Over the last few weeks I have had one or two cries of “where are you”? Unbelievable. See, I think that for the time being we have won our battle to save our schools. So this Blog is no longer required. And my writing really wasn't that good!

So for anyone who still visits this very still corner of the Internet I have to have to 'fess up – there are going to be some changes made. There is going to be a new look, a new theme. A new target market as the advertising folks at work would say.

But before that I owe a few words of thanks. Please note that this is entirely subjective and based on my own personal experiences in fighting the school closures.

At the top of my list must be Deborah Coddington.

Deborah Coddington

She worked tirelessly on the national scene, and repeatedly managed to expose how bereft of any logic Trevor Mallard's restructuring was. She always returned phone calls, always gave us a sympathetic hearing and sage advice. If all our members of parliament were as hard working, intelligent and caring as Deborah was on this issue, this country would have a wonderful government. Thank you Deborah.

Murray Smith

Murray might not have achieved much national exposure, but on the local level he was very involved. He was at just about every meeting I attended, even the small school community meetings. His office had an open door and he came up with some good suggestions. It is ironic that as a list MP he was an example to all electorate MPs' . Contrast Paul Swain, our local Labour MP, who was very noticeable by his absence through most of this battle. Murray will be running against Trevor Mallard. If you live in his electorate, vote for Murray Smith. He deserves your support. Thank you Murray

Bill English

Bill was late to the party, but once he got involved he added an extra dimension at the national level. He appeared at a large number of our events and whilst his communication with us was sometimes erratic, considering how his late arrival into the education space occurred I think he is to be commended for his most excellent efforts. Thank you Bill.

Those who cared

And to all the other people who got involved and who cared. Thank you!

What about Trev?

And in a bizarre way I probably owe Trevor Mallard a vote of thanks. His ham handed and thoughtless actions set me off on a journey I never expected to take. Along the way I have met wonderful people, made new friends, and been part of some great events. This battle has bonded our community and made us all much better neighbours. Now we need to work at keeping the community in our neighbourhood.

NB

I know that the Greens were very active in fighting school closures, but our attempts to communicate with them never lead to any dialogue. So I will have to leave it to others to thank them.

9:04:38 PM