This morning our daughter, her two boys and I attended the ANZAC Day Dawn Parade and Service at the cenotaph in the Feilding town square. It was a very cold and shall we say breezy autumn morning as we made our way into the square shortly before 6 a.m.
As a Quaker I am conflicted between the courage that those who are prepared to put their lives on the line for what they believe is an honourable cause and those who are willing to kill for what they believe is an honourable cause. More often than not these are the same people.
Perhaps my attendance his morning was to honour my father, who fought with the NZ army in Egypt and Italy and who, as a senior sergeant, had the courage to countermand the orders of a commissioned officer to open fire on a group of unarmed Italian soldiers. My father was relieved of his duty and the order re-issued, resulting in a massacre. The commissioned officer was commended for his bravery and my father was court marshalled.
Despite his court marshal, my father gained a chest full of medals, and as long as I can remember he attended the Dawn Parade every ANZAC day, but unlike every other returned serviceman/servicewoman he alone would march with no medals pinned on his chest.
I can only admire his courage for not wearing his medals in the face of not inconsiderable opposition from his fellow servicemen as they marched to the cenotaph, year in and year out until age and injury put an end to his participation. At this morning’s service one speaker made the comment that all service personnel have an obligation to wear their medals at the Dawn Parade. I can only imagine what my father’s response would have been if he was still alive.
ANZAC Dawn Parade and Commemoration Service, 25 April 2024, Feilding town Square
No this post is not about do’s or don’ts, love, romance, the art of courting or just about any other thought you might imagine the title might mean. It’s simply about the actual journey I took by bus, plane, train, taxi and foot from the moment I left home to the moment the wife and I legally became spouses. Times are approximate as the events took place some 52 years and one week ago, and my memory is not what it once was.
DAY 1
14:00
Parents drive me to city bus depot
15:00
Board Bus to the small township of Marton on the North Island Main Trunk Line where I will catch the Limited Express to Auckland.
15:45
Arrive in Marton, and with suitcase in tow start the 3.2 Kilometre (2 mile) walk to the railway station.
16:30
Arrive at railway station to wait the Limited Express scheduled to arrive at 23:00
17:30
Railway station shuts for the night. Move from waiting room to a partially sheltered platform bench seat
19:00
Light rain. Lasts an hour
23:30
Limited Express arrives half an hour late. Board train, find seat, and on discovering the adjacent seat is vacant make myself as comfortable as possible across the two seats.
DAY 2
08:45
Arrive at Auckland railway station. After collecting my luggage, proceed to bus terminal
09:30
Depart Auckland railway Station by bus for Auckland international airport
10:30
Arrive Auckland international airport. Check in luggage and collect boarding pass
11:30
Boarding call. Go through Customs and find seat in departure lounge. Realise I’ve had nothing to eat or drink since leaving home. Find cafe for a light refreshment.
12:30
Board Air New Zealand Lockheed L-188 Electra for flight to Sydney.
16:30 (NZST) / 14:30 (AST)
Arrive Sydney Airport. After collecting luggage and clearing Customs proceed to check-in hall only to discover check-in doesn’t open until 8 PM AST. Wander aimlessly around airport with luggage in tow for several hours until check-in. Following times will be in Australian Standard Time.
20:00
Check in luggage, obtain boarding pass. Wander aimlessly around airport.
23:00
Boarding call. Proceed through customs. Take advantage of the complementary light refreshments in the departure lounge.
DAY 3
00:00
Depart Sydney for Tokyo on QANTAS Airlines Boeing 707. My seat is towards the rear of the aircraft and the scream from the engines, even when in cruising mode is bordering on torture.
04:00
Short stopover in Manilla. Air so humid it felt like I hit a wet sponge wall as I exited the aircraft.
07:00
One hour stopover in Hong Kong. This was at the old airport where the approach was between skyscrapers with a very sharp right hand turn not far from the runway. Quite spectacular, even in my rather exhausted state.
