Hitchhiker out of news loop
"I was heading into Whangarei, p***** off about the drive north because traffic kept me held up for two hours, when I saw a hitchhiker," writes a reader. "I picked the dude up. We talked for an hour or so about a bunch of stuff - how he worked for four months in Antarctica drilling holes for scientists, how he used the proceeds to travel the world the other eight months of the year, how he doesn't get back to California that often, how at 34 he's starting to feel a bit grown up for the backpacker tribe.
We also talked about the meditation retreat he had been in for 10 days in the countryside just north of Auckland. For 10 days, silence and contemplation - no outside disturbances, no electronics, no nothing except peace and a search for tranquillity of spirit. 'The last news I saw before going in was the inauguration,' he said. 'Trump was just being sworn in as President. I couldn't believe it man - it felt like we were all being punked.' I agreed and said, yes, it felt unreal. But then, I added, a lot which had happened since felt unreal. 'What?' he asked. 'Has stuff happened since he got sworn in?' I dropped him off about 20 minutes later ... 'so then he sacked the attorney general and - get this - put out a press release in which he called her a traitor' ... and the guy had this expression on his face that was awful."
People power
"Anti-homeless" spikes installed in Manchester city centre, aimed at deterring rough sleepers, have been removed following protests by local people, who covered them with cushions.
