Classic movies return to cinema

ALISTAIR HUGHES

Winter has definitely settled in, so what better way to spend an inclement Sunday afternoon than cosily ensconced at Tākaka's Village Theatre for the third season of Classic Cinema?

Cinephile Peter Barker has curated another six timeless landmarks of the big screen, including a musical, a Hitchcock thriller and a New Zealand multiple Oscar-winner, to be shown every third Sunday afternoon at 4.30pm.

Appropriately, we begin by splashing through puddles this weekend, with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in Singin’ in the Rain (1952).

“Probably the best movie musical ever," says Peter, “with amazing production design. The title says it all: it’s an antidote to the winter blues.”

Sunday, 30 July takes us from a title song which everyone knows to an instantly recognisable image – Cary Grant being pursued by a malevolent crop-duster plane in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959). Peter included Hitchcock’s thriller Rear Window last year, which was very popular, guaranteeing the director’s return. “North by Northwest sprawls across America with great set pieces, and is probably his most entertaining film.”

Next, on 20 August is Federico Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria (1957). “Starring the director’s wife, Guilietta Masina in one of the best screen performances ever. It’s a personal favourite of mine,” Peter confesses. “A beautiful and very emotional film set in post war Rome, it won the best foreign film Oscar of that year.”

The fourth film on 10 September is still being negotiated with distributors, but on 1 October there is "the ultimate trip" 2001: A Space Odyssey. Stanley Kubrick’s visual masterpiece from 1968 features HAL – the first "AI" put in charge of running a spaceship while the human astronauts undertake a month’s long voyage.

“I think it’s become a very topical film," says Peter, “in our current age of artificial intelligence.”

And lastly, on 22 October we travel from Jupiter’s orbit to a desolate 19th century New Zealand beach for Jane Campion’s phenomenally successful The Piano (1993). Peter asserts that Campion is New Zealand’s best director. “She also won the Oscar for best screenplay and became one of only three women to ever win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film festival. I think The Piano a gothic romance, and I think it’s a work of art.”

This year’s Classic Cinema selection once again offers something for everyone. Did Peter apply anything he might have learned from the previous two years when creating the 2023 programme?

“Well, there’s no Western this year,” he laughs. “But in the end I’m looking for variety and entertainment, as well as quality films which you can’t get on Netflix. It’s important for the Village Theatre to offer the opportunity to see them.”

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...to develop a food security plan for the Bay and it is now a work in progress. “What we see here [at MSS] is the ‘need people’ who come and ask for support. We assume that this is only part of the picture, as we suspect more people in our community are struggling, but may not want to ask for help.”

The community generously supports the Foodbank with cash donations from individuals and organisations such as the Golden Bay Lions, while food donations are deposited at the MSS office and via the collection bin at FreshChoice. The wide variety of regular and ad hoc donations include milk from Fonterra, HealthPost items, a weekly jam supply from the anonymous “Jam Man”, and meat from Meat the Need. “We have farmers who donate a beast – the Foodbank then pays for butchering by a local butcher who provides us with a discount,” says Maria. “Last week the Boys Brigade [ICONZ] youth group came to visit the Foodbank and brought a box full of frozen soup. It’s a nice thing to get especially from young people.”

Making a donation: make a donation or set up an automatic payment: the

Mohua Social Services Charitable Trust “Foodbank” account number is: 38 9018 0626643 00. Cash donations are tax deductible.

Monday 10 July, 1pm, GB Service Centre

Items on the Agenda include:

• Request for a new street name

• Tree removal and replacement

• Items from June Public Forum

• Reinstatement of Collingwood Meetings

• Community Liaison Representative updates

• Reserve Financial Contribution report

• Golden Bay Community Board Annual Plan Budget

• Financial report

• Action Sheet

To register to speak at Public forum, please use the link at the Meetings Calendar online at www.tasman.govt.nz

Introducing Doug Smith

I have been living and working locally since 2008. Use my experience, honesty, integrity and work ethic to deliver you the highest value for your number one asset. Competitive commission and marketing tailor made to your individual requirements.

