Maggie Rainey-Smith

Chuck and bloody Mary eh!

Ha, love the wordplay. But yep, I reckon he wouldn't be in there if it wasn't safe. I'm across the other side in Eastbourne and our water is perfectly okay (I always check my LAWA app) and swim all year round... LAWA confirming which beaches safe and just don't swim too far out.

A place to meet There’s clay on my walking shoe treadI’ve thread my way down the zig zagto the local café after the storm, dodgingmanuka overhang, dollops of clay clodson the pathOf birdsong I hear little, just mo…

Our local (after the storm) erhem, lovely image taken on a brighter day some time ago

acurioushalfhour.com/2026/02/17/a...

What the Epstein Files Reveal About How Elite Worlds Work | The Ezra Klein Show YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show

youtu.be/eBnQ6qxoMr8?...

This is so worth your time to listen to. Intelligent, thoughtful deconstruction of Epstein's 'empire'... and how he managed it.

They are extraordinary in their ability to deflect.

So Hwak Haeng (Small but certain happiness) Between the Feijoa and the Plum is a fledgling Kowhai and two Rotary clotheslines like totems from the fifties from one of which hangs her blue school woven knit shirt…

A poem inspired by a view from the spa and rotary clothelines...

acurioushalfhour.com/2026/02/12/s...

Ata mārie The moon’s an albino hedgehog this morning nibbling on the skyA lone seagull flies low like a stalling Cessna over the Vellumpaper sea, as the 83 motors by followed by a red New World trucktelling …

The moon is an albino hedgehog nibbling at the sky this morning ...

acurioushalfhour.com/2026/01/07/a...

Perfect word.

Summer afternoons Our local korimako has set up shop to taunt us with their melodyInsistent, tuneful, repetitive, hiding we think in the giant macrocarpawe spot tui dancing from pohutukawa to cabbage tree and eucaly…

acurioushalfhour.com/2026/01/05/s...

Although I don't mind a good game of cricket....

And Kent Terrace too?

Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty

The Sea I wake to my alarma song I loveplay Wordle whenas a child, I mighteven have prayedbriefly I considerseductionbut it’s getting lateI have a datewith the sea

acurioushalfhour.com/2026/01/01/t...

Apply Now: Te Tupu Hauroa Development Grants 2026 The Māori Literature Trust invites submissions from mid-career Māori writers seeking to undertake development opportunities between February – May 2026.

Kia ora koutou — Te Waka Taki Kōrero/The Māori Literature Trust has opened applications for two grants (up to $6K) for mid-career Māori writers. Applications for Te Tupu Hauora close on 30 Jan, 2026. All info on the website linked below. Mauri ora!

mlt.org.nz/te-tupu-haur...

What to say To a man who ran out of his waywithout a thought for himselfinto the face of slaughterHis mum is proud, the gunmandead, the rest of us are readingabout him, amazedwe are full of praise and wonderif…

acurioushalfhour.com/2025/12/15/w...

Been chatting about poetry over on Twitter (X) and then discover this lovely shout out. So of course, I feel obliged to retweet or whatever one says on BlueSky #thecubapress

That's such a cool call out just before Christmas. Thank you!! It seems I was logged out of BlueSky and so just renewed my password for this lovely affirming message.

Face to face on Insta We used to meet in cafes, face to faceNow I lie resplendent on fresh linen to scrollwhile Annabel is talking earnestly from France(to me), well not really, she’s got followersAnd she’s not the only…

acurioushalfhour.com/2025/08/09/f...

a scrolling from the bed kinda poem

When life gives you grandchildren When life gives you grandchildren(while watching Life gives you Tangerines)Watching Netflix, Korean drama aboutHanyeo, Jeju, places I know as a touristVolcanic rock, women divers, motherhoodI’m dri…

acurioushalfhour.com/2025/07/11/w...

I haven't read it and had no inclination to see the film - it all sounded a bit 'schmaltzy' for me. You'd think the publishers would at least do some investigations re a story (and film) before going to print etc.... sigh.... ah well, perhaps they can pay back all their debts now.

The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ... Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...

Oh dear, so many 'good cause' fund raisers of late ... observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

www.facebook.com/events/14255...

A view of the world A view of the worldElton John’s yellow brick road races across towards our house from Matiu SoamesMid Winter, the sun dropping in its usual show-offy way, exploding grey cloudsI’m chopping a red on…

acurioushalfhour.com/2025/06/19/a...

The night before cataract surgery ...

Yes, I'm a big fan of Mary Doria Russell. She's been posting her outrage about Trump non-stop since he was elected.

I found this post with your name on it, reposted to author Mary Doria Russell's Facebook page (I follow her)... that's how I found you here on bluesky just now.

The irony is that lots of publishers would have loved to send info about upcoming books for a nationally syndicated summer reading list. What a waste!

This kind of reckless contract-cancelling to meet an arbitrary savings figure and please a minister is by no means limited to Oranga Tamariki (although OT seems particularly bad). It has happened across the care sector.

OMG did she. So sorry she said such a vile thing about your amazing brother. She recently described okaying the new huge Defence Budget as like 'giving birth'... And we wonder why Andrea resorted to certain language eh.

The Sisterhood Brooke Van Velden has a way with the flick of her haira nonchalant movement that says to us all, she just doesn’t careNot a wit or a worry about changing the Bill that will stop fair payment claims…

A wee response poem to the Pay Equity Bill

acurioushalfhour.com/2025/05/08/t...

Time to resurrect my Easter Poem

acurioushalfhour.com/2012/04/05/m...