Luna Rossa and American Magic youth teams both booked their spot in the Youth America’s Cup Final after a thrilling day of Semi-Final racing in Barcelona The stage is set for a thrilling showdown in the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup Final, as Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and American Magic secured their spots in the…
The Anne Arundel County Public Library system will announce Wednesday that it has become the first in Maryland to be designated a book sanctuary.CEO Skip Auld is expected to talk about the designation, which declares the system one that protects banned and endangered books, at the Annapolis Mall branch.Book Sanctuaries, established in Chicago in 2022, have a mission to collect and protect these books, ensure public access to them, host discussions and events and educate the community about the history of book bans and censorship.“Anne Arundel County Public Library is dedicated to protecting the rights of all who use our library’s resources and will defend their freedom to read,” Auld said in a statement. “In becoming a Book Sanctuary, we reaffirm the library’s role as a defender of intellectual freedom, a place where every individual has the right to explore ideas without fear of censorship or judgment. This declaration is a powerful statement of our values and redoubles our efforts to educate people on the dangers of censorship to a democracy.”The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has lashed out over Kim Porter’s alleged memoir. The collection of alleged diary entries, released on Amazon this month under the title Kim’s Lost Words: A Journey for Justice from the Other Side…, was made available to buy a week before 54-year-old Diddy’s arrest. Last week, the A-list rapper was arrested on…
The Government of Liberia announces here that the 2024 World Tourism Day celebration will be held in Grand Bassa County, in the Southeast of the country.
By Kruah Thompson
Monrovia, Liberia, September 25, 2024—Grand Bassa County is gearing up to host this year’s celebration of World Tourism Day, which will showcase its rich cultural heritage and natural beauty.
The event aims to promote sustainable tourism and highlight the region’s attractions. It will bring together local communities, stakeholders, and visitors for a day of activities and cultural exchange.
World Tourism Day, celebrated annually on September 27, was established by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 1980. The day aims to raise awareness about tourism’s social, cultural, political, and economic value and contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Each year, World Tourism Day focuses on a specific theme, highlighting emerging trends and issues in the tourism sector. The day serves as a reminder of the importance of tourism in fostering international cooperation and understanding while encouraging responsible travel.
However, Liberia’s Deputy Minister for Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Madam Kadiatu Konteh Brohiri, during the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism’s regular press briefing on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, revealed that the Day will be celebrated in Grand Bassa County, under the global theme, “Tourism and Peace.”
According to her, this theme will capture the essence of how tourism can serve as a bridge for peace, encouraging cross-cultural interactions and economic opportunities that contribute to sustainable development in Liberia.
World Tourism Day 2023 was celebrated in Montserrado County, Liberia.
This year’s celebrations will spotlight Grand Bassa County’s stunning landscapes and cultural richness, including its beaches, eco-lodges, and historical landmarks. According to Deputy Minister Brohiri, these present unique opportunities for sustainable tourism.
“To ensure that the event is successful, MICAT, in collaboration with local authorities in Grand Bassa, has organized a series of pre-event activities.”
She says these activities include traditional performances highlighting Liberia’s cultural diversity, guided tours of Buchanan’s key attraction points, and providing visitors with a firsthand experience of the region’s tourism potential.
