Antony's ever-growing house of cards and letters.

Tim O'Connell, Nelson Mail, 05, Aug 27 2020

Antony Cotton with his personal letter from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and some of his MP business card collection. Tim O'Connell/Stuff

The ups and downs of Covid-19 life have brought about a change of mindset for Nelson man Antony Cotton, but no dip in his interest regarding all things political.

The 38-year-old has taken his interest in sport and politics to the next level by amassing hundreds of signed letters, photos and greeting cards from the people who have shaped his interest.

 National leader Judith Collins has been a regular penfriend for several years, while he has received several hand-written birthday cards from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

 In June, he got a hand-written reply from Ardern after he had written to say thanks for her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cotton has also amassed almost 100 business cards from New Zealand members of parliament.

 Whether it’s embossed, in braille or coloured according to the party allegiance, each card represents someone has personally written to including former National leader Todd Muller, Green MP Chloe Swarbrick, ACT leader David Seymour and deputy PM Winston Peters. Of his entire collection, East Coast Bays MP Erica Stanford was Cotton’s personal favourite.

 “She’s the prettiest MP in parliament.”

 Most of the politicians he engaged with had been positive in their response to his correspondence and occasionally made time to meet him during his visits to the capital. Not everyone appreciated his interest, however.

 “One MP told me she didn’t like getting my mail because I kept asking questions about her electorate.”

“She said ‘you live in Nelson, why do you want to know my business?”

Cotton’s ‘ask and you shall receive’ approach over the years has yielded a sizeable collection of replies from former US presidents, members of congress, British PM Boris Johnson, UK soap stars and sports stars. Just before Christmas he received a signed mini-cricket bat from South African great Jacques Kallis. He has also become familiar with visiting international cricket teams and rugby players on their visits to Nelson.

Cotton, who has Aspergers, said he generally found it easy to approach famous people on the street, although occasionally some were taken aback by his direct style. However, he had learned how to deal with the less-enjoyable experiences.

 “I tend to walk away from people who I think are going to be negative and are going to bring me down – I’ll always be polite to them but I won’t engage as much as I used to – just a healthy wave, ‘hello, how are you?’ and keep walking.” 

Antony Cotton in 2016 with some of his United States political photographs and letters collection, Tim Kaine, left, and Marco Rubio.

Cotton has also kept up his blog that he started almost a decade ago, detailing his meetings and correspondence with well-known people as well as his own thoughts and observations on the world.

He said like most New Zealanders, the Covid-19 lockdown had been a challenging time for him, especially during the Level 4 stage. His saving grace while being kept at home had been his ongoing interest in politics.

 “I’d sometimes stay up late but I’d always get up in the morning to watch Donald Trump make an  idiot of himself – lockdown could get boring but he’s been keeping me very entertained.”