Muti murders and other nasties

It's Summer School time at the University of Otago. Courtesy of traveling away up north for the holidays I didn't enrol in any papers this year, although I was kindly given permission to gate crash a few of the lectures in this year's Forensic Biology course. Most of the course is a repetition of the one I did last year, but I did want to catch the lectures by visiting South African forensic anthropologist Maryna Stern, from the University of Pretoria.

Listening to overseas specialists always gives you an appreciation of how good we've got it in New Zealand. Here are some scary statistics she outlined about South Africa.

It has a population of around 46 million, plus an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants.

There are 18 000 - 20 000 murders per year officially, and she thought that was on the low side of reality.

There are 150 000 gunshot wound incidents.

14 000 car highjackings.

This is why so many choose to emigrate here!

They bury over 10 000 unidentified bodies every year. These aren't all from murders or foul play. Many are just people who have died of natural causes and have been found. Many people have no official documents, and have never been to a denist, so have no dental records or medical records to aid in identification.

She also talked of the incredible superstitions of the native population and of some of the Muti Murders. Muti means strong medicine, and they believe body parts have inherent powers, and are so targeted for use in medicines. The victims are often children.

It was a fascinating lecture and as I said earlier, it made me appreciate how peaceful life is in our country.

It also brought to mind the Mo Hayder book I read last year, Ritual. This book carries themes of Muti murders and superstition in the immigrant population in Britain.

It got me to thinking would a novel based on this kind of superstitious magic work in a New Zealand setting? Would readers be able to imagine people being murdered for body bits to go in magical concoction in our quiet little island paradise?

Stranger things have happened.

Death in Ecstasy

By Ngaio Marsh

Nigel Bathgate has followed his nose into the temple of the Sacred Flame, a cult under the thrall of charismatic priest Jasper Garnette. As Bathgate watches the ceremony in which the Chosen Vessel drinks from the Flaming Cup, the young woman initiate drinks, twitches and pitches forward dead.

The cup has clearly been poisoned with cyanide and Bathgate calls his friend Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn onto the case.

They find themselves immersed in the inner workings of a cult that seems to cater for the monied and restless, where petty jealousy and pandering for the favours of the cults leader seems to be the norm. So is the motive jealousy, or money? Both are involved. Throw in an outspoken American, odd and challenged couple, young women and plenty of gullible people, et voila, you have a mystery.

I enjoyed this book. It was first published in 1936, but I couldn't help but imagine this is what it is like in modern day cults which prey on the monied, disenchanted and gullible.

Of birthdays and Inspiration bouquets

Mr Six-year-old made the transformation to Mr Seven-year-old the other day. naturally there was a party involved, with little friends and all the main food groups starting with ch - chippies, cheerios, cheezels and chocolate.

While on holiday he grew very attached to giraffes so I made him a giraffe cake, replicating the giraffe enclosure at Orana Park, with the assistance of some Lego friends. Creating cakes is one of the best bits about organising a party.

Seven does seem so very grown up. When they hit seven you can't kid yourself anymore that the wee poppets have just started school and are little and babyish. Nooooo, they don't let you think that. At seven, they correct you, your grammar, general knowledge, and you can't fudge answers and make them up anymore as they come right back at you. Actually, he's been doing that for years.

The party was lots of fun, with a treasure hunt, hide and seek, and the priceless joy of seeing a group of little kids belting out ABBA songs on ABBA Sing Star. Took me back to my childhood and made me have yearnings for a girls night, with some good wine and a few ABBA moments of our own.
The other lovely surprise was being given an Inspiration Award by dear Joanne Ganley at Aspiring Writer - Thanks Joanne - you made my day!

Part of this Inspiration Award is you hand it on to other bloggers who inspire you and whose blogs add that sparkle to your day. In fact there are rules :

1. Please put the logo of the award on your blog.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 or more blogs.
4. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

I find that most of the bloggers who have already been nominated by Joanne are my regular ports of call and are bloggers who prop up my psych, so my nominations will repeat some Aspiring Writer's, but hey, that's OK, because it reinforces to them that their regular postings and musings are appreciated and valued by many!