Meanwhile, the Minister says the 2024 World Tourism Day celebrations in Grand Bassa will underscore Liberia’s tourism potential and serve as a testament to how tourism can be a catalyst for peace, development, and economic growth. Editing by Jonathan Browne
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service made a series of “foreseeable” and “preventable” mistakes in the lead-up to the first attempt to assassinate Donald Trump in July that allowed a gunman to fire shots that killed a Trump rally attendee and grazed the Republican presidential nominee’s ear, senators in both parties charge.The Senate Homeland Security Committee and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a joint interim report in their investigation of the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting Wednesday that responsibilities weren’t clearly defined ahead of the July 13 rally and that personnel they interviewed who were responsible for planning have “deflected blame.”While the Secret Service has acknowledged “ultimate responsibility” for the failure to prevent Trump’s being struck by a bullet, the report says key Secret Service personnel “declined to acknowledge individual areas of responsibility for planning or security as having contributed to the failure to prevent the shooting that day.”The report also highlights the types of technological issues that are common within massive federal bureaucracies like the Secret Service.Among the errors identified by the report: The Secret Service knew that snipers with local law enforcement planned to set up inside the building where the shooter ultimately fired from, rather than on the roof. Communications were siloed, and the Secret Service “did not ensure it could share information with local law enforcement partners in real time,” the report says.Another example in the report: After a sniper with local law enforcement texted the leader of the Secret Service counter-sniper team about the man who would soon fire shots at Trump, it took seven minutes for the Secret Service leader to send an email relaying the information and photos. It’s unclear how long it then took the other members of the Secret Service sniper team to read the email — titled “Local CS BOLO,” meaning “be on the lookout” — and a counter-sniper team member said the email was “worded vaguely.”The report also noted that other components within the Secret Service rejected requests from Trump’s detail, including a request for counter-assault team liaisons to coordinate tactical teams that day.The Secret Service released its own internal report last week.Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who chairs the investigations subcommittee, said the Secret Service engaged in an “Abbott and Costello kind of ‘Who’s on First?’ finger-pointing in the aftermath” of the attack.Blumenthal stressed that the report is interim and said there are a lot of unanswered questions, adding that the Department of Homeland Security had been “less forthcoming” than the American people need and deserve.“If I had to point to one solution here … chain of command would be at the very top of the list,” Blumenthal said.“I think that we ought to be aghast and astonished at the kind of loosey-goosey walk-through on the site, the failure to share intelligence,” he said. “What happened here was really an accumulation of errors that produced a perfect storm of stunning failure. In a sense, a lot of these individual failings, if corrected at the time, might have prevented this tragedy. And, clearly, it was a tragedy. A man died, a former president was almost killed, and it was completely preventable from the outset.”Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., noted the “interim” nature of the report as evidence that the investigation continues.“Our report was bipartisan, as well,” Peters told NBC News. “So we take the politics out of it, just look at the facts, and the more facts we put out, people will have a better idea of what actually happened.”Peters stressed that it was “absolutely important to get facts out as quickly as possible, because conspiracy theories will always arise whenever there’s a void of information.”Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a Trump supporter who previously suggested that the Jan. 6 riot was largely a “peaceful protest” aside from some “agitators,” has also suggested without evidence that the government could have played a role in the shooting. He argued Tuesday that the Secret Service was “stonewalling” the congressional investigation.”They are slow-walking this investigation. I think that this committee needs to start issuing subpoenas,” said Johnson, the top Republican on the investigations subcommittee. “This is a management problem, plain and simple. You can keep throwing money at it, but unless you fix the management problem, you’re not going to fix the problem.”The report also noted the Secret Service bureaucracy and its struggles with technological innovation and efficient communications.The agency used a Counter Unmanned Aircraft System in Butler to try to deal with unmanned drones — like the one Trump’s attempted assassin used that day — but the advance agent operating the device immediately had issues with it, according to the report. The agent then moved the device away from satellite trucks that were at the rally but still had issues. Even after an 888 tech support hotline run by the manufacturer was called, the system wasn’t working, according to the report.Eventually, someone from the tech support unit said components of the system weren’t communicating, and the agent borrowed an Ethernet cable from the Trump campaign personnel in charge of audio-visual productions and finally got the system to work at 4:33 p.m., according to the report.The only problem, according to the report, was that Trump’s attempted assassin had stopped flying his drone about a half-hour earlier, taking an 11-minute flight starting at 3:51 p.m.
JEROME — Patricia McGregor, known to most as Mattie, smiled as she showed off her collection of journals to the Times-News, looking for a poem to share with the staff in her cozy home. Her cat Sophie, a rescue, stopped by to pose for a few photographs.In her living room, McGregor was surrounded by plants, stacks of books and decorations gathered from years of travels. Rays of sunlight peeked through the closed blinds.In a few weeks, McGregor will self-publish “Turbulent,” her first poem collections, honoring her younger self and sharing her life experiences with her community.“It’s a poetry book,” she said, “but the premise comes from everything I saw while I was traveling… I have lived quite a colorful life, and I could always do more, I guess, but I’ve written since I was 10 years old.”
