Well, 2021 has certainly been another challenging year. As I write this editorial ‘freedom day’ December 3rd is still a week away, but it will be a day that all business people will be very pleased to see.

As this is our final issue for the year I have extended my editorial a bit for the festive season.
Publishing this magazine and running a business of 70 people continues to be very very challenging. While I don’t want to get too political (as we are all about telling the positive stories) it has been very disappointing the way this pandemic has been navigated by this government. In my humble opinion there has been no balance between health and wellbeing. In this sense wellbeing is related to the lives and livelihoods of people who are being disrupted and are having to put up with very poor planning that has left economic consequences way down the pecking order. And don’t start me on MIQ! It’s wrong.
On a more positive note we have once again produced a pretty good December/January issue to complete the year. 132 pages of good stuff. As I have detailed in the Q&A feature I have done with Toni Street, I found her book really interesting. I couldn’t put it down. If you haven’t read it, you should. I hope you enjoy my chat with Toni about the book. Heather Barker Vermeer has also done an interesting feature interview with local actor Peter Feeney. We continue to bang on about ‘Doing it Local’, buying local, and have included lots of ideas and reasons for you to do this when buying gifts this festive season. Despite the lack of activity pre-December 3rd freedom day, our team has done a magnificent job in making this a loaded issue full of all the usual good stuff.
In my other life – as most will know – I am an elected member of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. My reason for getting involved in local politics was purely around getting good outcomes for our community. I am particularly keen on progress. Advocating for initiatives and amenities that we need for the future. A recent issue that has some controversy around it is a desire of council, supported by Iwi, to close the area known as Te Uru Tapu / Sacred Grove. This is the area where there are Pohutukawa trees at the northern end of Takapuna Beach, opposite the beach cafe. There is also a walkway, lookout and raised boardwalk there that has enabled access to the beach at higher tides. It was built in 2001. The boardwalk has been closed for 2-3 years due to safety concerns around the trees and a desire to respect Iwi’s position around the Wahi Tapu nature of the area (a place sacred to Māori in the traditional, spiritual, religious, ritual, or mythological sense). I personally don’t want it closed and voted that way recent in a local board business meeting.  With compromise I believe we can come up with a solution that satisfies everyone, including the local community that I reckon is being left out of the loop with current council proposals. I am keen to hear feedback from locals on my position. Email me please.
I have been an advocate for ensuring we have the all abilities access mat on Takapuna Beach (and other local beaches) so those in wheel chairs, mobility scooters etc. can use the beach. It’s satisfying to see that the mat is now in place once again for the 2021/22 summer. Big thanks to the Reeve family who funded the mat, they are so generous.
It’s good to see the wonderful new toilet block and changing rooms open and operational at Milford Reserve by the beach. I love the design. There are also new toilets and changing rooms under way beside the playground at Takapuna Beach. This is also a very good design and thanks once again to the generous Reeve family there will be a very special Changing Places Room with a chair hoist so people with severe disability and mobility challenges can go to the toilet and wash and change more easily. The new toilet block has been positioned further towards the road that opens up more reserve space and the area is also getting new landscaping and will be fantastic when finished next year.
Staying in Takapuna, the Hurstmere Road rejuvenation project, which has taken a bit longer than planned because of the Covid-19 disruptions, was due to be completed in late November, just a few days after I was writing this. The new road will be a breath of fresh air for Takapuna – very people friendly and sets a great platform for the future of the area. We profile the ‘new’ Hurtsmere Road in this issue.
A local business area that has been a beacon during the past few years is Milford (milfordshops.co.nz). Despite the adversity businesses have been through during that time, occupancy in Milford has remained as high as anywhere, as have transaction levels. Murray Hill has been a dedicated manager of the Milford Business Association (aka BID – business improvement district) for many years and has played a big part in this success. News that two big new stores will open there soon is another boost with Commonsense Organics (commonsenseorganics.co.nz) one of those opening – soon by the looks of things – in the old ANZ bank premises on Kitchener Road, beside the entrance to the Milford Centre and supermarket carpark. Well done Murray and Milford!
As I mentioned in a previous editorial, the past 12 months have also been a challenge for me on the health front. Being a fair and freckled-skinned individual I have had two dangerous Melanoma removed from my skin in the last 20 years. The last one about five years ago on my right calf muscle.
In September 2020 I had a CT scan to look at a medical issue with another part of my body that proved to be fine, but the CT scan picked up what looked like a recurrent Melanoma in my groin. Unfortunately that is what it was. Cancer. Cells from the Melanoma on the skin of my calf muscle had entered my body and travelled to the lymph nodes in my groin. Big problem!
In early November 2020, just prior to my 58th birthday I had an operation that removed the Melanoma from two of my lymph nodes in my groin and also removed the other lymph nodes around the spot, 11 in all. Not a pleasant operation! The recovery was tough and I got around for a few weeks on a mobility scooter provided courtesy of Allied Medical.
The challenge for me had just started. Melanoma is a very dangerous beast. After the op my surgeon Isaac Cranshaw suggested I go on a 12 month course of an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda and he introduced me to Oncologist Dr Gareth Riviland from the Harbour Cancer Centre, based at the Southern Cross Medical facility in Wairau Road. What a fantastic set-up that is with super dedicated people.
Keytruda (also called Pembrolizumab) is a prescription medicine used to treat melanoma. It has been called a wonder drug. In my case it has been used to help prevent the melanoma from coming back after the lymph nodes that contained cancer had been removed by surgery. I started on a 12 month course that involved 17 infusions three weeks apart at a cost of over $100k. This was my insurance policy.
So every three weeks through until November 10th this year I have been visiting Harbour Cancer Centre for this treatment. I have also been well looked after by Megan and Ash from their physio team who have helped relieve the swelling (Lymphedema) in my leg that now has less lymph nodes. Lymphedema is a build-up of fluid in soft tissue due to the lymphatic system not working so well. The lymphatic system helps fight infection and other diseases by carrying lymph throughout the body.
Then every quarter I have had CT scans to check whether dirty Mr Melanoma has returned. To see if my insurance policy is working. Every quarter I/we have been on tenterhooks as we await the results from scans. I am thrilled to report so far so good. My recent scan was on November 21st and it was all clear. Whew!
I won’t lie, these 12 months have been the hardest of my life. Facing the fact that my life may be cut short just as I had become a grandad with such a wonderful wife and family has caused many tears. Some public and more private. Despite having so much support all around me it can be lonely. I have been lucky that this drug, Keytruda, has only minor side effects when compared to Chemo etc.
I wanted to tell my story of the past 12 months so people can understand what those facing cancer go through. There are many people facing much harder roads than my one. But once you feel your life is on the line the challenge is immense – not just physically, but mentally. For me it is something that will probably never go away.
A big thanks to doctors Isaac, Gareth and their teams at the Skin Institute and the Harbour Cancer Centre. Also to my friends, work colleagues and most of all to my family for their love and support.
Make sure you have a regular skin check – early detection of skin Melanoma is crucial!
Have a very Merry Christmas, Happy New year and a relaxing summer break. Lets hope that 2022 brings happier times.
Good health, less lockdowns.
Meri Kirihimete me te tau hou.

Aidan Bennett, QSM
Publisher, Channel Magazine
Founder & Managing Director, Benefitz
Email: aidan@benefitz.co.nz