12:00 (AST) / 11:00 (JST)
Arrive Tokyo international airport. After collecting luggage and clearing Customs, make my way to domestic terminal. In those days, Narita airport had not been constructed. Following times will be in Japanese Standard Time
12:00
Telephone fiance to let her know I had arrived in Japan. Wander aimlessly around terminal until time to check in
17:00
Check in luggage. Receive boarding pass.
17:10
Notice boarding pass has gate number but no seat number. Return to checkout counter to query about seating. Language proved a hurdle as the attendant’s English was about as good as my Japanese. However it eventually became apparent that I could choose to sit anywhere in the aircraft
17:50
Board ANA Fokker Friendship flight to Sendai. Once on board everyone (except me) makes a mad dash for a seat pushing aside anyone in their way. After the stampede quietened down some 10 to 15 people including myself remained without seats. We were escorted off the aircraft.
18:00
ANA Flight to Sendai departed on time with my luggage onboard. The rest of the stranded passengers seemed to have been left to their own devices to make alternative travel plans, but perhaps because I was the only Gaijin (foreigner) I am assigned an attendant to help me through re-booking a flight for the following morning and arranging hotel accommodation for the night.
His English is impeccable, and after discovering the reason for my journey telephones to the home of my fiance to let her know of my delay. Unfortunately she had already left for the airport, so he contacted the Sendai airport and arranged for staff there to page her and let her know my circumstances. I learn it is common practice to over-book flights in Japan due to the number of no-shows. However there had been a cancellation of a flight to Sendai the previous day and they were still catching up with the backlog. Not the way I’d run an airline.
18:45
Arrive at hotel. Thankfully the hotel accommodation was on ANA. Taking money out of New Zealand in 1971 was tightly regulated. I was permitted to exchange NZ currency for a foreign currency at $NZ13.00 for each day between between my departure from New Zealand and the return date specified on my air ticket. The hotel accommodation would have made a substantial hole in my reserves. NZ credit cards could not be used overseas.
19:00
Hotel restaurant. Just as I’m about to order from the rather lavish menu I have been given, the menu is unceremoniously taken out of my hand and replaced with a sheet of paper with a typewritten menu containing a limited choice of rather ordinary western style meals. A menu reserved for stranded passengers put up at the hotel by the airlines.
20:00
Collapse on bed in a state of exhaustion. No toiletries or change of clothing available. Fall asleep before I could even consider getting out of the 3-day old clothes and showering.
DAY 4
05:00
I Wake after very restless night. The air-conditioning rattled, whined and wheezed all throughout the night. At some time during the night I had undressed as what I had been wearing was getting quite uncomfortable. Shower and put old clothes back on. Yuk!
06:00
Buffet breakfast. Simple but appreciated.
07:00
Shuttle for airport arrives
07:30
Check in for ANA flight to Sendai departing 09:00
08:00
Announcement that flight to Sendai will be delayed
08:45
Announcement that flight to Sendai will depart at 10:00
09:30
Announcement that flight to Sendai will depart at 10:15
10:20
Boarding call made. I’m already at the gate and am the first person through. I set a fast pace but by the time I climb aboard, five or six people have already sprinted ahead of me.
10:25
From the vantage of my seat, I observe a stampede as passengers rush for seats. The Japanese fame for courtesy clearly doesn’t apply to boarding aircraft. As it transpires, four or five seats remain empty after everyone is finally seated. Then we wait.
10:45
Finally we’re accelerating down the runway.
12:10
Arrive at Sendai airport. While I’m waiting for my luggage to appear, my fiance arrives. I learn she retrieved my luggage the night before and its waiting at her parents’ house.
12:20
Fiance hails taxi
13:00
Arrive at home of fiance’s parents. A meal is waiting but after I explain that I really need a change of clothing (if it wasn’t already obvious). A bath is prepared – a deep circular wooden bath heated by a charcoal burner. While that is heating I complete my section of the Japanese marriage application form.
