Flynn and his friends at the South Wairarapa Veterinary Services:

Update on Flynn (the horse with nine lives):   Flynn has had his operation and is doing very well now, thanks to the kind, compassionate, professional team at the South Wairarapa Veterinary Services.  I am delighted, and very grateful indeed, as are all the local kids (and grown up kids) who love Flynn and his fellow FOCKCer horses, Brutus, Patrick, etc.  They've been mates for many years

Friends of Caring Kiwi Communities (the FOCKCers) own three horses in Carterton, Flynn is the eldest.  He developed a tumour on his sheath a while ago, so of course I contacted the vet, who examined him.  Since arriving in the Wairarapa over eleven years ago I've used the services of South Wairarapa Veterinary Services, and always been impressed by their professionalism.  Peter Morriss examined Flynn.  Peter upholds the impeccably high standards set by the legendary Rodger Gillett, who recently retired.  The vets confirmed that although the growth was unsightly, it wasn't causing him any immediate harm, any apparent pain, or any significant discomfort, and that he was in otherwise tip top condition and had a very good quality of life for the time being.  We were all aware that the growth was growing and that action had to be taken in the fairly near future but there was no need to euthanase the horse.  Peter invited his colleague who also specialises in equine surgery to give a second opinion, and after some deliberation it was decided that it was feasible to attempt to remove the tumour.  Furthermore, the SWVS kindly offered to perform the operation free of charge, in the interests of educating junior veterinarians and gaining experience.

On 22nd November 2012 Jane, Peter and Emily successfully removed the tumour in a challenging two hour operation, with others observing for educational purposes.  

Jane carefully examined him, listening to his heart for a long time, measuring him to estimate his weight in order to calculate the correct dose of the sedative.

It was touch and go a few times, there was a lot of blood, Flynn decided he had to lie down half way through the operation, after all the sedative we had to give him, which wasn't part of the plan (the vets had hoped to perform the operation with him standing up, sedated, using local anaesthetic.  The team moved on to Plan B and just got on with the job.  Blood spurted from all the blood vessels as Peter and Jane worked fast to stitch them all up, with Emily handing them instruments flat out and providing great support.  It was amazing to watch the speed at which they worked, it seemed to take forever.

Flynn stopped breathing a few times, Jane told me to lift up his head, and I give him a jolly good speaking to, telling him to pull up his socks and do his bit and BREATHE.  Finally he'd take a breath again each time, and finally, after what seemed like hours (the whole thing took a couple of hours) the stitching was all finished, and Jane administered the antidote for the sedative as they worked flat out to clean Flynn up and wash and put away all the equipment.  In a little while Flynn woke up, got to his feet, neatly avoiding the big mass of clotted blood on the ground, and started eating the grass as if nothing had happened.  I felt like all my Christmases had come at once.

Flynn and his two fellow Community Garden horses provide a great service to the community, providing riding for the disabled, the bullied, the abused kids, the ones with funny lumps growing out of them, and big scars (some you can see and some you can't), and all the other kids round here who think hanging out with horses is a better idea than going off and committing suicide or something.

Spending time with horses builds confidence, empathy, respect, relationship skills, communication skills, it's a great thing, and Flynn, Brutus and Patrick benefit the kids round here more than they benefit me.  We'd like to establish a fund to enable the SWVS to do other operations for animals in the community like this.  The SWVS do other work they're not paid for too, such as when people bring them animals who have been hit by a car and the owner can't be found, people who can't afford to put their pets down but don't want them to suffer, and other things to help people and animals in the community.

Please support the work of the South Wairarapa Veterinary Services, they do a lot of work in the community for which they don't receive payment, and the fact that they offered to do this operation for Flynn free of charge says a great deal about their commitment to the community, their high ethical and professional standards, and the character and calibre of the vets who work for their practise.  They have looked after Flynn and his mates for over twelve years, and they've always provided absolutely top quality professional services to us, and to everyone we know.

It's good for kids to learn that just because you're old and you've got a lump doesn't mean you should automatically be thrown on the scrap heap.  Flynn's always loved taking little kids for rides, he's made it his mission in life and his specialty.  I told him years ago that if he looked after the kids, I'd always look after him.  And he always has, and it's just wonderful that Peter and Jane offered to operate on him so he can carry on his good work, showing kids how to have fun, make friends, learn to trust, build confidence, etc.