I welcome your call for a no obligation appraisal and any advice I can give you. Professionalism Knowledge Competitive

Hydro power: damned if you do...

This week TDC has started looking at hydropower to the damn dam.

In the words of the group finance manager Mike Drummond: “My understanding is one of the challenges is it's not big enough, shall we say, to be an interest to Meridian. But it's a bit big to be of interest or to be able to managed by one of the really small players in that space”.

This demonstrates the glaring incompetence of TDC in that they are saying that there really is no point in doing it because nobody wants it – but there’s a 99 per cent probability that they’ll do it anyway.

Who will manage it? And will the power be connected to the national grid and sold at market rates?

Or will the irrigators get their own little power station and cheap power, paid for by the rest of us?

The second question is rhetorical. We already know the answer.

Gary Thorpe

Electric shock

There was a small city on a small island in the midst of a great ocean. One day this small city decided it would do its token bit to improve the world. It acquired a fleet of new buses. The old buses went to landfills or junk yards. The city didn't care. The people caught on and acquired new cars. The old cars went to landfills or junk yards. The people didn't care. Nor did they care about the industry required to build all these new things. Nor the massive mining to extract the rare materials needed. The NIMBY mind-set was strong within them.

One day something dreadful happened. All the buses and all the cars came home at once and clamoured for their life-giving fix. The whole city went dark. It was indeed a dreadful night.

The sun rose in the morning.

The "yeah right" of the Ukrainian war

Dangerous pinch-point for cyclists

Without debating the merits or otherwise of the Pōhara shared path, I notice with interest the response from TDC communications manager Chris Choat (GBW, 23/6), that the safety of cyclists is "paramount in TDC's decision making".

Fine words indeed, yet a short distance away TDC is doing the complete opposite.

The new subdivision being built on Richmond Road has included roading changes. Below the planned roundabout the width of Richmond Road has been reduced from over 7m wide to 6.1 metres wide. To compound matters, the road narrows on an uphill corner without warning. It is bound to take motorists by surprise. This part of the road has gone from being OK-ish for cyclists to hazardous.

TDC has decided to make suburban roads narrower to "control the speed of traffic". This decision has not taken the safety of cyclists into consideration. A narrow road is worse for cyclists, no matter how you may try to spin it. There are other ways of controlling the traffic speed without making roads more hazardous.

I wonder if Chris Choat can comment on whether the safety of cyclists was "paramount in TDC's decision making" with this redesign of Richmond Road. And if so, how they have come up with this appalling design.

Wrinklies Cards

Phil Castle

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Larry Petterson

I doubt the Ukraine war is different to most wars. Huge pain, loss of life and damage and unlikely to determine who is right, only who is left. Similarly, I imagine the usual reasons we are told it started; democracy, freedom, human rights, etc are being used to mask the truth. History will be written by the "victors". So – the Russians decided to deny themselves US$ billions by blowing up their own pipe line – yeah right. Looking beyond the masks to "following the money", I wonder to what extent these factors are at play:

• The disposal of "last generation" military equipment to Ukraine will require the worldwide military industrial complex to replenish donor country stocks (with new, high profit stock). As JF Kennedy recognised in 1963, the MilitaryIndustrial Complex is much more interested in weapons and war than peace.

• BlackRock are now reported to own 25+ per cent of Ukrainian assets (presumably acquired at "very good prices").

• The rebuild costs are going to be worth US$ billions to overseas corporates (presumably based in NATO countries?). Perhaps it has a "distraction value"? Could it be helping to obfuscate the implementation of worldwide power and control initiatives and at the same time, help secure fear-based compliance?

If the Iraq war was about "weapons of mass destruction" and not oil, what might the "Yeah Right" be for the Ukraine war? Hopefully the upcoming July NATO summit will result in a speedily negotiated peace and maybe even shed some light on why it started in the first place?