13:30
Paperwork done and bath heated, I retire for a long hot soak in the most welcoming bath I’ve ever encountered. When I say the bath is deep I mean it. There was a comfortable 40 cm (15 inches) high seat that ran right around the inside of the bath and when seated upright on it, the water came up to my chin. Meanwhile my fiance departs for the city office to register our marriage.
14:00
Dressed in a yukata I’m treated to my first real Japanese banquet. With the aid of a Japanese-English dictionary, copious pen and paper sketches, and hilarious signing our communication difficulties were forgotten. And I discovered there’s an art to remaining modest when wearing a yukata while seated. I’ll say no more on that matter.
15:30
Fiancewife returns with marriage certificate. We are now legally married!
The wedding ceremony where we exchanged our vows in front of the Wife’s entire family took place several days later. And that is the actual date we celebrate as our wedding – the second day of November 1971.
Have any of my readers experienced a similarly harrowing journey, literal or metaphoric, on their way to saying “I do”?
The 3rd of July commemorates a very special person in my life, who died tragically on this day in 1986. I knew Greg Carroll for around two years – while he worked as a trainee engineer in the same branch of the multinational I.T. company where I was employed. He was about eleven years my junior and still in his late teens, but Greg was one of those rare individuals where age seemed to be insignificant. We spent quite a lot of time together as we travel about the Whanganui, Rangitikei, Ruapehu and Taihape districts in the course of our work, sometimes including a night or two in a hotel or motel. Few people have put me at ease, where I feel able, confident and safe enough to share my greatest hopes, dreams and fears – all at the same time!
I’m not the only person who Greg had a profound influence on. There were many, not least of which was Bono of U2. This particular song was written by Bono in honour of Greg after he was killed in a motorcycle crash in Dublin in 1986. I’ve played One Tree Hill song twice before: One Tree Hill and Musical Monday (2021/11/08) – One tree Hill, and for that I make no apologies. I’m sure to play it again in the future. You can read a little more about my personal recollections of Greg there, as well as a very brief intro to Greg’s and Bono’s relationship.
It was an honour and a privilege to have known Greg. As the years go by, and the details of the time we spent in each other’s company fade, I have become more aware of just how much he made me feel like a complete person and not the socially clumsy misfit that most people perceived me to be.
There are quite a few versions of One Tree Hill available on YouTube. The one I’ve included is the version I first saw as presented on New Zealand television in 1988. There was no official video, as I believe New Zealand and Australia were the only countries where One Tree Hill was released as a single, and TVNZ cobbled together a collection of archived clips to accompany the song for its top ten hit parade in March 1988.
Wikipedia has a surprisingly detailed background to the history behind the song for those who might be interested: One Tree Hill (song)
One Tree Hill – U2
"One Tree Hill" – U2
We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill
As the day begs the night for mercy love
The sun so bright it leaves no shadows
Only scars carved into stone
On the face of earth
The moon is up and over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes
You run like river, on like a sea
You run like a river runs to the sea
And in the world a heart of darkness
A fire zone
Where poets speak their heart
Then bleed for it
Jara sang, his song a weapon
In the hands of love
You know his blood still cries
From the ground
It runs like a river runs to the sea
It runs like a river to the sea
I don't believe in painted roses
Or bleeding hearts
While bullets rape the night of the merciful
I'll see you again
When the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red
Over One Tree Hill
We run like a river
Run to the sea
We run like a river to the sea
And when it's raining
Raining hard
That's when the rain will
Break my heart
Raining...raining in the heart
Raining in your heart
Raining...raining to your heart
Raining, raining...raining
Raining to your heart
Raining...raining in your heart
Raining in your heart..
To the sea
Oh great ocean
Oh great sea
Run to the ocean
Run to the sea
Shona Laing is a Kiwi legend who has been making music since she was a teenager. I have presented one of her songs previously – Musical Monday (2202/09/26) – (I’m Glad) I’m Not A Kennedy. I have no doubt that I’ll present other songs from her in the future.
