@ LEYS LITTLE LIBRARY, PONSONBY

Kia ora Ponsonby!

We have some great events happening this month, including an author talk. We are thrilled to host Auckland's beloved 'Piano Bar Lady', Linn Lorkin. A singer, pianist and actress, Linn has performed all over the world and recently published her musical memoir 'The Redhead Gets The Gig'. Prepare for an evening of musical entertainment while enjoying wine, nibbles and the opportunity to ask Linn questions and purchase a copy of her book.

We also have another Tales by Twilight event for kids at the library on Friday 25 August. Last month’s one was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who attended (many cookies were had by all). Come along for more stories, music and fun.

We read Auckland returns next month to celebrate Auckland’s readers, writers and the stories that bring us together. To celebrate this, all Auckland libraries (including us) are going to hold the ‘Bestie Collection’. Bestie is the new collection of 10 popular must-read books, available from 1 August 2023. They’ll be available in libraries only on a first come, first served basis (which means you can’t request them on line). This year they are all books by Auckland authors. From fiction to non-fiction, crime to coming of age, there’s something to intrigue every reader in these diverse stories of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Stay dry in this never-ending wet weather. Opening hours: Monday- Friday 9am- 6pm, Saturday 9am – 4pm, Sunday Closed.

The July meeting of Ponsonby U3A put the domestic issues that plague us in New Zealand in perspective.

Sue Petrie, representing Médicines Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders, provided an overview of the organisation, its mission and values and examples of the work it does all over the world. She also gave us insight into the sometimes desperate problems people in the wider world face on every level. Stark pictures Sue showed stay in the mind. There were haunting images of a raft of clinicians and supplies administering aid to people along the banks of the Amazon River, and of a small boat of doctors setting off from the mother ship to assist an overloaded boat groaning with refugees in a turbulent Mediterranean Sea.

In 2021, 97.4% of MSF’s international income came from private sources. Only a small amount is received from government sectors and there are seven million private donors from around the world. In Australia and New Zealand, 110,000 people contribute monthly.

A clinical psychologist specialising in mental health, Sue contends that there is no health without mental health. She has completed seven assignments with MSF. Not only have these been dream jobs for her, but they have also taken her to places such as Quetta for eleven months providing counselling support for refugees; to Jordan and Sri Lanka doing mental health assessments; to Japan to give post tsunami counselling and support; to Nukus, Uzbekistan on a TB programme; and to San’aa, Yemen to help with an HIV project.

While MSF is not a human rights organisation and the primary focus is medical assistance, sometimes that is not enough. And here the concept of ‘temoignage’ is needed. Loosely translated as ‘bearing witness', it refers to the advocacy work done in raising awareness and speaking out to improve conditions.

Clearly, MSF workers are passionate about their work which is intensely personal. They share the values of the organisation and work in close proximity to one another, sharing not only the dangers but the housing conditions and the cultural insights.

Ponsonby U3A member Vicky Carr, who runs the te reo Māori group alongside Joce Glucina, along with Linda Price, gave members an opportunity to acknowledge and welcome the Pleiades star cluster known to Māori as Matariki or Little Eyes, as it returns to our night sky.

Matariki is one of the signs of the beginning of the Māori New Year and is known as the mother star, looking after the other stars in the cluster. She is concerned with our health and well-being. Other stars are Pohutukawa, concerned with the dead which heralds a time to remember those who died in the past year; Tupuanuku, concerned with the cultivation of food crops and care for the earth; Tupuarangi, concerned with food from the sky such as birds and berries; Waiti, concerned with fresh water and the creatures that live in rivers and lakes; Waita, associated with the ocean and catching fish and shellfish responsibly; Waipuna-A-Rangi, which speaks of the importance of rain; Ururangi, which is seen as the forecaster of the year especially with regard to wind; and Hiwa-I-TeRangi, which is the youngest star, the wishing star which helps us set goals for the new year.

A minute’s silence was held to remember members who had died in the past year and, to conclude, the te reo group led members to sing a waiata.

Ponsonby U3A welcomes newcomers. If you are interested in attending, first as a visitor, please call President Ian Smith on M: 021 130 2330. (CHRISTINE HART)  PN

NEXT MEETING: Friday, 11 August at 9.30am.

GUEST SPEAKER: Kirsten Lacy, Director, Auckland Art Gallery.

VENUE: Herne Bay Petanque Club, Salisbury Reserve, Salisbury Street.

ENQUIRIES: Ian Smith, President, Ponsonby U3A. M: 021 130 2330, www.u3a.nz