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Every morning, McGregor sat at her kitchen counter and typed out her poems onto an iMac, meditatively capturing her thoughts and past experiences. Sophie dutifully sat by her side.
An entry from Patricia McGregor is seen Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. “I thought writing my book would be a good way to remember who I was,” McGregor said. “(My dreams are) coming together, just like I thought they would.”
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
McGregor inherited her love for travel from her parents, who lived out of suitcases while she was growing up. When she returned home from college, McGregor worked and used her savings to move to Hawaii for a year.For the next five years, she traveled around the world, meeting new people, immersing herself in new cultures and writing about her experiences. Eventually, she fell in love, halting a one-way trip to Thailand she had planned in 2015.After her relationship ended in 2020, McGregor has been regrouping since then, she told the Times-News. Around the time she publishes her book, she hopes to open her own bakery, which is another childhood dream of hers.“I thought writing my book would be a good way to remember who I was,” she said. “I’ve always had a dream to own a little stone cottage, have a bakery, sell my books and grow flowers. It seems like everything’s kind of falling into place.”“(My dreams are) coming together, just like I thought they would.”McGregor’s loved ones have supported her goal to capture the stories of her life. In 2018, she traveled to Bali to attend a yoga retreat and met a like-minded spirit who soon became a good friend of hers. When her friend traveled to Bali, she wanted to find someone to gift. When she learned about McGregor’s plan to write a book, she gifted her $1,000.
Jerome native Patricia McGregor poses for a portrait Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. “It’s a poetry book,” McGregor said, “but the premise comes from everything I saw while I was traveling… I have lived quite a colorful life, and I could always do more, I guess, but I’ve written since I was 10 years old.”
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
“She sent me a massive text message through WhatsApp, saying, ‘I know you’re going to try to send this back, but I’ve sent you $1,000 on PayPal because I think the only thing holding you back from writing your book is the money,’” McGregor told the Times-News.Another one of her friends have helped her throughout the writing process as McGregor had to relive some of her most traumatic memories. Both, along with her parents and her other friends, will have a dedication in her book due to their help along the way.McGregor hopes that her sharing her story will encourage others to do the same. Throughout her life, she has learned that time is precious, and if she wants to fulfill her dreams, the time to do so is now. The friends that she lost along the way continue to inspire and encourage her to keep moving forward.
Jerome native Patricia McGregor poses for a portrait with her cat, Sophia, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. McGregor is self-publishing a poetry book of her travels and life experiences.
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
“Everyone has a story, and those of the people who are brave enough to tell usually are not easy and not pretty,” she said. “Maybe when all of this is said and done, people will have a broader perspective to realize that you can go after your dream.“I don’t have time to act like none of this matters because it all matters to me… When destiny calls, all you have to do is answer.”McGregor plans to publish her book on Oct. 1. To purchase a copy, search for “Turbulent” on Amazon.
PHOTOS: Jerome native Patricia McGregor self-publishes book
Jerome native Patricia McGregor poses for a portrait with her cat, Sophia, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. McGregor is self-publishing a poetry book of her travels and life experiences.
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
An entry from Patricia McGregor is seen Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. “I thought writing my book would be a good way to remember who I was,” McGregor said. “(My dreams are) coming together, just like I thought they would.”
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
Jerome native Patricia McGregor poses for a portrait Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. “It’s a poetry book,” McGregor said, “but the premise comes from everything I saw while I was traveling… I have lived quite a colorful life, and I could always do more, I guess, but I’ve written since I was 10 years old.”
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
An entry from Patricia McGregor is seen Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. Every morning, McGregor sat at her kitchen counter and typed out her poems onto a MacBook Pro, meditatively capturing her thoughts and past experiences. McGregor’s cat Sophie sat by her side.
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
Jerome native Patricia McGregor poses for a portrait Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. McGregor hopes that her sharing her story will encourage others to do the same. Throughout her life, she has learned that time is precious, and if she wants to fulfill her dreams, the time is now.