Shona Laing wrote 1905, as a dedication to Henry Fonda, who she had a crush on. She was inspired by his role in the movie The Grapes of Wrath, which was set in 1905. She wrote the song when she was only 15 years old, and sang it, at the age of 17, on the New Faces TV talent Show in 1972 where she was runner up. The song was released as a single in 1973 and remained in the NZ charts for 14 weeks, peaking at Number 4.
Unfortunately no one at TVNZ (or was it still part of NZBC at that time?) considered archiving shows in the 1970s. Shows were recorded to tape, and after being broadcast, were wiped to be used for the next show. There is a short one minute clip of Shona singing 1905 that is believed to have been recorded at the Christchurch Town Hall in 1972, but otherwise the best I can do is provide a video created after the fact with the soundtrack taken from the single. Enjoy.
1905 – Shona Laing
1905
I could light a cigarette And take time To find the words to write But time costs time And I haven't really got The time to spend today So I’ll gaze at the blue envelope Wondering if I should send it away But I haven't really got The time to spend today
1905, you won your battle with life The turn was mine fifty years later So it's no use crying Time obviously didn’t even Want me to start trying
I should take the time To start to stop myself From using it the way I do But in this day and age Reality can be a dream too So I'll spend my spare time And my taken time Working out the truth Yeah I suppose I've got The time for you
1905, you won your battle with life The turn was mine fifty years later So it's no use crying Time obviously didn't even Want me to start trying
I've invented a game That I can't win Oh why did I ever begin I'm not a sore loser But when I think of Why I’m losing I cry Oh time, time, time
1905, you won your battle with life The turn was mine fifty years later So it’s no use crying Time obviously didn't even Want me to start trying
This week’s music track is a little different as there’s no lyrics to accompany the video clip. The reason being that it’s an instrumental, unless you consider the occasional growling of “Mouldy old dough” worthy of being called lyrics. Mouldy Old Dough was originally released in the UK in early 1972 but it seems to have been somewhat of a flop. After reaching number one in Belgium, it was re-released in the UK and spent four weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in October 1972.
It did somewhat better in Aotearoa New Zealand, where it reached the top spot on the 15th of December 1972 and remained there until it was overtaken by Lobo’s “I’d Love You to Want Me” in early February 1973. If I was to hazard a guess as to why it was so popular, I’d say it was an ideal track to accompany a relaxed family barbecue or picnic over the summer.
In the early 1990s, there was a revival of the popularity of Mouldy Old Dough when it was adapted as the theme music for a series of television commercials by LOTTO NZ for its Instant Kiwi scratchcards.
Mouldy Old Dough was written by Nigel Fletcher and Rob Woodward who were part of the novelty music group Lieutenant Pigeon. Woodward’s mother, Hilda, features on the piano in the YouTube clip below. I’ve also included a couple of the Instant Kiwi TV commercials which might help non-Kiwis understand why the instrumental had a resurgence of popularity in the 1990s.
A recent blog post over at bereavedandbeingasingleparent regarding the insignificance of a discount he received from his electricity supplier, reminded me of an incident that occurred around 1959/1960. This was many years before Aotearoa New Zealand converted from Stirling (Pounds, Shillings and Pence) to Decimal currency (Dollars and Cents).
My father worked for the New Zealand Education Department as a PhysEd (Physical Education) specialist. His role was to visit schools and to advise the educators on all aspects of PhysEd from swimming pool and playground safety to the supervision of individual and team sports to instructing teachers how to teach folk dancing and Māori action songs/dances.
This story revolves around a cheque he was sent. I don’t recall whether it was to make up for a shortfall in his salary or for an underpayment of expenses, but the department sent him a cheque for half a penny at the end of the financial year. He thought it was hilarious, as the postage alone cost four pence plus the cost of the envelope plus the cost of typing the message detailing how the shortfall had occurred. Additionally in those days there was a two pence stamp duty on each cheque. The postage and stamp duty alone came to sixpence. My father framed it and hung it on the wall as it would have cost him a two pence processing fee to bank or cash.
