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Friday 28 January 2022
A different kind of summer
Instead of thrills of rides at the Golden Bay A&P Show this group enjoyed spills and slides on the mud. Photo: Supplied. JOYCE WYLLIE
Saturday January 15 dawned perfect for Show Day, but the showgrounds were quiet. No horses and floats, livestock or loudspeaker, vintage machinery or shearing, tents or crowds. No annual A&P Show in Tākaka this year, following the committee’s difficult decision months ago to postpone the 125th show. That left a big gap in the Golden Bay summer, as it’s the biggest event in our calendar. Nearly 5000 people attended last year. So what happens when there’s no show, and what did people do instead? The show committee chairman is Duncan McKenzie. Recently he arrived at our farm driving a big green stock truck to pick up lambs. Usually his summer is full-on, and he commented that if the show was happening “I wouldn’t be sitting on a truck seat”. Duncan’s wife Ann is usually involved in organising, and after the show they frequently host a BBQ for judges. Ann’s flowers were blooming beautifully, timed to be ready for the show booth’s cut flower categories. Her gladioli sitting in
scenic flights give a christmas voucher
just stunning
buckets of water looked like winners with nowhere to go. Vegetables, fruit, flowers, baking and craftwork around the district and beyond would have been ready for competitions. Vice chair of the show committee Noel Baigent is normally busy from well before Christmas. Among other things, his responsibilities cover promotions and advertising, newspaper and radio, and helping at working bees. Although he enjoyed the break, with far fewer emails and phone calls, he is hoping the show is back again next year. His wife, Carolyn, is also involved, and arranges entertainment. She books bands, magic shows and music, then manages that on the day. Noel reports that this year, he “found the summer very relaxing, did more family stuff and went fishing five times”. The show treasurer is Daph Woods. Managing money is a major job and much of what she does is not seen. For the show, she usually gets boxes of coins from the bank to fill 1500 small brown envelopes with 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize monies, printing labels and sticking them on. She spends long days and evenings in her office, tracking spreadsheets
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and vouchers. This year she had more time for family, home, and no “nightmare worrying about making mistakes”. The booth is managed by Nicola Wells. This year she “had a proper relaxing break over Christmas and New Year”, but she confesses to “missing seeing all the fabulous booth helpers, and the annual catch-up”. On show day she usually looks after tickets, tables, stewards, judges, and juggles space for exhibits that range from decorated cakes to garden art. Summing up the thoughts of many, she admits she “was a bit lost on the Saturday and the week before, and feeling like I was supposed to be somewhere but wasn’t.” The secretary’s annual responsibilities start months before show day, when the schedule of competitions is developed, printed and distributed. In recognition of the 125th celebrations this year, special categories had been included, like corsets for a breast screen challenge, and heritage fruit and vegetables. Jean Wedderburn is responsible for all that, so she had already done much of her work before the postponement. As she also takes entries and sends out tickets, she too had free weeks... Continued on page 2
Omicron turns Bay Red JO RICHARDS
From 11.59pm last Sunday, all of New Zealand turned Red after prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced that, under the Covid Protection Framework, the “traffic lights” would no longer be at Orange. The change to Red was prompted by community cases of the highly-infectious Omicron variant detected in Auckland, Palmerston North and, much closer to home, in Motueka. Health Services Despite the development, Golden Bay Community Health manager Linzi Birmingham says the local community seems to be taking it calmly.“We anticipated an increase in demand for testing, but this hasn’t happened to date.” When it does happen, Linzi says that GBCH is well placed with extended vaccination clinics and testing clinics operating every weekday. Linzi underlines the importance of following medical advice in the event of an Omicron outbreak. “We ask people to remain sensible about managing an episode of being unwell and call us if worried, or require further advice, we are staffed as normal at this stage.” Life at Red A Red light does not put a stop to all activities, but it does signal a tightening of existing restrictions. One of the main differences between Orange and Red is the limit on numbers of people allowed at gatherings and at hospitality venues. At Orange, if they choose to follow My Vaccine Pass (MVP) requirements, most venues, including cafés and restaurants, can open with no limits on numbers, but at Red the limit is capped at 100 people, based on one-metre distancing, in a single defined space. For food and drink venues that don’t require MVP, the rules don’t change: they can only open for contactless takeaway service, and customers must not enter the premises. For other gatherings where MVP is not required, the limit on numbers attending is reduced from the 50 allowed at Orange to 25 under Red. The above limits on numbers for MVP and non-MVP gatherings also apply to sport and recreation activities. At the Bay’s schools, which are due to reopen on 8 February, staff and students will be subject to a range of measures including the requirement for all students in year 4 and above to wear face coverings indoors and when in close contact with others. In addition, staff and teachers... Continued on page 3
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Inside:
Fishing comp
THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 28 JANUARY 2022
School buses
Gardening
Movie review
Spit Eco Tours
ISSN (PRINT) 2538-0923 ISSN (ONLINE) 2538-0931
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