Winging it

As 2022 comes to an end, we need to remind ourselves that things could, in fact, be a lot worse, writes Listener editor KARYN SCHERER.

My home office in the bush-clad hills of Titirangi is not an ideal workplace. Unfortunately, I never get sick of the view. During the first Covid lockdown in 2020, the air was so clear I could gaze at almost every house across the Auckland isthmus, and beyond to the Hauraki Gulf.

These days, it is the foreground that more frequently captures my attention, as kereru swoop from the branches of still-healthy kauri. It's as if they're trying to photobomb the scene before my eyes.

Probably because of their colouring, and their unique appeal, kereru (or tüī) often feature in Kiwi Christmas designs, along with the ubiquitous blooms of our beloved põhutukawa. And I have to confess, the Listener team were tempted to feature a kererū on our Christmas cover this year (or perhaps that remarkable bird known to the nation as Ruby Tui).

As it happened, Auckland artist Hayley King, better known as Flox, had other ideas. When we invited her to submit some concepts for our most popular issue of the year, she sent us a stunning image of a kökako in full flight. It was gorgeous, of course, but was it appropriate for Christmas?