TheSarapocalypse*

🙈🙉🙊

I. Just. Can't.

So much joy in a dress with pockets!

Oo - trying to judge it - iron first, then sew, plus the tape insert. Maybe 8-10 an hour? A long evening maybe 40? They're beautiful!

Oo - not just clever, but cute to boot! 😍

Very pleased!

Screenshot from website https://copenhagenizeindex.eu with the following information Regional ranking North America 1. Montréal (15) 2. Québec (29) 3. Vancouver (30) 4. Portland (35) 5. Minneapolis (44) Latin America 1. Niteroi (43) 2. Bogota (51) 3. Fortaleza (69) 4. Guadalajara (73) 5. Buenos Aires (75) Europe 1. Utrecht (1) 2. Copenhagen (2) 3. Ghent (3) 5. Amsterdam (4) 5. Paris (5) Africa 1. Quelimane (83) 2. Kisumu (94) 3. Addis Ababa (98) 4. Nairobi (99) 5. Ouagadougou (100) Asia & Oceania 1. Christchurch (38) 2. Taipei (39) 3. Wellington (47) 4. Fukuoka (48) 5. Seoul (58)

Wow! So great to see Christchurch is the best cycling city in the Asia and Oceania! 38 overall is very good too!

All this is only due to advocates and citizens pushing elected leaders! Let's keep up the good work!

cyclingchristchurch.co.nz/2025/11/30/a...

So many people I respect in TVNZ but how is it possible for one news tonight to describe Mcskimming as merely having had an affair with a junior staffer or to report on all the devastation in south east Asia as a natural disaster with not a single mention of climate change as an underlying driver?

Just finished The Impossible Fortune - #5 in The Thursday Murder Club series. So good that @christchurchlib.bsky.social has lots of copies and there're 195 holds! However, there are a few set aside as Best Sellers on the shelves at $3 for 7 days (no holds allowed), so biked to Spreydon yesterday 😃📚🚴🏿‍♀️

I used to use it in my English classes to look at film and documentary techniques. Brilliant.

Congrats!

SuperVery SuperVery: joyful magnets, badges, and native bird wall art sets celebrating Kiwiana icons & vibrant patterns. Gift-ready with eco packaging and careful finishing. Perfect for unique presents, galle...

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12. More RNZ and current affairs and environmental podcasts than music... but love the 80s and also have a feminist type playlist on Spotify for the 'those' days. Kiwi music - Marlon Williams and Gin Wigmore fan.
13. Love Ethique and similar eco-friendly options.

Responding to a few questions from @witchnwords.bsky.social
10. A native bird and critter fan rather than cats or dogs
11. No 'gaming', but love Scrabble and am out of score sheets. A Wordle/Connections/Strands fan too.
10. Don't really watch a lot of tv or movies, but love Taskmaster and Survivor

'It just seems cruel': Councillor shocked by comments after cycling accident Councillor Julie Fairey has become accustomed to abusive comments - but she was still stunned.

The abuse Julie Fairey copped after being HIT BY A CAR is exactly what happens when we treat online harm as background noise. Women in politics bear the brunt, especially women of colour. Until NZ actually regulates platforms properly, this will keep happening #nzpol

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

A lovely gathering in Hagley Park this evening for Trans Remembrance Day. Sadness, anger, fear - but also hope, resilience and pride. Heartfelt and heart-wrenching stories, including from a mum who now needs to tell her daughter she won't be able to get the care she needs. A lot of tears. 💙🤍🩷

Oh wow! They're gorgeous 😍

8. Self care items are lovely - it's been a busy year and I'm enjoying having some time to myself.
9. Conservation/environment themes are my favorite esp the bush/mountains, native floral and fauna
10. Have checked the Routeburn dates and Opening Day is day one, so I'll open before setting off 😁

This is so cool!

Ōtautahi's doing so well atm precisely because of the people-centred investment and I'm gutted to hear about the back tracking on the Golden Mile in Pōneke. I hope the review actually looks at the full benefits, not just the costs.

I'm currently having time off before deciding on next steps - and enjoying central city living, walk n the botanic gardens, catching up with friends, going for walks and bike rides.

What @witchnwords.bsky.social said! 👇 I've got some hints in my pinned post at the top of my page and will pop some more up in the next day or so. You can find out more about me by googling too as I've had a bit to do with calling out online harassment and was a Chch City Councillor for 9y 🚲🌳♻️

Best discovery recently was Pics with cracked pepper!! So good. Haven't seen it on the supermarket shelves, but it was at their stall at the Go Green Expo. I now frequently pepper my peanut butter on toast 😋

A sticker that says "trans are taonga," meaning that trans people are a special treasure of Aotearoa.

