Mike Williams: Every Bay visit gives more reasons to return

Mike Williams

I visited Hawke's Bay last week to see a sick relative who's part way through a pretty taxing chemotherapy programme. The treatment seems to be working and I found him in good heart.

Not for the first time in recent times, I mentally thanked the first Labour Government which, in the late 1930's, began setting up what has developed into a world class free health system.

Every time I visit Hawke's Bay these days I seem to find more reasons to return and this time was no exception. If you have a little money in your pocket, visit a lovely boutique florist called Flourish on the corner of St Aubyn Street and Riverslea Road in Hastings. You'll find friendly people and gorgeous flowers. Go there. Treat yourself.
There aren't enough flowers sold these days and while I'm giving free plugs for deserving Hawke's Bay businesses, try a cheese and caramelised onion scone at The Little Black Bird Cafe in Market St (also in Hastings) with your morning coffee.

With a few hours to kill between commitments I visited St Matthews Church which I knew well from my childhood.

From the outside this venerable church is ordinary but as an internal space, it is just superb.

A visit there is a wonderful free experience. I was guided around by a warm and friendly volunteer whose name I wrote down and lost (thank you!).

She knew the varied and fascinating history of the church backwards but also knew the value of silence in a truly beautiful place which must qualify as a refined local work of art.
The stained glass windows are striking, especially in the Lady Chapel.

I've long been a fan of great churches and have seen some stunning examples in Europe, but the sense of history and serenity that St Matthews engenders is, in my view, matchless.

Encouraged by this experience and due for a meeting in Napier, I arrived early and visited the Waiapu Cathedral in Browning Street.

This was quite a different experience, though again there was a well informed volunteer to show me around and tell me about the history of the building.

This church is much younger than St Matthews in Hastings and was built over time to replace an earlier brick building that was entirely destroyed by the 1931 earthquake.

There is a fascinating display of photographs which shows that this older church was a real loss.

The current building's architecture is clearly influenced by the art-deco theme that pervades the rebuilt Napier CBD, but there is an attractive austerity about the internal space that invites reflection.

Mark, my guide, pointed out that the plaques that surround the nave of the church include one which commemorates Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ.

Judas' plaque consists of a large letter "J" and a rope, which refers to the report in the Gospel of St Matthew, that he committed suicide by hanging himself.

I found this pretty creepy even if Judas was one of Jesus' disciples but putting that one oddity aside, this is another beautiful space and I believe my guide when he told me that acoustics of the Cathedral were near to perfect.

Sometime this year I'm going to time a visit to attend one of the concerts or recitals that happen both in St Matthews and in Napier Cathedral.

Picking up a copy of Hawke's Bay Today I was delighted to see that the self-styled "campaign manager", Simon Lusk had risen to my lure and attempted to defend his silly prediction that the Tukituki electorate would be safely held by whatever National candidate showed up for the forthcoming election.

I've warned both the academic Claire Robinson and Simon Lusk in the past about the danger of making predictions in this unstable political environment, but without effect.

I criticised Simon Lusk in these pages to get the opportunity to remind him of his previous forays into tea-leaf reading.

Predictably, he couldn't resist the urge to take my bait.

In an interview with reporter Andrea Vance in 2013 he's quoted as saying that Labour had chance of winning Hamilton West, East Coast, Napier, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Otaki, Wairarapa and Invercargill in 2014.

In that case Simon got just one of his eight predictions right. This is worse than random probability.

However he goes on to say; "In 2017 I would expect Hamilton East, Rotorua and Tukituki to be in play."

Just in case you missed that.

In 2013 Simon Lusk predicted that Tukituki would be "in play" - in other words marginal - in 2017.

This statement directly contradicts what he wrote a couple of weeks ago and underlines the stupidity of putting electoral predictions onto paper.

If I was Simon I wouldn't be staking his reputation on any new predictions.

Mike Williams grew up in Hawke's Bay. He is CEO of the NZ Howard League and a former Labour Party president. All opinions are his and not those of Hawke's Bay Today.