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
An entry from Patricia McGregor is seen Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at her home on Golf Course Road in Jerome. “Everyone has a story, and those of the people who are brave enough to tell usually are not easy and not pretty,” McGregor said. “Maybe when all of this is said and done, people will have a broader perspective to realize that you can go after your dream.”
HANNAH KINSON, TIMES-NEWS
Your news on your smartphoneYour story lives in the Magic Valley, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you don’t miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Times-News app is built for you and your life. Don’t have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Eden Turner covers education and politics for the Times-News. She can be reached at 208-735-3241 or [email protected].
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Five of Imperial’s most exciting clean tech startups have showcased their innovative solutions for sustainability issues in New York City.
As part of Imperial College London’s visit to New York for Climate Week, startups led by alumni from the university’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem highlighted their work to build a climate resilient future.
“Creating deeper connections with the US will accelerate advances in science and technology to tackle global grand challenges such as climate change.” Professor Hugh Brady President of Imperial College London
The event, which brought together alumni, regional partners, policymakers, investors and founders, was hosted by Professor Mary Ryan, Imperial’s Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise), and featured opening remarks from Imperial’s President, Professor Hugh Brady, and Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Undaunted, Imperial’s climate change innovation hub, run in partnership with the Royal Institution.
The five startups who showcased at the event were:
Notpla – winners of Prince William’s £1m Earthshot Prize who have created seaweed-based alternatives to single-use plastics. Their technology has reached full industrialisation, with millions of units sold across nine EU countries and the US.
ToffeeX – leaders in physics-driven generative design used by the world’s leading engineering organisations to accelerate their path to sustainability, working with companies such as Toyota, Airbus and Rolls-Royce.
Cyanoskin – an innovative ‘living paint’ designed to transform buildings into carbon dioxide-absorbing structures, providing a cost-effective tool for reducing emissions and addressing urban pollution.
Multus Biotechnology Ltd – a technology company working on developing affordable growth media for cultivated meat products, aiming to make the production of cultivated meat accessible to all at scale.
Team Repair – an award-winning team designing electronics repair kits for children to build their confidence in STEM and teach them skills to tackle the e-waste crisis.
Antoinette Nothomb from Cyanoskin presenting at the startup showcase.
Speaking at the event, Professor Brady highlighted the importance of collaboration between the UK and the US, which is why Imperial recently announced its first physical presence in the US with a new Imperial Global hub located in San Francisco.
Professor Brady said: “Imperial Global USA will strengthen Imperial’s academic and industry partnerships, showcase our education portfolio to new audiences, engage our fantastic alumni, encourage exchange of top talent and link our founders to new innovation ecosystems.
“Creating deeper connections with the US will accelerate advances in science and technology to tackle global grand challenges such as climate change.”
Read more about Imperial Global USA here.
Sustainable Imperial
As a world-leader in climate change research, Imperial is committed to developing and supporting technologies that address the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
In addition to this work, the university announced a set of new sustainability initiatives in Spring 2024 as part of its ongoing commitment to a sustainable, zero pollution future, including an ambitious plan to achieve a net zero estate by 2040.
Imperial also recently announced that it would be among the first universities to adopt a new sustainability initiative to improve research and innovation practices – the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice.
