Opinion: Letters to the Editor

Massive love and respect to our Young Heroes!

To every single school-aged child, returning to school who walked with us adults through a time of the unknown and life-changing months, adults who went back to work to help their families and themselves, who put up with our adult insanities (and kindnesses), and who are also struggling.

Now they bravely walk back into the school arena, not knowing what they're going to face but still turning up! Bravo Young Heroes.

Cheers to the doctors and nurses who got clapped for doing their jobs so well. Bravo and thank you. We, the parents/grandparents/caregivers and carers are now clapping for ALL OUR YOUNG HEROES. Every single one of them in NZ, and the rest of the
world.

Please post this on and let's start the Young Heroes Movement by validating and letting every child know just how awesome and truly brave they are. Please read this aloud to your kids, from all of us adults who want them to know Just what HEROES they are.

With deep respect,

A.L. Fryer and Friends.

Plenty that unemployed can do

There is talk of unemployment, how does a country go to zero unemployment in one week? The benefit is not a lot of money, therefore one would only need to do two days a week for that amount.

Two days at work such as planting trees, grubbing thistles or any job for a farmer ... we could shout our farmers to help?

Bill Thomson Prosser

Thank you Whangamata, from a UK visitor

I came to New Zealand to spend Easter and Mother's Day with my family. Also I was on my own on April 20, which would have been our 55th wedding anniversary if hubby had not died in September. I'm so grateful for all the kindness shown to me by the people of Whangamata.

A great big thank you to all the people in Whangamata who made my life so much easier during lockdown away from the family in Auckland. I had so many offers and telephone numbers, of help if needed, during my walks on your beautiful beach - either by lifting their hands to say "hi" or asking how I was. While keeping a 2m distance, of course.

Special thanks go to my neighbours, Linda down the road, Herb and Helen up the road and to Jane, who provided me with a home-made face mask, and all the many others, including the medical centre which organised the necessary medication, the Whangamata Pharmacy who dropped them off, the Food Store next to the Post Office who were of great help when I could not find things and also the Whangamata Police, who supplied me with a very welcome gift.

However, shame on the greedy owner of [a named location] who kept on renting out the property at least six or seven times during lockdown, thus putting at risk the local cleaners who then could have put in danger the local population when shopping at the supermarket.

Sincerely,
A locked-down visitor from the UK