Latest fromJames Griffin

Winter is coming in an actual sense, in that winter is coming. I know this because the TV weather people are using the term "polar blast".

Perhaps one of the strangest stories of all the strange stories that filled the 21st century is how the small South Pacific nation of New Zealand tore itself apart in its quest to find a national flag.

When embarking on a clothing cull there are many paths you can follow. There are those who will advocate a ruthlessness that borders on the psychotic. Others will apply logic of Spockian proportions to the exercise.

There are actually two sets of road rules, it would seem.

I can't put a finger on the exact moment, but at some stage across the Anzac weekend to end all Anzac weekends, I went full poppy and suddenly realised that I was taking life far too seriously.

I'd have to say, if push came to shove came to world war, that of all the public holidays we get to enjoy in this splendid country, Anzac Day is the one I would pick as my favourite.

I think my brain is full. Seriously, I think all my synapses, or whatever my brain uses to store information, have been used up.

Is everything I have ever done and will ever do in my life ultimately less significant than Winston Peters winning a by-election in Northland?

As he rides his steel dragon across the roads and byways of The North Lands, the Dark Lord, leader of House First, is happy.

Dear citizens of the Free World, I bring you further missives from The Zone, the suburb formerly known as Grey Lynn.

I have this version of hell, in my head, where it is like this giant faceless corporation, where the souls of the damned serve out eternity in mindless bureaucratic servitude.

I write these few words to you, the people of free New Zealand, from the suburb formerly known as Grey Lynn.

Guess you've heard the bad news by now that our friends holding the reins of power (yeah, right) won't be forking out over the table with the actual cash payout they reckoned they'd stump up with when we took them out for drinkies before the election.

As a bloke can I just say that this weekend is simply quite wonderful in that not one but two mighty sporting events are upon us, simultaneously.

Now that the dust has settled, it is possibly a good time for me to step back and think about all the things I learnt from the Eleanor Catton interlude.

New Zealand is simply a much better place to live on days you don't have to go to work. This is why we need many more legally sanctioned holidays. And this is why I am here to suggest a few.

I went to a funeral today. This is not an ideal way to kick off the year, a funeral in January.

One of the immutable laws of television is that there can never be too many cooking shows.

On the day after the birth of his son who wasn't really his son, Joseph the carpenter watched the sun come up over the little town of Bethlehem.