Keith Lock MP.

We had a visit today by this very pleasant man. He said that his family stayed on holiday in Waiuta in 1953/4, a couple of years after the mine closure.

I showed him around a bit and went down the hill with him to show him the 'Reefton' village in the barn. When he was leaving, i asked him which way he was travelling - which i normally do. He said that he was just going to Hokitika as he was 'giving a bit of a talk there tonight.'

So, of course, i asked him what he does . He said, "I'm a Member of Parliament for the Green Party. Keith Lock."

Sheesh! If i was an MP, that'd be the first thing i told people, not the last! What a nice guy.

(I thought his face was familiar but couldn't put a name to it - you don't expect people that you've seen in the media).

While on the subject of politics, I can't find the reference at the moment, but it goes something like this. When the local paper was announcing the voting in a general election, it stated the results for Waiuta were (something like) 180 votes for Labour Party, 1/2 a dozen for the Communists and 3 for the National candidate, (Keith Holyoake - later a long-serving Prime Minister). The Waiuta correspondent stated that "It is hard to understand why anyone would vote National in a working-class, mining town."

Amen to that.