People who care about animal welfare should consider making a donation to the SWVS to enable them to set up a little fund to perform other procedures on animals in need, for the benefit of the vulnerable in the community (like a lot of the people who enjoy spending time with Flynn), for educational purposes, humane purposes, etc.  This is a really good way to provide direct assistance to animals in need, and recognise all the work that these veterinarians do in our community that people don't always know about.

Jane and Peter removed Flynn's stitches yesterday, he's looking as healthy (and handsome) as ever

Donations (fan mail, etc,) can be sent to South Wairarapa Veterinary Services, 8 High Street South, Carterton  5713.

Alcohol and journalism don't mix:

The question mark in the title of this article is a real Freudian slip. This is a work of fiction, designed to cover up a firmly entrenched local problem of alcohol abuse. Police support and condone it because they are among the worst offenders.

Sam Priestley died after being pressured to drink a yard glass of beer in the family home and then go to the pub and drink some more. The reporter, Nathan Crombie uses words like "the traditional quaff" "cheered on by family and friends", etc, to try and 'normalise' and excuse this behaviour. Sam was a really, really nice guy, his mother worked with me at St Matthews Collegiate, as a Boarding Matron, she is an alcoholic, she encourages and approves of this culture of alcohol abuse and is in total denial of the fact that alcohol was almost certainly involved in the death of her son, and was almost certainly the cause of it. Recently it has been reported in the news that the Department of Corrections is stating it is dangerous to drink a similar quantity of WATER in a short period of time.

Nathan Crombie is a great supporter of this sick attitude to alcohol and bending the truth to the point of lying, it's time to have a good look at the journalists who shape the opinions of the community with this fiction. They invent and fabricate stories like this to protect their friends and their reputations.

This attitude of denial, and "cheering on" this "traditional quaff", is causing the problem. Five days after Sam died people who should have known better were proclaiming that it had "nothing to do with alcohol or drugs." - Alcohol IS a drug for goodness sake and this kind of "reporting" isn't journalism - it's FICTION and propaganda!  It was another year or so until the Coroner's report.

Five days after Sam died, the irresponsible authors of fiction at the Wairarapa Times-Age published the following:

"Sam died suddenly of an undetermined medical condition at his 21st birthday party at the Homestead Tavern on Saturday."

Mr Phillips said it was "not pills or booze or anything like that" that led to Sam's death, but "faulty wiring was probably the best way to describe it".

Sam's father, Randall Priestley, agreed with this assessment, but added an alternative view.

"Maybe his heart was overfull ? look at everyone here." (sic).

An undetermined medical condition is one that doesn't exist yet basically.

Recently another young man died, and it will be a long while before it's known exactly what caused his death - if ever. It's possible it may be to an undetermined medical condition, but it's important to examine the decisions of coroners.

This is a link to another creative decision from a Coroner. This young woman expressed a clear intent and a plan, and then took the action she said she would for the reason she gave, no matter how much others don't like that, and the decision that it isn't suicide is outrageous quite frankly. If it's not, if it's "text bullying" - then the NZ Police need to charge Rachel Betteridge and her husband forthwith for sending me messages saying "you need a bullet" and "watch your back" - not to mention PERJURY!

Betteridge lied to police, I did not send her "over 60 offensive text messages" at all - I didn't send her ONE offensive text message! Statements from two Justices of the Peace, George Groombridge and Ken English, state clearly that they examined the phone Betteridge alleges she received the messages from, and found those two threatening and offensive messages FROM Betteridge in the text message 'Inbox'.

Smith Hare and Christison Ltd, Mobil garage Carterton - WARNING:

"Bobster the Mobil Man" (Facebook),
Chief Thief at Smith Hare & Christison.

Having spent $36 just on train fares yesterday to get to Wellington for the hearing of the corruptly laid charges (23.11.10), I went to the eftpos machine today at about 11:30 a.m. to withdraw some money and noted that the balance of my bank account was not what it should have been, so immediately rang my bank. They were able to tell me that a transaction withdrawing $60 had occured at local Mobil service station Smith Hare and Christianson at 8:49 a.m. this morning using my Eptpos card. I told the bank that I hadn't been anywhere near Smith Hare and Christianson for weeks, and that there was no chance whatsoever that my card had been used there at that time because it had definitely been in my possession elsewhere.