Clive James War is a very lucrative racket

I totally agree with Bruce Collings's letter (GBW, 30/6) on the profits of war. Unlike the Vietnam and Cambodian wars I do not have first hand experience of the war in Ukraine but I suspect it is business as usual.

As a young hippie in the 60s and 70s so many were protesting about the war in Vietnam. I thought they were protesting for the sheer sake of it. Through strange circumstances though, I ended up in Vietnam as well as Cambodia and Laos photographing for the television news.

I can categorically say, the ordinary people had no understanding of the difference between communism and capitalism … they just wanted to grow their rice or sell their fried noodles and stay safe. However, we needed to carpet bomb them and spray them with agent orange to stop the spread of communism! Simple mass genocide.

In the drinking bars in Laos we all knew the CIA guys, and what they were doing … flying down the opium from the hill tribes via ”Air America's” fleet of old DC3 aircraft to be processed into heroin in Vientiane in the 555 cigarette factory to be sent down the Mekong river for distribution to the American soldiers and later to Hong Kong for the rest of the world. I would say that, after the Vietnam war, the drug trade was shifted to Afghanistan. Nothing has changed, war is a very very lucrative racket.

Brian Dodds

Thanks to everyone for your subscriptions to the Wrinklies Express for this financial year, it's good to have your support as always. We continue to provide door to door service where possible for very low cost to you. Part of that is because we have decided to no longer send out the subscription cards. Some people include postage paid addressed envelopes but majority don't and the card is not used for anything except you know we have received your payment. Please feel free to contact me if you are concerned that payment hasn't been noted.

Many thanks,

Humanity must mature to survive

Wendy de Maat

The Ukraine war and the Vietnam War have many things in common. A major power invades a smaller nation whose main goal is self-rule and independence. The reasons given by the aggressors for intervention are “communism” (in Vietnam) and “fascism” (in Ukraine). These terms are ill-defined, even by those who declare that they are strongly opposed to such things. Tens of thousands of lives were lost, houses destroyed, ecosystems vandalised, the land polluted, and – for many years later – land-mines still kill. The leaders of both Russia and the USA claim to be devout Christians – a creed which states that is sinful to kill or to steal. But, if done collectively, killing and stealing are not only morally acceptable, they are applauded! Indeed, provided the agents of this misery wear a military uniform and are endorsed by their government, they are heroes and worthy of medals and memorials. New Zealand, to its eternal shame, fought in the Vietnam War – partly because the USA was “on our side” but mostly because we would lose trading rights if we did not do so.

If humanity is to survive another century or more, our species must become more mature. We should focus our attentions on preserving the fundamental resources of life – water, air, soil and all the species that share the planet with us – and reject narrow tribalist sentiments that inform us that “our side good, their side bad”.

Piers Maclaren

Adverts a window into

Culture

Given that I raised the subject of advertisements in a recent issue I thought I’d make further comment here because I believe that, in spite of their seeming triviality, advertisements do provide a window into our culture; in most cases into our degenerating culture.

Historically and traditionally human societies have conducted their affairs by three main parameters: the dictates of nature, scripture and culture. In various societies one or other of these parameters often takes precedence. In our current so-called “postmodern” world that dubious accolade applies increasingly to culture as the “west” has largely lost touch with the truths and mores of nature and scripture. Runaway culture, without the moderating influences of nature and scripture, is self-destructive – to wit – the failed civilisations throughout history. And take heed. We are not immune! Advertisements are somewhat of a gauge on this decline. So don’t knock them. Watch them – but with a critical eye.

Larry Petterson

Museum AGM

The Golden Bay Museum Society will be holding its AGM on Sunday 9 July at 2 pm at the Anglican Church Hall, Commercial Street, Tākaka. In addition to the usual business, board member Noel Baigent will be sharing with us his involvement with bringing home the remains of the Unknown Warrior. We are always looking for new members and volunteers to help catalogue our extensive collection or be part of a number of other museum projects. So if you would like to be involved in helping preserve our local history, come to our meeting on Sunday 9 July and find out how you can help.

