Opinion from the Midweek desk

With masks being a compulsory part of our accessories collection these days, I happened to look at a nearby office supply of disposable face masks, marketed under the brand name of 'Health Warrior', with the gap in the capital 'A' cunningly designed to look like a blue cross (it was a blue background). I was pleased to see the masks are designed in New Zealand. But, hang on, they are made in China.
Is this the same China where the Government is cracking down on dissent — that is, opinion contrary to the Party line — and removing all memorials and references to the pro-democracy protesters killed by Chinese authorities in Beijing in 1989? We remember it as the Tiananmen Square massacre, and we probably have an enduring memory of a man, on his own, standing in the way of a line of tanks.
I'm not sure I want to be buying products made by factories in such an oppressive regime. By purchasing goods made in China, am I silently endorsing their anti-democratic methods and their alleged atrocities against those who dare think for themselves? I don't feel happy about that. I think I would rather buy from a New Zealand manufacturer, if I can.
Fortunately, a local Whanganui manufacturer is making the approved P2 respirators, along with a variety of face masks, and you can buy them online. QSI has been making face masks for years and this is where we should be shopping for all our Covid-19 related products. They make hand sanitiser, wipes, official Covid-19 signs and instructions, latex gloves and PEP gear.
This is not an ad ... just saying.

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Beginning in Week 2 of this term, Rick Baum is going to endeavour to run a big band for students. While the group will mostly be secondary students, he says he is open to students of all ages. Anyone who wants to join will have a spot, even if it means doubling parts. The one requirement is that students must be able to read music, as it is the only way for a larger group to function properly. Anyone interested can get in touch with Rick Baum on 021 170 9562.

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Is there an upside to mask-wearing? With facial clues, lip movement and the all-important smile removed from the verbal communication equation, we are left with no alternative but to enunciate like we have never enunciated before.
Lazy speech is no longer an option as we try to talk to each other through layers of germ deflecting material. To be understood, to be heard, we need to speak so much more clearly than we used to do, practising speech therapists excepted, of course.
Most older people require more than just the sound of speech to understand what is being said. Body language, facial expressions and basic lip-reading are all part of the way in which we understand what someone is saying, because very few speakers have great diction. By wearing a mask, we are covering non-verbal clues so the only alternative is to enunciate clearly. Speaking louder just creates a muffle at greater volume, when what we need is clarity. Masks may have just come to the rescue of all who have been in despair at the decline of spoken language. Now, to be understood, every vowel and consonant has achieved value and must be treated with respect. No more grunts, mumbles, murmurs or mutters. Just clear expression, and strong, articulate phonation. Think of it as compulsory elocution lessons. Your listeners will thank you for it.

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The OECD, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as it is less commonly known, is an organisation staffed by people who sit at a desk for a living. They have recommended that New Zealand raise the age at which citizens are eligible for Government superannuation. Others within New Zealand have suggested the same, and they too are desk jockeys.

What we should be doing is asking those who stand all day on the factory floor, those who pour concrete, carry bricks around on building sites, labour in the hot sun or chilling cold. We should be asking people who work for minimum wage in retail, empty rubbish bins, clean places where filth is a constant. We should be asking those who work as caregivers, lifting people from bed to bath, giving all their empathy to those who need someone to do most things for them. Ask those people if it's okay to add a few more years' backbreaking toil to their lot before they can access a meagre pension. Ask them if it's okay if they spend more years worrying if their health and age-related physical problems will allow them to cope with a job that's already too hard.

Why would we listen to someone in a suit whose idea of hard work might be at the gym, or falls on the weekend when they might mow their lawn or do a bit of gardening?
For most New Zealand workers, Government superannuation is the only pension to which they will be entitled. Most do not get a career-related handout in their twilight years, so that meagre handout is all they are going to get after decades of paying taxes.
But it's the well-off, the well-padded and the very comfortable who call for a raise in the superannuation age. Seriously? They wouldn't have a clue. Perhaps we should look at the overpaid if we want to save the Government some money. Just a thought.