Uplifting Whanau Time & Harrowing World Press Photo Exhibition

Saturday 27 June

Another glorious day with wall to wall sunshine!

First outing was round the block with Albi - we went one street further today as she was gonna be home alone for much of the day. Loved the house on Parrish where they were training star jasmine off an arch onto crossed ropes to create a green X fence 💚 then passed the ex-PM, Jacinda Ardern's house on Camborne, which is now up for sale.

Next we scooped up Helen and headed into town for morning tea with Auntie Jean & Uncle Don - Helen & Jean grew up in Southland so are fascinated by our travels. Jean was proud to offer me a perfect cup of tea in her beautiful porcelain - thank you Jean! And I always love this amazing dancing horse artwork ❤️. The views out over the Harbour Bridge, Westhaven and beyond were looking pretty good too. I got Louis to take a pic of me in the lobby in my Shine On dress & jacket as I had an identical photo taken about 2 years ago...

From here we headed to Queen St for the World Press Photo Auckland exhibit which was (as usual) fascinating, eye opening and emotionally draining.

Climate change and catastrophic weather was a major theme - fires (Los Angeles & Galicia), droughts and flooding (in Mexico) to start; then when Typhoon Wipha hit the Philippines in July 2025, Jake & Jamaila refused to move their wedding date, so carried on through the high waters. The ice caps in the waters north of Svalbard, Norway, are receding so polar bears find it harder to capture seals - here one is seen scavenging on a dead sperm whale which had drifted northwards. In the Solomon Islands traditional dolphin hunting is now being replaced by seaweed farming, but their land is slowly sinking under rising waters so other environmental issues are at play here too.

Women were a big topic too - in the hijacked education images we see how war, extremism & displacement deny education to many around the world, particularly girls.

The progression and regression of their rights featured strongly - a Moroccan horse troupe (formerly a male preserve); Kenyan woman whose daughter was born in Saudi Arabia while she worked there, but the daughter is now stateless; Joburg ballet school - previously a reserve of white culture now offering subsidised training to the disadvantaged people of Soweto; a woman in a German care home sharing time with her social robot companion due to staff shortages; a displaced woman from Sudan scarred by fires at her previous camp; Afghan generations - babies born at risk at home with little access to care since recent US aid cuts.

Human disaster comes in many forms - the first pictures are of a scam centre in Myanmar which had been raided - their calls causing mayhem around the world.

The effects of dangers of agrotoxins at soya bean farms in Argentina 🇦🇷 were captured in black & white - children born with congenital malformations, workers dying of cancers, “basta es basta” - enough is enough!

Trump has a lot to answer for - the montage above shows the USA under Trump - ICE raids and arrests; homeland security at the Portland protests - a flashpoint for resistance; masked agents wait outside courtrooms to arrest “targets” who come to support their detained relatives - but there is some empathy as a security guard wipes away a tear as a mother & child lose dad to a detention centre. And Gaza - the enormity of destruction, sanctioned by Trump and his bestie Netanyahu, where a family holds on in the rubble of their destroyed home & neighbourhood 💔

Again women are so often the ones made to suffer - in the images below Engla Louise suffers for her art and the unrealistic body image expectations; she is a former ballerina from Sweden, crippled by anorexia - at 46 she weighs 25kg and has been tube-fed for 7 years 💔

Indigenous rights especially those for the women of these cultures are rarely upheld. This stunning image spoke to me deepest - Achi women in Guatemala, repressed for 40 years, suffering genocide, raped by men in authority and the military, finally winning a 14 year legal prosecution putting several of their rapists in prison. Collective resilience transforming a legacy of wartime impunity into a historic victory for justice 💔❤️

We may feel smug that we live in a land with a free press - but according to this 2025 world map, the best many of our Western nations can manage is "Satisfactory". Only Scandinavia and Eire came out with a glowing report card.

Quick snack at Elliott Stables then a detour to see Amy, Sarah & Dilligas (and the All Whites 🇳🇿 v Belgium 🇧🇪 first half) before heading home to a desperately excited Albi! I had lots of cuddles with my pusskin - quite reluctant ones as I fear he has not forgiven me the betrayal of December 2024.

Louis spent a fab evening with his surgeon friend Dean, and his mate Alex, at The Powerstation seeing The Veils in concert while Albi & I walked again then I wrestled with the misbehaving WiFi and tried to watch Bridgerton - took me over 2 hours to watch 1 episode… frustrating! The Veils were apparently excellent - maybe I should have gone too!