I immediately went to Smith Hare and Christianson and asked to see the manager, told him what the bank had told me, and requested the CCTV camera footage for the time the transaction was carried out, only three hours previously. He told me he wasn't going to give it to me, or show it to anyone. I asked for a pen and paper to write the request on, and a phone to call police, he told me he was going to ring the police himself and have me charged with trespass, just like he did when I requested the footage of Gary McPhee assaulting me at Smith Hare and Christianson on another occasion.

Then I remembered the incident that occured a week or two ago when I went to Smith Hare and Christison and used my eftpos card. There were two young males in Mobil uniforms behind the counter, Bob the Mobil man and another one, and when I asked if I could get cash with my Cashpoint card, they looked slyly at each other, took my card out of my hand, then told me that the eftpos machine wasn't working, and then produced one of those old credit card machines which you put the card in. Then put the paper receipt on top of it and then slid the thing across the paper which imprints the card details onto the paper. I smelled a rat at the time, as I watched the staff members smirking at each other, but needed cash urgently to catch a train. As I thought about that incident I realised that the theft of the card details had occured during that transaction, and that a staff member had committed the theft by using those details at 8:49 this morning.

When I put this to the manager, he and the other staff laughed at me, ordered me to leave, and abused me. As I watched them closely, I realised that this has been going on there for a long time, there's certainly no shortage of naive and gullible people in the Wairarapa, and it was clearly obvious that the management and staff at Smith Hare and Christianson are all in this together. This became even more obvious when I asked for a pen and paper to make the request for the CCTV footage, and a formal complaint, in writing, and a phone to call the police, and the manager refused to provide either, and made it crystal clear with his mocking, laughing, arrogant and aggressive attitude that they all thought it was a real joke. They laughed even harder when I said I was going to report it to the local police, everyone knows how corrupt they are, and I bet they've been turning a blind eye to this particular little scam for years. I was then threatened and assaulted by the duty manager "Blaine" (according to his badge) and the junior staff.

This is the thief, his name's Bobby apparently, look at the smart alec, posing for the camera, when I went back to get a snap of him. He's a disgrace to his family, a disgrace to Mobil NZ and a disgrace to the Wairarapa and Carterton in particular. I intend to repost this every time I see him on duty at Smith Hare and Christison, until my $60 is returned and he is sacked or charged with theft (preferably both), he has a history of this apparently, and a real attitude, which is obvious from the photo.

On the way to report the matter to the police, a woman in a big silver four wheel drive RV opened her car door without looking on the main street, causing me to fall off my bike and graze my knee and hands as I had to swerve to avoid hitting the door. Then the stupid woman denied it. I was wearing a bright red t shirt and wasn't hard to spot, I was watching her intently at the time, as I watch all parked cars for this very reason, and I saw her head clearly and she did NOT look, which is the reason I had time to swerve, because I knew she was going to do it, and tried to brake and avoid it. The average driver pulls into the kerb, glances in the mirror as they undo their seat belt and then swings the door wide open without another thought. I heard some bystander say "where's your bike helmet" - I hear it every day as I ride round Carterton from all the pathetic small minded idiot people who feel moved to shout it out at me ad infinitum. The same people who swing their car doors wide open without a second thought, on a daily basis. Like I've said before, when motorcyclists have to wear high visibility vests I might wear a cycle helmet. I have a doctors letter explaining why I should be exempted. High visibility vests actually PREVENT accidents, whereas a cycle helmet is NO USE WHATSOEVER until AFTER an accident has occurred. Simple common sense. Funny how the gutless wonders of the Wairarapa like to shout abuse at me regarding whether or not I wear a helmet on my push bike, but are too cowardly to say anything about big fat Gary McPhee smashing down the door of innocent people and smashing them over the head with a weapon. Says everything about the cowardly, ignorant, thieving bullies who inhabit the Wairarapa.

When I confronted 'Blaine' and 'Bobby', their reaction made it obvious that they do this regularly. They laughed when I asked for a phone to call police, abusing and threatening me, 'Bobby' went outside and started wheeling my bike up the road, and Blaine called the police and told them I was trespassing. Local corrupt police refused to take my complaint and threatened to arrest me for trespass.

The matter is still under investigation. In the mean time, I'd go to another garage, or if you must go to Smith Hare and Christison Mobil "service" station in Carterton, make sure this little thief doesn't "serve " you.