I am writing mostly on Facebook now. If you'd like to follow my progress, please have a look at:
https://www.facebook.com/CrRobertGuyton/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Fun it up, everyone!
I wrote a letter to the editor of The Southland Times:
Message to all candidates for local body elections;
Billboards are boring!
Hard-working Southlanders, especially those living in Invercargill, have to drive past our uninspiring faces and irritating slogans for weeks on end and are generally too polite to take a black-marker to them to express their annoyance.
Billboards are boring!
Hard-working Southlanders, especially those living in Invercargill, have to drive past our uninspiring faces and irritating slogans for weeks on end and are generally too polite to take a black-marker to them to express their annoyance.
Let’s all do something different this time around; entertain and amuse those whose votes we are chasing, with creative billboards, fun billboards, the likes of which have never been seen before! I’m happy start the ball rolling; I’ve still got my original billboards that show a younger me with a dark, clipped and tidy beard.
Now that I’m 9 years down the councillor track, my beard is full and as white as a summer cloud. I’m going to up-date my billboards by glueing-on a fluffy, lamb’s-wool beard that would make Father Christmas proud! How about the rest of you?
Have you any creative bones in your bodies? Let’s do the voting public a favour and make campaigning fun for a change!
Here's my original billboard from 2010. I have a hank of sheep's wool and some glue, so I'm good to go!
I'll post the 2019 version as soon as the glue dries.
I'll post the 2019 version as soon as the glue dries.
Street art
The street art in Riverton is now an attraction worth seeing; the stunning painting on our environment centre wall features two fish, one freshwater and the other salt, to illustrate the theme of, "Ebb & Flow".
Many buildings in the village exhibit an environmental theme; muttonbirds, whales, crayfish and other creatures living in or offshore of Southland.
Here, I'm standing in front of one of the more difficult to explain pieces.
I was attracted by the colours and the down-pipe!
Many buildings in the village exhibit an environmental theme; muttonbirds, whales, crayfish and other creatures living in or offshore of Southland.
Here, I'm standing in front of one of the more difficult to explain pieces.
I was attracted by the colours and the down-pipe!
On Guyton Hill
They say behind every successful politician there’s a devoted and caring family; meet the Guytons.
The photo’s a bit out of date, but we remain essentially unchanged today; a modern version of the Waltons, scrimping an honest living out of the land, sharing decent values and a tiny wooden house, making the most of what little we have.
The children have grown now; a librarian, an engineer and a teacher, but my wife, Robyn, looks exactly as she does in this photo: young and fresh-faced;
Old Man Time has smiled favourably upon her;
I'm not sure what I did to offend him.
The photo’s a bit out of date, but we remain essentially unchanged today; a modern version of the Waltons, scrimping an honest living out of the land, sharing decent values and a tiny wooden house, making the most of what little we have.
The children have grown now; a librarian, an engineer and a teacher, but my wife, Robyn, looks exactly as she does in this photo: young and fresh-faced;
Old Man Time has smiled favourably upon her;
I'm not sure what I did to offend him.
Southland kindy flooded with muck from neighbouring farm
Took my granddaughter, Mae, to kindy today. We were both very pleased to find that the playground wasn't awash with muck from the farm next-door 🙂
Rural nightmare!
Gorse & broom; strikes fear (and loathing) into the hearts of southern farmers, but Banks Peninsula's "Hinewai" turns that dread on it's head.
"Fools & Dreamers" is a short-film; shown in Invercargill last night and hosted by one of the camera-men, Jason Hosking and worth seeking-out on-line;
Hugh Wilson's vision has become a reality and the yellow-flowered gorse was essential to the success of his project.
I recommend it highly.
"Fools & Dreamers" is a short-film; shown in Invercargill last night and hosted by one of the camera-men, Jason Hosking and worth seeking-out on-line;
Hugh Wilson's vision has become a reality and the yellow-flowered gorse was essential to the success of his project.
I recommend it highly.
World view
What does a candidate for council do when he's not kissing babies or nailing billboards to other-people's fences?
Gaze wistfully out of his window, of course.
Fortunately, the view I enjoy is a special one; a forest-garden foreground, in the near-distance, the sometimes-sparkling waters of the Jacob's River estuary and in the far distance, te mauka tapu Takitimu, snow-capped in the winter, tinged-blue in summer.
Gaze wistfully out of his window, of course.
Fortunately, the view I enjoy is a special one; a forest-garden foreground, in the near-distance, the sometimes-sparkling waters of the Jacob's River estuary and in the far distance, te mauka tapu Takitimu, snow-capped in the winter, tinged-blue in summer.
Whitebait now & then
Do the councillors at Environment Southland care about the environment?
Have you seen any evidence of this, outside of their claims made in the chamber? You'll find that just one or two have histories of fighting for the environment rather than the farm.
Here's a photo from 22 years ago, showing a street parade in Riverton, a group of children carrying a huge paper whitebait, made by the environmentalist walking beside them, with his wee daughter, Hollie, in his arms.
Back then, the whitebait fishery was already a cause for concern.
Have you seen any evidence of this, outside of their claims made in the chamber? You'll find that just one or two have histories of fighting for the environment rather than the farm.
Here's a photo from 22 years ago, showing a street parade in Riverton, a group of children carrying a huge paper whitebait, made by the environmentalist walking beside them, with his wee daughter, Hollie, in his arms.
Back then, the whitebait fishery was already a cause for concern.
I'm standing for council
Fronting up to difficult issues and representing people who want the council to take responsibility for those, is challenging.
Climate change and it's effect on our region is an issue that I pressed the council to take action on and at the all-important "climate emergency" meeting, I was greatly supported by the biggest public turnout in a decade; people of all ages came to watch and listen as councillors debated and voted on the proposal to take leadership on climate change in Southland.
Although the opportunity was not taken-up by the council, the members of the public sitting in the gallery and gathered outside of the council building, listening to the debate broadcast through speakers, learned a great deal about how decisions are made, opportunities gained or lost, as a result of councillor's political views.
Opening up debates to the public-eye is very important to me.
Climate change and it's effect on our region is an issue that I pressed the council to take action on and at the all-important "climate emergency" meeting, I was greatly supported by the biggest public turnout in a decade; people of all ages came to watch and listen as councillors debated and voted on the proposal to take leadership on climate change in Southland.
Although the opportunity was not taken-up by the council, the members of the public sitting in the gallery and gathered outside of the council building, listening to the debate broadcast through speakers, learned a great deal about how decisions are made, opportunities gained or lost, as a result of councillor's political views.
Opening up debates to the public-eye is very important to me.
Friday, May 31, 2019
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