March 3rd, 2025Just sayin’…

"You should have never started it," Trump said. "You" being Ukraine and "it" being the war that Russia clearly started when it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, having annexed Crimea in 2014.

By Donna Kelly

“You should have never started it,” Trump said. “You” being Ukraine and “it” being the war that Russia clearly started when it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, having annexed Crimea in 2014.

The world has gone nuts. And the sad thing is some people, perhaps mostly MAGA idiots, will believe it. And history is rewritten. Much like the Gulf of America with Google maps already showing the new title – almost before the ink was dry on the presidential order.

Then there’s the renaming of Denali, the highest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley. Denali is based on the Koyukon name of the mountain, with the Koyukon a people of Alaskan Athabaskans.

The McKinley bit happened in 1896 when a gold prospector came upon it and thought he would randomly commemorate former US president William McKinley. Of course, McKinley never stepped foot in Alaska.

Anyway, enough about that. I am just glad I got to Europe before Covid and then America last year. I love Australia and I think I will just do a bit more wandering around this great nation – which doesn’t need to be made great again, no matter what Clive Palmer thinks. Good grief.

New Zealand is also wonderful and I hear the Chinese are buying up land there in droves in readiness for climate change. Along with southern Australia. Smart buggers.

We popped over the ditch a couple of weeks back for a family catch-up. Had a great time, well apart from the B&B which you can read about over on the left in Kyle’s Rant.

The family was fun, food was great, scenery (Kaikoura) was absolutely breathtaking and Kyle and his 80-year-old dad and a few others even went ziplining.

Came back a little worse for wear but obviously had the time of their lives. Not my thing so I went shopping with the 11-year-old great niece who was so cute I couldn’t resist buying things for her. Mind you, she loves op-shopping so it wasn’t too onerous on my credit card.

Charlie ended up with a present to give her grandmother, another one for her mum, a stuffed alpaca, lip gloss, strawberry fudge, a tin of marshmallow, some chocolate biscuits, Kiwi biscuits including Shrewsberries and Ginger Nuts to give to Kyle, an orange slushie and a can of Dr Pepper – yuk.

Kyle’s sister’s family used to live in Christchurch, until that massive earthquake, with Sharlene working just across from the CTV building that collapsed. She ran all the way through the city, through liquefaction, to her son’s school.

I always remember thinking she was fitter than I realised. So they moved to Kaikoura just in time for the earthquake there that lifted the sea level by three metres.

They were living by the beach, heard the tsunami warning, got to the grandchild staying with them and then drove off up the hill – pulling up only to unhitch the boat that was being towed behind them.

I have asked them not to move to Hepburn Shire – just in case.

Anyway, back home now, with summer slowly coming to an end which means it’s time for fun with festivals – like ChillOut. The Local has been a proud media partner for 11 years now and I must admit I do love being in the parade. This year is no different.

The theme is circus which, as Kyle says, suits us perfectly. We are pretty much a three-ringed circus most of the time, just keeping the balls in the air. And the general manager is a bit of a clown at times. Just sayin’.