The university’s commitment to improving sustainability on its campuses was recently recognised in the QS World University Rankings for 2025, which ranked Imperial among the world’s top ten universities for ‘Sustainability’, placing it in sixth position.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565Visit Shots! nowAuthor and writing coach Gerry Maguire Thompson is offering the fifth roll-out of his popular hands-on course for writers in Shoreham. The six-month course runs on the first Thursday of each month at 7 to 8.30pm, from October 3.Gerry said: “Is there a book you’d like to start writing or make progress on? Writing a book is great for your creative expression and can also benefit your professional skills.”Gerry is leading the course for anyone who finds themselves at any point in the process of creating or publishing their book – fiction or non-fiction, for children or adults – including right at the beginning. You might want to move forward with soemthing: thinking up what your book is about in the first place; planning the book and its overall shape; writing or editing the material; or getting the book published and read.”Gerry is a successful professional author and writing coach whose own books have sold over half a million copies in 15 languages. He has helped hundreds of authors create their own books for over twenty years. The course fee is £75. Phone 07986 561860; email info@gerrymaguirethompson; or visit www.gerrymaguirethompson.com.Gerry Maguire Thompson with one of his books (contributed pic)Gerry said: “I find that very many people want to write – and have wanted to write for a long time – but are not doing it. Often they don’t know how to go about it, or they have been unable to get around to it. In other cases they may have made a start but have been unable to continue or to compete. I see myself as a facilitator in this process – supporting potential writers in finding their voice, building discipline, overcoming obstacles, creating a regular space in a busy life for writing, planning the structure of a book, improving material already written, thinking about how material may be published or otherwise reach readers.“I believe the ability to write and tell stories in one way or another is latent in everyone and can definitely be enhanced by providing support. In my experience the commonest mistakes include: thinking that your writing has to follow some particular model, being overly critical of your own work or adversely comparing it with others, trying to make a first stab at a piece of writing perfect rather regarding it as a very rough draft to be edited later …and putting the project off till some unspecified time in the future. Why not take steps to start it now?”“I have been in the book industry for a long time, and I know the book industry well. It used to be very easy to get a publisher and to get an agent but really what has made the difference has been the interweb. It is made it very difficult. Publishers are more wary whereas they used to go on instinct but now they want to know that you’ve got ten million followers and a huge online presence first. They’re going much more for people with big followings or people who are already well known and so it’s harder for others to get published and certainly very hard to get an agent but the fact is that self-publishing has become easier and that is an option for many people. I decided to go self-publishing for my last book, and I think it worked very well.”Continue Reading
Attempting to stay clear of Washington due to its controversial approach to Liberian relations is an old playbook. No President of the West African nation has ever survived the dilemma without caving into Washington or suffering consequences since the creation of the state, but it has been more intrusive during the Second Republic. From William R. Tolbert’s “Mat to Mattress” policy to Charles G. Taylor’s “VISION 2024,” the outcomes have impacted the presidency and the stability of the Liberian nation-state — with far-reaching consequences. Any rational analysis will come to this logical conclusion — except one blinded by hypocrisy or cowardice: Liberia-Washington relations require re-evaluation, with the goal of creating a new engagement model, as cutting ties isn’t an option, and the two remain asymmetrically interdependent.
By Michael Francis Tarr
Joseph Boakai is not the first president to show signs of growing weary or to explore alliances with countries that have competing economic and geopolitical interests with Washington. China, Russia, and the former USSR have been on the horizon to exploit any kink in Liberia-Washington relations. William R. Tolbert, Samuel K. Doe, and Charles G. Taylor took the same path, with similarly catastrophic results. Recent whispers from sources close to Boakai suggest that he believes Washington will not provide substantial support for the success of his government, prompting his gradual shift toward China. But this is suicidal and may only be overlooked by those who have paid little or no attention to U.S.-Liberia relations over the last few decades. Pages 243–247 of the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report shed light on this.
Since its founding, Liberia has always been solely influenced by Washington for economic, military, and geopolitical reasons. The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), National Security Agency (NSA), ship registry (Maritime), and the extractive sector have all been heavily influenced by this relationship. For example, when Great Britain was positioned to monopolize rubber production, Firestone’s establishment in Liberia in 1926 effectively ended that dominance. Projects like the building of the Omega tower and Roberts International Airport, among others, were all infrastructural undertakings championed by Washington for military operations to secure a foothold in Africa and beyond.
Unlike Boakai, William R. Tolbert led a country with an economy with stronger fundamentals. He believed that making the country self-reliant on food and addressing other bread-and-butter issues would improve the lives of the people. In addition, Tolbert was a strong advocate for African unity and stood firmly against neo-colonialism. He believed these were the right actions to take, and his policies began to reflect the changes and values he sought. This angered Washington, and the Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL), headed by Baccus Matthews, received some form of endorsement, leading to the 1979 rice riots and, subsequently, the 1980 coup. Tolbert’s major crime was re-evaluating policies and pushing for actions that would have benefited the common people.