Every month following, the accounts department sent him increasingly desperate letters asking him to bank the cheque so that they could “balance the books” – each letter costing another four pence postage, plus whatever it cost to process. My father ignored the requests for six months, but finally he received a phone call from Head Office and the caller sounded to be quite upset, so much so that he felt he should do “the right thing” and bank the cheque.
Cheques were valid for six months and by the time he tried to bank it, it had expired by a day or two. He sent it back from his office to head office, which again cost the department four pence in postage, explaining why it was being returned. I don’t know how the department and my father finally resolved the matter, but that half penny cheque incurred direct costs of at least eight postage stamps plus the stamp duty totalling 34 pence, not to mention the the eight envelopes, eight A4 sheets with departmental letterhead, plus the time of the accountant and the typists to prepare each letter.
Back then accounting was processed using mechanical accounting machines, and perhaps there was no practical way of carrying that half cent for an individual employee from one financial year to the next. I wonder, in these day of electronic funds transfers, if similar situations still arise from time to time.
This post is a response to a question posed by jilldennison in a reply to a comment I made on one of her articles. I felt it was a little too long for a comment there hence this post. You can view the original thread by visiting here. The following is a story originally told to me by my father on the rare occasions he opened up about his experiences of war.
My father was a platoon sergeant at a time when the front line was moving favourably for the allies. In an early morning patrol my father’s platoon stumbled across some 50 – 100 enemy soldiers who had taken over a school in which to spend the previous night. It was evident that they were unaware of how much the front line had moved, as most of the soldiers were in various states of undress and conducting morning ablutions in a stream that bordered one side of the school. Their weapons and helmets were neatly lined up against one of the school rooms and were actually closer to my father’s platoon than to most of the enemy. The lieutenant commanding the platoon ordered the platoon to advance to a slightly more advantageous position then on the command of my father to open fire.
My father ordered the platoon to stay put and under no circumstances to open fire. He made it clear to his men and the lieutenant that such an action was not only unnecessary, it was immoral. The enemy were clearly unarmed, and in no position to resist. Their best chances would have been to try to escape across the stream, but an embankment on the other side would have made them easy targets as they clambered up it. The morale of the enemy at that point of the war was very low, and often they viewed surrender as the best possible outcome regardless of any military advantage they might have.
The lieutenant and my father got into a heated (but whispered) argument which didn’t end even after my father was relieved of his command. My father never revealed what happened next apart from the final outcome where he paraphrased the official report of the incident, but it was clear that it didn’t go well for the enemy. The official report recorded that “heavy casualties” were inflicted on the enemy, and eleven combatants were captured. When asked on what happened to the rest, all my father would say was that a few crossed the stream and “one or two” escaped. Even when pressed he refused to say what happened to the rest. When I put it to him that they had all been killed, he refused to look at me and didn’t respond. Even I, as an autistic, was able to grasp the significance of his (lack of) response.
My question is: was the lieutenant and those soldiers who opened fire evil (a few, like my father refused)? If you say no, they were in a war situation, does that justify the slaughtering of up to 100 unarmed men, who, as my father described, “were sons, husbands, fathers, lovers, labourers, professionals, and most probably honest, decent people first and foremost”? If you excuse their action, then surely those who kill for different, but in their mind equally valid reasons, must also be excused. If, as in the case of the Christchurch mosque shooting or the Sandy Hook shooting, you consider them acts of pure evil, and therefore the persons committing them also evil, then surely the same applies to those who my father witnessed kill unarmed defenceless men.
If you believe one act was evil, but another not (and it doesn’t matter which you consider evil and which not) are you not justifying the event based on the premise that one group of perpetrators are “friends” while you regard the others as “enemy”. Do you not think that those who support the “enemy” might have the same mindset?
