Bay Harbour: June 22, 2022

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4 Bay Harbour News Wednesday June 22 2022 Get tHe mOst Out OF yOur GardeN tHis wiNter witH Ferrymead NOw is a Great time tO plaNt cOld-lOviNG strawberries aNd Garlic bulbs Super Six Strawberry ‘Camarosa’ Pack of 6 Camarosa strawberries will produce a light spring crop of berries and then a full yield for summer. 319347 Garlic Bulbs A favourite of home gardeners, Printanor garlic produces firm cloves with excellent keeping qualities. 128793 Garlic Bulbs This hardneck garlic variety produces strong, pungent bulbs with a strong taste and a sweet finish. 303484 $15 49 $8 97 pack of 6 pack of 4 Normal $9.97 Club Price $7 97 pack of 4 Tui Strawberry Food 1.5kg Replenishes nutrients to encourage healthy growth. Also suitable for raspberries and other berry varieties. N-P-K 3-6-5 + sulphur, magnesium, calcium, trace elements and blood & bone base. 139447 Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food 500ml concentrate Balanced fertiliser promotes healthier, tastier vegies and herbs. Dual action formula feeds through roots and leaves. 229464 wiNter plaNt care Yates Thrive Camellia, Gardenia & Blueberry Fertiliser Granules 2kg Ideal for all acid loving plants like Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Blueberries, Camellias and Gardenia’s. Specifically designed and blended for NZ conditions. 368971 Tui Blood & Bone Fertiliser 2.5kg Provides a slow release form of natural nitrogen and phosphorus to feed your plants. Suitable for all plant types and for use in garden beds. Natural product. N-P-K 7-4-0 139580 $9 98 $15 98 JuNe plaNtiNG Growfresh Cyclamen 10cm Assorted Gourmet Brassica This range of miniature cyclamen have a rounded, compact Herb Coriander 1.3L mound of small leaves. A profusion of sweetly scented Combo Pack Coriander is an easy to grow blooms, in a wide range of colours, are displayed over a long highly fragrant herb which Pack of 6 period of time. can easily be grown in both Easy to grow, 369688 pots or the garden. Suitable for 183231 garden beds. 188517 $3 98 $3 98 $3 98 $13 98 Growflora Primula Malacoides Pack of 6 Rose Easy to grow. Ideal in pots and planters, hanging baskets or the garden. Add a splash of colour to your garden. 188377 188376 $6 39 $13 49 pack of 6 each each pack of 6 Get the kids involved! $17 98 $17 98 $19 98 each each each 320970 322865 322871 big range, low price, local advice Prices valid until June 29th while stocks last. mitre 10 meGa Ferrymead 1005 Ferry Road, Christchurch Phone: 366 6306 Find us at: /MEGAFerrymead Opening Hours: Monday – Friday: 7am – 7pm Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays: 8am – 6pm www.mitre10.co.nz/local/megaFerrymead Ferrymead
Wednesday June 22 2022 Bay Harbour News Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz NEWS 5 Basil, 80, and working 40 hours a week • By Susan Martin AT AN AGE when most of us have hung up the gloves – Basil Plato is out the door to full-time employment in Christchurch. A statistical anomaly, Basil turns 81 this year and says he has no plans to retire. He supports six men with disabilities in a house in Halswell – and has been with four of them for 22 years. Their average age is 65. So why is this veteran working 40 hours a week? “For one thing, I like these guys,” he said. “We’ve seen a bit of life together. People need assistance out there. “Work keeps you plugged into life, feeling younger and ‘with it’ – but I know the truth when I look in the mirror. I’ve got my mates, mostly retired now. Oldies tend to talk about their aches and pains – and they’re legitimate concerns. “But I just think, while I’ve got my health, there’s more for me yet. If I slow down, I might start noticing all the bad stuff about being old. When it’s time, I think I’ll know,” he says. Basil says money’s not the driver as he’s “all set up.” For over 40 years, Basil worked as an independent contractor in forestry around Canterbury, as well as on dairy farms and building sites in the region. He crossed paths with disability when he took time out to care for his wife during a long illness. “People commented on my carer skills, and about 2000, a friend saw jobs in disability homes and said: “Hey you’d be good at that,” he said. This was a period in New Zealand when policy on disability was changing. The state was winding up a historic programme to segregate babies, children and adults with intellectual disability in institutions. People were being released to join the community. Basil landed a job with NZCare (now NZCommunity Living) – a Government-funded in-home support provider. NZCare was responsible for resettling residents from the Templeton Centre between the mid-1990s and 2000. Templeton was New Zealand’s first and largest psychopaedic institution. Built in 1928, and originally called the ‘Templeton Farm Colony’, its purpose was to ‘detain mental defectives.’ Basil says he knew little about disability at first. “We’d all heard the spooky rumours about places like Templeton. But you didn’t know. You didn’t see the people,” he said. “I remember my first day, I was put on for a nightshift. At the end of it I thought – well, this won’t be my cup of tea. But I turned up the next day and my manager said: ‘You’ve come back – you’ll be okay’.” Basil says the clincher for him was NZCare’s proviso that staff obtain formal qualifications. “I had to do a level 4 certificate, which was hard for me, but disability is a skilled support area. I wouldn’t have known how to understand and support the people. I mean, I didn’t know there were people who didn’t speak,” he says. Basil says with time, training and experience, he learnt there were other ways to converse, grasp and relate to people. “It takes years though to really ‘get’ a different communication,” he said. Five of the six residents are non-verbal, with autism a common theme. “We’re always trying to read and understand what’s going on for them. We’re all pretty predictable, and these guys are no different. “But we just wish we knew more sometimes – that they could tell us – look, I’ve got a bloody headache, a toothache, my arthritic knee’s getting bitten into, I’m craving cheese, oranges, coffee – or I’m just extra hungry today and this time it’s serious, not my usual haggle,” he said. Basil says he’s a person who is always observing, thinking and trying to figure out what makes others tick. “One of our guys here sits in his favourite chair. At face value, you’d think he’s in his own world. But I see what he’s up to. He’s watching us all in the reflection of the telly, taking in what everyone’s doing behind him – who’s talking to who, who’s saying what. I catch him grinning and nodding when something resonates or tickles his fancy. “It’s easy to overlook some people, especially when they CARER: Basil Plato supports men with disabilities. PHOTO: STAR MEDIA don’t use words. But you have no idea how clued up they might be. Don’t think you’ve got someone’s number or know what they’re grinning about – they know things you don’t.” Basil says the residents are experts at watching and reading human nature. “They’ve had hundreds of staff come and go. They’ve spent a lifetime scanning the faces of those ‘in charge’ and sizing up what they’re in for. “They also know if you think they are ‘stupid’ in all kinds of subtle ways. They hear and understand everything you say. They know what you think of them,” he said. Basil believes the bad old days of bigotry have largely gone. “People are a lot less scary close up, and once they’ve got a name and identity, and you break bread with them,” he said. Like everyone in Christchurch, Basil and the men have their stories on the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. “Their house was destroyed. My manager said: ‘Throw what you can in a van, drive the guys up to Picton, I’ve booked a ferry to Wellington. We found emergency accommodation in Hawera,” he says. The men flew back to Christchurch six months later when a house became available. Asked what makes a good support worker Basil says: “Oh training is key. Then you need a good team of people – quality, mix, numbers wise. You need the right attitude – you have to be there for the guys. “As staff, we have to stay vigilant against any attitude of ‘control’ creeping into the house. We’re here to support the people – not to dominant them or suit ourselves. Our blokes are fully-fledged adults, sensitive and aware, with every right to be here, to feel respected and valued, safe and relaxed, and to have good and bad days,” he says. And does Basil regard the men as friends? “Yes and no,” he said. “People matter. You build relationships in this job. But I also realise, I can only do my bit. I’ve got another life – a partner, friends, kids, grandkids. The switch does goes off. But I think you need that boundary.” A colleague who works closely with Basil says: “The residents all love Basil. Maybe it’s his communication style, tone of voice, mannerisms, humour or longevity. But some breathe a sigh of relief when comes in or gets back from holidays, a sort of ‘thank God you’re here.’ Maybe they’ve had enough of us mostly females.” With staff turnover notoriously high in disability work, and women composing most of its workforce – this group of residents in a Halswell house could be doing a lot worse than having this enduring man in their lives. Finally, when asked the obligatory career question of, so, where do you see yourself in 10 years? Basil laughs and says: “Las Vegas. That was the plan before Covid. I’d really like to see Las Vegas.” There is a Royal Commission of Inquiry in New Zealand into historic abuse in care between 1950 and 1999. A public hearing, which will include the experiences of people with disabilities in institutions, will be held in July. This is a chance to make disability history seen and heard. tree trouble? call us 384 9630 www.thetreepeople.nz I CAN COME TO YOU YOUR LOCAL ACCOUNTANT Financial Statement Preparation Tax Preparation & Compliance Xero & MYOB Specialist Hardy’s Natural Health - Instore NOW! We’re your natural health experts - and now we’re a Hardy’s Health Hub! Lynley, Orla, Lil, Grant (Pharmacist/Owner) Pav, Sue, Brittany, Kellie Kellie and the team will provide great advice on our top quality range of supplements - including Solgar. Call into the pharmacy and pick up your copy of our latest My Hardy’s magazine. Health Hub t h e t r e e p e o p l e f o u r s e a s o n s t r e e C a r e Ph 03 384 4633 Cell 021 677 670 steven@sclarke.co.nz 7 Margot Lane, Mt Pleasant www.sclarke.co.nz 1005 Ferry Rd, Ferrymead | Ph 03 943 9635 | OPEN 6 DAYS (Closed Sun)
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Page 9 and 10: Wednesday June 22 2022 Bay Harbour
Page 11 and 12: $ 169 99 Usua ly up to Wednesday Ju
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Bay Harbour: June 22, 2022

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