So in no particular order:

Joanne, this one is coming right back at you. I enjoy dropping by and seeing what you are up to at Aspiring Writer and enjoy the pics from your garden.

Rachael at The Sound of Butterflies

Mary Mac at O Audacious Book

Graham at Beattie's Book Blog

Paula at Trendy But Casual

The Paradoxical Cat at Schroedinger's Tabby

Claire at Ice Lines

Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise

So you see folks, I have become rather dependent on my friends in the blogosphere for maintaining my sanity and equillibrium.

I'm sure the time I spend visiting is time well spent.

Under the Christmas Tree

Christmas isn't Christmas without books. Every year I hold my breath while whoever is wearing the red hat and playing Santa hands out the gifts and I pray something book shaped will be delivered. Lucky me - several book shapes were delivered.

I didn't receive and crime fiction this year, but did get a great looking crime non-fiction book from my understanding Hubby. Murder, Mayhem and Mischief, by Graham Bell. Graham was a high profile police officer before his retirement and also presenter of the crime busting police show Police Ten 7. This books tells of his career, some of the characters, high profile cases, frustrations and everyday life in the New Zealand police force. This should be a very useful book for a gal like me.


It was also a cook book Christmas, with three new additions to the kitchen shelf:


Jo Seager: The Cook School Recipes. We'd been coveting this one in the book shops before Christmas, so were delighted to be gifted it. Only trouble with being on holiday has been we haven't had the chance to test drive any of the recipes. I plan to remedy that soon.






Molto Italiano by Mario Batali. We loved watching Mario 's television show where he visited Italian restaurants and food artisans in America. So Hubby gave me this book which looks just scrumptious. I have salivated over the pages, and look forward to dining Italiano style soon.

And coincidentally, I gave Hubby Mario Batali Italian Grill, seeing as he is king of the BBQ - Hubby, as well as Mario. We will be eating well!


We're going to need a bigger kitchen bookshelf.

Home sweet home

After 3686.3 km of tootling around the countryside in the car, we are finally home. I don't like to be the whingy type, but I was quite relieved to leave the 36 degree heat of Christchurch on Friday, and swap it or Dunedin's 14 degrees and rain.

A few holiday highlights...

Christmas with family in Palmerston North.
The pohutukawa trees in flower in Wellington.
Taking the kids on the electric train into Wellington city and discovering the Wellington Railway Station has a platform 9 3/4
Riding on the miniature trains in Havelock North.
Riding on the miniature railway in Palmerston North.
Looking at the model railway near Mt Bruce.
(This holiday featured a lot of trains)
Feijoa Rush Munro icecream in Hawkes Bay.
Seeing someone in the waiting room at the Wellesley Rd Medical Centre in Napier reading Overkill. (Don't ask why we were there!)
The meercats at Wellington zoo.
Hand feeding the giraffes at Orana Park in Christchurch.
Seeing the coracle the survivors of the Dundonald shipwreck built and sailed in between Disappointment Island and Auckland Island over 100 years ago. Go see it at the Christchurch museum.

Biggest disappointment:

They've replaced the wonderful old two-level one-way bridge on State Highway 1 near Seddon, where the cars go underneath on the rickety wooden roadway and the trains on top. I'd spent the half hour before we got to it telling the kids how cool it was going on a bridge where the trains trundled above you, building up their anticipation and then we get to it and ... disappointed!

Anyway, here we are at home, the laundry is dealt with, the car emptied out of bags, toys, a large assortment of feathers found on the way and numerous chocolate wrappers. The mail's been collected from the neighbours including a few more Christmas cards and pressies and the Sunday newspapers the dopey folk delivered despite me putting them on hold. The cat has been picked up from the boarding kennels and won't let us out of her sight.

It's back to the real world.