My father first relayed that story to me when he was in his mid to late seventies, some 55 years, perhaps a few more, after the event, and I heard it retold two or three times before his death at 90 years of age. There were minor discrepancies in the description of the locale between each telling, but not what happened, and as I last heard it perhaps 15 years ago, I can’t be sure I have remembered with absolute accuracy. However I am confident that the essential elements of the story are true.
In case you’re wondering, the lieutenant mentioned above was commended for his deeds that day. My father was court marshalled.
No, it’s not celebrated in Aotearoa, although Black Friday is now firmly on the retailers’ calendar, replacing Boxing day (December 26) as the day with the highest retail turnover. Besides, it celebrates a myth and a whitewashing of America’s colonial past.
Before ill health forced me into early retirement 15 years before I anticipated, I worked for the New Zealand subsidiary of a multinational information technology company. The managing director of the NZ subsidiary was typically (but not always) a foreign national – often American. In the early years of the 1990s an American was appointed to the role of managing director, and in his wisdom, he decided that as the parent company headquarters were located in the US, the NZ subsidiary should follow the American tradition of Thanksgiving. Staff located in Auckland where the NZ head office was located were “treated” to a luncheon with turkey and speeches that were mostly meaningless to the attendees. Staff in the fifteen or so branches scattered across the country were “less fortunate”, as all we were “treated” to was turkey sandwiches that had been couriered to each staff member in every branch.
I hate to think what it cost the company, as turkey was almost unknown here at the time. I presume it was imported specially for the occasion. The six staff members in the branch I was based at took one bite of a sandwich, and instantly tossed all their sandwiches into the rubbish. None of us had tasted turkey before, and not one of us liked the taste one tiny bit. The same occurred in every branch, and apparently most of the turkey served in Auckland had a similar fate. It’s not something the Kiwi palate could easily accommodate.
No one had the courage to inform the managing director what they thought of the whole Thanksgiving fiasco, so he decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the following year. While many Auckland staff found excuses not to attend the luncheon, the branches hatched up a plan of their own. Every sandwich package delivered to the branches was carefully repackaged, addressed to the Managing director and sent by overnight courier back to Auckland. There were about 80 staff members across all the branches, so when he arrived at his office the following morning, the managing director found 80 packages of stale turkey sandwiches waiting for him.
Like Nik I’m ambivalent about the monarchy. Well actually it’s the hereditary nature of the role rather than the institution of the monarchy itself. Certainly separating the head of state from the head of government, outside of politics draws me to prefer the continuation of an institution that functions in a similar way rather than a presidential form of government. So until a better way of transferring the institution of the monarchy (or an equivalent) from one person to another is devised, I’m prepared to live with with the hereditary model.
For those who do not understand how the monarchy works, the monarchy of Aotearoa New Zealand is not the same as the monarchy of the United Kingdom. They are separate institutions regulated by different laws.
Unlike Nik, I’ve been a subject of a monarch for all my life, and all but three of them under Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ. One of my earliest recollections is standing on a raised lawn in the city of Whanganui waving to the new Queen as her cavalcade passed by. That was in January of 1954 on her NZ tour.
Queen Elizabeth II poses for a portrait at home in Buckingham Palace in December 1958. For almost 16 years now, I’ve been a subject of the Queen. It’s kind of weird whenever I think about it — that a kid who was born in Alaska, grew up in the hills of California and went to […]
For the third Musical Monday in a row, I’m featuring an artist who has recently died. I hope it’s not going to become a trend, although at my age, many singers whose songs I have become fond of are now well into their seventies and eighties. So perhaps it’s inevitable.
Margaret Urlich was considerably younger than I am, and on 22 August lost a two year battle with cancer at the tender age of 57. She was well known in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and will be fondly remembered. I’m not sure how well she was known outside of these two countries. She started her musical career in Aotearoa before moving to Australia – unfortunately an all too common occurrence for NZ performers as the Australian market, being many times larger than ours, offers more opportunities.