Frank Susko, board chair

Vital to address health inequalities

Like Mr McLean states (GBW, 30/6), my Scottish blood gives me benefits. But Mum traded Scotland for South Auckland and so, growing up, I witnessed firsthand the marginalisation of brown lives and therefore my feelings differ from his. Because unlike Alan, a self-employed learned professional living in paradise, the lives of those born with brown skin in Auckland (where ethnicity is giving one point to wait-listers) is very different.

Your place of residence generates inequalities in health, and your socioeconomic status improves it, so for context, a Pasifica labourer in Otahuhu is expected to live nine years less than what Alan might, while his rates of illness will be between 1.5 times higher (CVD) to 10 times more likely (liver cancer) and his risk of overall mortality for avoidable conditions will be up significantly on Alan’s too.

A Māori woman in Manurewa will on average live six years less than I, while experiencing more violence and be alarmingly more prone to endometrial, cervical, breast and lung cancers, or to need a hysterectomy. Auckland is an area of "high deprivation" for the Māori and Pasifica living there, while Golden Bay is a place where we are privileged beyond comparison. Plus, a healthier society is more prosperous, so I happily defer the systematically favourable conditions given to me by being white by default, and concede my place of privilege in the healthcare queue to my brown hometown brothers and sisters, since statistically, they have less time in life than either I or Alan do.

Rosy Orchard

Taking back the power (continued)

The little imaginary town isolated by a large hill became the envy of many as the clever and innovative townspeople continued to make their own decisions. The pile of money from the rates, held securely in the local building society, continued to grow. Using townspeople’s expertise, a proper boat ramp was built and maintained. The council began overriding central government legislation and restored recreational fishing and allowed the selling of fresh fish straight from the boats. A farmer gifted some land close to town and an orchard and garden were planted for all the townspeople to share and enjoy. Because knowledge is power there were information evenings so the townspeople could understand what had previously been mysteries. When concerns were raised about 5G towers harming animal and insect life as well as young children the townspeople decided to err on the side of caution and the 5G towers that had been trucked in, in the dead of night waiting to be switched on were sent back over the hill in the light of day as scrap metal.

The townspeople held as many differing opinions as there are grains of sand on the beach but on the important things they stuck together like glue. First do no harm they said, do not steal, and always stand in honour. The townspeople began to understand the power and strength they held, and a long, long way away the watching “powers that be” fretted and shivered in their steel towers.

Wendy Webster

Silverfish book group

There is a monthly group, both unique and of great value to members, at present in danger of closing because various members have moved from the district. This is the Silverfish book group held every last Tuesday of each month at 1pm at Tākaka Library.

This is the only library book group to operate as it does, which is by garnering in from other libraries in Tasman District a trolley full of books on a chosen subject. Therefore members have a wide choice of reading material which they review the following month. From these reviews our friendly librarian takes notes which she forwards out to us so we have a record from which to order books others have enjoyed.

All those books are available to us at no charge for the month. I greatly value this service which is unlike any other book club, where the usual annual charge might be as much as $80 annually.

But the real value is in having the opportunity to read books I would never normally come across, thanks to the ingenuity of this scheme.

If you value reading, please attend later this month and find how wonderfully this works. You will be welcomed.

Karen Brookes

Motupipi Indoor Bowling Club

This club has been asked about the possibility of having a session of indoor bowls in the early evening times so as to allow working people the chance to have a go to see if they like the challenge. Members would be there to help and advise for beginners, making the chance for all to meet and chat and be part of the club. Those interested please make contact with me on 525 9491 or other members that you may know. We would need to have an idea of what nights are best suited and the hours. Thoughts have been maybe around 6pm for an hourand-a-half. Hoping to hear from you soon.

Nancy Ward

Letters To The Editor

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