For both Doe and Taylor, they rose to power by the sword and were ousted by it. Their leaderships were marred by a lack of foresight and depth. Doe, largely uneducated, surrounded himself with individuals who lacked forward thinking, which only deepened the divisions within the country. His adversarial stance against Washington came after he had already divided the country along tribal lines. Taylor, on the other hand, was a pale imitation of Tolbert, mimicking his style of leadership, right down to his mannerisms and rhetoric. Even before becoming president, Taylor’s friction with the West was evident. His refusal to take orders from Washington — something he openly admitted in one of his interviews — only justified his downfall. His inability to craft an independent yet pragmatic foreign policy, coupled with his defiance, made him an inevitable target for failure.
Now it is Boakai’s turn, after succeeding two immediate predecessors, Weah and Sirleaf, who did all they could to avoid direct confrontation with Washington. However, in his last days, some of Weah’s core officials were sanctioned over the High-Power Exploration (HPX) and ArcelorMittal controversial deal. HPX is a Washington-backed company. This happened because Weah didn’t have any strong insider in Washington to promote his interests. But both Weah and Sirleaf did all they could to stay on the right side of Washington, unlike Boakai, who is growing weary so early. This gradual shift has reportedly extended to negotiating deals with companies like Huawei and SUMEC Technology — both of which are blacklisted by Washington. These deals, one of which mentioned 3 billion, may sound appealing but will be clear defiance to Washington and enough justification for potential strikes.
Washington is a tricky mix of friend and foe —hard to keep too close but just as hard to push away. For Liberian presidents, navigating this complex relationship requires a critical balance between cooperation and independence. Relying on too many risks biting off more than you can chew, but pulling away too far could lead to diplomatic, political and economic backlash. The key challenge lies in managing their unpredictability, which can shift between support and pressure depending on its geopolitical interests.
Henwood went public with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis in January, 2023. The interview with friend and television host Jaquie Brown screened on The Project the night Auckland flooded. It was the city’s wettest day in history; a deluge of awful news.Henwood had been dealing privately with his diagnosis for almost three years. New Zealand was in its first Covid lockdown when he drove on deserted streets to an empty hospital where medical staff descended (and he means this in the most grateful way possible) “like hyenas” on a rare patient.Anxiety-reducing midazolam was administered ahead of a colonoscopy. Henwood was the equivalent of three-champagnes happy when a voice said: “That’s a tumour.”AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.Dai Henwood is a 46-year-old stand-up comedian and television star whose credits include 7 Days, Family Feud, Dancing with the Stars and Lego Masters. His father Ray (ONZM) is remembered as an actor and core cast member of television’s Gliding On. His mother Carolyn (DNZM) is a former judge and youth justice advocate. He is married to Joanna and they have two children, Charlie and Lucy. At last count, he had undergone 26 rounds of chemotherapy and six major surgeries.Dai Henwood, fishing at Piha with his mother Carolyn. Photo / Henwood FamilyWhere do you start the story of someone’s life?At the Aotea Centre, at the conclusion of that recent Writers Festival appearance, Henwood signed bookplates (“sounds fancy, but it’s just a sticker”) for advance copies of The Life of Dai. That same night, there was a Comedy Festival debate in an across-town venue where Henwood once triple-billed with hip-hop artist Savage and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.But there he was. In front of an unexpected audience, on an unexpected stage, with a book about living with cancer. This is the Friday night gig the 10-year-old comedy obsessive who spent his days listening to Monty Python records and Eddie Murphy tapes could never have imagined.“I was so scared of cancer,” Henwood tells the crowd. “Then I had to do this crash course … cancer has been an amazing teacher. I feel I am a better man, better husband, father, comedian and member of society because I’ve had to deal with cancer.