increase font size
A small error, or miscalculation at the Fieldays fencing competition can mean losing a place in the top three, or even the championship itself – a tough price to pay.
OPINION: The annual National Fieldays have come and gone for yet another year.
Like many others did, we made the trip to Mystery Creek. Yep, I very much enjoyed the day. I always enjoy watching fencing competitions – rather impressive stuff I thought! What appears to me to be a small error, or miscalculation, can mean losing a place in the top 3, or even the championship itself. To me, that’s a tough price to pay!
Another rather random thought I had was: ‘crikey, for a “sunset industry” we are doing more than just okay’.
I do remember the old days when the Clydesdales were part of the show. I still think something like these magnificent horses would go down well today too. Yep, bring back the Clydesdales, I reckon!
By the time this edition of Rural News gets to your mailbox, the Super Rugby season will be all done and dusted for another year as well. One of our regions will be celebrating, the other probably doing something more closely resembling crying in their coffees!
My hope is that it’s the players that decide the outcome and not a bad call from the ref or the TMO.
When the officials make mistakes, have you noticed it never seems to be the winning team that calls them out? Hmmm.
Again, I think folks need to be reminded the refs are humans too. And all humans will make mistakes. Good refs just make fewer mistakes than the others.
It’s just the same with the players too.
I did learn many years ago that most of the ‘experts’ are on the sidelines or laying back in their Lazyboy chairs. I’ll leave that one there!
Now, when it comes to making brain-fade decisions, my favourite quote would have to be this one from 94-yearold Thomas Sowell: “It’s is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”
Wow, what a cracker! When I hear that quote I do not immediately think of our sports men and women, the coaches, or the refs. Nor do I think of our hard-working farming communities. None of them ever come to my mind.
My first thoughts of where this is so evident is with the political class. And not just locally either, but internationally. They and their ever-fawning army of bureaucrats, enthusiastically supported by their lapdogs in the media, of course, surely take out the prize for this one, in my opinion.
There are many examples, from both history and more current, where such “decisions” should have resulted in prison time. But that has not happened, and it won’t, because they “pay no price for being wrong”.
Again, and yet again, the price is ultimately paid by “we the people”. Unjust, indeed!
Families that manage to stay together in today’s world don’t enjoy that ‘miracle’ because, somehow, by pure luck, they’ve managed to live mistake free! Not at all. Luck just won’t cut it when it comes to family and the complexity of family relationships. Obviously, there is much deeper stuff involved.
Somewhere in their story you will discover some archaic value called unselfishness. And forgiveness will be right in the mix as well. Forgiveness is a powerful thing – it allows you to successfully move on, free from the shackles.
And yes, I surely am grateful I know the one who is the ultimate forgiver! I’ve been able to move on!
Take care and God bless.
If you want to contact Colin Miller email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
OPINION: I trust all is well at your place. It's obvious the Christmas season is upon us, as I sit at my keyboard today. I'm looking forward to a bit of a breather and catching up with friends and family again.
OPINION: Like many of you, I am familiar with the old adage "You are what you eat".
OPINION: Clicking through some news of late, I have noted the odd headline referring to credit card debt.
A system that combines UV-C light for disinfection could provide chemical free treatment of plant pathogens and diseases such as powdery mildew and botrytis on berry, vine and tree crops.
OPINION: I must admit I really do enjoy spring. The extra daylight minutes and the warmer temps are very welcome in my world!
The government has announced a major restructuring of the country's seven crown research institutes (CRIs), which will see them merged into three public research organisations (PROs).
Hamish and Rachel Hammond jumped at the chance to put their university learning into practice by taking up a contract milking offer right after graduation.
"We couldn't do this without our team. They are integral to everything." That's the first thing that Te Awamutu dairy farmers Jayson and Stacey Thompson have to say about their team.
OPINION: The Canadian government's love affair with its lifestyle dairy farmers has got it into trouble once again.
Volatile input costs, fluctuating commodity prices, a reduction in direct payments and one of the wettest periods in decades that resulted in a disastrous harvest, have left their mark and many UK farming businesses worse off.
European milk processors are eyeing more cheese and milk powder exports into South America following a landmark trade agreement signed last month.
OPINION: The end-of-year booze-up at the posh Northern Club in Auckland must have been a beauty, as the legal 'elite'…
OPINION: It divides opinion, but the House has passed the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill.