In the late 1990s Urlich dropped out of the limelight, preferring family and being a high school music teacher. As reported in the NZ newspaper The Star, “I quite like being normal. I only ever started singing because I just love it. The whole fame side of it, I didn’t think about it that much and it always felt a little bit uncomfortable to me. I don’t need to have a high profile to be happy – in fact, I think the opposite is true for me.”
Margaret Urlich is one of those singers who, for me, flew somewhat under the radar, and it’s only now that she is gone do I realise that what is good about her music, and what was good about the person herself. Although she’s gone, her music will continue to live on. I’ve included five YouTube tracks – three solo performances and two from groups she was a member of in the 1980s.
I hope I never
This song was originally performed by the group Split Enz and was written by band members Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner. Released as a single in August 1980 it peaked for Split Enz at number 33 in the NZ charts. The Margaret Urlich cover was included in her 1999 album Second Nature.
I Hope I Never – Margaret Urlich
I Hope I Never
I fall apart when you're around
When you're here, I'm nowhere
I can't pretend that I'm not down
I show it, I know it
I've been a fool, more than once, more than twice
I'm gonna move to a new town where the people are nice
I hope I never, I hope I never have to sigh again
I hope I never, I hope I never have to cry again
I still want to beam and smile
Happiness is back in style yeah
I hope I never, I hope I never have to see you again
Again, oh oh oh oh
It should be possible I know
To see you without stress
But I can see I'll have to go
I'm changing my address
My urge to cry I have failed to conceal
Life - it's no fun when you're hunted by the things that you feel
I hope I never, I hope I never have to sigh again
I hope I never, I hope I never have to cry again
I'm for living while you can
I'm an optimistic man
I hope I never, I hope I never have to see you again
Again, oh oh oh oh...
I hope I never
I hope I never
I hope I never, never, never...
I hope I never, I hope I never have to see you again
Again.
Escaping
Escaping is a song written by Dina Carroll and was included in Margaret Urlich’s album Safety In Numbers released in 1989. It reached number one in the NZ singles chart. and has re-appeared on the Hot 20 NZ Singles (The 20 fastest-moving New Zealand tracks by sales, streams and airplay) at number 5, The Hot 40 Singles (The 40 fastest-moving tracks by sales, streams and airplay) at number 10, and at number 16 on the Official Top 20 NZ Singles chart (The 20 best-selling and most-streamed New Zealand tracks).
Escaping
Kid at heart playing games
In the shadows
Fall asleep make a wish
And the bad goes
I can dream can't I?
When I close my eyes
Kiss the world goodbye
You'll see me escaping
To a land faraway
In the night time
There's a secret place
Where no-one can hurt you
Desert you, no-one hurts you
That's why I'm escaping
Oh starry eyes am I
Knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart upon the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
No use in faking, fool for the taking
There's no more escaping you
Let me loose, set me free undercover
'Cos the night all around is my lover
And you're running into you
Where you wanna be
All you have to do
No shame in escaping
Oh starry eyes am I
Knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart upon the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
No use in faking, fool for the taking
There's no more escaping you
I can dream can't i?
When I close my eyes
Kiss the world goodbye
This time I"m escaping
Oh starry eyes am I
Knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart upon the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
No use in faking, fool for the taking
There's no more escaping you
Starry eyed am I
knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart up on the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
Rules meant for breaking
Feelings awaken, there's no more escaping you
There's no more escaping you
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night)
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night) was released in early 1990 as the second single from her debut studio album, Safety in Numbers and peaked at number 10 on the NZ charts at that time. It has re-appeared on the the Hot 40 Singles chart at number 39, and on the Hot 20 NZ Singles at number 10.
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night) – Margaret Urlich
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night)
Last night I took a cab to the south side
I took a walk over the old neighbourhood
Just by chance we ran into each other
After so long we spent apart
Years ago you were my first love
I'm not to blame, it took my little heart
We were so close
Time went by, we drifted apart
But remember when we danced all night
Danced till we cried, we were so in love
No matter how much the time goes by
You'll always be my number one
My own number one
I maybe a fool, I know I'm sentimental
Easy to get lost in a moment from the past
The love we knew, it still lingers
Those memories will always last
There's somethin' special 'bout a love for the first time
Can't be forgotten, can't be replaced
It was yesterday, we were young again
The moment that I saw your face
But, remember when we danced all night
Danced till we cried, we were so in love
And no matter how much the times goes by
You'll always be my number one
Things were so simple then, we were so innocent
I know we can't go back
But I'm thankful for the time we shared
Our worlds are so different now
We were so close
Time went by, we drifted apart, baby
But remember when we danced all night
Danced till we cried, we were so in love
No matter how much the time goes by
You'll always be my number one
Still every time I think of you
I get misty eyed but I won't come undone
No matter how much the time goes by
You'll always be my number one
When the Cat’s Away
Urlich was also a member of When the Cat’s away. This was a five member all female group formed in the 1980s. At the end of that decade it was one of the biggest live acts in the country, performing to audiences of up to 80,000. They are perhaps best known for their cover version of Melting Pot, which reached number one on the NZ charts and achieved gold in 1998. They disbanded in 1990 but reformed in 2001 and their live album Live in Paradise achieved platinum. The band was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall Of Fame in 2021.
Asian Paradise – When The Cat’s Away
Asian Paradise
There's a strange white moon at my open window
There's a heat on the breeze tonight
I see the lights of the hotel burn in the trees
And I feel love is burning in me
I am caught in the change of a tropical rainstorm
Out there between green and blue
And it's telling me that you're so hard to forget
I'm a traveller just passin' through
Asian paradise you still haunt me
And it's so damn nice, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Asian paradise you still haunt me
I just close my eyes
I can tell you I feel your burnin' in me
Now the moon lies herself out on top of the water
She's as naked as we were born
And the satay and beer paralyses me here
And I'm feeling I'm already home
I am caught in the change of a tropical rainstorm
Out there between green and blue
And it's telling me that you're so hard to forget
I'm a traveller just passin' through
Asian paradise you still haunt me
I just close my eyes, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Asian paradise you still haunt me
I just close my eyes, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Asian paradise you still haunt me
And it's so damn nice, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Peking Man
Margaret Urlich was also a member of the band Peking Man. The band’s single Room That Echoes, where Urlich is the lead singer reached number one on the NZ charts in 1985. In the following year Peking Man won six categories at the New Zealand Music Awards: Album of the Year; Single of the Year; Engineer of the Year; Producer of the Year; Best Group; Best Album Cover.
Room That Echoes – Peking Man
Room That Echoes
You hear all the words that I tell you
You touch upon the things that I feel
Every movement I make tells a secret
I had promised I will never reveal
It's not that I'm trying to mislead you
It's just that I'm misleading myself
Now that the wall is completed
I'm taking time to build a house
I'm gonna build a room that echoes
Around and around and around with its own sound
'Round and around, I won't need to be there
'Round and around and around with its own sound
A sound that no-one has to hear
I'm painting my face with numbers
A message that you won't understand
I look at myself in the mirror
I give myself a helping hand
I will listen to the sound that surrounds me
Even though I won't be there at all
So, next time you need some stairs to fall down
Give my room of sound a very loud call
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around, I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
A sound that no one has to hear
A sound
A sound that
A sound that tells
A sound that tells you
A sound that tells you what you've got
A sound that tells you what you're not
A sound that tells you what you need
A sound that tells you
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
A sound that no one has to hear
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
A tangata Tiriti reflects on Te Tiriti o Waitangi | the Treaty of Waitangi and how it can guide how we all live together in this place now and in the future.
Staying true to the foundation of combining Jesus and justice, Red Letter Christians mobilizes individuals into a movement of believers who live out Jesus’ counter-cultural teachings.
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