Thanks for all the feedback on the policing story last week. It seems a lot of you are feeling the same way about wanting more police presence on the downtown streets, especially at night.
In all the big tourist spots of the world, you can't go far without seeing a policeman and I think it's a real plus.
We were followed constantly by a policeman in Morocco once, and when I asked him what he thought we were likely to be doing that needed such close surveillance, he said, "I think a thieving person will steal all your money."
As soon as I told him that would be more of a concern for the disappointed thief who found no money, he looked relieved, but continued to walk and chat with us, giving all sorts of good advice and getting a free English lesson.
As far as I am aware, Queenstown doesn't have the armies of pickpockets and beggars that are found in other places, but it's still nice to see a friendly policeman around.
Wakatipu's own Amelia McGeorge has entered the ASB young inventors' competition and is one of only 20 finalists in the country. Have a look at her "Kick and Click" swimming invention and then push "battle". You have to vote for her and, hey presto, another winner for the Wakatipu.
I've been busy trying to train my untrainable niece and nephews.
My 3-year-old nephew started singing that cheery childhood chant "I'm the king of the castle and you're an ..." (gosh, the dirty rascal has become something much, much worse that I am sure this family-friendly paper will never allow in print). Obviously, some helpful older child thought it would be fun to teach a cute little guy a more shocking and exciting version.
My niece is also into dirty talk. When her big cousin, our nearly 21-year-old, was due home, we decided to frighten the filthy mess in his room.
She is only 2 and I gave her a wet cloth and said she could wipe away all the muddy footprints.
Poor little thing, squatting on her haunches, sighing as she scrubbed, saying "Dirty, dirty ..."
She's a real Montessori child - parents were often aghast when visiting my expensive Montessori preschool to find their children scrubbing and dusting and polishing, but little children love to clean and tidy. This need for order doesn't last long, so let them have lots of practice while they are little.
And on the subject, happy birthday this week to Queenstown Montessori, which has grown enormously in such a very short time.
Thank you to everyone who has been recommending books to me lately - I've had lots of lovely gardening suggestions and also had the pleasure of meeting nearly-Belgian Isabel, who has the tiniest online bookshop about floral art (www.editofloris.com) and I want one of everything.
I have had two mothers-in-law in my life. One taught me a lot about things not to do. The other one had the most positive attitude of anyone I have ever met. Her motto in life was "pain is inevitable, misery is optional".
I kept thinking about that as I read two books this week.
The first one, Half the Sky, made me wonder if Sheila's motto could still be upheld for the women in this book.
Co-authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn are not only married but have both won Pulitzer Prizes in journalism.
They discuss how women can help solve so many of our 21st-century problems, such as war, fear, disease, ignorance and poverty.
The case studies are hideously explicit, and when you learn how much violence and pain some women have had to deal with in the Third World, it is hard to imagine how misery could ever be "optional" for them.
But these are great women and many of them have managed to make it in life and drag a whole lot of other people up with them. This is journalism of the most powerful and inspiring sort.
The other book is also about a woman who has been hurt and humiliated.
If I hadn't just read Half the Sky, I'd have felt sorrier for Rhoda Janzen in her Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - her abusive, controlling husband (we don't know that at the beginning) leaves her for a man he meets on gay.com and then she has a bad car crash as well.
She goes home to lick her wounds - home being a Mennonite household.
She takes a fresh look at life in this old-fashioned, strict but loving place, remembering the shameful everythings like food and advice that led her to escape it.
She makes huge fun of herself and her upbringing, and it must have been wonderful revenge telling all the stories about her ex in this memoir.
She's been pretty brave, but the bravery of the Half the Sky women leaves her looking a bit of a wimp. Still, a good read.
Just don't read them both in the same week.
