Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

James Ford: Not the home I knew

By James Ford
NZ Herald·
23 Aug, 2017 06:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Hawke's Bay Today News Editor James Ford. PHOTO / File

Hawke's Bay Today News Editor James Ford. PHOTO / File

London's calling.

Well, it will be next week when my fiancée and I, accompanied by our one-year-old son, set off on the 18,324km journey from Auckland to my home city.

It'll be the first time I've set foot in the UK in almost seven years.

And, if I'm completely honest, it's a trip that I'm just as anxious as excited about.
Sure, the monotonous 17-hour nonstop flight from Auckland to Dubai is going to be testing.

But the main cause of my concern is not knowing what I am going back to.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I came to New Zealand as a 22-year-old in 2010.

From what I've been told by family and friends a lot has changed since then.

My partner and I, largely due to our son's age, but also because of recent events, have decided we won't be doing the usual tourist circuit.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Instead we'll spend time away from the city centre with family.

The truth is, I would no longer confidently walk the streets of central London, or many of the other major cities across Europe for that matter.

In recent weeks there have been terror attacks in Finland, Russia and France.

Earlier this year Londoners fell victim, along with those in Manchester and Brussels.

A regular response is that we must carry on as we were, not be suppressed by these maniacs, and continue to live our lives without fear.

But that's simply unnatural.

The attacks may have occurred over a few minutes but cause a lifetime of trauma, fear and horrific memories.

It may be irrational, but I would feel uneasy in the current climate taking my family on the tube, to Tower Bridge and the other wonderful landmarks of one of the world's greatest cities.

What I left, I fear, is not what I will return to.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

'Traumatic situation': Napier bus collides with mobility scooter

13 Jun 08:02 PM
Premium
Opinion

The Cossack ready to resume from where he left off

13 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

The trust, the individuals and the interns - the volunteers who make MTG tick: Laura Vodanovich

13 Jun 06:00 PM

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

'Traumatic situation': Napier bus collides with mobility scooter

'Traumatic situation': Napier bus collides with mobility scooter

13 Jun 08:02 PM

The scooter rider suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital.

Premium
The Cossack ready to resume from where he left off

The Cossack ready to resume from where he left off

13 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
The trust, the individuals and the interns - the volunteers who make MTG tick: Laura Vodanovich

The trust, the individuals and the interns - the volunteers who make MTG tick: Laura Vodanovich

13 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
Is rent ‘dead money? Nick Stewart

Is rent ‘dead money? Nick Stewart

13 Jun 06:00 PM
How one volunteer makes people feel seen
sponsored

How one volunteer makes people feel seen

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP