ISLAND BAY MUM SETS UP CAMP AT PARAPARAUMU PTA MEETING, STILL THERE THREE HOURS LATER
She brought a thermos. She brought opinions. She brought a spare cardigan. Nobody's game to ask her to leave.
A woman from Island Bay arrived at a Paraparaumu Primary PTA meeting on Tuesday evening with a two-litre thermos of tea and a Tupperware of ginger slice. She has not yet left.
The meeting was scheduled for 90 minutes. It wrapped up officially at 8.47pm. As of Wednesday lunchtime, the woman — identified by other parents only as Fenella — was still in the staffroom, refilling her cup from a jug she'd brought from home.
"She's got views on the Hutchinson's versus Harmony sausage debate, and she doesn't even have a kid at the school," said PTA treasurer Bridget Ngata. "Her sister's boyfriend's niece is Year 4, apparently. That was enough for her."
Another parent, Callum Reeves, said Fenella had taken the floor for eleven minutes on pickup-lane etiquette on Ruapehu Street. "She drove up from Island Bay. In a Subaru. With a kayak on the roof. For a PTA meeting." She also proposed a sub-committee. She proposed to chair it.
Principal Marie Havelock said the school was "grateful for community engagement" but confirmed the cleaners had been asked to work around Fenella rather than through her. "She's offered to help stack the chairs. She has not stacked any chairs."
Fenella's thermos, per a parent who got close enough to look, is a Stanley. It's bloody enormous.
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Reader Letters
couchgremlin
Lol, classic Fenella.
MumOf3_Kapiti
This is exactly why I stopped going to PTA meetings. There's always someone who thinks their opinion is the most important. Spare us!
Trev_Hornby
If she wants to help stack chairs, she should start lifting.
Garry (Halswell)
In my day, PTA meetings would finish on time, and no one would hang around for a cuppa. Parents had lives to return to, not endless debates over sausages!
Sympathetic_Sam
Mate, that's not what it's about. It's great to have input from the community, even if it's a bit over the top.
NelsonNuisance
Buggered if I know why anyone would drive from Island Bay to Paraparaumu just for a PTA meeting. Absolute piss-take.
Sarah_T
@NelsonNuisance Maybe she just wanted an excuse for a drive? Or maybe that's how passionate some are about education... or sausages.
Baking_Nana
Honestly, I love a ginger slice, so maybe she was onto something with that Tupperware. More meetings should feature baking, if you ask me.
Dorothy99
I remember when I was on the PTA. Meetings were sensible, and the thought of bringing a thermos was never even considered. Times have changed!