Uncorked: Aloha with aroha

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Fortunately, I need not feel sorrowful, just sweetness, as it turns out I am departing the Weekly only partially.

Tuesday marked my last day as news editor. (If you missed the mention last month, apologies!) I have grown increasingly invested in Rotary – volunteerism in general – while working a job which transcends a traditional schedule. Something had to give.

I am blessed to have a doctor for a wife. Once she finished her training, Amy supplanted me as primary breadwinner. My wages, meagre by comparison, long ago became tip money … and here we’re in a country without much tipping.

Thus, full-time journalism gave way.

My zest for writing remains, though. I pen a column for my previous paper in the States, where local government interwove my reporting and opining. Even before covering Council for the Weekly, I regularly attended meetings in Council chambers.

Not many residents do. Councillors convene during daylight hours, typically on Thursdays, when people have their own business to conduct. It’s so uncommon to see an observer that the deputy mayor once mistook me for a staff member. Now, of course, we recognise each other.

Point is, almost exclusively, Marlburians learn about Council actions second-handedly, from local media or social media. My meeting accounts flow through both; based on readers’ responses, the coverage resonates.

So, to put a bow on my gift of gab, I am thrilled to share that the Weekly’s powers-that-be have retained me on a casual basis to write about Council. (I also may write about arts for Marlborough Magazine.)

When I joined the newsroom, following William Woodworth’s exodus to Auckland sport radio, I expressed my vision for this publication as Marlborough’s trusted friend. Thank you to the colleagues and readers who have seen the Weekly, and me, as such. May that long continue!

Email [email protected] to contact the author.