“Once I got through the deep grief … it made me think, ‘Every moment is important. Every moment is beautiful. Even if it’s hard.’”The Life of Dai is a co-write with Jaquie Brown; the 276-page extended version of their television interview, drawn from hours of conversation recorded between chemo sessions. It’s split into three acts: Comedy. Peace. Love. And it is, writes Brown in the foreword, “part memoir and part masterclass in finding hope and joy in the face of unthinkable challenges. This isn’t a book about cancer: it’s a book about living”.Imagine her surprise when Henwood asked her to collaborate. Once, she nearly killed him.AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.Brown was the host and Henwood was the team captain on music channel C4′s comedy quiz show Pop! Goes the Weasel. It was the 2007 season finale. He didn’t know she had arranged for 20-litres of mayonnaise to be dumped on his head; she didn’t know he was severely allergic to eggs. Life-threatening chaos ensued. But 13 years later, and Brown is on the roster of a close circle of friends quietly leaving bean casseroles and face oil on Henwood’s Auckland doorstep.Comedian Dai Henwood on his wedding day with wife Joanna. Photo / Henwood FamilyThe comedian has metastatic bowel cancer, meaning it has spread to other parts of his body. He tells his oncologist he doesn’t want timelines; he tells his readers “nobody tells you when to die. If they did, I wouldn’t listen. That’s the suburban anarchist in me”.Everybody’s cancer – from diagnosis to treatments to the way their body reacts to treatments – is different. Henwood is through the early, raw pain. Now, he tries to hold on to a single, simple thought: “I am alive and I am living now.”If you thought “mindfulness” was contingent on organic cotton leggings, green smoothies and downloading the right app, Henwood has a book for you. (Sample chapter headings: “Why you don’t see statues of Buddha doing shots of vodka”, “LSD and that time my babysitter took me to a Public Enemy concert”, and “I don’t wanna reincarnate as a cat”).For the record, that Henwood high kick is still comedically impressive, the Warriors won their National Rugby League match – and kids tend to focus on what’s in front of them. Henwood relays the advice he got from psychologist Nigel Latta. “Say the facts and wait for questions; be honest, but don’t flood them with information.”Dai Henwood at home in Auckland, discussing the book about his cancer experience he co-wrote with friend Jaquie Brown. Photo / Michael CraigOn stage, Jaquie Brown introduces Henwood as “the walking positive spin”. At his home, for a joint interview ahead of the June 7 book release, she explains how he has helped change her own life perspective.“We always imagine there’s another day and another day and another day. It’s easy to put things off. Like Dai says, we’ve all got a clock. We don’t know what’s going to take any of us out. So … it’s finding the joy and the pleasure in every single moment you’re in, even the uncomfortable ones … have I said all the things? Have I loved the people in my life with the deepest heart?”Henwood, Chapter 37: “Yeah, I have cancer and this is ‘unfair’, but how I respond to this event is what defines me, not the event. I suppose my response to this event is my life’s work.”The roots of that response go serendipitously deep. Henwood was 13 when he spent a month in Japan with his dad, who had been cast in a production of The Phantom of the Opera. The teenager was introduced to New Zealand actor and Buddhist monk Helen Moulder, who invited him to join her at a zazen meditation. The two hours of slow, silent contemplation that followed would, ultimately, change his life. That day he saw dolphins and rainbows; in the longer term, he discovered that, for him, there was “something inherently calming about Eastern religion”.Dai Henwood and his father Ray on a whirlwind stop in Hawaii, en route to visit family in Wales. As a teenager, he’d travel to Japan with his dad and learn zen meditation. Photo / Henwood FamilySure, he “got on the piss for 20 years”, but he also continued to study and read deeply. Meditation would, eventually, be a pathway to sobriety. And getting sober would be a major factor in dealing with his cancer diagnosis.Henwood had actually been experiencing bowel cancer symptoms for years. He blamed the blood on the toilet paper on drinking and a poor diet. A doctor thought he might have a fissure, but an endoscopy resulted in an all clear. Then he quit alcohol – and the bleeding didn’t stop.Talking about this stuff saves lives. Henwood recounts his involvement in Radio Hauraki’s “Day in Loo” bowel cancer awareness event. Later, an email from a listener: He’d heard Henwood speaking, finally went for a check-up and seven pre-cancerous polyps had been snipped out.“Even if I’m only the one voice they hear out of three that convinces them they need to go and get that checked, then sweet. That was worth doing.”At Henwood’s house in suburban Auckland, incense smoke wafts across the backyard. There’s a trampoline and a clotheshorse laden with washing. There is also a small statue of Buddha and a plug-in ice bath set to 2.9C.