http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz en-us Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:14:37 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/74425/my-summer-memory-miss-kaiteriteri/ Written by Sarah Ryder -  Forty-something-year-old me finds beauty contests absurd, outdated and frankly quite distasteful, but as a child, I would have loved nothing more than a placing in the annual Miss Kaiteriteri competition. Growing up in the 1980s, beauty contests were huge - particularly following New Zealander Lorraine Downes’s win in the Miss Universe competition in 1983.  For me, entering the Miss Kaiteriteri competition was just a normal part of the summer holidays -&nbsp... Wed, 17 Nov 2021 10:54:11 +1300 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post74425 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/73775/now-is-the-time-to-tell-your-story/ Written by Leane Wheeler - Now, if ever, is the time to tell your story. We will forever divide our lives into before and after Covid-19. Below are my reflections on how things have changed in such a short time. I wonder if you resonate? Sometimes I wish we could just go back to 2019 before all this… but when I look at how life was before Covid in 2019 in New Zealand, I am amazed at what a turbulent year it actually was. We started 2019 with out of control bush fires in Nelson which resul... Tue, 26 Oct 2021 17:29:31 +1300 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post73775 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/71516/kia-kaha-te-reo-maori/ Written by: the Forget Me Not Life Stories team - If you have children or grandchildren at school, you’ll know that nowadays te reo Maori and Maori culture play an important role in the New Zealand school curriculum. Children today understand and use more Maori words and pronounce them much better than most of us schooled in New Zealand in earlier decades. Kapa haka is a common sight at school events and Matariki – the Maori new year is widely acknowledged and celebrated. This year Maori Lan... Fri, 10 Sep 2021 14:03:00 +1200 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post71516 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/70634/the-clyde-reservoir/ An extract from Go Hard or Go Home by Stewart (Scuff) McSkimming: - The town reservoir sat at the northwest end of Clyde, on top of the hill as you enter the Cromwell Gorge. One day after school, aged about ten or eleven, Grant Sanders, Brian Holland, Gus Parks and I were up at the reservoir mucking about. We looked under a rock and saw a piece of steel hanging out.  Someone pulled it and it was about one-and-a-half metres long with a big square piece in the middle. It looked like... Mon, 23 Aug 2021 13:45:15 +1200 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post70634 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/69351/olympic-glory/ Written by Elaine Mead - Every four years the agony and the ecstasy of sporting dreams are played out before the watching world and I reflect on my family connection to New Zealand Olympics. The 1916 Summer Olympics, which were to have been held in Berlin, were cancelled due to World War One. When the Olympic Games resumed after the war, Antwerp was awarded hosting of the 1920 Summer Games as a tribute to the Belgian people. Previously, New Zealand sportsmen competed as part of an Aust... Mon, 02 Aug 2021 09:05:53 +1200 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post69351 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/65769/royal-reflections/ Written by Sarah Ryder - I’ve been reflecting on the royals, prompted no doubt by the much-hyped Oprah interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the recent passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the upcoming Queen's Birthday weekend.  A life of public service, duty and always being in the spotlight can’t be easy, yet royals such as Queen Elizabeth II manage it with dignity and aplomb.  Many of the life story clients I work with mention brushes with royalty in their s... Wed, 12 May 2021 10:04:37 +1200 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post65769 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/64605/are-we-making-progress/ Written by Samantha Cutler - I can smell autumn in the air and many Waikato dairy farmers will be heading towards the end of their milking year. All sounds as it has for years. So, what has changed within rural Waikato from sixty or seventy years ago? I’m lucky to have so many personal history memories to reflect upon. A florist remembered, “During the winter, florists based wreaths with heather and farmers sent 70lb bags to the flower market. The plant mostly grew by the roadside because fa... Thu, 15 Apr 2021 14:53:40 +1200 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post64605 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/63487/otago-central-rail-trail/ Written by Leane Wheeler - With our New Zealand borders closed, now is the perfect time to get out and explore what’s in our own backyard.  Recently I was lucky enough to experience a five-day cycle trip of the Otago Rail Trail. The Otago Central Rail Trail was built over sixteen years and completed in 1907.  It was initially built to transport supplies to and from the gold fields, but by the late 1980’s it was used less and less as road transport increased, and finally, the D... Wed, 17 Mar 2021 08:45:57 +1300 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post63487 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/62589/volunteering/ Written by Sharon McGaffin - According to one dictionary definition, a volunteer is “one who offers service”. Many organisations in New Zealand would be unable to carry out their work without the help of people who offer their services for free, e.g., the Fire Service, Citizens Advice Bureaus, Coastguard New Zealand, and opportunity shops. The work of volunteers contributes a lot of value to our country. NGOs, charities, social enterprises, environmental groups, sports teams, all rely o... Mon, 22 Feb 2021 13:42:42 +1300 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post62589 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/post/61088/every-vote-counts/ Written by Elaine Mead - Voting and number of votes have occupied headlines recently in both New Zealand and the United States of America.  Both countries recorded increased voter participation from previous years, almost 83% in New Zealand and nearly 63% in the United States, their highest voter turnout in over a century. Whilst closely fought, the outcome in both countries was clear – to those who choose to see it – and highlights the importance of having and exercising a voice in a n... Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:11:56 +1300 http://www.forgetmenotlifestories.co.nz/blog/#post61088