Hit the road, Jack

Ah, t'is the season to be jolly, and to drive long distances to catch up with family. Seeing as I have a pressing deadline and an addiction to technology, we are taking the lap-top away, but there's no guarantees as to whether I feel the pressing urge to blog, or if holidayitis will take a hold and I find myself only having the strength to raise that Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc to my lips, and no more.

Today's little tid-bit is a link to the Alexander Turnbull Library and their new Manuscripts and Pictorial website. It's well worth a look and a valuable tool those bits of historical research.

Best I go deal with Mount Laundry and get packed...

Between the covers

What a lovely day it's been. School is winding up for the little fella, so he had a good day. Tonsil boy turned a corner in his recovery and was a lot better today. He also got to go to a friend's birthday party. It was Dunedin Diary television night, and Hubby and I got to enjoy the school Board of Trustees Chrissy Dinner at Zucchini Brothers restaurant.

For Dunedin Diary it was my last show of the year and I got to give my Christmas gift ideas from the wealth of locally produced of local interest books. I had five books to cover in four minutes, phew, so these are my notes of what I would have said if everything went according to script. Needless to say it never does, but hey, that's live telly for you!

So these were my local picks for Christmas shopping:

Kids picture book:


Herbert the brave sea dog by Robyn Belton.

This is based on the true story of Herbert, a little terrier dog who fell of a boat in a storm in the Marlborough sounds and survived for thirty hours in the water before his owners and a fisherman found him alive. It’s one of those heart warming stories that delighted my boys, and made me shed a tear or two. Beautiful illustrations by Robyn Belton, of greedy cat fame, and this is her first picture book she has both written and illustrated. They have also reproduced in the back page some of the newspaper reports and letters and the special award Herbert got for bravery. It’s a lovely gift for the kiddies.

Teen fiction:

Anywhere but here by Ella West.

Teens can be difficult to buy for but I think this story about a group of teenagers with a touch of science fiction to it will appeal to girls and boys. This is the second in a trilogy of books but stands alone well. Nicky and her friends have the ability to travel from place to place by the power of their mind. They’ve escaped from The Project, a mysterious organisation that abducted them from their families and trained and them to carry out secret missions. They are in Los Angeles, one of them wounded and they have to keep their wits about them in a strange town and situation. Throw in plenty of the problems teens face with relationships and hormones and their loyalties are being challenged. They have to work together to keep one step ahead of The Project.


Blokes Book

Into the Wider world by Brian Turner.

Brian Turner is a poet, writer and essayist and he’s a blokes bloke. He loves his fishing and sports and has a real connection to the environment. This book is a wonderful collection of his musings on a myriad of topics from wasting time to, fishing, to dogs. They’re delightful and I’ve enjoyed just opening up at random and reading the story in front of me. I have brought this book for my brother for Christmas – he’s a hunting and fishing kind of a guy and normally difficult to choose for, but this year was no problem, because Brian was kind enough to bring out the perfect book for blokes.

Coffee table type book:

Rita Angus: Life & Vision by William McAloon and Jill Trevelyan

Rita Angus would have of be one of New Zealand’s most recognised artists, and it has been a very special treat to be able to see so many of her works in their full glory at the Rita Angus exhibition at the Dunedin Art Gallery. I urge everyone to go and see it. This book is the catalogue of the exhibition, which marks 100 years since her birth. It’s a beautiful pictorial book, with full colour pictures of all of the works in the exhibition, and therefore a rich cross section of her body of work. It has a good commentary on what was happening in her life at the time of painting some of her works as well as biographical information. I love it for the pictures – it’s a beautifully produced book you can enjoy again and again.

All around great gift book:


Fleur's Place by Paul Sorrell and Graham Warman.

This is simply a fabulous book. Made so by the fact I think Fleur holds a special place in everyone’s hearts down here. This book is as much about Fleur’s vision as it is about the restaurant and the food and the array of characters who people who keep Fleur’s place supplied. From a recipe perspective, they are simple and flavoursome and the type of thing you and I could happily make in our own kitchens. The photography is terrific, and this would just as happily be displayed on the coffee table as getting ingredient stains all over it in the kitchen.