Sean Wheeler author Aotearoa

Sean Wheeler author Aotearoa I’m a New Zealand based author writing novels and poetry

03/09/2026

Running from the reaper

Running from the reaper
Willing to make a bargain
I’ll drink less wine
I’ll eat more broccoli
I’ll exercise twice as much

Running from the reaper
Ready to mend my ways
I’ll weigh myself daily
I’ll go to bed early
I’ll quit the carbs

Running from the reaper
As friends are caught
Leaving their loves
Leaving their children
Leaving their lives

Running from the reaper
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

(Thanks to Dylan Thomas who the reaper caught in 1953, the year I was born. This is not a maudlin effort, just have a couple of friends dying just now so reflecting)

I went for a long walk down Waimairi Beach yesterday. As always, it fed my love of the sea and sunshine. When I lived th...
03/09/2026

I went for a long walk down Waimairi Beach yesterday. As always, it fed my love of the sea and sunshine. When I lived there I went down every day, sometimes twice.

25/08/2026

Encounter

In my evening stroll I encountered Jay and her very handsome dog Zebu.

The waxing moon was high. Soon it will be full. I like the full moon and the first few nights of the waning moon. For then the moon rises over Southshore at a convenient time, and fills the estuary with silver that shimmers to the cries of the gulls.

I’ve bumped into Jay and Zebu many times before. She’s young (who isn’t?) from Germany originally. We chat.

Jay’s developing a business as a therapist. I ask her if it’s feeding her, not in the material sense. She says it is.

She says she sometimes asks her (what’s the right word, clients? Patients? Customers?) a question with the stricture that they can’t answer with their job, or their age, or their nationality, their religion or their sports/hobbies etc.

It’s a good question:

Who are you?

25/08/2026

Buy Canadian made

18/08/2026

Uncluttered mind

I went to the movies with a good friend. We saw a French film: “Colours of time”. A charming story that flits effortlessly between a contemporary and a 19th century setting.

It got me thinking about how cluttered our consciousness is. In one scene the lead actress is on a river boat steaming through the French countryside. She can’t read or write. So she just takes in the passing scenery and dozes. How different that is from today, where at the very least we’d have a book to read, or a cellphone to connect us with absent friends, world events, or a permanent camera to record our experience.

All of which disconnects us from being truly present. How wonderful it is in those moments when I can be transcendentally present. It happens sometimes when I’m surfing, sometimes when I’m with friends, sometimes when I’m at one with nature. But in reality not all that often. I don’t want to be always somewhere else.

My hunch is that in a pre-industrial, pre-electronic age it was much easier, nay natural to just be there.

05/08/2026

We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. So medicine, law, business, engineering... these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love... these are what we stay alive for.”
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

29/07/2026

Not quite there

As my orbits around the sun
Accumulate
I realise that in my life
I’ve often been
Not quite there.
In many situations,
Just a little abstracted.
Playing my role,
Not without pleasure
But still somehow
Held back.
But nearing my final orbits
I find myself more present.
I like the David Bowie quote:
“Getting older is the process of becoming who you were always meant to be”.

26/07/2026

Seven reasons why I love Spain

1. The Spanish… who are so friendly and helpful. I have yet to receive an unhelpful response from anyone when I’ve asked. Today I was battling manfully with the Renfe train ticket machine. A complete stranger came over seeing the plough lines on my brow and helped.
2. The history starting (at least) with the Romans, then the Visigoths, the Moors, and finally the Reconquista. The architecture, art, music, dance, food and everything else reflects this diverse origin.
3. The Civil War, as a study in the evils of any war but particularly one that pits neighbours against neighbours. Yet also produced incredible art and literature (please go read Laurie Lee, George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway for starters).
4. The weather… I’ve been in the Spanish summer 5 years in a row for a total of about ten months. It’s rained briefly twice.
5. How easy it is to get around. Driving is easy once you get used to the “wrong side of the road”. The high speed trains are amazing, why anyone would fly between cities when you can board a 300 km/h train 5 minutes before departure and avoid all that airport faffing.
6. The diversity of landscapes from the green of the Basque lands to the dryness of Extremadura and everything in between. The area I know best, Marina Alta, is simply stunning with its oranges and craggy hills.
7. The richness and simplicity of village life, especially around fiesta time.

I’m sure there are frustrations with the bureaucracy.

I see the tower blocks in the big cities and know the challenges that such places create for their impoverished dwellers.

But none of that touches me as I glide from village to village.

Viva Espana!

20/07/2026

Endings

I’m coming to the end of my time in Spain. As on previous occasions, I don’t know when/if I’ll be back.

I’ve again loved being here. I’ve loved the beauty, I’ve loved the people, I’ve loved the food, I’ve loved the richness of the culture and history.

Coming to the end of anything that’s meant something is always challenging. Whether it’s a job, a relationship, a friendship, a place, or a vacation there’s a familiar stew of feelings.

A dollop of sadness; a pinch of regret; a touch of anxiety about what comes next; and a big spoonful of gratitude for it having been.

I’ve never been a long term planner. In my career I always thought of myself as a bit of an accidental tourist. One thing just lead to another. So this mini-chapter in my life is ending. I go back to my previous life or whatever comes next.

When I worked with Ilan, the brilliant Israeli analyst I employed he always finished emails with a quote:

“Do not fear mistakes, there are none”… Miles Davis.

I really think that’s true.

16/07/2026

I wonder

I wonder if the usual uptick in domestic violence occurred after last night’s loss by the England football team. The Lancaster University study indicates a 38% increase in incidents after a loss (and interestingly a 26% increase after a win).
I wonder what it is that causes such a depressing phenomena.
I wonder if it’s the tribalism that is so encouraged.
I wonder if it’s the alcohol consumption that often goes along with big events.
I wonder what it is that makes a man (generally) lash out at the woman/children in their life just because a bunch of blokes he doesn’t know lost to another bunch of blokes he doesn’t know.
I wonder how much the anti-woke backlash of recent years contributes.
I wonder how at such a ripe old age I know so little about how the world really works.

Address

Redcliffs
Christchurch
8081

Telephone

+6421462271

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sean Wheeler author Aotearoa posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Sean Wheeler author Aotearoa:

Shortcuts

Share

Category