Trans kids deserve better
#nzpol

Fyi: The Press is paywall free today if you're keen to catch up on any news from Ōtautahi 📰

The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) condemns today's decision from Minister of Health Simeon Brown introducing a ban on new prescriptions of GnRH analogues (puberty blockers) for transgender children and young people who are not currently on them. This ideologically driven ban will have a devastating impact on the lives and wellbeing of our transgender and gender diverse young people. We know that children, young people and their whanau will be highly distressed by this decision. We also acknowledge health professionals' frustration at the way their expertise has been ignored and disregarded. "The ban will lead to a deterioration in mental health, increased risk of suicidality and increased dysphoria in gender diverse children and young people, and will put them at a higher risk of experiencing marginalisation and discrimination," says Dr Elizabeth McElrea, GP specialist in gender affirming care and PATHA Vice-President. "The prescribing of puberty blockers is always undertaken with the utmost care and consideration. They have been prescribed safely for decades for transgender children and banning their use will lead to profound distress in this already vulnerable group." This decision is not supported by the Ministry of Health's November 2024 evidence brief on this care.

This decision is not supported by the Ministry of Health's November 2024 evidence brief on this care. While the evidence brief identified some limitations in the academic quality of evidence regarding the risks and benefits of GRH analogues, limitations in evidence quality are common across a number of areas of medicine, especially within paediatric medicine, and do not justify a ban on access. "PATHA supports evidence-based medicine, which consists of three key components: academic evidence, clinical experience, and patient preferences and values," says Dr McElrea. "When the quality of available academic evidence is of lower quality, it's incredibly common for clinicians to lean on guidelines drawn from clinical experience." "Practising medicine, and paediatric medicine (not just within gender affirming healthcare), often necessitates providing care without a high-quality evidence base. The absence of high-quality clinical evidence does not mean providing this care is wrong." "Children benefit from innovative medical treatments that improve their survival and quality of life. Pediatric care would all but cease if physicians denied treatments for which the evidence base is imperfect." (McNamara et al., 2024, p. 15) 'An Evidence-Based Critique of "The Cass Review" on Gender-affirming Care for Adolescent

The new restrictions will be in place until the conclusion of clinical trials in the United Kingdom, which are not due until at least 2031. "In no other area of care would life-saving medication be withheld from a vulnerable population for six years. This will have a traumatic impact on a generation of transgender children," says Avery Zavoda, PATHA Executive Committee member. PATHA is strongly against the decision. It is a shocking act of discrimination against transgender children and young people. "That New Zealand First announced this news three hours before the Minister of Health shows the way this care has been politicised, and how politics have been prioritised over the wellbeing of New Zealand children," said Zavoda. "Banning puberty blockers will not prevent children from being transgender, despite the disinformation New Zealand First are promoting," says Jennifer Shields, PATHA President. "It's obvious that this has been a political decision made to appease a coalition partner based on an imported culture war, rather than a medical recommendation reflecting the expertise of NZ clinicians and researchers who have been working in this field for over 25 years." Identify, a 2022 New Zealand research survey on the experiences

Identify, a 2022 New Zealand research survey on the experiences of rainbow young people showed "the proportion of young people who wanted puberty blockers and were able to use them was nearly half the number of young people who wanted these medications but could not access them." These findings made it clear that the prescription context and existing regulations "did not result in the easy access to young people who wanted puberty blockers that some people have claimed existed. In fact, the results demonstrate a seriously constrained prescription context that urgently needs further attention to be more equitable." "We call on the Ministry of Health to publish their consultation report immediately, so that health professionals, trans people, and the wider public can see that this decision has been made by politicians rather than based on clinical experience," says Shields. "We also look forward to the Minister now immediately allowing the updated guidelines for gender affirming healthcare to be published." "We also call on Labour, the Green Party, and Te Paati Mãori to commit to reversing this harmful decision if they are elected into government next year. Our communities need the reassurance that this ban will not last." "PATHA is committed to ensuring all trans children and children experiencing gender dysphoria have access to the best quality care.

PATHA's statement has been published: patha.nz/news

Goodness from my parents' garden this morning - yes, that's 20 good sized grapefruit 😋 Beautiful, expensive-tasting pulpy grapefruit juice in my future.

'I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side.' (Maya Angelou)

#MondayMotivation
#MondayThoughts
writingforwellbeing.co.uk

The Clean Car Standard requires importers to improve the average emissions of the imported fleet over time, or pay a penalty. Turns out there was a third option: do nothing and lobby the government to delete the penalty. Well spotted @robertmclachlan.bsky.social

Four coasters printed with my illustrations of native birds. Pictured are tauhou, kākā, ruru and kākāriki.

My "Kiwi on the couch" illustration in a black frame. A rather rotund kiwi wearing glasses is lying feet up on the couch, snuggled with a small grey tabby cat, watching the telly. Through the window behind him you can see the Avalon Studios tower and Eastern Hutt Hills.

Starting to think about shopping small and local for presents?

I make all my products myself, mostly from fabrics I've designed myself.

You can find my homewares at birdandbeach.co.nz, which is the business I run with my husband. (You can also follow us here at @birdandbeach.bsky.social.)