“I just did one this morning!” he says. Early chemotherapy side effects included neuropathy, an extreme reaction to hot and cold that meant he had to wear gloves just to take something out of the fridge. Ice baths help some people, he says, but they’re also good for his mental health.A day in the life of Dai?“There’s too much weight put on these ‘morning routines’,” he says. “I try, but if it doesn’t happen, I don’t beat myself up. This morning I did a bit of qigong, sort of a tai chi, to get the blood going. I did 20 minutes of meditation. I try as hard as I can not to look at my phone, because if I can delay that into the day as far as possible, I’m way better connected with the kids in the morning.“They’ll get up and I’ll potter around and do lunches, and then I like to go for a walk to school with my daughter and take the dogs. Then an ice bath, like an absolute psycho. And then I just try to read bits and bobs of stuff that make me think positively.”One of the things he explains in his new book is the concept of “reframing” a situation.Jaquie Brown explains: “If I’m struggling with something, or I’m stressed, I think, ‘What would Dai do?’ Just give it a reframe! Take a breath, have a look at a tree. Talking to Dai, and learning his approach to life has helped me do the same … you don’t need a diagnosis to live your life in this more present way.”Henwood’s house voice is noticeably more quiet than his performance voice. His shoes are off and his orange-socked feet are tucked up underneath himself on the big squashy couch. Outside of the cancer, he says he’s never been healthier. His hair has thinned slightly, but (another life lesson he explores in the book) don’t judge anyone by their outward appearance because you absolutely never know what someone is going through. Like that time during lockdown when the country tuned in to laugh at Dai’s House Party, and nobody knew the host had just been told he had cancer.“I just finished my last round of the current block of chemo about five weeks ago,” he says. “Every morning, my nose is full of blood. The inside of my nose is all scabbed up from this drug I take alongside the chemo.”That’s the thing people don’t always understand, he says. Everything has a lingering effect.“And then there’s the hardest thing, of course, which is the mental game. This is why I say it’s a diagnosis for your whole whānau. They get the mental game which, in a way, is the hardest. Something I read that struck me is that, in war, when someone sees someone say, get a leg blown off, it affects them more than if they lost their own leg. Seeing a close friend suffer something insane seems to do more to the mind than when you are dealing with your own stuff.”That sense of helplessness? Brown relates. Ahead of the 2023 television interview, the pair sat in the garden to discuss just how much Henwood wanted to reveal. Hardest question?“That’s easy,” says Brown. “The ‘have you made peace with death’ question and chapter. Because it’s so deep and so very real. But I felt that if we were able to put it in the book in a ‘Dai’ way, that it could reach people in a comforting way.”Henwood: “I was always scared of death, as I’m sure a lot of people are. I think since my diagnosis, where I’ve fully reconnected with, I suppose, my roots of zen buddhism, I’ve discovered that everybody should think about death every day. Not in a nihilistic way, but … like, I’m aware of the clock more. But everyone’s got a clock. You just realise it is something that happens that we can’t escape. It crystallises what matters for you.”Henwood read the first draft of his book on holiday in Sydney with his family where they attended the NRL grand final. He’s recorded an audiobook version and hopes to make his story as accessible as he possibly can (the publishers, he says, wouldn’t let him give the book away for free).He claims to be “allergic” to organised religion, describing instead a “personal spirituality” that guides a daily prayer.“I don’t actually know who I’m praying to. Maybe I should have worked that out?! But, just generally, I pray for my complete healing so I can help others heal and bring peace, love and laughter to those who I come across.”A dawning revelation: “Comedy is more about the people I’m doing comedy for, rather than myself. And I enjoy it more that way. I want to be able to help people, because selfishly, it really helps myself. I think I’ve just got a lot more to give. I’ve got this fire in me so, no… I’m not ready to go yet.”Dai Henwood’s new book The Life of Dai, co-written with Jaquie Brown, will be instore from June 7, 2024.The Life of Dai by Dai Henwood, (HarperCollins Aotearoa New Zealand, $39.99) is available in stores nationwide. His three-part documentary series Live And Let Dai, premieres on Three on Monday September 30, 8pm, and will run across three consecutive nights.Kim Knight is an award-winning lifestyle journalist who has worked at the NZ Herald since 2016.