Online security is important to us and we will shortly be enhancing our website login security for Membership Subscribers. From 10th November 2021, we will be introducing a technology known as Two Factor Authentication (abbreviated to 2FA). What Is Two Factor Authentication (2FA) When you log in to an account online, you mostly use a simple ‘username and password’ combination to … Read More
One of the picture books I use for story writing in my on-line subscription resource (Building Excitement, Engagement and Achievement in Writing with Dr Murray Gadd is Handa’s Hen by Eileen Browne Set in a village in Kenya, it is the story of Handa and her friend Akeyo searching for Handa’s grandmother’s lost hen and it outlines what they discover … Read More
Kia ora tatou, Hope you all had a great break – though it probably seems ages ago now – and that the weather and/or the trans-Tasman bubble breaking didn’t interrupt your plans too much. The purpose of this update is to inform you of what’s new on the website – both free and paid resources – and to catch you … Read More
2020 was a tough year for all of us, given the two lock-downs that Auckland educators faced during the year as well as the abandonment of overseas travel. But I finished it nicely. I’m just completing six weeks of relaxing (mainly at home), reading, swimming, walking and a little bit of socialising. I hope your break has been good as … Read More
These three months have been a mixture of lock-down and ‘traffic light freedom’. Consequently, I have not only had a chance to hunker down into reading but also to move back to the cinema. This has been exciting. But it has mainly been reading that has preoccupied me. BOOKS I have read some wonderful fiction and non-fiction in the past … Read More
Because of time limitations, my involvement in the Arts has been largely restricted to reading fiction over the past three months, with a focus being around the Booker Prize (see below). Hence, I only discuss books in this update, rather than the occasional movie, play or Netflix series that I may have watched. BOOKS My reading over these three months … Read More
With life being back to near-normal over the past three months, I have been back to near-normal in terms of reading quality fiction, watching some great theatre and viewing some wonderful movies and series. It has been an exhilarating term for me arts-wise. BOOKS I’ve had a chance to read 9 novels over the past three months, several of which … Read More
With regards to the arts, these three months have been an exquisite mixture of reading quality fiction (11 texts in all), viewing some great movies on the big screen, and watching some excellent series on the small screen. Viewing and watching is always great at this time of the year as the world moves toward ‘Oscar season’. There has to … Read More
Because of the extended lock-down we have been in – and continue to be in if you’re in Auckland – this Arts update is exclusively about the books that I have been reading during the lockdown. Eighteen books in all!! Yes, I could also write about the streamed shows I’ve looked at, but it’s my reading that has pre-occupied me. … Read More
I’m beginning this Arts review with my reading journey that included three of the novels short-listed for the 2021 International Booker Prize – two translated into English from French and one from Spanish. Subsequently, I read another seven novels from around the world: three from America, one from the UK, one from Egypt, one from Barbados and one from across … Read More