or so Mums, Dads, Kids, Midwives & other supporters waving placards took on the retailers, walking down both sides of Gladstone road (the main shopping street). Fantastic! Not everyone was a supporter, namely the guy who hung out his car window & shouted "Perverts!". Hmmm. Lucky for us most people seemed to be supportive of our quest. Even our mayor, Meng Foon, was on board, right at the front of the march.

As one of the signs said, 'Do you eat your lunch in the toilet? Why should babies have to?'.

Jarvis even got to meet the mayor, which I think was the highlight of his day ;). Not many four month old babies get the chance to have a chat with Meng!

PS - We were on the TV3 news! Most exciting! My sister is the only one who managed to see the 1/100th of a second shot of me, but I know I made it onto the telly...

Part Three: A Lunatic Car Invader.
Most uncool event of the weekend. On our way out on Friday night (this is not a terribly chronological post!), we stopped at the traffic lights on Gladstone Road. A crazy man ran up to the car, opened the back seat, and tried to climb in! A tirade of F words started spilling out of my mouth at top volume, I was trying to reach back & slam the door on him before he got anywhere near Jarvis (who fortunately sits in the middle), and all the time he was looking at me with his scary crossed eyes and rambling something about this being the wrong car. Oh yes, it really was the wrong car. He is quite lucky I couldn't reach the back door properly & was too shocked to think of unbuckling my seatbelt & getting out of the car! (or maybe I'm lucky, I think one would be in trouble for breaking a guys arm in a car door, even if he was trying to invade?)

He eventually ran away & I locked all the doors, as I will every time I'm driving through town at night from now on. He was probably completely harmless, but when my little boy's sleeping in the back I'm not willing to take any chances!

In Conclusion...
Thanks for reading my mammoth post! Hopefully later on the camera batteries will be charged & I'll put up some gorgeous photos of this week's adventures.